A Tangled Web of Getting Even

A short story by Mark Craig. Yet in the Fabled Sea, Year 32 of the Questing Age.

“Getting even’s a tangled web, innit Mark?” Forren’s words cut through the still night, sipping ale on a rickety dock I’d crashed into earlier.

“Indeed, with an outstanding resistance to being tamed! I’ve been burned by it myself.” My thoughts wandered over childhood darings long before I met the Fabled Sea. Yet, newer threats still seek to end my budding life as a seareaver.

“Stories are dime a dozen, but true tales make for tasteful telling --- Come on then, what burned you?” Forren’s words accompanied a sloshing swig that dampened his beard.

“Alright, alright. You caught the last of it at the tavern anyway, admiring the necklace the Mindshapers gifted me. Alas, you won’t believe me even if I tell you.” Cupping the moon with my silver mug, I took a swill, drenching my mane in like manner. 

“Knock it off, will ya? I’m no stranger to mystery!” Forren leaned in, fraining looks overtaking his round leer. I held a smirk, hushing my voice to add to his tension.

“I found a Tidalblade, out in the Pestering Isles. The wretched undead were no match for my skills!” Forren’s look soon faded into a scowl.

“What bollocks! Tidalblades are folklore and fable!” Clearly, he had overlooked such tales, even within the Fabled Sea. Quips aside, I pressed on.

“There was much grit and planning to be had. I tracked down a keen band of skelts who chanced upon a relic giving way to the hidden keep of the Tidalblade, long forgotten in the depths of Mount Scarab. I hardly need expose their frustration, run aground by my clever shooting!”