The Nereids Of Njord (V): Nereids

In the aftermath of our boss battle, we were all exhausted, and everyone was pretty much pissed at me. They had all wanted to go the easy route, of course I had to choose the hard way, citing the need for us to actually take on the dungeon the right way rather than relying on those shady guides that could mess things up for us....or maybe that's just my self righteousness talking.

I went through this dungeon in the hopes that I could clear it, and get awarded skill combining gems. And mayhem have enough Exp to raise my level by ten or so, and also get the treasures that were sure to be hidden somewhere here. So far we've found nothing, and based on bright this area is rapidly become, we might be at the end of the dungeon.

Dinah walked around with her tablet, observing the ship ad parts of it surface rippled like the surface of a serene pool. The nanites of the ship were at work repairing the previous damage it received from our fight against the shaman and the wraith. I knew things were a little tense right now, because everyone here believed that we could have avoided going into that fight if I had just hired a guide rather than jump right into the problem in front of us like some sort of child.

And to be honest if I was in their shoes, I would be mad at me too. Being a leader is new to me, and maybe next time I should be a little more considerate about the choices I make. Whatever path we have to take in the future, I have to make sure it's worth it for everyone else other than me, the loss we might have had if none of us were as strong as we needed to be, would not have outweighed the gain, especially not when I was the one who was going to get said gains.

I reaffirmed my decision and looked forwards as the ship went through an archway, entering was looked like a large cavern with an island right in the middle. Up above there was an opening that met sunlight in, making me realize that this was not just a simple cavern, but rather the inside of a dead volcano. Around the shores of the island, precious and valuable crystals seemed to be growing out of the ground like plants, and even though there was an abundance of vegetation and trees, the crystals seem to be the only eye catching thing around.

There was a simple house build in the middle of the island, but I think it would be better to call it a warehouse. Or a barn that's built to look more like a house. It was in shambles with most of it's walls and roof caved in and rubble, but other parts of it seems to be intact.

I heard disturbances from the island and saw more Nereids on it, however this bunch looked nothing like the dungeon Nereids that we've fought so far, rather they looked conscious as they walked around the island, picking fruits from the trees, and squeezing water out of a bunch of weeds growing close to the canal water. But suddenly something shot out of the water, it was one of the dungeon Nereid, and he took a big bite out of the calf of the normal Nereid walking around the shoals of the little island.

He screamed, but his voice was drowned out by the screams of other Nereids as they too were attacked by the dungeon Nereids. There was panic all over the island as most of the normal Nereids took their heels and ran deep into the small forest that had grown around the island, a fright on their heels the dungeon Nereids followed with prejudice and bloodlust etched on their face. I turned to Qitar and shouted at her.

"What are you waiting for, take those abominations down. Darke prepared to weigh anchor, Raven Song! You, me and Jack would go down to that island to find out what's going on and help out where we can. Qitar and the rest would remain on the ship to cover our six and protect our ship. Let's go!"

Qitar raised her bionic arm, and just ad she did so, the ships weapons system came online, and her turrets started spitting out master fire in prejudice and anger as Raven Song, Jack and I jumped off the ship and onto the island, unleashing as much hell as we possibly could on the dungeon Nereids.

The Nereids coming out of the water and attacking the others were a dull shade of blue, while the real Nereids were bright and clear and had silver glowing tattoos allover their bodies. The dungeon Nereids weren't as strong as expected, though there was quite a few of them, dispatching them wad quite easy.

I offered support from the rear with my arrows as Raven song and Jack completely bulldozed their way through a simply endless swarm of enemies. But the assault didn't last long as the dungeon Nereids turned around after a few minutes of dying at our hands. It didn't make much sense about why there was two different types of Nereids but there was always an explanation and maybe a quest also attached to it.

We made our way off the beach and into the forest, moving forward almost twenty meters before we came to a glade. The Nereids were huddle together with what looked like harpoons for weapons, and around the glade there were structures that looked like huts, but on a closer look, I realized they were tanks, fish tanks but more sophisticated in the fact that they grew Nereids in there.

The tanks were empty though, and based on the damage that I could see around them, whatever was in those tanks had broken out, or had been broken out. I shifted my gaze back to the Nereids, there were about two dozen of them, and most of them were injured, emancipated, sickly, and very much afraid of me and my crew. However one thing I could confirm was the fact that they were all starving, and they were all young.

Except for an old dude being hidden in the middle of their huddle, every Nereid that I could see did not look any older than seventeen with some looking as young as 4 or 5 years.

Seeing such a sight did not allow me to keep pointing a weapon at them, so I had Sky transformed back into her elephant form. I raised my hands as I walked closer to them, making my self seem as harmless as possible.

"Please don't be afraid, I'm not here to hurt you, and I helped you fight off those dungeon Nereids remember? So let me help you guys some more, can you tell me what's going on here, how did you guys get here?"

The Nereids looked between each other before mustering up the courage to answer me. Though the way they answered freaked me the fuck out as all 27 of them spoke together, and at the same time.

"We were born here!"

Based on how wide eyed I looked, it was obvious I was shocked. But it was not the fact that they were born in the dungeon, it had to deal with how unsettled I felt by them answering my questions with the same answer, and all at the same time. When it was obvious I was taking a little longer than normal to answer, the old Nereid they younger ones were protecting came forwards and said to me.

"Forgive the young ones if they startled you. Nereids are telepathically linked to each other in one form or another, and this group of children are able to pull their minds together into one, making it so their mannerisms and answers are similar to each other. Plus being captives down here, they've not had many interactions with others apart from themselves, so they're not well versed in the proper way to answer outsiders." The elder explained with an apologetic tone.

"It's okay sir, I understand. My name is Aaren, Aaren Seven. And if you don't mind, can you please tell me what happened here, and why is it that you're besieged by the dungeon Nereids?" I asked him.

"Well it's quite a tale, but if you insist I will tell you. This dungeon use to be one of four temples of our great god and creator Njord. We are his Nereids, servants of his holy temple, his messengers, children and prophets. A little over five hundred years ago a calamity of some sort befell the world, no one really knows what it was, but it broke the enchantments of this temple, and an evil man, a scientist and a master of the magical arts, came here and perverted our very existence.

He kept us locked down here for ages, experimenting on us, breeding us like animals until he found all of the secrets that he wanted. After that he destroyed his lab and left, but as he was leaving he didn't take his abominations with him, rather he left them here as watchdogs, as a threat that continued to wear down my people until all of the adults were dead and eaten by the abominations.

We can't leave, not with those things acting as guards for me and what's left of my people. But you seem strong, and you have a ship! Please can you take us away from here, back into the embrace of the ocean, back to other temples where our kin reside."

I know this might probably make me seem like jerk but...Bingo!