The salty ocean breeze blew hard across the docks.

Kai led his horse down the main street of Salthollow while Eliza rode comfortably in the saddle.

Lora walked right beside them, taking in the sights of the coastal hub.

The village looked picturesque with its small stone cottages and wide fishing nets, but the atmosphere felt entirely wrong.

The local fishermen stopped patching their nets and stared at the trio. Nobody smiled, and nobody offered a friendly greeting.

’They look like they are waiting for an execution,’ Kai thought to himself.

He noticed the very tight grip one man had on his sharp fishing spear.

They stopped outside a weathered building called The Broken Sail.

Lora tied the horse to a post before they walked inside the dim tavern.

A fat innkeeper scrubbed a dirty mug behind the bar. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

He looked up, and his eyes darted nervously toward Eliza and Lora.

"We need two rooms," Kai requested, sliding a silver coin across the wood.

"And a hot meal."

The innkeeper snatched the coin up fast.

"We only have one large room left. You can share it, or you can sleep out on the cold docks."

Lora leaned over the bar.

She offered the fat man a dangerously sweet smile.

"One room is fine for the three of us. We are very close."

Kai held back a laugh because the innkeeper turned bright red and quickly looked away.

Eliza noticed a faded piece of parchment nailed to the wall near the stairs.

It featured a charcoal drawing of a young woman with a ribbon in her hair.

"Is there a bounty out for her?" Eliza asked, pointing at the drawing.

The innkeeper went pale.

He rushed over, snatched the parchment down, and crumpled it in his fist.

"Mind your own business, lady. Girls run off with traveling sailors all the time. There is nothing to talk about."

They took their key and walked upstairs.

The room was sparse but featured a large bed and a sturdy iron lock.

Lora stretched her arms high, letting her shirt pull very tight across her chest.

"That man is lying through his teeth. Salthollow is supposed to be a major trade hub, but the harbor is half empty. Something is scaring the merchants away."

Eliza sat on the edge of the bed and unlaced her leather boots.

"The fishermen looked at us like we were ghosts. Or maybe they were looking at Lora and me like we were fresh targets."

’They are definitely hiding something,’ Kai thought, looking out the small window.

The view offered a clear look at the dark ocean and a tall, ruined lighthouse sitting on a cliff.

’This whole town feels like a giant trap.’

"I am going to take a walk around the perimeter," Kai told them.

"Lock the door behind me. Do not open it for anyone."

Eliza stood up and walked over to him.

She rested her soft hands on his chest, and her green eyes were full of genuine concern.

"Be careful out there. The sun is setting, and I want you back here in one piece."

She leaned up and kissed him softly.

The lingering heat of their previous night together flared up immediately.

Lora watched them from the bed with a highly amused smile, her eyes tracking his every move.

"I will be back before midnight," Kai promised, slipping out the door.

He stuck to the deep shadows between the stone houses.

Activating his Crimson Veil, he let the magic dim his physical presence.

The rocky path leading up to the old lighthouse offered no cover, but the wind hid the sound of his boots.

The chanting grew louder as he approached the doors.

The wood was rotted from years of salt spray, leaving a wide crack right down the middle. Kai pressed his face against the cold stone and peeked inside.

Twelve men in dark robes stood in a tight circle.

The innkeeper stood in the center, and a young village girl was chained to a iron ring on the stone floor.

She wept quietly, her clothes torn and dirty.

"The tide is rising," the innkeeper chanted, raising a jagged knife high above his head.

"The master of the deep requires his tribute. We offer this pure blood to keep our boats safe and our nets full."

Kai looked past the chanting men.

The back wall of the lighthouse was entirely missing, dropping straight down into the churning ocean below.

A huge shape breached the water’s surface.

It possessed rubbery tentacles and glowing eyes that stared hungrily at the chained girl.

[System Event: Hidden Threat Discovered]

[Enemy Type: Deep Water Cultists and Abyssal Lurker]

[Objective: Rescue the Sacrifice]

’They are sacrificing women to a sea monster just to guarantee good fishing,’ Kai thought, gripping the hilt of his blessed dagger.

’These people are fucking insane.’

Kai couldn’t properly remember this part of the game for some reason.

He needed Eliza’s holy magic and Lora’s quick crossbow to pull this off.

He slipped away from the lighthouse and hurried back down the steep cliff path.

Kai stepped inside and locked the door behind him.

Both women looked at his serious expression.

Lora had taken her outer shirt off because of the warm room. She was lounging on the bed in a thin lace camisole that left very little to the imagination.

Eliza stood near the washbasin, her blonde hair wet from a quick sponge bath, wearing only her white shift.

The sight of both of them half-dressed was highly distracting, but the mission took priority.

"You are back early," Lora said, crossing her long legs at the ankles.

"Did you miss us already?"

"Always," Kai smiled.

"But we have a major problem right now. The village fishermen are sacrificing the missing girls to a giant sea creature out at the old lighthouse."

Lora sat up straight.

"That explains why they looked at us like prime cuts of meat. They want to throw us to the fishes."

Eliza looked at Kai with a fierce, challenging smile.

"Are we going to let them get away with it?"

"Not a chance," Kai replied, drawing his blade.

"Get your gear ready. We have some fishermen to hunt tonight."