Cnidaria

OCTOPIAN swam non-stop for a long while until he spotted something else drifting in the distance. He tilted his head, leaned forward, and squinted his eyes to try to get a better idea of what it was. He cautiously swam closer still trying to get a better look, but he was only close enough to hear a voice.

"Today I'll sit, stuck in this net; tomorrow I'll trick a fool, I am willing to bet. Let me steal the sole of another, so I can save my poor ol' brother. It is good that no one will know, Cnidaria is my name."

Pleased that he was in the right spot at the right time, Octopian knew he had to take advantage of this situation. So, he patiently waited and trailed the drifting object.

Some time had passed, so he decided to swim closer and soon realized that the object was a jellyfish. He was familiar with these creatures, although he only ever saw them from a distance. They would often float over the mouth of the Trench and he would watch them as they were simultaneously lit up; this is similar to how humans gaze up at the twinkling stars in the sky on a clear, dark night. Octopian could not hold off his curiosity any longer. He had thought of a brilliant plan to get by the jellyfish, but he clutched his ax just in case.

As he came up to Cnidaria he called out, "Excuse me, could you spare some time? In exchange, I will help you get untangled from that line!"

Startled by the boy, Cnidaria jolted upright and looked towards Octopian. A grin grew across her face, but she quickly hid it and began to call back.

"Oh, please! You have no idea how long I have been waiting, for I thought my life was surely fading. Yet here you are, looking strong as ever. If you help me, I will do you one better."

Intrigued by the offer, Octopian swam over to the jellyfish. Surprised to see that the poor creature was truly stuck, he began to feel guilty about making her wait so long. Then, he remembered how she had unknowingly revealed her true intentions.

Octopian was heedful of Cnidaria making any sudden movements. Since he only observed jellyfish from afar, he was unaware of the small stinging cells in their tentacles that were toxic to the touch. Luckily the gelatinous appendages creeped him out, so he kept his distance anyways. Octopian, starting at one end of the net, began to cut Cnidaria lose. This took some time because the net was made of thick nylon ropes, making it difficult to cut through using the shark-tooth ax. To pass the time, the two began to converse, asking each other what brought them to this part of the ocean.

Cnidaria began explaining that she and her brother were taking the Canaries Current * to a party, but they collided with the net causing them to become entangled. Finally, the current came to an end and her brother was able to get free. As he was trying to untangle his sister, a sea turtle interrupted them.

Cnidaria, reciting the sea turtle, said, "I will promise to get you free. But first, the boy must come with me! It is only a small request. Oh please, I hope you won't protest!"

They were both unsure if they could trust a creature that was a known predator to jellyfish, but the siblings were desperate and agreed to his offer. Cnidaria sobbed and finished her story by explaining that she believed something bad had happened to her brother since the two had not returned. Then, Octopian told his story and both of them caught on to the fact that the noise he was so fixated on was coming from the party Cnidaria and her brother had planned to attend.

Cnidaria continued, "If you help get me free, I will personally take you to the party. For if you leave me here to die, I will never know if my brother is still alive."

"How silly does it seem that I would untie this monstrosity?" Octopian thought to himself. "In order to get where I need, I'll use her knowledge as the key.

So he continued, eventually cutting her loose. He wrapped up the excess net around his arm, hoping it would come in handy (his fifth artifact). Distracted by the rope, Cnidaria quickly wrapped her tentacles around Octopian, paralyzing him. She then began to cackle at the boy's stupidity.

"Oh boy, Oh boy! He-he-he! You'll never get away from me! As I promised, I'll bring you to the party, not as a guest, but a snack for me. I'll give your three chances that you can take. For miss on the third, you'll realize your mistake. But if you guess my name in time, you'll no longer be a prisoner of mine."

Exhausted from the stinging pain, Octopian passed out. He was not worried because he had already learned her name. So, he went along for the ride, waiting for the right moment to announce her name.

As Cnidaria approached the kelp forest that hid the kingdom, Octopian began to wake up.

Then Cnidaria said, "Your time is running very thin and so, with your guesses, you must begin. Don't forget, you get three and only if you get it right will I set you free."

Octopian thought of some silly names to start with, just to mess with the creature.

With that, Octopian took his first guess, "Hmm, I am not sure, for my knowledge is small, perhaps your name is Butterball?"

"You are wrong! Take two more guesses before too long," replied Cnidaria.

Octopian began again, "Oh gosh, I have no clue what it could be. Maybe it is Penelope?"

Then Cnidaria said, "No, no, you're wrong again! Take one last guess, my friend."

Octopian replied with a smirk, "Man, oh man! I hardly know ya, perhaps your name is Cnidaria!"

Appalled at his ability to guess her name right, Cnidaria released her grip. She was furious and started to throw a tantrum.

"How can it be?! You are too clever! No one has guessed it, not one, EVER!" yelled Cnidaria.

In her state of anger and confusion, she did not realize that Octopian was wrapping her waist with the rope he saved. She charged at him when she realized what Octopian was doing, but at that moment he pulled the string, causing it to tighten around her tentacles, detaching them from her body. He then wrapped the rope around his waist, keeping the tentacles as a trophy (Octopian's sixth artifact).