Chapter 106   - Back to the Basics

Four moons dominated the sky. Tonight, the streets of Sylspring were truly deserted.

Kai stifled a yawn. Dawn was a couple hours away. Unfortunately, the low tide didn’t care about his convenience.

“We can do another time if you want,” Ele walked beside him with a bundle of waxed canvas containing her diving equipment over her shoulder.

“No, I’m fine. Just need a moment.” A burst of Empower flashed through his body, shocking him awake. “Ready to go.”

Her spry green eyes examined him closely. “Mom said this tide is going to be a long one. Don’t hesitate to tell me if you get tired. We can go back anytime.”

“You’ve only told me half a dozen times. I think I’ll remember.”

“Just making sure. I’ve been doing this for years, it’s normal if you aren't able to keep up.”

Ah… she’s worried I’ll pull a Kea.

“Don’t worry, sis. I’ve no intention of drowning. You lead, I follow.”

Small signs of activity appeared as they got closer to the docks. A building had light and voices coming from inside. A sign hung over the door: The Merry Sirens. It pictured a sailor and a woman with fishtails embracing. He couldn’t help but notice the siren had been drawn with well above average breasts.

“This way,” his sister led him through another alley. It was hard to avoid all the drunken sailors who stumbled across the streets.

How charming. And I thought those were malicious stereotypes.

“Usually it’s not this bad,” Ele said as they walked around a snoring sailor drooling on the sidewalk. “While the low tide means work for me, it is a day off for most fishermen. They don’t want to risk their boats getting stuck when the sea withdraws.”

Kai nodded, surprised by the number of taverns they came across. His sister did her best to navigate the debacle, standing between him and the worst offenders. When loud moans and grunts came from an alley, she took his arm and dragged him away.

“What was that?” Kai naively asked, curiously looking in that direction when he was sure his eyes wouldn't see anything.

“Nothing, a bird and a dog must be fighting.”

“Really? I’ve never heard something similar.”

“It’s a rare type of seagull.”

“I want to see it, then.” He really didn’t, but the look on his sister’s face as she scrambled to think of something was priceless.

“The tide waits for no one. We can't afford the delay.”

Kai suppressed a smile. “Okay…”

“We should have taken the long way around,” she murmured under her breath.

The islanders weren’t particularly prudish people, but he was sure there were laws against public indecency. Somehow the enforcers were nowhere to be seen, likely unwilling to deal with them as long as they stayed away from poshtown. Kai even saw two mainlanders amidst the drunken crowd.

They reached the pier without encountering more strange animal calls. Three proper ships and a fleet of boats were moored. The area closer to shore had been dug up, so the vessels wouldn’t risk their keel when the sea retired and could wait it out.

If their mother's calculations were correct—and they usually were—the water would begin withdrawing in less than an hour.

Ele led him to the wooden pier when a tall boy stood in their way. The action felt deliberate, and Kai could already feel his annoyance growing.

“Are you going out already?” The stranger spoke to his sister. He was about twenty, hair styled into thin braids tied together. An unusual look for an islander, probably inspired by some foreign sailor.

“And who’s this?” The guy looked at him with hostility. “You refuse to hunt together and then you take this shrimp.”

Ele huffed, annoyed. “This is my brother, Kai. Now, could you let us pass? We’re in a hurry.”

Despite his sister's clear impatience, the man showed no intention to move out of the way.

“My bad, I didn’t know he was your little brother. I can see the resemblance,” his mood switched. In an instant, he smiled like they were long-lost friends. “I’m Sabe, the best pearl hunter in Sylspring. Nice to meet you, little guy.”

Sabe gave him a smug grin. Kai had to admit the man could be considered handsome, with defined features and a strong jaw. He sported impressive biceps through his sleeveless shirt.

Don’t tell me, he’s flexing. Yatei’s mercy, he is!

Kai deftly dodged Sabe, who tried to ruffle his hair in an overly friendly gesture. What was with adults that made them think they could invade his personal space the first time they met? Kai could hardly imagine someone making a worse impression if they tried.

Thank the ancestors, Ele doesn’t seem interested in this douchebag.

“You’re still in the way, Sabe,” Ele pointed out, her tone containing a rare note of irritation. Kai joined in giving the guy a dirty look.

Sabe finally got the hint and let them pass. “I’ll see you at sea, then. Let’s see who finds the biggest pearl.”

Ele sighed, shaking her head without looking back. “Ignore him.”

The pier was only so big, his sister stopped before a small boat, little more than a raft.

“Welcome to my majestic vessel. Hop on board,” she waved her hand dramatically.

Kai did a small bow. “With your permission, Captain.” The boat tilted dangerously as he stepped on.

Ele sat on the other end, using her bag to balance their weight. She undid the knots to the berth and used a pair of oars to carefully navigate through the bigger boats.

Kai could tell the sea was already receding. “So, what’s the deal with that guy?”

“Who, Sabe?” Ele rolled her eyes, “Don’t mind him. Since I beat him a couple times, he decided we had to team up.”

I bet that’s not the only thing he wants.

“Do you want a hand at dealing with him?”

Ele gave him a long amused look, “And what would you do?”

Kai thought of various options. As always, his mind turned to alchemy. “Does he also have a boat?”

“Yes, why? And no, we can’t sink it.”

“I can brew a potion that will make it smell like rotten vomit. No one will come a mile from him for a month, trust me. Or we can pour it directly on him if you know where he sleeps.”

That was an original recipe he created by mistake. After a drop landed on him, he had been forced to burn his clothes.

Ele laughed, “Good idea.”

Then she noticed he wasn’t laughing with her.

“Wait, you're serious?”

“Yes…?”

Just an innocent little stink bomb will make him a social pariah for a while. Is that too much?

That guy seemed like someone who cared about his image a lot.

“Just say the word and it will be done, my Captain.”

Ele hesitated just a second before vehemently shaking her head, “Sabe’s an idiot, but he’s not that bad.”

Or maybe you’re just too good.

“Well, if you change your mind, my offer still stands, sis.”

His sister continued to row in silence. With the rolling motion of the boat, Kai had to fight not to doze off.

The moons tinged the waters with pastel red and green lights. It was hard to peek beneath the waves, but Kai could tell the seafloor was less than a meter below.

“Can you take the oars one moment? I need to check where we are.” Ele took out an oil lamp and a matchstick box from her pack. Leaning over the edge to illuminate a patch of seaweed.

Kai had no idea what she was looking for. That kelp looked no different than any other seaweed.

“Just slightly to the left,” she nodded to herself, adjusting their route.

They proceeded over the waves as the sea slowly slipped away and the current threatened to push them off course. His sister checked a few more times where they were going.

Ele was so focused on her task that Kai chose to stay silent to not disturb her. Navigating under the moonlight was not an easy job. With only darkness and inky waters around them, the atmosphere was spooky.

His sister’s confidence reassured him, as did scanning their surroundings with Mana Sense. He spotted a few large fish, but no awakened beasts. Ele steered them away from any deeper trenches.

When the first light of dawn painted the horizon red, their boat scraped against the sand.

“We need to continue on foot. You can carry the light,” Ele said, offering him the oil lamp.

“I have a better idea,” Kai made an enchanted crystal appear in his hand.

His sister squinted at the sudden light. “What’s that? And where did it come from?”

Kai smiled mysteriously before giving her a brief explanation about enchantments and spatial artifacts. He had thought long and hard about this. Lately, he had been too paranoid, he would trust his family with this secret.

“How much is it worth?” Ele said, still disbelieving.

“I don’t know exactly, but I can’t sell it even if I wanted to, and I don’t.”

“No chance you can get me one?”

“Not unless you want to go rob the governor.” A horrified expression appeared on his sister’s face. “I was joking.”

Kai offered her the enchanted crystal. “Here, take it. For all the birthdays I missed.”

“Are you sure? This looks expensive too.” Ele stared at the glowing stone with wonder.

“Don’t worry I can always make more. You can bring it to me to recharge when the light starts to dim.”

“Thank you then. I won’t tell anybody about the ring.”

Kai could see a thousand questions swirling in his sister’s face.

“Where are we going? The tide waits for no one.”

“Right,” Ele woke from her stupor and jumped into the shallow water. “Leave your clothes on the boat, if you don’t want to get them wet.”

Kai made his shirt and trousers disappear in the ring. A neat trick he had just figured out. He was still working on putting them back on from his space closet, all in due time. If it was possible, he would find a way.

His sister pursed her lips. “I hate you.”

He grinned. “I’m your favorite brother.”

“You are the only brother I have. Stop showing off and get to work.”

Without their weight, the boat floated again, allowing them to drag a while further before the moons pulled away the sea. Ele tied an anchor to make sure the vessel didn’t run away without them.

The sun rose on a white canvas. A flat world of sand and numerous ponds of water.

“Do you want me to carry something in the ring?” Kai asked as they were about to leave the boat.

“No, thank you. I usually bring an underwater torch, but your crystal will do.” Ele had a couple knives strapped to her leg and a satchel hanging on her shoulder.

It’s not my fault if the ring is so convenient.

With no one in sight for miles, it was the perfect opportunity to use it without the fear that someone might notice. Hiding his cocky grin, he followed his sister to a shallow pond.

“What are we looking for?”

“There are many shelled mollusks that can contain a pearl, around here mainly clear water oysters. They prefer to grow in the ponds sheltered from the tides. The deeper the better.”

“This one doesn’t seem very deep,” Kai pointed out. It was about twelve meters out and just chest high. Thousands of dark shells were glued to the rocky bottom. This wasn’t as adventurous as he imagined.

“Did you expect to dive into an underwater cave on your first outing?” Ele patted his back. “You should consider yourself lucky. My teacher confined me to search the exposed seafloor for six months when I began my apprenticeship.”

Kai threw her his best puppy eyes.

“Let’s start with this. If you learn fast, we can try something bigger next.” Ele gracefully dove into the pond. “Be careful not to cut yourself.”

He considered arguing back, but he couldn’t think of anything that wouldn’t make him sound like an arrogant brat. Dora and Elijah had both stressed the need to build a solid foundation before moving forward to advanced subjects.

Guess I have to make my way up the ladder. I just need to impress her enough.

Mindful of his surroundings, he followed his sister. Ele showed him how to use his knife to pry open an oyster, and check if there was a pearl, without harming it. Somehow, she found a shiny white pearl on her first try.

After proving he could repeat the action correctly, he was free to start the treasure hunt.

“I’ll take this half,” Kai said, dividing the pond in two with a line in the sand.

Ele raised an eyebrow, “Oh, you’ll take half?”

“Yep, let’s see who finds more in an hour.” He jumped in without waiting for her reply.

Oysters had completely taken over the bottom, with barely a trace of pale sand and seaweed.

Seeing his sister move behind him, Kai activated Mana Sense. The pearls they were looking for were no mana treasure, which meant they didn’t shine to his senses.

There still has to be a sign.

The pearls were an inert material, containing less mana than the living mollusks around them. But Mana Sense wasn’t his highest skill for nothing.

Focusing on one at a time, he could pierce through the shell and be reasonably sure of what was inside. It was a slow process because only one in a hundred oysters contained a pearl.

This is harder than I expected, but I’ve got more than one skill.

Going for his favorite combo, Kai activated Inspect. The minute changes he would have missed became obvious. He pried apart a large dark shell and smiled at his prize.

The more he found, the more Inspect helped him recognize the patterns to look out for. When he emerged for the fourth time to take a breath, his sister was already waiting.

“How long can you keep your breath? It must have been at least fifteen minutes.”

Has it been that long?

“It’s not that hard if you don’t have to move a lot.” Kai shrugged. “I’m sorry I lost track of time. How many pearls do I have to cut from the count, I’m not sure when you stopped.”

Ele watched him with disbelief and shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Come on, show me what you've got.” She cupped her hands, waiting.

With a proud smile, he let his pearls fall one by one. He could have dropped them all together, but there was no fun in that. The shiny beads clinked against each other as their number continued to rise together with his sister's incredulity.

“That’s twenty-seven, right?” Kai tried not to smirk. He had started slow, if they were to go again, he was confident he would find more.

“How did you do it?”

“I used Mana Sense.”

“You can’t see the pearls with it. Not these ones at least.”

“I guess mine’s a bit higher than yours, sis. Can we go explore an underwater cave now?”