Heretical Fishing

Book 2: Chapter 49: Lowly Witness

The late afternoon sun filtered down through leaves and branches, casting long shadows from the west. All attention was on me. With Maria at my side and the firm trunk behind my back, I started telling the story of the ancient spirit and how she came to be.

Ellis continually asked questions, and before I even got to the part of the tale where she had found a seedling, I paused, seeing how viciously his writing hand shook.

“Are you all right, mate?”

“Sorry. This is quite unprofessional,” he replied, glaring at the offending hand. “It’s just—this information... for a battle between cultivators to have devastated the land so.” He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. “Knowing this history is invaluable.”

I nodded.

“I feel like my words can’t do it justice. Imagine you were kilometers above us, and each bit of land was scorched earth as far as the eye could see. Whatever you’re picturing, it was worse. Far worse.”

Maria squeezed my hand, and Ellis took a drink of water before stretching.

“Okay, I’m ready to continue.”

I nodded and launched back into the tale.

When I described her reaching out and expanding her awareness into other trees, a soft snapping sound rang out. Ellis looked down at his broken pencil, then up at me.

“All good, Ellis?”

He swallowed.

“Are the blue trees created when a spirit enters them, or are they the only trees she could inhabit?”

I gave him a rueful smile.

“I had the same question—she doesn’t know. If the trunks of these lemon trees turn blue, we’ll have our answer, I suppose.”

Ellis sharpened half a pencil and took another drink, then we jumped right back in. We had to pause again when I mentioned the changing levels of chi, Ellis’s pencil once more snapping in his blurred hand.

“The carnage, the creation of the bay, the scoured landscape... it was all before the power diminished, bloomed, then decayed again?”

I nodded.

“Yeah, mate—is that significant?”

He chewed his cheek, looking up at the sun’s dwindling light.

“I had assumed the land-destroying battle was the result of the gods’ departure, but for it to have been centuries from then until the power started fluctuating… it sounds more like the gods fled around the same time the chi levels changed.” Ellis swallowed. “I always thought it strange that no records remained from the time of cultivators, but upon hearing of the power they wielded...”

“It’s not surprising that books didn’t live through the carnage?” I finished.

He nodded, wincing as he sharpened his pencil.

“Just so.”

We had to pause a few more times for Ellis’s shaking hand and snapped utensils, but the story wrapped up before the sun had set. Silence reigned, and Maria set a hand against the tree’s trunk, a tear rolling down her cheek.

“That must have been horrible.”

Claws leaped from her spot in my lap. She wrapped her limbs around a branch high above, hugging the tree tight and making reassuring coos. I grinned at her, Claws’s affection tearing right through the negative thoughts that lingered. The root extending from the ground made a shrugging gesture, mimicking the cultivators that had so often visited her clearing. She sent a surge of complex emotions into me, and a smile grew across my face.

“What did she say?” Maria asked.

“The general sentiment was that all things happen for a reason. If not for all those experiences, she never would have met us. Without meeting bloodthirsty cultivators, she couldn’t have properly appreciated our peaceful nature.”

Saying this seemed to lift a dark blanket from the faces of everyone around me, and conversation once more rang out through the clearing. I simply watched, bathing in the enjoyment of those around me and the spirit at my back.

I stood and stretched.

“I think I’ll go sort out some dinner and turn in early tonight.”

“Early?” Maria asked. “The merchant is coming tomorrow, so everyone probably wants some rest... but you? I thought you’d want to stay up all night with your new friend...”

“Usually I would, but I just learned something really important.”

At the speed of light, Ellis’s notepad was out, his hand ready to record.

“What did you learn? In detail, if you would.”

I laughed.

“Nothing like that, mate.” I glanced back at the tree spirit with a grin. “It’s just something I’ll need to sleep on.”

Understanding me better than anyone else, Maria’s eyes narrowed into a glower, and I nodded back at her, confirming her suspicion.

“That’s right—she doesn’t have a name.”

Most groaned, the loudest of all being Barry.

***

With the cultivators long departed, the ancient spirit devoured a delicious meal.

The otter, Corporal Claws, had brought a feast of what her master called shallow-fried fish. She had hoped he would make her more, but she was truly undeserving of the pile he gifted her. She only hoped it hadn’t taken him too long to create.

When the last of the delicious crumbs was absorbed into her body, she sat and processed the chi coursing through her veins. As she did so, she sent out tendrils to explore her surroundings. With her memories returned, she knew well that she had never held so much power. The chi suffusing the world was weak in comparison to what it had once been, yet it was easier to navigate with the power of fried food running rampant through her network.

There was a curious structure nearby, and she poked around it, feeling its dimensions. It was clearly not natural, and it exuded chi that was... familiar. It only took her a moment to place it; the chi was Fischer’s. She expended more energy, wrapping herself around its area to get a better understanding of the underground base.

There was something else down there, something that seemed to call out to her very soul. Filled with curiosity, she reached a tendril toward it. She was let in, and as if the sun had just risen to banish the dark of night, she immediately understood. There was a tree within the building, and before she knew what was happening, she was looking out through its trunk, bark, branches, and leaves. It was stunningly gigantic, but as she poured more of her essence into it, she made a startling discovery.

The tree was young—unfathomably so. At first, she’d thought it had no intelligence—no soul that dwelled within. But then she found the hidden core buried deep beneath. Despite the strength of her awareness, she’d somehow missed it—such was its stealth. The entire time, she had been growing a thick root toward the compound. She sprouted a hair-thin root from the main one, sending it out to contact the hidden core. When they touched, she withdrew as if burned.

As she had entered the tree’s trunk, all she had felt from the other being was a child-like curiosity, making her think its awareness was as basic as the lemon trees. Instead of a simple intelligence, however, she found a sleeping giant. Though it was still young, the tree held a yawning maw of capability. Given time—and chi—it had the potential to become an absolute juggernaut. If she had found the core in the wild, she’d have snuffed it out, smothered it before it had the chance to ascend.

This spirit, however, was not wild—it smelled of her master.

She extended the thin root again, and when she touched it this time, she didn’t shy away. She began sending chi through her network and down toward the alien being. It only tasted the offered power at first, but when it did, it opened its core wide, sucking in every drop it could.

The ancient being smiled to herself—Fischer would be pleased when the sleeping giant woke.

***

As I woke from my slumber, I was beyond pleased. I tried to roll out of bed for a good stretch, but something held me down.

I cracked an eye to see a needle-sharp grin smiling down at me.

“Good morning, Claws,” I yawned, covering my mouth.

She cooed, rolling onto her back and exposing her neck to the air. Ever the servant, I scratched her chin, delighting in the way her whiskers twitched and shook.

“All right, you’re super cute, Claws, but we’ve gotta get cracking on today.” I lifted her up, and she went limp in my hands. “Ah, a peaceful protester? I know just the solution.”

A high-pitched squeal tore from her as I started tickling her pits, and she writhed in my arms, trying and failing to escape my clutches.

“That’s right, fiend!” I laughed with villainous inflection. “You are nothing before the lord of tickles! Bow down, and perhaps I will take pity on you!”

Claws laughed so hard that she ran out of breath, so I let her go. She slumped to the bed.

“Fischer!” a beautiful voice called from the other side of my door. “When you’re done torturing the fiends, there’s breakfast and a coffee out here waiting for you!”

“Come quick!” I yelled back. “She’s escaping!”

The door flew open. Maria stood in the doorway, shoulders hunched and hands extended, her fingers wiggling and promising tickly torture. Claws kicked away, her legs scrambling and failing to find purchase on the sheets. Maria swept in, lifted the horrified-looking Claws up, then pulled her into a hug.

“Just kidding—I could never treat you as bad as this evil retch does.”

Claws let out a chirped sigh as she slumped in Maria’s arms. The rigidity of her body slowly melted away as Maria stroked the soft fur of her stomach.

“I suppose I can delay my punishment until after I’ve had brekkie...” I said, smirking at Claws.

She poked her tongue out at me.

“Oh—feeling brave now that your mother is here?” I took a step forward, raising my hands into prime tickling position and raising a brow. “You think I can’t break through her defenses?”

Claws bolted upright, the tension returning in an instant. She ran around Maria’s shirt like a squirrel and poked her head over one of her shoulders.

Stay back, she chirped, glaring at me.

Maria punched an open palm.

“Try me, heretic.”

Despite the words, her eyes sparkled with glee. I took a step forward and tried to wrap my arms around both of them, but Claws dashed away, not trusting my intentions. I closed my eyes and wrapped Maria in a hug.

“Thanks for bringing me breakfast. You’re the best.” After an all-too-short embrace, I let go and opened my eyes—just in time to see two lightning-wreathed paw pads block out my vision. Claws collided with me as I darted my head back in shock. She bounced off and flew toward the roof, twisting in midair to land with all four paws on the ceiling. Not missing a beat, she kicked off again, flying out of the door and disappearing from sight, the echoes of a chittering laugh the only thing left behind.

“I guess I deserved that...”

“No comment,” Maria replied, rubbing my forehead where Claws had collided.

“Ah well,” I said, projecting my voice. “I guess she won’t be there to hear the name I chose for our tree spirit pal.”

I stepped past Maria and slunk toward the open door. As expected, my bait was too enticing for Claws to ignore. The moment her head poked back into view, I dashed forward and scooped her up, her eyes going wide.

“Got ya!” I yelled, throwing my head back and laughing like a villain again as the tickling resumed.

Her panicked hisses of laughter were music to my ears as she tried to break free.

***

With a temporary truce enacted and an otter perched atop my shoulder, Maria and I strode toward the forest. The sun poked its head over the horizon at our backs, causing us to cast long shadows that stretched out toward the trees. The night’s chill still lingered in the air, and as I took another sip of coffee, I bathed in the warmth it provided.

“Thanks again for brekkie.”

Miria beamed a smile at me.

“You’re most welcome.”

I threw the last of the pastry into my mouth. It was buttery, flaky, and as sweet as the woman beside me. I took my time enjoying the last bite of croissant, staring at the trees as we stepped from the sand and into the forest. The humidity present beneath the lush canopy had trapped the cold of night, and if not for the coffee heating me from within, it would have sent a shiver down my spine.

Maria looped an arm in mine and pulled herself close.

“I miss summer already...”

“Not a fan of the cold?”

“Hmm... it depends, I suppose. It’s nice if you’re curled up under a blanket or sitting around a fire, and it's a welcome reprieve if you’re doing fieldwork, but I’d definitely say I’m more of a summer person.”

I focused on the cold air surrounding us; with each step, it seemed to steal some of my body’s warmth.

“You know... I think coming here made me a summer person. I hated the humid summers back in Australia, but here in Tropica...” I trailed off, remembering the sun’s kiss as I stood on the beach, a fishing rod in hand and the sound of waves lapping at the shoreline. “I guess I’ve only really been here a couple months, so I’ve only experienced autumn, right? Maybe I shouldn’t speak so soon.”

Maria shook her head, her shoulder-length hair softly tickling my upper arm.

“The last few months have been about as hot as it gets. You get the odd heatwave here and there, but I’m sure a big, strong man like you can handle it.”

She squeezed my bicep and waggled her eyebrows at me, causing a laugh to burst from my mouth. We stepped from the trees and into the clearing. Leroy, who was sitting at the base of the blue trunk, opened his eyes and smiled at us.

“I was wondering how long it would take you to arrive.”

“G’day, mate! You haven’t been waiting here all night, have you?”

“No,” he laughed. “Barbara would have my head if I spent the night with a tree instead of her, whether or not it contains an ancient spirit.”

Said tree’s canopy shook with laughter, and Leroy raised an eyebrow at it, shaking his head with a smile.

“I can’t go to the merchant anyway,” he continued. “It’s not worth the risk of someone recognizing me.”

I cocked my head to the side.

“Yeah... I wonder if we couldn’t think up a disguise or something? It seems unfair that you can’t re-explore Tropica.”

“It’s fine, really. I have so much to be thankful for—I shouldn’t complain about a little inconvenience.”

Despite his words, I didn’t miss the twinge of sadness in his eyes. Nor did I miss the mischief held in one Corporal Claw’s visage as she loped forward to rest a reassuring paw on his knee.

“Well,” I said. “Even if you were bothered, which you’re clearly not, I’ve got something that might cheer you up...”

His eyes rose to meet mine, and I nodded. Maria leaned closer, squeezing my arm.

I cleared my throat, puffing out my chest and rolling my shoulders back..

“Long and hard have I considered!” My tone was grand, deep, and oh-so pretentious. “I ask you to bear witness, dear friends, for today, I give name to an ancient being of significant—”

Maria cut me off with a groan

“I swear, Fischer—if you leave us on another cliffhanger, I’ll—”

“Lieutenant Colonel Lemony Thicket,” I bellowed, raising my hands to the sky. “Or Lemon for short—which would you prefer?”

A lemon fell from the tree behind me, hitting the grass with a muted thump.

“Lemon it is!”

“Fischer…” Maria said. “Lemon is super cute… but Lieutenant Colonel Lemony Thicket?” Her voice was filled with exasperation. “You have to be messing with us at this point, right?”

I threw my eyes open and pointed an accusing finger at Maria, then turned toward Lemon.

“Do you see this lowly witness’s hubris? What say you, Lieutenant Colonel Lemony Thicket? How shall we punish the upstart?”

Silence stretched throughout the clearing. At the speed with which I spoke before considering my words, a thin root poked from the ground, drew back, then flicked Maria on the butt.

Her eyebrow twitched, and she turned to face me, a forced smile and a promise of violence on her face.