Heretical Fishing

Chapter 67: Vessel

"Earth?" Maria asked. "I've never heard of it."

"Yeah... it's a long, long way away, on an entirely different continent."

It wasn't a lie, but I still felt bad misleading her.

It's safer for both of us if I keep the full truth to myself for now...

"Another continent?" Her eyebrows shot up, then furrowed in thought. "Like another kingdom?"

"Kind of like that, yeah."

"How did you get here?"

"It's a long story."

A silence stretched between us before she spoke again.

"Yeah, that's my fault—I've been intentionally vague." I gave a rueful smile. "People already have enough reason to avoid me with my fishing ways—no need to add fuel to the fire."

"That makes sense..."

She took a bite of her bun, washing it down with a mouthful of coffee.

"So fishing isn't considered heretical there, right?"

"Yeah, it’s totally acceptable there."

She chewed her lip, clearly lost in thought.

"Sorry if this is a dumb question, but if you can fish there, and fishing is all you do… why did you come here?"

I couldn’t help but laugh.

It wasn’t exactly a choice to come here, but it was a good question from her perspective.

"I wasn't always into fishing—that's actually quite new. I came here to start over. My old life became... well, unrewarding. I realized I'd wasted it, and I wanted to get as far away from my mistakes as possible."

She gave me a look filled with compassion.

"Wasn't it hard leaving your friends and family behind?"

The question, and the memories it brought up, were as a physical blow. My family, or lack thereof, was something I hadn't spent time ruminating on since I'd arrived in Tropica, and the thought's resurgence made a wave of sorrow wash over me.

It must have showed on my face, because Maria quickly spoke, holding up both hands.

"Sorry, Fischer. You don't have to tell me..."

"You have nothing to apologize for." I forced a grin across my face, but it felt empty. "It's a bit of a rough subject for me."

"Well, forget it then. Another time, if you feel like getting it off your chest." She stood, smirking at me as she brushed her hands free of crumbs. "Should we pack up and get going? I’m excited to have a fish at some point today."

I nodded, a genuine smile coming over me.

"Let's."

***

"This is it," I said, pointing down at the creek that had originally led me to Tropica.

"Wow!" Maria leaned closer, squinting. "You caught fish in such shallow water? I can't see any..."

“Well, not here exactly, but in the same creek, yeah.”

Having caught movement in the shallows, I pointed.

"Can you see those guppies?"

"Uhhhh—what are guppies, and where are they? I can't see a thing..."

I smiled.

"Let's sneak closer—keep your body low or they might swim away."

I led her forward, slowly stepping down the raised bank. She knelt down beside me, and I leaned in, whispering as I pointed.

"Just there—beside that large rock."

Ten or so of the tiny fish were milling around by the bank, flinching and darting away from shadows.

A sharp intake of breath told me that Maria had spotted them.

"They're... they're so cute!"

I glanced at her, marveling at the wonder her eyes held; they sparkled with the morning’s sun.

"Are they babies?" she asked, leaning in closer and causing her hair to fall from behind an ear.

"They might be the baby versions of what we'll be fishing for, or they might just be a tiny species of fish. We could try to see, but it might hurt them."

She nodded seriously.

"Best to leave them be, then. It'll have to remain a mystery."

"Should we move further upstream?" I asked. "The sooner we find a deeper body of water, the sooner we can start fishing."

"After you, my heretical teacher."

I blew air from my nose, smirking at her as I turned to walk back up the bank.

From behind me, I heard the scrape of rocks, and Maria made a startled noise.

Without thinking, I whirled, my hand darting out to grab hers.

She stabilized immediately, and a look of sheer panic disappeared from her face with a sigh.

"Thank you, Fischer."

I barely heard the words, transfixed as I was on her touch.

Despite the callouses from work, the skin covering her small hands was smooth, soft.

The sensations drew my mind back to the previous night, and I pictured her small frame pressed up against mine. The warmth and comfort she brought—

"Um... Fischer?"

My eyes went wide as I returned to the present.

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Maria's head was cocked to the side. She looked down at our hands, then back up at me.

"Everything okay?"

"Er..." was all I could say as heat rose to my cheeks.

I pulled her up the bank, letting go of her hand.

"Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking of... er, fishing stuff."

She raised a slender eyebrow.

"... fishing?"

"Yeah. Fishing."

A corner of her mouth curled up.

"Holding my hand makes you think of fishing?"

"Yep! You and fishing are my two favorite things about my new life here, after all."

She giggled, covering her mouth with one hand.

"Smoooooth."

"If you think that was smooth, wait until you touch a fish, my inexperienced student."

She snorted.

"Lead the way, then, oh wise trainer."

***

Gary, the single follower of the Cult of the Leviathan's Tropica branch, peeked out of his room to see what his master was doing.

Sebastian had risen early, and was tending to the new batch of baby lobsters that the merchant from the capital city had delivered.

Er, I mean crickets, he thought, trying to lodge the name for them firmly in mind, lest he incur Sebastian's wrath.

Gary took a deep breath, gathering his wits, and then stepped from his room.

"Good morning, master. How are the crickets faring?"

"They're not well, Gary," he responded, not taking his eyes from his babies. "The merchant treated them poorly, no doubt. Not to worry, though, my precious little crickets—I'll nurse you back to full health in no time, won't I?

Sebastian leaned down to one of the tanks, all but pressing his face against the glass.

"Yes I will, my beautiful, innocent newborns," he said in a tone like you'd use on actual children.

Sebastian's obsession with the tiny creatures would cause most people distress, especially considering they were from the sea, but to Gary, it was a relieving sight.

Hopefully he'll forget his foolish pursuit of vengeance against Fischer now that he has something to tend to...

"Did the merchant deliver the artifact you requested, master?"

It was a testing question, one to see if Sebastian was ready to move past his foolhardy intentions.

Sebastian failed the test spectacularly.

"Oh, I didn't show you?" His face twisted into a vicious snarl. "Look upon the vessel of our retribution, Gary."

Sebastian reached into his robe, removing a dark cube etched with red symbols and holding it out.

“I had to pull a lot of strings to get this here, but now that we have it, his demise is all but assured.”

Gary was glad Sebastian hadn't removed his eyes from the baby lobsters—er, crickets—because otherwise, he would have seen the sweeping disappointment on Gary's face.

"How does it work, master?"

"We must meditate on it, Gary. The fools at the capital tried to tell me it wouldn't work—it hasn't since the times of old, after all—but given my, no, our devotion, I know it will work. It must."

Gary breathed a sigh of relief.

I wish he'd abandon his thirst for vengeance entirely, but if he's going to spend time on this broken relic, that’s less time he can spend trying to poison Fischer again.

"Now," Sebastian said, peeling his eyes from the baby lobsters to look at Gary.

"Let's begin the gathering of power. Who knows how long it will take to collect enough to take down Fischer."

Gary nodded, keeping his face neutral despite the sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Yes, master."

***

The sun must have been extra hot today, because as I stepped out of the shaded forest and crossed the road, I sneezed.

"Bless you," Maria said.

I rubbed my nose.

"Thanks!"

A sense of excitement grew as we crossed the road and made our way further through the forest. I knew the perfect spot was just ahead, and as we rounded a bend in the creek only minutes later, we came across it.

"Oh, wow," Maria said. "It's beautiful..."

A small lake stretched out before us, fed by a meter-high waterfall. The sound of splashing water was calming, and I breathed deep, the moist air of the forest cooling my nose.

I turned to Maria.

"Are you ready?"

She bounced on her heels, unable to contain her anticipation.

"I am so ready!"

I set down our bags, rifling through mine. I removed my little tackle box, opened it, and removed a knife.

"Should I be worried?" Maria joked, eyeing the clade.

"It's for the line—I need to replace the tackle," I answered, shaking my head at her. "See this hook and sinker?"

"I do... what's wrong with them?"

"They're way, way too big. I was using these to fish in the ocean with a mate of mine. For a calm little pond, a smaller hook and sinker will be much better."

Maria scrunched her nose.

"Fischer—you were fishing with someone else?"

She held a hand to her chest, leaning back.

"How could you...?"

I laughed at her fake affront.

"Yeah, I was fishing with Theo, the bloke you met with me in the village."

She rubbed her chin in exaggerated thought.

"I knew he was a rival..."

I raised an eyebrow.

"A rival, huh? You trying to keep me all to yourself?"

"Of course—how else would I learn to fish?"

I grinned, then cut the line, putting the hook and sinker back in the tackle box and collecting a smaller set.

I really need to make actual sinkers when I get back to Tropica… the rocks work, but metal sinkers would be so much better.

With slow movements, I showed Maria how to tie a drop rig.

"Do you want to try tying the hook?"

Her eyebrows furrowed.

"What knot do you use?"

"It's called an improved clinch knot." I handed her the hook. "Hold that still—I'll show you."

She pinched the hook between her thumb and forefinger, and I slid the line through the hook's eye, twisted it around itself eight times, fed the line back through the original loop, then back through itself, completing the knot. I bent down and wet the line with my mouth.

"Uh, Fischer, why are you kissing it?"

"If you wet the line..." I held her hand steady on the hook, pinched the line's tag with the same hand, then pulled it tight. "The knot will get tighter because of the reduced friction."

As I pulled, the knot slid into place, and Maria's eyes went wide.

"Oh. Wow."

"Do you wanna try?" I asked. "I can cut it off if you want to have a crack."

She shook her head.

"No—I don't want to waste the line—I'll try next time, okay?"

"No worries."

I rummaged in the bag again, removing a small package.

"You might want to lean back from this one. The eel we're using for bait can be a bit, uhhh, aromatic. I'll put it on the hook for you."

I cut a slice of the flesh off, setting it aside as I wrapped the eel back up.

Despite my words, Maria reached for the eel and picked it up, gingerly sliding it on the hook.

I raised an eyebrow, and she smiled back at me.

"I'm a farmer, Fischer—not a noble lady. I don't mind getting my hands a little dirty."

She wiggled the eel into place, then looked up at me.

"Do I want the pointy bit of the hook poking out, or in the meat?"

I grimaced at her.

"That's a bit of a debate between different anglers, but personally, I don't think it matters too much. Do whatever feels best."

She cocked her head, her lips pouted in thought, then moved the bait so a tiny bit of the hook's tip poked out.

"There. That feels right."

"Well done—it's ready to go."

She looked down, rubbing her fingers together and frowning at how slimy the eel left them.

She lifted her hand toward her nose.

"It can't really smell that bad, right? It’s only—EUUUUGHHHHH!"

She threw her head back and her hand forward at the same time, trying to put as much distance between the two as possible.

"That stinks!"

I collapsed immediately, bracing myself on the forest floor as my body shook with choking laughter as Maria ran down to the water’s edge to wash her hand.

***

"Like this?" Maria asked, holding the rod before her with one finger on the line.

"Just like that. Twist the reel left, then cast."

She rotated the reel, held out the rod, and with a look of sheer concentration, flicked the line and sinker out into the pond.

It made a small splash as it hit the water, and I reached over, pushing the reel back into position with a soft click.

"Reel it in so the line is tight."

She slowly did so, and something tugged on the line.

I squinted.

Was that a fish, or a snag...?

Maria had stopped reeling, and the line bumped again.

It was definitely a fish.

"Wait for it..." I said.

Her head darted to me, then back at the water, her entire body tense.

Tug.

Tug. Tug.

Nothing happened, and I worried the bait might have been stolen

Then, the rod bent down as the fish took the bait, hook and all.