Heretical Fishing

Book 4: Chapter 2: Storage

“Okay, I have to ask at least once,” Maria said, giving me an apologetic smile. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“I’m sure,” I replied, giving her hand a small squeeze. “If we need to use Borks’s dimensional space in an emergency, we’d have to ditch the beans. I’d rather risk them being stored in subpar conditions than discarded entirely.”

George, the former lord of Tropica village, snorted from beside me, then seemed to remember himself. “Oh, er... sorry, Fischer.”

I barked a laugh, glad that he was comfortable enough around me to react honestly. It was a far cry from the anxious mess he used to be. “Don’t apologize, mate. What did you find so funny?”

Geraldine, his ever-supportive wife, patted George on the shoulder. “I’m guessing it’s because you called this room subpar.”

“That’s fair.” I gazed around at the smooth stone walls. “I guess it’s a matter of perspective.”

We were within a new building, something that hadn’t existed at all in New Tropica. It was, ostensibly, a granary. It had dozens of rooms, all segregated to keep the contents sterile. To be honest, it felt a little reductive to call it just a granary, though. Each room was temperature and humidity controlled, with positive airflow to keep any unwanted particles out. Considering these functions, it could be an inoculation chamber for fungi, an operating room, or any other number of places that required as much sterility as possible.

It was only subpar compared to a single other place: Borks’s spatial ability, which was self-cleansing, impenetrable, and entirely sealed off from contamination. The room we were in could be used for what some would deem better purposes, but what we needed right now was a place to store all our grains and beans, most important of which we were about to retrieve.

I smiled up at the questioning look Borks was giving me and nodded. “Ready when you are, buddy.”

With a wag of his tail and a happy little ruff, the air shattered and cracked, a black portal tearing into being. We formed a work line, with me and George within the portal and the two ladies without. It took mere minutes for us to move the tons of raw coffee beans, and as George and I stepped back outside, we found our partners blushing and whispering to one another.

“That can’t be good, mate,” I stage-whispered to George. “They’re conspiring.”

He gave an exaggerated shiver. “I pray for our health.”

“Oh, shush,” Geraldine said, sweeping over to slap him softly on the arm. “We were only saying good things.”

“Speaking of good things,” I replied, not so subtly shifting the topic. “There was a reason why I asked you two to help us move the beans.”

Geraldine nodded. “I suspected as much. Why did you request us, then?”

“Well, I don’t say this to be insulting, but pretty much everyone else has something going on. I know you two are relatively new to the whole cultivator thing, so don’t feel pressured if it doesn’t sound like your jam, but...” I trailed off as they spun to look at each other, their eyebrows doing their best to leave their face.

Frack, I thought. I overstepped. I’ll—

They cut off my line of thinking when they burst into short and sharp laughter.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Okay,” I said. “You lost me.”

“We were going to ask you for some direction,” Geraldine replied, smoothing her dress. “I don’t want to overdo fishing. We’re worried that if we don’t find a profession of sorts, it won’t remain as fun. Does that make... why are you looking at me like that?”

Without realizing it, a frown had made its way to my face.

“Because he can’t relate to getting sick of fishing,” Maria explained for me, rubbing my upper back. “The man is obsessed.”

“Yeah, that. But I get it—a profession is a good idea! You’re both keen, then?”

“We are,” George answered, grabbing Geraldine’s hand. “When do we start?”

“First thing in the morning?” I suggested.

“That sounds good to me. We’ll meet you—”

“Wait,” I amended. “Is after breaky okay? I want to have a fish first—it’s been forever.”

“Are you serious?” Maria chastised, a smile betraying her intent. “It’s been two days!”

“Two whole days without fishing!” I shook my head in feigned dismay. “Can you believe it?”

Maria sighed. “Let’s meet mid-morning. We should probably check in on the prisoners, too.”

“Oh, good point! Checking the prisoners! That’s for sure something a leader would do.”

Geraldine gave us an amused look. “Come on, George—let’s go get some rest.”

As we left the granary and emerged into the street, Maria and I bid George and Geraldine farewell. A cool breeze washed over us when they were gone. Maria shivered and I pulled her into a tight side hug. “Should we get going, too?”

“Let’s.”

Claws, who had been napping atop Borks this entire time, let out a chirp of agreement. Together, we strode through the streets, gazing up at the village’s beauty as we went.

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***

By the time the first of the sun’s rays peeked over the horizon, my rod was already baited up and ready to go. I took a deep breath, tasted the salt spray in the air, and cast my line out. It sailed high over the calm ocean, falling a score or so meters away with a soft plop. As my baited hook sank to the depths, George’s words from yesterday arrived unbidden.

“I don’t want to overdo fishing,” I repeated, then blew air from my lips. “Can you believe he said such heresy with a straight face?”

No response came, so I swiveled to glance down the rock wall toward land, raising an eyebrow. “Guys?”

Technical Officer Theodore Roosevelt—Teddy for short—my newest animal pal and the goodest bear in all the lands, retracted his head from the crevice he’d been inspecting. He gave me a shocked look and pointed at himself as if to ask, Who, me?

Maria, whose attention was entirely on the sliver of eel she was feeding onto her hook, didn’t even look up. “Did you say something?” she asked, her fingers moving deftly.

I thought to let out an exaggerated sigh, to act like a scorned lover or ignored pal, but I just shook my head and returned my attention to the ocean. “Never mind. It’s too early and too perfect a day for hijinks.”

As I reeled in the slack of my line and held one finger to it, Maria stepped up beside me. “I’m not sure Claws would agree with that assessment, but it certainly is a stunning morning.”

She reeled until her line was taut, and together, we stared east. Teddy came and sat behind us. His massive snout twitched as he sniffed the wind, his eyes similarly pinned on the distant horizon in anticipation of the sun’s arrival. When it came, we weren’t disappointed. With the shifting of seasons, so too had the morning colors changed. Though the purple and pink shades were still prevalent, a light blue separated them, swiftly banishing the darkness lingering from the night gone.

A warm wind blew in from behind us. It was a welcome arrival after so many months of frigid gusts. Lost in the sensations of the world, I closed my eyes, reached a hand toward Maria... and found nothing. Frowning, I turned toward her, only to find her leaning back against Teddy’s arm.

I smiled at the cheeky grin she gave me, unsurprised. “Mind if I join, Teddy?”

He let out a deep growl of assent, the sound so bassy that it shook the air in my chest. I scooted back to lean against him, but froze when my line twitched. Maria jolted forward, her eyes watching the tip of her own rod.

“Did you get a bite?” she whispered, her gaze flicking to me for the barest of moments.

I licked my lips. “I think so. It—” I cut off as my rod bent down, the fish taking the hook.

“Fish on!” Maria yelled, hopping to her feet in an instant. Her eyes flicked to me again, and when she saw I’d hooked something too, they went wide with excitement. “Double hookup!” My fish darted to the left and hers to the right. With ease only produced by practice, she dipped under my line, giggling as she danced over the slick rocks.

Not wanting to skull-drag our respective fish to shore, we both took our time, letting them take long runs and tire themselves out in between periods of us reeling them in. The longer the battle went on, the more excited I became, which was no new experience. But there was more to it today.

“Fischer! Does this feel new to you?”

Unable to contain my joy, I barked a laugh. “I was thinking the same thing! With the way they move, these might be a new species!”

She made a high-pitched noise and hopped from foot to foot, only to cut off abruptly as her fish took another run. I shot a glance toward the third member of our morning crew, finding Teddy’s ears alert and eyes filled with anticipation. Waves of curiosity radiated from his core, strong enough to be felt over my giddiness.

As my line got closer and closer to shore, though, I swept all other thoughts aside. It was time to focus up. The fish must have caught sight of the rock wall, because it took a desperate run, the kicks of its tail sluggish in comparison to the start of our clash. The way it seemed to wind through the water reminded me of something, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I leaned closer, my excitement growing overwhelming as I expected to see a flash of sun hitting its scales. TBut the reflection never came.

“What—” I began, then cut off as I saw something swirl beneath the small waves hitting the rock wall. It was long and lithe, its body covered in speckled flesh instead of scales. Though my confusion was great, my desire to be kind was greater. I lifted it out of the shallows, intent on identifying it as soon as possible. I saw a gnarly set of chompers on it, so I grabbed it by the gills, careful not to injure it. Before I could see more of its form, it drew my vision in.

Mature Wolf Eel

Rare

Found along the rocky shores of the Kallis realm, these eels are named for their bite force. Because of their tendency to mate for life, eating the flesh of the wolf eel with a lover is purported to bring you closer together. Combined with their rarity, this belief causes the wolf eel to be considered a delicacy by many.

I shook my head to clear my eyes and stare down at the creature, taking in its features. As I looked at its long, finned tail, I realized why its movement had seemed similar—it was reminiscent of the other eel varieties I’d caught. That was where its similarity to the others ended, though. It had a body almost shaped like a tadpole, its head and body were enlarged and filled with muscle. Its skin was kind of pudgy, a layer of protective fat protecting its vitals. I found myself frowning at it, and as I reached up to remove my hook, it lashed out.

Snap!

If not for my enhanced body, it might have taken a finger. I raised an eyebrow at Maria, who was entirely ignoring me in favor of staring down at her own catch, its skin and spots slightly darker than the one I held.

“Awww,” she said. “They’re adorable! Do you think they’re a couple?”

I had to agree with her assessment. The things were ugly cute. Like a Pug. Or those weird dogs that look like someone bred a Shih Tzu with a naked mole rat then washed them on a four-hour spin cycle.

“I hope so!” I replied, trying to keep my face straight. “Do you think that will make us come even closer together when we eat them? I wonder what they taste like?”

The look of utter shock, horror, and betrayal on Maria’s face broke my mask of indifference. I cackled, holding the eel away from me as I bent at the waist. “Kidding! I was kidding!”

“I was about to call off the wedding!” She gestured at me with her eel as if using its powerful jaws as a threat. “You let that fishy go right now!”

Still fighting back my mirth, I stepped down to the rocks. “Ready?”

She nodded and joined me, both of us releasing them at the same time, and the wolf eels did one of the most adorable things I’d seen since coming to this world. Rather than dart away, the one I’d held swam over to Maria’s. They coiled as if checking in on each other, then swam back to the depths together, never once separating.

Maria slapped me softly on the arm. “That wasn’t funny! How could you consider eating a happy couple? I was seriously reconsidering who you were!”

“Oh, c’mon. It was a little funny. Right, Teddy?”

His head darted between us, ears pinning back as existential dread arrived on his face at the prospect of having to choose a side.

“Don’t mind him, Teddy.” Maria rubbed our bear pal’s shoulder, making some of his anxiety melt away. “Before Fischer has coffee, his humor is similar to that of Corporal Claws.”

I raised my finger to protest, but paused. “Damn. You might be correct on that one.”

“Always am.” She shot me a wink and got to her feet. “Come on, then. Let’s get you some caffeine.”

“And I thought the eels were romantic,” I replied, brushing off my pants.

She rolled her eyes at me, but there was no malice in it. “Enough jokes, mister. The sooner we get coffee and check in on the prisoners, the sooner we can go roast some beans with George and Geraldine.”

Hand in hand, and with Teddy plodding along beside us, we headed off toward Tropica.

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