Chapter 121

The Sea. The Fish. The Stars.

Thrush

Lunstad.

A city carved out of the rocky cliffs of the coast. The whole city seemed to have been made from a single stone. A single source of black mineral. The countryside was teeming with livestock. The farmers harvested corn and wheat. The summer waned.

I sat in the woods at the edge of a farm overlooking a spread of goats in the distance. They nervously munched on bull thistles. Switched their tails at the flies.

I’d paused to consider two options that lay before me.

The sea. The eastern wilderness.

I could fish as I swam up the coast. I could hunt as I made my way around Lunstad.

As I pondered those options, I ate a dreambon. Then another. Another. One hundred more.

Satiation 76%

Composition

44% Human

42% Dreambon

04% Fish

01% smoke

09% World mix

My belly grumbled and I burped with my entire being.

Goats lifted their heads. Paused their switching tails. Further in the distance, An ox and a human paused. Even further, two small children stopped their playing.

I smacked my lips and pulled a thick chunk of smoked deep sea coral fish from my inventory. Smoked fish that I’d been saving for too long. But it was as fresh as the day I’d put it in my inventory.

It smelled like the purpose of my life. The smell of oak. Hickory. Applewood.

Saliva formed rivulets between my teeth. Residual dreambon juices dripped with the saliva.

I ate that piece of smoked fish slowly. I chewed it. Enjoyed every second of it. Let the flavors melt in my mouth. Felt the fat, the fish, and the smoke fill my body, color my eyes, and bloom fish scales on the tip of my nose.

Yes! This is my purpose! The only thing I need in the world!

I lay back and stared at the sailing clouds. Purred with pure joy. I felt my eyes throb. Pulse out of rhythm.

This is all I want! Thank you Hawkin for giving me an inventory through the use of a Fable Stone. I hope those cowbell roots are a proper thank you.

My stats had been steadily leveling up during my travels. Even when I didn’t engage with merchants, business owners, and bartenders, my merchant level was nearing silver rank, advancing mostly because of my Inventory Management skill. A skill I was abusing.

There was a constant warning prompt whenever I looked at my inventory. The words OVERLOAD! YOU WILL BE CRUSHED TO DEATH! flashed red every few seconds.

Not me! I could put the world in my pocket and stroll through the stars without a care!

I’d been so focused on my journey that I’d neglected all the prompts for quests. Nearly 600 were awaiting a YES or NO answer from me. I took a few minutes to decline every single one without reading. At the end of that, my Inventory Management skill leveled up to 991.

I wonder if Hawkin has reached silver rank. He does a lot more quests than me.

Thinking of Hawkin made me consider what the fastest route would be. It was then that I decided to swim up the coast. I wouldn’t have to navigate the land so much. I could swim straight up, and easily spot the goblin fleet.

In case the cowbell roots I gave him don’t work, I have a ton more. Better take the fastest route. Not to mention all the fish that I could snatch up along the way! That way I would be prepared to jump on the smoker as soon as I return to Hawkin’s cabin.

What a delicious plan!

I marched straight to the coast.

When I arrived, The sun was low and glinted across the surface of the sea. Debris crashed amongst the waves. Familiar debris.

I leapt off the cliff face and smashed down into the rocks. The impact of my body boomed across the sea. Water rushed into the crater I’d created. I surfaced among the floating, crashing debris. I recognized the lashed together pieces of goblin ships.

I know these materials! What are they doing way down here?

I swam further out to sea and ran into a few goblins that were little more than skeletons. Fish sucked at the bones. I laughed when I bumped into some of Hawkin’s barrels. I crushed one between my teeth and swallowed both the barrel and the beer. Goblin spit beer.

Much better than I remember it being.

I swam out even further until Lunstad was a single flame of city lights that wavered in the distance. Dusk descended and I collected spit beer barrels as I swam northward. Didn’t go out of my way for them. Only grabbed them if they were near.

At night, I swam deep until darkness enveloped me. I watched for shadows. Followed schools of fish. Grappled with sharks and an occasional monster.

Everyday that passed, I added about 40 more fish to my inventory. When I felt hungry, I floated on my back, piled dreambons on my belly, and munched away. During the day, I kept close to the surface and only dipped to search for fish.

When it rained, I stayed just beneath the surface of the sea where the leaping waves could not affect me. Drowning sensations burned my lungs but I purred as I swam.

An occasional fishing vessel floated in the distance, but I ignored them and moved north. Day after day, I swam. The sea was so calm at times that I floated on my back and napped for hours on end.

When the stars were available, I listened to the crashing sea as I stared into oblivion. I floated on my back again and munched on more dreambons. I grew them on my belly when I was nearly out. I counted the stars, but lost count. Watched a meteor shower.

How you’ve all changed during the years of my long life. I remember when some of you were more distant. A few of you are new to me.

I stared at the stars with wide-eyes one night until they twirled out of sight beyond a sky of blue. A new day.

The cracking voices of seagulls broke me from my staring trance and I flipped onto my belly. The shore was close. A sandy length of the coast held a line of human footprints. A man stood at the end of those footprints.

Seems I’m still not too far from Lunstad.

I submerged, and swam for days on end, looking ahead for goblin ships, and looking forward to smoking fish.