Her First Battle

“Little mermaid,” the gillman at the head of the caravan sneered, “just because you have somehow obtained one of our knives does not make you a threat to us.”

“Most of my weapons I obtained from a sahuagin that I killed semi-recently. This knife,” I said idly flipping it between my fingers, “is my second oldest possession.  A trophy from my first kill.  A gillman entered my forest and without my permission began harvesting my black seaweed.  I took one of the fronds he has sliced and slipped it over his head. I had no weapons yet but the seaweed worked very well to strangle the life out of him.  The gillman stabbed back at me with his sea-knife but I swished my tail and tightened my grip.  He stabbed back wildly again and I simply continued to hold on.  He sliced over his head at me and I laughed, accidentally loosening my grip.  I tightened my hold severely as he tried to stab me again.  His knees buckled but I could still feel his pulse under my knuckles.  His pulse stopped before I counted to twenty.”

“Was there anything else he had in his possession?”

I smiled and hedged, “A pouch of herbs, spices, gemstones, chalk, and other odds and ends.  A trident like most of your kind have.  Four sunrods, since your kind cannot see in the dark.  A waterskin.  A bag for my black seaweed.”  I paused as if to think.  The last two items would easily identify the gillman I had killed years ago to anyone who knew him.  “Plus there was a satchel with a turtle in it and a signet ring I sold months ago.”

The gillman stood and pointing at me screamed, “You killed my son.”  His twenty warriors swarmed at me.  I retreated into my forest of black seaweed, where I could pick them off one at a time.