Sol's Shine and the Kingdom of Metal

Chapter 5 The Mermaid's Return

 Duke McCarth had set up his new workshop in the abandoned lighthouse within the Kingdom of Water some time ago. He had set up a chair at the very top and was doing nothing but looking out over the sea and stroking his long white beard. Beneath him and down the hill and near the sand, was the unusual looking walnut tree Khenari was trapped in. Duke himself was given the task to watch over it, not that he didn't mind since what he had now was a nice gorgeous view of the ocean. Behind him, the Kingdom of Water was starting to finally flourish and bounce back from the drought it once suffered. Another thing Duke enjoyed was that no one was around to mess with his junk. He leaned back in his rocking chair with his arms over his head. "Another day in paradise, I'd say." For a moment just after Duke had said that, he felt like he had just jinxed himself.

He leaned forward with both hands on the arms of his chair to keep himself balanced and squinted his eyes to the ocean's horizon. There he would notice an incoming ship from the Kingdom of Fire and they were coming straight toward the beach he was on. "Oh what a pain! I was just starting to get comfortable." Duke said as he got up from his chair to open the door to the lighthouse. He made his way down, step by step, doing his best to avoid all of the junk he had laying around as if he had lived there for quite awhile. "Dang these steps, dang that ship, dang this arthritis." Duke murmured to himself as he went down, grabbing an old blow horn that originally came from an old goat along the way. The fact that he was only there for a week would fool just about anyone. The dwarf opened the door to the lighthouse at the bottom and slowly made his way down the hill to wait on the ship that was heading towards him. With his hands on his hips, he waited patiently for the ship to dock in the water and lower its anchor.

Soon enough, Duke could see two individuals board a smaller boat. They rowed towards the sand and at Duke's feet. "What's up?" Ella asked him. "What are you two doing here? What's the occasion?" Duke asked. "Well... any chance we can see Paula? Maybe the other sirens too?" Vincent asked Duke as he and his daughter climbed out of the small row boat. "Uh... sure. I can call them with this here horn but I promised I would only use it for emergencies." Duke explained, pointing to what he held in his other hand. "So did you think the ship we were on was a threat or something? Is that why you have it out right now?" Ella tried to play smart with the old dwarf. Duke only shrugged. "You can never tell anymore these days. The whole world is just a mess. You know I heard about what happened between your kingdom and mine a while back. News travels fast and it can finally reach this kingdom now that it's not in a cage no more." Duke said.

"So you heard about that huh?" Ella said. "Don't worry. It don't bother me as much as you think it does. I already lost everyone I've ever loved a long time ago. I cut ties with that Kingdom and moved here." Duke took some time to sigh. "Still... to have that many young lives have their light flicker out. It's a shame." Duke said. "I hear what you mean. But we came here because we need help. We need to call the sirens. Trust us when we say it's worth it." Vincent said to him. "Alright. Hold on." Duke brought the horn he held up to his lips and took a deep breath before blowing into it. A strange noise emanated from the horn. Both Ella and Vincent couldn't help but cover their ears as the loud noise was enough to ripple the shore. After Duke was done, he used his pinky finger to clean out both of his ears.

"So uh... before the sirens get here. What do you need them for? I would like to be in the loop you see." Duke asked them. "It's Yvonne. Cinder died taking out a star demon. We're afraid she's doing something dangerous in the Kingdom of Wood right now in retaliation." Vincent said to him. "I see. That is troublesome. I'm glad I decided to hang around at this here lighthouse then. I suppose it wouldn't be much trouble for me to come with? She is my apprentice after all." Duke said to him. "Definitely. I owe her a great deal of debt too. If she hadn't saved me, I wouldn't have been able to see my daughters again." Vincent said. Just after Vincent's statement, several splashes could be heard from the water. Ella and Vincent turned around to see plenty of sirens emerging from the depths, flapping their wings and getting them as dry as they could. Ella could even see her own mother among them.