While Scott rested, and Rosa lead half the faction on a merry shopping spree across the river, Lorelei regaled her sisters with tales of her engagement night. It did not matter how many times she told the story, her sisters wished to listen to it again and again.

Incredulous laughter, and general good humor pealed off the walls of a small underwater cavern largely unknown to the locals of the city. It had been hearth and home to the mermaids all week and served as a fine meeting point for them now.

“He really pushed his face into your ass, big sister?” asked a wide-eyed mermaid with a red tail and equally bright red hair.

“Yes, Avery! Our new lord made noises like one of those boat engines that we heard on the first day and vigorously shook his face between my cheeks,” admitted Lorelei. “I was taken aback, but also quite aroused.

“Oh, you’re so lucky. I haven’t had sex with a man in over a week!” exclaimed a mermaid with a blue tail and teal colored hair. Her name was Aquamarine, and she was at her wit’s end. “I fear my vagina will shrivel up and flow away with the tide any day now.”

“Hold on and be strong sister!” exclaimed Lorelei. “Surely, my darling will help you soon as well.”

Aquamarine smiled thoughtfully at the idea of getting the sex she longed for, and perhaps she would even witness this thing called a ‘motorboat without a motor.’

“Are you certain that you are alright with us mating with your darling, big sister?” asked Avery.

“I can’t be with him for now, except on a full moon night. There’s no rule against any of my sisters acting as my surrogate while I watch, though,” said Lorelei in a crafty tone of voice.

The gathered mermaids grew quite excited to hear those words. After what happened to Cecilia the small mermaid faction had withdrawn and kept close to each other. Few of them left the grotto save for the queen. This world was too horrible. Their dreams of finding a war-torn love affair had turned into a nightmare the moment those people showed up at the docks.

“When can we meet, the king?” asked Avery.

“We aren’t married yet, but I suppose you can call him king…” said Lorelei. “We need to clear out the treasury and move it to a new location closer to the capitol.”

“That house that he lives in is the capitol building, correct?” asked Aquamarine.

“Yes. It’s not quite a castle fortress but in the current situation it’s close enough,” said Lorelei.

Lorelei then clapped her hands together and looked to another blond mermaid. “Sala. You said that you found a good place?”

The blond mermaid swam forward a little then opened her arms. “Yes. I found a large sunken boat not too far from the capitol. It is too far from shore for the ghouls to be interested, and it’s not close enough to any other faction to be an immediate target.”

She asked for further details and the blond mermaid spoke at length about the location. Lorelei nodded her head in time with the report. The boat was large, but nothing particularly noteworthy. At best it would have a hold roughly similar in size to the grotto they now called home. If their part of the faction were to grow, they would need to build a much larger home in the future.

Lorelei paused for a moment then nodded once more. “Given the current alliance structure, it’s protected by allies and our own faction on three sides. That’s better than here, even if the drowned ship is more visible to invaders.”

“What about our dungeon? We can’t move it,” said Avery.

“True. We have to help my darling build up the faction so we can take down the men who hurt Cecelia,” said Lorelei. “Darling has promised me that the docks will be an important location in the near future and that he will occupy the area once he has the resources.”

“The treasury will help with that, but we don’t have much else to offer. Do we?” asked Aquamarine. “I mean, there’s less than a dozen of us left.”

A soft sigh escaped Lorelei’s lips. “This is also true. We planned to use neutrality to protect ourselves, and we managed it. Unfortunately, those humans either did not know that or chose not to care.”

The blond mermaid spoke up once more. “Actually, we do have something to offer!”

All eyes turned to her. Lorelei asked, “Oh? Do we Sala?”

“Yes,” replied Sala. “Darling has made an alliance with Eloa and her tribe in order to cross the river. We can offer the same and perhaps with similar requirements.”

“This is true, though we would not be able to require anything of him… he would possibly still reward us if we secured a second route across the river,” said Lorelei. “We can easily defend any boats that might seek to pass from the capitol to the East side of the river.”

“Not only that, we could protect their travels just by guarding boats as they travel down the river. They could take the river and be much safer than taking an overland route,” said Sala.

“Quick efficient water travel… we do have such to offer.” Lorelei tossed her head, an action that caused her perfectly naked breasts to jiggle merrily. Of course, such a sight was normal among the mermaids. They rarely wore clothing unless they were going out to fight or to speak with a land-dweller. Most types of clothing did not do well underwater long term.

“Once we can access our dungeon again, we can also raid it regularly. That means we could have two dungeons in this faction, since ours was started by us before the marriage of our factions,” said Lorelei.

“Speaking of which, do you think they’ll have one of their own soon?” asked Aquamarine.

“Yes, they are working toward that goal,” agreed Lorelei. “If they can accomplish that, then things will begin to move quickly for all of us.”

Lorelei and the mermaids continued to discuss their plans for some time. There was a lot to do, but this gathering of mermaids was true to their name. They were indeed a gossip. Easily distracted by every tidbit of news and interesting happening on the surface, they took the entire day just to prepare themselves to move some of their treasure.