Chapter 7: The Curse of the Water God

Sorenberg’s predicament cost the life of the archer, who was already cornered with nowhere to hide. The enraged ice dragon abandoned its pursuit of the two swordsmen and turned straight for the archer. Unbeknownst to it, even two magic arrows failed to stop the archer from escaping. Though he moved swiftly through the reeds like the wind, the ice dragon’s powerful freezing magic seemed to freeze the entire air. Even he thought he was doomed to death until Komer and the others intervened to save them.

Layer upon layer of constraints choked the ice dragon, making it hard to breathe. In panic, it realized that these cowardly humans were not as incompetent as it had thought. These must be human magicians. Some young ice dragons lacked experience in the human world. Having lived alone since birth, it knew little about humans. It only remembered its mother telling it that dragons were the strongest race—no one could challenge them, and ten thousand humans couldn’t pose a threat to a single dragon. Yet its mother had also warned it to be careful of human magicians, those wretched beings who could borrow power from the Dragon God.

At this thought, the ice dragon grew even more panicked. The power of the dark bindings seemed to have penetrated its body, and waves of dizziness and numbness made it realize that if it didn’t escape soon, it would truly be devoured by these despicable creatures. It glared hatefully at the humans still surrounding it. That guy could shoot countless fireballs and flames to disrupt its freezing aura, and that old man even used invisible magic ropes to bind it. These wretched ones! It would surely get revenge!

With a fierce roar, its dragon energy erupted once again. Under Lebrí’s sorrowful gaze, the dark bindings shattered under the intense shock. Its wounded body suddenly stretched out, and its ice-blue dragon breath exploded outward like a massive blast. “That damned thing! It’s trying to escape! Capture it!”

In a panic, Lebrí quickly cast more solidifying magic spells. The second dark binding spell was still being prepared when, before it could be unleashed, the freed ice dragon let out a proud roar. Its wings, already damaged, flapped violently as it rose into the air. With its last dragon breath spell, it spread its wings wide and flew away, disappearing in an instant as a black dot.

“It can’t run far! Search along the water’s surface quickly—make sure to kill it!” The archer, who had leaped out of the water, shouted orders at the bewildered jellyfish-like warriors around him. Yet he knew this was merely a formality; the ice dragon, having escaped from the heavens, likely wouldn’t linger in the swamp. The only hope was that the power of ambergris would take effect soon enough to force it to fall into the swamp, so that they could capture it.

It was then that the jellyfish people finally realized the presence of these uninvited guests—Komer and his group. Fortunately, some of the jellyfish soldiers who had initially surrounded Komer’s party were still alive. They quickly reported to the two grim-faced swordsmen who had already risen, while simultaneously re-forming a battle circle around Komer’s group. Komer and his companions, perched on the reeds, watched the scene awkwardly. These jellyfish people seemed extremely suspicious. They were essentially saving these folks, yet they still held hostile gazes. Wasn’t that enough to show their goodwill?

Fortunately, someone finally stepped in to stop the leader of the jellyfish soldiers. Though his strange tone was hard to understand, Komer and his group managed to grasp his meaning: they should return to the balcony first, as they would come to talk to Komer soon.

Komer silently observed the three people sitting in front of him—three powerful jellyfish beings. Clearly, the two swordsmen were a rank or two stronger than the burly man with the long bow. Although they had suffered heavy damage from dragon breath magic and dragon magic, their presence on the balcony at this moment proved how much they valued Komer’s group.

Gate was already waiting on the balcony as the introducer. He had never met these three before; likely, none of them were in charge of such matters. And if one wasn’t familiar with the jellyfish people, it would be easy to be confused by their somewhat similar attire, making it difficult to distinguish differences among them.

“Oh, you’re a merchant? What about those four?” The strange tone was particularly difficult for Komer and the others to understand, but it posed no problem for Gate, a merchant who had long dealt with jellyfish people.

“Uh, they’re my friends—Mr. Komer from the Caucasus and his companions,” Gate said, tilting his body slightly and giving a subtle nod, signaling that it was time for Komer and his group to take charge of the conversation. He wasn’t sure about the purpose of Komer’s party, but having done this much, he had already exceeded his task.

“Friends of the jellyfish people, we are guests from the Caucasus, our neighbors to the east of you. Although our arrival today is coincidental, we indeed have important matters to discuss with your leaders. I wonder if you can represent the opinions of the jellyfish people.” As soon as Komer spoke, he noticed the once amiable expressions of the jellyfish people turning cold, especially among the three strongest ones, who seemed to have experience communicating with humans. Though their speech was obscure, they could mostly understand mortal languages.

“It seems these mortal friends have come with a purpose. Although we can roughly guess why you’re here, out of respect for your efforts to help us, we’re still willing to listen to what you have to say.” The two swordsmen did not respond, merely lowering their eyes as if deep in thought. It was the man with the long bow who spoke. Komer could tell from the colorful, splendid cloak he held from the jellyfish warrior beside him that this man must be of high status, even higher than the two swordsmen behind him.

“May I ask how this jellyfish friend is named? I’m Komer, the current lord of the Caucasus.” It was clear that the other party was not welcoming them, so Komer didn’t want to waste time and got straight to the point. He had thought that by staging this act of assistance, he might gain some goodwill, but instead, he was rejected before even stating his purpose, which annoyed him somewhat.

The jellyfish warriors around them seemed to sense Komer’s lack of respect for their leader and began to make noise. But the man with the bow waved his hand to calm his subordinates and said firmly, “I am Hotep, the pharaoh of the Daize jellyfish tribe—what you might call its leader. You may speak freely. Today is a great opportunity for you, as all the leaders of our tribe are here. These two are the twin pillars of wisdom in our tribe, our supreme guardians. It’s a fortune for you to even see them.”

“Are the jellyfish people really such a rude tribe? We’ve taken such great risks to save you from trouble—is this the treatment we deserve?” Seeming to sense that Komer wasn’t willing to discuss his thoughts in such a situation, Rebrí tactfully interjected and changed the subject.

Although Rebrí’s words were somewhat rude, they were true. The Jellyfish People, though very reclusive, were not completely isolated from the outside world. They were certainly aware of the new rulers in the Eastern Caucasus and the tremendous changes that had taken place there, but it had nothing to do with them. Mortals would never enter the Great Marshes, so they only had a superficial understanding. They had their own lives, but the arrival of these men who claimed to be the masters of the Caucasus made them feel an inexplicable sensitivity, as if something was about to happen, prompting them to instinctively try to avoid and resist it.

Perhaps realizing his tone was rude, the Bow-Bearer glanced quickly at the two silent strongmen beside him, hesitated for a moment, and then said, “So what do you want? Don’t think that just because you’ve helped us, you can act recklessly. We haven’t even held you accountable for trespassing in our territory. We Jellyfish People are not ungrateful, but if that person thinks he can exploit a little kindness to demand favors, we will not agree to that either.”

The words of this leader named Hotep made Komer see him in a new light. It seemed these Jellyfish People were not as loyal and simple as imagined. At least the wisdom and cunning shown by this man indicated that gaining control over the shipping rights of the Catania River might not be so easy.

“If Leader Hotep thinks we’re here to benefit at others’ expense, then I must say he’s overly sensitive. Indeed, we have come here with a request, but we also bring some unexpected gifts for the Jellyfish People. Although friendship cannot be exchanged for profit, can mutual assistance not strengthen and deepen that friendship?” Komer asked back with a smile.

“Heh, how ridiculous. Lord Komer, it seems you don’t know much about us Jellyfish People before coming here recklessly. We have lived in these Great Marshes for generations, living in peace, with no needs or threats. The term ‘gift’ means nothing to us. It’s you mortals who keep trying to take over our territory. Haven’t all these incidents been enough warnings for us?” With a greasy face and colorful lines on his forehead, the Jellyfish Pharaoh’s attitude was clearly one of disdain.

“Is that so? It seems I was overthinking things. I didn’t expect the ‘Curse of the Water God’ to have already been broken by the Jellyfolk. Heh, I congratulate the nobles on solving this curse that has plagued them for hundreds of years. Goodbye.” Komer glanced at the Jellyfolk with a mocking smile, his tone indifferent.