Aporeu chronicles Issue 58: Call of the sea
Stories from the adventurers
This week
Writing in an accent is all fine and dandy, but this is very hard to read. Anyway, something with harpies.
Call of the sea by Fionnaghal
Greetings readers, my name is Marlo Vanderven, traveler and collector of tales. A while ago, I walked into a rustic little Arnheim restaurant looking for supper, when I spotted a woman of warrior-like appearance and attire, who was entertaining some children. With her fiery red hair, tall stature, and battle-ready equipment, the woman struck me as a person of interest, so I picked a table nearby from where I could overhear her. It seemed this warrior was an adventurer, telling the children gathered a fantastical tale of a recent quest. Excited, I quickly retrieved my writing supplies to take note. I had to listen carefully, for she spoke with a thick scotire accent that was hard to follow at times. For the sake of immersion, I have attempted to convey her style of speaking in the following piece. “An’ so Fionna led her companions tae the docks o’ Arnheim, lookin’ fer passage tae the town o’ Hillcut. The heroes had been tasked with tae dangerous quest o’ findin’ oot tae mystereh behind the songs o’ the sea.” The children seemed entranced by the woman’s words, sitting on the ground in front of the hearth with their eyes locked on her and their mouths slightly agape in awe. “The heroes found a friendleh sailor, who kindleh took them tae their destination by ship. Arrived in Hillcut, they quickleh headed fer the inn, where they found Yukiko o’ the Waves, who had given the quest tae the guild. Now, Yukiko was wha’s called a Tabaxi, a big cat person stood on their hind legs. Kinda like a palico, but larger.” I had never heard of a ‘palico’ before, and the children looked equally confused. “Yukiko told the heroes a chillin’ tale o’ beautiful songs comin’ from tae water, an’ no less than fifteen people gone missin’ soon efter. Now, which o’ ye bairns can count all tae way up tae fifteen?” Amusingly, the children started counting on their fingers, to which the woman laughed heartily. “Ye’ll nae reach fifteen countin’ like tha’, less ye take off ye shoes.” With some giggles from the children, which put a smile on my face as well, the woman continued her story. “Followin’ Yukiko’s tale, the heroes set oot tae the shore. Just as the storeh told, the sweet sounds o’ singin’ could be heard from the water. Otanyn, a strange but benevolent sea witch, used her sea magic tae look ahead, revealin’ a beautiful woman hidden behin’ a rock aweh from the shore. Otanyn swam oot, usin’ her strange fish-like bodeh tae glide through the waves. Fionna followed, takin’ off her armor fer she couldnae swim in it. Brynjar, the mighteh dwarf warrior disagreed, wadin’ intae the water clad in metal. The dwarf used his shield tae float on, while kickin’ his short lil’ legs.” The children laughed, and I myself found the image produced in my head quite amusing. “Meanwhile, Elena the monk gracefulleh lept from rock tae rock, gettin’ closer. Cahir the mysterious swordsman stehd on shore tae keep an eye oot. Suddenleh! A scream came from behind the rock, where Otanyn had reached the strange woman. A big cloud o’ fog appeared, hidin’ the rock from view.” The children had their full attention on the warrior woman, listening closely now the story seemed to be heating up. “Seein’ as the rock was still far aweh, Fionna decided tae swim back tae shore an’ take her mighteh new weapon tae attack from afar. ‘Twas an impressive machine from a land beyon’ the gate, hurlin’ bolts one efter the other.” From behind her, the woman produced a crossbow of imposing size, strange and foreign in appearance. The children were in awe, and the woman waited patiently as she let the children touch it. “She spotted movements an’ blood in the water, as Brynjar was attacked by a swarm o’ hungreh flesh eatin’ fish! Trustin’ her aim, Fionna fired her massive bowgun, skewerin’ several fish in one shot. Bryanjar fought his way oot, headin’ fer the rock. All tae while, mysterious singin’ could be heard from the fog, growin’ stronger an’ more beautiful as two, three, four, five voices joined in chorus. Fionna knew she had tae get closer, an’ jumped intae the water. More o’ the needle-toothed fish attacked her, but she fought them off, grabbin’ the last one an’ bitin’ his head clean off!” The woman grabbed a chicken leg from her plate and took a big, savage bite, tearing the juicy meat from the bone. With her mouth full, she growled like a wild animal, to the amusement of the children.
“Headin’ back tae the surface, Fionna saw tha’ the mighteh an’ stubborn Brynjar had fallen tae the charms o’ a siren. A deadleh sea monster hidden in the guise o’ a beautiful woman. Then, four winged terrors burst from the fog! The bodies o’ human women they had, but with feathered wing an’ taloned legs like a bird o’ preh!” I believe the creatures she was describing were known as “harpies”, terrible monsters who lure in the unwary with sweet songs before tearing them apart to feast on their flesh. Some of the children seemed quite frightened by the description, and rightfully so.
“Two o’ these beasties flew over tae Elena, who fought them with her staff an’ kicks. The other two swooped down tae Fionna, still in the water. She fought with all her might, revelin’ in the rush o’ bat’le. Fionna answered every talon scratch with a stab from her dagger; she was bleedin’ from a dozen cuts, but kept goin’. One o’ the creatures Fionna was fightin’ got blasted from the sky by a bolt o’ dark magic from Cahir. She grabbed the other one an’ dragged it down below the water, where its wings would find no air. However, Fionna’s wounds were too grave, and the light o’ day faded from her eyes as she slowleh sank down intae the depths” The children gasped, worried despite the outcome that should be obvious considering the storyteller’s current state of health.
“Then, in the darkness, a voice came tae Fionna. Sweet an’ enchantin’ almost like the song o’ the siren. ‘Twas the voice o’ Otanyn, who used her magic tae bring life back intae the fallen warrior. Fionna opened her eyes and swam up, tae meet air and continue the fight. Standin’ together, the heroes slew the last o’ the beasts, an’ stood victorious.” With the tale of battle reaching a conclusion, the children cheered in excitement.
“Behind the rock, the heroes found a chest tha’ contained a letter, describin’ a foul plot o’ two people workin’ with the monsters tae preh on the innocent!” The children were shocked, and I confess I found myself rather appalled at this idea myself. “There, in the water, they saw two men walkin’ along the bottom o’ the lake, wearin’ magic hats tha’ let them breathe underwater. The men came up tae the heroes, an’ it soon became clear tha’ these were the bastards the letter spoke of.” One of the children seemed shocked at the use of crude language, but the others were too angry with these terrible men to care.
“Realizin’ they’d been found oot, the two men tried tae run, but Cahir an’ Brynjar cut them down with sword an’ axe before the cowards could take a second step. These monsters would bother no-one no more.” The children cheered at hearing justice was served. Though those fifteen unfortunate souls could not be saved, at least the ones responsible were dealt with.
“Victorious, the heroes returned tae Hillcut tae deliver the news. Yukiko thanked them, an’ the heroes were richleh rewarded for their efforts. Before they returned tae the guild, Cahir met with the wife o’ John, one o’ the men that were workin’ with the monsters. He said she should come with, tae be tried an’ questioned fer the crimes o’ her husband. Fortunateleh, the guild found she didnae know o’ wha’ her man had been up tae, an’ was found innocent.”
With the tale finished, I could finally turn my attention to my supper, which had sadly grown cold by this time. I asked the woman’s permission to bring her tale to the newspaper for publishing, to which she laughed and said: “Tales are meant tae be shared my friend, an’ soon enough, all the world will know the saga o’ Fionnaghal.” With that, the confident warrior said her goodbyes to the children and walked out with confident strides, no doubt headed for another epic adventure.
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