Mermaid Pirate Dispatch

Elberth always liked sitting as close to a torch as possible, but especially tonight. He leaned against the rough hewn stone of the inn with the wall mounted torch burning right over his shoulder and his hood hanging low over his brow. The torch’s gentle crackling gave his mind something to focus on.

Hannah was sitting in a chair at the nearby table where the rest of the party had gathered. He didn’t dare make eye contact with her, and he could tell the others were seeing her in a new light as well. She shifted her weight in the chair and Farid, a brutish orc who always stood his ground in battle, twitched. His knee slammed noisily into the table.

Hannah sighed and scooted back. “I’m going to bed,” she said softly. Her shiny black hair was still as the night air, reflecting the torchlight like a thousand stars. She stood and glanced at Elberth, her glowing green eyes full of sorrow. Had she always been so sad? If so, he hadn’t noticed. Her cheerful nature and kindheartedness had carried the group through the desolate, barren wasteland of Borgonide. Her soft smile and loving acts of service had lifted their spirits after the battle at the Lonely Tree. And when Gilly had been near death and begged for Elberth to put an arrow between her eyes, it had been Hannah’s gentle hand staying his bow and soothing Gilly’s wounds.

Now nobody turned to watch as she shuffled to the party’s room, her head hanging a bit more than usual.

Elberth slid into the newly empty but still warm seat. “So it wasn’t just me,” he said, glancing at Farid and Gilly in turn. “You two had a similar experience?”

Farid nodded slowly, his wide lips pursed around the two great tusks that rose from his lower jaw. He grunted through his nose and folded his massive arms.

Gilly took a deep breath and sighed. “I don’t know,” she started. “Maybe it…”

“Maybe what?” Elberth interjected. “You saw it, right? You felt it. I know you did. I can tell by the way you glanced at her.”

Gilly shook her head. Her auburn ponytail bouncing behind the emeralds in her tiara. “No, I don’t know what I saw.”

“But you felt it.”

She looked up at Farid who stared down at her with an insistent look in his beady eyes. He frowned at her. She dropped her tense shoulders. “Yes, I felt… something. It was dark.”

“Disturbing,” Elberth added.

She closed her eyes and filled her chest slowly. “Yes, you could say that.”

“Well?” Elberth asked. He looked up at Farid. “I mean, no offense, but if anyone in the party was going to have anything like that going on inside, I would have expected it from you, bud.”

Farid stared at him a moment, then shrugged in agreement, nodding. His eyes shimmered, ready to cry. He put a hand on the hilt of his great axe and gripped the handle tightly. Something deep in his chest grumbled and he ground his teeth. With his free hand he cupped the pendant hanging from his neck, a clay flower. Elberth remembered the flower from his time in Farid’s mind. His own eyes began to water.

“Don’t worry Farid,” Elberth said softly. “We’ll find her.”

Gilly was watching Farid closely. She put a hand on his powerful forearm. “And if they’ve harmed her in any way, we’ll avenge your daughter.”

Farid clenched his jaw and nodded.

Elberth looked past Farid and Gilly at the stairs that led to their rented room. “What about Hannah though?” he asked.

“What about her?” Gilly snapped. “She’s just as much a member of this party as you or any of us.”

“I know, but…” Elberth widened his eyes. “She carries an evil that…” a shiver ran down his spine. “It’s more powerful than anything any of us have ever seen.”

“She’s just a kid,” Gilly sighed. “Maybe it’s a curse, an illusion.”

Elberth shook his head. “No, it was real. That was an all-powerful evil.”

“Maybe it’s just the way her kind is,” Gilly offered. “The demon nature in her may be stronger than we realized.”

He bit his lips and stared at the back of the near empty bottom floor of the inn. He took a long breath and let it out through his nose. “No,” he said at last. “I think she’s the Demon Princess.”

Gilly raised an eyebrow. “The demon… princess?”

Farid’s brow puckered. He looked over his shoulder at the staircase where Hannah had ascended.

Elberth nodded. “It’s the only explanation for all that evil and darkness.” His chest tightened as he recalled his experience in her mind. A cold chill consumed his flesh.

Gilly pulled her lips to one side and squinted at Elberth. “I am familiar with the idea that the demon kingdom has princesses, but I don’t follow. She’s The Demon Princess? How do you mean?”

Elberth leaned forward and lowered his voice. “It is a secret the demon kingdom has hidden for thousands of years,” he said. “They have been passing a curse from queen to princess every generation. It was just a rumor in my home land, but after seeing Hannah’s mindscape, I am sure it is true.”

“What do you know of this curse?” Gilly leaned forward onto her elbows, listening.

“Not much, just that the queen must have a daughter to pass the curse onto. If she fails to produce a daughter, the great evil is released and it consumes all living things.”

Gilly’s eyebrows lifted a little.

“And,” Elberth continued, “when the princess comes of age she must marry a strong warrior, the strongest in all the land. If she fails to marry a suitably powerful warrior then the evil is released into the world.”

Gilly turned in her chair and looked back at the staircase. “How old would you say Hannah is?”

Elberth smiled warily. “I’d say she’s nearly of age.”

She didn’t turn to face Elberth. Instead Gilly continued to stare at the back wall where the stairs curled around the bar. She sighed. “Gilly never told us why she wanted to join our party, did she?”

Elberth nodded, though he knew Gilly couldn’t see him. She let out a soft sigh. He folded his arms. Farid stared at Elberth a moment, glanced back at the stairs, then looked down at the pendant around his neck.

“We need to talk to her,” Gilly said firmly as she turned back to face Elberth.

“I agree,” he said. “Tonight.” He pulled a gold coin from his purse and stood. “Together. We’ll confront her and find out what she wants, why she’s run away from her kingdom.”

Even standing, Elberth’s head wasn’t higher than Farid’s. The orc stared at him a second, then rose to his full height.

Gilly stood quickly. “Wait a minute,” she said. “We’ve all been through a lot together, and Hannah has been nothing but kind and lovely to us. We aren’t going up there to make demands, we are going to ask her how we can help. Right?”

Elberth could feel Gilly’s eyes boring into him. Her resolution and will were strong. He felt his body relax and he let the air fizzle out of his chest. “Fine,” he said.

Together they went upstairs. The barkeep seemed pleased to see the last of his guests retire to their room. Gilly reached the door first and knocked twice before letting herself in.

Inside they found Hannah half crouched over the edge of a bed, weeping. Her obsidian hair flowed around her heaving shoulders like glass. She turned, startled, tears flowing down reddened cheeks. The unique green glow in her eyes reflected off her wet skin. She sniffled and wiped a sleeve across her face.

Gilly went swiftly to her side and sat on the wooden floor. “Is it true that you carry an evil curse?”

Hannah nodded and began to sob again.

Elberth stepped into the room with Farid following close behind. “And is it true,” Elberth said softly, “that the only way to prevent that evil from destroying all life is to find and marry a powerful warrior, then produce a female heir and pass the curse on to your daughter?”

Hannah pulled her face from her hands and stared at Elberth through shimmering tears. She looked confused. She sniffed and nodded.

“And is that why you have joined us? To go out in search of a suitable husband?”

Hannah wiped her eyes again and glanced successively at each of the party members. She blinked, then shook her head. “No,” she said. She lowered her head and twisted her body until she was leaning her back against the bed. She wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her chin on her arms. She sighed and closed her eyes.

“What can we do to help you?” Gilly asked.

Hannah took a deep breath. “For endless millenia my people have carried the burden of this curse. I intend to put an end to it.”

Elberth stared at her and cocked his head. “How?”

Hannah opened her eyes and let the green glow of her eyes pierce through into the back of his head. “I need to ascend to Azerium.”

Farid shifted his weight causing the floors to creak and groan.

Elberth squinted at her. “That city doesn’t exist, it’s just a myth.”

Hannah shook her head. “It’s real, and it is there that I believe we will find the one person who can put an end to this curse.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Gilly asked, looking rapidly back and forth between Elberth and Hannah. “Azerium?”

Elberth and Hannah held each other’s gaze. Elberth managed to mutter, “there is a myth about Azerium, the great city in the clouds. It is where gods dwell. It’s not real.”

Hannah raised her eyebrows. “It is real, and that is where I am going.”

Gilly got to her feet and extended a hand down toward Hannah. “It is where we are all going,” she said resolutely.

[Reddit Post]

This short story takes place in the same realm as The Demon Queen and its sequel Balance.