Kairos 53: Counteroffer

Congratulations, you earned a level (total fifty) and 3 Skill Points.

Aggressive negotiations paid well.

His eyes closed on a bed of seagrass, Kairos dreamed of home.

Watching through the eyes of his [Idol] in Histria, he informed his wife of the current developments through Thales’ code. He told her about Andromache’s suspicions that Mithridates was building an amplifier for his trident shard, and about negotiations with Orichalcos.

The treaty was still being drafted, but so far, the merfolk royal family offered the creation of an embassy and trading post both in their capital and Histria, alongside a renewable non-aggression pact and tax exemptions on spices, medical herbs, and other merchandise. In return, they expected Kairos to destroy the temple of Hybris, periodic help against the Cetea, and an annual exchange of gifts to renew the treaty.

His wife didn’t hide her disappointment.

“It is better than nothing, but little gain compared to the risks,” she said. “If that dome collapses while you are inside it, your crew will drown. And even if you make it out alive, you would have removed an existential threat to the merfolk’s internal security for a few trading benefits. I believe you could ask for more, husband. Squeeze them dry.”

Easier to say than do. The merfolk royals were as stingy as they were arrogant, and clearly had no experience dealing with other nations as equals. They demanded tribute or vassalization in exchange for stronger concessions, which Kairos was opposed to. They were willing to offer information on the temple and minimal assistance, but little more.

WHAT ABOUT MITHRIDATES? Kairos asked using their code.

“I am organizing a meeting with Queen Euthenia of Orthia,” Julia explained, with a hint of anger. She still resented how Mithridates had murdered Prince Critias at their wedding. “Though our last encounter didn’t go well, she knows the Poison King organized her nephew’s death. She might help us find the location of his arsenal and sabotage it.”

Hopefully. Kairos promised to try to obtain better terms from Orichalcos, and Julia replied that she would share with him any information she found.

His business done, Kairos opened his eyes to find his back against seagrass, and his head resting on a pillow of seal fur.

The merfolk had given special quarters to the crew in the city, adapted for their rare landwalking guests. The building, an architectural marvel made of undersea stone and crystal, was shielded from the water outside by spells. Multi-colored algae covered the walls, while organic, semi-transparent barriers functioned as doors. Crystal windows let the city’s light in from the outside, with the Foresight anchored near the building’s entrance. My own Cerberus, the Travian captain thought in amusement.

Kairos shared his room with Rook, who slept near the seashell-shaped bed with seagrass for a mattress, and Andromache. The Scylla stood in front of a mirror near the window, trying out a beautiful gown of translucent red fibers given to her by the merfolk as a ‘gift.’

“Are you done talking to your wife?” the witch asked with reproach in her voice.

Kairos rose from the bed and approached his concubine, putting his hands around her waist. She didn’t push him away, but didn’t welcome him either. “Are you angry with me?”

“When you are with me, my other half, I want you with me.” Her teeth necklace glittered from the faint light outside the window, while her gown left little to imagination. Kairos’ eyes marveled at the perfection of her curves, at the fullness of her breasts. He felt his blood quickening in his veins. “I want you, body and soul. I don’t want to share half of you with someone else halfway across the world.”

“I am all yours right now.”

Unable to resist anymore, Kairos’ left hand trailed against her leg, before finding a way beneath the gown. Andromache let out a cry of surprise, as his fingers reached out her thighs.

“It’s going to sound dirty,” Kairos admitted, as he started pleasuring her. While his left hand played with her lower parts, his right moved to her breasts. “Watching you put that mermaid queen in her place… it aroused me.”

“I wanted to rip out that insolent tongue of her…” she said between moans. “To watch her choke on her blood…”

“I would have carried you over the corpse,” Kairos whispered, for he knew her well. “And made love to you on that coral throne.”

“Rip it,” Andromache asked, her fingers touching the fine gown. “Rip it off.”

“It costs a fortune—”

“Rip it off!” She ordered with a hiss. “I hate it.”

He did, tearing off the gown while she moved to remove his pants. “I hate this city,” Andromache complained when she wasn’t kissing Kairos’ shoulder. Her fangs drew a little blood, but the pleasure of feeling her skin against his made up for the pain. “I hate these fish, their palace, their arrogance...”

“Me too,” he confessed while carrying her to the bed. They had all the resources in the world, so much wealth, and yet they still dreamed of a glorious past long gone. “But we’ll be gone soon.”

“Not soon enough.”

They made love on the bed with the same passion as their first night, and Kairos slept soundly.

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Or so he thought.

When Kairos opened his eyes, white skies spread as far as he could see, and his back slept against a much harder ground. It took him a moment to realize that he had awoken on the Foresight’s deck.

Kairos rose to his feet, noticing the [Anemoi Spear] within arm’s reach, and the surreal sight of Rook dangling a fishing rod over the deck with his beak. The Foresight sailed on a calm sea’s surface, without waves nor a horizon. No crew piloted the living ship but Kairos’ own will.

“Is this a dream?” the captain asked rhetorically. Nothing existed beyond this strange sea. The sun had vanished alongside the moon and the stars, leaving nothing but a white, lifeless expanse.

Nothing but air and endless water.

“Of choursh ish a dreamsh, shilly!” Rook replied, though Kairos struggled to understand him while he carried the fishing rod in his beak. “Ish our dreamsh!”

Had the [Animal Companion] bond strengthened to that point that they could share a dreamscape now? Spear in hand, Kairos joined his friend and sat at the deck’s edge. “Does anything bite?”

“It shoulsh, ish a dreamsh!” As if to answer his words, an invisible force began to pull the string below the waters. Rook would have fallen overboard if Kairos hadn’t caught him in time. “Ish a big one! Kairos, help! Help!”

Putting the [Anemoi Spear] aside with laughter, Kairos grabbed the fishing rod and tried to help him claim the fish for dinner. Both human and griffin pulled, and pulled, but whatever dream catch awaited at the bottom refused to rise up.

For a moment, Kairos was brought back to a memorable day of his childhood, when his father Chron and elder brother Taulas took him fishing near their hometown’s waterfront. The family had been starving due to famine, and Taulas had caught a fish large enough to feed everyone for the night. Kairos fondly looked back to this moment, as one of bliss and relief in an ocean of desperation.

But the joy had left the family’s house the next morning, when the hunger returned with no fish left to satisfy it.

Though the skies remained as white as snow, the waters beneath the Foresight darkened. It’s a big, big fish, Kairos thought, as an unnatural cold chilled him to the bone; the moisty frost of the sea’s depths.

The fishing rod snapped, and the creature emerged.

Its arrival sent waves across the dream sea, making the Foresight waver. The surprised Rook fell on his back, while Kairos instinctively grabbed his [Anemoi Spear] and pointed it at the creature.

He immediately realized it would be a foolish proposition, as the monster, a Cetus, dwarfed even the Foresight in size; its maw alone could snap the ship in half. The chimera had the body of a sea serpent, the head of a shark, and a lizard’s forelegs. Eigh crimson eyes blinked on each side of its throat, and four anglerfish’s lures dangled from its forehead. Its azure scales were as strong as steel, its fangs long as spears.

That wasn’t a dream.

That feeling of an unwarranted presence, that invisible pressure… the Travian could sense it instinctively, the way a predator sensed the presence of an intruder in their territory.

“What are you?” Kairos asked, his fingers tightening on his weapon’s grip; his [Observer 3] Skill failed to activate, perhaps because of the dreamscape’s nature. Rook immediately rose back to his feet and bravely glared at the monster, heedless of the danger.

The voice that answered sounded like the crashing of waves, the dreadful noise of a raging sea.

“I am the fin rising from the waters. I am the shadow that stalks the depths, and carries ships into the darkness.”

The creature’s eyes all focused on Kairos, red and bloody.

“I am Hybris, [Demigod] of pride and sea monsters.”

A Cetus [Demigod], and one of the most dangerous.

Kairos had researched this creature when he wondered how to develop his own religion. Hybris had cults on the surface, mostly in coastal settlements, who gained pearls and undersea wealth in exchange for human sacrifices. The fact that it openly advocated increasing the sea’s level had made it loathed by most surface deities.

Most people prayed against Hybris.

“You forget deception among your portfolio,” Kairos said, having done his research.

“It would not inspire trust if I said it,” the Cetus [Demigod] replied with a dry, all-too-human tone.

“How did you get inside our dream?!” Rook asked, incensed.

“This is not your dream, feathered one.” Hybris glanced at the Foresight. “This is its dreamscape. We are all guests here.”

Kairos glanced at his ship’s bow, and noticed that it had opened midway to reveal a row of sharp fangs and a hungry jaw.

The Travian knew that his ship had gained a measure of intelligence as it consumed more and more monsters, but if it had grown alive enough to dream… “You called that Cetus?” Kairos asked his ship.

He didn’t expect an answer, but to his surprise, the Foresight’s mast briefly wavered like a spear.

A nod.

“By feeding on my kindred and so many others, your ship consumed part of their essence,” Hybris rasped. “As [Demigod] of sea monsters, I share a kinship to all predators of the sea… your Foresight included.”

You are what you eat, the Travian thought grimly. “I would rather have a warning next time,” he said to the Foresight. “I hate unexpected guests.”

“Do not make that face, manling,” Hybris said, vaguely amused. “Your ship is as loyal to you as this bird of yours. It called me to defend your interests.”

Kairos remained skeptical. “The merfolk hired me to destroy your temple in Atlantis.”

“I have heard,” the Cetus replied. “My ears carry far.”

So he had informants among the merfolk. Somehow, it didn’t surprise Kairos all that much. “Have you come to attack me in my sleep?”

“No, landwalker.” The Cetus lowered itself in the water, until only its ‘face’ and eyes peeked over the surface. Its lures wriggled and flickered like torches. “I have come to make you… a counteroffer.”

Kairos’ frown deepened, and the Travian rose on his feet. His eyes locked with the alien horror. “I would be a fool to listen,” he said. “I heard the tales that caused people to call you a deceiver of men.”

Hybris said nothing, its cold dead eyes appraising the human.

“A century ago, the Thessalan city-state of Poseidopolis saw an old man walking on the sea’s waves like one would on land,” Kairos said. “The old man pretended to be a lost son of Poseidon. He provided miracles to the city, calmed the raging sea, and offered wise advice. For weeks more and more people traveled to the city to meet with this Old Man of the Sea, until thousands believed in him. Then one day, he said he would lead his faithful on a great trip to a golden, wealthy land beyond the horizon. Thousands answered the call, selling their possessions to fill ships with provisions, goats, and pigs to survive the long journey, promising that they would return home rich… but when their vessels took to the sea…”

Kairos glanced at Hybris’ angelfish lures. “The old man vanished, and they saw the lure.”

Hybris opened its maw, revealing countless rows of fangs.

“You and a hundred Cetea fell on the ships and devoured the crews, their animals, and all those who attempted to rescue them,” Kairos said. “By the end of the day, the sea had turned red, and not a single survivor made it to safety. When their families went to the shore the next day to mourn, the sea had retreated to reveal a wealth of bloody pearls and gold-filled chests.”

“I did not lie,” Hybris replied, showing no guilt whatsoever. “I was a scion of Poseidon, and I rewarded their sacrifice handsomely. It was an honest trade.”

“A trade whose ghastly cost you hid.”

“Because mortals want everything for nothing,” the Cetus replied. “But perhaps you are the exception to the rule.”

Kairos scoffed. “Trying to flatter me?”

“I have observed you for a while, [Monster Reaver]. Though you hunted and slew two of my kindred, you are different from other manlings. You welcomed the creatures your species call ‘monsters’ into your army, even fathered children with one. You wish to become a god of beasts and words. I thought we might be...”

The entity pondered its next words carefully.

“Natural allies.”

Kairos laughed. “You want to sink our islands beneath the waves, and I live there,” the [Hero] said. “Your fellow monsters prey on our shores and ships, and your cults toss maidens into the water.”

“All of this is true… and yet missing key context.” The creature’s eyes glanced at the skies. “Why do you think we Abysseans rise to the surface, to hunt your ships and devour your men, when the sea below is teeming with life?”

“For sport.”

“Some of us do so, yes,” the [Demigod] conceded. “The old gods of the sea created us for that purpose. To torment those who didn’t worship them. We hunger for blood. The instinct is always there… just like with the one you love.”

Kairos scowled. “Don’t bring Andromache into this.”

“She struggles against her nature,” the Cetus continued. “You sensed it too. Yet, she is moving on from it. So why can’t we do the same?”

“Your species showed no interest in peaceful coexistence with the surface,” the [Hero] replied.

“They tried to eat us!” Rook complained. “So we ate them first!”

“Coexistence is currently impossible because we need more space and more food than we have,” Hybris argued. “We Abysseans and Cetea must deal with the dark, lifeless abysses, or the harsh trenches where life struggles to thrive. This is not enough, so we look to the surface for food. That state of affairs was not inevitable, human.”

The beast angrily swayed its tail below the water, sending small waves in all directions. “When the flood happened, the oceans became vast enough for all of us children of the depths. We could have had peace. But we were the outcast children of the sea gods, the monstrous. So the merfolk and the nereids chased us. They took the fertile regions and the best hunting grounds, before refusing us entrance to our forefathers’ sunken cities.”

Kairos winced, as the story began to sound rather familiar.

“We were pushed into the darkest and poorest corners of the ocean. We were born monsters, true, but it is the merfolk who kept us that way.” Hybris calmed itself, though the fury simmered beneath its crimson eyes. “I had a vision for my people, Kairos the Landwalker. Once where we would rule the depths and enjoy the sea’s bounties we were denied by virtue of our birth.”

Kairos looked away.

These words echoed a bit too much like his own.

“Once I sought to expand our territories by sinking the surface, that is true,” the Cetus argued. “But only because the merfolk denies us space here, under the waves.”

“So you pretend to be Travians of the sea?” Kairos asked, locking eyes with the creature again. “My apologies if I find that story dubious.”

“Believe what you want, human. It is the truth.”

“The truth, from a god of deception?”

“Without truth, there can be no lies.”

Maybe… or maybe not. The story sounded halfway plausible, but Kairos knew better than to trust a Cetus [Demigod] at his word. For all he knew, it could be a sob story to exploit the Travian’s sympathy, or Abyssean propaganda to justify their ravenous ways.

“Let’s assume that I believe you for a moment,” the Travian said. “What do you want us to do, swim away?”

“This war for the depths does not concern you,” Hybris replied with a nod. “If you wish to avoid being caught in it, then we Abysseans will offer you gifts of our own and grant you safe passage through the depths.”

So, it offered Kairos a bribe to stay neutral and walk away. Though the Travian enjoyed the idea of being paid to do nothing, it meant the loss of a trade agreement with the merfolk and long-term development for his colony.

“But there is…” Hybris’ maw morphed into a twisted parody of a smile. “Another way. A glorious way. The merfolk believe we use this temple as a staging point to start raids, but their eyes are small. They do not see it for what it is: a dagger pointed at their empire’s heart.”

Kairos’ eyes widened. “You want to invade and sack Orichalcos’ capital.”

“I want to conquer it,” Hybris corrected.

“How?” Rook asked, sitting on his hindlegs. The griffin had grown more and more anxious as the discussion went on.

“I will not tell you, unless you join me.” Its eyes glanced at the [Anemoi Spear]. “But your assistance will help a great deal, human.”

Kairos kept his mouth shut, and Hybris began circling the ship. The gesture reminded the Travian of sharks circling a man in the water, trying to see if they were prey, a foe, or a kindred. Though the creature was articulate, it remained a dangerous predator at heart.

“Why do you want this one city so much?” the [Hero] asked.

“Over the centuries, I have steadily worked to unite our people into a single whole,” the Cetus replied. “I have formed alliances with the other [Demigods] and solitary [Heroes] of my kind. We have colonies, but nothing like Orichalcos’ capital. If we can conquer it, my people can finally settle and become a true civilization. We will have plenty of fish to feed on, more than enough to satisfy our hunger.”

“What’s in it for me?” Kairos asked carefully. It didn’t cost him anything to listen, and he might gain useful information.

“The pearls, the ivory statues, the gold... little of this shiny wealth matters to my people. You can take it if you want once we loot the city. Only the territory, the food, and the strategic position interest us. The magical items we will split evenly.”

“Including the trident’s shard?” Kairos asked

The monster scoffed. “You are greedy, manling.”

“I won’t let something capable of sinking islands in the hands of a [Demigod] preaching exactly that.”

“Nor can I give landwalkers the means to undo the flood, and reduce our territories’ space.” The creature stopped its movement. “But we could always destroy it…”

This caught the human [Hero]’s attention. “It’s possible?”

“Mayhaps…”

“Mayhaps is not a yes.”

“Those who forged the artifact might be able to undo it.”

The Cyclops of Argos? Like Orgonos?

If yes, it would prevent these shards from threatening the surface in the future… but also make it impossible to recreate the artifact and undo the flood. Though Kairos doubted it would happen in his lifetime, destroying that possibility, as remote as it was, made him feel uneasy.

“What about the merfolk?” the Travian asked, changing the subject.

“With the loss of their capital, Orichalcos will shatter into petty kingdoms, too occupied making wars on each other to oppose us…” The Cetus chuckled. “Or you.”

“They don’t bother us in the first place,” Kairos pointed out. “The merfolks have no interest in the surface, unless their merchants are threatened.”

“Yet they sank many islands in the past. They will sink yours too.”

“I can force them to make an oath.”

“Mayhaps, but the risk will remain so long as they possess their piece of the trident,” Hybris argued. “Once you are no longer useful to them, they will drive you out like they did with us.”

“Thousands of innocent merfolks will suffer,” Kairos said, anxious. “You will shatter their civilization and hunt them back into the depths.”

“They will, and they deserve it,” Hybris replied bluntly with vengeful fury. “People will suffer, yes. But it won’t be your people.”

The more he heard, the less the Travian liked it. “An assault will make us a foe of the merfolk.”

“Without their trident, they will be nothing but a nuisance. Do not worry, landwalker. They will be too occupied fighting us to bother with you.” The Cetus lost patience with the negotiations, and went straight to the point. “So what shall it be, manling? Will you fight with us?”

Only one answer came to mind.

“No,” Kairos declared.

Hybris responded by letting more of its body peek out of the dream water, until it cast the entire Foresight in its dreadful shadow. If it was meant to intimidate the human [Hero], it was a lost cause. The Travian remained as calm and serene as a pool of water.

“Why so?” Hybris asked, its voice dangerous.

“Besides all the dangers involved in your scheme, I have studied you, Hybris. You advocate your servants to make war on other religions, and why would my cult be any different? Why won’t you wage war against my crew once we’re no longer useful to you?”

The Cetus [Demigod] had a ready answer. “Because if you join me, I will sponsor your introduction into our [Pantheon].”

Kairos frowned in confusion. “A [Pantheon]?”

“Do you not know?” The ancient horror seemed amused, delighting at his ignorance. “[Heroes], [Demigods], and [Gods] can form alliances called [Pantheons]. The Olympian Dodekatheon was one, the Titans another. Through this alliance, the System granted them favor and power. The throne of the Olympians is empty, and new groups must take their place. The wolf god’s pack has formed one, some of your foes another.”

“Which foes?” Kairos asked, instantly suspicious. He raised his spear’s tip at the creature, though it didn’t even flinch. “Why is it that the System never informed me of that possibility?”

“A [God] is needed to form a [Pantheon]. Lone [Heroes] and [Demigods] do not have that possibility. As for your foes, I could tell you… but not for free.” Sensing Kairos’ ignorance of the matter, the Cetus continued to pitch his offer. “By joining our [Pantheon], you will gain unique Legendary Skills, a telepathic connection to its members, and your [Idols] will be built in our temple. It will be easier for you to ascend through the [Legend] Ranks.”

“Sounds good,” Kairos replied, skeptical. “Where is the catch?”

“Once your fate is bound to a [Pantheon], only the System’s will can break the bond,” Hybris warned, “and conflicts inside the alliance will be punished. The offer stands for your Scylla paramour as well.”

“Oh, could I join it too?” Rook asked, suddenly interested. “I’m the senior partner here!”

Kairos couldn’t suppress a smile. “Our [Legends] are bound, Rook, it’s part of the package.”

Though if that creature spoke the truth, then it opened a new world of possibilities… Even in the case Kairos didn’t join this [Pantheon], he could study the existence of others.

“Which [God] made this alliance possible?” the human asked with caution, but the Cetus remained silent. “A little trust would help.”

“Trust is earned, manling, I already told you more than I should have.”

Realizing he wouldn’t get any more information, Kairos considered the proposal. There were too many unknowns to his liking, and while the rewards were great, it meant allying with dangerous creatures and destroying an ancient civilization for wealth. Though the Travian was a pirate king at heart, he didn’t quite find how such an alliance would benefit his people in the long term.

A mad idea suddenly crossed his mind.

He would have called it a pipe dream years ago, but…

“How much influence do you have over sea monsters?” Kairos asked.

“A great deal.” The creature’s eyes widened with interest. “You want our help to attack your enemies...”

“No.” The people of the surface would despise Kairos if he openly called the Abysseans for help. “But if I help you…”

The pirate threw the dice.

“If I help you, I want you to abandon the surface, forever,” Kairos said. “You will stop raiding our ships, harassing coastal towns, ask human sacrifices from your cults, or sink any island. Everything below the waves will belong to you, and everything above to us landwalkers. Our species make peace, and share the world.”

The silence seemed to stretch on for hours, as Hybris considered the proposal. To this vile creature, the idea of abandoning the surface probably sounded foreign. It had a lot to lose with this proposal.

But if it was genuine in its crusade, and truly cared about its people’s welfare, then it would consider it. Whether Hybris accepted the deal or not entirely depended on how much it needed Kairos’ help for its invasion.

“Some of my kindred will cling to the old ways, no matter how hard I try to rein them in,” the monster admitted. “But if I forbid attacks on the surface, most will listen. With the resources of Orichalcos under our control, there will be little incentive to move to the surface.”

“Just like that?” Kairos asked, dubious. He didn’t expect a yes.

“You landwalkers have grown better at fighting us. Your ships are faster, your harpoons break our scales. So why take a risk for so little gain?” The creature showed its ravenous teeth. “There will be more than enough prey beneath the waves, once Orichalcos is ours.”

There was not a single good bone in this hideous [Demigod]’s body. That creature was ruthless to the core, a true monster of legends. But it was a cunning, pragmatic monster.

If it spoke the truth, which Kairos was too cautious to accept at face value.

“I need to think about this,” the human declared. Even if the proposal was honest, it would cost the merfolk dearly. Even if their leadership treated the surface-dwellers like crap, Kairos wasn’t certain its civilian population deserved to suffer through their capital’s destruction.

He needed to discuss the situation with his officers, and choose the correct path.

“I will let you meditate on my generous proposition, but if you speak a word of our meeting to the merfolk, then we shall become enemies.” The Cetus started sinking below the waves, and Kairos noticed the sea’s immaculate horizon growing closer. “When you have reached a decision, go to my temple. Join us, leave this war behind… or die fighting. This is the choice I offer.”

Kairos and Rook exchanged a glance, as the whiteness around them swallowed them whole.

The Travian captain woke up to the sensation of a sleeping Andromache’s body against his, and the warmth of a [Golden Fleece] blanket. Rook had woken up, looking at his best friend with worry.

They didn’t need telepathy to know what the other thought.

Kairos left the bed and a stirring Andromache to look through the window, alongside his griffin.

Outside, the anchored Foresight had turned to face the mermaid city with hunger.

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A/N: chapter made possible by you, dear patrons. Wouldn't be an RPG without multiple outcomes possible ;)