Fantasy| Writing Prompt Response

The Seafloor Reclamation Project

They mined it and got more than they bargained for…

Written for The Kraken Lore’s August Writing Prompt #3: Life’s a Beach

General Gault Ironhammer stroked his beard as he scanned the horizon for the enemy forces, but all he could make out were sea swells.

He had found a black conch shell at the entrance to his clan’s mine site. It was a clear declaration of war by those cowering fools who lived under the waves — the sea kin, the merrow, the merfolk.

They danced and frolicked in the surf while his people — the Ironhammer Dwarves — did all the thankless, backbreaking labor that brought development and prosperity to their archipelago.

Now, they declared war after centuries of peace?

“Madness,” he muttered, slamming his axe down into the sand.

Suddenly, he heard a horn blow in the distance. Then another. Then more, until the whole coastline was practically vibrating under the concussive sound of seashells being blown into angrily.

A massive siege crab scuttled onto the beach, towering high above the frightened dwarf. Armies of sea kin and merfolk swam onto the shores, firing bolts of lightning into the mountains that abutted the shore, or throwing spears at the dwarven defenders that he had gathered there.

“Ironhammer!”

A seaweed rope dropped from the crown of the siege crab, and a comely blue sea kin druid slid down effortlessly, bringing her sharpened emerald scimitar to bear upon his quivering beard. Her breasts heaved with the effort — and perhaps rage — and for an infinitesimal moment, Gault forgot what was happening.

“My Lady Sebastiana of the Sea Kin Empire,” he stated graciously, even with the gemstone blade at his precious beard. He forced his eyes up from her breasts. “What can I be doin’ fer ya?”

“I’m up here,” she seethed, pulling the dwarf’s neck up with her scimitar. “And your mountain is down there!” She turned and pointed out towards the sea.

“I don’t understand,” Gault stammered.

“You’ve been over-mining your mountain,” she explained through gritted teeth, “and dumping your waste shale and wash slimes into our waters!”

Many of the merrow began to fling black sludge onto the shore, hitting some of the defenders — one shot landing right in Gault’s paled face.

“Oh, I’m sorry Lady Sebastiana,” he answered quickly, wiping the polluted sand from his stunned face. “I didn’t know. Please forgive me!”

“We’re here to return to you all that you have left in our waters. Once it has all been reclaimed we shall consider the matter resolved.”

She waved her hand and levitated back up to her seat atop the siege crab. She leaned over and threatened with her emerald blade menacingly. “Watch what you dump in your neighbor’s yard, or we’ll be back!”

With that, another sound from the sea called all of the ocean folk back into the water. Gault stood in stunned silence among his fellow dwarves, most of which were vandalized with seaweed and starfish.

It was a few more seconds until the head of the siege crab disappeared below the waves, but once it had gone Gault called his demoralized troops to his side. “Tell the miners to expect double wages and triple shifts!” The dwarves all cheered.

No one tells me where to dump my rocks.

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