Book 3: Chapter 17: Oh Baby, a Triple

Book 3: Chapter 17: Oh Baby, a Triple

When the sand beneath my feet turned to rocky headland, I took a deep breath of the salt-filled air. I had all the things I could need; an armful of rods, a smattering of friends with me, and Maria. As a stiff breeze blew past, Bumblebro and Queen Bee crawled down from my shoulder to take refuge in my pocket. Their cute little heads poked out, gazing at the surrounding landscape in the afternoon light.

Deklan, Maria, Snips, and Borks followed right behind me. I stole a glance at Deklan. As with every time we’d interacted, the man was a walking contradiction. When I’d invited him to come fishing, he seemed excited. Filled with anticipation. He’d grown up in Gormona, so had been well and truly indoctrinated to believe that anything water-related was going against the gods, yet that didn’t deter him.

But then I mentioned that I’d also invited the crown prince to come fishing.

A dark cloud had crossed Deklan’s face, and even now he remained somber, simply staring at the ground as we crossed the slick rocks. I shared a glance with Maria, both subtly wincing at my misstep. Refocusing, I took a deep breath, tasting the salty air once more.

If he’s anything like me, I thought, a little fishing will do wonders for his worries.

As we stepped onto the section of rockwall that was System generated, I set down my armful of rods. Maria placed the tackle box beside them, squeezing my arm before stepping back.

“Okay,” I said, smiling at Deklan. “I think it’s best we start with the basics, so I’ll show you how to tie the knots. Would you mind catching us some bait, Maria?”

“Of course!” She flicked open the tackle box and removed a sabiki rig, not wasting a moment in tying it to her rod. “One eel coming right up—hopefully a stinky one.”

As she walked over to the side of the rockwall and cast out, I ran Deklan through making a paternoster rig. His hands were rough and calloused despite his often lackadaisical nature, reflective of the training he’d done as a member of the capital’s guard forces, and though he wasn’t yet a cultivator, he emulated the knot expertly on the first attempt.

“How does it look?” he asked, holding it up.

“Perfect, mate. Now all we need is some bait.”

“Working on it!” Maria called, staring calmly at the water.

I watched her for a long moment, lost in the way her hair swayed in the soft breeze, but then I felt someone approaching.

I recognized the chi signature, and as I turned Keith’s way, I spotted the man walking beside him. Trent, the crown prince of Gormona, had a pensive expression.

“G’day, guys!” I said, standing. “Deklan, you’ve met Keith and Trent?”

“Trent...?” Deklan asked, his eyes narrowing. “Fischer...” He leaned in close, whispering, “That’s the Trent you were talking about? He’s not the prince...”

I rubbed the back of my head. “Er, they can hear you, mate. Cultivator hearing and all that. It’s a long story, but that’s definitely the prince.”

Deklan’s frown deepened. “I don’t mean to offend, but I’d recognise him. I’ve seen him countless—”Vissit novelbin(.)c.om for updates

“Hello, Deklan,” Trent replied, the sadness in his eyes betraying the fake smile he gave. “You once told me that only my opinion of myself mattered, and that I should ignore my family’s insults. I believe I threw a jug of wine and a half-eaten pastry at you for your kindness.”

Deklan froze. “It... what?” His eyes widened as he looked Trent over. “It’s... really you?”

“It is. I’m sorry for how I treated you previously. It...” He clenched his jaw, a hint of fire entering his eyes. “I wasn’t myself.”

“Uh, I mean... that’s... okay?” Deklan asked, looking at me, then back to Trent, clearly flummoxed. “I’m surprised you remember me...”

“Cultivator,” Trent replied, pointing at his chest. “I remember pretty much everything, unfortunately.”

A silence stretched between us, and I let it linger for a moment, making sure they weren’t going to continue. Borks slid over and licked my leg, wagging his tail up at me and calming my racing mind.

“Okay,” I said, patting Borks’s head and giving him a smile. “Now that everyone has been reintroduced, do you need my help setting up?”

“No,” Keith replied, “I’ve got it. Trent only wants to watch for now.”

“No worries! I brought all the spare rods in case you change your mind. I might go help Deklan cast out, then.”

“Think you can do that, mate?” I asked. “I cast to the left, so send yours out to the right. It’s a whole thing if our lines get tangled.”

“I think I can,” Deklan replied, stepping forward. He held his rod over his shoulder, watched the hook and sinker for a long moment, then lobbed it out to sea.

The angle was a bit off and it sailed higher than intended. When it hit the water, it hadn’t gone as far as mine did.

He gave me a grimace. “Should I try again?”

“Nah, that’s good! That was outstanding for a first cast. Wind your line in like I did, then rest your finger on the line. You’ll feel it when a fish bites.”

He nodded, an intense look of focus on his face that made me smile.

I sat down on the rocks, getting comfy as I leaned into the sensations of my body. The wind blew fitfully, washing over me in small bursts that made my clothes ripple and tickle my skin. Though the breeze was cold, the afternoon sun shone down from above, a perfect counterpoint that canceled out winter’s chill. Small waves crashed on the rocks beneath us, causing droplets of water to hit my legs. The longer I focused on the myriad sensations peppering me, the deeper I sunk into the moment.

I slipped into a meditative state without even realizing it, the shape of my body melting away and becoming a cloud of feeling.

The chi coursed through the world all around me, sweeping this way and that. It reminded me of the ocean’s churning waves, the lines of essence a part of something greater—something whole. There was a kernel of truth in that realization, my core seeming to hum its agreement. I felt at the boundary of my core, marveling at how far it had come in my short time in this world.

Something tugged at my attention, and I tried to sweep it away, content with being lost within myself.

It came again, and I shook my head, slowly returning to the world.

“Fischer!” Maria called.

“What’s up?” I asked, turning toward her voice.

She was beside me, her rod in hand and line out between Trent and I. She gave me an exasperated look. “Your rod, you goose!”

“What?” I turned forward, seeing my rod bent almost in half, its tip twitching. “Oh!” I shot to my feet. “Fish on!”

“No kidding!” she replied, a laugh bubbling up from her throat. “Lucky it hooked itself, you peanut!”

“O-oh!” Deklan yelled. His eyes were pinned to his rod. “I think I had a bite—”

With all our gazes on his rod, it bent fully in half, cutting his sentence short. “F-Fish on?” he yelled, sounding more like a question than a statement.

“Double hookup!” Maria beamed at us. “Keep your like tight, Deklan. Fischer doesn’t use barbed hooks, so if it goes slack, the fish can—”

She cut off as something massive struck her line. “Whoa! Fish on!” She laughed uproariously. “Triple hookup!”

All three of the fish fought valiantly, never once tiring as we dragged them toward the rocks. Unlike other creatures I’d battled on the end of my line, whatever these fish were, they never changed tack; they fought to escape with everything they had the entire time. With my enhanced body, I brought my fish to the rocks first.

When I caught sight of its body, my forehead creased. It was smaller than I’d expected, the fish having put up a fight that belied its size. But adrenaline quickly swept my confusion away; it was a new species. I lifted it up from the water by holding the line and got a good look at it. The first thing I noticed was the razor-sharp teeth lining its mouth. It flopped around in the air, just as energetic without the water as it was within.

As Maria and Deklan pulled theirs from the water, my fish drew my vision in.

As I shook my head, clearing my field of view of the description, my eyes went wide. I looked over at Maria, seeing her vision distant as she inspected hers. The moment they cleared, her head darted toward me.

“Does that mean what I think it does...?”

I nodded, grinning. “It does. Looks like we—”

Light exploded from behind Maria, illuminating our surroundings as a pulse of chi almost knocked me off my feet.