He sat below deck practising his knots. One of the sailors who went by the name Tugger, had been teaching him the art, and he'd been trying to lend a hand around the ship with his new found skill. Uundah was lounging about and chewing on some sweet-root. While ever they were in their cabin, the O'jin felt safe enough to take his more dexterous form, which suited Murphy just fine since the rodent couldn't write the runes they were designing if he stayed a stick. So far, they'd managed to make a few more variations of the fireball. He made one of each of the basic elements, though the stone and wood balls were not nearly as physical in their presence. They were invisible to the naked eye, but a few shots at floating rocks by the edge of the ship confirmed that they can still pack a punch. His time on the ship had been interesting and relaxing. He'd learned a lot about the ship's operation, going as far as being shown the engine that lifted the bulky craft into the sky. After three weeks on the same boat however, he was ready to see something different. The captain had informed the party that they would be stopping at an island for a day and night to rest the engine. The crew were merchants of sorts. Since they travelled so often, they were readily exposed to trade goods. They would buy a haul of something like vegetables, and sell the product where it was more scarce. Running a ship of that size was obscenely expensive, since they were powered by crystals or coins, so the trade practices they participated in were common among most kinds of ships. It was a passenger ship, which was much cheaper to run than a proper trade ship. Still, he had seen two blue power crystals the same size as his wolf's eye used up in their entirety over the last few weeks.

The sound of footsteps in the hall told him that the day crew was about to get started. He smiled, and looked at Uundah.

"It's time my ugly friend" he said, already pulling his boots on.

"That's not a cute nickname" Uundah complained, rolling lazily to his feet.

"You'll grow to love it I reckon" Murphy laughed. "Hurry up now. We get to go fishing today and I don't want to be late."

Uundah responded by picking his nose, and taking a big yawning stretch before taking the staff form.

He joined the waking crew in their morning shuffle through the hallway, and met with Tugger on deck. Tugger was preparing the fishing boat alongside a man named Gratter Bailer. The duo were known simply as Tug and Grat.

"Mornin' Murph" Tug gleamed from behind a harpoon. The crew had taken the liberty to give him a nickname of his own.

"Good morning Tugger. Hope you're ready to learn how to catch a fish today" Murphy responded, prompting a laugh from the sailors.

"Hope you're a better teacher of that than you are of letters. Else I won't learn a thing."

He was referring to the trade they had made. In exchange for the knot lessons, and a few other tips and tricks, Murphy would teach the bulky man how to read. So far the lessons hadn't been going well. "It's not my fault you can't see close up. I'd make the letters the size of the sail, but I don't have that much paper I'm afraid."

"Not wrong there" Grat bellowed. "Man's as blind as a woman at the wheel of a ship" he said, slapping his knee and laughing at his own joke.

"My mother was a coxswain" Tugger said, offended. "She didn't hit too much."

They continued laughing and joking while they loaded the boat. It was a small craft that could sit maybe five men. It didn’t use a sail, it still had a mast. Along the twelve foot pole were eyelets in a spiral from the base to the tip. They were going to hold the anchors at the tip of the heavy ropes they were loading in. The ropes were partially cable to make them more sturdy, as well as lend aid from the aspects that were folded into the metal. They made the ropes lighter and stronger, and the anchor points were all finished with a rune that would lock them in place. The whole vessel was enchanted, possibly even more than the ship. It was tough, and would fly under the power of an engine of its own. Pushing itself forward with a large rune painted in with aspectral ink at the rear. It was easier to enchant smaller things, so the larger ship they stayed on lacked a lot of the fishing boats' toys and protection.

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He was admiring the ropes when he heard a clang of metal next to him. Resting on top of a net was a giant greatsword with a black blade. He turned around to see Serril, standing next to the boat at the edge of the ship. He was smiling wide as always, and had his hands on his hips, looking into the open sky above. "Great day for a fight" he said simply.

"We won't have to do much with a Demai on board" Grat said, admiring the big man's blade.

He climbed into the boat and took a seat next to Murphy while Tugger prepared the engine by loading it with a blue crystal. "It'll be good to see how we fight together" Serril said, clapping the relatively tiny wizard on the shoulder. "I'd like to see what spells you've been cooking up in your cabin."

The boat shuttered, and lifted away from the railing. Tug jumped the few feet into the craft, his landing sending the boat sliding away from the ship. "Alright lads, tie in" he said, looping the anchor point of a rope through one of the eyelets. Everyone followed his instructions, and when they were all secured to the boat, the engine kicked into action. Raw plasma spewed from the back, pressing them into their seats as they flew forwards and up. The destination was the Null-Zone. High enough from the ground, the gravity of the land started to weaken, since the land on the other side of the world would start its pull. The effect meant that for unimaginable stretches of sky, one would simply float weightless. The fish that lived in the Null-Zone could be colossal in size, since they were mostly undisturbed and allowed to grow. Their target would be something large enough to feed the crew for the next week or so.

Murphy felt the effects of the Null-Zone soon enough. When they were high enough to not even see the ship, he could see the fur on his cloak starting to wave around, heading in whatever direction it was sent. He grabbed an apple from his pocket and threw it upwards. He'd taken the apple for the express purpose of testing the zone, and was pleased to see the thing fly further than he could have normally thrown it, before it started to drop towards the land. Tugger smiled at that, and casually checked everyone's knots.

"Got anything loose, put it in a pocket. Or you might never see it again" Tugger suggested, looking at Murphy in particular.

Serril was already standing at the prow of the small craft with his sword resting on his shoulder. The man was never seen without his armour, and when he stood posed like he was, it was easy to see why. Not one man or O'jin on that boat were fretting their fate with Serril aboard. He was searching the sky for a target, the gleam of battle-lust in his eye. While Murphy watched, he saw the man grin darkly, and point up and ahead of them. "Full burn fisher" he bellowed over the wind at Tugger. "Got a swimmer at ten chip east."

Tugger understood the seemingly incoherent string of words, and increased the power to the rocket like rune. Murphy held on tightly, not wanting to be taken overboard by the harsh wind. They climbed higher, and the ropes started to drift. He looked at Grat, who was already starting to stand. The stout and tubby sailor had no trouble lifting himself. He looked as if he was in free fall, and he casually made his way up the mast. Wrapping his legs around the top, he readied a harpoon gun, and levelled it in the direction of the dot in the sky.

"Eight chip" Serril yelled. "Ready yourself wizard."

That snapped Murphy to attention. He'd been taking in the show as if he wasn't even there, just enjoying the experience. Now he had to think of a way to help. He tried to stand, but got up too fast. With a quick scramble in the air, he managed to grab the mast with his free hand and placed his feet back onto the deck.

"Don't you dare let go of me" Uundah thought to him with a hint of panic.

Murphy had thought about that already. He opened his mind to Uundah, and summoned the aspect of containment to his hand. It swirled through his fingers, and around Uundah where they touched. When he empowered it, he shook his hand about, making sure his wild spell had worked like he intended. It was successful, and Uundah sent a wave of uncertainty. He'd put a little of his own aspect of control into it, so he was confident, despite his O'jin’s doubts. The dot in the sky was getting larger. By now, it was discernibly a fish, with a long and menacing looking appendage guarding its face.

"Five chip" Gratter shouted from above.

Murphy felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Tugger with a serious look in his eyes. "Be ready lad, we're gonna stop quick". He did one final check of Murphy’s knot and anchorage, and patted him on the head when he was pleased they'd hold.

Murphy nodded in understanding, and watched Tugger make his way back to the engine. The sailor turned a large crank, and the engine clunked loudly, before dying down to a silence. They were drifting at an incredible speed with no control of the vessel. He gave Tugger a strange look, questioning the action without words.

"Engine scares the fish off" he responded simply, climbing past him to grab his own harpoon.

The spears were connected to the boat by a chain. The gun only acted as a way to ensure a deep hit, so the beast could drag the boat and tire itself out. For Murphy’s part, he prepared a stoneball, not wanting to burn the beast too soon. His most offensive spells involved fire or folded space, both of which would be inappropriate for hunting dinner.

"Three chip" Serril said seriously. He looked over his shoulder to address Murphy more directly. "Wait for the harpoons, then I'll go top and you go tail" he commanded.

"How are you going to hit it from the boat?" Murphy asked, just now realising how impractical a sword was in this particular situation.

"We won't be on the boat" he said with a sardonic grin. "We'll be on the beast."

A loud popping sound cut off his argument, followed by another almost immediately after the first. The chains rang as they unspooled, dragged into the sky by the harpoons carrying them. They plunged into the swordfish ahead of them, it being close enough now for Murphy to see the daunting size of the thing. The fish screamed in agony as they flew right by it in a second. Looking backwards, he saw the fish making its retreat, the chains hanging from its flesh. They drooped at first, but were quickly about to become taut. The entire ordeal had to have only lasted a few seconds, but Murphy saw it all play out in painfully slow detail. He gulped, knowing what was about to come.

Suddenly, the ship disappeared from beneath him, as he continued his flight forward.