Interconnected: Spliced Souls

Waveret was a bustling seaside town that embraced the ebb and flow of the oceans. Its vibrant harbor and numerous ports quickly became vital for maritime trade and commerce. The town’s picturesque setting was accentuated by the rhythmic crashing of waves against the weathered docks, creating a symphony of the sea.  

Ships of all shapes and sizes docked at the harbor, and the town was alive with energy, commotion, and excitement. The air was tinged with the salty scent of the ocean, and the distant cries of seagulls and happy voices of children and adults playing on the nearby beaches filled the sky. Colorful banners fluttered in the breeze, marking the various trading companies and merchant guilds. Sturdy warehouses lined the waterfront, storing a treasure trove of goods and supplies until they were shipped by supply wagons to where they needed to reach.    

A caravan of wagons holding lumber and other building supplies departed the city as we entered, and I saw a familiar man riding in the only carriage.  

I had walked in on Nimyra sucking him off. He ran an orphanage in Waveret and wanted to build one in Canary.   

I guess the permits have been approved. I wonder how long it’ll take to build? 

“I’ve never been here before,” said Srassa, her eyes experiencing the unknown. She held her shield close as we wandered through the narrow, cobbled streets.   

“Waveret is only second to Canary,” replied Dineria. “Not counting the capital, of course. It’s hard to believe that only ten years ago, the Canary Duchy wasn’t even a former shade of what it is today.”  

Momo was too busy looking at the market stalls to take heed of the conversation. Her eyes watered, and her mouth salivated at the delicious-looking meat cooked on a rotisserie spit. Nearly every tavern seat was filled with a sailor, and they swapped tales of their seafaring adventurers.   

“Ms. Dineria, where are we going?”  

“The inn, then to the guild.”   

“How much is our stay?”  

“I’m covering it. Warden’s going to reimburse me at the end of summer.”  

“But… Are you sure? If this is supposed to be training for us, wouldn’t it make sense to quest and earn the money ourselves?”  

“Srassa has a good point. Whaddya say, Teach?” Momo turned back to the conversation.   

“Are…you sure?” Our mentor didn’t seem that into the idea.   

“Yeah, totally. Srassa, Servy, and I can handle this. You taught us a lot during the trip, so we wanna show you what we’re made of.”  

“I agree with the captain,” I said. Srassa echoed my statement, so we changed destinations by turning at the end of this street and proceeding to the middle of town.   

The guild office in Waveret mostly matched the one in Canary. It was smaller and had decorations and pictures of some of the sea monsters you could find around these parts. There was a lot of aquatic wildkin here, from Fishkin, Sharkkin, Octokin, and Whalekin. Much more than humans and other land-based wildkin. 

“Ooooh, look at this.” Momo grabbed a paper from the board and skipped over. Dineria asked to see it.    

“A missing ship? I’ve heard of the Whispering Reefs to the north. But it’s filled with merfolk. They’re fish monsters who wield tridents and water magic. In the past, I’ve fought some that used lightning magic.”  

“It’s a Novice Rank 4 quest, so it can’t be that difficult. Or else it wouldn’t be here.”  

“Ah, it is merfolk breeding season. The adults travel deeper into the sea to reproduce, leaving the weak and young behind to guard their homes. It’s a rite of passage, and the survivors are recognized as growing warriors.” Apparently, to be an adult, a young merfolk warrior needed to survive two years of this guard duty before they were eligible to find a mate amongst the female merfolk.   

The quest wanted us to adventure to the reefs, find proof of what happened to the ship, and return with the crew and any cargo or materials we could bring back. The base reward was 30 dupla-- enough for one room at our inn. 

The description assumes the ship sank.    

“If you think you can handle it, who am I to say no to your bravery. Of course, I shall accompany you.” 

“But you’ll stay out of sight, right?” Momo asked. Dineria nodded.  

“Then let’s take it on. That sound alright to you, Srassa?” 

“Yes, Ms. Momo.” Srassa hugged her shield and tapped the green jewel in the middle. “I’m…excited. It feels like butterflies are flying in my stomach.” 

“Oh, that’s a good thing, girl. Don’t try to fight the butterflies.” 

“Then why not name our group Butterfly Rumble?” 

“That’s…not a bad idea, Servy… I kinda like the sound of that. Okay, how about this? If we haven’t decided on a name by the end of this trip, we’ll go with Butterfly Rumble.” 

“Butterfly…Rumble? It’s charming. I like how it flows off the tongue.” After Srassa said that, we stood in line and waited to be seen.  

---

“Okay, the reefs are right there… Why is it so foggy?” Momo’s tail laid flat against her leg, but the tip brushed my knee.   

We were lying prone on a hill overlooking our target, but the thick fog prevented us from seeing anything other than the bare minimum. Dineria crouched near us, but she wasn’t going to help unless our lives were in danger.  

This mission was solely on us.    

Before we left the guild, a receptionist shared what she knew about the Whispering Reefs. While part of it was submerged in the water, the reefs were a labyrinth of jagged coral formations around the cove that reflected sound so precisely that it wasn’t rare for ships around these parts to hear these ‘yells’ and alter course to save who they thought was a person in need of rescuing.    

The merfolk, as Dineria had said, had returned deep to the ocean to breed. But the ones left behind?  

Their shimmering scales covered their sleeping bodies, adorned with elaborate shells and seaweed as decorations. The few tridents we saw were made from bone and rock. The weapons slotted perfectly into the merfolk warriors’ four-fingered hands.    

“Any sight of them using magic?”  

“No, captain. I see a few patrols. Where should we start?”  

“See that weird rock over there? The one that looks like a stomach?”  

“I wouldn’t call it a stomach, but I see it.”  

“I haven’t seen any enemies go near it, so it might be safe. Srassa, you feel like taking the lead?”  

“Yes, Ms. Momo! I can handle this!”   

We found our route, so we carefully descended the hills and snuck our way around the far side of the reefs. Dineria was as quiet as a corpse—literally. Her footsteps and breathing made no sound.   

Once at the rock, there was only one path to go. This place and its oversized coral walls were a maze, no doubt. But luckily, the way the walls twisted and curved at the top offered plenty of shadows. I used [Sleuth] via my blood crystal bracelet and kept to the shade. 

Srassa, who took point, stopped when Momo tapped her on the shoulder. The singi made a closed fist—a sign to stop. Earlier, on Dineria’s suggestion, we created a few signals. When Momo tapped her head after raising her fist, it meant she heard enemies. Silently, I retrieved my scythe and advanced forward, using the darkness to hide my presence.   

A sustained skill like [Sleuth] lasted until I was detected or canceled it. When enchanted to a blood crystal, its cooldown was relative to how long it was active.   

Around the wall stood two merfolk, their bony tridents resting in their hands.   

But they were speaking… No, they were making guttural, throaty noises that sounded like a pack-a-day smoker for a decade was trying to make a high-pitched squeal. There was enough shadow for me to continue without being noticed. And they had their backs turned, so that helped.    

Why did I understand them? Was it [Divine Ear] at work? Did it work for monsters? Those rats in the sewers beneath Canary made noises, but I couldn’t understand them. The skill was marked as a prototype, so perhaps the answer to its unreliability lay there.    

“I am tired of this, brother,” said the one taller one. “It has been three birthing cycles, yet I remain without a female.”  

“Brother, the chief’s commands cannot be overturned.”  

“Perhaps the chief is not needed. The chief cannot be trusted with leading our clan. The woodcraft that sunk on the eastern edge contained many shiny sparkles. The key to the treasury is in my gills.”   

I locked eyes with Momo and raised two fingers. She tapped Srassa and drew back an invisible bow. The armored noble carefully sheathed her sword and shield and readied an arrow in her bow. I retrieved Duskwand and held my scythe.   

Momo held up three fingers.   

Then two.   

Then one…  

And then made a fist.   

Two flicks of my wrist caused two shadowy bolts to fly from my wand’s tip, knocking away both tridents. I raised my scythe before they perceived it. Srassa’s expert aim lodged an arrow in the short one’s head. She readied a second one in record time and sent one through its chest. Meanwhile, I brought my weapon down. The dull edge prevented me from severing its neck, but Momo finished the job by ramming her sword up through its chin the moment it turned around.   

Immediately, both corpses vanished, and Itarr found the key. 

Dineria gave us two thumbs up but otherwise didn’t react.   

“Servy, what’s wrong? I didn’t see you get hurt, so…”  

I produced the key and asked if merfolk were known for locking away treasure. They didn’t need to know I could understand certain monsters.   

If only it granted me fluency…    

Dineria didn’t answer, but Srassa did. She said she had read an encyclopedia before about monsters. Merfolk were obsessed with shiny objects.   

“Then let’s find it.”  

Momo and Srassa nodded, and we continued. Slowly but surely, we kept silent and progressed through the maze. Momo’s sharp hearing always alerted us to enemies before they were a problem. Even if they were looking our way, there were often enough shadows from the curved, tall walls of the coral maze to hide in plain sight. I didn’t see a reason to end [Sleuth], so I kept it on.   

The cooldown was going to be a bitch, though. Itarr surmised this unique aspect of forever keeping a skill like this active worked because it was one of the weakest skills in the [Warden Skill System].  

The one exception was at the end of a long corridor. The walls lost their curve, and the sun was directly shining overhead. The previous 11 merfolk we killed spoke about being able to sire babies the following year. They were ‘green’ in the gills, which meant lackluster tridents. Even the year 3 merfolk I first killed had a shitty weapon.   

But the two at the end of the hallway were different. The merfolk's scales were vibrant, and their weapons were made from skulls and bone.  

Momo made a signal and told us to stop. “I’ve been hearing something weird," she whispered in her quietest voice. “It’s coming from the eastern edge… Like someone stomping. I don’t—”  

“RRRAAAHHHHHH COME, MERFOLK! FEEL THE WRATH OF FERAL, THE MIGHTY KOBOLD FROM THE SWAMPS OF MURKWOOD!!!!!!” Out of nowhere, we heard a deep and growly voice.    

There was a thunderous crash, and we heard something break.   

I poked my head around the corner to find the fancy merfolk gone. They probably ran towards the disturbance, and we did the same. Our group made haste slowly and tried to remain quiet. We must’ve been going deeper into the heart of the reefs because the water was beginning to be an issue. It reached our ankles. 

“GGRRRAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”  

Another thunderous crash.   

“WEAK MAGIC CANNOT HARM THE MIGHTY FERAL!!! MY SCALEY SKIN IS TOO TOUGH FOR YOU FEEBLE MERFOLK TO BREAK!!!! WHERE IS THE MISSING SHIP? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THE SAILORS?!”  

“He’s probably on the same mission,” Momo said when we darted around a corner. She guided us with her super cute and fluffy ears. And I noticed her soft tail wrapped around her waist to prevent it from getting wet.   

“He didn’t choose to be quiet. Why? Isn’t it dangerous, Ms. Momo?”  

“A kobold’s strong. They’re naturally tough. I dunno anything about Murkwood Swamp, but…”  

Another loud crash.  

We ceased talking and kicked into full speed, eventually coming into the heart of the reef. The water was up to our thighs, but there…in the middle of a raging fight…stood a shirtless 7-foot-tall reptilian humanoid. His chest was wide and broad, with only a metal sash hanging across it. The kobold’s arms, muscular and thick, were too large for the crowd of merfolk to grab. The green, scaled skin was too tough to pierce.   

The kobold’s trousers were loosely held together with rope and a metal ornate, and it had a hole for his whopper of a tail to poke through. 

He grabbed his sash and threw it, pinning two merfolk against the wall. His muscular and thick arms were too large for the enemies to grab, but they tried and failed to restrain him. He raised both arms, shook them off, and roared.  

“Hey, watch out! That one’s using magic!” Momo pointed to a merfolk with a quad-headed trident. The tip surged with yellow energy. Retrieving a trident I had stored, I threw it at the enemy, missed, but distracted it long enough for Srassa to launch an arrow through its cheeks.   

“GGGRRAAAHHHH!!! Come, friends! Let us fight together!!!!” roared the kobold. He swiftly turned around and swatted ten monsters with his tail, knocking them down. He grabbed two with his large hands and smashed their heads together, ending their lives.    

Momo began to use [Magic Missile] while keeping her distance, and I summoned Albert, who wielded two tridents. The water came to his hips, but he still retained enough training to expertly wave through the liquid. He jumped onto the tables and furniture, clearly gathered from a shipwreck, and attacked from the air.   

Srassa soon ran out of arrows and used her shield.   

With scythe and wand in hand, four more fell dead. Albert’s clear display of his advanced abilities took out the remaining two. They had tried to run away, but he kicked his tridents and impaled them in the back. The kobold then ran and jumped, landing on them with his elbow.   

I managed to get close enough to absorb the two crimson souls.   

I had a decent stockpile, but I needed NP from other necromancers to unlock more categories. The SP I had? Yeah, I could buy more spells in [Summon Undead], but I couldn’t exactly use them around other people… And I didn’t have enough for [Create Mid-Tier Undead].  

But perhaps that was the wrong way to think about it. Dineria was clearly experienced. She trusted us and wanted the best for her students. If we discussed it with her, maybe…it would be fine for Albert and me to use our necromantic abilities in the open.   

Now that I thought about it, did I really have to be wary? I did when it came to Momo and Srassa. I feared people would go after them to get to me because of the scythe. But Srassa was the daughter of a man whom even the king looked to for advice.   

Was it time to have faith in Harold? 

Then again, it seemed Srassa’s birth was a secret. It felt like very few people knew about her, so maybe… 

What’s the best option? Why do I still feel hesitant? Something just isn’t... There’s something I’m missing, but what is it? 

---

“So, your name’s Feral, big guy?” I asked the bloodied kobold. He sat in the water and started to wash the blood.   

“Yes, little human. Many thanks for the assistance.” Feral stood and shook like a dog, accidentally covering us in the crimson-stained water.   

“Err—yeah, no big deal. I’m Servi. Nice to meet you.”   

“Likewise, little Servi.”  

“Servi’s just fine.”  

“My greetings to you all,” growled Feral. “Forgive me. I am not yet accustomed to human mannerisms.  In my Swamp of Murkwood, it was…different.”  

“Ah, you’ve recently left after consuming the Scale Shredder Ale?”  

“Yes… You are well-informed, shieldmaiden.”  

“Shield…maiden? Ah, I’m Srassa. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Feral. Servi, the Scale Shredder Ale is…” In kobold culture, you lived with your clan until you were five. To become an adult, you needed to complete a rite of passage. The Scale Shredder Ale was said to be so potent only kobolds could withstand it. Humans and wildkin alike had tried to endure it, but it burned so hot you’d always end up with a hole in your throat and a gap in your stomach.   

But that hadn’t stopped many foolish idiots from testing their bravado.   

It was banned from most reputable bars and establishments for a good reason.   

But I kinda wanted to try it.   

Hell, I couldn’t die, so what was the harm?  

“So that means you’ve…what? You’ve just become an adult?”   

“That is correct, Tiny Servi. Raaahhhh!!!!” Feral roared, and he slammed his tail on the ground. He struck a pose and proudly declared that he had just turned five.  

Srassa saw my confusion. She said kobolds matured to adulthood faster than every other species, and if she were to compare it to humans, Feral would be about 15.   

In return, their lifespan was shorter by a few dozen years. It was sad. Feral probably wouldn’t live to 40 or 50. And that was if he didn’t die in battle beforehand since kobolds had reputations for living as mercenaries. It wouldn’t be a lie to state they lived for war.   

But Feral was kind, if a bit socially awkward. We were one of the few humans and wildkin he had seen since leaving his swamp. Momo and Dineria introduced themselves, and then Albert made Feral’s acquaintance.   

“Hmm? A little human child? What power you possess, tiny one," Feral said, walking to retrieve the metal sash he threw during the previous fight.

“Same to you, Sir Kobold. Please forgive my rudeness, but it is time for me to depart.”  

“Wha—” Feral opened his mouth in shock when Albert vanished. He turned around and stomped over the room to look for him. “Your child! He is lost!”  

“He’s not my child, big fella. He’s my spirit. He’s just resting in my weapon.” 

Okay, that was kinda cute. Feral reminds me of a big ole dog. They can be ferocious, but also kind of goofy.   

Since the immediate merfolk were gone, we talked about the quest. Feral confirmed he had taken a mission from the guild to look for the missing ship. He was also here with two mentors from Canary. A soldier named Lieutenant Fisher Jin, who lost an arm in the incident at Canary, and Lieutenant Arnold, someone who tagged along to help Fisher.   

Fisher, according to Dineria, was someone who moved like water when it came to fighting. He held an unnatural ability to read the flow of combat, and Fisher could mesh well with any warrior—no matter how inexperienced or trained they were.    

Srassa mentioned her father said the city incurred losses and injuries, but she didn’t think he would be among them.   

Something didn’t add up. The warriors Llamare and Liealia brought were strong. The stories I heard of Fisher Jin should have put them to shame. If he joined the attack, why were Llamare’s losses so little and Canary’s so great?  

Unless…he was the mole? Llamare said they had someone on the inside, but would one of the top dogs in Canary—and Lando—really trade out their city?   

Maybe.   

Fisher had to have known of the underground slave market. If he couldn't abide by it, he was a good man. If not good... Someone moral enough to stop something especially heinous would have to be partly decent. 

Right? 

I thought his being here with Arnold meant Canary was left without leadership, but Dineria said Duchess Ashford had her bodyguard leading the helm.