Azmar hovered right beside the crow’s nest and let his avian beak hang open so Gunnar caught a good whiff of his foul breath. Darkness had fallen over the sea, so Gunnar doubted anyone on the deck below would notice the creature’s hovering form.

“Nymoria liked your little Wet Bandit caper back in Thailen. She wanted me to tell you it ought to get a lot of hits, whatever that means.”

Gunnar grinned. “Well, ya think she could mention it to Niall?”

“Who—? Oh, your hawk guy?”

“He’s a captain of the Nighthawks, but I’m sure he’d prefer Hawk Guy.”

“What’s the matter with him?” Azmar asked.

“Nothing, except that he hates me.”

“Hates you?”

“Yup.”

“Not that I can’t imagine infinite reasons why someone might hate you, how exactly do you figure?”

“Why do you think I’m stuck up here?”

Azmar shrugged his shoulders, an act that lifted him slightly as his wings flapped to maintain his hovering position. “Figured it had something to do with the pirates.”

“Pirates?”

Azmar extended a finger out toward the glowing green horizon, and sure enough, Gunnar could just make out the dark shapes of sails emerging from the thick greenish clouds on the horizon. His heart quickened.

He barely caught himself from rushing down below, before realizing he could simply DM his captain.

Gunnar: Ships to the west. Coming from the Spawn’s Va-Jay-Jay.

Niall: I see you’ve been studying your geography.

Gunnar: Used to study anatomy, so I guess this is right up my wheelhouse.

Niall: How many?

Gunnar: Va-Jay-Jays?

Niall: Ships.

Gunnar: Three. Think they’re pirates.

Niall: Very good.

Gunnar: Pirates… good?

Niall: Yup.

Gunnar: Wait, that’s Black Heart! So, this is some sort of covert meeting. That’s why I’m here and not the crew.

Niall: Oh, if only I could see the way the wheels in your mind turn… How are the clouds looking?

Gunnar: Getting closer from the west. Those ships are just ahead of the storm.

Niall: Those ships are the storm.

Gunnar: What does that mean?

Niall: It means we’ll be getting real close to it. Em and I are going out to meet them. Keep a sharp watch for any other ships.

Gunnar: I can come along too. I’ve got eyes back here.

Niall: Now, it’s my turn to ask. What does that mean?

Gunnar: Sort of a flying familiar. I can watch the horizon and help out up close.

He knew it was a long shot, and when Niall didn’t respond after ten seconds, he cursed and assumed the conversation was done.

Then, a final message pinged in his HUD.

Niall: Meet us at the dinghies in ten minutes.

Gunnar was grinning as he dismissed his display, but found Azmar scowling.

“What?”

“A familiar? That is the deepest kind of insulting.”

“What else was I supposed to say?”

“The only thing familiar between us is going to be my talons up your ass if you tell anyone else I’m your gods-damned animal companion.”

“I mean Nymoria did send you along to accompany me. Pretty sure that’s the definition of a companion.”

Azmar’s eyes glowed bright red in the dark. “Illustrious Guide. Trusted Advisor. Wizard Mentor. Need I go on?”

“Do you even do magic?”

“Divine Counselor. Royal Vizier. Godfather Figure.”

“That’s a bit much,” Gunnar said.

“You had options. That’s my point.”

“Oh, is that what you were trying to get across?”

Azmar growled and ruffled his wings in frustration. “You know exactly what I meant.”

“Hey, you’re not the only one who enjoys getting under people’s skin.”

“I hate you.”

“Likewise,” Gunnar said. “Now, anything else I should know?”

Azmar crossed his bony arms over his chest. “Nymoria would like you to remember that you’re a very tiny fish in a very large pond.”

“But I’m a bright and colorful fish, aren’t I?”

“You’re an urchin, is what you are.”

“What did she actually say. Verbatim.”

“Ugh… I prefer my creative spin. But fine. She was pleased with your performance in Thailen, and she wants you to be patient and do your time on this quest. It’s a pivotal next step. I suspect she would also like me to point out that I was right about Niall.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

A sharp cold wind rose up from the west as the clouds neared. The faint silhouettes of sails lingered near the edge of the storm a short distance away. On deck, Niall and Em removed the canvas covering from one of the dinghies and began preparing oars. One of Niall’s crewmen now manned the helm.

“Keep a good eye out,” Gunnar said.

Azmar offered no response as Gunnar began his descent.

A pair of Nighthawks lowered the dinghy from the side of the ship, and Niall handed Gunnar the oars.

“This is why I’m coming, isn’t it?” Gunnar groaned as he began to work the oars.

“Oh, yes,” Niall said. “I do hate rowing. I was going to have one of my crew do the honors, but you wanted to come along so badly…”

Gunnar did his best to hold back a groan. He had used a rowing machine at the gym a few times, but quickly found this to be much more difficult. The amount of resistance was far greater than he’d expected, and his left oar kept popping out of the water earlier than his right. The choppy water certainly didn’t help. He had to face backwards, and Em had to keep offering him directions to stay on course. Each correction was clunky to maneuver.

By the time they were one hundred yards out from the ship, his shoulders were already sore, but he’d managed to get both his arms in sync, and they began to make decent progress.

“So…” Gunnar said after Niall and Em had been completely silent for several minutes. “What’re we doing exactly?”

“Meeting Black Heart,” Niall said.

“Okay, why?”

“He’s an important ally. And the Masters asked me to pass along a message. For now, that’s all you need to know. How’re things looking to the east?”

Gunnar had seen no sign of Azmar, so that ought to be good enough.

“All clear.”

“Didn’t realize you had a familiar.”

Em glanced at him querulously, but Gunnar just shook his head and spoke between grunts as he rowed.

“He’s new. A bird thing.”

“A he,” Niall said. “That’s interesting. Familiars generally take on the opposite gender for whatever reason. Balance or something.”

“Well, not always, I guess.”

“Hmmm.”

Niall went quiet again.

Gunnar didn’t realize another boat was near until they were right upon them.

“Alright, stop,” Niall said.

Gunnar did and turned around to find a dinghy, about twice the size of their own, looming in the darkness only ten feet ahead. Three enormous pirates waited silently, the one at the bow stood up as their boat thudded softly against the side of Gunnar’s own. He had to grip the sides of the dinghy at the sudden movement.

The pirate motioned to them, and Niall and Em both stood. Gunnar followed suit, but Niall clasped him on the shoulder.

“Need you to remain with the boat or we’ll lose it.”

Em just smiled and shrugged.

Gunnar bristled with annoyance, but swallowed back any smart ass comments. “Fine.”

“You were the one who asked to come along,” Niall said. “You’ll be briefed on the intel when we return.”

“Yes… sir,” Gunnar managed.

“Besides, it looks like you’ve got company,” Niall added.

“What?”

Niall pointed to the starboard side of the boat, where Gunnar spotted something submerging as he and Em both turned to look.

“Merfolk,” Niall said. “They’ve been following our ship too. Considering your latest escapade, I assume you’re the reason they’re here.”

“Oh,” Gunnar murmured. “Er, yeah, thanks.”

“You have your conference. We’ll have ours. We’ll compare notes afterwards.”

“What do the Nighthawks care about the merfolk?”

“Merfolk know the goings-on of this sea better than any sailor. And they share no love for the empire. You may have formed this alliance in a foolhardy manner, but make the most of it.”

Gunnar nodded.

Niall and Em disembarked, and the pirates began rowing back toward one of their ships. Once they were a short distance away, a pair of hands latched onto the starboard side of the boat and a man’s face emerged from the water. Gunnar was expecting it, and it still gave him a start.

“You must be Dash?” Gunnar asked.

The merman nodded a greenish head.

Is everything clear? a man’s voice asked telepathically.

Gunnar thought it might not help ease the merman’s nerves to say that Niall had detected him for sometime. Instead, he merely nodded.

Dash glanced around one last time, then ducked down into the water again.

“Oh, come on,” Gunnar mumbled.

But after about thirty seconds, Dash appeared again, this time joined by Lydenestra. Both of them draped naked arms over the side of the boat. Lydenestra reached a hand for him, and Gunnar leaned forward and shook it. Her skin was smooth and cool, yet her touch somehow filled him with warmth.

Lydenestra looked different, even in the darkness. Her skin had already taken on a fuller, more vibrant hue, and her green eyes flashed. Her slick bluish hair was adorned with a tiara made of tiny glowing shells. They cast her face in a soft luminescence that reminded him of pictures he’d seen of deep sea creatures. She wore no shells any longer, though Gunnar had to chuckle at the way her long hair served the same purpose—clearly a chaste decision on the part of the designers.

“You look… really good,” Gunnar said, and then, glanced at Dash, worrying he’d said something wrong.

But Dash merely grinned. The sea has restored her. Thanks to you.

Lydenestra slipped her hand away from Gunnar’s, leaving behind a glowing sapphire-looking shell, just like the ones in her crown.

Shell of the Deep

Item Class: Mythic, Mer-crafted

Quality: Above average

Weight: 0.5

Description: Taken from creatures deep in the realms of the merfolk, this shell can be used to summon Dash or Lydenestra from anywhere in the sea.