The Damsel of the Den
One windless day, the oceans were calm and relaxing with few churning waves. Deep in the Questaric Sea, in the wilds near Saltwick Town, Gilltom, Finross, Minolly, and Trench were busy collecting cotton kelp. A luxuriously soft, ghostly white plant that was often used for manufacturing clothing. They had accepted a job to collect some on the Saltwick Town notice board. It was quite a boring and tedious job, but at least it paid decently. Also, they were promised free comedy logo t-shirts, which Gilltom and Trench took interest in.
The friends looked behind large rocks, trotted up cliffs, and shifted through the brushes of regular kelp. Unfortunately, since cotton kelp had no scent, there was no way to find it other than looking. Their extraordinary senses were not much help in this situation. Gilltom looked between two rocks leaning against a small rocky cliff.
“Nothing in here,” he called out to his friends who were searching nearby.
“Can’t find any here,” Finross said, poking his head out of a small crop of kelp. He looked side to side at the greenery and raised an eyebrow, giving a curious and slightly amused expression. “My green body sure blends in with this kelp,” he mused, giving his usual thinking gesture. Minolly, who was nearby, giggled at Finross. It was so funny seeing his head poke through the kelp.
“It sure does, Finross,” she said, placing a hand on her chest and gazing at him adoringly. Finross glanced at Minolly and stepped out of the kelp.
“Any luck on your end?” he asked. Minolly shook her head, her red hair flowing through the water with each shake.
“Not here. No. At least we got quite a bit near the white rocks, though,” she added, trying to be optimistic. Finross smiled, glad Minolly was in good spirits. Minolly was Finross’s closest, most loyal friend. It was nice seeing her enjoying herself.
In a pit not too far away, Trench was shifting through a small, narrow canyon with a rough, rocky ground. He was so annoyed with how boring this job was he snarled and twitched his eyes as he searched for the ghostly white kelp. Although there was plenty of sprouting kelp, none of it was cotton kelp. When he reached the end of the canyon, he tried to squeeze through the gap, but it was very tight. He grumbled and cursed as he tried to get out, groaning with every push. Finally, he managed to slip through, but not without tearing his pants.
“Shuck!” he cursed, looking down at the scratch. That was enough for his frustration to boil over. Trench curled his fingers as his arms shook with fluster. He let out an angry scream that echoed through the area. “This is so boring!” he complained, stomping his foot. “Why did we even take this lame job?”
“To get some good dollas and wickedly hilarious t-shirts,” Gilltom said with a haughty grin. He then lifted his hand and showed he had acquired another handful of cotton kelp. “These suckers are hard to find, but not too hard,” he said as he stuffed the kelp in his magic sack. “Chill out, Trench. We’ll probably find enough to sell after another two hours.” Trench’s expression became even angrier. He bonked himself on the head twice.
“Two hours?” he snarled, slumping his shoulders, and rolling his eyes. “If only this wasn’t such a snooze fest. I wish this was at least a little more exciting.”
“Yeah, me too,” Gilltom said, giving a small grin and nod.
“Be careful what you wish for, you two,” Finross said as he approached them. He looked around to scan the environment they searched. “Looks like we covered this whole area. We should move on to the next.”
“Understood,” Minolly said with a nod. “Lead the way, Finross.” The three friends followed behind Finross as they swam to another place to find cotton kelp. The currents were churning in a soft, soothing manner, making swimming really easy. Gilltom felt grateful to have such a serene day. He looked up at Trench and saw he looked rather annoyed.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve been peaceful like this,” Gilltom said to him. Trench yawned and gave a small grunt.
“What you call peaceful, I call boring, mate,” he groaned. “All I’m asking for is a little excitement. Is that too much?” Minolly swam closer to Finross, never taking her eyes off him. Her adoration of him was clear as the cleanest seawater. Finross looked over at her to see how she was doing.
“Are you enjoying yourself, Minolly?” he asked in a friendly tone.
“Yes. I’m glad to be enjoying some peaceful time working with you,” Minolly replied with a soft smile. Gilltom and Finross both smiled, while Trench rolled his eyes.
“Definitely seems like one of those days,” Gilltom remarked, turning his head to face each of his friends. Suddenly, Gilltom heard something strange. He turned towards where he picked up the sound and focused his ear fins. Stopping for a better listen, the noise became clearer. It sounded like a young woman screaming. Screaming for help. Trench stopped and looked back at Gilltom.
“What’s the holdup, mate?” he asked. Finross and Minolly turned around as well. Gilltom brought his webbed hand to his ear fin. Finross gave him a skeptical look.
“Do you hear something, Gilltom?” he asked. Gilltom nodded and gritted his teeth.
“Sounds like a damsel in distress,” he answered. “Coming from down there.” Gilltom pointed to a descending diagonal cliff with a wide canyon on the left. The others moved closer to the pit and focused their hearing as well. Since their ears were not as strong as Gilltom’s it took a while for them to pick up the noise. It was indeed a girl’s voice screaming for help.
“Oh my,” Minolly gasped. “I hear it now.” Finross knew this peaceful time just got serious. He quickly moved ahead of his friends and made a follow gesture.
“Let’s go check it out,” Finross said. Led by Finross, the friends headed towards the frantic yells. While Gilltom, Finross, and Minolly’s expressions were now focused, Trench could not help but grin haughtily.
“Finally. Some excitement,” he thought, not feeling all that guilty. The farther the group traveled, the clearer the desperate pleas became.
“Wonder what’s going on,” Gilltom commented. Eager to find out, he and Trench swam ahead of Finross and Minolly. Turning a corner, they found the source of the shouts. It was a mermaid about their age with long, wavy purple hair. She was floating in front of a dark cave with a more vertical than horizontal entrance. From the look on her face, she seemed quite distressed. Gilltom and Trench quickly approached her.
“What’s the matter, lass?” Trench asked. “You got a situation?” The mermaid gasped as the two marineman boys approached her, eyes glistening with apparent awe.
“Oh dear. Did you hear my calls for help?” she asked in an unusually captivating tone, whipping her wavy-finned tail. When Gilltom made eye contact with her, a spark went off in his head, and he gave a slightly confused eye twitch. Trench, however, gave a confident smirk. Obviously, this fine young lady charmed him.
“We sure did,” he chuckled, giving his chin a casual scratch. “So, what in Johnny’s Den are you screaming about poor sweetie?” The mermaid brought her fists under her chin and curled up in an anxious pose.
“Oh! It’s terrible,” she cried. “My sister went into that beast infested cave to find empress conch shells.” She tilted her head towards the foreboding, oddly shaped cavern. “She’s been gone for two hours. I’m worried she might be in trouble!” As the mermaid explained the predicament, she made many obsequious gestures Gilltom found quite odd. With his sixth sense, he was able to sense the tiniest specks of electricity in people’s bodies and minds. His sense was so acute, he could sometimes get an idea of what people are feeling depending on the pulses in their heads. Something about this seemingly innocent young woman’s pulses and behavior made him curious. Trench, however, had no such feelings.
“Woah. That is terrible indeed,” Trench said. The group heard swimming approaching and saw Finross and Minolly had arrived.
“Sounds like you need help finding your sister,” Finross said. “Fear not. My friends and I will help you.” The sight of Finross caused the mermaid to gasp in amazement. Her eyes went huge, and a wide smile stretched across her face. Gilltom instantly found this odd. Then, the mermaid swayed her hips and shoulders, strutting towards Finross in a flirtatious manner.
“Well, hello, big green and handsome,” she cooed with a twinkle in her eyes. “I’m Valy. What’s your name?” As the mermaid spoke, she moved closer to Finross, twisting her hips, and staring with a narrow eyed adoring gaze. Finross backed away and gave a small hiss, visibly bothered by Valy’s advances. Minolly also looked displeased. Usually her face was soft and full of modesty, but a flicker of disapproval flashed in her expression as this mermaid flirted with Finross. Still, they both knew to remain serious.
“My name is Finross, the Green Soldier,” he replied in a composed tone. “So, your sister is stuck in that cave?”
“Oh yes,” Valy answered, turning her head, and giving a small wink. “But I’m sure she’ll be fine with a marvelous man like you looking for her.” Finross managed to keep his cool despite the flirty tone Valy spoke it. Minolly, however, narrowed her eyes and shook her head. She did not like this girl’s overly friendly treatment. Her blue eyes formed an imaginary glow of green. Gilltom did not like it either. He approached Valy with arms crossed.
“We’ll go inside to help your sister, but are you going to come with us?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh yes! Of course,” Valy said, giving a nod and a smile. “Hurry up! Let’s get inside and find her before any beasts get her!” The mermaid whipped her tail and headed straight for the cave’s narrow entrance. “Follow me!” The friends followed Valy into the dark, gloomy cave. Gilltom was cautious, though. His instincts were warning him of trouble. He looked at Trench and sighed when he saw the Ebon Warrior’s giddy grin and eyes locked on Valy.
“What a sweet damsel,” Trench chuckled. “Bet I can win a date with her after this little adventure.” Gilltom looked around the cavern. The light was getting dimmer the farther they traveled inside. This darkness made him feel unsettled.
“I’d rather get out of here as quick as possible,” he said. He looked ahead and saw Valy was still strutting her tail, shoulders, and hips to gain Finross’s attention. Gilltom rolled his eyes and groaned. “Besides, it seems she set her senses on Finross.” Trench lowered his head and his smile drooped slightly.
“No fair. I’m much sexier than him,” he mumbled under his breath. Ahead of them, Finross, Minolly, and Valy swam through the narrow, rocky, dark cave. Finross squinted his bright red eyes to focus his vision. Even for marineman eyes, which were very sensitive to light, this cavern was proving to be hard to see in.
“This is quite an unsettling place,” Finross commented as he cautiously looked around. “Why did your sister come in here again, Valy?”
“To find empress conch shells,” Valy answered. “The crabs that horde them love dimly like places. I sure don’t though.” The mermaid slowly moved closer to Finross, her fingers gently tapping at his. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up. I could never work up the courage to go in this dreadful grotto on my own. There are so many beasts in here!” Finross moved his webbed hand away from Valy’s fawning touches. Minolly watched with an angry pout. Rarely did she ever make such an expression.
In back, Gilltom started twitching his fingers to activate his sixth sense. Even in total darkness his sixth sense could pick up any complex life forms from miles away. Oddly, all he could sense so far were the electric fields of various small fish swimming around. No sign of large, dangerous creatures yet.
“It’s awfully quiet,” Gilltom whispered, glancing around in suspicion. “Almost too quiet.” By now, the cave was nearly pitch black. The group could barely see ten feet in front of themselves. Suddenly, Gilltom sensed electric pulses of two large, long jawed creatures approaching them from behind. He turned around and saw two blue-scaled sea shrews with wide open crocodile-like mouths. “Sea shrews!” he bellowed. Gilltom’s outburst caused the group to turn around, and they saw the charging ravenous fishes. Valy’s eyes widened with horror, and she quickly swam behind a rock. Finross quickly charged in to assault the beasts. Minolly followed behind.
“Attack!” Finross commanded, pricking his own hand with his claws. Blood flowed from his wound and solidified into tiny sharp darts. With a mighty toss, Finross flung the blood blades at the sea shrews, tearing at their large, fan-like fins. Minolly launched two pure water orbs, but the beasts avoided them.
“Hold them still,” she called to her friends. “I can calm their rage with my pure water.”
“Good idea, Minolly. Gilltom! Trench! Weaken the shrews!” Finross ordered.
“On it, dude!” Gilltom exclaimed, shrouding his fists with his pulsing water. The glowing multi-hued water had disorienting powers. Gilltom dashed at the first sea shrew and swung at it multiple times. Though the blue, long bodied fish was quick, Gilltom managed to strike it in the head twice, narrowly avoiding its long, crushing jaws. The pulsing water’s power began to take hold, and the savage predator began to wobble.
“Great work, mate!” Trench cheered. “Now it’s my turn!” Wanting to impress Valy, who was still hiding behind the rock, Trench charged at the second sea shrew and made several impressive dodging maneuvers. The crocodile-jawed fish snapped at him, but Trench dodged every bone crushing crunch, smiling all the while. Finross suddenly dashed in and sliced at the sea shrew’s large dorsal fin, cutting off a third of it. Trench gave an annoyed hiss, not very happy Finross jumped in. “Thanks, but I didn’t need that,” he muttered with clenched teeth. “Gutter,” he cursed. Trench then spread his arms out and impure water formed around his hands. With a mighty clap, he fired a powerful spray as pressurized as a geyser. The sea shrew was hit directly on the snout and driven to the ground. With one confused and the other down, Minolly knew this was her chance to render them harmless. She fired two much larger pure water orbs. This time she hit her target perfectly, her orbs exploding on contact with the predators’ heads. The savage beasts immediately started to calm down. They sank to the ground and slowly swam back where they came. Finross raised his fist to signify victory.
“Well done, Minolly,” he said with a smile and nod. “You did a fine job soothing those beasts.” Minolly brought her hands together and shyly turned her head down, smiling brightly.
“I’ll say,” Trench commented. “That pure water of yours should never be underestimated.” Gilltom nodded, then looked around.
“Where’s Valy?” he asked his friends. Finross pointed to a rock near the cavern wall.
“She’s over there.” The friends saw the purple haired mermaid hiding. She peeked her head up and gave them all a wide smile with closed eyes.
“That was incredible. You guys sure are strong,” she cooed. She then shot a flirtatious glance at Finross. “Especially you, green muscle man. Your blood element is so intimidating.” Finross closed his eyes and shook his head, visibly annoyed by Valy’s flirting. Once again Minolly expressed annoyance as well, pouting with narrowed eyes.
“Look. Could you continue leading us? We need to keep moving if we’re going to save your sister,” Finross said, giving an impatient expression.
“Right,” Valy replied. “Follow me!” The mermaid turned and swam down deeper into the cave. Finross and Minolly quickly followed her. Trench gave a small groan and rolled his eyes.
“That lass doesn’t know a sexy man when she sees one,” he muttered before following them. Gilltom hesitated, though. Something was bothering him. His instincts were sparking ever so slightly, warning him of unknown trouble. He tried to think why he felt so odd about this situation. As he followed behind his friends, Gilltom looked at Valy closely.
“Lass, huh?” he thought. “Why do I feel something isn’t right?” As the group traveled down into the abyss, the lighting actually got a little brighter. Though it was easier to see, Gilltom’s nerves were not calmed. In fact, they bristled even harder.
“This is strange,” Finross commented, giving a suspicious stare. “Why is everything getting brighter?” He turned to Valy, who was moving close to him again. “Do you know what lies ahead, Valy?” he asked.
“Well,” Valy cooed, twisting her wavy hair around her finger. “There is actually a-.” Before the flirty mermaid could fully answer, the group found themselves in a large chamber. No ordinary chamber, though.
“Where are we?” Trench asked, wide eyed and gazing around in awe. In the chamber were empty crates, destroyed tables and chairs, and an old platform that looked like a bar.
“Check this place out,” Gilltom said with a curious look. “All this stuff, and these walls and floors. They’re rather flat, aren’t they?”
“You’re right,” Minolly replied, bringing her finger to her chin. “They are far too geometrically perfect to be natural.” Finross gave a small smile, amused by Minolly’s use of the word ‘geometrically.’ Valy, however, rolled her eyes and gave an annoyed grin.
“That’s a little obvious, redhead,” she said bitterly. Finross gave Valy a sharp glare, then gave a thinking gesture.
“This must have once been a secret den,” he explained. “Whoever built this place must have abandoned it long ago.”
“Oh yes! Great observation you hunky muscle man, you,” Valy cheered, cuddling herself to express her attraction. Trench and Gilltom slumped over, and their jaws dropped in shock.
“You know, I don’t think I find this chick so fine anymore,” Trench muttered through clenched teeth. “Where can we find her sister anyway? There’s nothing here.”
“Why don’t we split up and search every corner of this den?” Valy suggested in a rather overly friendly tone. Gilltom’s instincts sparked again. He raised an eyebrow and scratched his head. There was something odd about this whole situation, but he couldn’t quite figure out what it was. Finross sighed and shook his head.
“I guess all we can do is look around,” he said, crossing his arms. “Minolly, you look over near the bar. Gilltom and Trench, look around those crates. All of you, watch out for any creatures that might arrive and attack.”
“On it, Finross,” Gilltom confirmed, walking towards the crates.
“If you say so, mate,” Trench groaned, following Gilltom. Minolly headed for the withered bar while Finross looked around from the center of the chamber. Valy gave him a gentle swat with her tail.
“I’ll look over by those rocks, just to let you know, sweetie,” she cooed, turning away and heading to the back of the chamber. Finross sighed and shook his head. Minolly looked back and glanced at Valy with a displeased, unamused stare. Valy’s flirting made her eyes feel a twinge of green. That mermaid was so pretty. Too pretty. She did not like her being so overly friendly with Finross. Even if he did not approve of her advances. Giving a sigh and shaking her head, Minolly made her way to the bar to seek out Valy’s sister.
As the friends searched through the messes in the chamber, Gilltom couldn’t help but notice Valy seemed occupied with something behind the rocks. As he searched around the crates, Gilltom wracked his brain trying to figure out what was causing his instincts to spark. Beside him, Trench was mumbling as he lifted up and looked behind every crate.
“Say. Why did an innocent lass come into this dump again?” he asked Gilltom.
“I think it was finding empress conch shells,” Gilltom replied. “Although I doubt empress conch shells could be found in a place like this.”
“I’m honestly wondering what made her think anything was in this ragged, dark hole of a cavern,” Trench sighed, pushing aside more boxes. “How anyone could know whatever is down here is beyond my thoughts.” Gilltom’s eyes suddenly widened. His instincts clicked right then and there. Remembering what Valy said earlier about the cavern being infested with monsters, he realized something was off. Gilltom’s expression turned suspicious and cautious. Glancing from side to side, he leaned down to whisper to Trench.
“Hey Trench,” he whispered. “Something about Valy doesn’t seem right.”
“I know right? Look at her!” Trench complained, pointed over at the mermaid. She seemed to be fiddling behind the rocks. “She doesn’t even notice me, the lass. I won’t deny I’m a good looking, fun-loving warrior. What’s got her so distracted she-.” Gilltom gritted his teeth and have Trench a light slap.
“Stop with the snogging complaints, dude,” Gilltom snapped. “Listen, did you remember when Valy said she knew there were beasts in here?”
“Yeah,” Trench replied, nodding and giving an unsure stare.
“Well, didn’t she also say she was too scared to come down here?” Gilltom wondered, crossing his arms. Trench nodded slowly, staring at Gilltom, wondering where he was going with all this. Then, Gilltom looked over at Valy. “If she’s never been down here before, how could she have known about beasts being down here?” The second Gilltom made that point, Trench’s expression went from befuddled to full of suspicion. He slowly turned to look at Valy, who still appeared to be occupied with something.
“You have a point, mate,” he admitted. “I gotta admit, the fact that this whole place doesn’t seem to have anywhere to hide is also weird.” As Trench spoke, he failed to notice the foot long, eel-like creature making its way towards his ankle. Suddenly, Finross shouted a short, loud yelp as if he were in pain.
“Finross!” Minolly exclaimed, rushing over to him. Gilltom and Trench turned and saw Finross clutching his left arm. They both came at his side.
“What’s wrong, Finross?” Gilltom cried. Finross gritted his teeth and lifted his hand off his bicep, revealing a strange, circular bite mark.
“Something bit me,” he snarled. Minolly brought her hands to the injury and looked at it closely. She clenched her fist and sighed.
“I don’t know what kind of bite that is, but I’ll heal it,” she reassured. Before Minolly could start, however, Trench screamed and leaped up, shaking his foot. Gilltom and the others were startled as Trench yelped in pain and hopped around on one foot.
“What’s up, Trench?” Gilltom asked, raising an eyebrow and mouth agape with confusion. Trench stopped jumping and lifted his leg, revealing a bite on his ankle like the one on Finross’s arm.
“Something bit my shucking ankle!” he exclaimed. Gilltom’s eyes widened, and his instincts gave another strong spark. He wasn’t the only one, though. Finross and Minolly’s expressions showed a snap of realization. They all looked at each other.
“Guys, I’ve got a bad feeling about-,” Gilltom said but stopped when he felt a painful bite on his hand. He screamed and flung his hand away, revealing a large, foot long, long finned, ghostly white eel with a circular mouth and dead, grey eyes. Most shocking, though, were its razor sharp, dark purple fangs. Trench, Finross, and Gilltom had no idea what this little creature was. Minolly, however, covered her mouth and gasped loudly at the sight of it.
“Oh no,” she moaned, backing away. “That’s a…a…” Finross growled and took a step back from the sea worm.
“A what? What is-.” Suddenly, Finross’s eyes rolled back and his mouth dropped open. He went completely limp and collapsed with a loud thud. The others were shocked.
“Finross!” Gilltom and Trench exclaimed. They then heard a small giggle and turned towards it. There, Valy stared at them with a sinister grin. Minolly then collapsed hard. The two remaining friends stared in horror as they saw Minolly lay motionless. All they could do next was look at each other. Then, everything went black in an instant. They sank to the floor, completely losing consciousness. With the Band incapacitated, Valy strutted up to them with a wicked smile. The tiny white eels swam back between the rocks, and the mermaid leaned over the unconscious friends with her hand outstretched.
“Suckers,” she cooed in a sinister whisper.
By the time Gilltom managed to wake up, it felt like hours had gone by. Realizing what happened, he stood up in a slight panic and looked around.
“Who? What? Where? Why? What’s going on?” he exclaimed, turning his head constantly. Trench then awakened and let out a low moan, rubbing his head.
“Whoa, mate. My head is spinning like a sea snake in a whirlpool,” he groaned. Finross also got up, leaning over on his hands and knees, shaking his head.
“What the hell just happened?” he said, looking quite angry.
“I’ll tell you what happened,” Gilltom remarked in a firm voice. “We’ve been fooled. That mermaid must have-.” Gilltom stopped. His eyes slowly widened in shock as his realized something wasn’t right. He lightly touched his chest and gasped in horror. “My necklace!” he cried. Sure enough, when Gilltom looked down, his shark tooth fossil necklace was gone. Finross and Trench felt their minds spark with anxiousness.
“Oh no,” Trench muttered. He quickly dug through his shirt’s chest pocket and his back pockets. Immediately he knew something was missing. “Gah! My wallet is gone!” he shrieked.
“No!” Finross shouted. He dug through his trench coat pockets and became furious. “My wallet is gone, too!” he exclaimed, baring his teeth in anger. The three young men quickly got to their feet and looked around. “She’s gone, but she might not have gotten far,” Finross said.
“Right. How long do you think we were out, though?” Gilltom wondered. Suddenly, one of the ghostly white worms swam by, giving them a chance to look at it more closely. Trench hissed when he realized what it was.
“Blackout worm,” he growled.
“What?” Gilltom said in puzzlement. Trench clenched his teeth and pointed at the worm. The slithering white creature squirmed away and cowered behind a rock.
“Those timid little beasts have venom that can knock your mind into submission instantly for a good ten minutes,” Trench explained. “They’re usually too cowardly to approach people, but light tempts them to come out of hiding.” Gilltom finally realized what happened. That is what Valy must have been doing. She was hiding behind those rocks and shining small, unnoticeable lights on them to lure the worms out and bite them.
“That fish sticker!” Finross shouted, stamping his foot and swaying his fist. “She made a fool out of us!” There was no doubt about it. Though they did not want to admit it, the Band had fallen for a thieving trap. Now the mermaid they thought was a damsel in distress had their valuables. Trench raised his fist and made a determined stance.
“Don’t worry, mates. I’ll track her down. Her scent is still fresh in my mind,” he stated.
“Well hurry and lead the way, dude! We gotta get our stuff back!” Gilltom demanded. Trench sniffed the water thoroughly, locking on the devious mermaid’s scent. Before he could leap and begin leading them, Finross suddenly spoke.
“Wait!” Gilltom and Trench looked at him, and were surprised to see Finross’s worried expression. He looked around, then at the others with wide, worried eyes. “Where is Minolly?” Gilltom and Trench gasped and frantically turned from side to side. Nobody. Minolly was gone.
“What in the…” Gilltom muttered. “Wait. You don’t think she…” The three young men stared at each other in silence. If Minolly was not here, could it be she escaped? They could only hope their compassionate, gentle, softhearted, peace-loving female friend was pursuing the thief right now.
Not too far away, outside the cave and swimming above the rocky, mountainous environment, the thieving mermaid giggled in a most sinister cackle as she swam away. Valy opened Finross’s money pouch and gazed at the shiny, white, bone-like stone currency known as dollas. Her eyes glowed with wonder at the sight of the money.
“Haha!” she laughed in a much less sweet tone than before. “Pathetic suckers. Men would do anything for a helpless damsel. Its hilarious!” As the proud mermaid celebrated her apparent success at her robbery, she failed to notice none other than Minolly approaching from behind. The Sea Flower, who was usually a gentle, kindhearted soul, was uncharacteristically angry. She even gritted her sharp, carnivorous teeth a little. Something she rarely did.
“Men, huh?” she snarled slowly, startling Valy. “What about a woman like me?” Valy blinked in surprise, then sighed and lowered her head.
“Girl, you’re messing with the wrong siren,” she chuckled. “What’re you gonna do? Take my prize with those soft, pure, healing hands of yours?” Valy turned around to face Minolly, giving a taunting grin and placing her hands on her hips. This turned out to be a mistake. Minolly dashed at Valy and lashed out at her with her claws. Valy gasped and barely managed to dodge the strikes, moving side to side, and lifting her arms with every swing. Then, Minolly did an impressive flip and began kicking at the devious thief. She managed to strike Valy on the tail, but Valy countered with a horizontal tail swipe. Minolly raised her legs and made a powerful upward swim stroke to dodge.
“I knew there was something suspicious about you,” Minolly hissed with a fierce glare. She summoned pure water orbs and fired them at Valy. Despite the close range, Valy managed to block the hypnotic water attacks with her tail. Minolly dashed forward and continued her melee assault, swiping and kicking over and over. “Your story was suspicious, your acting was terrible. I can’t believe the others didn’t see it!” she exclaimed as she attacked. Valy suddenly grabbed Minolly by the leg and grinned deviously.
“Oh, admit it, you softheaded apple top,” she teased, holding up her hand which was charging with light energy. “You’re just jealous I’m so much prettier than you.” With a thrust of her hand, Valy fired a burning, forceful beam of light. To her surprise, though, Minolly gracefully backed away to the side, floating out of the way. “What?” Valy gasped. Infuriated, the mermaid fired multiple beams of light. Minolly dodged every one of them with extraordinary acrobatic moves, raising her legs high, leaning far back, and curving her entire body. Valy was now becoming jealous. After a final beam of light, Minolly dodged and did a full backflip. Valy panted, exhausted from all her light beam attacks. “You apple top legger,” she grumbled. Minolly formed a pure water orb, glaring at the mermaid with an angry scowl.
“You shall return my friends’ belongings,” she demanded.
“Your friends’ belongings?” Valy snickered, then laughed as if someone told a very stupid joke. “Their stuff is mine now, shrimp! Get over it!” The devious mermaid then turned around and dashed at top speed, determined to escape. Minolly dashed after her, but Valy was quickly gaining distance. “Haha! What’s the matter, legger? Am I too fast for you?” Valy teased as she dashed in zigzag patterns, trying to outmaneuver Minolly. Being a mermaid, Valy was more efficient at swimming than most marineman, and it seemed that was being proven. Every time Valy looked back, Minolly was falling farther and farther behind. Finally, after a few complex turns, the deceiving mermaid looked back and saw nobody on her tail. She flashed a conniving grin and laughed. “That loser. She doesn’t know how to truly survive.”
With her opponent apparently out of her hair, Valy calmed her dash and made a few victorious struts. She was very pleased with her triumph over those suckers. Worked every time! The purple haired mermaid hummed a little tune as she looked through her victim’s wallets. She also fawned over Gilltom’s shark tooth fossil necklace.
“What a pretty ancient gem. Must be worth at least 300 dollas,” she cooed. The thieving girl was so awed by her stolen merchandise she did not even notice the bright red missile dashing in from below her. It was Minolly, about to strike with a great white shark sneak attack. Everything seemed to slow down as the Sea Flower closed in on her prey. Finally, she slammed into Valy at top speed. The deceitful mermaid, completely caught off guard by the attack, screamed as she tumbled through the water out of control. When the spinning stopped, she tried to shake off the dizziness, holding her head and curling up her tail. “What the shuck,” she groaned in confusion. Valy rubbed her eyes and looked ahead of her to see the assaulter. Her vision cleared and what she saw made her gasp in utter shock. It was Minolly, and she had the wallets and necklace she stole! Valy’s expression morphed into a look of sheer anger. She hissed and fiercely stared at Minolly. “Why you redheaded COD!” Valy dashed right for Minolly with hands infused with light energy ready to attack. “Give those back!! I stole them fair and square!!” Minolly did not move and kept a calm composure as Valy dashed straight at her.
Suddenly, right before Valy could lash out at Minolly with light beams at point blank range, she was grabbed by the tail and pulled. The thief’s expression went from ‘take this’ to ‘oh no’ in a flash. She fired her light beams, missed Minolly completely, and was thrown twenty feet backward. When she looked up, she saw none other than Gilltom and Finross staring down at her with stern, angry glares.
“Your thieving days are over, vile violet top,” Finross proclaimed.
“Yeah. No escaping now,” Gilltom added with a smile. Valy stared silently in shock, then seemed to regain her confidence and smirk at them.
“You’ll have to catch me first, leggers. No marineman can compare to a mermaid’s speed!” As the confident thief taunted them, she failed to notice Trench swimming up behind her, preparing for a single hit knockout blow. She turned around and had no time to react when she saw Trench sneering right in front of her.
“Hi,” he chuckled, striking her in the side of the neck with a karate blow. In a split second, the deceitful mermaid was knocked out. Trench laughed as the robber sank limply towards the ground. “Ha! That’ll teach you to mess with a bunch of hardcore blokes like us, sweetie,” he taunted. Minolly giggled and crossed her arms.
“She sure succeeded in messing with you ‘blokes’ just a few minutes ago,” she teased. Gilltom, Finross, and Trench rolled their eyes and sighed in shame.
“I really should have focused more on my instincts. Sorry guys,” Gilltom apologized.
“We were all at fault,” Finross stated. “That girl’s annoying flirting ticked me off and distracted me, and Trench was infatuated with her.” Trench twitched his eye and clenched his teeth in an irate glare. He turned his head away and crossed his arms.
“I was not,” he snarled in denial. “I was suspicious of that lass from the get-go.”
“Whatever you say, Ebon Warrior,” Minolly said, her usual gentle tone returning. With a peaceful smile, Minolly handed her male friends back their belongings. Gilltom gave a sigh of relief as he took back and put on his necklace.
“Thanks, Minolly. My brother would’ve skinned me alive,” he chuckled.
“Yes. Thank you, Minolly,” Finross said, taking his wallet and pocketing it in his trench coat. Trench, still a bit mad, swiped his wallet out of Minolly’s hands. The friends then turned their attention to the mermaid that deceived them. She was slowly beginning to wake up. Quickly, Finross and Gilltom grabbed her by the arms. Valy tried to break free, but the guys’ grips were far too strong. Trench and Minolly floated in front of her with confident smiles.
“Now off to your home away from home,” Trench sneered. “A lovely place of metal bars and lame square meals called jail.” Valy tried to summon a furious snarl, but knew she was beaten. Her face fell into a disappointed and defeated pout. Gilltom gave a short laugh and he and Finross began dragging her away.
“Onward to the Anchor Drop Prison!” Gilltom cheered. With their deceiver in tow, the Band dragged her to the nearest jail. About twenty minutes later, the soldiers of the jail cuffed the mermaid and put her behind bars. However, they did something that shocked the Band. They tore off Valy’s wavy purple hair, revealing it was actually a wig. In its place was a messy head of dark green hair. The guard who removed her little disguise laughed at her.
“Sushiba, the vile tempter,” he announced. “Not a bad disguise for a female repeat offender. Not good enough, though.” Another guard gave the Band a thumbs up.
“Way to go, young vigilantes. This sneaky cod is a common face we see in this region. You did a real solid bringing her back to jail.” Gilltom gave the guards a Johnny hang loose sign and wide, toothy grin.
“No problem soldiers. Just a random fish caught into our net that’s always prepared for a catch,” he chuckled.
“In truth, she almost had us,” Finross admitted. He turned to Minolly and smiled. “If it hadn’t been for our dear friend here, the Sea Flower, she would’ve gotten away with our money.” Minolly fluttered her eyelashes and gently hid her shy smile.
“I have to admit, Minolly,” Trench chuckled mischievously. “It was actually kind of funny seeing you so jealous.” Minolly lost her smile and gasped, then shot a displeased, slightly angry pout at Trench.
“I was not jealous,” she whispered, hiding her face in her webbed hands. Finross glared at Trench in disapproval.
“Quit it, Trench,” he snapped. The lead soldier then stepped forward and handed the Band a bag full of bounty dollas.
“Here’s Sushiba’s bounty. A thousand dollas,” he declared. “I know it won’t be much since you’ll likely split it among yourselves, but you really earned it.” Gilltom and Trench reached for the bag of cash, but Finross grabbed it before they could.
“Hey! What the hell, mate?” Trench exclaimed.
“We do not deserve this money,” Finross stated in a firm, serious tone. He then turned to Minolly, who flinched when they made eye contact. “If it hadn’t been for Minolly, this crook would not have been caught. She deserves this entire bounty.” Finross handed Minolly the money, but Minolly, being as modest as ever, shook her head and pushed the bag away.
“No. No. I cannot accept it all,” she insisted, her face becoming a bit pinker than usual. “Please, let’s split it. I won’t be comfortable taking the whole reward.” Finross stared, then gave a small chuckle and closed his eyes.
“If you insist, Minolly.” Not wanting to make his closest, most loyal friend uneasy, Finross allowed his friends to split the money evenly, much to Trench’s delight. Gilltom was a bit reluctant, though. Seeing Finross’s expression made him realize refusing wasn’t an option.
“All right, but I really didn’t do anything worth paying for, dude,” Gilltom sighed, shaking his head. “I’ve really gotta be more assertive when my instincts warn me of deep, annoying trouble.”
“Lesson learned?” Finross asked, handing Gilltom the last of his share. Gilltom rolled his eyes and glanced away.
“Maybe,” he mumbled.
“Aw, cheer up, mate,” Trench chuckled, patting Gilltom on the back. “At least now we don’t have to keep looking for that stupid kelp.” To Trench’s dismay, his friends’ eyes widened, and their heads perked up as if they were reminded of something important. “Oh boy,” he groaned, giving a face palm.
“We almost forgot,” Finross said, regaining his serious composure. “Come on, guys, we’ve still got our appointed task.” He and Minolly ran through the halls of the building with Gilltom and Trench following behind. Trench moaned and his run was lazy like a drunk pirate.
“Naaah! Do we really have to go back to that boring harvest?” he whined. Gilltom slapped Trench on the arm.
“Hey. Remember we’re doing this for free comedy logo t-shirts, dude,” he reminded his friend. “It’ll be worth it. I guarantee it.” Once out the doors of the facility, the Band leaped into the open water and dashed back into the wilds to collect more cotton kelp. After two solid hours of more searching and collecting, they finally had enough to sell to the clothing shop in Saltwick town and receive their promised shirts.
Sadly, the reward for all their boring labor turned out to be less than satisfying. All Gilltom and Trench got were shirts that both said ‘I’m With Cod’ with an arrow pointing in opposite directions. Leaving the store and walking into the town’s main area, Trench gave Gilltom a ticked off snarl.
“This is it?” Trench hissed. “This is the reward we get for all that lame kelp hunting?” Gilltom shrugged his shoulder and shook his head.
“Hey man, they didn’t tell us we weren’t the ones choosing the shirts,” Gilltom argued. Finross then approached with his reward. A dark green t-shirt with the words ‘Look Out! Soldier Coming Through’ and an open webbed hand on it. To the boys’ surprise, Finross actually seemed pleased with his shirt. Usually, the Green Soldier was not a fan of anything comical.
“You know, I hate to admit it, but this shirt isn’t half bad,” he said, looking down at it. Gilltom and Trench groaned and slumped their shoulders.
“Why’d you get a cool one like that?” Trench argued, pointing at Finross. Finross simply shrugged as Minolly emerged from the clothing store. Her new t-shirt had a large pink heart and the words ‘Little Voice’ in small font, and ‘Big Heart’ in large, capital letters. It had been cut into an extravagant, flowery shape around the bottom and neckline. Gilltom grinned and gave his chin a little scratch.
“You know, I think that really suits you, Minolly,” he commented, trying to be more optimistic. Minolly sighed and shook her head. Finross then gently placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to blush. She looked at Finross and saw his warm, friendly smile.
“Don’t be disappointed, Minolly,” he encouraged her. “The cotton kelp hunt may not have resulted in the best payment but feel proud you put a devious trickster behind bars.” Minolly brought her hands up to her chin and shyly tapped her index fingers together as Finross spoke. “You did a fine job today, Minolly,” he continued. “I’m impressed.” Minolly’s mouth dropped open in a bewildered smile. She took a deep breath to compose herself and moved her hands behind her back. Minolly felt her heart become warm and fuzzy with joy. Nothing made her happier than Finross being proud and impressed with her.
“You have no idea how much that means coming from you, Finross,” she said softly. Gilltom blinked and gave an unamused, narrow-eyed glare. Then he glanced down at his lame, pathetic excuse for a comical t-shirt.
“Well, I certainly can’t wear this around Lumina or my brother,” he groaned. “Shuck.” Feeling quite disappointed and somewhat humiliated, Gilltom sighed and stomped away. Trench sighed as well and took off in the opposite direction.
“I’m going home,” he muttered as he swam away. “I’m gonna need a good serving of calamari to swallow this bitter day down my gullet.” Finross and Minolly watched as their friends grouchily left, leaving them alone. Minolly slowly turned her gaze at Finross, her eyes glimmering with joy.
“You know, I don’t really think this was a bad day,” she admitted in a soft, shy tone. “I honestly really enjoyed being by your side for so long, Finross.” Finross also gave a peaceful smile, touched by her moving words. Then, he gently stroked her long, wavy, bright red hair. Minolly felt her body shiver with joy at his gentle caress. She closed her eyes and hugged herself, unable to contain her happiness.
“I feel the same way about you, my friend,” Finross said, doing his best to sound as soothing as he could. After a final stroke of his loyal friend’s hair, he gently held her soft, webbed hand. Minolly blinked slowly as she gazed into Finross’s bright red eyes. Giving a small nod, Finross led Minolly deeper into Saltwick Town, never letting go of her hand. “Come on. Let’s have a light dinner at the bar,” he said as he guided her. Minolly’s mind, heart, and body fell into a blissful spell. Oh, how she loved Finross. It didn’t matter to her if he only saw her as a very close friend. As long as he truly cared about her, that was all that mattered. Besides, they had romantic moments in the past, and Finross never said they were a mistake. Deep down, Minolly’s instincts reassured her Finross indeed had romantic feelings for her. Even if he didn’t, his friendship was all she needed. Enough to keep her emotional heart beating strong. Minolly treasured all time she spent along with her beloved Green Soldier.
She would be by his side forever. As a friend, or a lover. Either way, she was truly happy.