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Vagabondia Chronicles Chapter 20: The Weight Of Legacy

  As Cam, Leo, Winston, Twig and Sylvia plunge into the seemingly endless ocean. Cam, hearing the sounds of water flowing in his ears, looks around himself, noticing his friends, motionless and floating beside him. As he tries to reach for them, he loses his strength, and before he knows it, water starts to fill his lungs.

  Cam stirrs awake to a dark void and what looks like a flame. Dazed and confused, he trudges slowly towards the flame. To his horror, he sees Edreus standing in the flames. Cam, frozen in shock and fear, utters "G..Grandpa..?". Only to be met with a cold gaze from Edreus. As Edreus starts to disappear in the flames, Cam, teary eyed, reaches out, ever so slightly. Before he could reach him, he awakes to a new location.

  Within Oceanica City, a city populated by all manner of sea dwelling lifeforms, Cam jumps up from consciousness, coughing up water and blood.

  He gasps for air, but as he regains composure, he notices that he is still underwater. He notices that he is covered with the water breathing spell, and that he is surrounded by Merpeople, treating his wounds. He weakly asks "Where...are my..?", to which one of the Merpeople responds "We're currently treating the others in other rooms.". Hearing this, Cam weakly reaches his hand towards the door, to which another Merperson, treating his wounds, says "Please do not move, your burns are quite severe, as are your friends'.".

  Hours later, as the Merpeople finish tending to his wounds, Cam lays there, seemingly contemplating the recent events, with an empty look in his eyes. Suddenly, Twig and Sylvia, holding Leo, burst into the room. "Cam!", they both yell, in worry. They run over to him, only for Twig to stop Sylvia halfway, noticing the look on his face. "Cam...", she says, with a sorrowful expression. Cam slowly turns his head to face them, tears streaming down his face. As he tries to feign a smile, he breaks down in tears. Twig, Leo and Sylvia slowly walk up to him, and hug him gently.

  As Twig places Leo in Cam's arms, Twig says "I'm.. glad you're okay..", only to be met with silence as Cam just sits there, lost in thought. Sylvia, trying to ease his pain, says "I..I know the feeling of..", only to be cut off by Cam, who sorrowfully utters "Please...just...don't..", and tries to leave the room. "Cam, we have to talk about what happened, t..to.. Ed..", Twig says, but stops when Cam drops to his knees, whimpering. He stands back up, running at full speed out of the building, leaving them all behind, and out into the sprawling City of Oceanica.

  Twig, Sylvia and Leo walk out of the room, only to see Winston standing there. "We have to follow him!", Twig shouts, but Sylvia stops her, saying "He just needs time, just..". Twig rebuttals at her, tearfully shouting "The last time I saw him like that, i didnt see him for like a year!", She tries to pacify Twig, but she continues "Edreus meant a lot to me too, he was there for me, too..!".

  They are interupted by one of the Merman escorts, who says "The emperor requests your audience at the main palace.", and they are led across the city, to the Emperor's palace.

  On their arrival, they see many other surface dwellers awaiting the Emperor. "Wait, why are there so many surface dwellers, down here? Don't Merpeople hate letting people like us in like this?", asks Winston, as they are led to the Emperor's throne room.

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  Just then, with a loud wave of fanfare, the Undersea Emperor reveals himself. He greets his loyal citizens and, with a disgusted look, addresses the surface dwellers. "Now, see here. We, of Oceanica, have received an unordinary influx of surface dwellers sinking in our waters as of last night.". Twig realizes that all the surface dwellers were prisoners on the island. "Beyond our better judgement, we choose to spare your lives, but this is not a free luxury.", the Undersea Emperor continues, "In return for your survival, you will complete several expeditions and quests for our kingdom' betterment!".

  All the prisoners begin to riot as they question the Emperor's true intent. As some of the prisoners resort to violence, the Emperor brandishes a massive golden trident, and uses water magic to remove the water breathing spell on some of them. As Winston and the others try to escape, the door is barricaded and the Emperor coldly declares "We offered you a chance at life, do not waste it!".

  A while later, Winston, Sylvia and Twig walk out of the palace, feeling an uneasy chill up their spines. "I should've told you how selfish Merpeople are.", Sylvia angrily says, but she is met with silence as Winston steps in front of them, declaring "I'll be the one to complete those quests, and find Cam. You guys just sit back...". Twig tries to step closer to him, but he says "I'm done getting you guys in trouble, okay!?", as he storms off. Twig falls to her knees, and Sylvia catches her, as she tearfully remarks "Pollie sure is missing out, hehe..", trying to cheer herself up.

  Elsewhere, Cam sits on top of a plateau, overcome by sorrow. Memories of his old life on the Silverrie Farm plague his mind to no end. Suddenly, Leo runs up to Cam and cuddles up to him. He look down at him, reaching over to pet him, only to see his hand covered in blood, and he hesitates. Cam thinks to himself, "I lost the letter Grandpa left for Mom-", but stops himself, saying "F..For L-Lydia.., when we were captured..". He looks up to the ocean's glimmering surface, thinking "I was being a fool..., maybe Lydia didn't want me then, and she doesn't want me now..", as he inches closer to the mountain's edge. As Leo tries to pull him back, Cam walks closer and closer to the edge, muttering "She didn't want me, she isn't even trying to get back to us... What's even the point..?"

  But, suddenly, a loud flash of light erupts from a cave in the distance, jolting him back to his senses. "Huh?..", Cam utters as he hears the cries of the prisoners coming from the cave. Within the cave, the prisoners are locked in an intense battle with a massive crab like monster, covered in crystals. As Winston runs into the cave, he sees the hoarde battling the monster. "A Crawmolith..", he utters under his breath, as he reluctantly enters the fray, with a small dagger in hand.

  As the battle continues, some of the prisoners manage to tear some of the Crawmolith's hard shell off its body, "Aim for its weak spot!", Winston shouts as he tries to launch his dagger at the Crawmolith's weak spot, only for the Crawmolith to charge a yellow beam of energy at the ground, blowing them away. Just as the prisoners try to run for their lives, part of the cave collapses, some falling on Winston's leg, some crushing many of the prisoners, and leaving the rest trapped with the beast. Just as the Crawmolith rears its claws for a deadly strike, Winston looks to the hole at the top of the cave as a familiar figure dives into the fray from above.

  In one swift strike from above, Cam pierces the monster in its weak spot, staggering it. As Cam drives his blade deeper into the Crawmolith's skull, he lets out a guttural battle cry as the beast's blood leaks all over the battle field. As the beast falls, Cam stands over its corpse, breathing heavily. Leo walks alongside Cam as Winston excitedly says "C..Cam?! I'm so glad you're...", but Cam coldly interupts him, asking "Why were you guys here?". One of the male pisoners says "Because the Emperor sent us to get this 'thing's shell, in return for them saving our lives.". "Cam..?", Winston worriedly asks him, only for Cam to ignore him, saying "If your leg's okay, help us find a way out of here..", as he and the prisoners make their way out of the cave. Winston looks on in worry, wondering if his dear friend is truly okay.

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