The Village ofGrusnabi
Lucien
She wasn't a mermaid; she was a goddamn siren.
The implication crossed my mind in the blackness of my muddled consciousness. In mythology, sirens were the luscious ladies of the limitless sea that lured men to their deaths. They were notorious for their enchanting charm and beguiling beauty, both of which I had fallen for. While I felt a little betrayed, the pang of grief was much worse. I couldn't imagine what state I'd left Starr in now that my senses were coming to me.
My mind was stringing thoughts together as I slowly collected myself. The charm had taken a toll on me, but I was fighting to come back. Gradually, I fished myself out of the numbness in my bones and the limpness in my muscles. Paralysis was no joke, and for a long while, there was only silence—a profound, resounding silence that filled my ears until it was all I knew. And then, I heard whispering.
Lots and lots of whispering.
And then talking. I made sense of the muffled words I heard, and then I caught an alarming statement. Something about carving me up like a turkey?
Okay, it was time to wake the fuck up!
"Mmmm!!" I gasped, trying to catch my breath. I snapped my eyes open, realizing that I was wet and surrounded by women. The muscles to my jaws stretched, but I couldn't say a fucking word. It was then I saw that I was bound, hog tied to some pole behind me, wrists and ankles, with some sticky slimy shit plastered across my mouth to keep me from talking.
My eyes darted back and forth between the women. Altogether, there were three of them in chainmail armor. The armor looked a lot like medieval cuirass armor, with brass breastplates, shoulder guards, and gauntlets. The tribal overtones to their gears made me scrunch my face as they surrounded me in a half circle, holding spears, swords, and daggers. I turned my head to my right, noticing the girl that got me into this mess, standing there with a proud smile on her face. Buliba had chainmail armor too, but hers had less layers.
"Oh good, he's finally awake!" Buliba cheered.
My breathing became shallow. I tightened my fists, the ropes around my wrist not budging an inch. As I fought to break free, my head tilted down, where I realized that someone had draped my crotch with a piece of fabric. It was doing a poor job hiding my junk, seeing how short it was, but as I hoisted my head back up, I saw my baby dragon behind me in a small cage.
Seeing Starr instantly made my head snap right back up. I jerked my head over my shoulder and shouted, my shout coming out as muffled noise. Thankfully she looked fine, still sleeping through all of this, with her belly up and her soft snoring giving me some piece of mind.
Before I could turn my head back, I heard footsteps coming my way. When I veered, I saw Buliba, her large breasts casting a shadow over my head as I looked up.
"My, you were an easy catch!" she tittered, pinning her hand to her hip. "A slice of paradise, with a sexy fish girl as the cherry on top. I didn't have to do much to seduce you, did I?" She grinned. "Don't worry spy, we'll be keeping your dragon pet alive and use her for our dragon riders."
Spy?
Dragon riders?
"You should burn him where he stands!" someone called out from a distance. It was then I realized that we weren't alone. There was a cluster of women along a ring they'd formed around us, regular village folk I assumed. All of them were women, from young to old, except for a few young boys. "We'll not stand for spies in the land of Grusnabi!"
Grusnabi?
Was I in the village of my first quest?
No wait, I thought that Grusnabi was five miles away from where I was? Did they own the surrounding areas, too? Come to think of it, I couldn't be sure of where I had been, seeing that Buliba just admitted to putting me through some type of illusion. And that smell coming off of me… like I'd just taken a bath in swamp water.
"We should chop off his head!" another woman suggested. She had horns on her head and a long thin tail, with two kids at her hips. "And then ship it to that witch as a message!"
"It'll stop her from bringing more men over here to torment us!" another one shouted. This one had a horn, too, but on the middle of her forehead like a unicorn.
"I don't care how we kill him, just get it over with already!" the next one squeaked, sporting these huge mouse ears and long mouse tail.
Okay, that confirmed it. This was definitely a case of mistaken identity.
In the land of beastkin girls, I was a threat. Well, to most. Some of those girls wanted to keep me as some sort of sex slave, breeding around the clock to repopulate the village. I had no clue how to plead my case, seeing as my lips were bound. Fortunately, the girl behind Buliba had taken an interest in me….
My eyes had glossed over her once before, but they found themselves gravitating her way again when I realized she'd been staring at me the entire time. I tried not to glare at her given the predicament I was in. I was upset, but not at her, per say. So I tried to look more approachable, fixing my face so she could give her judgment. From her clothes, I could already tell that she held a higher position in this society. She was a priestess, dressed in all white, and looked as pure as falling snow with her two sets of bird wings pinned to her sides. Her eyes were honey gold, and she had short pointed ears. She looked regal, commanding, and her eyes were studying me intently.
But the more the girls around us shouted to end me, the more frustrated she appeared. Until she pressed her eyes shut and pent up her shoulders and cried, "Enough!" she commanded, her voice echoing through the crowd causing every mouth to snap shut instantly. It was so damn quiet that all you could hear was Starr's snoring behind us.
"Let law decide his fate," she demanded, before she walked my way, her graceful steps quickly intercepted by Buliba.
"Excuse me, princess—"
"It's High Priestess Kaitarra, general," she corrected.
"This issue here isn't part of your divine duties. Deciding how to dispose of this filthy spy falls in my jurisdiction."
"I am well aware of my divine duties, General, but this isn't about disposing of a spy. It's about discerning the truth."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd, but the priestess held up a hand to silence them. "We are not barbarians. We observe the laws of fairness and give all beings a chance to speak before we pass judgment."
"Laws of fairness, aye?" she sassed.
Kaitarra's icy eyes met Buliba's fiery ones, their gazes clashing. The crowd held its breath, waiting for the outcome. Then, in a velvet soft voice, Kaitarra replied. "I know it's easy for you to forget that it is our divine duty to uphold justice and mercy in these lands, even towards our enemies, but this is law. Convicting an unarmed stranger without trial goes against our customs and beliefs."
Buliba's hackles raised at the retort, her lips peeling back to show her teeth. I could tell that she wasn't thrilled with anyone contesting her authority, especially not in front of her warriors. But Buliba wasn't a fool either. It seemed like crossing the high priestess could lead to serious consequences. The tension between them was obvious.
Hmm, I wonder what their levels were….
Just like that, I initiated [Inspect] on both girls:
[Squid Beastkin, Level: 92]
[Hawk Beastkin, Level: 31]
Holy shit. Buliba was three times stronger than her.
"He was my catch," Buliba growled under her breath.
"My village, my laws," Kaitarra struck back, taking a bold step further.
"My army, my rules," Buliba hissed, crossing her arms under her breasts.
"If you don't step down, I will disband your station in our village," Kaitarra warned, her stance unwavering. "Don't test me, Buliba. You know I will not hesitate to do so."
Buliba snorted. "In the state we are in, you wouldn't do something so stupid."
"You want to take that chance?" she threatened. "I am a resourceful woman. The contract of our agreement doesn't take kindly to breeches, and I've allowed you to trounce over the line one too many times. This situation, however, is something that I will not overlook. You either step down, or you and your squadron will revert to your previous conditions, which I believe is nothing shy of slavery for a very porcine, and veryadventurous distasteful nobleman."
She whispered that last part, but I was close enough to them to hear. Her comment made Buliba's confident smirk falter for a moment. But she didn't let her face show any signs of fear as she raised her hands up and peacefully surrendered.
"Very well, High Priestess," Buliba conceded, her eyes flickering with a hidden simmering rage that promised retribution. "We will give him the chance to speak."
Silence fell as every eye turned toward me, their stares filled with suspicion and distrust. Buliba swung on her heel to turn to me before she sashayed over and stripped the sticky shit that taped my mouth together.
I winced, the sting from the tear bringing back sensation through my bones. My mouth was dry, and my body was sore from being tied and thrown onto the ground. Buliba gave me a cheeky look before she stepped aside, letting the priestess through.
She looked down at me with a lot of emotions spread across her face, but the loudest one was pity.
"What's your name?"
"Lucien," I said, kneeling up straight. "And I'm no spy."
When I straightened out, her eyes dropped to my chest, but not in a wanton way. Her attention was invested in Laura's crystal that had infused itself inside of me.
The High Priestess's eyes grew, and she made a command. "Untie him."
Buliba rolled her eyes before nudging her head to her warriors, and they swiftly did as they were told. Limb by limb, I could feel the sensation coming back, blood rushing through my veins in a sweet release of pain. I slowly rose to my feet, trying to keep my balance as numbness gradually receded. Around me, the crowd murmurs increased, as I heard whispers of disbelief and suspicion.
"Lucien," Kaitarra repeated, her voice barely above a whisper. "A level 5 human." Her eyes remained focused on Laura's crystal embedded in my chest. It was glowing faintly, a blue hue mystically pulsing against my skin.
Finally, she looked up to me. "What were you doing alone near our land?"
"Honestly, just taking a well-deserved bath," I answered truthfully. "Didn't think it was a big deal until I realized that my bath wasn't as private as I thought. Or a bath at all…."
The priestess shot Buliba an odd look, the general cheekily shrugging her shoulders. Kaitarra turned back to me, probably understanding the details on how I got here from my statement alone. I wasn't ashamed of it—the girl was obviously a pro at her job. With a body like that, she could seduce any man, however, Kaitarra wasn't impressed.
When she turned back to me, I noticed some hesitation on her face. She parted her lips, almost like she was about to ask me another question. Her eyes fell on my chest again. This time, she reached her hand out, her fingers hovering just above my crystal. I had no idea what she was trying to do, maybe read its aura? Her reaction justified my wild guess, a pale look crossing her shocked face.
"Our prophecy is a man?" she muttered under her breath.
"What?"
"A hero who arrives at the first light of dawn, as bare as the sun and as bright as its rays…." she whispered to herself, her eyes locked on mine now. "What did… you say your name was again?"
"Lucien… Lucien Barros."
"Come with me, Lucien."