By the beach.

Lumbering through the forest, feeling like a **** of nature, you reflect on the past few days. The whole affair had been a mad rush from one point to the next, extremely profitable but... ugh. Considering you'd sat in one place for most of your life, getting repetitively murdered, you were amazed you'd handled everything so well. The magnitude of it all was catching up to you. Once you made up with Dana and properly subdued Miera you were going to barricade your forest and rest for a few months. You groan inwardly at the reaction all that inactivity would get from Dana. She needed a hobby. A nonviolent one. Maybe you could get her into gardening?

Your idle thoughts of rest cease as you come to the edge of the forest, the earthy loam giving way to sand. You'd arrived at the lake, which did not bode well for finding Dana. You can trace her path in the sand but only barely and stepping out of the forest would mean new territory. You had no idea what dangers might lie beyond your adopted home. Fortunately you are saved from worrying as you spot your de-powered cleric standing by the water a ways down the beach next to a pile of seaweed.

Moving forward, you call out to her but receive no response. She's facing the seaweed and completely ignores your attempts to get her attention. Was she still mad at you? This seemed awfully childish... even for Dana. It's not like I won't just go down there... Wait a minute. Seaweed doesn't wash up from lakes. As the thought strikes you the green mass shifts, rising slightly from the ground, enough for you to make out the shape of a woman clad in green. She slides close to Dana, seemingly unable to get to her feet, and pulls at her hand. Dana takes a slow step forward, almost dreamily, and then another as the woman leads her toward the waters edge.

Oh shit. You charge forward, fairly erupting from the tree line in your haste to catch up to your friend before the lake creature drowned her. The commotion startles the monster, a fishlike tail flapping against the ground as she scoots toward the water, but Dana remains entranced. It's difficult for you to gain purchase on the soft ground but you pull out all the stops, powerful arms shoving against the ground in an almost apelike gait, and you come within reach just as the lake mermaid vanishes into the water. You whip an arm forward, catching Dana around the waist as the water reaches her knees.

Whew. That was close. Dana wobbles on her feet, groaning sleepily as her senses start to return, "Wha-? Why am I in the water?" Relieved, you try to pull her toward you and away from the dangers of the lake but her leg seems to be caught on something. Sliding closer to try and untangle her you spot the problem: a thick gray tentacle wrapped around her ankle. As you stare at it, baffled, it gives a hard tug and Dana cries out in pain. The tentacle pulls relentlessly and you are **** to let it drag her further into the water to prevent dismemberment. "Wowowoh! What?! What is that?!" Water sloshes across your roots as you try and figure that out yourself. Shit! This was bad. The tentacle disappears into the depths of the lake, eerily anonymous and incredibly strong. You might be able to resist it but doing so would surely rip Dana apart. Following it into the water is a bad idea, your roots lose purchase as soon as you step into the waterlogged sand. The mermaids head pops up a few dozen feet away, grinning wickedly as you fight to hold on to your best and only friend.