the first big clash with the merfolk was them attacking their beachhead from land and sea. no complicating encounters on the way to delay the assault and spoil the ambush.
Erik boasts he will chomps berserker berries and starts fucking taking heads off to save the boats which are mired down by the merfolk trying to hold the attackers off.
Albert ( a mere veteran) boasts he will slaughter the merfolk, and (complication) will smoke Erik on the way, just 'cause he’d get in the way. 😄 boast failed!
Vic boasts she will be the one to bring Erik in, boast succeeded! Erik gets his axe lodged in a corpse and as he is frothing at th emouth, his ganglion is smashed with a greatsword pommel. He is dragged by the scruff back to the ship as Vic continues on to breakthrough the enemy line.
19 of the 100 or so attackers perished (R.I.P. Skulnar “the biggest”), only 9 of the 35 defenders died, but with no retreat avenue it was a total slaughter of the losers.

the second clash was them at Trecht, having received advice that merfolk won’t do campaigns on land without beachead support and will attempt a river-ambphibious assault. The waters were well boobytrapped and the envoy that begged them a parley (the terms were super good but unfortunately involved technically shirking all three boasts made before hand so fuck it) wasn’t allowed far enough to see the traps.
Erik took on a myrmidon and won, his berserk strength against a 7 hd 3 attacks per round myrmidon of the merfolk, Vesuvius of the black smoker
Albert pledged himself to kill a giant lobster, sever its claw and bring it fresh to King Ulfr’s banquet, Giant lobster rolled bad for hit dice, but it was still close.
Vic pledged she’d run through 10 merfolk single handedly and whuf, that greatsword is bonkers with a berserker berry boost.
i refer to them with D&D titles so erik is a Swashbuckler Skald, and vic and albert are both proven Swordsmen/women