Release date: May 8, 2020
Subgenre: Sword and Sorcery
About The Tentacled Terror:
Thurvok, the sellsword, and his friends Meldom, thief, cutpurse and occasional assassin, the sorceress Sharenna and Meldom’s sweetheart Lysha set sail for the sunken city of Nhom’zonac, looking for the lost treasure of the Sea Kings. But they have to get past the Lovecraftian horror guarding the city first.
This is a short story of 5300 words or 19 print pages in the Thurvok sword and sorcery series, but may be read as a standalone. Includes an introduction and afterword.
Excerpt:
The trouble started, like it so often did, in a tavern. This time around, the tavern in question was The Rusty Nail in the southern port city of Neamene.
Thurvok, the sellsword and his friends Meldom — thief, cutpurse and occasional assassin — the sorceress Sharenna and Meldom’s sweetheart Lysha were sitting in a corner of the tavern, clustered around a wooden table that was scarred from generations of use. They were laughing and talking and sharing a jug of wine as well as some bread and pickled fish, when a man with a peg leg stalked in.
“Brandy,” he called and slumped down on a wooden barstool.
“Gold first,” the landlord grunted.
“Oh, come on, just gimme a drink,” the one-legged man pleaded, “Cause after the voyage I just had, I need one.”
“Gold first,” the landlord repeated.
“Oh please, have mercy. Just one drink is all I ask. Cause you see, we found the lost city of Nhom’zonac.”
At the words “lost city,” Meldom’s ears pricked up. He cast a questioning glance at Lysha, who — with a sigh and an eyeroll — opened her purse and handed him a coin.
So Meldom sauntered over to the bar and slammed down his coin. “A drink of his choice for this gentleman, please.”
The landlord shot Meldom a telling look. “Well, if you want to waste money…” he said and pocketed the coin. Then he took a cup that was almost clean and poured some brandy.
Meldom, meanwhile, slapped the one-legged man on the shoulder. “Why don’t you come over and join my friends and me? Cause we’d love to hear all about that lost city.”
“It’s just a load of bunk,” the landlord said, “Sailor’s yarn and drunkard’s tales.”
Meldom shot him a dirty look. “I don’t recall asking for your advice.”
He turned back to the one-legged man and steered him towards the table. “I’m Meldom, by the way, adventurer and blade for hire…”
Thurvok snorted, because Meldom’s profession was a lot more disreputable than that.
“…and these are my friends, Thurvok, Lysha and Sharenna.”
The three nodded and raised their cups.
“I’m Danvalk,” the one-legged man said and took a sip of his brandy, “First mate aboard the sloop Mermaid’s Scorn.”
He slumped down on a free chair. “Ah, that’s good. I thank you, my friends. How kind of you to share a drink with an aged sailor.”
“So, about that story…,” Meldom began, “…the story of the lost city of…”
“Aye, the lost city of Nhom’zonac,” Danvalk supplied.
“It’s a myth,” the landlord called out, until a glare from Meldom shut him up.
“It is not a myth,” Danvalk insisted, “For the brave crew of the Mermaid’s Scorn, we found it. Though I am the only one who lived to tell the tale.”
Sharenna leant forward, suddenly interested. “So what happened?”
“Have you never heard of the legend of the lost city of Nhom’zonac?” Danvalk began, his eyes haunted, “Aeons ago, it sank beneath the waves and only arises once in a hundred years for exactly three days. And the Mermaid’s Scorn came upon it just as it rose from the waves…”
“When was that?” Lysha wanted to know.
“Only yesterday. It is not that far out from Neamene, only five leagues due south south west. We were out fishing, when we saw it rise, its ancient spires and pillars overgrown with barnacles and seaweed…”
“Did you go ashore?” Meldom wanted to know.
“Aye, we did, to my infinite regret. It was too rare an opportunity to pass up, you see? For the city only rises from the waves once in a hundred years. And besides, the legends tell of a great treasure that is buried there, the treasure of the Sea Kings of Nhom’zonac…”
“Of course, there is a treasure,” Lysha remarked, “What would a lost city be without a treasure?”
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About Richard Blakemore:
Richard Blakemore (1900 – 1994) was a prolific writer of pulp
fiction. Nowadays, he is best remembered for creating the Silencer, a masked
vigilante in the vein of the Shadow or the Spider, during the hero pulp boom of
the 1930s. But Richard Blakemore also wrote in many other genres, including an
early sword and sorcery series about the adventures of a sellsword named
Thurvok and his companions.
Richard Blakemore's private life was almost as exciting as his fiction.
He was a veteran of World War I and II as well as a skilled sportsman and
adventurer who travelled the world during the 1920s. He may also have been the
person behind the mask of the real life Silencer who prowled New York City
between 1933 and 1942, fighting crime, protecting the innocent and punishing
the guilty, though nothing has ever been proven.
Richard Blakemore was married for more than fifty years to Constance Allen Blakemore and the couple had four children.
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About Cora Buhlert:
Cora Buhlert was
born and bred in North Germany, where she still lives today – after time
spent in London, Singapore, Rotterdam and Mississippi. Cora holds an MA
degree in English from the University of Bremen and is currently
working towards her PhD.
Cora has been writing, since she was a teenager, and has published stories, articles and poetry in various international magazines. She is the author of the Silencer series of pulp style thrillers, the Shattered Empire space opera series, the In Love and War science fiction romance series, the Helen Shepherd Mysteries and plenty of standalone stories in multiple genres.
When Cora is not writing, she works as a translator and teacher. She also runs the Speculative Fiction Showcase and the Indie Crime Scene and contributes to the Hugo-nominated fanzine Galactic Journey. Cora is a finalist for the 2020 Hugo Award.
