Bunter found the speed boat at the launch site along with the diving gear he'd requested. The "other supplies" he'd told Walsh he'd provide for himself were his Djinn talents, ready to be called upon when needed. He wasn't sure, but he suspected what he'd find. Unfortunately.
This creature wasn't natural. Once the shock of his first encounter with the beast had lifted, Bunter had recognized the magic. A shapeshifting spell. He himself shifted...to an extent. He always remained himself though, didn't become a full beast. But he could sense shifter magic.
Bunter had been thinking about this shapeshifting power. He'd known genies that could fully shift. One in particular, he knew quite well. He hoped he was wrong, but it was just too much a coincidence for a water shifter to be around Rinn Fada while he himself was there.
Arriving at the deepest part of the cove, Bunter prepared himself for diving. He was a fire genie, not able to breath underwater on his own. Bad luck there, since he was facing a water beast. The shifter may have weakened itself through its attack, but the creature was no illusion.
Once underwater, Bunter searched the area carefully. He found evidence supporting his suspicions: chests full of gems and simoleons. Stolen from those sunken boats more than likely, then hidden down here. If the Kraken was just a beast, the treasure wouldn't be stashed like this.
He also remembered Fitz telling him that the sailors who'd been attacked were questionable characters, probably thieves themselves. Well, Bunter would just help himself to the goods. Treasure hunting was the whole point in taking on this mission in the first place.
Then he discovered the first cave, guarded by what appeared to be a smaller version of the Kraken. But as Bunter got closer, he sensed a shifter spell. This tentacled creature presented danger, but not for him, not in its present state.
Bunter entered the cave carefully, and explored the twisting tunnel. But the beast eluded him and managed to flee through a hidden passageway. Bunter lost the trail, finding himself back at the cave entrance again.
Then he caught sight of the creature darting into a second cave, its color faded, not as vibrant as at first. The shifter was weakening. It withdrew further into the cave and Bunter followed, gathering Djinn power, moving quickly.
Bunter rushed in. Suddenly, the Kraken attacked! Bunter was hit by a heavy tentacle and knocked against the tunnel wall. But when he turned, he saw only a fleeting glimpse of the beast. Bunter continued after the Kraken, noting that the tunnel was rising in elevation.
Bunter soon found himself at the bottom of a small round chamber, high above where he'd first entered the cave. He half climbed, half swam up towards the surface, finally pulling himself out of the well and on to land. He shed the diving gear. So this was the shifter's escape route.
The well was in a campsite near the lighthouse, but there was no sign of the shifter. Bunter couldn't waste time looking. It was getting late, and the caves needed to be destroyed before the shifter gained strength. The Kraken could not be allowed to continue its calculated attacks.
Standing by the lighthouse, Bunter called down fire, aiming the bolts straight to the rocky areas where the caves tunneled into the cliffs.
He only hoped no one from the village was close enough to see the flashes of light on this side of the cove.
The fire charges hit hard and fast. Earth shook. Rocks crumbled.
Then Bunter knew it was over. The caves and tunnels were destroyed. Now he just needed to deal with the Kraken itself. The shifter. He walked back to the camp and waited.
It didn't take long. Bunter felt the air vibrate behind him as the water genie appeared. ...Emad Faraz.
And he was enraged, just as Bunter knew he'd be.
Emad: Well, little brother. You've certainly made a pest of yourself today! ...What? Nothing to say, Majid, after all these years?
Bunter: Hello, brother.
