Contains: M / M, Trans / Cis, Humanoid x Monster, Thalassofobia, Tentacles, Dubcon, Belly inflation, Oviposition (kinda)
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I stood by the edge of the rocks and tried to peek down. The last night's storm had passed and the salty waves splashed against the waves almost gently now. Just barely, I managed to glimpse at the underwater cave below them.
I had already undressed most of my clothes, leaving only my short pants and the bag around my waist. My grandfather had been a water nymph, making me somewhat proficient in water-related things. The townspeople had always harassed my family because of our heritage, but I was determined to change that.
The village I had grown up in was poor, the local lady drew high taxes from us as the shacks around us rotted. Now, I had little love towards the villagers, but my mother loved her hometown, even though they treated her like shit. With enough gold, I could help my family to gain more prestige and help the village.
And I knew just where to get it.
Unknowns to them, I had learned about an ancient elven ruin beneath the village. There were no records of it on local history books and I'd never heard about it from the elders. No one knew about the place, which must have meant it had stayed untouched. Some time ago there had been a large earthquake which had revealed the cave and I had already made some assessing dives into it. The cave itself was deep, too deep for land-dwelling humanoids, but even though it had been hard even for me, I had managed to dive deep enough to find a large air pocket within. There, I had seen a large stone gate, which looked elven. If I could enter it and find loot, I could make more gold than I had ever seen.
Determined to go through with my plan, I tied my wavy hair into a bun, took a deep breath, and jumped. As I splashed into the water, coldness surrounded me, swallowing me firmly into its grasp. I let my momentum do the hardest part for me and I sank near the cave's entrance. I began to swim towards it, only a faint light from my necklace guiding me within. Just as I reached the entrance I could feel the rocks tremor, making the water vibrate. It was another earthquake and I hastily swam inside, scared to be outside if something happened. The tremors did not last long and I would have sighed in relief if I had been able to, but I had to preserve the air.
There was absolutely no plant life in the cave, everything was completely dark. The water pressure put a strain on my lungs, but I knew I would find a small air pocket nearby. Just as my lungs began to burn, I surfaced and breathed slowly. I was unsure if the air I was breathing was as ancient as the door I had found or if there were small cracks in the stone, letting fresh air in. I steadied myself and dived again.
The next air pocket would be closer than the one between the cave and the surface. Most of my mind was focused on the dive, but some part of me trailed off and I found myself thinking about the lady who ruled this land. Had she known about this cave, she would have sent in people who could breathe underwater and claimed all the treasures inside for herself. In fact, it was only a matter of time until someone else would find it and tell everyone else about it. I wished I had had more time to prepare, maybe get a few potions to help me swim or hold my breath longer, but it was what it was, at least I was here now, sure about my ability to make this trip.
The dark walls of the cavern closed in and the water turned even colder as I got deeper. At first, I had been able to swim without touching the walls, but now I had to grab them to be able to move. The walls were coarse and full of sharp pointy edges, so I had to be careful where I put my hand. There was a small opening I had to squeeze myself into to get into the next part of the cave. Slowly, I began to blow air out of my lungs to make my chest smaller and pulled myself in. The earthquake had made the opening slightly smaller, but I managed to wrench myself through it, my wiggling had used more time than expected and I could feel my lungs burning again.
Luckily, the second air pocket was just right above me and I swam to it quickly. This time I gasped for air as I surfaced. The quakes had changed the previous opening, then I was in trouble. The next part took my thought even smaller opening, but I knew I could swim back here if I couldn't swim through it. When I had inspected the cave, it had been easy for me to dive in and out, but now I had first been startled by the second quake and then I had almost gotten myself stuck, both had made me lose time and precious air. I had to think carefully if I was brash enough to go in after all. This part of the cave was a lot wider than the previous part, so I didn't need to be as careful as before, but it only made finding the next opening harder.
Suddenly, I felt something brush against my calf and I screamed, when I looked down, I saw a swarm of fish flit past my legs towards the crack I had just come from. The faint light my necklace was giving must have tricked them into believing this was the way out and I chuckled a little bit, feeling much calmer now. I went through my plan again, nodded, and dove again.
