There was a trail of half man, half fish corpses leading up to the edge of the cliff. Someone had been playing at Hansel and Gretel, but in place of crumbs, had used bodies and limbs.

These must have been the Merfolk who crawled onto Silthia the night before, the ones who had slain the wounded, and now lay in tatters themselves.

Alanis pushed back the faint thoughts that prickled her mind, whispering they deserved such a fate for their heinous acts.

Mercy is for all. She reminded herself. Even if some are more rotten than others.

Her maidens and several of her guard, were constellated a fair distance away from a small cave, waiting anxiously for the Princess to approach.

"Your grace, through there..." One gestured to the cavern, and Alanis tread carefully to the entrance, straining her eyes against the dark.

At first, it was barely unnoticeable through the narrow entrance, nothing more than a shadow against the darkness, but then, then it moved ever so slightly, and the shimmering glint of a sword pierced through the dimness.

"If you can understand me," said Alanis to the darkness, "we're not going to hurt you. We just want to help."

It was unlikely that whoever was within the cave could understand her tongue. Merfolk spoke in songs and melodies, something her language most certainly was not.

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Following two of her guards, each of which held a filigree oil lantern, Alanis descended through the narrow entrance into the depths of the cave, where the winds whispered through the cracks and played with her skirts.

The floor had a welcoming mat of blood-soaked seaweed, and one of her guards held her arm as she jumped over the corpse that blocked their path.

Once they cleared the opening crevice, it opened into a small cavern, water dripping from the stalactites, creating a shallow pool of water wherever they stepped.

And there, pressed against the wall amidst a puddle of blood, was the most terrifying, yet pitiful creature Alanis had ever set her eyes upon.

He was clad in armour consisting of vibrant shells, gemstones, and metal, but the designs were splattered and laced with blood. He was lacking a helmet, unlike most of the corpses she had seen, and his blond curls were bloodied and stuck to the side of his face, snaking down his neck and brushing the top of his shoulder.

He did not have a fish tail like the Merfolk, but it had been several hours since the battle, and absence from water transformed their tails into legs, as was evidently the case.

The glint from the tip of his sword blinded her momentarily, and Alanis retreated in fright, her back pressed against the rocky wall.

"Stay...away." He tried to speak, but it was more of a hoarse whisper then anything. He did not lower the sword, but she could see his arm trembling even in the dim light.

"I'm not here to hurt you." She gestured for the guards to step back and held out her hand to show the bandages she carried, "please, we wish to help."

The maidens from the other side of the tunneling were calling to her, but Alanis shushed them, turning to the creature.

"You're not safe here," She insisted, "come with me."

He didn't seem to be listening, it was if he could barely hold himself upright against the wall.

"You're hurt." Alanis stepped towards him, and he dropped the sword, uttering something in a language she could not understand.

She took another step, but he collapsed like a puppet to the ground, a pool of blood now visible where he had been laying.

"Hurry!" Yelled Alanis to her maidens, "quick! Help me carry him!"