Chapter 107: He Who Yields A Sword Is An Enemy
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Vladstin immediately grabbed the child that suddenly turned into a killer shark before it could gobble up poor Prince Leron!
"Ofelia, Ofelia! Calm down, dear, your tail is hitting me!" Vladstin chuckled, handling her like how fishermen handle fish. "This is not not-friend. This is our friend, so your friend too."
"Sword! I can smell it! He spilled so much blood with a sword!" Ofelia continued thrashing to attack him.
Sangfroid translated it, then spoke. "No, he hasn't. He must have used a sword that spilled blood before, but he means no harm. Keep calm, Ofelia."
Leron's eyes were wide with fear from the appearance of the mermaid. "T-That's not a mermaid..... That's a siren....."
He had read about them in the library where he spent a lot of his time back in the Palace of Crescentia, secretly writing letters and sending them using the carrier dove, Poel.
Sirens are known to despise swordsmen because of their myth with the Sea Slasher.
The sirens are just a subset of mermaids that prefers to eat meat and travel in nomadic groups under the sea. But there were times when their hunting had gone overbored, and humans in civilization had started to take note of each other, not just their families. Before, tribal people will overlook any disappearances that do not involve their kin.
But ever since kingdoms have risen, news of missing people by the sea is no longer a small deal. This news reached the king's ears. They had come to convene on how to solve the siren problem, and so enlist the help of knights, who struck the beasts in the heart with swords.
But a few measly human knights are no match for the sirens, they have their powerful, hypnotic songs after all. What really brought their kind into extinction was the legendary Sea Slasher. He was a simple town hero that delve into some arcane, and he cast his sword with this powerful magic with the help of a mage blacksmith.
When he heard about the siren problem, he went into the South Seas, and once standing on a rock, slashed his sword in the air once! The seas parted, revealing many sirens underneath. With another slash, he killed them all.
Ever since then, siren's are known to particularly despise and fear those who wield a sword.
Leron relayed this legend to the two, while Vladstin is still trying to hold down the struggling Ofelia. Their eyes widened at this.
"Well, that's very unlucky for you, little bunny prince." Vladstin chuckled. "We have to travel with this little feisty siren so we can find the Hermit."
"I know... Maybe I should keep my distance from her river that Sangfroid is conjuring."
"That'll be for the best." Sangfroid said. "Though I wish she would eventually like you....."
He spoke to Ofelia in Gargen, patting her head. "Ofelia, if you don't like this gentleman, we can't bring you to your mother."
The growling wild Ofelia blinked, slowly transforming back to her not-shark form. "Why? He is not-friend!"
"He is my friend. Always, my friend." Sangfroid said. "I will never leave his side."
The little siren girl pondered over this, and calmed down a little, though her eyes still bare enmity whenever it moves towards Leron. "Alright. Ofelia will let not-friend be with you."
Sangfroid relayed this information to them, and so Vladstin slowly set her down in the water. Leron stepped back a few meters, still a little rattled by the situation. It all happened so fast, and now there's a new member of their traveling group again.
They keep encountering monsters in the woods, perhaps it's fate. The survivors didn't encounter any werewolves or fairies or mermaids and sirens at all.
Not to mention Vladstin's injury...
He remembered, and went to dampen a handkerchief on the lagoon to wipe his dry blood. "Are you feeling alright? You were bleeding earlier."
They were traveling a little bit ahead of Ofelia, who swan watchfully while keeping only her eyes above the water, very much like a shark.
Leron had an idea that this wary siren lost for many years underground may be the shark Yulio was talking about, meaning that someone had come upon this underground lagoon already. But since he was gone, he can never confirm it and only hypothesize.
"Oh, am I? I barely noticed." Vladstin just ignored him wiping and didn't stop walking, catching up to the jealous Sangfroid.
It is true. Vladstin had no recollection of bleeding in all his upper body orifices at all.
He only remembers his endless chain of dreams, up to every single minute detail. And he doesn't know what to feel about them, so he'll just ignore them for now. Especially the last one.
Once they reached the staircase, they are met with a problem.
"How do we get Ofelia up there?" Leron asked.
"We hoist her up. I can carry her on my own, I'm sure three guys can handle it."
Sangfroid shook his head. "No. Just two. Your Highness, you go up first."
"Okay....." Leron watched as Sangfroid coaxed Ofelia, and Vladstin also on her side.
"Ofelia, we need to carry you up the stairs." Sangfroid said in Gargen. "Will that be alright?"
"Ofelia doesn't like being carried....." She said, but saw there's no other choice anyway. "But just be gentle with my tail, friends."
"We will. You have a very precious and pretty tail, you must got it from your mother." Vladstin smiled at her.
After translating, Ofelia smiled too. "Friend always says that to Ofelia all the time. When I had just gotten out of the pearl."
Vladstin and Sangfroid looked momentarily at each other, both really puzzled by this whole thing. Still, they put their focus on gently lifting Ophelia, Vladstin at the tail, and Sangfroid under the arms, and walked step by step on the slippery staircase under a vampire lord's tomb.
Leron just watched them, an inexplicable feeling in his heart. Seeing them working together to care for a child, in perfect synchronicity, while he is left out like this...
No, he shouldn't think of such things. Ofelia must be a good kid, it's just in her nature to be wary of him. It's not his fault. And Sangfroid and Vladstin seem uncomfortable with this whole 'friend' thing too.
Once they were all out of the tomb, Sangfroid conjured a river and they set down Ofelia there.
She looked at them with twinkling eyes. Then, she turned those curious, star-like eyes to the world around her.
The world is strange, and it scares her. But it's also so beautiful at the same time.
It was dawn now the moment they escape the labyrinthine tunnel of the tomb, and the birds are flying early to catch more worms. She saw these creatures, flying freely in the air, along with the dim sky being hidden by the shade of big trees. They were of all sizes, with a myriad of colors of bark.
She can smell the forest breeze that fills the lungs of many creatures of the wild, and her companions'. And that wind is in her lungs as well. She has both lungs and gills, but the air from underwater and above are really different, making her feel kinda funny.
So this is what it's like. The world her mother only told her about.
Seeing the girl so happy, the three men found themselves being in good spirits as well.
"Which way shall we go, Ofelia?" Vladstin smiled at her like she was his little sister. She reminds him a lot of the kids back at the Orphanage whenever they go on trips outside the palace grounds, like the Festival of the Crimson Wolf.
She looked at her shell and pointed in the direction of the Libitinous Mountains, which is still pretty far up ahead. At least she pointed in the right direction, so the seashell appears to be reliable. For now.
However, there's still a matter of what the girl is wearing. Because at the moment.....
There is none.
Only her long curly hair covers almost her entire torso, looking quite difficult to swim with. It's strange, as it is a little sharp, but also malleable. It's comparable to fins, but strands of them.
They were metallic colored like a shark's ashen cobalt blue skin, and give her a slightly ethereal charm that a usual child would have.
The hair is not just the problem. It's not that her long hair can completely block out the cold. And since the river could only be shallow, and the air must be much colder here outside, they better give her some clothes.
The three men looked at each other, and ask at the same time:
"Can you sew clothes?"
All three of them shut their mouths after they said that. Ofelia just cocked her head to the side, finding their faces silly.
"..... She probably doesn't need them. She's a mermaid." Vladstin said.
"She needs them. Especially at night. She can't sleep in the cold river at night."
"Actually, she can. She can adapt to being warm-blooded or cold-blooded, according to the books I've read." Leron informed him. "But I do agree that I feel safer with her sleeping above the water than under."
"Let's just wrap any extra cloth around her." Vladstin said.
The two humans immediately protested: "No!"
"It's unbecoming, not good to look at to just wrap a child in rags." Leron said.
"And it might get unwrapped easily since she has to swim a lot." Sangfroid added.
"So who's going to make the clothing, then?" Vladstin asked. "I don't have needle or thread with me. And I absolutely cannot sew."
They looked at each other, and both offered:
"I will!"
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Vladstin immediately grabbed the child that suddenly turned into a killer shark before it could gobble up poor Prince Leron!
"Ofelia, Ofelia! Calm down, dear, your tail is hitting me!" Vladstin chuckled, handling her like how fishermen handle fish. "This is not not-friend. This is our friend, so your friend too."
"Sword! I can smell it! He spilled so much blood with a sword!" Ofelia continued thrashing to attack him.
Sangfroid translated it, then spoke. "No, he hasn't. He must have used a sword that spilled blood before, but he means no harm. Keep calm, Ofelia."
Leron's eyes were wide with fear from the appearance of the mermaid. "T-That's not a mermaid..... That's a siren....."
He had read about them in the library where he spent a lot of his time back in the Palace of Crescentia, secretly writing letters and sending them using the carrier dove, Poel.
Sirens are known to despise swordsmen because of their myth with the Sea Slasher.
The sirens are just a subset of mermaids that prefers to eat meat and travel in nomadic groups under the sea. But there were times when their hunting had gone overbored, and humans in civilization had started to take note of each other, not just their families. Before, tribal people will overlook any disappearances that do not involve their kin.
But ever since kingdoms have risen, news of missing people by the sea is no longer a small deal. This news reached the king's ears. They had come to convene on how to solve the siren problem, and so enlist the help of knights, who struck the beasts in the heart with swords.
But a few measly human knights are no match for the sirens, they have their powerful, hypnotic songs after all. What really brought their kind into extinction was the legendary Sea Slasher. He was a simple town hero that delve into some arcane, and he cast his sword with this powerful magic with the help of a mage blacksmith.
When he heard about the siren problem, he went into the South Seas, and once standing on a rock, slashed his sword in the air once! The seas parted, revealing many sirens underneath. With another slash, he killed them all.
Ever since then, siren's are known to particularly despise and fear those who wield a sword.
Leron relayed this legend to the two, while Vladstin is still trying to hold down the struggling Ofelia. Their eyes widened at this.
"Well, that's very unlucky for you, little bunny prince." Vladstin chuckled. "We have to travel with this little feisty siren so we can find the Hermit."
"I know... Maybe I should keep my distance from her river that Sangfroid is conjuring."
"That'll be for the best." Sangfroid said. "Though I wish she would eventually like you....."
He spoke to Ofelia in Gargen, patting her head. "Ofelia, if you don't like this gentleman, we can't bring you to your mother."
The growling wild Ofelia blinked, slowly transforming back to her not-shark form. "Why? He is not-friend!"
"He is my friend. Always, my friend." Sangfroid said. "I will never leave his side."
The little siren girl pondered over this, and calmed down a little, though her eyes still bare enmity whenever it moves towards Leron. "Alright. Ofelia will let not-friend be with you."
Sangfroid relayed this information to them, and so Vladstin slowly set her down in the water. Leron stepped back a few meters, still a little rattled by the situation. It all happened so fast, and now there's a new member of their traveling group again.
They keep encountering monsters in the woods, perhaps it's fate. The survivors didn't encounter any werewolves or fairies or mermaids and sirens at all.
Not to mention Vladstin's injury...
He remembered, and went to dampen a handkerchief on the lagoon to wipe his dry blood. "Are you feeling alright? You were bleeding earlier."
They were traveling a little bit ahead of Ofelia, who swan watchfully while keeping only her eyes above the water, very much like a shark.
Leron had an idea that this wary siren lost for many years underground may be the shark Yulio was talking about, meaning that someone had come upon this underground lagoon already. But since he was gone, he can never confirm it and only hypothesize.
"Oh, am I? I barely noticed." Vladstin just ignored him wiping and didn't stop walking, catching up to the jealous Sangfroid.
It is true. Vladstin had no recollection of bleeding in all his upper body orifices at all.
He only remembers his endless chain of dreams, up to every single minute detail. And he doesn't know what to feel about them, so he'll just ignore them for now. Especially the last one.
Once they reached the staircase, they are met with a problem.
"How do we get Ofelia up there?" Leron asked.
"We hoist her up. I can carry her on my own, I'm sure three guys can handle it."
Sangfroid shook his head. "No. Just two. Your Highness, you go up first."
"Okay....." Leron watched as Sangfroid coaxed Ofelia, and Vladstin also on her side.
"Ofelia, we need to carry you up the stairs." Sangfroid said in Gargen. "Will that be alright?"
"Ofelia doesn't like being carried....." She said, but saw there's no other choice anyway. "But just be gentle with my tail, friends."
"We will. You have a very precious and pretty tail, you must got it from your mother." Vladstin smiled at her.
After translating, Ofelia smiled too. "Friend always says that to Ofelia all the time. When I had just gotten out of the pearl."
Vladstin and Sangfroid looked momentarily at each other, both really puzzled by this whole thing. Still, they put their focus on gently lifting Ophelia, Vladstin at the tail, and Sangfroid under the arms, and walked step by step on the slippery staircase under a vampire lord's tomb.
Leron just watched them, an inexplicable feeling in his heart. Seeing them working together to care for a child, in perfect synchronicity, while he is left out like this...
No, he shouldn't think of such things. Ofelia must be a good kid, it's just in her nature to be wary of him. It's not his fault. And Sangfroid and Vladstin seem uncomfortable with this whole 'friend' thing too.
Once they were all out of the tomb, Sangfroid conjured a river and they set down Ofelia there.
She looked at them with twinkling eyes. Then, she turned those curious, star-like eyes to the world around her.
The world is strange, and it scares her. But it's also so beautiful at the same time.
It was dawn now the moment they escape the labyrinthine tunnel of the tomb, and the birds are flying early to catch more worms. She saw these creatures, flying freely in the air, along with the dim sky being hidden by the shade of big trees. They were of all sizes, with a myriad of colors of bark.
She can smell the forest breeze that fills the lungs of many creatures of the wild, and her companions'. And that wind is in her lungs as well. She has both lungs and gills, but the air from underwater and above are really different, making her feel kinda funny.
So this is what it's like. The world her mother only told her about.
Seeing the girl so happy, the three men found themselves being in good spirits as well.
"Which way shall we go, Ofelia?" Vladstin smiled at her like she was his little sister. She reminds him a lot of the kids back at the Orphanage whenever they go on trips outside the palace grounds, like the Festival of the Crimson Wolf.
She looked at her shell and pointed in the direction of the Libitinous Mountains, which is still pretty far up ahead. At least she pointed in the right direction, so the seashell appears to be reliable. For now.
However, there's still a matter of what the girl is wearing. Because at the moment.....
There is none.
Only her long curly hair covers almost her entire torso, looking quite difficult to swim with. It's strange, as it is a little sharp, but also malleable. It's comparable to fins, but strands of them.
They were metallic colored like a shark's ashen cobalt blue skin, and give her a slightly ethereal charm that a usual child would have.
The hair is not just the problem. It's not that her long hair can completely block out the cold. And since the river could only be shallow, and the air must be much colder here outside, they better give her some clothes.
The three men looked at each other, and ask at the same time:
"Can you sew clothes?"
All three of them shut their mouths after they said that. Ofelia just cocked her head to the side, finding their faces silly.
"..... She probably doesn't need them. She's a mermaid." Vladstin said.
"She needs them. Especially at night. She can't sleep in the cold river at night."
"Actually, she can. She can adapt to being warm-blooded or cold-blooded, according to the books I've read." Leron informed him. "But I do agree that I feel safer with her sleeping above the water than under."
"Let's just wrap any extra cloth around her." Vladstin said.
The two humans immediately protested: "No!"
"It's unbecoming, not good to look at to just wrap a child in rags." Leron said.
"And it might get unwrapped easily since she has to swim a lot." Sangfroid added.
"So who's going to make the clothing, then?" Vladstin asked. "I don't have needle or thread with me. And I absolutely cannot sew."
They looked at each other, and both offered:
"I will!"
Vladstin immediately grabbed the child that suddenly turned into a killer shark before it could gobble up poor Prince Leron!"Ofelia, Ofelia! Calm down, dear, your tail is hitting me!" Vladstin chuckled, handling her like how fishermen handle fish. "This is not not-friend. This is our friend, so your friend too.""Sword! I can smell it! He spilled so much blood with a sword!" Ofelia continued thrashing to attack him.Sangfroid translated it, then spoke. "No, he hasn't. He must have used a sword that spilled blood before, but he means no harm. Keep calm, Ofelia."Leron's eyes were wide with fear from the appearance of the mermaid. "T-That's not a mermaid..... That's a siren....."He had read about them in the library where he spent a lot of his time back in the Palace of Crescentia, secretly writing letters and sending them using the carrier dove, Poel.Sirens are known to despise swordsmen because of their myth with the Sea Slasher.The sirens are just a subset of mermaids that prefers to eat meat and travel in nomadic groups under the sea. But there were times when their hunting had gone overbored, and humans in civilization had started to take note of each other, not just their families. Before, tribal people will overlook any disappearances that do not involve their kin.But ever since kingdoms have risen, news of missing people by the sea is no longer a small deal. This news reached the king's ears. They had come to convene on how to solve the siren problem, and so enlist the help of knights, who struck the beasts in the heart with swords.But a few measly human knights are no match for the sirens, they have their powerful, hypnotic songs after all. What really brought their kind into extinction was the legendary Sea Slasher. He was a simple town hero that delve into some arcane, and he cast his sword with this powerful magic with the help of a mage blacksmith.When he heard about the siren problem, he went into the South Seas, and once standing on a rock, slashed his sword in the air once! The seas parted, revealing many sirens underneath. With another slash, he killed them all.Ever since then, siren's are known to particularly despise and fear those who wield a sword.Leron relayed this legend to the two, while Vladstin is still trying to hold down the struggling Ofelia. Their eyes widened at this."Well, that's very unlucky for you, little bunny prince." Vladstin chuckled. "We have to travel with this little feisty siren so we can find the Hermit.""I know... Maybe I should keep my distance from her river that Sangfroid is conjuring.""That'll be for the best." Sangfroid said. "Though I wish she would eventually like you....."He spoke to Ofelia in Gargen, patting her head. "Ofelia, if you don't like this gentleman, we can't bring you to your mother."The growling wild Ofelia blinked, slowly transforming back to her not-shark form. "Why? He is not-friend!""He is my friend. Always, my friend." Sangfroid said. "I will never leave his side."The little siren girl pondered over this, and calmed down a little, though her eyes still bare enmity whenever it moves towards Leron. "Alright. Ofelia will let not-friend be with you."Sangfroid relayed this information to them, and so Vladstin slowly set her down in the water. Leron stepped back a few meters, still a little rattled by the situation. It all happened so fast, and now there's a new member of their traveling group again.They keep encountering monsters in the woods, perhaps it's fate. The survivors didn't encounter any werewolves or fairies or mermaids and sirens at all.Not to mention Vladstin's injury...He remembered, and went to dampen a handkerchief on the lagoon to wipe his dry blood. "Are you feeling alright? You were bleeding earlier."They were traveling a little bit ahead of Ofelia, who swan watchfully while keeping only her eyes above the water, very much like a shark.Leron had an idea that this wary siren lost for many years underground may be the shark Yulio was talking about, meaning that someone had come upon this underground lagoon already. But since he was gone, he can never confirm it and only hypothesize."Oh, am I? I barely noticed." Vladstin just ignored him wiping and didn't stop walking, catching up to the jealous Sangfroid.It is true. Vladstin had no recollection of bleeding in all his upper body orifices at all.He only remembers his endless chain of dreams, up to every single minute detail. And he doesn't know what to feel about them, so he'll just ignore them for now. Especially the last one.Once they reached the staircase, they are met with a problem."How do we get Ofelia up there?" Leron asked."We hoist her up. I can carry her on my own, I'm sure three guys can handle it."Sangfroid shook his head. "No. Just two. Your Highness, you go up first.""Okay....." Leron watched as Sangfroid coaxed Ofelia, and Vladstin also on her side."Ofelia, we need to carry you up the stairs." Sangfroid said in Gargen. "Will that be alright?""Ofelia doesn't like being carried....." She said, but saw there's no other choice anyway. "But just be gentle with my tail, friends.""We will. You have a very precious and pretty tail, you must got it from your mother." Vladstin smiled at her.After translating, Ofelia smiled too. "Friend always says that to Ofelia all the time. When I had just gotten out of the pearl."Vladstin and Sangfroid looked momentarily at each other, both really puzzled by this whole thing. Still, they put their focus on gently lifting Ophelia, Vladstin at the tail, and Sangfroid under the arms, and walked step by step on the slippery staircase under a vampire lord's tomb.Leron just watched them, an inexplicable feeling in his heart. Seeing them working together to care for a child, in perfect synchronicity, while he is left out like this...No, he shouldn't think of such things. Ofelia must be a good kid, it's just in her nature to be wary of him. It's not his fault. And Sangfroid and Vladstin seem uncomfortable with this whole 'friend' thing too.Once they were all out of the tomb, Sangfroid conjured a river and they set down Ofelia there.She looked at them with twinkling eyes. Then, she turned those curious, star-like eyes to the world around her.The world is strange, and it scares her. But it's also so beautiful at the same time.It was dawn now the moment they escape the labyrinthine tunnel of the tomb, and the birds are flying early to catch more worms. She saw these creatures, flying freely in the air, along with the dim sky being hidden by the shade of big trees. They were of all sizes, with a myriad of colors of bark.She can smell the forest breeze that fills the lungs of many creatures of the wild, and her companions'. And that wind is in her lungs as well. She has both lungs and gills, but the air from underwater and above are really different, making her feel kinda funny.So this is what it's like. The world her mother only told her about.Seeing the girl so happy, the three men found themselves being in good spirits as well."Which way shall we go, Ofelia?" Vladstin smiled at her like she was his little sister. She reminds him a lot of the kids back at the Orphanage whenever they go on trips outside the palace grounds, like the Festival of the Crimson Wolf.She looked at her shell and pointed in the direction of the Libitinous Mountains, which is still pretty far up ahead. At least she pointed in the right direction, so the seashell appears to be reliable. For now.However, there's still a matter of what the girl is wearing. Because at the moment.....There is none.Only her long curly hair covers almost her entire torso, looking quite difficult to swim with. It's strange, as it is a little sharp, but also malleable. It's comparable to fins, but strands of them.They were metallic colored like a shark's ashen cobalt blue skin, and give her a slightly ethereal charm that a usual child would have.The hair is not just the problem. It's not that her long hair can completely block out the cold. And since the river could only be shallow, and the air must be much colder here outside, they better give her some clothes.The three men looked at each other, and ask at the same time:"Can you sew clothes?"All three of them shut their mouths after they said that. Ofelia just cocked her head to the side, finding their faces silly."..... She probably doesn't need them. She's a mermaid." Vladstin said."She needs them. Especially at night. She can't sleep in the cold river at night.""Actually, she can. She can adapt to being warm-blooded or cold-blooded, according to the books I've read." Leron informed him. "But I do agree that I feel safer with her sleeping above the water than under.""Let's just wrap any extra cloth around her." Vladstin said.The two humans immediately protested: "No!""It's unbecoming, not good to look at to just wrap a child in rags." Leron said."And it might get unwrapped easily since she has to swim a lot." Sangfroid added."So who's going to make the clothing, then?" Vladstin asked. "I don't have needle or thread with me. And I absolutely cannot sew."They looked at each other, and both offered:"I will!"
