hollow0rld

[hollow0rld]

The Drunk Elf who did a Thing™

A short story that was suggested and that I should have shared long ago

It was supposed to be a simple job. Hired to get in, do her work, and leave. Go unnoticed, disguised amongst the crowd, and if anyone did see her, well, it could just mean a little extra work in the future. After all, the most important thing in life was getting paid, only second to getting paid a lot. But the latter was harder to obtain, so she had to settle with whatever job she could find, which lead to her current situation.

She wasn’t sure how long a bard could hold her breath that many miles deep in the ocean

It all had begun the previous evening, sitting in the middle of the town center, watching people pass by as she earned her daily copper by playing any requested tune in her trusty old lute. It was fun, it was relaxing, and the fact there were more visitors in the small town than usual meant a much better meal at her inn than what she had been getting the whole week. She wasn’t sure why that many people were hanging out there, and she didn’t really care either, as she planned to leave during the weekend for the next town in the map.

Just when she thought there should be enough money for a stew, she heard it. Music as she had never listened before, sounds that she would have otherwise never even considered possible, a melody that captivated her and everyone around her. Standing from her seat, and quickly climbing over the statue she had been sitting next to the whole day, she spotted the parade not too far away, emerging from the forest and with a clear path to the docks. People clapped, sung and laughed to the rhythm, just as she was tempted to join them, raising her instrument and doing her best to copy the music as the ensemble approached, the crowd surrounding her moving aside to let them pass. Only when they were close enough did she see who they were: a curious mix of merpeople and land inhabitants, some carrying instruments she was familiar with, most holding items clearly sea themed, the source of the sounds she couldn’t identify.

And the group kept moving forward, closer and closer to the beach, and yet they didn’t seem to be getting any further away from her. Only when her feet touched the cold water did she realize that she had followed along the procession, accompanying the music with her own instrument until whatever enchantment the notes had broke and she realized what she had been doing. The sound was starting to fade, as she stared at the people vanishing under the water, when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to follow the rest of the band?... Ah, I see, they didn’t finish casting the water breathing spell on you. Gods, I hope you are the only one, this is going to be very, very bad publicity for us if a corpse ends up floating to the shore in the morning... Hmm, the sigil should go like this... and... There we go. Come on, you are going to lose them in the seaweed jungles.”

Before she even had the chance to notice who or what had talked to her, still in the midst of her daze, the figure jumped into the water after shoving something into her hands. Blinking back into reality, she looked down to see... Pearls. Pearls as big as her eyes, round, perfect and shining against the moonlight. More money in a single round sphere than what she could make in a whole year travelling and playing her music.

The next thing she knew, she was running into the water, then swimming, then diving until she saw again the end of the parade, the promise of more riches in her mind as she resumed playing tirelessly through the dark depths, guided only by the sound coming from in front of her.

Caethia wasn’t just the capital of the Cohrian Kingdom, it was the kingdom itself. Every citizen of the kingdom owned a house in Caethia, and from the farthest reaches of the sea they would go for the Equinox celebrations. Why or how they celebrated this means little to this story, though. The only important detail is that artists from the surface would also be invited, returning with treasures from the depths to their own homes and the memories of the gathering.

It was early morning when she arrived. The city built in coral reefs, close enough to the surface to receive the sun rays, yet deep enough to not be subjected to the constant movement of the waves or passing ships. The light from above dimmed as they went deeper and deeper, but others would replace it, through magical means allowing the visitors to explore and go around the strange landscape, whilst the natives would prepare for the evening festivity. She visited every stall and open house, did her best to talk with the merpeople who didn’t know Common, tried new dishes and clothes to amuse herself, and danced, and danced, and danced until the sun sunk into the horizon. Not like she or anyone else there could see that, but the city turning darker was a sure sign of night approaching.

But as the rest of visitors and locals were getting ready, she... was a little lost. It was easy to take the wrong turn, specially considering she was alone and new to the place, and some parts would look the same no matter in which direction she swam. Was she upside down? It was hard to tell, and in hindsight, spending so much time with that nice couple and their ridiculously good snail ale could have only worsened her current situation. Because it was good, and they had so much of it they didn’t mind parting with a few bottles, most of which she had discarded as she kept swimming.

But she was far too drunk to notice the trail behind her, so her only option was to continue going down (or up?) and further along the only path she could see, until she could no longer hear the music coming from the party. Past doors and crevices she went, somehow managing to get behind several guards without them seeing her, or her even seeing them.

And then she saw it. The biggest pearl in the world (or so her dazed mind thought), gently floating above an important looking pedestal, eyeing her reflection on it as she pondered how much she could get for it. No, she wasn’t a thief, she was but a humble musician, but anyone could dream about a better future. She could sell the ones she already got for a lot of gold, but the one in front of her... maybe she could finally replace her lute’s strings. Or better yet, she could get it plated in metal. Silver would look nice with the fancy clothes she wanted to buy as well. She could even get a house. Or a castle. With servants, and great meals every day, and she would never have to work a day in her life.

And then she touched the pearl, and it fell from its stand.

Above, in Caethia’s plaza, the music ended. The visitors had no idea what was happening, while the merpeople looked around, frightened, as the reefs lost their color, turning white before they began to crumble, small pieces first, and giant chunks of coral began falling from above just as the ground too cracked under everyone. The merpeople fled by the hundreds and then thousands from their homes, in the midst of the confusion and rage knocking aside everything in their path, searching for the source of the city’s decay, but it was too late. A long, drawn out note came from a guard’s conch in the last pillar standing, the only sign to evacuate before it also toppled onto the city. In less than an hour, and before the even celebrations began, Caethia had fallen.

She woke up with a start in the middle of the room, the last thing she remembered being a sharp pain in the back of her head before everything faded out. It took her a moment to realize she was underwater, another to calm down until she realized she was able to breathe, and yet even more time to recall the events of the previous night. She dug into her pockets to find them empty, and looking around, no sign either of the giant pearl she had knocked over before. There was no music or laughter or dancing either, and as she left the room, no life either, wandering the empty hallways for what felt like hours until she finally made it to the main streets. Or what was left of them, the coral buildings stacked on top of each other, blocking the path upwards, no matter where she went all she could see was the whiteness of the dead structures. What even had happened? She felt uneasy, a feeling in her gut telling her that somehow, just maybe, this was all her fault. But there was no one to ask, nowhere to go, and nothing to do.

She tried to not cry as she picked up her lute and began playing, the last melody ever sung in the empty Caethia. Until the spell ended, and her lungs gave up, and her fingers stopped moving.

A lonely fisherman stood on his boat, looking at the still body he had just fished out of the sea. As he was about to offer the elf his prayers, a loud cough stopped him mid sentence, hacking and spitting seawater into his boat, causing the old man to laugh as he helped the elf up and offered a skin of fresh water.

“They sure know how to party, huh?”