It was several hours before the merfolk stopped banging on the doors and walls, but the fact that we were surrounded never got any less terrifying for the patrons of The Net & Anchor. Even once the noise stopped, we were still incredibly aware that the merfolk were outside, because we could see movement through the gaps in the floorboards on the windows.

Rounds of beer, purchased by the elven diplomats for everyone trapped here, went some way to distract from the enemy outside, but it wasn’t enough. Even for me, it wasn’t enough. Normally I wouldn’t have been too distressed by the promise of a fight, but we’d seen already that these merfolk were invulnerable to our attacks. Any fight that happened would surely end in our deaths. I turned back to my Needlework to keep my mind off things, but even growing it to level 12—the experience bolstered by the use of my new Cloth Armour ability—didn’t settle me.

At my side, Arzak and Val discussed strategy, but the only possible solution seemed to be waiting the enemies out. But how long would that be? It could be hours, or it could be days. And with the merfolk’s invulnerability, there was little chance of any assistance.

With a sigh, I put my needle down and strolled over to the bar, where the previously disgruntled barmaid poured me a pint without charging me. Over here, I could hear Arnold Orellan still badgering Lore about letting him study the depth raider, which was making the barbarian increasingly uncomfortable.

‘Don’t you have other things to worry about, right now?’ I called over to him.

The academic’s easy smile faltered for a moment before he regained composure, and then he nodded. ‘Quite right; the merfolk are equally worthy of study.’

It wasn’t quite what I’d meant, but it took Arnold’s attention away from the depth raider, and for that, Lore smiled his gratitude. I raised my pint in mock cheers in response. The ale didn’t taste as good as it should have.

The barbarian turned to the man in the apron and the chef’s hat. ‘Are you—’

‘Kitchen’s closed,’ the cook replied, his arms crossed and his eyes trained on the barred door, as though wary that our besiegers could break through at any moment.

Lore pulled a sad face.

‘I heard about em, you know,’ the barmaid said, and I turned back to see her polishing a not-quite-clean glass with a dish rag.

‘Depth raiders?’

‘Is that what we’re calling merfolk, these days? Ain’t heard of them raiding before, but…’ She gestured to the walls. ‘I guess you could call this that.’

‘Ah, no,’ I said. ‘Depth raiders is something else. What have you heard? Anything that could help us?’

‘I heard about them killing people.’

‘So no, then.’

The barmaid shrugged, placed down the glass next to plenty more not-quite-clean ones, and picked up another. ‘Ain’t saying it’d help, just that I’d heard of them. Last few months, like. Heard merchants, coming through here, saying something is forcing things out the Iron Sea. Magicks or something, I guess. It’s always magicks, ain’t it? How often when something big happens is it a woman with a sword behind it? Never.’

‘How’d these merchants escape, then?’ I asked.

‘Dunno that they did.’

‘Well, I mean, they came here, right? And told you about them? So they must have still been alive to do that, unless your husband’s a necromancer or something.’

The barmaid stared me down for a moment, then stared into the dirty glass instead. With a sigh, she placed it under the tap and poured a beer for herself. ‘Necromancers are another one, ain’t they? Always up to trouble. At least that’s outlawed. Not that that stops people. But these merchants… I dunno if they saw the merfolk for themselves, just heard rumours. That’s what merchants sell as often as not—rumours, rather than knowledge.’

‘OK, well same question applies: how did the people they heard this from survive? Cos someone must have done at some point.’

‘Maybe they saw the bodies, then.’

Val arrived at my side, clearly here for more beer but immediately distracted by the topic of conversation. ‘Bodies? What bodies?’

‘You not heard about em? The bodies, all up and down the coast. Sucked dry.’

‘Of blood? That’s vampires,’ I corrected her.

‘Not vampires, you twit. They were sucked dry of… water, I guess. Moisture! That’s the word: moisture.’

‘And you’re saying these merfolk did it?’ Val asked.

‘Either that or fancy vampires.’ The barmaid shot me a glare that said she knew it wouldn’t actually be “fancy vampires”.

Over my shoulder, I heard some commotion. It wasn’t the first time there’d been any; an hour or so earlier, an older local had decided he’d go outside and take on the merfolk by himself. Free beer had a lot to do with that decision, I thought. Others, including Arzak, had had to hold him back from pulling the floorboards off the windows and distract him with more beer instead. He was now dozing safely in an armchair in the corner of a room.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

This time, however, I was surprised to find that Corminar was the source of the disruption. He was cornered on the far side of the room by the group of elven diplomats, though I couldn’t hear what they were saying from the bar.

I jumped from the bar stool, started across the room, returned to the bar for my half-drunk pint of ale, and then joined the group of elves.

‘You must,’ Urlwan was saying. ‘There is nobody else; it must be you.’

‘What’s going on here?’ I asked, butting in.

Urlwan pointed to Corminar. ‘Please, tell your colleague: only he can lead us to victory in this battle. He must take command.’

‘Corminar? A commander?’ I asked, though of course I supposed he had been that once—if not now.

‘Lieutenant Cladenor, the Hero of Iranir. That is who must take command if we are to survive.’

I looked to Corminar, who shook his head at me. ‘I don’t know what difference he can make right now. We can’t hurt them. We could have the best commander in all the continents, but if we can’t hurt them, there’s no chance of victory.’

Urlwan considered this, nodded, and then turned back to the “Hero of Iranir” once more. ‘You must identify a weakness. Tell us how we might defeat them.’

‘As I have already told you,’ Corminar said. ‘I do not have the answers you seek. I am no hero. I am no commander. Not any more.’

‘Then we die,’ Urlwan responded.

It took everything I had not to roll my eyes. ‘I’m sure there are other options.’

‘By all means,’ the elf said, ‘tell us about these options. Or is the alternative only to be trapped in here until we starve?’

‘We’ll find a way.’

‘No. The Hero of Iranir will find a way. The Hero of—’

Corminar suddenly snapped, grabbing the other elf by the front of his shirt. ‘If I’m such a bloody hero, then why am I not allowed home?’ he shouted in Urlwan’s face.

The other elf paled some, his otherwise typically elven stoic expression giving way to one of shock. ‘You were exiled? But you saved thousands!’

‘Not exiled, but if you know that title—Hero of Iranir—then you know what I did. You know I committed treason.’

‘You were not charged. None have been charged with treason since the Old Kings fell.’

‘Yet you find me here, in the Tundras, where few who have any other choice choose to live.’

‘Hey!’ I protested, but Corminar silenced me with an upheld hand begging my forgiveness. I gave it to him; I’d certainly not have grown up in these parts if I’d have had a choice.

Urlwan said nothing, though I swore I saw him swallow some words.

‘I am exiled in all but name,’ Corminar continued. ‘I am considered a traitor to my people. I am certainly not a leader.’

I thought for a moment that Urlwan was going to continue to contest this, but his mouth opened and no words came out. Finally, the elf took a seat on an unused armchair, and muttered, ‘Then all hope is lost.’

As if to reinforce this point, the merfolk suddenly began thumping on the tavern once more, causing the walls to shake and the occupants to grow quiet. A chill ran over my spine. Though everyone else was distracted, their eyes on the walls—and the merfolk on the other side—I caught sight of a gentle green glow in the corner of the room. A glow around Val’s hand. She was up to something. Witchcraft. And she was lucky that nobody else saw.

When Val caught my eyes, she immediately released the spell, lowering her hand. It was just in time, too, because as soon as she ended her magicks, the banging stopped, and there was nothing to distract the other patrons. She turned and ambled over to my side. ‘Styk… I think I know how to defeat them,’ she said.

‘How?’

‘You’re not gonna like it.’

‘When you’re involved, I rarely do.’

Val ignored the dig. ‘I’ve been testing. I can make them vulnerable. It’s the moisture, that’s the key. With moisture—moisture they’ve stolen from humanity—they gain strength, even on dry land. But without it, we can defeat them.’

‘OK, so how do we do that?’

‘A ritual. Styk, I need to use Witchcraft. And I need to do it in front of everyone.’

"Styk"

Level 13 Bladespinner

Base Stats:

Vitality — 32

Intelligence — 127

Dexterity — 63

Strength — 62

Wisdom — 47

Charisma — 28

Skills:

Worldbending — Level 30

Knifework — Level 26

Stealth — Level 12

Needlework — Level 12

Identification — Level 10

Abilities:

Slice — Slice the enemy for physical damage worth weapon’s base damage and additional damage scaling on [STR].

Stab II — Put your weight behind your wielded blade and force the tip through tougher hides and armour. Damage scales on [STR], increased by an additional 20%.

Execution II — Attack a target while undetected for +200% damage.

Closed Reach — Bend reality to narrow the gap between blade and target by up to 8 inches. Uses mana.

Mana-Fuelled — Passive. Optionally, use mana in place of stamina to activate Knifework abilities.

Local Portal II — Create a portal to another location within current range of sight or within a ten yard radius. Uses mana/second.

Portal Slice — Passive. Portals can now be spawned within non-sentient objects. Doing so slices through all objects that are not reinforced by magic.

Tamed Portals — Passive. Increased efficiency of portal magicks means that your portal glow is reduced by 50%, making them less likely to be detected by enemies.

Ash Husk — Convert your flesh to ash, strengthening it against flame for ten minutes. Gain 50% resistance to fire attacks.

Shrill Perimeter — Create a perimeter wall of 20 foot radius, invisible to all but those adept in magicks. If an enemy crosses this perimeter, this spell releases the shriek of a banshee.

Warped Shield — Passive. If an enemy strikes you with a low-level melee weapon, Warp Shield automatically activates to open a portal that deflects this attack. You must not have any portals currently active. Uses mana on activation.

Stealth Attack — Passive. 50% boost to damage when unnoticed by enemy.

In Plain Sight — When activated, you have a heightened abilitiy to hide in plain sight, and are able to spot opportunities to break from combat at a higher rate. Scales on [WIS].

Stitch — Create a basic stitch in common fabrics. Ability scales on [CHA].

Cloth Armour — Craft a cloth armour of higher quality, dependent on materials, time and skill level.

Active Effects:

Legacy of Sisyphus:

XP gain increased by +900%