“Where is it? Where is it?” Zalan asked desperately, running his hands through the knee-high water.

He couldn’t figure out where the Homeseeker went. Soon, the water would be high enough that he wouldn’t even be able to keep looking before the ship took it down to a watery grave. With dread in his heart, he had the irrational thought cross his mind that it might have already ended up on the outside and was sinking into the sea. Could it have been sucked out instead of pushed further into the deck?

“I will check against the walls!” Rep said, wading away as fast as he could. His arms dug through the water desperately with every step he took. Dipping himself deep into the water to get a good feel, everything below his chest was drenched.

The water was growing cold to Zalan and he felt like he was trudging through ice. In an unruly fury, he thought about blasting Captain Buttonwillow with lightning, resenting the man for putting him in this situation with his overconfidence. Zalan felt that he deserved it. Then, he forcibly calmed himself down. Even in the dire situation, he had to control his anger. If there was anything the Elemental Rage Tournament taught him, it was that quick decisions in moments of rage were never beneficial. The strongest man didn’t have the most Strength, but the most control over his anger.

Still, Zalan had to change tactics. He pulled his numb arms out of the water. He stretched his fingers quickly, trying to regain feeling. Suddenly, he felt like something was wrong with the deck he was on. It was eerily quiet. He could hear himself think where he couldn’t a moment ago. He blinked, realizing that the sound of water crashing into the room had faded away. He turned around to get a better look.

Captain Buttonwillow was sealing the hole with ice, freezing out any more water from being able to come in. He moved efficiently, sealing off any leaks into an airtight seal. As soon as the water stopped seeping in, Rosemary began to emit Elemental Plant Power from her arms. Rounded planks of wood grew out from within her. She looked strained as the wood reshaped into angled planks that would better fit the missing pieces of the ship. Zalan realized this is what it looked like when an Elemental Plant user redirected their power. It was the first time he had seen wood made that was curved. When he faced off against Moss in the Elemental Rage Tournament, he only ever created straight weapons like a spiked staff. Despite knowing it was nothing like his own world, Zalan was increasingly amazed by the things he witnessed in this realm.

Through Rosemary’s power, three oddly shaped bowls dropped into the water. They were unorthodox, but by their size it was clear they were buckets. Captain Buttonwillow, Magnolia, and Xavier grabbed the buckets, filled them with water, then walked up the steps to the upper deck. They were clearing the water they took in to dump it over the side.

Rep and Zalan were watching, dumbfounded. Captain Buttonwillow had the means to stop the water the whole time, but was delaying to give them a talking to. He cared so much about The Aegeusson that he made more work for himself just to make sure Zalan and Rep treated it with respect. Zalan realized that the captain saw the vessel as something like a family member to him now.

To Zalan’s relief, the plugged hole made the water at their feet calm and transparent. He smiled with gratitude at his good fortune. Zalan was able to see the Homeseeker in the water, pressed up against the side of the boat. He knelt down to grab it and showed it to Rep who expressed great relief. They looked back at the massive hole that had been blocked off. It looked like a very temporary fix to Zalan.

“What happens when the ice block melts? Does Captain Buttonwillow need to stay down here and keep it cold for the rest of the journey?” Zalan asked.

“I suppose this is another reason why I cannot use my flames,” Rep said, sounding disappointed.

They made their way to Rosemary and waited patiently as she caught her breath from the three buckets she’d created. As they approached, she looked up at them.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Can you make us buckets as well?” Rep asked.

“What for?”

“So we can help?” Zalan said, confused that he had to spell that out.

“Oh. No.”

“No?”

“Captain Buttonwillow McKittrick has asked that we refrain from giving you any hard labor. Not only are you the owners of the vessel, but you are esteemed guests. We are to accommodate you best to make you feel comfortable on board,” Rosemary said politely.

“Okay… what about I ask you to make me and Rep some buckets? As owners of the ship? It would make me feel accommodated and comfortable,” Zalan attempted.

Rosemary deliberated for a few seconds, her two worldviews clashing. She sighed in defeat and raised her arms to create two more wooden buckets. They were smaller than the rest of the crew’s. The message was clear. Rep and Zalan were allowed to do labor, but not more than the others under Captain Buttonwillow. They took the buckets without complaint, filled them with water, and walked up the steps.

When they reached the upper deck, Buttonwillow, Magnolia, and Xavier were headed back down.

“Captain Buttonwillow,” Zalan called out. “Why don’t you freeze most of the water downstairs? Ice is less dense than water and would help keep the ship afloat while we remove it.”

Captain Buttonwillow raised a curious eyebrow. “Zalan, my esteemed guest,” he began. “You are as intelligent as you are wise. I do not know if you noticed this, but ice takes up more space than water. We would surely sink if I turned all the water into ice. But I would like to commend you on your suggestion. Your outlandish and interesting ideas may save us in a future dilemma!”

Zalan just sighed and continued upwards. One day someone would listen to his physics-backed advice without question.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

They saw Nold down on one knee, putting immense effort in keeping them upright. He was pushing his arms up, looking as though he was trying to keep the world balanced on his shoulders. Enzo was assisting, putting all his energy in holding up what little he could. But Enzo stopped every few seconds to breathe deep before he passed out from fatigue.

“Did they tell you the hole was sealed with ice? We’re not taking in water anymore,” Zalan asked as he dumped water back to the sea.

“No!” Nold said, sounding understandably annoyed by this fact.

He let go of some of his hold over the water below the boat. It jittered threateningly. They would still tip over if Nold and Enzo didn’t hold them upright.

“Take out more water,” Nold said. “Quickly!”

Rep and Zalan ran back downstairs with their crude buckets and took in more water. They looked up at the hole, Rosemary leaning on the hull next to it.

“Does it look smaller to you, too?” Rep asked.

“The hole or the ice?” Zalan asked.

“Both.”

Zalan nodded. It didn’t look like a motorcycle crashed through the hole anymore, but more like a moped. He didn’t get how it looked so different to him so quickly. He filled his bucket and went back up, regardless. On his next trip down, he could feel that the water was getting shallower. All of their work with the buckets was making a difference. On their third trip down, Rep and Zalan finally understood why the hole looked like it was getting smaller.

Rosemary was using Elemental Plant Power to create planks the same size as the broken ones and put them in place of the hole. Zalan was amazed. Not only could she create buckets, but covers for the hole. She was creating more ship with her Elemental Power. The hole was about the size of a tricycle now. Captain Buttonwillow caught them staring as he came for more water from below.

“Rosemary’s diligence is rivaled only by her speed. Incredible what miracles she can perform when under pressure,” the captain said, loud enough for Rosemary to turn away bashfully from the praise. “I told you there was absolutely nothing to be worried about.”

Zalan couldn’t help but feel the captain was almost right. If he had presented the information about how they intended to repair the boat, then he would have been totally right. But leaving Rep and Zalan in the dark made him feel like it was reasonable to panic with what little information they had. Zalan looked around the rest of the lower deck, wondering how much was original material and how much had been repairs made by Rosemary or other Elemental Plant users.

They continued to clear out the water until it was no more than a puddle on the floor. Captain Buttonwillow looked upon it with a smile. Then, he looked up to Rosemary who was completing the finishing touches on the repairs, hammering wooden nails into the wooden planks with a wooden hammer. Zalan began to wonder what kind of things she wasn’t able to make. They all looked cheap, like a child designed the tools, but they did the job. Maybe higher Wisdom for Elemental Plant users meant more high fidelity creations. He wondered if all construction in the realm was handled by Elemental Plant and Elemental Earth users. Would they ever be in need of machines if they could simply get someone with enough Wisdom to create whatever was needed?

“Well done, crew. The remaining water should find its way into the bilge. Now, for the best part. The Poniwhale’s body is still floating close enough for us to retrieve it!” Captain Buttonwillow said, spinning grandly and rushing upstairs. All of the downstairs crew were quick to join him.

“What do people retrieve monsters for?” Zalan asked.

“Perhaps it is the best way to locate any Artifacts within the creature?” Rep suggested.

Rep and Zalan followed, curious to see what he meant by “the best part.” When they reached the upper deck, Captain Buttonwillow told both Nold and Enzo that the ship was managed. Nold didn’t have the energy to be skeptical. He fell down and breathed hard, finally releasing the massive amount of water he used to keep them afloat. The boat tilted, revealing the energy Nold and Enzo were putting in keeping them upright. After a few seconds, the ship settled, ready to hold its own once more.

The captain continued his way to the starboard side of the ship. In the time it took to repair the ship, the monster’s body had floated from one end to the other. The captain leaned over the edge and breathed in deeply, taking in the stench of the dead monster. He beamed.

“A rope?” Captain Buttonwillow held his hand out.

Rosemary rushed to grab a spare rope and hand one end to her captain. The captain jumped off the boat and landed on the Poniwhale’s corpse. Pulling a sword from a sheath at his hip, he raised it high and spun it twice in his hands as though commencing a ritual. Then, he stabbed it downward into the creature’s body.

“Oh, is he looking for Artifacts?” Rep asked.

“No. But he might as well be,” Xavier replied, licking his lips.

Captain Buttonwillow sawed his sword through the flesh, removing a significant chunk of meat. He raised it high and showed it to the deck. Xavier gave out a little woop and clapped his hands in excitement. The captain tossed the meat on board and Xavier caught it with Elemental Air, ensuring it had a soft landing. Rep, Zalan, and Magnolia moved away in disgust, but Rosemary caught it excitedly. Captain Buttonwillow nodded to his crew, seeing they kept it from touching the floor. Then, he went in for more meat with his sword.

“What do you do with that?” Rep asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer.

“What else? We eat it!” Rosemary said proudly.

“You consume… Monster flesh?” Rep said, sounding nauseous.

“They wanted to eat us! This is how we show them we still have power,” Xavier said.

“You do realize it is dead,” Magnolia said, taking a tiny step back. “There is nothing to show to the dead.”

“Ah, but its brothers may smell its flesh on us and know we do not shy away from consuming it. They will know we are their predators,” Xavier caught another chunk of meat tossed aboard.

Zalan never considered that monsters were not commonly eaten in this realm. They were killed so often, he wondered what normally happened to the bodies left behind. But after he thought about a few of the monsters he faced, he realized he also felt sick to think about eating them. Monsters weren’t like animals. The Poniwhale meat was a weird purple color. It made everything about consuming them seem wrong. They were monsters.

“Once you try it, you will stop being a prude,” Xavier said assuredly. He then grew red in the face and placed a hand over his face. “I did not mean that to you, esteemed guests. I was only referring to Magnolia when I said that!”

“It’s fine, we don’t need special treatment,” Zalan said.

“I should have been more explicit in my apology instead of merely explaining my actions. I sincerely apologize to you, Rep and Zalan. I assure you I will not say such things to you again,” Xavier said, sounding like he didn’t hear Zalan.

“I said it’s fine.”

Xavier simply turned away in shame and focused on collecting more Poniwhale meat. Rep, Zalan, and Magnolia looked to one another and took a few more steps away from the incoming monster flesh. Captain Buttonwillow only climbed back to the deck once he got enough meat for everyone on the ship.

“Everyone! We should stop traveling for the day. Allow our fine crew to rest after such an astounding display of teamwork and effort. I invite everyone to join me for a delicacy of Poniwhale meat in the captain’s quarters in an hours’ time. See you all soon!” Captain Buttonwillow said, bowing himself out and making his way to his room to cook.