Heretical Fishing

Chapter 10: The First Act of Creation

Ilooked down at the man that had bounced off me ineffectually. He was tangled in his own robe, arms and legs lashing out as he tried to get to his feet.

Did he just try to knock me down . . . ?

The man stood, finally free of the tangle of cloth and limbs, glaring his hatred at me. I looked at the robe he wore, seeing the likeness of a lobster embroidered on the left side of his chest.

Ah, one of the cult blokes Barry warned me about.

His face twisted in a snarl. “Watch where you’re going, peasant!”

Damn, this fella must be starving.

“Righto, mate. I think if you checked the instant replay, you’d find me standing still and you walking into me and falling over, making a proper dickhead of yourself.”

“Fischer!”

I turned to see Maria walking toward me, her disgruntled father right behind her. “I felt bad leaving you so soon after you arrived in town.” She gave me an apologetic smile. “How did it go with the property?”

“All sorted!” I smiled in return. “I’m now the proud owner of all the undeveloped land south of town.”

“All of it?” She cocked her head. “That’s a lot of land . . .”

Roger let out a condescending hmmm as he squinted at me. “Bad farming land, that.”

A weak hand pulled my shoulder from behind—well, it tried to. I slowly spun to look at my lobster-robed assailant, raising an eyebrow at the man who’d only succeeded in pulling himself off balance.

His eyes went wide. “Y-you’ll pay for this!” He turned and dashed away.

I was more entertained than annoyed as I watched him shooting me furtive, over-the-shoulder glances in his retreat.

Bloody cultists, man . . .

“What did you do to get Sebastian so worked up?” Maria watched the fleeing man with amusement. “He’s a bit of a dick, but I’ve never seen him that worked up . . .”

I shrugged. “Couldn’t tell ya. I was just trying to have a snack when he came out of nowhere and ran into me.”

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Remembering what Roger said, I turned to him. “You’re right, mate. My land is terrible land for farming.” I gave him a wink. “Fantastic fishing land, though!”

The older man’s scowl deepened, and before he could call me heretical, foolish, or some combination of both, I held out my tray to him and his daughter.

“Pastry?”

“Oooooh, yes please,” Maria said, grabbing one without a second thought.

“No.” Roger crossed his arms. “I don’t break bread with heretical fools.”

There it is.

Maria bit into it, her eyebrows coming together in confusion before shooting up in surprise. She slowly chewed, savoring every moment. She swallowed with a rapturous expression. “Is . . . is this . . .”

“Passiona-jam pastries from Lena’s—courtesy of our village lord.”

Roger’s eyes went wide, and I could see a war of conflicting emotions being waged upon his face.

“Take one,” I said with a laugh, jiggling the tray at him. “Call it a gift for telling me your war stories yesterday. I’m not even having one, so you wouldn’t be breaking bread with this heretical fool.”

“I guess I could accept one

. . .”

He snatched the pastry like it might bite him. As he slowly sunk his teeth into it, I witnessed the war on his face come to an abrupt end; nothing could stand before the overwhelming power of baked goods.

“Thank you, Fischer . . .” Maria was staring down at the rest of her pastry with awe-filled eyes. “I don’t know if I can ever repay this kindness.”

“You’re welcome. The look on both your faces is payment enough.”

She turned to her father, who was taking small bites and looking everywhere but at me.

“Dad?”

He looked at her, then at me, feigning ignorance.

She glowered at him. “Dad . . .”

He gave in. “Thank you, Fischer,” he mumbled. “I guess you’re not so bad for a—”

She tapped him on the nose, cutting him off. “Just a thank you is enough.” She rolled her eyes and turned to me. “Really, thank you. We’d never be able to afford anything this lavish.” She punctuated her statement by taking a bite, and when the passiona hit her tongue, her eyes rolled into the back of her head with exaggerated delight.

“You’re

both very welcome.” I shot Roger another wink, which brought on a scowl, but it quickly disappeared when Maria threatened to smack him.

I chuckled at the pair. “What are you two doing, anyway? I thought you’d be out in your fields.”

“Well,” she said around a mouthful before swallowing. “We were going to get lunch, but you sorted that out for us. Should we get back to the fields, Dad?”

“Aye, I feel refreshed. Let’s get back out there and finish up early.”

I waved goodbye and set off home.

Sweat poured from Sebastian’s body as he turned a corner and leaned his back against the cool stone wall. I found him.

He hadn’t been sure after running into the man; maybe he was just a particularly strong peasant. After hearing he’d arrived in the village yesterday, and after trying to turn his shoulder, though, Sebastian was positive.

He’s the cultivator that my device has been detecting. What is he doing here? Why has a man of such power been allowed to leave the confines of the royal palace?

Sebastian had spent weeks walking around the capital with that device—none of the cultivators present had set it off.

He scoffed. As if any of those fools could actually be called cultivators. This man, though, this ‘Fischer’ . . . the device had picked up his presence, meaning he was taking steps toward the stairs of ascension. If he isn’t at the base of the stairwell already . . .

He clenched his fists as resolve steeled itself in his mind.

I have to find out more about this man, and if necessary, will need to snuff him out—there can be no ascension other than that of the great Leviathan.

I searched the rows of sugarcane on the border of my property for my quarry, but it was my quarry that found me.

“Hey, Fischer!” Paul yelled, running up to me with youthful exuberance.

“G’day, Paul! I was just looking for you!”

The boy smiled up at me. “You were?”

I grinned back then got down to a knee and gave him a conspiratorial glance. “I have a mission for you.”

His eyes danced, and he leaned in closer. “What . . . what is it?”

“Well, your dad said you own the surrounding farmland with your family, right?”

“Right. Me, my parents, my auntie, cousins, and grandparents—we all farm it together. Why? Do you need me to keep an eye out for something?”

I laughed as the boy leaned in further, physically drawn by the prospect of a secret mission.

“Nothing so secretive, mate.” I held out my final two pastries. “I was hoping you could share this with your family.”

“Really? They’d love that! Are you sure it’s okay?”

“I’m sure, mate. Your mission is for all of them to have a taste.”

“Thanks, mister Fischer!” The boy took the tray and disappeared into the rows of cane without a second glance.

There were two reasons for giving away my last pastries. The first was that it couldn’t hurt to ingratiate myself to the people sharing a border with my domain. The second and most important, was that it brought me joy to share the scarce taste with people who’d likely never experienced it before.

I tasted literally everything money could buy in my previous life. The donuts are nice, sure, but I’ve tasted more Michelin-starred food than I can even recall. Let the farmers experience something new.

A grin spread across my face as I trudged back home, my cart and equipment in tow.

Besides . . . I’ll be eating flame-grilled fish before the day is through.

Sitting on my front deck, I took three of the smallest hooks out. With my file in hand, I shaved off the nail end—there was a lip between the nail and the hook section that would lay flat against the wall when hammered into it, which I left on. I sharpened the hook ends carefully, taking my time to ensure a sharp point. Next, I cut small lengths of the different colored strings, making them just a little longer than the length of the hooks.

Sorting through the different metal offcuts I’d procured from the blacksmith, I picked three of the smallest ones, using the hammer to bend a lip at the base, then fold a ninety-degree angle lengthwise.

With the hammer and single large nail, I pounded a small hole in the lip I’d created in the metal’s base, just small enough for the hook to slip through.

When I pushed the thin bits of metal over the hooks, they ran halfway from base toward the tips. I took the colorful cuts of string, tying them in place so they held the metal sleeves against the base of the hooks. The threads of string protruded past the sharpened tips, hiding them.

I ran a single line of leader from one of the smaller poles and tied a rock to the end to act as a sinker. Then, I made three drop rigs of thinner fishing line running from the main one, all of which had my makeshift hooks on the end.

I held up my fantasy-world version of a sabiki rig, smiling at my creation. I’d decided my first course of action was to create simple jigs and see what baitfish were present along the shores of the ocean and river. The small, multicolored strings would entice fish to have a bite, and the strips of metal would act as a mirror for the sunlight, imitating the reflective scales of their prey.

A pulse grabbed my attention, and I rolled my eyes, knowing what would come next.

[Error: Insufficient power. Superfluous systems offline.]

Yeah, cheers System—I’ll keep that in mind. I shook my head at the annoying prompt as I headed for the shore.

A cool breeze tickled my skin as I found a good place to cast my line. I walked along the rock of the headland—my headland—as I looked for a spot I thought would hold fish.

There was a calm patch right on the edge, a sheer drop of the rock’s surface leading into an aqua-colored pool that faded into the deep blue of the ocean. With no small amount of anticipation, I cast my line.

The rock I’d attached slowly sunk to the bottom, and I felt the soft thud of it hitting the sandy floor. One breath. Two breaths. Three breaths, and I felt the tug of a fish on the line. I pulled it up slowly, remembering the lesson I’d learned on the jetty in a previous life. I flung the sinker onto the rocks and smiled down with glee.

All three hooks had a small fish attached, about the length of my palm. I dipped my bucket into the ocean, filling it halfway with water before putting it on a flat section of rock. I placed the three fish inside, taking care to not get spiked by any of their fins.

[Error: Insufficient power. Superfluous systems offline.]

[Error: Insufficient power. Superfluous systems offline.]

“Oh my god!” I said aloud. “Can you just let me have a moment? These are the first fish I’ve caught here!”

I looked down at the three fish swimming in the bucket. They resembled sardines, but a little fatter. They were a silvery blue from above as they swam around in the salty water. I looked closer at one, and I felt something tug at me. My eyes lost focus.

Juvenile Shore Fish

Common

Found along the ocean shores of the Kallis Realm, this fish is a staple source of both food and bait.

My vision refocused as I dismissed the words.

“What the fuck?”