Achlys

Achlys pushed the door of the Grumpy Sea tavern with the toe of her boot because no way was she touching the same handle as hundreds of pirates' hands had touched. Dirty, grubby, sticky pirate hands. A fresh coat of paint clung to the walls, yet the stench of sour beer, sweat, and something rotten lingered inside. She coughed and squinted into the darkness until she spotted the blond head of her contact, Erendriel Fenrieth.

The bastard's eyes must have been on her the moment she stepped through the door because his gaze was already locked on her. He tipped his foaming tankard at her, a sneer twisting his greasy red lips. Gold teeth gleamed between them, as did gold rings in his ear, hairy nostril, and on his fingers that were as thick as the sausages he was eating.

Though a fellow Veozian, the man looked only marginally better than a pirate. Unfortunately, Achlys needed him.

She sat down opposite Erendriel, propping her elbows on the table.

"Welcome to our cosy snake pit, my friend. I'm ever so happy to see a kinswoman," he said.

"A snake pit? People say men here are loyal to you." Achlys leaned back against the thick tapestry that covered the wooden wall, stitched together from patches of different coloured silk that gave it a soft feeling. "Are they liars?"

"You never know. We are foreigners in Caibecia. One can never be too careful. So, I suggest we use our best spy voices."

Achlys gritted her teeth. The obnoxious man was right, of course. In Caibecia, a wrong step could cost them their lives.

"You said you had information for me." Achlys untied the tight knot of the ebony-coloured pouch around her waist to show Erendriel one stained corner of the letter. Once she was satisfied that the information broker had recognized his handwriting, Achlys leaned in towards Erendriel.

The table of sailors next to them broke into a joyful cheer as coins were thrown on a broken ship plank. Somewhere behind her, a hoarse voice called out for more rum.

Achlys lowered her voice to a whisper, wearyof the rowdy crowd. "About the Cymido Cycle."

"The next Cycle's has officially started," he murmured, voice laced with a dark thrill. "Caibecia's Prince just chose the new Triad of Dread."

Achlys leaned forward, hoping that her eyes didn't flash with glee. A fresh hunt was her dream. "Do you have the names? And how much for each of the three?"

Erendriel put down his utensils, enjoying and watching for Achlys's reaction.

"There is something else you need to know." Something cold shifted behind Erendreil's brown eyes. "It might change your mind about going after the Dread Triad."

Achlys sighed heavily as she tapped her finger against the table in time with the slow rhythm song the bard had started up in the corner. "Out with it. I don't have all day."

"The Triad of Dread is now ranking above the magic guilds."

So, that's what Erendriel was sitting on. Blood pounded in Achlys' ears. "As if it's not enough to rob us blind... shit. We're already treated like dirt, now we've lost the backing of the guilds in Caibecia."

"Pretty much." Erendreil nodded and downed his beer, then wiped the foam from his lips with the back of his hand. "Unless we start the war or kill the Dread Triad to show that they don't deserve to be elevated."

"The names?" Achlys hissed, grabbing the corner of the table so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "Give me the names of the new Dread Triad."

"Hades Riyas."

"Surprise, surprise... every mule in Veozia knew he'd be on the next Triad. How much will the Royal House pay for his head?"

"1,500,000 Plycyla."

A single lantern cast a smoky glow over their table. Achlys whistled before glancing at the wanted poster Erendriel slipped along the table to her. She had to squint,   to make out the edges of the poster, since the edges  blurred and faded into the lamp's waning light.

She knew most of it anyway—those piercing green eyes, the stark white hair, an aquiline nose, and a height exaggerated to seven, maybe even eight feet. This sort of poetics clung to pirates like limpets to mud. The number, printed in huge font, overshadowed everything else in her mind. One point five mils. The highest bounty ever. It was a wonder that the Veozian royalty, as impoverished as the rest of them, could afford to drop this kind of money for a single pirate

"The second name is..." Erendriel chewed his lip.

"Spit it out."

"Acheron Nezzera."

Achlys felt like she was being pulled underwater, with no way of swimming back up. Water filled her lungs while she could hear the pirates of the seas laughing and as the mermaids dragged her further down the deep hellhole.

Her own brother. The one person she so desperately wanted to forget but how could she?

Achlys clenched her jaw,  as her mind  unhelpfully brought up a bright-eyed youth who promised to fight for Veozia's people and honour till the day they died., Now he happily sat atop the ranks of pirates he once swore to defeat. While their parents scraped by in the gloomy mountains, Acheron enjoyed the riches of Caibecia. He had ruined them leaving Achlys to pick up the pieces. Oh, yes, she remembered Acheron very well.

Finger by finger, Achlys let go of her grip on the table. "And the... the price...on his head?"

"I'm sorry, Achlys." Erendriel's eyes flickered with something slightly shy of sympathy. Curiosity? Or, perhaps even amusement.

Achlys' lip curled, and she let out a laugh. It was supposed to be cynical, but the bitterness seeped deeper into it than she'd meant to.

He shifted in his seat, looking around the tavern as though his thoughts were anywhere but on the Triad.

"Just give me the number." Numbers were cold things. They would calm the fire burning within her gut.

"1,420,000 Plycyla," Erendriel said softly, looking at the paper in front of him. "We can skip his— " he couldn't finish his sentence as Achlys snatched it from his grasp.

The rough edges curled where it had been rolled into a scroll, and the paper was fragile and worn from usage. The ink had smeared in spots, leaving light brown traces where seawater had poured in. Unfortunately, it didn't dissolve the last line.

Achlys bit her nail nervously as her eyes stopped on these bold letters.

May be cursed with dark magic.

She gasped. "Who else has seen this?"

Erendriel motioned for her to keep her voice down, and she dipped her head. "Sorry."

"On my life, nobody had seen this. I've put the file together from dark sources." Erendriel tried to look composed and failed. Whatever had led him to this intel—it hadn't been worth the price.

"Do you have copies?" she asked.

"You offend me." Erindriel wiggled his beringed fingers. "I'm the best information broker in Caibecia. Of course, I have copies."

"Burn them. Burn anything that mentions this." Achlys tapped her finger on the inked words, her breath hitching as she took in the information. Each line was a bruise to her soul. The mere existence of the bounty brought shame to her family.

Erendriel nodded meekly, a faint gleam of sweat on his brow. "Yes... yes, of course. I'll see to it right away."

The fear of Acheron's wrath descending upon anyone who dared to reveal such shame sent a tremor through him. Even if Achlys hadn't seen her brother in years, she knew information like this would make Acheron lose his temper.

They sat silently for a minute before Achlys stirred from her stupor. "Give me the third name."

"Right, right. That would be Portia Beizeiros with a bounty of 1,400,000 Plycyla. The first all-female crew on the ship The Poisonous Maid."

Achlys grabbed Beizeiros' file and hummed, leafing through it. "Impressive, really impressive."

"Portia is a fun chase, should I put you down for her? That's if you have enough Plycyla on you," Erendriel said, his eyes gleaming with barely concealed eagerness as he leaned forward.

"I have the money to get into the game." Achlys fished out a bag of coins but kept it out of Erendriel's reach. "I'm not putting it down for Portia, however."

Erendriel's brows shot up. "Your brother then?"

Achlys could no longer hear the clinking of tankards and the creaking of the old wooden beams overhead . The world around her seemed to fade into nothingness, swallowed by the weight of her decision.

"Note me down for Hades Riyas." Achlys plopped a coin bag in front of the broker and leaned back, enjoying his reaction. "Did you think I didn't have the stones to go after the big one, Eren?"

"No, no... I never doubt my clients." Erendriel Fenrieth yanked a blank scroll from a well-worn, oversized bag by his side, writing down her name and the bounty. "There you go. Hades Riyas."

Achlys slipped the ring from her finger, and turned it over on her palm, her thumb brushing against the underside. With a faint click, a hidden mechanism inside the ring shifted, releasing a drop of rich, dark ink. She pressed it to the bounty contract, leaving an imprint of a hummingbird, the crest of the Nezzera family on the yellowed paper.

Her hunt for Hades Riyas, the Dread Triad's most wanted, had begun.