Finally, some fresh air!

A smile crept its way onto my face as webbed fingers pushed at the tunnel's roof, opening the secret hatch above. The chilly Scandian breeze was a refreshing welcome back to the surface. With a quick hop, I leapt up and into the snow covered alleyway. I let out a puff of air, relaxing at the sight of the white fog it left behind.

With a quick whip of my head, I checked both sides of the alley to ensure I wasn't being watched, closing the camouflaged hatch with a satisfying click!

With that final chore out of the way, I was free to explore. After all that had happened since the escape, my time was my own once again. Walking forward on bare feet, I plodded out of the alley and into the bright sunshine beyond.

The streets of Divastyr truly were something special. A vast, endless labyrinth of bright lights and crowds upon crowds of locals and foreigners alike. The closest thing I'd ever visited like these Humanoid 'cities' had been my home village. I was a loner by nature, and the whole 'big community' thing had never really appealed to me, even if it was impressive to look at.

The natives were giving me weird looks. Those that noticed me on the streets kept their distance from me as I passed. They were all taller than I was, but I felt larger than I looked. These poor people were all garbed in furs so thick they might as well have been wearing an entire Animal each! I couldn't fathom the idea that they'd all need clothing that thick, but I was built different, I supposed. All I needed was my wetsuit and a thick brimmed straw hat, and that was enough for me.

The wetsuit wasn't something I'd ever had back home, but after trying it on, I couldn't bear to let it go. It fit like a glove and felt fantastic in water. These Humanoid towns and cities were very strict about wearing clothes, so I was glad to have found something I could wear underwater without weighing myself down.

The others were helping out the Brain Gal. I didn't think she needed the support as much as they seemed to have thought, but that was their business, not mine. I wouldn't tell 'em how to spend their days. While they were cooped up underground in a muggy workshop, I was out in the sun, getting the lay of the land. This was our home, at least for the time being, and I wanted to see every inch of it.

Still, it felt strange being 'alone' now. I'd always been a loner, but now that I was finally alone again after being with the other Chimera folks for what had seemed like a lifetime, it felt strange. I'd grown used to having 'em around.

Barto's Blacksmith. Benji's Brewery. The Salted Sailor. The Alvarian Postal Office. Sova General Store. Brilliant's Jewelers. Swole Soul. Church of the Six. Blue Planet.

I shook my head from side to side, trying to get my mind straight. I'd been hoping to get the lay of the land, but a city was as different from my hometown as a Gecko was to a Dragon. Between all the different names of businesses I'd never even heard of, there wasn't a hope in all the Heavens that I was going to remember everything.

I left my latest headache behind, a blue coloured clothes store with a circular globe logo, one filled with deep blue oceans and lighter blue continents and islands. Even if I probably wouldn't remember the name or location of this shop within the next few minutes, it reminded me of my goal. A grin crossed my face once again as I thought about it.

The ocean. The largest source of water on all of Alvelotyl, and it was right at our doorstep! At least those Chimera pikujas had brought us somewhere close to the ocean.

Without a care in the world, my feet hopped up from the pavement, landing in another puddle that was getting dangerously close to being wasted, swept away by the trickling flow of melting snow leading to a sewer grate. A number of people scowled, yelped and jumped away. Hah! Humanoids could be real sissies. They were afraid of a little bit of water, it seemed. I wasn't like I was splashing an entire river filled with Monsters on 'em!

A gargling laugh escaped my lips as I skipped away, out of reach from swinging fists and angry shouts. If the poor sods wanted to hit me that badly, they'd need to try a little harder than that!

The laugh transitioned into a cheery hum, the tune of an old [Fisherman's] song my grandfather taught me. Even if I was 'alone', these songs had always kept me company. It was a reliable, everpresent companion, always eager to answer my beck and call, and one I was happy to have in a city like this.

As big as the people were in comparison to my little form, the buildings were massive! The huts back home couldn't even begin to stand against these towers of stone and glass. If it wasn't so far north, I could imagine Arachnoids and other Spidery folk loving it here. There were so many huge surfaces to climb up and swing from.

The idea appealed to me, too. I didn't have any of the convenient Skills that [Climbers] had, nor anything Racial like [Spider Climbing], but I fancied myself as someone with a great sense of balance. It helped as much with dodging irritated fists lashing out as much as it did with climbing cliffs. Maybe when I'd gotten the lay of the land a little more, and had something to ensure my safety. Leaping between buildings was a different beast to jumping from rocky handhold to handhold.

Throughout my travels and idle glances, I stopped in front of a store window. 'Blue Path Toys'. It wasn't a store that could offer me anything I'd want, but it had still caught my eye. Through the glass above, I saw teddies mimicking Animals, Monsters and mythical figures alike. Stuffed Bears sat alongside elongated Hidebehinds and exotic, fluffy beasties I'd never seen before. Would it have been nice to get the Unicorn Kid a souvenir?

I continued walking, trying to commit the location of the shop to memory. I didn't have any money yet, which was a shame, but maybe I'd pick one of 'em up. That was what Humanoid kids liked, wasn't it? He was a good kid, one well worth getting a gift for. Kids should get a chance to really be kids, relaxing and not needing to worry 'bout a thing. Ensuring that they got that chance was part of an adult's job.

Darkness crept into the edge of my mind, a whisper threatening to dry up my good mood.

The boy, Streiphen, didn't deserve worry, yet that Slime Boy seemed determined to give him some. The boy's nerves and anxiety leaked out whenever we came into contact with just about anyone. He needed to get a grip on himself. If the Unicorn Kid wasn't nearly as optimistic and cheery as he was, he might end up getting bogged down. Doesn't he think about how his nerves and fears are influencing others? About what that'll do to the kid?

I got where he was coming from, but it still annoyed me. We were partnering up with some 'criminals', but they didn't seem like bad folk. I'd met real criminals before, and heard all the stories about them under the sun. People that kidnap, kill and eat others. These Velvet Star people hadn't done any of that to us, and we hadn't seen 'em do any of that to others, either. They were giving us food to eat, water to drink, and a roof over our heads to sleep under. Wasn't that enough?

Spotting the glint of metal through the crowd, I softened my humming, pulling the straw hat's brim over my bright orange eyes and long whiskers.

It was them. The Orcish folk.

They caught a few weird looks from the people around the street, but they didn't spare anyone a single glance. They seemed more like Golems, walking forward with a single mindedness I was glad for. They were armed, determined looking, and a lot bigger than I was.

Just in case, I slipped between the pedestrians movin' about the streets, ensuring none of 'em spotted me. They knew what I looked like now, and I knew they weren't fond of me, neither. I was alone, on a walk, and not lookin' for the kind of attention they'd've surely been happy to provide.

Once they'd passed without causing a fuss, I let out a sigh of relief, letting my hum rise once again as my feet sank into a puddle.

Now, what was I thinking about before...? I glanced at the shops all around me, and my mind focused once again. Coin.

I didn't have money to buy anything, but I would soon if I had any say in the matter. I was a resourceful fella, and knew those Velvet people would see that soon enough. If they didn't pay me, there were other ways to get money in a place like this. People here were all distracted, rushing and anxious. If I needed to slip my fingers into a few pockets to get by, that was what I'd do.

There were less restaurants around here than I'd hoped there would be. Mountains worth of shops selling goods and services and whatever else surrounded me on all sides, but not many that let out a delicious smell I could use to guide myself. I wanted to find a place to relax. Even if I didn't have any coin yet, that didn't mean I couldn't scope a nice place out and look over the menus to prepare myself for when I did. A little window shopping never hurt anyone.

Perhaps it would just be best to seek out the sea. Restaurants selling seafood would be more common closer to the coast, wouldn't they? I still had a fishing rod to get, too. I've heard that fishing can be difficult in cities, with the massive boats of man spookin' away the fish and all.

A gurgling giggle poked out through my song. I've had more than my fair share of experiences fishing at sea. Even if the fish were frightened, I could get a small boat and go further out. Gettin' a little vessel wasn't beyond the Velvet Star's abilities, surely. 'Sides, I have the Skills and expertise to make up the difference.

With a single skip, I hopped from the center of the pedestrian street to the stone of the footpaths. I wove my way through the legs of the natives, arriving in an alley blanketed in shadow. I knew my next move.

There were people in this street, too, but it wasn't nearly as populated. Hopefully I wouldn't turn too many heads. Spotting a metal dumpster near the back of some gift shop, I climbed up onto it. The sound of my feet banging against the metal did earn me some attention, but I couldn't bring myself to care. It wasn't like I could ask them for directions anyway. I needed to figure this out on my own.

Wedging my fingers into the narrow spaces between bricks, I began to scale the building. I climbed up the wall, transitioning from the bricks to a long metal pipe connected to a gutter on the roof. After that, the climb was much easier.

Once I broke through the curtain of shadow blanketing the alleyway, I hopped up onto the slated roof. As covered by snow as it was, it was slippery and cold. Neither of those had ever stopped a northern Fishman before, and they weren't about to start now. With ease, I climbed to the peak of the roof, standing up from all fours to my own two legs.

With a blink of my orange eyes, I looked around. Below, I could see the stony pavement in between the flow of people in constant motion. It was only now that I could really grasp just how many people must live in a place like this. I was looking down at a single street, and there had to have been dozens of people here alone! How many streets just like this were in the entire city? How many people called this place home?

Hundreds? Thousands? Hundreds of thousands? More?

It was a hard thing to wrap my head around, so I stopped bothering with that line of thinking. I dragged my eyes up from the city streets and looked around. The skyline wasn't nearly as nice to look at. The building I'd chosen to climb seemed like an Ant compared to some of the other behemoths around here. A lot of them seemed like they were trying their hardest to stop me from looking around, but none could prevent me from spotting what I'd come up here for.

The wall.

A structure made from dark blue stone, one that reached up over the roofs of each and every building this city had to offer. It loomed over everything, which was convenient for me, since that made it easy to see. If we'd come in through the sewers past that wall, then... wouldn't I just need to move in the opposite direction?

I didn't know what the walls of cities were like, but village walls were thinner around water, especially when it came to Humanoid settlements. With a new goal in mind, I scampered back down the slates, gripping the cold metal pole before sliding down.

The metal rattled beneath my weight, and some snow fell with me as I touched back down on stone, but it wasn't enough to cause any trouble.

If the wall surrounded the city and not the ocean, I knew where to go. With a newfound confidence in my step, I walked through the darkened street around me. Even here, I could see their marks dotting the walls. The Unicorn Kid had definitely been right. The misshapen Orc graffiti was a symbol of territory. Some of those strange faces had been painted and sprayed over worn, dying splotches of lavender beneath, burying the symbols of the Velvet Star.

A grin spread across my face as I spotted some of the moustaches, elongated tongues and curled horns over the Orcish heads. The people had to 'mark their territory' somehow, too.

The sound of shoes against stone was joined by a collection of new sounds. Hooves clicking against stone, the slow, creaking turn of wooden wagon wheels, and the occasional shout and call above it all.

Stepping out of the shadow covered street, I lowered the brim of my hat to shield my wincing eyes from the midday sun. I'd stumbled out into an area filled with not just pedestrians, but wagons, too. While the pedestrians had dominated the other streets, this one had its fair share of transport.

The road belonged to those on wheels, here. It was divided into a number of lanes, even if the shifting landscape of Animals, wooden wheels and logos made it difficult to tell quite how many. The overlapping sounds whispered hints, and I counted more than four lanes. If this was a street that supported wagons, did that mean they were delivering or collecting goods? That could mean fresh ingredients, among other things.

On that whim, I decided to follow the flow of wagons away from the wall, walking on the adjoining footpath. There was less foot traffic here, but the same couldn't be said for [Merchants], travellers and whoever else was around here. Most of the wagons were formed from sturdy wood of varying colour and design, all of which were marked by a symbol or flew a flag for a town, city, country or organisation.

For a city like this, it made sense that some of the wagons wouldn't be of local make. Many were pulled by diligent Horses, mechanical constructs resembling animals, with even a few Centaurs and some trained Direwolves wrapped up in leashes and collars dotting the streets. Trained... hopefully trained.

Weaving between the traffic were people riding Moa, fast moving two legged birds that had no trouble getting around wagons with ease. Some of their passengers wore the colourful, flashy telltale outfits native to adventurers looking to express their identities and make a name for themselves, while others were [Runners] and [Couriers] carrying sacks of mail and packages throughout the city and beyond.

Even the sky wasn't sacred, dotted with [Witches] and [Warlocks] on flying brooms, or the occasional civilian in a suit or prepared adventurer riding a conjured Familiar, otherworldly creatures glowing with the light of magic.

It was insane. Compared to our humble village, I couldn't imagine how anyone kept track of all this. It was no surprise that the people running the city had criminal issues if they had to keep up with so many people!

Up ahead, I saw a crowd of people, a stark difference to the otherwise sparser looking streets.

Civilians carrying backpacks wheeling around travel bags spoke with one another. Some kept to themselves, consoling worried children or attempting to catch their own breaths. All of them looked up towards a large board. If they were all holding bags and lookin' like they were going somewhere, chances were that it was a map.

I skipped ahead, weaving through the thinner crowds. A few adventurers hopped out from the back of a wagon with bags of their own, thanking the [Wagon Drivers] with a wave and a shout. As I looked, I saw an older Human with a bushy beard lean out of an open glass window on the side of a wagon. I was hoping that he hadn't been looking at me, but that was a hope the Gods ignored.

"You! Come here!" the older man called out in a ragged voice. He reached into the wagon, pulling up a glass vial of some bubbling purple liquid. "This potion will make you faster than the wind itself! Come and try it, the first sip is free of charge!"

Even if I wasn't familiar with cities, I knew enough about people to not take his offer. My head shook side to side as I scampered further from the road. In my haste, I nearly bumped into a tall man in a thick coat, one with a mechanical implant over one eye, a ring of metal surrounding a deep red iris. He'd been speaking into a microphone in front of his mouth, one connected to a pair of headphones with glowing emeralds on each side. He grumbled as I nearly tripped him up, swiping a fist towards my head. He grazed the fin behind my left cheek, and I resisted the urge to bite back at his hand.

Rubbing at the sore fin while refusing to let it sour the tone of my humming, I made my way to the board. Some wagons were parked here, with the words 'Gnome Depot' in bubbly green writing along the sides. Some diminutive Gnomes with frizzy hair and prominent noses stood alongside a few Humans. They all stood around chatting, leaning against the wagons.

One of the people by the board, a Half Elven woman with a young, crying daughter, moved away, making a spot for me to slip in. I couldn't help but look, even if I knew I shouldn't.

"I-It'll be alright, sweetie, only another month or two, okay? Promise. After that, we'll- E-excuse me!" I heard her say, the words hard to hear over the cacophony of chatter by the board. She'd walked over to the people by the wagons, a bag on wheels in the hand not holding that of her weeping daughter.

The sight of the crying child twisted a knot in my chest, and I forced myself to look away. I was just one man. I didn't have any money or power here, and I couldn't do nothin' about it. Not yet. I had magic, but I wasn't a miracle worker.

The board was a map of the city, but not like any map I'd ever seen. There were streets, tourist destinations, and of course, popular restaurants! I was relieved to see that my search was bearing fruit, but it was buried beneath something else.

The map was a colourful one, but not in a way that seemed playful or reassuring in the slightest. Sections of the city had yellow lines between them, carving them up into 'territories'.

Each section had their own colour, with a legend on the left telling everyone what groups were in charge of each area. Some were labelled as 'Safe', while others were 'Unpredictable' or 'Dangerous'. At the bottom of the board was a list of factions occupying this city, and recommendations for who to see and how to appease the right people if they 'needed' to move from one place to another.

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It was all... a little hard to look at.

Seeing the city as something so broken and disjointed was a little disheartening. Our region was a purplish grey colour. The words 'Velvet Star' had been crossed out on the board with a marker, a thick black X.

Next to it was 'Big Tooth', with a fresh set of scrawled instructions and guidelines that stood out against the otherwise nicely written and official looking script. The word 'Safe' had been drawn over by a different marker, a deep blue one. The words themselves were foreign, but I could understand each and every one. I'd never learned to read Scandian Common, but the knowledge was there. A blessing and a curse.

Sova. That's... that's what our region was called. Reading over the list and finding nearby restaurants didn't help to lift the heavy feeling out of my chest. It was stuck there now, and I let out a sigh of recognition. Food might help to dislodge it, but a good swim was what I'd need.

The people around me were talking about moving. Leaving this region to try their luck elsewhere. They didn't want to leave their homes and their businesses, but some seemed to believe they didn't have a choice. I wanted to tell 'em things would be fine. The Star were workin' to get this place back under control! But I couldn't speak, and our little Equinox was meant to keep a low profile.

I didn't stick around to hear what they thought about this place's 'new management'. I was getting annoyed already, without other people's experiences to intensify the feeling.

The humming became harsher. Deeper. It felt a little nicer to do, even if it hurt my throat. It was cathartic, in a strange, roundabout way.

Through the sparse crowd standing between me and the nearest restaurant, I saw a trio of adventurers. As far as adventurers went, these three looked pretty official. Their costumes weren't cheap or formed by hand. These were purchased or earned. Or, well... two of 'em were.

The sound of my humming dimmed as I stopped stamping through the streets with the angry fervor I'd had.

The lady in front seemed to be the leader. She had long black hair and a lean build for a Human, but I couldn't tell anything about her other than that. She wore a full-body skin tight purple suit much like my own. Smart. The eyes of the suit were white and piercing, scanning the street with a purpose that made me want to avoid her sight. Even just the way she walked made me think she was the stern, serious type. The chest area of her suit had five white dots within a black square. I didn't know what the symbol meant, but I didn't put much thought into figurin' it out.

The woman on her right looked a lot rougher. I could see what she looked like, too. The woman was Human, maybe in her early twenties, with a bulky, muscled build. Unlike the others, her 'outfit' was a pair of jeans, a heavy green jacket, and a purple eye mask. The end of a black tattoo depicting a flowing river snaked out along her right arm. The rough look on her face and scruffy head of long red hair only added to the feeling I got that she was trouble. When she spoke words I couldn't hear, I saw a flash of light from her mouth. The roof of it looked like it was made of a collection of broken stained glass windows all shoved together, like a jigsaw with no picture in mind.

Compared to the other two, the last woman on the left looked like a breath of fresh air. She had long blond hair, a slimmer build and a posture that didn't suggest that she was ready to throw a punch as soon as someone gave 'em a bad look. She had a grey bodysuit with yellow plating around the joints, and a matching visor over her eyes. She had a symbol over her chest like the 'leader', too, a golden bird's head facing forward with its beak wide open.

I knew we weren't exactly a bunch of known fugitives openly working with the Don yet, but by how they were scanning the place as if on patrol, I didn't want to take any chances. The last thing I wanted was to draw attention and have to run on an empty stomach.

Without thinkin' about it, I brought a hand up to cover the right side of my neck, covering the orange Fox head brand that those Chimera people left me with.

Leaving the trio and the sound of rumbling wagons and clopping hooves behind, I slipped out of the wagon street and down another alley. After passing by a pair of Darkling beggars that I didn't have a single coin to give, my nose knew it could lead me the rest of the way.

The scent of fish on the new street I'd arrived at wasn't an overpowering one, but it was strong enough that I felt closer to the sea already. I felt some of the anger melt away as I padded my way through Divastyr's streets, working to keep that scent in my nose. Other smells from stalls, restaurants and stores threatened to distract me and pull me from my goal, but I stayed firm. If I knew any smell in this world, it was the smell of fish.

Without any other encounters with a rogue Orc or patrolling adventurer, I found my way to the closest seafood restaurant on the map. It wasn't outside of our little territory, either, even if it sat right on the edge. The Seashine Shell was a building painted with wave designs on the front. Its colour matched that of the ocean I was familiar with. Between that and the scent wafting out from the open windows, it felt as though I'd finally come home.

I reached for the handle, pulling open the door to the restaurant as I stepped inside. A pleasant chime rang out from overhead. They even had a bell for the customers! It reminded me of the one the Brain Gal made, but much more easy to listen to. It had been made by hand, not by magic.

I didn't have any money, but I'd be happy to memorise the menu for when I did. If the worst came to worst and the staff had a problem with me, I'd do what I'd always done best; leap away and escape. I was a pretty slippery fella when I wanted to be. If they thought I was a monster and started making a ruckus, then I'd make like a monster and scram before adventurers got to me.

People sat all around me, at tables and at couch-like seats by the walls and windows. Few looked up from their food or the faces of their friends when I entered. Those that did reacted with stunned stares or looks of worry. I could understand. I'd never been much of a looker, even before I'd been turned into a monster.

As uneasy as they looked, I kept my eyes forward, letting the smell carry me ahead.

Leaving a trail of damp drops in my wake, I plodded towards the menus hanging above the counter. As alien as the script looked, I could read it, just like before.

Salmon. Steamfish. Crabs. 'Divastyr Sharks'. Catfish. Squid. These people seemed to have everything! I'd never been fond of Squid, but maybe things had a different taste to them further north. Let it never be said that I wasn't an adventurous person. I was just glad these people weren't tryin' to serve Globsters.

Beyond the counter was a glowing cauldron, one releasing a heavy cloud of steam into the air. It carried the delicious scent of cooked fish, one that begged me to put my coin on the counter and get a helping for myself.

I'd rarely bothered to actually cook the fish back home. I ate alone, and eating fish raw seemed much easier than sticking it over a fire. I never was a skilled cook, anyway. Better to eat it the way the Gods intended than to risk burning my hard earned catch away.

I saw them staring now, the folks behind the counter. One of 'em, the [Chef], was an Orc. He didn't look at me with the hatred or disgust I'd come to expect from those I'd met while we were fighting that trainwreck guy. It was a look of wariness, one matched by the Human assistants whispering near him.

Back home, I was a [Hermit]. I lived on the edge of the village, catching fish and living easy. It had made me an easy target for those Chimera pikujas, but it wasn't all bad. I'd never had to share my food, and I could say with certainty that I'd caused the least damage to my community after I was gone. I hadn't left anyone behind that'd be worried about where I was gone.

The looks on their faces were as clear as day. They looked down towards me; a short, mutated Fishfolk with bright, full eyes, a pair of whiskers and a grin as wide as our village's harbour, as though he'd won a lottery, one dripping wet and causing the customers to become uncomfortable.

I knew what I was, and what they wanted from me. I looked back up towards the menus, quickly memorising line after line of meals I might never have. Still, learning about the local cuisine might give me some insight on how to prepare whatever I ended up catching.

With a tip of my straw hat, I turned around, heading back towards the exit. They didn't look like they wanted to chase me out, but I figured they were close to trying to speak with me, or call for someone to take me away without a fuss. I couldn't speak, and they'd take that to mean I was a monster, or a Fishfolk with senses addled by drink or drugs. I didn't know the sign language of this place, either. There was a communication barrier, a wall between us that I didn't have the knowledge to cross. Even if we didn't have words, I knew what their eyes were saying.

I'd expected the lack of hospitality, and didn't feel a shred of disappointment in my heart. Instead, I decided to do them a favour. I'd save them the trouble of finding a way to get me to leave. They were probably busy enough with work, anyway. Learning about the menu and the type of fish around here was enough for me.

Besides, there was no beating fish that a person caught themselves, anyway.

With a ring of the pleasant, melodic bell, I stepped back onto the streets of Divastyr. I hadn't heard a single word from anyone in that store, but I knew everything they wanted to say. In a sense, they'd been as mute as I had, yet we'd still exchanged 'words'.

Expressions like that could communicate through any language barrier.

I'd gotten some knowledge out of the restaurant, even if my stomach was still as empty and growling. That was better than nothing. Next stop, ocean!

I continued my journey through the streets, slipping around loud businesses, tall towers and an endless, shifting maze of people. I kept away from the seedier looking alleys and districts. I'd memorised where these 'Dangerous' areas were, and I wasn't feeling full or daring enough to risk sightseeing in places like that. The sun was still high in the sky, and I was content to take the long way around.

On my way, I saw more graffiti than I'd ever thought possible in a single settlement. Leaving Sova behind, the markings became harder to recognise. Some of the symbols I spotted on walls, alleys and the front of stores were ones I'd recognised from the map, but others weren't as clear cut.

The 'official' looking symbols made with care and a steady hand were few and far between. Every single street had some sort of graffiti, and telling the 'official' stuff from the kind a regular [Delinquent] or [Graffiti Artist] would make wasn't easy. A lot of words in colourful, stylised script and warped symbols with meanings lost to me lined the entirety of Divastyr. Many had been drawn, painted and sprayed over existing markings, turning some walls into collages of mixed, faded splotches that became indistinguishable from one another.

Some symbols were common enough that I figured they had to belong to some gang or group, even if I didn't recognise 'em. There was one, a blue diamond symbol, that I'd seen a few times. Even those had varied in quality, but did that mean official symbols could be messy, too? Figuring all this out was startin' to give me a headache.

This city really was nothin' but a wild, confusing mess. But for now, it was my wild, confusing mess.

Then, it all hit me. The salty scent of the sea. The cawing of Seagulls and other native birds. The sight of rolling waves and beautiful blue water. The ocean.

Or... some of the ocean, anyway. As I turned the corner of a street and stepped out into a bright harbour that stretched and wound off farther than my eye could see, I realised I'd been wrong about the wall. Back home, we didn't have the materials or infrastructure to make a good wall over our 'port'. We hadn't needed one, either. Guess a Humanoid city was made of sterner stuff, huh?

The dark blue walls that encircled this entire city covered the harbour, too. Some black, metallic substance criss-crossed all over the wall's surface, giving it a strange sheen, one that only made it stand out against the sky and water even more. Atop the wall were a number of outposts and lights shining beams out into the horizon, like the old watchtowers back home. If I squinted, I could see the barest motion of little men and women atop the wall, walking along it or manning the lights.

Far away, I could see the calm waves of the controlled, penned in harbour shiver. A massive segment of the wall began to open backwards, pulling in towards the city. A number of ships passed through those colossal gates, brave vessels riding the waves as more of the ocean's splendor flooded into Divastyr.

It was breathtaking.

I was just glad that the wall wasn't casting any shadows over the harbour with where the sun was in the sky. That would've made for a depressing first look at the ocean again, hmm?

As the boats began to make their way towards the wood and stone docks, growing larger as they closed the distance, I decided to make like them and do the same.

Shaking myself from my stunned stupor, I headed towards the water. The ships flew flags that were both familiar and alien to me. A crescent moon wearing a black [Witch's] hat. A red skinned Darkling's face with golden horns and spiky purple hair. A bronze gear with a blue and pink crystal in the center. There were others, too, but I'd seen those three flags passing by back home a few times. They weren't the flags of home, of course, but they made me feel a little closer to my comfort zone.

The waves grew angry once again, rolling wildly as the massive structure began to shift. The gates of the wall pushed against the sea, dragging the water back. They met in the middle as the wall was made whole again, and the harbour's waters began to calm. What would the Oceanic Priestess have thought of a sight like this? I couldn't picture the Goddess of the Sea being pleased at this sort of thing. Water didn't like to be controlled and confined, after all.

Was there some sorta schedule to the gates? With a controlled harbour like this, I doubted there was much room for a [Fisherman] to do what they did best. Some fish might get caught up in the waves and swept in, but this harbour was no place for a stable undersea environment. Maybe I could charter a little boat and sneak out when other boats came in. If I knew when the gates opened and closed, I might be able to get in and out without being locked outside the city during the night.

A crazy thought. Might've been wishful thinking, but it was something to look forward to and work towards. I was nothin' if not adventurous, after all.

My rumbling stomach didn't seem too happy with my assessment. Even if there weren't much fish to be caught in the harbour, those big fancy walls didn't stop masters of the air. The Seagulls were hanging around the docks in great numbers, hopping around stone, bothering pedestrians and [Sailors] alike, and generally being a nuisance in the search of food.

Was it legal to kill 'em? I never was a good shot with a bow and arrow, or even a gun, but food was food. If I could learn and shoot 'em down for a bit of grub, then that'd be a success for me. Seagulls wouldn't ever match up to fish, but at least it was somethin'.

If I wanted to go hunting for fish, I'd need to go somewhere a little quieter. The sight of those big vessels and the effect they'd have on the waves would definitely spook 'em off. If they were stuck here in this harbour, they wouldn't be hangin' around the populated areas.

Ignoring the looks and pointing of people sitting around at dockside cafes and eateries, I went left.

The docks weren't nearly as thick and difficult to navigate as the streets, which was a relief. I had a good sense of direction, and I could find my way back home if I needed to, but I didn't want to have to memorise every nook and cranny of the docks just to avoid getting lost whenever I came here. As long as I stayed close to the water, it was a straightforward walk, even if I was hanging back a little to keep out of sight. Those Orcs weren't anywhere to be seen, but that didn't mean other hostile folks spottin' me would've worked out well, either.

Slipping around alleys and entering an area full of warehouses in place of regular stores, I noticed that even the docks weren't safe from those splotched messes of graffiti. Here and there, I saw icon after icon, symbol after symbol. Many were worn or consumed by others, but they were still around.

Some silver ring with a golden center was all over the place, a symbol I could pick apart against the mess. But even if this place had been claimed, they could at least keep the harbour a little tidier. If we were so close to water, it couldn't have been that hard for a [Hydromancer] to clean up these walls every now and again, could it?

To me, it just seemed lazy, like-

"Quiet," a deep voice intoned, closer to the water. "If you do not remain silent, you will be punished harshly."

That didn't sound like something the City Watch would say. The voice was deep, too, deeper than most Humans could get their voices to go even when they tried. If there was some sort of crime or gang operation going on, I didn't want any part of it. I could turn around and leave, but even if I backtracked, I might run into someone.

I needed my magic.

My growling stomach began to protest, but I did what had to be done. My chest and belly began to glow, a soft blueish-green light that was visible even beneath my black wetsuit. My body shivered and twitched as nutrients were taken to feed my abilities. I could feel my magic go to work as my stomach inflated, stretching the rubber of the wetsuit. Normal clothes might've torn, but this stuff was a real blessing!

I got down on all fours, dry heaving as my magic reached its peak. Then, I felt a bundle of solid spheres flow up my body and through my throat. They were all wet, and the friction between them and my body was practically nonexistent. Accompanied by a wave of magically generated water, the cluster of transparent eggs splashed out of my mouth onto the cold stone beneath me. It looked gross, but it didn't feel nearly as uncomfortable to do as it was to watch it happen.

My senses weren't shared with 'em yet, not until they could see. I watched as tiny blue Spider-like legs pierced the thin membrane of the eggs, pulling the weak transparent shells apart.

They looked like smaller versions of me, in a sense. They had my face, but not my body. The rest of 'em was covered in chitin, a bug-like armor that extended into a pair of Crab claws at the front of their bodies.

This magic was all new to me, too. I'd never had anything like this before becoming a Chimera, but after waking up in this body of mine, I'd had time to practice. Now, it all felt like second nature to me, as easy as breathing, eating or fishing.

Once they'd all scurried out of their thin casings, I sent my magic through them.

I established a [Sensory Link] with the little critters, seeing everything they saw in my mind's eye. It was a little hard to focus, but their minds helped me to process everything. It was still strange, looking up into my own face with many pairs of eyes that weren't my own. I seemed enormous compared to them, and the world was larger and more vast than ever. But that wasn't what my eyes saw, so I didn't pay my own mug much heed.

I let out a soft gurgling sound, mentally directing my [Chitinous Brood]. The cluster of Familiars skittered over stone, scoping out the area around me. Through a dozen eyes, I saw splotches of graffiti, bolted up doors to warehouses, and the man who'd spoken.

Once I saw him, the other Familiars skittered over to join in, getting a view of him and the group he was with from a number of angles. He wasn't alone. Far from it.

There were three Casters, and a group of men and women with tipped ears and sky-blue skin, all hungry, miserable and bound in metal cuffs. Their hands and feet were kept still to avoid the jangling of chains. The monster that had spoken was one I'd have kept quiet to appease too, had I been in their shoes.

He was a big fella, even if he wasn't as tall as the Cat Woman. His body was covered in pale blue scales, partially hidden between a white coat with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows. A massive tail snaked out behind him, stiff and unmoving. If that had been it, I'd have written him off as some kind of Varani. The pair of massive wings and coiling horns protruding from the back of his head told me he was more. He wasn't just some regular Lizardfolk.

The two with him weren't as big, but looked intimidating in their own ways, if only because of the confidence they exuded.

The second was a man with chalk white skin and a bored expression. Black rings encircled his eyes, with six spike-like marks spreading out from around them. Tattoos or face paints, maybe? He wore a lab coat with fur at the shoulders, and thicker clothes than the Varani lookalike. He seemed more affected by the cold than the others, which I found myself feeling glad to see. The sight of him was enough to irritate me.

The third figure was a Human looking lady, with long red hair and a cape of the same colour. The shoulders were furred, and a set of semi-transparent crimson goggles were set over her eyes. She wore a black and red leather-like battle suit capped with red gloves and dark boots. She moved with a confidence the other two shared and those bound all lacked.

They were all Casters. I didn't need any fancy magic trick to tell me that. They carried that same 'air' that all good magic users did.

I didn't know what these people were doing, but I had a strong suspicion. These people didn't look like the City Watch transportin' prisoners to jail. They were carting slaves around.

Whatever boat they'd come from, if they'd been using one at all, was long gone. The trio were leading the poor Elven folk forward from the water's edge. A group of bulky looking Dolls with the same eerie, empty expressions all of 'em seemed to have were carrying metal crates. With a heavy thunk, the Dolls laid the boxes down against the wall of a warehouse in synchronised, unnatural unison.

"Fourteen. Open it," the scaled monster commanded the Doll.

Without even a nod of acknowledgement, the mindless thing obeyed, undoing a set of latches on the crate it'd been wordlessly lugging around.

One of my brood skittered along the roof of a warehouse it was perched on, careful not to make a racket as it peered over the edge, down into the box. Within it, I could see bottle after bottle of some thick, murky liquid. It was a dark blue colour, with streaks of black swirling and running through it. Each and every bottle gave off a soft glow. They were all enchanted with magic. Potions.

The monster cast his hard black eyes over the crowd of captured folk, before landing on a young man with arms so thin and cheeks so sallow he was halfway to being a corpse already.

"You," he intoned, his voice filled with gravitas and pressure. "Step forward, and drink."

The Elven fella' stepped forward, eyes stretching with fear and solemn recognition. The crowd behind him murmured, and my Familiars caught the word on everyone's lips.

'Boost'

Before the Cat Woman had made such a big fuss about it, I'd never heard of the stuff. She hated it, and it was dangerous. That was about all I knew about the potion, but if it was magic being misused, there was no way it'd go well.

"Please... I can't do this... I can't..." the poor Elf pleaded in a hushed murmur, eyes searching for any shred of mercy in the scaled monster's hard look.

"You are captured and broken. This is your fate as the fallen, so accept it. Drink."

His tone left no room for argument.

The Doll raised a bottle, uncorking the top with a deceivingly innocent 'pop'. The Elf began to breathe heavily as the Construct approached, holding the Boost out to him with a distant expression.

This was all a little shocking, but it... wasn't really my business. I was just here to relax, fish and fill my stomach. I was part of another group here in this city, and there wasn't anything I could do. I didn't have money, influence, power, or even a damned voice to call out in protest. The smart move would be to step away and let nature run its course, to find a nice spot to sit by the waterside, dip my feet into the boundless ocean, and let all my worries-

With a skreeeeee of defiance, a blue insect bearing my face leapt from the rooftop above. The sound caught the ears of all present, eyes locked on the unfamiliar bug. It landed on the Doll, who regarded it with nothing more than a glance of acknowledgement. The trio seemed more worried than the Construct did. It scurried down its arm with frightening speed, sinking its teeth into the Doll's wrist. Metal rended and tore as its jaw snapped together, head wrenching upward.

The severed hand fell to the ground, and the bottle within smashed against the harbour stone. Blue and black liquid spread out from the puddle, trickling between the cracks in the pavement. The Doll didn't seem to care in the slightest.

It wasn't my brightest move. I wasn't doing this for the Elves. Not really. I came here to relax a little, and if I hadn't done that, I'd have felt a ball of tension big as a continent lodged in my belly the whole way home. I was doing this for me, not them. This was to make me feel a little better. A little less... powerless, maybe. It just felt like somethin' I needed to do. For me.

Two more of my brood leapt into the open crate, fangs empowered with a Skill of my own, [Iron Teeth], bared and digging into the bottles. I severed my [Sensory Link] with the pair as the broken glass cut through their chitin, blood mixing with the spilled Boost. Even without the link, I could feel the magic of the two conjured monsters spiking and warping. Those potions were bad news.

The scaled monster growled, a blue light building in his chest and throat. He opened his maw, spewing a wave of cold mist at the crate. The pair of insects froze to death mid-bite, having diligently done all they could.

The woman in the red cape smacked the Dragon-like man's shoulder, face contorted in anger.

"Don't damage the merchandise! We can scoop up the Boost, Downfall."

The scaled monster huffed, eyes narrowing as he looked towards the petrified Elves.

"If the Aera of those bugs matches any of yours, there will be great torment," he growled, a sound that sent a shiver down my back.

"The Caster is close," the chalk white skinned man said, his eyes glowing a solid, unbroken silver. "The trail leads... there, Red Snow."

The man pointed towards the splotch marked wall of a warehouse, a gesture the eyes of the Elves followed. It had meant nothing to them, but it meant everything to me. Despite a pair of warehouses between us, he was pointing directly at me.

"A new Caster, Base 10?" the Human lady, Red Snow, asked him. As he nodded, the massive blue scaled Lizard broke into a run.

"You will not insult us and escape unscathed, vermin!" he roared, the sound rattling my skin and bones as I scurried away, slipping through alleyways with a speed and urgency I hadn't felt since escaping the metal halls of the people who'd taken me from my old life and dropped me headfirst into this one. "Show yourself!"

'Show yourself'? What did he expect me to do? Stop and face him? The Gods themselves couldn't have convinced me to listen to him and face the guy. He was easily three times my size, and as good as I was with the cold, I wasn't eager to get up close and personal with that breath weapon of his. My fingers and toes could do without the frostbite.

I let my instincts take over, honed from a life of running, chasing and exploring. The rest of my brood converged on the monster, biting through hard scales with teeth that could even pierce a Doll's arm. I hadn't planned on going all out like that on a regular person, but I decided I'd make this fella the exception. I'd gone easy on those folks we caught this morning, but I held nothing back against him.

My body went on autopilot as I leapt through back streets, heading away from the ocean I'd come to see as well as the furious roars of the monster, and back into the belly of Divastyr. I hadn't wanted to leave the water behind without getting my feet wet, but I figured it was better than turning into an ice sculpture.

Slipping around legs and pedestrians that held only a fraction of the threat and anger as the monster I'd lost many streets ago, my thoughts drifted away.

Those people had slaves, and they'd been carting Boost around. Even if I'd done nothing and left 'em alone, they weren't going to be doing the stability of the city any favours. If I was going to be living here, then making it harder for folks like that to operate was in my best interests.

I'd made the right move, hadn't I?

My name is Fareel Snurgalast, a Fishfolk [Hermit] and a [Fisherman]. I'm not a people person, but I like to think I'm a good judge of character. I can tell the river from the sea, and see good people from the bad. I just want to relax and have an easy life, and now I've gone and gotten myself caught up in a web of trouble. Again.

I don't know if this city is gonna get any better, or any safer, if that Don fella takes over the place, but if there's anything I know for sure, is that it'll be a whole lot better than letting pikujas like that do whatever they want in my city.