While the Tide is perhaps the greatest driving force in this world, it is far from the only one that holds sway over the lives of men.

-Excerpt from ‘Divining the Great Blue’ by Lexiss Kairmont

Before she knew what was happening, the giant had grasped her other hand in his and rushed off. His grip was firm, yet light. They whizzed past houses, merchant stalls, and restaurants teeming with people.

Rose had never moved so fast in her life. She wasn’t quite sure how her feet were keeping up. It was rather magical, but she had grown used to such things over the past few weeks.

Felix on the other hand, was gasping for breath and spluttering. Words failed him, but she smiled and tried to reassure him with her eyes. It didn’t do much.

After about three minutes of rapid travelling, they finally came to a halt. Rose took a single step and managed to keep her balance, helped by the giant. Felix then slammed into her and they both tumbled to the ground.

She giggled and clambered to her feet, but he remained on hands and knees, coughing and spluttering. The experience had been rather fun, all things considered.

Only now she had a moment to take in her surroundings did she begin to realise that there may be some danger. However, the giant had been able to whisk them through the city without anyone causing a fuss, so she figured there was little she could do except see what he had to say.

He stood serenely in place, taking a deep breath. Rose looked around. They still seemed to be in the city, but there were no other people around apart from the three of them.

Stretching out for almost a mile in every direction were lush green fields, though oddly there were also a large amount of differently sized boulders scattered around. They formed rock gardens, small and large, or sometimes stood alone.

Turning back to the giant, she realised that behind him was a huge, warped cathedral hewn from stone. The smooth walls and odd curvature of the spires felt as though they had been carved from a single, colossal rock.

“Much better out here. No noise,” said the gem encrusted man, his voice still tinkling.

Rose still couldn’t quite put the airy voice together with his huge figure, but it was less grating than it had been the first time he spoke.

“Why have you brought us here? You mentioned fate. What does that mean exactly?” she asked.

“Great question,” he chuckled. “I think many of us would like to know the answer to that. Follow me.”

Gravel crunched underfoot as they followed the man down the path towards the stone cathedral—perhaps his home. Felix shot her a worried look and she could only shrug.

“You wanted an adventure,” she said with a smirk.

He rolled his eyes, but didn’t reply. The building had no door, only an intricate archway carved into the stone. It was divided into segments, with each part embedded with a different coloured crystal.

As the stone giant walked through the arch, they pulsed softly. Rose felt the arcane shift as they shimmered. A similar phenomenon occurred when both her and Felix stepped inside, but the pulses seemed to differ each time.

Nothing negative happened to either of them, so she elected to ignore it for now. The giant had been observing as they entered, but she noticed no change in his impassive expression.

His crystalline eyes showed a little emotion, but compared with the visceral sense of connection she felt with another human when looking into their eyes, it was muted. In fact, she hadn’t realised quite how deep a connection eye contact prompted until she was faced with this pair of inhuman eyes.

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“So, you wished to know of fate. This one knows little of its grand workings, I just felt the draw of connection between our souls. That is all,” he declared, eyes wandering to her stomach. “I believe you are in need of a smith?”

Rose’s brow furrowed. How did this strange grey skinned man know so much about her? They had never even met. Then again, Trent had told her to figure things out on her own.

Besides, it was always the odd encounters with mysterious elders like this that led to the legendary pirates in the stories gaining great fortune. She decided to go with the flow.

“When you say the connection of our souls, do you mean like the shift in the Tide when we entered? I feel it, sometimes,” she asked.

Now it was Felix’s turn to look shocked, staring at her with wide eyes at her revelation. Rose had suspected the ability to be a strange one, but there would be time later to explain everything to him. Right now, she needed answers.

The giant—she should ask his name—cocked his head to the side and stared at her. His eyes flashed to black and then back to white. Not an endless black like that strange void of before, but the black of coal.

“You are a strange child, indeed. Gifted in more ways than one. I’m not sure how to answer your question. The connection I speak of is not one of the Tide, but the intrinsic nature of the world,” he declared.

There was no shift in the Tide, so she knew his words to be true.

“I cannot share my understanding, as it was born of a lifetime of experiences. In time, you may also gain a similar understanding of these things. For now, show me the treasure. Let us solve the mundane problems first.”

She started to tap away, but the giant waved for her to stop and follow once more. Looking around, she realised they’d never left the tunnel at the entrance.

Sharing a look with Felix, they swallowed their hesitation and followed after the man. If he wanted to hurt them, he would’ve done so already and neither of them would’ve been able to stop him.

***

It had taken them quite a lot longer to walk through the strange building than she expected. Rather than the corridors and staircases one would expect in such a grand structure, it was more like a cave system.

Long, winding tunnels that branched off in many places, lit by crystals embedded in the walls at seemingly random intervals. Perhaps only this strange giant knew the way around—she’d already forgotten the path out.

Eventually they had arrived at a forge. She could only tell that because of the stone anvil and tools scattered about. The forge itself was unlit, covered in a blend of ash and dust.

Clearly this place had not been used in a long time. A few spiders skittered about in the corners of the room as they entered, far larger than the palm sized critters she was used to seeing back home.

“Are you truly a blacksmith?” she asked. Seeing the desolate forge made her question the man’s abilities. She wanted the best quality gear she could from her treasures, to ensure the journey ahead would be a little easier.

A ringing laugh echoed through the cavernous room. He seemed amused by her question, despite it being a little insulting—if he was truly what he claimed.

His laughter trailed off and he turned to her, a wistful expression on his face. “I am a blacksmith, but it has been a long time since I practised my art,” he explained. “The spark of inspiration has long since left these tired bones, though I will use the full extent of my skills to craft something worthy of your treasures. Let me see them.”

At last, the time had come to take out the treasures she had acquired from the convergence. A wiser person might have explored the city more, to observe multiple smiths before deciding which one to trust with the raw materials.

However, something about the fate this giant spoke of resonated with her. The moment she took out the antlers and placed them on the stone table, the way his brawny hands delicately caressed them and his mind whirred behind his eyes told her she’d made the correct decision in trusting him.

A few seconds later he stood up once more, facing the pair of kids. “It should not be difficult to craft something worthy from these materials. The quality isn’t bad, for such a young explorer. Was that all?” he asked.

Not bad? Rose had to suppress her complaint. If this man was as experienced as he suggested, then perhaps something of this level wasn’t that impressive.

All that mattered was what he crafted from them. “I also had this,” she said, taking the wolf pelt and fangs from her inventory and laying it beside the antlers.

“Mundane materials,” he muttered. “I can craft you something from these, but it will not be impressive. Did you have any specific requests?”

His question made her realise that she hadn’t given much thought to what sort of equipment she actually wanted. Or needed, for that matter.

A weapon perhaps? The flintlock pistol was still tucked into her waistband, but seeing the way Trent and the Commodore had fought had shifted her perspective entirely. She needed something greater than a mere cutlass.

“You can just turn the pelt into clothing. A jacket perhaps. As for the rest?” she replied, pausing to mull the decision over one final time.

“A weapon to build my legend. One as great as Saltbeard’s Wavecarver. No—greater!”