Spear of Clouds Unfurled 5.8

"Ambush!" I shouted, as creamy-white shafts erupted from underwater bows and what looked like spear-guns, coming from the eleven Merfolk I could sense surrounding the underwater square.

I grabbed Meria immediately and summoned a shield over us, turning aside a trio of the sharp projectiles with dull, muted thunks. My barrier, which still wasn't foolproof, flexed and warped and in one place broke, but it had bled off enough speed that the projectile that got through didn't even scratch my armoured vambrace that I swung to knock the slowed bolt aside.

Beside me, I felt my friends react, projectiles pinging off Moustington's shield and Velevir literally slapping one of them aside with her super-dhampir speed and reflexes. Their auras were, like mine, mostly green anticipation and attention; a natural, reflexive posture that people who fought monsters for a living slid into, seemingly when facing normal people too.

Meria, on the other hand, was panicking,

"What- what's going on!?" she screamed, canary yellow fear blooming in her aura.

I pulled her close to me and repaired my shield.

"There are eleven of them," I said to my friends, pointing with my free hand at where our attackers were reloading their weapons, their auras betraying no small amount of worry that we had survived their surprise attack without injury. "There, there, there, and there."

"Got it," said Nathan, hefting his shield. "Mousington, can you take them out?"

"Lord Mousington!" corrected the very wet looking ginger-furred cat-man, flicking his claws and pulling dozens of small, razor-sharp pieces of metal from his belt with his magnetic magic. "And of course! Cover us please, Friend Charlie."

"What is going on!?" screamed Meria as more projectiles streaked towards us, clanging uselessly off amour and shields and my conjured barrier.

"We're under attack," I said. "Eleven-"

A swarm of metal whizzed through the water, and there were screams from across the square as the closest group were struck; streaks of red blood bloomed into the water.

"-ten left who feel like they can still fight," I said.

"But- but why!?" said Meria, her entire body trembling.

"I don't know," I said, pulling her tighter. "Just try to stay calm, OK? We'll protect you."

Meria continued to shake violently and gripped onto me like a vice as yellow lined with black swirled in her aura. Part of me very much wanted to calm her down with my empathy, to take away the anguish. But ever since the tin exam, where I'd seemingly changed a rather bigoted dhampir into a less bigoted one, I hadn't used my power to influence emotions on anyone real at all. I certainly wasn't going to start messing with the head of my girlfriend who I cared about a lot.

There were more screams as Mousington's swarm of controlled metal streaked towards another group, cutting and slicing in what I hoped were non-lethal strikes on the increasingly panicked group of, presumably, would-be bounty hunters.

A few more fired shots of what might have been shaped and sharpened coral bolts, but the rest of them seemed to realise that they had bitten off more than they could chew, and broke away, swimming at breakneck speeds, a few of them dropping their weapons as they went, black terror that was entirely their own swirling within them.

Mousington's weapons, trailing blood, moved to pursue them, but I grabbed his arm.

"They're running," I said. "And the others are all down."

Mousington's ear flicked in irritation, but he did recall his projectiles, which left thin streams of blood, like crimson strings, in the water behind them.

"Huh," said Nathan. "That was easy."

"Not adventurers, or mages," said Velevir, shaking her head. "Idiots to think they could take us, even underwater."

I hugged Meria, who was still trembling, kissing her on the forehead. "It's OK. It's over."

She gradually began to relax.

"Nathan, keep an eye on Meria for me, OK?" I said. "I need to go and make sure none of our attackers die."

***

I had never really asked Meria in depth about how justice was dispensed in Laemist. I had sort of assumed that they might have cops of some kind, but it turned out, not really.

Those who ran away were quickly found, and dragged out from wherever they were hiding by their surprisingly enraged neighbours who then corralled them in a large amphitheatre that seemed to hold most of the Laemist community, what must have been sixty thousand Merfolk who seemed just as angry as those who had dragged the miserable looking perpetrators in.

There was a lower area, that seemed to be filled entirely with merfolk who had the same steel colour hair as Elder S'corra, and who, once there was enough of them, drew what might have been lots, seemingly to decide who was going to become the chair.

And then… talking began.

I couldn't follow much, but it was clear that this was a trial of some kind. The eleven merfolk who had attacked us were asked a rapid barrage of questions by the white-haired elders sitting in the lower section of the amphitheatre.

To begin with their tones were either denying or defiant, but as the trial went on, and at one point Meria was summoned to speak, the eleven began to grow more miserable and began shouting and wailing and curling themselves into balls that might have been some kind of expression of contrition.

It occurred to me, after almost two hours of this, that the attackers all seemed to be rather young.

"So, uh, what is happening?" I said when Meria returned. "I can't really follow much, you're all speaking too fast for me."

She was still clearly shaken, and threaded her arm through mine.

"What do you mean?" she said. "This is a Truthfinding."

"Err… is that like a trial?" I said.

"More or less," said Meria. "The Elders determine what happened, the accused confess, and then it is decided what the consequences will be."

"And… they don't need to speak to us?" I said, somewhat confused.

"You may speak if you wish," said Meria. "Although we do not wish to place burdens on our guests, and the perpetrators have already confessed to my retelling, and the retelling of several of the other witnesses."

"Oh, err, OK," I said, part glad that I wouldn't have to do any public speaking, part a bit perturbed that the trial didn't feel the need to draw on a key witness. "So… what is going to happen?"

"Oh, they're going to get exiled," said Meria, glancing towards where one of the attackers, a young woman with mostly golden hair was wailing in barely intelligible Southern Merfolkish.

"Exiled?" I said, uncomfortably.

That was… well, I guess that was better than prison. Maybe?

"Oh yes," nodded Meria. "It is a grave crime to attack a guest, worse when done for material gain—they have confessed they wanted to collect the bounty on you and the others from Port Imperial."

"They're young, aren't they?" I said. "Can't… can't they be rehabilitated, or something?"

Meria looked at me as if I had grown a second head. "For attacking a guest?" she said. "No, no—they have dishonoured themselves and the tribe, they must be exiled."

"Even if we forgive them?" I said.

"Which, you know, I don't," said Velevir, looking up from where she was playing a game of checkers with Mousington. "They tried to kill us, Charlie; you really want them to be here the next time you come to visit Meria without us?"

I shifted uneasily. No, I didn't really want that. Or, at least, I didn't want to be attacked by them again. But I also didn't want these people's lives to be ruined just because they'd made a mistake. It was one thing for the adventurers who had tried to murder me to be kicked out of Guildport (although they were still locked up, even though I'd complained to Laera again), it was another for people to be expelled from likely the only home they had ever known.

And, honestly, Velevir had been right. This hadn't been any kind of coordinated, serious attempt to kill us. Against adventurers, even in their element, eleven merfolk armed with bows and spearguns hadn't been serious threats when my empathomancy blunted their ability to launch a successful ambush.

"Their crime is not just against you, it has disgraced our community," said Meria, shaking her head again and making her loose strands of rainbow coloured hair bounce around her in a halo. "We do not wish to have those who would harm guests as part of our tribe."

I slumped a little. "And will they be able to find somewhere else to live?"

"It will be hard for them, they will have to prove themselves to another community," said Meria. "But exiles usually find new homes; it is customary to give them a chance in another community."

Well, at least it wasn't like they were being cast out into the deep blue ocean to just die of starvation or exposure or whatever giant sea-monsters probably lived in the depths…

Did giant sea-monsters live in Alaria's oceans? Probably.

I shuddered. Ugh, what a wonderful new thing for me to get creeped out by the thought of.

My own worry fell away as I felt anxiety swirl in my girlfriend's aura.

"Hey… you OK?" I asked, putting a hand on her arm.

She gave me a weak smile. "That easy to read me?"

"Pretty much," I said.

"I've… never been in any situation even remotely like that," she said. "I know… I know you surfacers- sorry, not you, I know that Alarian surfacers fight all the time, but it isn't like that down here. Violence isn't… it isn't normal here."

She hunched in on herself, and grabbed her arms.

"I keep on thinking back to when the spears were coming for us, and you- if you hadn't reacted quickly enough…"

"But I did," I said soothingly, more aware than ever that my constant dungeoneering had rewired my perception of danger more than a little bit. I'd been a bit scared when I'd first realised we were under attack, but after how poorly coordinated and not really that dangerous that first volley had been, my main concern had been with soothing Meria and trying to get Mousington not to kill them all. "And it was OK."

"But- but what if it happens again!?" she said. "People are saying that the tribe is changing, all the money coming in from the Mercians… what if someone else tries their luck!?"

She began to cry, and I pulled her close, once again having to force myself not to just calm her down with my powers. In many ways, the temptation was even worse than when I encountered a dhampir who was rude or racist to me, and I knew it would be so easy to just reach out and make them better. Here was a person I cared for deeply, and she was hurting, and I could make it all better, take away her fear, but in doing so I'd be changing her. Potentially permanently.

Which, obviously, I couldn't do. So instead, I just held her, as the elder's passed judgement upon the group of youths who had attacked us.

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