In the residential area on Sweet Scylla located in the West District to the left of the central square.
Riana’s home was built to be an elevated, but sturdy house near the shore. The place where she and Sana felt most safe.
The siren found herself laying in a wide hung up net that was attached to the ceiling from four different corners. Although the merfolk had evolved to wear cloth and cover more of their bodies after moving above water, they had still used the same nets and pillows as their ancestors had. That and other similar things that the use of was simply engraved in their race.
Riana traced her fingers gently and moved Sana’s hair behind her ears.
She pushed herself too much… From getting kidnapped, using her powers, swimming underwater and all the way to balling her eyes out at the statue… I should let her sleep for as long as she needs to.
The little girl of barely five years was passed out in the arms of her aunt, the corners of her eyes red and swollen as remnants of tears were still clearly visible. Her petite body was shrunken in on itself, almost making her look like a small ball.
The room itself was a simple bedroom that one could find anywhere in Sweet Scylla. The merfolk didn’t overly decorate or crowd their houses that could be threatened by a sudden rising tide at any moment. Instead, they kept things simple, down to the necessities and a few mementos.
From the corner of her eye, Riana could see the spear with beautiful carvings and colors that her late sister had given her on the last birthday they celebrated together. She had lost the one she was using during the Cetus attack back on the ship, but she was still reluctant about using this one.
Guess I’ll just try to find or buy a new one somehow… Or dive down to see if I can find it, but that’s unlikely now. She thought to herself as she continued to stare up at the ceiling.
After a while, Riana gently moved and squeezed herself out from under Sana, making sure to slowly position her niece on the pillow and cover her with a thin blanket. She stepped out of the net and made her way to the open window in the corner of the room, overlooking the blue and wide sea.
“Rania… she misses you so much. So do I…” Riana trailed off as she mumbled to herself. Her turquoise hair swayed in the invading breeze as her light crimson eyes narrowed slightly, “You gave your life for this clan, but we’re on the verge of extinction now.”
The siren leaned forward and held onto the edge of the open window, watching the waves sway about and hit the shore.
“Is our clan going to die out? What’s going to happen to us…? Many have left, and the sirens that are still left aren’t enough to stand up to the Golden Garden Guild… Not that we would stand a chance either way…” She let out a long sigh, allowing her head to hang low for a moment, “Nothing will change at this rate…”
SPLASH!
“!”
Suddenly, a big wave collided with some rocks on shore, alerting Riana and bringing her out of her daze. She winced slightly, closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again with the corners of her lips slightly curled up.
“Lady Nimue, please look over us and give us your strength and protection… May the souls of our ancestors find eternal peace in the sea, under your embracing gaze.” With a hand over her chest, Riana prayed before turning over to her unused gift, “I’ll do my best to keep my promise to you, sister. Don’t you worry…”
Having said her piece and cleared her mind a bit, Riana walked back to the net and crawled in with her niece for a little nap, making sure to wrap her arms around the little girl.
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Although she hadn’t come to any new revelations or made any new decisions, she still felt a little lighter now.
It hasn’t been long since we left the central square… I wonder what he’s doing now. Maybe I should have invited him here after all… Riana thought to herself as her consciousness began to drift away.
Unbeknownst to Riana, Lawkey would spend his next few hours wandering the streets of Sweet Scylla before finding the mermaid bar and asking for the one thing he had been looking forward to the most.
**👑**
Inside the Mermaid Bar, in the shopping area of the East District.
“What?! No pancakes?!”
Lawkey couldn’t help but blurt out his shock, the despair evident in his shaking pupils and hanging chin.
“Where do you think you are exactly? Are you new here? You won’t find a sweet like that in Tartarus.” The mermaid with her lower half covered by the pool behind the counter, squinted her light blue eyes as if growing a little irritated at her bothersome customer and his request.
“Fine, I’ll just take the drink for now then…” Like a little kid, Lawkey rested his chin on the palm of his hand and pouted while looking away from the mermaid.
“...” The mermaid felt something snap within her, but controlled her emotions. She forced a smile and began to make the drink called SeaSmack, “Coming right up, sir.”
This must have been Lawkey’s tenth attempt or so to get some pancakes after leaving the Kage Clan a few months ago. Whenever he came across a restaurant or a bar, he excitedly rushed in and asked, only to be met with a harsh reality.
After a moment of usual despair, Lawkey accepted his fate and turned to more pressing matters.
So, what am I going to do here? I should decide soon. This clan seemed to be doing even worse than most areas that I have seen on this continent, the war torn areas aside… He was reminded of his past in those harsher areas, but he quickly shoved their memory to the back of his mind for now. Those two have it rough here… Part of me wants to help them out, but should someone like me really be getting involved? What if my luck strikes again and I end up doing more harm than good to them?
The swordsman accused of being a cursed Hyking let out a long sigh as he found himself going in circles.
I can’t stay here long either, I have my own journey… It’s not like I can do anything on my own to help an entire clan escape a big guild’s control… I’m just one person in the end. The ones who should be taking actions-
“Here you go, sir!” The mermaid swam close to Lawkey and put a drink in front of him. The mixture of green and blue liquid swirled around the glass, as if dancing around each other for control. On the surface of the glass, there were three grapes that Riana had called Lurvas back underwater. Each one had a different color of blue, pink and green.
Without looking her way, Lawkey let out another sigh as if he hadn’t even noticed her there, “I just wanted to stop by and get some pancakes…”
“!” The mermaid’s pupils suddenly constricted before she forcibly tapped her index finger on the counter, “Order something else!”
“Ah! Wait! I wanted to ask about the Leviathan that-?!”
“KILL HIM!!”
“Yes, execute him!”
Before Lawkey could inquire about the beast he was after, jeers from outside invaded the bar, forcing a sudden silence.
“What’s going on out there?!” A customer asked in puzzlement.
“Ah! They must have finally caught that damn guy who keeps helping Cravey Charybdis!” The mermaid behind the counter shouted before abandoning her post and jumping out of the water, her bottom half quickly turning back into humanoid legs.
“...”
“...”
Lawkey, as well as the other customers around, watched as she left them all to fend for themselves.
**👑**
A crowd quickly gathered in the central square, forming a broken ring around the area slightly north of the Nimue Monument and the golden Rania statue.
A man, nay, a dwarf man was dragged across the shopping district and thrown on the ground.
He managed to cross his legs and sit up, but he kept his head low in shame. His hands were tied behind his back with plain-old thick rope.
For some reason, they still allowed him to keep his light armor gear, but stripped him of any weapons or tools that he had on him. Beside the different armor, straps and pads on his body as if he was dressed for a war, what stood out was the white fur scarf around his neck, and a round golden necklace that almost felt out of place.
He was naturally of short stature, as typical of dwarves, barely reaching a 150 cm height. He had brown medium length hair that connected down to his bushy beard, ending with two braids sticking out at the bottom. His skin was slightly pale, making the red in his eyes strong.
This was Alviss Blackforest Saorsa, of the Saorsa Clan, mainly made out of dwarves.
“We finally caught him, Lamia! This is the blacksmith who’s been crafting those weird weapons for Cravey Charybdis!”
“Serves you right!!”
“...” Lamia stood amongst the jeering crowd, silently watching their prisoner.
“Let me go! H-how dare ya trick me like that!” Alviss blurted out, his bushy brows twitching, “Y-ya sung me yer sweet songs and swam up to me with yer alluring figures… Ya’ve shattered me dreams, dammit!”
Far away behind the crowds, Lawkey, who had come to check on the commotion, felt bad for the short man who had fallen victim to the siren’s trickery.
I feel you, buddy…Mhm! Mhm! He pushed his lips together, made a fist and nodded with closed, but passionate eyes.
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image [https://i.imgur.com/KQmIY8F.png]