Mermaids (Siren) are considered to be a special species among sirens and are distant relatives of harpies.
The latter may be somewhat credible, but the former is doubted by scholars and sorcerers - because although the sirens have a natural and beautiful upper body like human women, when hunting they will still reveal their true appearance like deep-sea beasts; on the other hand, although mermaids also have hunting behavior, they are always beautiful.
And the most important thing is that sirens are closer to wild beasts and monsters, with less reason and wisdom; whereas mermaids actually have language.
Scholars who are proficient in linguistics are convinced that the language of mermaids is a variant of ancient language, with a unique melody, and speaking is more like singing. Since there is language, it can extend a more terrifying speculation-mermaids have civilization, perhaps in the deep sea.
But ordinary people don't care about this. They are more interested in talking about the love legends about mermaids. It is said that they sometimes jump out of the water, sit on the rocks, and accept the courtship of male humans.
Geralt once witnessed such a love story, which took place in the short story collection of the original work: the duke of a certain place once fell hopelessly in love with a mermaid, and entrusted Geralt, who was fluent in ancient languages, to help convey his feelings - here I sigh at the profound knowledge of the wolf-faction witcher - the duke hoped that the mermaid would give up her life in the ocean and marry him, but was rejected.
Later, the unhappy Duke commissioned Geralt to investigate several murders, only to find that the beasts came from a mysterious underwater intelligent race. Soon this group of people, known as "ocean dwellers", clashed with the people on the ground, and war was imminent.
Fortunately, the mermaid that the Duke loved appeared in time. She used magic to turn her tail into legs, married the Duke, and stopped the conflict between land and sea.
A very nice story to read.
…
Nowadays, however, mermaids rarely accept the clumsy advances of sailors or the advances of nobles - probably because too many lonely sailors kidnap them.
"Ever since I can remember, my father has taught me: If you hear a beautiful woman singing at sea, you must turn around immediately, even if it means heading towards a storm."
"The mermaid's appearance is just a disguise. They are extremely cruel. We should have drawn our axe the first time we saw them." The old village chief said solemnly, "The ultimate goal of that mermaid must be the lives of all the people in our village. Bill has been bewitched by that obscene monster!"
Lann exchanged glances with several witchers behind him, especially Geralt.
The experienced wolf hunter shook his head. He did not rule out the possibility that the mermaid was kind-hearted, but he still needed to see it with his own eyes to be sure.
Any absolute stereotypes about monsters or other mysterious races can lead to tragedy.
Lan followed up on what the old village chief had said and asked, "You saw Bill meeting the mermaid at night, and what happened next? You killed the mermaid, and then had the village youths tie Bill up and take him to Fulhala Village, intending to feed him to the bears?"
Butler Guslav's eyes became sharp in line with Lan's words, causing the old village chief to kneel down again with a thud.
"My Lords, we don't have that ability..."
"The moment we saw the mermaid, she also spotted us and immediately dived into the sea and disappeared."
The old village chief lamented, "After Bill found us, he actually told us that the mermaid was kind and that our village's life had improved because of her. He said he was trying to get the mermaid to go ashore. If that didn't work, he would try to get himself the ability to breathe underwater. No matter which method they use, they will eventually stay and continue to help the village, making us the richest village on Great Skellig Island."
The witchers looked at each other again, and Geralt nodded slightly this time, indicating that just as mermaids can gain legs, humans can also gain the ability to live underwater through some magic similar to the transformation of tree spirits, and live together with their mermaid partners.
The old village chief was still sighing: "This child has read too many stories from the outside world. Will we Skellige people believe such ridiculous and absurd rumors? Even children don't believe it!"
Lann sighed, not knowing whether it was for the village, for the young man Bill, or for the unknown mermaid.
"Why did Bill go to Fulhala Village, and was he accompanied by young people from your village?"
"That was his Trial of Glory - I actually believed his lies!" The old village chief was full of regret. "In order to prevent the village from being destroyed by the mermaids, we planned to organize people and ask the lord for help to hunt the mermaids. But Bill stopped us and said that he was willing to go to Fulhala Village to explore the truth and gain glory in exchange for us not hunting the mermaids."
"Although the Svalblod sect was destroyed, the shepherds who tried to find the lost lambs and the travelers who tried to avoid the snowstorm swore an oath: the fresh blood on the Svalblod altar reflected the sunlight, and the roar of the giant bear still resounded in the underground cave - Bill swore that he would bring back the giant bear's head."
The old village chief beat his chest in regret and stamped his feet: "The Skelligers cannot stop the islanders from gaining glory, so we agreed and sent the four strongest guys in the village to supervise him and prevent him from escaping. But we didn't expect that only Bill escaped back!"
"That mermaid must have used some evil magic, and Bill was in cahoots with it!"
However, Lane and his companions knew that the truth of the matter was not like that. They knew that it was the giant bear transformed by the Vilk people who killed the team that hoped to gain glory, and Bill himself escaped death.
I just don't know what made Bill so confident when he went up the mountain. Was it because he really hoped that love would give him strength? Or did he think that if he died in Fulhala Village, he could exchange his life for another's and make the villagers give up hunting mermaids?
Lann shook his head and asked, "So where is Bill now?"
Hatred was revealed in the eyes of the old village chief. "That despicable man without honor actually dared to return to the village. We were originally going to execute him and make him pay the price for deceiving us. But he ran into a complex cave in the mountains near us, where a large number of sirens lived. It was also from that time that sirens began to appear in the sea near our village."
The old village chief was indignant: "This is strong evidence. I don't think Bill was killed by the mermaid at all. Instead, they colluded to destroy our village!"
Lann sighed deeply again, for the village and for Bill.
But now at least it can be proved that Bill is still alive for the time being. I hope that the love between him and the mermaid can keep him safe in the place where the sirens appear.
"Show me the location of the cave full of sirens. I need to find it."
…
Skellige has many caves similar to the one in front of you.
The entrance to the cave is wide and deep, with rock walls on both sides leaning against the cliff. From time to time, holes as high as a person appear. Some dark and disturbing sunlight shines through the cracks in the rock walls and these holes, illuminating the cave into a psychedelic look.
With a "slap", the feet wearing steel shin guards stepped into the water. The sea water covered the ankles, bringing an uncomfortable immersion feeling.
"This is it, sir... and masters." The old village chief said to the witchers and Butler Guslav.
Lann looked into the cave. Along with the low hum of rocks and the flicker of light, there was an occasional hissing sound coming from deep in the cave.
These roars made the already trembling old village chief tremble even more violently.
"You go back first. Thank you for leading the way." Lan said lightly.
The old village chief hurriedly bowed and ran away, not wanting to stay in this place for another second.
Then Lann turned his gaze to Guslav. This former adjutant of Kratz shook his head firmly: "The Earl sent me as your guide, so there is no reason for me to let you explore the dangerous place alone."
Lann patted his shoulder encouragingly: "Then prepare your weapons."
As they walked into the cave, a wet and salty smell immediately hit them.
The sound of people stepping on the sea water soon began to echo in the cave, but the faint roar stopped immediately.
Obviously, the monsters in the cave noticed the presence of Lann and his group. But they did not attack them immediately, as if they wanted to use some other means.
Lann noticed that Kolgrim seemed particularly excited, mixed with a hint of curiosity.
"I'm from the south." Kolgrim explained, "Even when I went north to look for the school's equipment blueprints, I mostly encountered harpies, but I've never seen a siren. I heard that this kind of monster is particularly good at... ** people, I've long wanted to see one."
The other four pairs of demon hunters' eyes turned to Kolgrim, but then they nodded in agreement and understanding.
Lann encouraged: "You will take the lead at that moment."
寇格林姆欣然应允，脸上浮起一阵不正常的潮红；但是他手上的动作却不慢，快速而稳定地给自己的银剑上了一层蛇派特质的【混合兽剑油】。
……
随着众人的前进，前方很快出现了一个好似天井一般的空地，以及一个……靓丽的身影。
她有着与群岛女人截然不同的白皙皮肤，上面撒着晶莹的水珠，在洞穴微光的照射下更显娇柔；她有着一头略微卷曲的金色长发，上面有着微微的湿感，贴在修长的脖子上面又显媚惑。
最重要的是——她的穿着非常地“海洋”，极尽地“自然”，甚至连传说中那样用贝壳作为遮挡物这样的行为都没有，就这么把有着美好弧度的肌肤暴露在从天而降的阳光和众人聚焦的目光之中。
水珠从头发上滴落，从肌肤上面缓缓划过，最后深入到了她腰部以下——的鳞片中。
这就是海妖。
“吟——”
有声音在众人的耳畔开始回**。
不是歌声，因为眼前的不是美人鱼。传入众人耳中的是恍若鲸鱼轻吟一般地回响，空寂悠然，足够让听者放下警惕。
寇格林姆张开双臂拦住身后的同伴，表示自己此时责无旁贷、自领先锋。
在给自己刷上一层【昆恩法印】之后，他倒提着蛇首银剑，将剑刃藏在自己的身后，缓缓接近眼前的海妖。
毒蛇一般的猎魔人收起了利齿，反而开始频繁地吐信，严谨而贪婪地观察着海妖身上的每一个细节。
“啊……上半身是这样的，果然与人类没有什么区别……不，这反而是最大的区别，因为生长着的一切都太过标准了，恍若雕塑一般。”
“至于这下半身……似乎没有什么可以帮助狩猎的器官。不是鱼尾，因为是海妖吗……看着更像长着鳍的蛇尾……”
琥珀色的蛇瞳越来越亮，蛇派猎魔人的表情也越来越专注。
而正被寇格林姆用眼神审视着的海妖，则极其少女姿态地歪了歪头，似乎极为好奇眼前人的动作和口中念叨的话。
她从仰面朝天的半躺姿势突然换成了坐姿，同时身体缓缓地开始朝着寇格林姆前倾。
那张白皙的脸上没有一丝表情，但是那双恍若湖水一般纯净的眼睛中却映照出了没有掺杂一丝被世间污染的纯净；至于她的身体，则因为骤然变大的动作，让头发、肌肤、以及上面的露珠都开始好似被风吹动的水面一样微微波动了起来。
兰恩听到身边猛然传来了喉咙吞咽的声音，回头一看，狼、熊、狮鹫三名猎魔人都是面无表情。
发出声音的是古斯拉夫管家。
岛民是知道海妖的厉害的，这名克拉茨曾经的副官在进入洞穴之后就是武器握得最紧的一个人。
但是此刻，哪怕做足了心理建设，古斯拉夫管家依旧因为海妖的动作而心神巨震。
……
“啊……吸溜，连动作都是这么地拟人化，她们是有专门观察过、学习过人类的姿态吗？还是本能地反应？”
“不过看她……不，是‘它’的动作，怎么觉得这么熟悉呢？有点像是……”
寇格林姆极具学术探索的自言自语还没有结束，眼前有着靓丽上半身的海妖猛然化成了一条黑影。
“……有点像是蛇类捕食的前奏啊。”猎魔人的话姗姗来迟。
化成黑影，是因为常人肉眼难以捕捉到海妖的弹射速度，它刚刚那让浑身开始波动的身体前倾其实是捕食之前的蓄力。
而在猎魔人的琥珀蛇瞳中，则清楚地映照出了海妖的每一寸变化：
它的嘴角猛然裂开，露出了布满尖利细齿的鱼唇；脸上和身上的皮肤好似波浪一阵翻涌，竖起了蓝紫色的细鳞；与上半身鳞片颜色一致的尾巴则用力在半空甩动，猛然弹射出了手掌长的骨刺。
它的背后则展开了巨大的阴影，露出了一对蝙蝠一般狰狞的鳍翼。
“嘶嘎！！”
空寂的吟唱变成了刺耳的吼叫，场景一下子从“朦胧梦幻”转变成了“重口猎奇”。
如果真的是一个在海上漂泊了许久的寂寞水手，经过了这么一趟**，肯定早就已经放下了戒备；而哪怕是心思沉稳之人，经过了着梦幻到猎奇的转变，惊吓之下肯定也会忘记了反抗。
好在站在这头海妖面前的是一心做“学术探讨”的寇格林姆。
如果是柯恩或者兰恩，此刻会选择用【阿尔德法印】或者【伊格尼法印】直接糊到那张吓人的脸上。
但是寇格林姆的法印没有这么强，他担心对方可能会冲破自己的法印攻击到自己身上。
于是他一个轻巧地转身，就好像一条更加灵活的毒蛇在戏弄一条幼鱼。
接着他反手像是挥舞一把大号的匕首一样挥出了倒提着的银剑。
弧光闪烁，血光迸溅，寇格林姆没有用多大的力气，仅仅划开了已经被鳞片覆盖的海妖背部。
但是海妖却凄厉地惨叫起来，因为那被划开的血肉好似被泼了强酸一样开始冒出浓郁的白烟，紧接着就有黑紫色的纹路开始朝着伤口的四周蔓延。
毒蛇一般的猎魔人缓缓后退两步，甩了甩涂满学派特质剑油的银剑，他有自信再过十个呼吸左右，这只海妖就会自己断气。
看着好像一条海鱼一般在地上扑腾的海妖，寇格林姆叹了一口气：“我突然对它们没什么研究的心思了……”
下一秒，那自知生命垂危的海妖突然死死地扣住了地面，那变的好似鹰隼一般的利爪转瞬间又变回了少女的青葱模样；等它抬头的时候，脸上细密的鳞片也重新变回了娇嫩的皮肤。
那双湖水一般的眼睛真正开始溢出了水，连原本没有丝毫波澜的表情都变得楚楚可怜了起来。
“吟——”
听着包含凄婉情感的哭声，寇格林姆的眼睛再次亮了起来。
“居然还会求饶吗？联想到之前还会进行伪装和**的行为，果然海妖的智商不是一般地高啊……”
……
兰恩眯起了眼睛。
他抬头，若有所思地看着山洞顶端的那些裂缝和空洞，原本照射阳光进来的地方突然被转瞬即逝的阴影遮盖了一下。
回头，兰恩看向正兴致勃勃的寇格林姆说道：“我并不觉得它是在求饶。”
……
“斯嘎！！”
下一秒，七八个游蛇一般的身影从岩壁的空洞之中挤了进来，随后它们猛然张开双翼，沿着岩壁发出刺耳的嘶吼，似是在回应下面濒死的同伴，又像是在恐吓杀气腾腾的猎魔人们。
猎魔人们同一时间举起手中的十字弩，开始瞄准天上的海妖。
“寇格林姆，你还想要继续研究吗？”
蛇派猎魔人看了看地上凄婉的海妖，又看了看天上猎奇外貌的海妖们，满脸遗憾地摇了摇头。
“那好。”兰恩轻笑一声，朝着天上抬起了左手。
对付这些飞在天上的敌人，搅乱空气的流动让它们失去平衡而坠地，就效率上来说远比射箭击中它们要高。
“省一省箭矢吧，上弦也挺麻烦的。”兰恩回头劝道，又叮嘱了两句，“裹好衣服，一会儿会比较冷。”
说完，不等杰洛特他们反应，巨量的魔力已经凝聚在兰恩的手中之中。
【阿尔德法印·刺骨·魔力爆发】！
……
明明还没到冬天，明明是在山洞内部，此刻却突然席卷起了暴风雪。
仅仅只是一瞬间，半空中迅捷的黑影都因为风压的作用“摊”了开来，被紧紧地压制在岩壁之上无法动弹。
而紧接着，由于特殊的地形，念力冲击形成的风暴围绕着岩壁开始旋转起来，居然形成了一场小型的龙卷。刚刚还贴在岩壁上面的海妖，此刻再次在自己巨大双翼的带动下不受控制地滚动起来，沿途不时磕到石块咕噜噜地滚下来。
四名猎魔人微微眯上了眼睛，往兰恩的方向靠拢两步。
古斯拉夫紧紧攥住自己的衣领和袖口，牙齿打颤，却面色潮红：
“这就是辛特拉的雄狮……”
格德好像想起了什么，突然靠近柯恩，问道：“兰恩有很多神奇的法印：他的亚登不会攻击自己人，他的亚克席能够催眠魔法生物，现在他的阿尔德还有着冰冻的效果！我之前想找他探讨一下这些法印，但是他说这些是狮鹫学派的特长，推脱了。你能教教我吗？我拿熊派的昆恩秘诀跟你换！”
天井内的风暴很大，格德的声音很快就被气流带走，根本传不到柯恩的耳朵里面。
“你说什么？我只能看到你的嘴唇在动！”狮鹫学派的前辈大声喊着，面色迷茫。
格德愣了一下，把双手像是喇叭一样在嘴边合拢：“我说！你能够教教我这些神奇的法印吗？我拿熊派的昆恩秘诀来换！”
柯恩在暴风雪中猛然打了个哆嗦：“你说什么？我听不见！”
……
Lann did not continue to spray the storm. It was because this cylindrical natural terrain was too suitable for the use of the [Alder Seal], which actually turned his seal into a continuous attack.
"Plop", "Plop"
When the storm finally weakened a little, the sirens in the sky finally fell to the ground. They were even carried by the remaining wind and sliding on the ground, with their skin cut by sharp stones from time to time.
Their bodies were covered with a thin layer of ice crystals, the blood that flowed out quickly solidified, and their wings were completely frozen. They would definitely not be able to fly in a short period of time.
The demon hunters put away their crossbows, drew out the silver swords behind their backs in unison, and walked slowly forward.
The hideous-looking sirens seemed to have their skin and scales frozen, and they couldn't even transform into young girls to beg for mercy or deceive others. Only the siren that was scratched by Kolgrim at the beginning was wailing miserably.
“Yin——”
Its voice suddenly became high-pitched, as if it was experiencing a last burst of energy; the snake-like venom in its body also completely erupted at this moment, causing it excessive pain and about to take its life.
However, just as Lann and his men were about to stab the sirens with their swords, a young man's voice suddenly sounded in the cave.
"Stop, please stop, kind adults, have mercy!"
The demon hunters stopped and looked in the direction of the sound.