“Are we almost there yet?” Ren mumbles, pinching his nose while tottering behind Penny down the winding, stone walkways. The stench is atrocious—Ren isn’t sure how long more he can persevere in this state. He will never be able to figure out just how Penny stands it. The smell, that is.

“Maybe,” Penny says. “Honestly, I have no clue.”

They’ve been wandering in these sewers for what feels like an eternity, and Ren is starting to believe that they’d best turn back before Lissa leaves without them. At this point in time, however, he’s not quite sure they can even find their way back anymore; the sewers are nothing more than a maze of tunnels. Well, at least it’s not dark—lanterns hang from the ceiling at regular intervals—so Ren’s not tripping over his feet every few seconds.

It is when he’s about to give up all hope and let himself be dragged by Penny like a petulant child when he sees something up ahead which looks suspiciously like a glimmer. Penny strides up to the source—a block of wood, its edges lined with gold. It’s only upon their approach that Ren realizes just what it is. That’s not a block of wood; that’s a door!

“We found it!” Penny declares. “Come on, Ren. Let’s go get those weapons.”

Ren sighs. This is only till they get Mira back, he reminds himself. Why’s Penny so fixated on getting another weapon anyway?

Penny walks right up to the door and raps her knuckles upon it. “Hello? Anyone there?”

“Password?” a gruff voice asks, muffled, from behind the door.

P-Password?

“We’re looking for a Betty’s! No one said we needed a password!” Penny calls.

Upon Penny’s shout, the door swings inward. The man who stands behind it is a burly fellow, muscles bulging from under all that sparkling armour he wears. His beady eyes are visible from behind that shiny helmet, eyes that cast suspicious gazes at them.

“You don’t look like you’re from around here,” he says. “How’d you come across this, eh?”

“Well, Bart and the butcher told us,” Penny says with a polite smile. She glances at the scene before them: a bustling marketplace with all sorts of patrons and peddlers. Stallholders scream prices and promotional offers, while buyers shuffle from one stall to another, perusing the wares.

The man harrumphs, but shows them in. “Betty’s Marketplace, at your service. If you got the coin, you can bet someone’s out there willing to sell what you need.”

Penny smiles, thanks him, and she and Ren head into what must be the busiest street that Ren has ever come across; it’s like he stepped into Gravelle again for the first time. As it turns out, Betty’s is not a shop, but an entire market underneath the sleepy port of Calysso. It’s as if the topside is only a front for this…shady business district in the ground.

Ren’s restless gaze darts from stall to stall as he surveys the items on sale: fruits and vegetables, apparently the finest in the area, musical instruments that look strangely like violins and flutes, and a couple of monster spoils that look like they’d fit right at home in Mrs Russell’s shop.

Just as he begins to move away from a stall selling potions and herbs, he steps on something. It was, at first, soft, only to turn hard before a sickening crack snaps underfoot. Ren’s eyes widen, dropping his gaze to the source of the sound, only to find himself staring straight into the furious eyes of a feline.

Not just any feline. A two-tailed cat; a nekomata!

The nekomata lunges at him, yowling and claws scratching, giving Ren no time to react. Ren screeches, trying to bat the cat away with flailing arms, stumbling back and falling flat on his butt, Penny landing harshly on the ground beside him. Holy shit, those scratches hurt!

“Evie! Stand down, Evie!”

The cat snarls in Ren’s face, baring its razor fangs, and then proceeds to hop off him. It struts back to the girl who shouted. She must not look any older than fifteen, youthful face framed by brown hair tied into pigtails. She peers down at them, a flicker of amusement dancing in her eyes, as she gathers the fearsome feline into her arms. However, Ren cannot quite focus on that, not when his shirt is in tatters and his arms are bleeding like they just sprung a few leaks.

“Oh, I’m ever so sorry,” the girl says, and she drops to a squat. With a wave of her wand, she closes the wounds on Ren’s arms. Skin patches itself back together, and blood vanishes. Ren stares at it, his arms stitched back together as good as new. The girl beams, admiring her handiwork. “Evie can be a little bit of a devil at times.”

That’s putting it lightly. Ren can never forget those razor-sharp claws as they sliced his skin. And the stings, like someone decided his arm was a pincushion to be punctured. He’s never met a nekomata in his life (for good reason!) and he’s sure that he never wants to meet one again.

“You don’t look like you’re from around here,” the girl says, standing. “Where did you come from?”

“Um, a colony called Gravelle,” Penny says. “It’s across the ocean.”

“Across the ocean, hmm? Interesting. You must be the Luminaries.”

At that, the crowd that gathered around them start to chatter amongst themselves. The Luminaries of lore? Here? In Calysso? To free them from the oppression of the Horsemen? The answer is yes, to all of them. The girl, however, remains unfazed. She smiles, all while hugging Evie to her chest.

“I…Huh?” Even Penny’s stunned speechless. Not even Bart believed them. How did this girl…?

The girl holds out a hand. Ren takes it and she hauls him to his feet, taking Penny with him. So much strength in that small body of hers. Just who is this girl?

The girl winks, and, as if reading their minds, introduces herself. “The name’s Betty, and I own this marketplace.” She looks from one surprised face to the other. “Being the Luminaries, I’m sure you’d want to meet Aquarius, don’t you?”

Aquarius! They’ve only heard of Them this whole time, and even then, from dubious sources. Ren and Penny exchange glances.

“Wait a minute,” Penny says, having found her voice at last. “Your name’s Betty, right? Does that mean that you are…”

“Bethany van Calysso the Eleventh, owner of this fine establishment,” Betty declares. “But honestly, that name’s way too long for me. Just call me ‘Betty’.” She strides off into the crowd, the sea of spectators parting like the Red Sea at her approach. “Come along now. Aquarius has been dying to meet you.”

Dying to meet them? What does this all mean?

Well, there’s only one way to find out.

*

The duo follows Betty to a massive statue at the very back of this underground cavern, so big that the top of its head reaches the ceiling. Chiselled entirely of silver, it depicts an orca wearing a necklace of aquamarine. Standing off to its side are numerous other, smaller, silver statues, gleaming in the light of the lamps. The road leading up to the statues is flanked by stalls of sorts, selling keychains and lanterns, among others, related to Aquarius. Ren feels like he’s back home in Japan again, at his first visit to the shrine on New Year’s.

“Here we are,” Betty says, spreading her arms out. “We now stand before the mighty Aquarius. The spirit of the water and the sea.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Ren focusses his attention on the enormous statue, pretending not to notice the sizeable crowd still gathered behind them. After Betty just announced their identities for all in the marketplace to hear, it’s no surprise. Betty herself does not seem to be perturbed at all—maybe she’s just used to being in a crowd?

“O Baron of the Seas, Aquarius, heed my call,” Betty says, arms raised above her head. “The Luminaries of lore have arrived to rid Ilecthia from the oppression of the Horseman that rules this land, as Your words have foretold.”

With that, the white—almost transparent—eyes of the orca statue glow. Just like Gaia’s did when they talked to Her. Or, rather, when She spoke to them. All of a sudden, a deep baritone laughter rings out in Ren’s ears, a hearty cackle befitting a king. That must be Aquarius.

“Welcome to my humble abode, Luminaries!” Aquarius bellows, voice reverberating in Ren’s skull. “How do you find the place thus far?”

“It’s…um…” Ren starts, but Penny answers in their stead.

“It’s lovely. You’ve got a very nice community down here,” Penny says. “On the topside, too.”

Aquarius laughs again. Ren fears he’ll go deaf before the day is over. The diamonds that are Aquarius’ eyes sparkle, and he continues, “An interesting take, young lady, considering that you’ve only stepped foot into this establishment for a mere ten minutes!”

Penny smiles. “And in the short time that we were here, we’ve met with some amazing people. Betty has been especially hospitable to us.”

Aquarius cackles, and Ren winces. “Now, it appears that you have questions for me.”

“Questions? Why, there are so many that I have no idea where to begin,” Penny says. “For starters, where is the palace of the Horseman?”

“Straight to the point. A praiseworthy trait.” Aquarius hums thoughtfully. “The palace of the Horseman? You mean of War?”

Ren nods. “Yeah. We’d like to go and rid him of his heart, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, I very much do. I’ve been waiting for this for a long, long time,” Aquarius says. “However, as much as you would like to go, I doubt that you are able to reach it at your current state.”

“What do you mean?” Ren asks.

“The palace is hidden deep underwater, in the sandy beds where light would not touch. It is not possible to reach that palace by human standards.”

“You mean, we have to dive to the seafloor?” Penny asks.

“Quite. I can tell you the coordinates, but before you even descend halfway, no doubt you would have run out of breath. Even if you overcame that hurdle, it is likely that you would be crushed by the pressure of the water before you even come close to the seabed.”

“Then how…?” Penny wonders, biting her nail.

“Can’t you grant us some kind of power? You’re the spirit of the sea, right?” Ren asks. It makes him wonder, really. If these spirits are so powerful, for such a large number of people to revere them, then why…?

Aquarius merely remarks, “That is not possible. Much of my power has been stripped from me since the fall of Heliola.”

Ren frowns. That’s mighty convenient now, isn’t it?

“You would need the help of an extraordinary friend,” Aquarius says. “A friend whose natural home is that of the sea. Many creatures born from the waters should be able to scale that depth.”

Where are they going to find someone or something like that, who are willing to help them? The last time they had run-ins with other ocean or beach dwellers, they were viciously attacked. There’s no way the Sirens or the Harpies are helping them, that’s for sure.

“Unfortunately, I am unable to lend my assistance in this regard,” Aquarius says regretfully.

“Then could you…tell us where it the palace is, at least? So that we can mark it down on this map?” Penny asks, holding out the scroll that Bart gave them and spreads it out on the ground. Betty calls for a quill and an inkwell to the crowd, which one of the stallholders passes to her immediately.

Aquarius gives them the coordinates, and with the help of other seafaring fellows in pinpointing that location on the parchment, Penny scrawls an “X” over the supposed location of the palace. With that, Aquarius wishes them luck with another roar of laughter before His eyes lose their sparkle and dim once more.

“Well, there He goes,” Betty says. “This sounds very exciting, honestly. Wish I could come along.”

“Why don’t you?” Ren asks, and Betty titters.

“I’ve got this whole place to look after,” Betty says. “The moment I leave is the moment everyone starts quarrelling, fighting, and wreaking havoc all over. I can’t let that happen.”

“Speaking of which, why is this market underground anyway?” Penny asks. “Why not move to the surface?”

“Haven’t you noticed?” Betty smiles as she strokes Evie’s fur, and the nekomata purrs contentedly. “The people on the surface are afflicted with a penchant for War. Well, not everyone, but there are three big groups I can think of.”

“You mean, Cascasia and the Witches?”

Betty nods. “And the Devil’s Coffin. I want no part in that fighting. The Devil’s don’t come down here anyway, so I don’t need to care about them, but when the other two are in each other’s company, a war’s sure to break out.”

“So, you only allow the Witches in, but not Cascasia?” Penny asks.

“Yeah. Lissa was the one who asked first.” Betty hums. “All because that other Captain didn’t want to talk to me.”

Which makes sense, considering Captain Percival’s views towards women.

“The early bird catches the worm, they say,” Betty says. “Well, Lissa is probably waiting for you at the ship. I think—”

“Before that.” Penny throws an arm out and interrupts Betty. “We’d, um, like to buy weapons.”

Betty blinks, tilting her head. “Weapons? Whatever for? I can’t imagine that you would have made it this far without weapons of some sort.”

“Well…” Penny’s gaze darts to Ren, then back to Betty. “The thing is, I lost mine. It’s on Cascasia, and…”

Betty hums. “That’s no good. I don’t think you’ll be able to find any weapons amongst our selection. After all, there can only be one weapon to one warrior. At least, till the weapon breaks. Think of it as a ‘till death do us apart’ sort of deal between you and the weapon.”

“Wait, so we can’t actually get another weapon until ours breaks?” Penny asks slowly.

“Yeah. So, sorry. No one here can sell you anything. You won’t be able to feel anything from any sword or pike.”

Penny deflates like a balloon. From the way her face falls and the slump of her shoulders, Ren can’t help but feel sorry for her. Although, he figured that something like this could happen.

“I think it’s time for you guys to go. Lissa’s probably about to set sail already,” Betty says.

“One more thing.” Penny holds out a hand, and Betty raises a brow in question. “Betty, how willing are you to send ships to Encantado Archipelago if we ask for them?”

“Yeah, sure.” Betty nods. “Why not?”

That was…fast. Even Penny’s eyes are widened, her mouth open, but no words come out. Is Betty not aware of Encantado Archipelago’s dangers, or…?

“Don’t worry. Aquarius will be on our side.” Betty grins widely. “And He will make sure that nothing happens to us as long as we believe.”

“As long as you believe?” Ren asks.

“The power of belief is the spirit’s strength,” Betty says. “That’s why Aquarius is so strong, because the people here all believe in Him.”

And the Witches, apparently, from what Ren remembers. Speaking of that…

“Betty, do you know who Triton is?”

“Triton?” Betty shakes his head. “Never heard of them. Sounds like a really cool name, though.”

That’s strange. Then just who is this deity that those aboard the Cascasia pray to?

With a few questions answered, but no clear path to forge ahead, Penny and Ren leave the establishment. Betty escorts them out of the door, to a ladder that would take them straight to a manhole in the middle of the slums.

“I will let Aquarius know of the plan, and He will pass your message to us when you whisper your words to the sea,” Betty says. She waves the duo off as they ascend the ladder, though a little awkwardly. Once Penny hauls herself through the manhole and onto the street, Ren seals it from prying eyes with its metal cover.

“There you are.”

Ren jolts at the voice. He glances up to find Lissa standing over them, a hand on her hip as she flashes them the widest grin he’s ever seen on her face. When did she ever get there? Was she hiding in the shadows?

“Whatever could you be doing down in the sewers, eh?” Lissa hums. “Somehow fell through a manhole, perhaps?”

“We met a lovely girl called Betty,” Penny says. “Her marketplace sold lots of stuff and we had a fun time perusing their wares.”

Lissa nods. “I thought so. Well, now that you’ve had your tour of the place, I think we should get going back to the Witch now, shouldn’t we?”

The captain leads the way, with Ren and Penny matching her pace behind her. They’re headed back to the ship, and now, they’re one step closer to Encantado Archipelago. One step closer to reuniting with their friends, and one step closer to the Horseman’s palace.

*

“Wait, what?”

Penny’s eyes go wide, and she takes a step back. Lissa twirls a throwing knife between her fingers. “I said, I wouldn’t mind.”

Ren gapes at Lissa, who’s leaning back against her seat, her legs thrown up on her desk. Lissa clasps her fingers behind her head, meeting his slack jaw with a smirk of her own. Did she just…agree to hold the war at Encantado Archipelago? Ren expected her to put up a fight, at the very least.

“If that’s what our Luminaries need to fell the other ships, how can I say no? Besides, we’d be killing two birds with one stone,” Lissa says with a dismissive wave of her hand. “It’s a winning scenario for me.”

Penny regains her composure, and nods. “Thank you very much, Captain.”

“Well, it’s going to be a while till we get to Encantado Archipelago, and it will be some time till a ship shows up,” Lissa says. “But the Horseman always appears before long, and where he rides, either one of those ships appears.”

So, they’re using the Horseman’s ability to induce War to lure those ships to them. That’s…surprisingly clever, if not accidental genius.

“I’m going to get Carol to draft our course, and we will circle Encantado Archipelago till both Cascasia and the Devil’s Coffin sink,” Lissa says. “For now, you may rest in your cabin.”

Looks like they’re not getting the handcuffs off anytime soon. They’ll just have to bear with it for just a little longer. Penny bids Lissa a chirpy farewell, before turning on her heels and dragging Ren out of the Captain’s quarters.

The town of Calysso soon shrinks, as they make their way farther and farther back out into the sea. Ren wonders if Betty would really come through for them. Aquarius will listen to whatever they whisper, huh?

Ren turns to Penny, who gazes out towards the sea with a sort of melancholy in her eyes. The war that has gripped Cascasia and the Witches will soon come to an end, and it’s up to them to see it to its conclusion.