Image
Encounter Conditions
None?
Initial Text
Near the bottom of the lake, you find one of the fish people peeking at you from behind a rock. He, at least it feels like a male, seems to be watching you rather than moving to attack or flee.
That might be the friendliest reaction you can expect in these waters.
Summary of Choices
- Try to communicate (Initially, leads to options below. If you have unlocked communication, unlocks trading. Does not appear if you've unlocked trading.)
- Hand over the egg - (Only if you have a spherical egg) Unlocks communication, lose spherical egg
- Give him a lake pearl - (Only if you have a lake pearl) Nothing
- Offer a black pearl - (Only if you have a black pearl) Unlocks communication, lose black pearl
- Rush him - Gain 4 XP Reflexes; triggers cold coin
- Bail out - Walk away?
- Ask about the urn - Only if you have the Sloshing Urn
- Follow him - Leads to Mushroom Cavern if equipped with diving gear
- Head the other way - Walk away?
- Chat with him - (Only after unlocking trading?) Gain 20 energy of Ocean Song
- Trade with him - Only appears if you have unlocked trading.
- Fish (3 teeth) - Trade 3 shark teeth for various fish
- His Spear (9 teeth) - Trade 9 shark teeth for a hunting spear
- Human spear (9 teeth) - Trade 9 shark teeth for a speargun-item
- Human face (9 teeth) - Trade 9 shark teeth for a rebreather mask
- Something about teeth and skin (27 teeth) - Trade 27 shark teeth for a cured shark hide
- Something made out of teeth (27 teeth) - Trade 27 shark teeth for a shark tooth blade
- Something you think is a fancy hat (27 teeth) - Trade 27 shark teeth for a buried crown
- Charge him - Nothing. (Needs testing with higher Diving Ability)
- Swim away - Walk away
- Leave him be - Walk away
Choice Text and Results
Try to communicate
He makes a strange chirping sound that echoes under the water. After staring at you for a few moments, he harshly scores a circle into the sand.
While he waits for you to respond, he points the spear at the drawing, then at you. Apparently he wants something.
(or, after giving a spherical egg or black pearl, or trapping a fae?)
You attempt to strike up a conversation with the fish person, but it becomes quite obvious that you can't even make the sounds necessary to speak his language. The conversation quickly settles into an elaborate game of pantomimes instead.
He displays a shark tooth and hands it to you, then holds a clump of seaweed out, trading it to you for his shark tooth back. He sings a few gleeful notes of what you imagine are encouragement.
There's a fair bit to the rest of his pantomimes, but it gets easier once you realize he's counting in threes. Apparently, he sells bundles of fish for three shark teeth and other stuff for more.
Seems like the spear he's carrying, spears for humans, and masks for humans are nine teeth. Then he's got some stuff that makes a bit less sense for twenty-seven.
Apparently he can make something out of the teeth and there's a fancy hat. The last one is just him pointing at the tooth, then pointing at his skin… either shark skin or a tooth launcher, you're getting too tired to care.
You're both exhausted by the time you wrap up, heading your separate ways underwater.
You found: damp seaweed
(Unlocks trading)
Hand over the egg
You hand him the egg. He sings a particularly elated sounding note, clutches the to his chest, and swims off.
Apology accepted?
(Unlocks communication)
Give him a lake pearl
He looks at your pearl and makes a somewhat reproachful noise.
After a few moments, he seems to realize you don't understand, then adds a small embellishment to the circle, like a tiny drawing of himself.
Offer the black pearl
He looks at you reproachfully for a second, then leans forward to take a closer look at the pearl. He takes it in one fin, holding it towards the light.
A moment later, he promptly swallows it and swims away. Apology accepted?
(Unlocks communication)
Rush him
You chase after him as he jets away. Wow, it's not even close.
He actually stops a few times to let you catch up a bit, like he thinks it's a game.
You've earned 4 XP in Reflexes
Ask about the urn
Upon seeing the urn he sings a few cheerful notes and flips his tail, jetting away from you. He stops to sing again at the edge of your sight, waving one fin back at you.
Follow him
Without a swimming gadget equipped
You do your best to keep up, but you can't match his speed, even with him pausing periodically. Eventually, you just lose him among the seaweed and crevasses.
You've earned 4 XP in Reflexes
Otherwise
You manage to keep up with him, thanks in part to him pausing periodically.
Eventually, you make your way into a crevasse, winding through dark passageways until you emerge in a pool of water.
He ducks back under the water, leaving you in the darkness. As your eyes adjust, you can make out towering mushrooms, each the size of a building Downtown.
Faint lights dance in the distance, making the shadows seem all the deeper.
Sets location to Mushroom Cavern
Chat with him
He sings a bit. You're sure there's some information contained in it, but it's mostly just soothing. It brings to mind forgotten civilizations and sunken cities.
As if that made perfect sense, he points south. He pauses a bit, tapping his spear on a nearby rock thoughtfully.
Then he makes the sign with one fin behind his head you recognize as the "fancy hat" sign from before.
You've gained 20 energy of Ocean Song.
Trade with him
Well, you think you've figured out what he's trying to sell. Your only course now is to give him some shark teeth, flash some weird hand gestures, and hope for the best.
Fish (3 teeth)
He takes your shark teeth and titters happily, then hands you a sack of fish. Looks like the sack is actually made out of woven seaweed, which is kind of handy.
You found: damp seaweed
You found: 3 of: lake bluegill, dock pike, partially digested fish, lake squid, lake perch
His spear (9 teeth)
He glances over the sharks teeth you handed him, then passes you his spear. You haven't the faintest idea what it's made of, but it's certainly sharp and jagged enough to catch some fish.
Human spear (9 teeth)
You pass him nine shark teeth, which he secretes away somewhere. Then he leads you to a seaweed grove and digs out a buried speargun.
He sings a few confused notes, handing you the speargun. Well, despite being buried it seems to have worked for a while.
You found: speargun-item
Human face (9 teeth)
He takes the teeth and leads to an underwater dune, excavating out a rebreather mask. It's actually really nice, but you suppose he doesn't need it for anything.
You found: rebreather mask
Something about teeth and skin (27 teeth)
He carefully counts over the teeth and leads you to a buried sheet of what proves to be shark skin. It's really slick, but the scales are sharp enough they could probably take your finger off.
You found: cured shark hide
Something made out of teeth (27 teeth)
After counting through your teeth and setting aside a few, he hunts down a chunk of something that looks like trash. But, sure enough, he lashes most of the teeth you gave him to it, making a frightening looking sword.
You found: shark tooth blade
Something you think is a fancy hat (27 teeth)
He takes your teeth, counting them carefully twice, then darts off. He comes back a moment later with a crown that's still dripping with the sand it was buried under.
He hands it to you and sings a few notes while you inspect it.
You found: buried crown
If you try to trade without having enough (or any) shark teeth in your inventory
He sings a few piteous notes before sending you on your way. Apparently you didn't have enough teeth.
Charge him
You chase after him as he jets away. Wow, it's not even close.
He actually stops a few times to let you catch up a bit, like he thinks it's a game.
You've earned 4 XP in Reflexes
Leave him be
See Walk Away