Mr. Deral's story was nothing new. Even to the "well-informed" Outlander, it seemed rather cliché.
The story involved the ocean, strange statues, greedy hearts, and a curse. It would probably make excellent writing material for Miss Louisa.
It began a year ago, in the spring of Common Calendar 1852.
Working as a cargo dispatcher in the Dock Area, Mr. Deral routinely inspected confiscated contraband and, with great responsibility, brought valuable small items home for safekeeping. This was considered an unwritten source of income for the position. So long as no one found out, there was no problem.
Among a pile of miscellaneous crates, Mr. Deral discovered a batch of small stone statues. They were about as thick as an adult man's arm and as long as a forearm. Each statue depicted a Mermaid with its head raised.
"Mermaids" were creatures with the upper bodies of women and the lower bodies of fish, often found in Fairy Tales in this world. They were not the same as the ugly Fishmen Shade had once seen, which had only human feet.
"So you took those statues?"
As he listened to the man's account, Shade asked hesitantly, recalling many scenes from horror novels. Horror fiction had only just emerged in this era. Colorful court novels, Knight Novels, and detective novels that had risen to prominence in recent decades were still the mainstream.
"Yes, I took them. I had worked here for twenty years. Never once did I imagine that the stories I heard old sailors tell would happen to me."
Mr. Deral huddled dejectedly in the corner, utterly unconcerned about the blood soaking into his clothes from the floor.
As a dispatcher, he had the authority to handle those inconspicuous illegal goods, but he could not possibly sell the cargo by himself.
Mr. Deral