The Blood Ring of Tytus: A Masters of the Universe Adventure

VII - Demons of the Deep

VII

DEMONS OF THE DEEP

THE sea was cold. Its icy waves churned and crashed one upon the other, foamy crest licking foamy crest in an unrelenting tumult provoked by the unabated fury of the storm that still raged as though fueled by some preternaturally malign will.

Suddenly, in the midst of this vast, hellish seascape there appeared two small figures. They bobbed up silently from the black abyss of the deep and looked about, struggling to gain their bearings amidst the chaos.

"By the Sorceress, what a maelstrom!" exclaimed Man-at-Arms, removing his breathing apparatus. "Long did we swim through those damned subterranean channels to get here. I had my air supply and your great stamina sustained you, but what of Teela? How could she have survived so long underwater?"

"Fear not," said He-Man. "I saw Mer-Man force a bolus of some kind into Teela's mouth before he dove. It rendered her instantly senseless. No doubt it was some kind of sedative meant to quell her resistance and protect her from the dearth of air she would face."

"Aye," answered Duncan, sighing with relief, "the Ocean Warlord said that he needed her alive, that much I do recall."

"Your earlier theory appears to be vindicated. Mer-Man seems to have betrayed Skeletor, taking the Blood Ring for himself for Ul knows what ends."

"But what of Teela? What would he want with her now that he has the Blood Ring? And to what evil destination might he have borne her?"

He-Man pondered for a moment.

"That sedative he administered can't last much longer. If he means for her to survive the swim – and we know he does – then there is but one place near enough to be their terminus – the Tower of Baaq'ul."

Man-at-Arms blanched at that name, his eyes dilating in disbelief.

"What? Why would he return to the Tower of Baaq'ul? It cannot be..."

"It can be naught else, I fear. But we waste time in discussion, Duncan. Mer-Man and his hulking monstrosity are creatures of the sea, whose speed in swimming we cannot hope to match. But, by the gods of the Pantheon, shall we not try?"

Man-at-Arms smiled grimly.

"Aye. To the Tower of Baaq'ul, then. To ruin and a watery grave if need be... for Teela."

The two men dove under the churning foam of the crashing waves and sped through the Crystal Sea's raging waters. They swam furiously, in a trajectory as straight and swift as a torpedo's. Even weighed down as they were by their heavy weapons and armor, in speed and endurance they rivaled even the famed fishermen of the southern coasts, men universally deemed the finest swimmers on Eternia.

But for all their tremendous effort, He-Man's words were indisputably true – Mer-Man and the crab-thing were beings bred and reared in the briny seas and their speed underwater was unattainable by any land dweller, even the Most Powerful Man in the Universe. This fact weighed heavily on the two warriors' minds as they pressed determinedly on to their dread destination.

The Tower of Baaq'ul was a temple hewn out of the largest of the thousands of crystalline outcroppings whence the Crystal Sea obtained its name. Its ancient builders were members of Mer-Man's race, the most physically and intellectually advanced of the diverse species of amphibious humanoids that populated Eternia's seas. A cult had arisen among the Mer-Men whose object of terrified veneration was the marauding leviathan known as the Baaq'ul. The Baaq'ul was, for the thousand years it haunted the Crystal Sea, the largest and deadliest monster on Eternia. It fed voraciously on the creatures of the sea, making no distinction between sentient being and dumb brute. Finally, in a move fueled as much by practical necessity as it was by misplaced religious fear, the Mer-Men erected the huge tower, dedicating it to Baaq'ul, inviting him there to accept their victims, regularly supplied by means of abductions and draconian capital punishment statutes.