Scotland, August 9th, 1888
It was nine in the morning and the local tavern has just been open for an hour now. Despite that fact it was nearly full till bursting with eager patrons all waiting to get a drink. They crowded around the bar like moths to a flame, waiting for the bartender to return from behind the counter. Eventually all the men received their drinks and sat down at their respective tables. Though some preferred to sit in front of the bar and converse with the bartender during his shift. One of the men, who had just returned from his shift at the docks, sat down at the bar. He smiled as the bartender poured him a glass. His eyes were a stormy black and his gray hair was as loose and violent as the ocean waves.
“You take one look at whatever’s lurking down there, and it just pulls you in. You feel drawn to it, called by it, as if by nothing but instinct. So, you dive down into the dark and you never stop to come up for air.” he said.
”I beg your pardon?” The bartender replied, utterly stupefied.
”Sorry, I haven’t gotten much sleep at all as of late.” The mariner apologized.
”Mind if I ask you how your shift was?” The bartender asked.
“My shift? You want to ask about my shift, is that right?” The mariner stuttered.
”Yes, now if you would be so kind as to tell me how it went.” The bartender simply responded.
”Uh, sure, I’ll tell you about my shift just give me a moment.” The mariner whispered, his voice shaking.
The bartender waited and as he waited, some of the men made their way to the bar. They sat down and waited in anticipation for the mariner to begin his tale.
”The shift started out normal, I left as the sun set over the horizon. Managed to catch a bunch of fish for the first few hours. Then the moon rose and took its place in the sky. I continued to fish for a few hours before taking a break. Once I sat down, that’s when it all started. Fog slowly began to creep in all around me. Next thing I knew the net broke, and all the fish fell back into the sea. That wasn’t even the worst part my friends, no it gets worse. For when I gazed down into the darkness of the sea, I saw something staring back at me. Out of sheer curiosity I reached out my hand as if to grab it, only to find myself pulled downward into the depths! The last thing I heard before being dragged under was this song. Well, it wasn’t exactly a song, more like a lament or a lullaby than anything else. I remember nothing of what happened after I was dragged down beneath the waves. I only remember returning to dry land this morning, whatever happened between then and last night is a blur to me.” The mariner concluded.
”So, you’re telling us that you found something out here in these very waters?” One of the men asked.
”Aye sir I did, thing is, I have no idea if it is friendly or not.” The mariner declared.
”It could possibly be a siren.” Another blurted.
”I thought those were only in Greek myths!” Someone yelled.
”Last night, I thought I heard someone say something about an eclipse appearing in Singapore. Perhaps that could have something to do with it.” a patron declared.
“How exactly would something halfway across the world be related to what happened here exactly?” The mariner hissed.
The small discussion which had started moments ago had now erupted into a full-blown argument. The bartender watched as his patrons readied themselves in anticipation to throw their glasses at one another. He slammed his fist on the table in anger as one by one the patrons turned to look at him.
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”Enough! I do not want to see my establishment turned into a war zone! Especially so when all of this started because I asked this gentleman a simple question!” The bartender screeched.
At once the patrons calmed down and each man returned to his own respective seat. The bartender smiled and walked over the mariner who was now sitting in a corner. He was conversing with some of his coworkers who hadn’t yet heard the news. The bartender cleared his throat on arrival before sitting down next to the four of them.
“My uncle used to tell me stories about some of those creatures.” One of the mariner’s coworkers said.
”Well.” The bartender started. “Your uncle may have not been telling you stories.”
”What exactly do you mean?” The coworker asked, utterly confused.
”What I mean to say is that some of those myths aren’t exactly myths.” The bartender insisted.
”So, you’re saying that such creatures exist?” The mariner whispered.
”Well, if they didn’t then this tavern wouldn’t have the name that it does now, I’ll tell you that much.” The bartender chuckled.
The mariner’s coworkers turned to the bartender in utter disbelief. The mariner himself appeared to be in a state of shock.
”Why, friend, do you look so surprised? I thought you’d expect this type of answer from me.” The bartender sighed.
The mariner did not answer and simply got up to leave. The bartender returned to his place behind the counter as his friend left the establishment. He gave a half smile before heading out the door himself.
”Gentlemen, please behave yourselves while I am gone.” The bartender stated.
The patrons looked at him and nodded in unison as he departed from their sight. The bartender jogged along the road and quickly managed to catch up to the mariner.
”Please, just leave me be!” The mariner shrieked.
”My friend, why should I? For you, obviously, appear to be in a state of distress. I only mean to try and comfort you.” The bartender placated.
”Comfort me how exactly? By telling me that I could have been killed by that thing!?” The mariner scolded.
”Now now, there’s… oh dear there’s no possible explanation for that. Sirens don’t behave like that, they kill their prey. They don’t toy with them, well they do, but not like that.” The bartender gasped.
”So, you’re saying that I didn’t encounter a siren out there?” The mariner questioned.
”I mean, the evidence just doesn’t add up. Do you have a vague idea of what it looked like?” The bartender asked.
”Well, the most I can remember is a… tail? Yeah, it had a tail, but it also had… legs? Frankly it looked human, but I know that it wasn’t, and I really can’t logically explain why.” The mariner answered.
”So, we really are dealing with something foreign to both of us.” The bartender mused.
”Yes, but what exactly is it!” The mariner cried.
”I’m honestly not too sure, we’ll piece this together as a team you and I.” The bartender insisted.
”That sounds like a good idea, but where exactly are we going to begin?” The mariner inquired.
“Well, it would be in our best interests to check larger ports. So as to see if any of them have encountered our mysterious creature as well. As for our destination, how do you feel about paying a visit to Wales my friend?” The bartender smiled.
”That sounds like a great place to start in all honesty.” The mariner agreed.
”Its settled then, we’ll be leaving tomorrow if you don’t mind.” The bartender insisted.
The mariner smiled and began to walk home as the bartender returned to the tavern. Once he stepped through the doors of his tavern, he found it to be completely empty. Well, it was empty save for one man sitting in front of the counter. The bartender walked over to him, and as he did, the man raised his hat and turned to look at him. His left arm was nothing but bone and his right was all flesh. The man smiled as he saw the bartender walking towards him. The outer edges of his eyes were a dark orange while the inner portions were pitch black.
”What brings a “person” such as you to my tavern?” The bartender asked.
“I have business to attend to and am only stopping for a drink.” The stranger answered.
“That doesn’t answer my question!” The bartender hissed.
”I gave you an answer, now would you kindly please serve me my drink?” The stranger asked.
The bartender sighed, walked behind the counter, and poured the stranger half a pint of liquor.
”Sorry, I’m all out of beer.” The bartender apologized.
”No need, this’ll do.” The stranger laughed.
“Say, has anything odd happened around here lately?” The stranger asked.
”No, what exactly prompted you ask that?” The bartender replied.
”Strange stuff has been happening lately, so I figured to ask.” The stranger answered.
The bartender nodded and began to wipe down the counter. The stranger smiled and finished his drink before heading to leave. Before he walked through the door, the stranger whistled a small lullaby. The bartender paused and looked up at the counter to see a small card in front of him. He shrugged, picked it up, and placed it in his pocket before closing up shop for the night. Tomorrow he would begin his investigation of the anomaly that had arrived on his shores this morning.