Heretical Fishing

Book 3: Chapter 9: Town Meeting

Beneath a star-filled sky, I ran.

Humanoid shapes sprang up from all around me, reaching out with ethereal limbs and seeking to slow me down. The sand beneath my feet was pitch black, and no matter how many steps I took, the distant horizon remained the same. There were no features, nothing to break up the dark monotony of the desert landscape except for the ghostly appendages grasping for my clothing. They passed through me, their fingers unable to find purchase. With each touch, though, my steps slowed. It was like I ran through mud, the power of my enhanced body no match for the ground’s consistency.

Though aware I was dreaming, I couldn’t escape it.

I tried to force my eyes open, tried to return to the waking world. But I was trapped. The more I wanted to leave, the more numerous the apparitions became. They stretched out, their forms elongating and wrapping around me. I came to a complete stop, smothered by their mass.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

My burden increased, even more of the apparitions grabbing hold. Anxiety coursed through me as I realized I couldn’t breathe. Their weight was too much for me, and I sank further into the black sand, my chest constricting.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

My eyes flew wide, and I took a deep, shuddering inhalation, staring at the roof of my bedroom. I focused on the cold sheets touching me, willing the adrenaline pumping through my veins to leave. With each breath I took, part of my panic fled. Seeking further comfort, I rolled over to wrap my arm around Maria.

When I patted her hard carapace, she hissed at me.

I cracked an eye to find a rather pleased crab staring back.

Snips hissed again, blowing happy bubbles as she scooted closer.

“Fischer!” called a beautiful voice from outside my room. “I’m coming in. Barry needs—” Maria cut off as she opened my bedroom door and caught sight of us. “Snips! You man-thief!”

Sergeant Snips, my longest companion and the cutest crustacean I’d ever met, shimmied up on my chest, lowering her body to mine and hissing taunting bubbles at Maria.

“Oh-ho-ho!” she replied, stepping closer. “You dare?” Maria launched herself at us, sailing through the air and crashing down with her arms spread wide.

I grunted as my girlfriend body slammed us, wrapping Snips and me in a hug.

“Lucky you’re cute, Snips,” Maria said, rubbing her carapace. “Otherwise, I might need to take you out.”

“What time is it?” I asked, resting a hand on Maria’s head.

“Midday.” She squeezed me tight, then extracted herself from the cuddle puddle. “Come on. It’s time to go.”

“It is...?”

“Yep! Everyone is waiting for you back in New Tropica.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Define everyone.”

“Oh, you know—just a few people. Barry, the church, the dozens of cultivators that you freed from slavery and brought back to Tropica.” She shot me a wink. “Nothing major.”

I groaned. “Town meeting?”

“Yep. Let’s get it over with, then we can come back here and...” She leaned in close and bit her lip, staring up at me as she whispered in a husky voice, “... go fishing.”

I gasped. “Maria!”

She giggled as I threw a shirt on.

“Let’s go, then,” I said. “The sooner it’s over, the sooner we can fish.”

When we arrived in New Tropica, we strode hand-in-hand across the stone street. Myriad voices came from ahead, projecting out across the village. We followed them, finding the source of the commotion when we entered the amphitheater. It was semicircular, with a stage on the far side and sloped seating that the stairs descended through. The members of my church’s congregation—which now included Trent, apparently—all stood on the stage, while Gormona’s cultivators occupied the seats.

Someone in the far-left section noticed me first.

The cultivator’s eyes went wide as we entered and walked down the steps. One by one, the conversations trailed off, and every head darted our way. Some averted their gaze, but more remained pinned to us, watching our passage carefully as we descended toward the congregation. Unlike those we’d freed from Gormona, everyone on the stage was happy to see Maria and me arrive. Snips scuttled past us, going to join the rest of my animal pals.

Rather than join them, I chose a spot on the sloped seating, far enough from any of Gormona’s cultivators that they wouldn’t have an impromptu panic attack.

“Okay!” Barry called, giving me a slight smirk. “Now that Fischer and Maria are here, we can begin!”

Most turned to look at him, but some gazes remained on me, making my skin prickle a little under their attention.

“I should address the elephant in the room,” Barry continued, his voice booming out. “I see hesitation, perhaps even fear in your eyes when some of you look at Fischer.” He visually weighed the crowd, taking a moment to let those words sink in. “Good.”

Everyone turned to look at me again, their stares just as oppressive as the apparitions in the dream I’d woken from earlier.

“Thanks, Barry,” I whispered to Maria, who squeezed my hand.

Barry cleared his throat. “Most of you—those who were protecting the grove in Gormona—have experienced his power first hand. The rest of you—the cultivators that were assigned to the squads—have also felt his power. The pillar of light in the capital? That was Fischer. The surge of power earlier that hit all of your cores? That was us creating this village, and that was mostly Fischer.”

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“Yeah, right,” someone muttered from the other side of the seating, loud enough for all of our enhanced ears to hear. “Like you created this village in a single morning. How stupid do you think we are?”

“Oh, shut up, Zeke,” a female cultivator replied from beside the man, rolling her eyes. “You felt the power too. Tell me you can’t feel the essence flowing through the very stones beneath us.”

“That doesn’t mean they made it—”

“There will be plenty of time to talk later,” Barry’s booming voice interrupted, chi flowing from him and over the crowd. “You’re free to believe what you like, but for now, understand this.” He took another moment, letting anticipation swell. Then he spread his arms wide, gesturing at the congregation on the stage. “Any single one of us alone could have ended the king of Gormona’s life, who was the most powerful cultivator we’ve ever come across. As followers of Fischer, we have far exceeded any of you.”

Zeke, the man from earlier, snorted. “You really expect us to believe that the king is a cultivator?”

“Coalemus’s stupidity, Zeke,” the same woman responded. “Osnan was a cultivator. Why is it so shocking that the king would be too?”

A soft wave of oppressing power came from Barry’s core, forcing every mouth closed.

“The king is, yes, but that’s not what you should take from my statement.” His eyes roamed over them. “Despite how potent we of the congregation are, each powerful enough to defeat your strongest cultivator, Fischer could end every single one of us in an instant. In one move, he could annihilate every cultivator, spirit beast, and building in the immediate vicinity. Even if we attacked together—you cultivators from Gormona included... we’d stand no chance.”

The tone of his declaration held a finality to it, and despite no chi radiating from Barry’s core, the crowd remained quiet. Again, every head turned toward me. But this time, none of them looked away. I could see fear, awe, respect, a wink… wait, why did someone wink?

I squinted at the man on the far side of the seats. It was Deklan, the guard I’d brought back with me. I hadn’t recognized him without his armor. As I blinked at him dumbly, he gave me a nod.

The dozens of gazes brought me back to the present. They seemed to drill into me, making me feel like a bug under a microscope. Sweat sprouted from my neck, and just as I was beginning to grow uncomfortable, Maria squeezed my hand. Her touch was a port in the storm, and I leaned into it, lifting my chin under the continued scrutiny of so many people.

The silence was so thick you could cut it with a knife and the air grew tenser by the moment.

But before it grew too stifling, Barry cleared his throat. “However... Fischer is also the reason you’re all here. Some of you by his very existence, but most of you by his direct intervention.”

This statement caused confusion on the surrounding faces.

Barry nodded. “Our mission in the capital was called ‘Operation Sticky Fingers’. The main goal was to steal ancient artifacts from the royal family. We only planned to rescue a small number of you originally, but when Fischer agreed to accompany us, we decided to free every cultivator that was part of the roaming squads.” He paused, letting his meaning sink in. “I can see most of you understand. If we had followed the plan, those of you that were defending the grove with Tom Osnan would have been left behind.”

Most of the cultivators shared glances with one another as the implications hit them.

“It was through no fault of your own,” Barry continued. “We simply didn’t have the necessary infrastructure. To be blunt, a cultivator that we previously came across was as mad as a rabid dog. No offense, Borks.”

Ruff, he replied, not looking at all bothered as he wagged his tail down on the stage.

Barry reached over and scratched Borks’s neck before looking back up at everyone. “Fischer, of his own volition, brought the cultivators in the grove with him. In his words, he didn’t want to leave you behind and subject you to punishment or torture for your inability to stop us—a task that was impossible given our difference in power. He wanted you to be free.”

Zeke stood abruptly, clenching his jaw. “You keep saying free, yet you threaten us with death.”

Rocky stepped forward, raising his clackers in threat, but Snips dashed over and held him back.

Zeke had tried to take a step back and half-stumbled on his seat, but as Snips got a hold of Rocky, he firmed his shoulders and stood tall. “You removed our physical collars, yes, but how can people like us ever live free? Our very existence goes against the rules of this world. There are no gods to contain us, no beings that can keep our unparalleled power in check.”

There was more than a little self-loathing in his words. I grimaced, feeling sorry for what he’d been through.

“Simple,” Barry replied, his voice soft yet carrying over the entire crowd. “We, including all of you, are going to raise Fischer to godhood.”

At this, every face turned my way again. Their visages held the same mix of emotions as earlier, but this time, they were much more visceral. Deklan’s former joviality was nowhere to be seen. As before, anxiety threatened to wash over me, but I knew what Barry was going for here. He’d given them the stick, and now he was showing them the carrot—providing a path. A way forward. I swept my misgivings aside and grinned at the sea of faces, giving them a wave.

“How you accomplish this is up to you,” Barry said. A few faces lingered on me, but they slowly turned his way. “You can craft. You can train. If you like, you can even go fishing. All we ask is that you contribute enough to support at least yourself, and if we ever need to defend the village, you will be expected to help. Besides that, as long as you do nothing to harm anyone or our mission, you’re free to do as you please. First, though, we need to ensure that you won’t betray us...”

A pulse of power washed out of Barry’s core as he trailed off. It vibrated the air, making everyone around me sink down into their chairs. It pressed into me, seeming to wage a war with my will.

“Damn,” I whispered to Maria. “Barry’s getting strong…”

“If any of you reach for your chi from this moment on,” he continued, “you’ll be neutralized. Don’t give me that look, Zeke. We’re not going to kill you, but any of us can have you unconscious before you even know what happened.”

Rocky clacked his claws, daring anyone to give him a reason.

“Some of you might recognise this man.” Barry pointed to the side. “This is Theo—a former crown auditor.”

Muttered conversation erupted from the crowd, but Barry’s chi pulsed out again, smothering the noise.

“You’re going to answer his questions. If any of you hold ill intent for us or our cause, you’ll be confined. You’ll be neither injured nor harmed, but—”

A man at the rear of the amphitheater stood and ran, but before he took his second step, a lightning-covered otter shot from the stage and tapped him on the back of the head, making him go limp. A woman behind me took that opportunity to flee, only to be descended upon and roundhouse-kicked by a coconut-sized bunny. Cinnamon gave me a thumbs up and a wink from atop her unconscious body. I shook my head at her enthusiasm.

“As I said.” Barry’s voice shattered the silence. “Neutralized.” He gave the crowd a smile. “The moment you pass Theo’s questioning, you’ll be one of us. If any of you have misgivings about our purpose here, I highly encourage you to consider what we offer. If you had doubts or ill intent before hearing my words, you won’t be punished. As long as your goals are aligned with us in the future, you are free. Now, I know this is a lot to ask, but is anyone willing to volunteer to be questioned first? I’d like to avoid having to pick—”

“I’ll do it,” someone at the front interrupted, standing.

It was Anna, the first cultivator that had regained consciousness upon arriving back in Tropica. Theo hopped down from the stage and met her, giving her a kind smile and ushering her to the side of the amphitheater. As they started conversing, an unfriendly face jumped from the stage and approached.

“Dad...?” Maria said. “Is everything okay?”

He gave her a second’s worth of smile before frowning again as he looked at me. “I need to speak with you.”

Maria sighed. “Alone, I’m guessing?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I’ll be around here when you’re done doing...” she waved her hands vaguely. “Whatever you’re doing. Don’t take too long—I still wanna go fishing today.”

“All right, Roger. Where to, mate?”

He turned and strode up the stairs, pointedly not replying.

I shrugged, then gave Maria a quick kiss before jogging after him.

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