This was the third time that Lucretia had heard about problems about fishing in the port of Astera. It was a common enough occurrence to where she had set up some precautions in case of it happening again. The captain would contact her and would let her know what was going on in exchange for some jewels along with some work that he could put towards helping out those in need. Honestly it was a fruitful endeavor for the both of them.

But hearing this time that the reason for the fish being scared away was ghost sharks of all things? Lucretia couldn’t help but be a bit puzzled at this information and as she asked about it she was given the basic run down from the captain upon arrival.

Apparently a recent dig near the outskirts of the town had unearthed a church that had been belonging to some ancient order. Problem being the way it was positioned and the cave system underneath it… Well. It collapsed and slid into the nearby cove. What normally wouldn’t be a problem became one when the ground was no longer consecrated. The spirits that had been locked away in the church instead had taken over the skeletal remains of sharks in a local deathbed cove.

Sighing the warrior couldn’t help but ask what the man wanted to do in regards to all of this. He suggested that they make way over to the area but not bring along the sea serpents that had been born from her last efforts. Being in agreement with that the captain and his crew started to set sail.

Lucretia had been in Astera for quite some time and now wearing her new armor the woman stood out to many. She’d get some waves and the werewolf would return them. Her mere presence was reassuring for many now a days and she honestly wished she could keep it that way. Her reflection of things continued as they sailed towards the cove in question.

”You ever have to really worry about this sort of thing before lass?”

”Yeah. Back in Oak there’s a church, lot of spiritual problems. My weapons and beastial form makes short work of them though.”

The captain seemed surprised to hear that she had dealt with something like this before and giving her that breathing mouthguard again he’d sigh. The woman didn’t have a way of breathing underwater without assistance and if it wasn’t for him well… this would be a consistent problem.

”What do you reckon you’re gonna do about it?”

”Not give the spirits a chance, they possessed some sea creatures remains and that means they’re a threat. What caused the collapse of the church is probably something I should look into later but for now immediate problems are needed to be solved."

Upon the arrival of the ship to the cove which wasn’t actually too far from the port of astera Lucretia leaned over the side to see ghostly fins cutting through the water. They had already warded the ship against spirits and there was a grim satisfaction that she could feel tickle the back of her skull.

”Have your men on standby captain. Once the spirits are dealt with I’d like to pull some of the artifacts out of the water.”

”Aye lass. Just don’t do anything stupid.”

Lucretia let out a barking laugh and without much more than a wave she’d hop off of the ship into the water. Feeling it crash and shift around her gave her body a momentary shiver of fear. She hated the deep water and hated the ocean in general but…

Lately something had changed in her, something that had been knotted and twisted inside had been let go. She’d grin a bit as she could see the spiritual sharks swimming towards her. Twisting her spear in her hand she’d kick at the water, propelling herself forward with relative ease…

WC: 655
WCT: 655/1600

The first shark was nothing against her might, she split it’s spiritual features apart with a powerful thrust of her spear. She practically had run it entirely through and the spiritual essence rained like blood among the water stirring up the other spiritual sharks. It was a wierd mix of natural and supernatural things that would normally through people for a loop. The woman grinned a little bit when more showed up than what they could initially see.

She’d spin her spear around and around, cutting into the ‘flesh’ of the sharks. Many of them burst, others ended up spiraling out of control and slamming into their companions. Causing in fighting and the like. With the water being a churning mess of spiritual blood and energy it wasn’t hard for the mage to find that she was doing a little too much in one spot. She felt her body being charged with the stuff.

Gritting her teeth she could feel her own blood lust sort of kick off; blood always had a weird affect on her ever since she had become a werewolf. Or rather ever since it had properly triggered within her. But there was a moment where she felt her beastial half raise it’s head again. A faint glint in it’s eye.

Lucretia.

It had been ages since she had heard its voice. Her Voice. She felt a yanking in her heart, in her presence. It sucked the mana into her body and there was a brief moment before… The water around her froze solid and swept out striking the sharks that hadn’t been touched by the spear yet.

She’d blink slowly and as the woman shattered the ice without much issue she’d cast a glance around. The sharks had been destroyed for the most part but what was this sensation of dread and unease that had suddenly washed over her? The woman whirled around and when she saw it she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

A huge image of a shark swam towards her, easily larger than the ship she had arrived on and it would easily dwarf some of the largest damn monsters out there. A bloody spiritual megalodon; one of it’s eyes was shut with a ghostly spear thrust in it and much of it’s hide had ‘scars’ on it. She’d grit her teeth and kick the water, breaking the surface of the water to wave the captain away from the situation.

She’d have a few seconds before she felt something hit the entirety of her body that was still underwater. Launching her up and out of the water until she crashed against the side of the cliffacing that oversaw the cove. Grimacing she’d dive back into the water…

WC: 460
WCT: 1,115/1600

The warning from her beastial half had actually surprised her and the woman kicked off of the water again, narrowly avoiding a swipe from the giant shark as it made its way by. It took her a few moments of swimming to realize that this was a possessed beast and not a possessed body. It’s fury and spiritual power was borrowed and if she knocked it senseless it might…

No, she had to kill it. That would be the only solution here to make things right; now that it was in a new area with less predators it’d be a huge problem if it was able to be the biggest one without any competition. The wolf growled inside of her and she’d agree that she needed to do something. The woman adjusted herself in the water again…

Her spear was barely making a dent in it’s hide but she’d eye the harpoon that was sticking out of it’s eye. Grinning, she'd let the megalodon approach her and she’d shift in the water, using a mix of her tail and limbs to direct herself. She’d be able to maneuver to keep on that side, meaning it’d have to make wide turns to ignore the ship and go after her.

Upon getting closer the woman would throw her spear in order to make it try to avoid it to a point where she could instead kick the harpoon deeper into it. It let out a roar of pain as she managed to get it about halfway in. She knew that wouldn’t be enough and with the assegai returning to her hand she considered an alternative. It’d know what she was trying to do but the pain and blood in the water was making it thrash.

Growling she’d swim closer and with a blow from her spear she’d send the harpoon all the way into it’s skull. The body flailed for a few moments before the spirit took over in proper. Knowing what she’d have to do here she’d follow through with a stab into the same place that the harpoon had been. Striking through the eye and instead puncturing the powerful spirit that had possessed both the shark and it’s remains in an instant.

Watching the body float down towards the remains of the church the werewolf pondered as it landed next to it. Both the church and the carcass would be good for this area Lucretia reckoned and without much more to be said she’d swim back up to the surface. Fighting against beasts and other things was far easier than mages it felt.

Upon getting to the surface of the water the woman cast about to find that the ship she had waved off had instead come closer. Seeing her head in the water they’d throw down a ladder and she’d climb up to them. Explaining what had happened wasn’t hard given the information that they had started with and the ease of the dispatch made everyone a bit nervous. She’d sigh a bit as the crew agreed they should come back here with a proper expedition…

Not something she disagreed with but it seemed that this situation would have to be approached again at a later date.

WC: 538
WCT: 1,653