Chapter 22: 2.08

Thera 2.08

Thera found herself surrounded by a dozen armed Mermen. Each one wore heavy armor— platemail that shimmered in the crystal clear waters. She recognized the magic woven into the enchantments. Soul magic. But weak. Incomparable to even the fading magic in the Ruins of Brunnholl’s Fleet.

They led her away from Wilmorn’s home, bringing her to the palatial spiral-shelled structure at the heart of Nephleus. At first, she’d been apprehensive to follow these Mermen, but she realized fighting them off would put Renatus and the other Lophis’ lives at risk, so she acquiesced. 

Wilmorn and Viviane followed them as well. The Mermaid kept saying that everything would be fine, but the wary look on the Gnome’s face kept Thera on edge. 

“You’ll be fine,” Viviane reassured her. “Just try to be polite. King Marius can be a bit… sensitive. But it’ll go alright. You’re a Mystic Turtle. He won’t possibly do anything to you.”

Even still, at the first sign of trouble, the baby Mystic Turtle was ready to escape with a burst of [Bubble Conjugation] followed by a [Minor Maelstrom] and [Hunting Dive] to avoid a confrontation. 

She didn’t know how strong these Mermen were. But they had the numbers on her. And it was such an incredibly vast sum she couldn’t comprehend it. It wasn’t just these armed guards, but also the dizzying waves of Merfolk that she passed on the way to the palace. 

While her arrival in Nephleus generated some buzz earlier, there hadn’t been enough time to garner any actual attention on the mystic Turtle. Now that word had spread throughout the underwater city, there was a large gathering of Mermen and Mermaids alike, hoping to get a glimpse of Thera.

She shied away from their watchful gaze. With their sheer numbers, they’d overwhelm her with ease. Escape was the only option if things went awry. But she hoped it didn’t come to that.

However, despite Thera’s apprehension, the group of little Lophis accompanying her didn’t seem scared. In fact, they were curious, breaking slightly from their orbit around the turtle. Renatus was the boldest of them, followed by Vigil and Gnav. They would’ve swam up to one of the staring Mermen swimming alongside the procession of guards if not for Thera calling them back.

“Gnaaaaah…” Renatus whined.

“We have to be careful,” Thera whispered as she coddled him and the others into her little shell neck hole. “Stay close to me.”

“Gnah,” he acquiesced.

A pair of pearl-like gates groaned open at the entrance of the palace. A dozen Mermen stood on either side with these golden instruments. Trumpets and cymbals and the like. They blared out a plume of bubbles as Thera backed up, afraid. The cacophonous sound subsided moments later as Wilmorn rolled his eyes.

“Always so ostentatious…” the Gnome murmured.

A familiar Merman swam forward from within the palace and announced.

“King Marius is waiting for you, esteemed Mystic Turtle! You may enter the Pearl Palace of Nephleus!” Thera recognized him. So did Viviane.

The Mermaid’s eyes widened when she saw him. She looked back quickly at Thera’s suspicious gaze before swimming forward to meet him. “Raen, I thought you said you’d keep this on the low!” she said in a hushed voice.

He shook his head apologetically. “I did, Viviane. But rumors spread quickly, and I can’t do anything to stop those from reaching the king.”

“That’s just… ugh.” She sighed, and Raen bowed his head. 

“I assure you, Viviane. I will do my utmost best to prevent an incident from occurring.” 

“I hope so…”

Thera barely heard their conversation, but it made her even more nervous. What could possibly happen inside this large structure? She moved forward apprehensively, trailing after Raen, Wilmorn, and Viviane. They passed through a long gilded hallway. The floor and walls were made of a white material that seemed to glisten, while the ceiling was arched and decorated in rare gemstone and rocks.

Thera found herself once again before a massive doorway, but this one was smaller than the first. It opened up smoothly— with a flash of magic. She narrowed her eyes as a semicircular chamber revealed itself, lined with even more guards than was outside of the palace. There was an elevated platform towards the end with an ornate throne at its peak. 

A Merman with bright blue scales swam in a circle over it. He wasn’t seated, clearly too anxious to even wait in place as he rubbed his chin. He looked quite young— younger than even Viviane— and wore a glinting object on his head. But Thera barely noticed him. Instead, her gaze fixed on the… other man standing beneath him. 

At first, Thera thought he was a monster of sorts. He had a red shelled body, looking quite similar to a giant crab, although Thera noticed some differences, mostly in the way his body curved upwards. He had pincers for hands and a pair of antennae sticking out of his head. It took a moment, but the baby Mystic Turtle managed to infer what he was— a Lobsterkin.

She’d read descriptions of their kind, and she’d noted their presence in the city when she first arrived in Nephleus. But this man was different from the others. He had fish-like scales on one half of his body, and his face had these barnacle-like protrusions scarring his cheeks. Thera shuddered at his appearance, but was still ushered forward by Raen.

The Merman guard cleared his throat. “King Marius, the esteemed Mystic Turtle has arrived!”

Thera wasn’t sure which of the two— between the antsy, young Merman and the disfigured Lobsterkin— was supposed to be King Marius. However, they turned their heads, halting their conversation at Raen’s announcement.

The Lobsterkin was the first one to react. His eyes narrowed as his gaze landed on the baby Mystic Turtle. 

“This is it?” he asked with a suspicious look on his face.

“Welcome, welcome,” said the Merman as he swam down from the throne. Spreading his arms wide, he spoke with a brimming smile on his face. “I am King Marius, it is a pleasure to welcome such an esteemed being such as yourself to my city—”

And he paused. Thera watched his gaze darken as it fixed on a figure next to her. She tensed, unsure of what that meant, but all the king of Nephleus did was point at Wilmorn.  

“Who invited the Gnome?” he said in a flat voice. 

Raen cleared his throat and answered, “[Alchemist] Wilmorn himself insisted on coming along with the Mystic Turtle, your majesty.”

“And who let him do that? I said I wanted to speak with the Mystic Turtle, not speak with that annoying little Gnomish plague on our city!” King Marius sputtered.

The Merman guard opened his mouth, but Wilmorn stepped forward with a grin. “I let myself in, your highness. It’s been a while since we last spoke, so I just wanted to check up on ya. Make sure you didn’t do anything dumb or impulsive with Thera around. Like, y’know, firing me just because I called your ideas stupid.” The Gnome thumbed at the baby Mystic Turtle’s direction.

Thera herself cocked her head in confusion. She didn’t understand what was going on, but Wilmorn’s words clearly annoyed the King of Nephleus.

“How dare you address me in such a manner! Just because you were the court [Alchemist] for my father doesn’t mean you can run your mouth like that, you damn Gnome!” Marius swam back, affronted. “Guards—” he started.

But the Lobsterkin stopped him. “Please, your majesty. Let’s not cause a scene. Not in front of the Mystic Turtle.” He nodded in Thera’s direction.

She backed up warily, although the tone of his voice somehow reassured her. King Marius hesitated, lowering his arm. Finally, he shook his head.

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“You’re right, Isra. If I were a lesser man, I’d have Wilmorn banished and killed for his offense against me, but I shall let this slide once again. This is why I chose you to replace that uncouth landdweller— you are both a far better [Alchemist] and person than he.”

Isra just bowed his head with a smile in response. Wilmorn, however, scoffed. 

“If being better means having more failed experiments with your own body, then sure. I guess he is better.”

“Wilmorn!” Viviane said, horrified. “You can’t just say that about Isra! And we came here to help Thera, but you’re just causing more trouble for her!”

The Lobsterkin just gave the Gnome a flat stare. “For a disgraced [Alchemist], you sure talk a lot. But no matter. Let us focus on the topic at hand.”

“Right, right.” King Marius nodded and turned to the baby Mystic Turtle

Thera, who had been lost at what was going on the entire time, shrank back as all heads in the room turned her way. Renatus stopped Vigil from poking out and distracting her. She mustered up the courage to speak, facing the room. 

“Why am I here?” she asked, looking around.

Clearing his throat, Marius spread his arms wide and floated before her. “Welcome, esteemed Mystic Turtle, to the city of Nephleus. I have heard much about your kind, and to meet you is an honor even to one such as myself.”

Wilmorn snorted, but Viviane stopped him from adding any additional commentary. Thera nodded simply. 

“I am here,” the Vanima Testudine said. “Can I leave now?”

Marius froze. Isra blinked a few times before holding back his laughter. Wilmorn wasn’t so kind, chortling the moment he processed her words. She would’ve left there and then, but the King of Nephleus blocked her way.

He swam around her, bringing his hands up placatingly. 

“Now, now. Let’s not be too hasty. I know you Mystic Turtles are… solitary creatures. But there’s no need to take your leave so soon. We can offer you plenty of accommodation here to stay and rest a while.”

“Accomodation?” Thera frowned. “Do you mean you can offer sanctuary? Protection?”

Marius’ eyes lit up as he gestured around the throne room. “Of course! We can offer you all that and more!” 

He glanced towards Wilmorn with a shake of his head before swimming closer to Thera. She watched him lean forward conspiratorially and whisper softly only to her.

“Look, if I’m being honest, I don’t really care about your whole Mystic Turtle thing. However, the city loves you. And I love it when the people are happy. I’m not going to bore you with the details, but I’ve been having some… troubles lately with keeping them at ease.”

The King of Nephleus swam back as Thera just stared at him without responding. She didn’t understand a single bit of what he was saying, nor did she know what he was getting at. He explained it in a moment as he spread his arms wide.

“So, I offer to you sanctuary, oh esteemed Mystic Turtle,” he announced for everyone to hear. “If you desire— a permanent sanctuary. When you are weary from your journeys, do not be afraid to stop by our city for rest. In exchange, all we ask for you to promise you will return the favor and offer us protection if the need ever arises.”

Thera gave him a confused look as he winked back at her. She didn’t get what he was getting at, and in fact, she found it to be ridiculous because— 

“I wasn’t asking for sanctuary for myself.” She glanced back at the little Lophis peering out from her shell. “I was asking for sanctuary for them.”

Vigil took that as a cue to swim forward. Renatus tried to catch her— stop her from going out. But she went anyway. Thera didn’t notice the fish leaving her back. 

“Once I have found a place for them to stay,” she said, “I will be leaving this city.” 

And it’s odd here, she added in her head. I don’t like this place.

King Marius paused. His jaw dropped as Wilmorn stifled his laughter. Isra’s antennae wiggled as his face scrunched up, observing the situation. Viviane looked like she had something to say to Thera, but the Merman spoke in outrage.

“You can’t be serious, right? Are you talking about those… fish?” He gestured at Vigil who peered back curiously at him.

Thera blinked when she realized the little Lophis was separate from the others. She moved to catch Vigil, but the fish swam up to Marius. 

“Yes—” Thera said as she held back, looking on as Vigil floated before the Merman. “I came here to find a place for them to live.”

“These are fish. No one cares about these animals.” King Marius huffed and snatched up Vigil.

“Gnah!” she squeaked in shock. 

Thera’s eyes widened at the sudden move. The Merman waved the baby Lophis carelessly around as he shook his head.

“Why should we offer anything to these— urk!” And he yelped.

The baby Mystic Turtle headbutted him hard. She grabbed Vigil as the King of Nephleus went sailing. Gently caressing the Lophis, she eyed the Merman dangerously. “Don’t you dare touch any of them.”

There was a moment where nothing happened. The room fell silent— even Wilmorn stopped laughing. Viviane covered her mouth, gasping. Both Isra and Raen exchanged a glance. King Marius landed with a soft thud against the wall, blinking. 

Then his eyes burned with rage.

“Y-you— how dare you lay a hand on the King of Nephleus!” King Marius yelled as he faced her. “Guards! Seize her!”

With that order, all the guards in the throne room moved into action. And Thera’s body shone, preparing for a fight.