“You called yourselves what?” I demanded.
Laughter bubbled up from within as I saw the arrayed smiles, and I let it co, delighting in the feeling.
“Why?” I asked when I could speak again. “Why animals, and what’s up with the rhyming?”
“Loathe as I am to admit it,” Barry said, shaking his head, “it’s genius. If soone happens across the ancient construct, there is zero chance that they’ll link it back to them.”
“And if we’re lucky,” Ellis added, “they’ll assu it’s a handful of awakened creatures. That would put a real burr in the king’s breaches.”
I laughed again, picturing a procession of guards sent from the capital in search of phantom beasts. I shook my head.
“There’s no way they’re that daft, but it’s certainly a fun idea.”
Keith opened his mouth to speak, but Ellis’s hand darted to cover it.
I raised an eyebrow.
“Culty stuff I probably don’t want to know?”
Keith winced.
“Yeah, sorry.”
“Don’t ntion it, my man! Well, I was going to suggest we all have a fish today, but now that you’re all cultivators...” I gave them a grin. “How do you feel about helping construct sothing that’ll let us fish deeper waters?”
The gleam in their eyes was all the answer I needed.
***
Sweat poured from Charles as he ran through corridors, down spiraling stairs, and past confused servants that dashed out of the way.
He reached the antechamber to the throne room and threw open the door. The dignitary quirked an eyebrow at the uncouth arrival, but upon seeing Charles, his back straightened.
“The king is in a eting, sir.”
Charles strode forward, unerring.
“I must see him—now.”
“S-sir, I’m sure he won’t be—”
At the glare Charles leveled his way, the dignitary’s words died in his throat.
“O-of course. Right this way, please.”
The door groaned as the dignitary pushed them open with a bowed head. The king had been speaking, but his hushed words cut off the mont he noticed the interruption.
“What is the aning of this?” he demanded, his voice commanding attention.
The dignitary opened his mouth to respond, but no sound ca out, his lip quivering.
“My king,” Charles said, striding forward. “I have vital information that cannot—” As he noticed the man standing before his ruler, Charles’s chest constricted. He cleared his throat. “Ahem—I have vital information that cannot wait.”
Augustus Reginald Gormona, the reigning king of Gormona and lord of these lands, glared his annoyance. If Charles wasn’t so exhausted, he would have withered beneath the king’s attention. His breaths were labored as he bowed at the waist, fighting the urge to wipe sweat from his brow.
The king sighed.
“Very well. My apologies, Tom. We will have to resu this conversation at a later date.”
“Of course, my king,” Lord Osnan responded, not missing a beat as he gave a sweeping bow. Turning on his heel, he strode toward the exit. Charles felt Tom Osnan’s eyes boring into him in passing; he kept his face downward—to antagonize the lord of the Osnan household was to court ruin.
The influential lord’s footsteps receded, and the door groaned again as the dignitary closed it behind them, leaving Charles and his king alone in the throne room.
“Approach, Charles.”
Charles raised his head and obeyed. Light shone down from stain-glass windows, illuminating his king’s white mane of hair from behind. The ruler’s face was unreadable; he stroked his colorless beard as he watched Charles’s approach. The closer Charles got, the more the air seed to grow thick—his legs shook, so he slowed his stride. When he arrived before the throne, Augustus Reginald Gormona peered down at him like a wolf would consider a sheep.
“Are you well, Charles?”
“Apologies, my king.” He bowed at the waist again. “I ran here from the upper floors.”
“Dispense with the formalities, Charles. What has burdened you so?”
He snapped upright.
“As you will, my king. In searching for the vanished n, two guards discovered a room filled with artifacts.”
The king made a gesture to get on with it.
“Yes, I know the room. What of it?”
“One of the relics was active, and the screen show—”
The king shot to his feet.
“Active?”
An almost physical pressure pushed down on Charles, and he cleared his throat.
“The guards are bringing it here—”
The king’s eyes went wide, and the pressure seed to double.
“Stop them!” The air almost vibrated with the ruler’s voice. “Tell them to return it exactly where it was!”
“Y-yes, king!”
Charles sprinted for the door that was already opening, the dignitary having heard the booming order. A shiver coursed through his limbs as fear replaced his weariness.
***
As Augustus Reginald Gormona gazed down at the screen, his eyebrow twitched. A path had been cleared to the relic, and inert artifacts lay scattered against the far wall.
“This was its exact position when you found it?”
He looked up; Charles and one of the guards winced, the other shrugged.
“Pretty sure, yeah.”
Red-hot needles pin-pricked Augustus Reginald Gormona’s skin as rage coursed through his veins.
“I don’t need ‘pretty sure’, fool! Was this where the artifact was?”
Charles and the other guard withered; the flippant guard snapped a salute.
“Yes, king.”
He stared at them for a long mont before returning his attention to the construct. Above the screen, in an ancient script only one other in his kingdom could read, were two simple words: newly awoken.
More importantly, five nas were listed on the screen.
Lizard Wizard
Bog Dog
Glare Bear
Hurtle the Turtle
Boat Goat
“Tell , Charles,” he said, his voice soft. “What do you make of this?”
“I dare not presu—”
“Presu!” he ordered, not looking away from the printed text.
His servant audibly swallowed.
“Judging by the nas, I believe that multiple spirit beasts may have awakened.”
Though he suspected the sa, hearing the words spoken aloud hamred the reality into Augustus’s brain. He tottered over, catching himself on one of the lifeless constructs behind him.
“M-my king!” Charles dashed forward, but Augustus held up his other hand, halting him.
“Fetch runners and send for every handler in the city.” His vision blurred and eyes went distant as he thought out loud. “If they are able to gather power, to gain strength… we may all be dood...”
“Y-yes, my king!” Charles replied.
Three sets of hurried footsteps dragged him back to the present.
“Wait!” the king called, commanding obeisance.
They all stopped and turned. Charles swallowed.
“Yes, king?”
“On pain of death, none of you are to speak a word of this—not even to each other.”
“Yes, king!” all three replied.
“Very good. You two.” He pointed at the guards. “This room is now your post. No one is to enter without my permission and nothing is to be touched—nothing, you understand?”
One nodded silently, while the other snapped a salute and grinned.
The king walked from the room as Charles took off, sprinting away to enact his orders. He clenched his jaw and flared his nostrils, not caring to keep his fury under control.
There were spirit beasts in his lands.
It was ti to go on the offensive.
***
Just by the numbers alone, I had assud the construction would be much more productive with the help of my new friends.
As I watched Keith and Theo launch Peter like a torpedo, I was forced to admit just how wrong I was.
The chef, his eyes wide and mouth spread in a manic grin, rocketed right into Danny. The forr quartermaster tried to catch the chef-turned-projectile, but was blown off his feet, and both n slamd into the sheer cliff of rock denoting the shore. Ellis was unable to take notes, underwater as he was, but he watched on with keen eyes, no doubt storing the information away for later.
Corporal Claws, never one to let a chance for mischief pass her by, swam up to Theo and Peter. She pointed at herself, then at Rocky, who was hauling a small boulder by himself. Theo and Peter connected their hands and Claws sat her furry little tooshie in the makeshift sling. A mont later, she was gliding through the water at previously unseen speeds. She spun like a torpedo, her body becoming a blur. She angled herself upward, and instead of striking the unsuspecting crab, she shot right into the boulder he carried.
A loud crack split the water, and the humongous rock disintegrated in a shower of pebbles. Claws shot through it, dragging a plu of spiraling dust in her wake. She ca back in a large circle and slamd down next to Rocky, then gazed up to inspect her work.
Rocky froze, his clackers twitching in the open water. Claws ignored him, staring up at the dispersing cloud of sedint, rubbing her chin. With glacial speed, her gaze shifted to give Rocky a side-eyed glace. When the corner of her lip twitched up, Rocky could contain his anger no longer.
Twin explosions rang out, aid behind him. The propulsion shot him at her like a bullet with ten limbs, all of which were poised to latch onto her. She chittered a laugh and kicked off the sands, easily gliding away from the apoplectic crab.
I shook my head, unable to contain a smile as I watched Claws’s tactical retreat and Rocky’s unceasing pursuit. All five of the fishing club mbers tracked the fight—or was it a flight?—with growing amusent. I watched their faces for a long mont, only stopping when they went up for air.
As Claws and Rocky’s chase extended out of sight, I was left alone on the ocean floor. I crossed my legs and sat down, letting the muscles of my body relax. The water undulated softly, pushing my body this way and that. A deep well of thankfulness opened up within , and I sat with it for a mont, appreciating it in its entirety.
I left out a breath; the bubbles tickled my face in their passing.
With a content grin, I got back to my feet and searched for another boulder.
***
The midday sun ward my shoulders as I took my pot off the boil. Steam rose from its roiling surface, bringing with it the sweet yet savory scent of the cooked sand crabs within.
When the sun had just started to approach its zenith in the sky, I’d snuck off to prepare a surprise lunch. Busy as everyone was with taking turns launching each other at walls, piles of sand, rocks—or anything else unlucky enough to be within view of the chaotically aligned fishern—they hadn’t noticed my departure. Sergeant Snips and Pistachio did, but they’d simply nodded at when I held a finger to my lips, telling them to keep it quiet.
I heard—and felt—another thump, no doubt caused by soone getting flung into the cliff like a boulder from a trebuchet. I laughed, picturing the scene in my mind. One by one, I removed the cooked crabs and placed them into another pot of fresh saltwater to cool, then set off to fetch my pals.
***
I searched close to the shore, but the only life I ca across were the schools of fish flitting around the base of the wall. I set off further south, and the mont I found them, my eyes went wide.
You’ve gotta be kidding ...
Everyone—five cultivators and two awakened creatures—had ford a line. They were throwing boulders from one end to another, making a living chain. They’d long since found their rhythm, and the giant rocks bounced along the line hypnotically. At the beginning, Snips launched them a ridiculous distance to Pistachio. The leviathan-sized lobster easily caught and lobbed it along. Each boulder went to Theo, Peter, Danny, Keith, and finally Ellis, who placed it down atop a growing pile.
There had to be almost a hundred giant stones there already—where had they gotten so many in such a small amount of ti? I glanced at the start of the line with a furrowed brow, and then I saw it.
I’d been too transfixed by the fluid teamwork to notice the cliff had changed; though it still denoted the barrier between land and sea, ters of rock had been demolished and lay in a pile right next to snips, who was easily picking up boulders and throwing them to Pistachio.
She noticed , froze, then blew a stream of hesitant bubbles. Realizing she wasn’t sure if I was going to be mad, I darted toward her and scooped her up in a hug. A stream of relieved bubbles tickled my face as she leaned into my embrace. I kicked off the sand, and as we breached the surface, I smiled down at her.
“We probably would have had to demolish so stone at so point, Snips. I’m not upset—you guys have done an amazing amount of work.”
Soone cleared their throat behind , and I turned to see all five n looking rather sheepish. Theo rubbed the back of his head.
“That, uh, may have been my fault. Well, my head’s fault.”
“Your head?” I asked with a wry smile. “I think you’re taking too much bla, mate. Is it safe to assu you were launched by two overenthusiastic cultivators?”
“Oh, it was all four of us, actually,” Ellis said matter-of-factly. “His velocity was astounding.”
Theo grimaced.
“I tried spinning in the water like Claws did earlier. It, uh... worked.”
“No harm no foul, right?” I asked Snips. She nodded in response, blowing happy bubbles as she rubbed her carapace against my shoulder.
I glanced up at the surrounding faces.
“I don’t know if you guys are interested, but I’ve cooked up a feast of crab for lun—”
“Last one there has to be the subject of Ellis’s aerial test!” Theo yelled, cutting off.
“... aerial test?” I asked, but they were already gone, swimming to shore in a chaotic wash of flailing arms and kicking legs.
***
After a feast of crab, I joined in on the boulder-throwing work chain.
Claws and Rocky had returned too, no doubt lured in by the sll. Rocky was still trying to catch and or maim her when he scuttled up from the ocean, but she squashed the beef by throwing a cooked crab directly at his face, which subsequently exploded in a storm of at and carapace. I had thought it would further antagonize him, but he’d simply started plucking up chunks and throwing them into his mouth.
With their addition to the line, we were able to reach all the way from the first pile to the base of the wall. I was at the end of the line, catching rocks thrown by Claws and Rocky together, who had put their differences aside for the promise of a good scritching and a tasty al respectively. The wall took shape before my eyes, and as the hours passed, it neared completion—the boulders protruded above the ocean’s surface, stretching a full fifty ters from the shore.
All of a sudden, no rock ca, and when I looked back down the line, Sergeant Snips approached. She and Pistachio held a colossal boulder, and sothing shone from it, reflecting the sun’s light. Each person they passed joined and helped carry it to the wall. When the procession reached Claws and Rocky, I realized what the light was reflecting from.
A streak of silvery tal ran through the rock. The mont Ellis noticed the streak he jumped atop the load; his head hung down, peering intently at the anomaly. I joined in to haul the boulder up on top of the wall, and as soon as we got there, I turned to Ellis.
“You know what it is, mate?”
“I believe so,” he answered, his eyes still glued to the vein. “It’s iron.”
“Really? I thought it was silver—isn’t iron more... dull?”
“Ah, that is what I had first assud as well. See the red tint to so of the boulders? That’s the result of iron oxidizing. It’s a rather dense vein, which is why it appears so tallic. It will lose its shine swiftly now that we’ve exposed it to the air.”
I turned, grinning as I surveyed the area. The ocean surrounded us. Small waves crashed into the rocks and the wind sprayed us with their droplets. I breathed deep of the salty air, closing my eyes and extending my arms to either side. I stood like that for a handful of slow breaths, but then sothing nudged my core.
I arched an eyebrow and looked out at the world. Everyone had their eyes closed and a look of serene calm on their face, losing themselves to the mont, just as I had. The nudge ca again, but this ti it pulled —toward the boulder.
I walked between my pals, taking careful steps across the uneven rocks. When I reached the giant boulder, I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against it, picturing what I wanted to create: a sturdy surface from which to fish, with gaps in the rocks below for sealife to shelter in—a place of friendship, fun, and species diversity.
Knowing what would co next, I thought myself ready for the rush of power that would leave my core.
I was not.
The world quivered, my vision going black.
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