Chapter 27: Mermaids Taken

Long ago, when the past was called the present, when there was no such thing as wheat, there were monsters. Not demons, but vicious creatures more violent than animals, more dangerous than disasters, and more treacherous than sentient beings.

Of course, the mermaid was the baby-faced descendant of those monsters. Especially the one that was on their deck, flopping around because it couldn’t breathe air.

“Oh fuck! Oh… shit! What the fuck did we do?” Skaldi fell back, panting his head between his knees. Amir knelt by Valiato shaking her.

“~Wake up! This is no time for passing out!~” Amir urgently yelled, believing the mermaid to be the beginning of their demise.

“What’s wrong? Why is everyone freaking out?” Florato asked, stepping closer to the flopping being. Vega poked its shaking body with the fishing pole. Kaliba landed on it’s ear and chirped into it.

“That’s a mermaid! No mortals are allowed to mess with them! Oh no!” Skaldi said into his legs, muffled and wet. Bolato lowered to his side and massaged his back, soothing him.

“Sweetie?”

“Yeah?” Skaldi sniffed, rubbing his sleeve on his nose.

“You’re wrong, you’re talking about sirens. And they’re all dead.” Bolato assured. He’s not wrong.

“Oh. Oh!” Skaldi’s mood changed from existential fear to mild disgust. “Well, what do we do now? Can we feed it to the centuries?” Skaldi poked as well. Vega with a look of discovery in her eyes suddenly got up and ran to the storage room. The mermaid thrashed on the ground, suffocating but everyone didn’t know that.

“Huh. Maybe we caught a stupid one?” Florato started poking too.

“Maybe. But still, can centuries eat this thing? I read in a comic that they hunted monsters in prehistory, yet it didn’t show that they hunted them for food or for sport.” Bolato laid on his side, joining everyone in poking the mermaid.

Carrying a tub full of sloshing water, Vega placed it before the mermaid. Pushing everyone aside and Kaliba dunked it in. Heaving in the water, the mermaid clutched its gills around its neck and ribs.

“~Please don’t sell me!~” He gurgled out, backing into the corner of the tub. His fin eyebrows raised, signaling his frightened state to the party. Bolato whistled to Amir, hoping he would have a translation. Amir flipped him off for even suggesting him help them while his daughter was passed out.

“Anyone know mermaidish?” Bolato asked with Florato and Skaldi shaking their heads. Skaldi enamored, shot a reassuring smile to the mermaid. His coral red scales glistened with the freshwater, with his hair flying high like it was still in water. He brushed water onto his gills breathing heavily. Cold clouds came from his mouth, which caught himself off guard since he was so used to bubbles.

“~Hello dude! I’m Vega!~” The scarecrow spoke like her throat was full of water. All of them turned to her, with the mermaid waving slightly, confused that another person knew how to speak to him.

“Wait… you know mermaid?” Skaldi leaned back, stunned that the scarecrow could even know such a thing.

“Well, technically it's called Aquator.” Vega corrected, now hopping into the tub. “Back in Cold Cavern, the Priest had a series of language courses that-that were mandatory in order to become a part of smart priests.” The scarecrow grabbed the hand of the mermaid and used it to brush her head.

“Un-unlike the other curriculums made, we could choose up to three subjects to focus on.” Vega’s voice simmered, like a scholar teaching a friend in simple terms. “This addition was mostly done so that the graduating class of priests could brag-brag about their brains or whatever. The Priest said something about being translators between Oligarchs and their vassals, but I wouldn’t know about that.” Vega’s bizarre voice came back, with Florato snickering at her unintentional insult to the Priest.

“Plenty of folk-folk choose Old Iozian or divine languages used to speak to specific spirits.” She closed her eyes, pointing her finger in the air.

“Wait, then what did you choose?” Skaldi asked.

“Draconic, Moon Runes, and Aquator! They’re all pretty fun. Except Draconic, apparently ya have to set yourself on fire to speak it but I can write it pretty well.” Vega now was hugging the mermaid, who was smiling in embarrassment.

My dear student, you might not know what Draconic is used for. It’s meant for talking to dragons, otherwise known as the highest of spirits or devils. Like, the rarest of supernatural beings that only Oligarchs, the noblest of clergy, or the unlucky come into contact with.

How the Priest managed to find a teacher for that blue moon of a language I have no fucking clue. But I assure you that he encouraged her to learn Draconic so she would set herself on fire… It didn’t work.

“~So, what’s ya name-name cutie?~” Vega giggled, prompting the teenage mermaid to blush through his nose. She spoke platonically of course.

“~It’s Ren! Ren…~” He was quite flustered. After being suffocated, poked, and hugged all within the past two minutes, Ren made himself small in the tub. Trying to come off as non threatening, Ren too smiled and shot a flash at his dagger like teeth to Skaldi would visibly hold back any fear and smiled as well.

“~What were ya saying about selling ya?~”

“~Yes! People have been invading the nearby islands and taking my people away, selling them! Don’t do it to me!~” He shut his eyes, whimpering out his plea.

“~Don’t worry! We’re not gonna sell ya.~” Vega brushed Ren’s face.

“~R-really?~” Ren looked relieved.

“~Yep. We’re just gonna feed ya to our centuries is all!~” Vega gave him a thumbs up. Ren fainted as one does. Skaldi and Florato had no clue what the conversation or its beats.

“Did everything go alright?” Florato stood above the passed out Ren.

“Don’t know-know. He didn’t seem to agree on whether he’d be okay with being eaten…”

“Huh. Who would have thought?” The actress shrugged.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“False alarm guys! Turns out centuries can’t eat mermaids.” Bolato read out from his comic. “It’s hard to tell but it seems like mermaids have venom in their system and that one bite of them could kill an elephant.”

“The fuck’s an elephant?” Skaldi questioned.

“Like a boulder except it’s alive.” Bolato closed his magazine, wiping off his built up sweat. “Guess we still got to fish. Florato, you’re with me. Skaldi and Vega, you take care of mister faints a lot. And Amir…” Bolato shifted his head side to side, with the Tripol looking more annoyed than usual. “You do your thing. Let’s get some actual fish.”

Having spent the last ten minutes splashing water all over the mermaid, Vega continued his stuttered breathing. To be honest he was snoring out bubbles, much to the elf’s amusement. Skaldi sat against a wooden beam, staring into a candle burning in the moving shadows of the room.

“What did he say?”

“What?”

“What did the guy say? I’m no doctor, but I can tell that he was pretty worried. Well, if that worry is unrelated to what you told him.” Skaldi said, flipping a coin in his hands.

“His name-name is Ren. Bad guys were taking his people and selling them, and he didn’t want to be sold.” Vega gleefully explained, smiling bright despite the subject.

“Huh. Imagine not wanting to be sold. Ha!” Skaldi caught the coin in his hand and picked himself off the floor. Taking out the jar, he applied Fishermen’s tongue on his thumb. Closing his nose with his off hand, he rubbed the substance on Ren’s lips.

“Here’s hoping this-”

The mermaid immediately chomped on the elf’s thumb.

“Ow! Son of a bitch!” Skaldi blurted out, then punched Ren back into unconsciousness.

“Aw. We almost had it. Let me-me try.” Vega gestured to Skaldi for the jar, who threw it while sucking on his thumb. She repeated the process, with Ren biting onto Vega’s steel hand. Skaldi rolled his eyes, annoyed by the scarecrow’s abilities.

“Must be great not being able to feel pain, huh?” Skaldi raised an eyebrow.

“~Hello again!~” Vega told Ren while peeling his jaws off her arm. Ren’s trace state ceased and he became calm.

“~...are you still feeding me to those bugs?~” Ren begged softly, hunching where he was hugging his knees. Well, where his knees would be if he was a humanoid. The war centuries resting atop a pile of hay hissed hoarsely, sending Ren into a panic.

“~Don’t worry. Centuries don’t like-like ya so nope. But…~” Vega stopped and began to whisper into the elf’s ear. “What are we supposed to do now? He-he doesn’t really have a home but he also doesn’t really help us…” The scarecrow told Skaldi, taking glances at the startled Ren.

“Okay. Shot in the dark, how about we see about those kidnappers?” Vega looked surprised at Skaldi’s bravery, even though it was just considering the option.

“Wow… that’s like… really nice of ya Skaldi.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Skaldi pushed away the scarecrow as he stood up. “Ask him who was doing it. If it's more than five people, then it's a no go” He pointed to the mermaid who jumped back at the gesture.

“~How many kidnappers? Who is doing it?” Vega placed her hands behind her, mimicking the posture of the Priest.

“~ I don’t know. It happened so fast. My people said that the boat came at night, a war galley. Maybe, ten, twenty men? I’m sorry, I swam away until I tasted that stuff and your thumb.~” Ren apologized, trying to get any sympathy out of the two.

“Twenty guys on a warship-ship.” Vega reported.

“Hell no.”

“Come on! We have to save them.” The scarecrow pushed Ren’s face in front of Skaldi, who sighed.

“Fine. But before we start talking to the team about it, ask how much he can pay us?” Skaldi said with a sardonic glare and grin.

“Why?” Vega raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean why?!”

“We have like… ten thousand gold. Do we really need more?” Vega shrugged her shoulders, appealing to Skaldi’s sense of reason.

“Yeah we do. Split that up, it's only two thousand or so.”

“What about me-me and Florato?”

“What about you and Florato? You both aren’t criminals and you pay her wage.” Skaldi reminded the scarecrow, shaking her so that her chest full of coins would jingle around.

“Oh. Right-right. But still, I-I don’t think-think the cutie has coins.”

“I’m not talking money, I’m talking… magic stuff!” Skaldi waved his hands around, with Ren not having a clue what they were talking about.

“Magic stuff? But magic stuff ain’t real Skaldi. Even ya should know that.” Vega held the shoulder of the elf, passing her chin on it so she’d look up at him.

“How to put it…” Skaldi put a single finger to his lips, thinking up a way to explain the concept to her. “Look, mermaids are the descendants of monsters, right? Therefore they would have stuff from monsters, that meaning…?” Skaldi tried to imply his thinking to her.

“That… they have stuff from Recor?!” Vega rocketed up, amazed at the possibility.

“Yeah sure. Can you ask him now?” Skaldi ordered her.

“~Do ya have stuff to give us if we help ya?~” Vega bubbled a question to Ren, who took a glance back at the war centuries.

“~Yes! Absolutely we have… stuff!~” Ren assured Vega, who cheered upon hearing the good news.

“They have Recor stuff! Let’s tell the team! And bring the fish drugs!”

Dark is the night, where the stars became droplets of milk in a black oil pool. Candlelight floated around the desk, with the party constructing a plan. For a battle that yet maybe won.

“I’m not saying we don’t help him. What I am saying is we help ourselves.” Florato was the only one standing up. Ren’s sleepy eyes allowed her to express herself without censure. Vega didn’t disagree because she was too busy hugging the sleeping mermaid.

“I understand that, but leaving him is like letting him suffocate.” The soldier sharpened his sword while he answered.

“Didn’t you guys just do that today Bola?” Valiato shot back, studying her texts as per Amir’s instructions.

“Hush Valiato. Anyway, we have an obligation to help his people.” Bolato put his sword back into its sheath, clicking it into place. He then placed his elbows on the desk and put his hands together. “We dragged him on our boat, the least we can do is help him.”

“You guys didn’t do that to the people back in Jinmai. All you guys did was give them some money and send them in a direction.” Florato spoke like a parent lecturing their kid’s bias. Bolato kept calm compared to Skaldi, looking a little hurt.

“One, we did help them by making sure the city was safe. And two, Jinmai was something out of our control. People not having money is not an issue that we criminals can solve.”

“Technically we sometimes make it worse.” Skaldi joked.

“Sweetie, I’m trying to make a point.”

“Sorry hubby.”

“It’s okay. Again, Jinmai is a totally different animal. All we have to deal with is a single galley.” Florato's head bowed down, she knew what was coming. “Plus, it’s not like you're going to be the one fighting.” When Bolato said that, Florato felt a barb hit her heart. She hadn’t really been helping them ever since Core Civitus.

Not that she was unwelcome, Bolato and Amir liked her enough. It’s just that an actress isn’t much use to a gang of criminals, and she knew that from the beginning.

“Yeah. And last I remembered, all you did in the uprising was… I don’t know, hide inside the brothel as we took back the Assembly.” Skaldi happily tested Florato’s insecurity. She gave no response.

“~Enough!~” Amir called out to Skaldi. He knew the tone of the word, so Skaldi reclined back in his chair.

“~Florato. This battle will deal with us men. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t involve you.~” Amir rose slightly so he came to eye level with the actress, coughing as he did.

“~I do not know what the boy spoke of, but he shouldn’t insult you. You are here and you are kind. That is enough.~” A scholarly voice came with Amir’s speech to her, calming her but not completely ridding herself of insecurity.

“~Kid, can you tell them to create a plan? And make sure the soldier is the one making it, not the boy.~”

“Bola, Amir wants you to make the plan.” Valiato translated without moving her head from her studies.

“Got it. I’ll get some paper. And Skaldi?”

“Yes Bolato?” Skaldi questioned, with Bolato taking a moment to look at his bandaged face. He wished to give Skaldi a lecture, encouraging him to be more kind to Florato. Despite this, Skaldi has made so much progress with protecting those that needed to be protected. Growing more disciplined and not as vile as he had been months before.

Ultimately, Bolato chose to kiss Skaldi on the cheek as he mapped out a plan. A plan to free the mermaids.