Part 10: In Which Will Commits Fish Murder

Adrift



“Lost everyone? What am I, chopped liver?”



“Well… I guess so…”

“Hmm. You recover quickly. Like a lizard’s tail.”

“That’s a really creepy comparison. I really hope you didn’t have a pet lizard as a kid.”

“I’ve read about being adrift, but I never thought it would happen to me…don’t think about the future. Let’s just enjoy drifting.”

“What about the present? We’ve got no shelter, no fresh water, no way to catch rain water, and, as for food…”



“You mean the one I’ve been carrying around for days? Sure, why not. It’s not like we can get any more screwed.”

“It’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted!”



One nice little detail is that our health is going to continue to decrease as we spend more time on the raft.

“Here fishy fishy… c’mere, fishy fishy…”

“Beautiful… even after seeing it all day, I still never get tired of it.”

“Shh! You’re scaring the fish!”



“It’s a buffet! Maybe we won’t have to drink ou…”

“What are you doing!! The poor fish!!!”

“At this point it’s starting to look like it’s going to be between the fish or you, and I’m getting pretty hungry.”




“Oh really? Help like a school of suspiciously convenient fish?”

“What about that jar over there?”

“That…jar? Not. One. Word.”



“We are on a ship on our way to be sold as forced labor in an unknown land. If anyone reads this, please save us… Sam.”

“My premonition!”

“I guess that letter just proves that it could be worse. At least now we can catch rain water, so I won’t have to talk to you about… recycling.”

“Re… cycling…?”



“Oh! I am so starved!”

“If you’d let me catch a fish, you wouldn’t be starving!”

“I can’t hurt such a pretty fish!”

“Are you saying it’s better to starve?!”

“Raw fish gives me the creeps! I can’t eat it!”



“So am I, and I don’t intend to let the FISH win!”

“Fish feel pain! Have you ever thought of how the fish feels?! If you want to eat it, go ahead!! I am not going to eat it!!!”

“A typical princess. Such a bother… well, if your royal highness has given her gracious permission then I suppose I will.”



“Beautiful… tasty fish…my precious…”



At this point we can successfully catch fish by hitting them with out flute. Don’t ask how THAT works.

“Will… sorry I talked to you that way yesterday…I’ll try to eat the fish. I can’t do anything if I starve.”

“Try to eat the fish, but not to catch the fish…I think I see where this is going.”

“Only in peace time can you refuse food you don’t like…”



“There. How’s that one?”

“This is the best thing ever!”



“I… I think the sun must be starting to get to me.”



“The stars are beautiful. If I were taller I could reach them.”

“Kara… do you know anything about sun stroke?”



“We can hope so. Shame about Seth, though.”

“If I could talk to the stars I could find out where everyone is. Wait, there’s an extra star near the constellation of Cygnus.”

“Hey, you’re right. That red star in the middle.”



“After that talk I had with my mom, that might not be the best idea.”

“Will, you close your eyes, too.”

“Once again, not like it can get much worse.”



“We’ve been adrift for almost three weeks now. Hasn’t your hair gotten a little long? Just a little?”

“I’m just glad that we’ve gotten regular, even rains that seem to provide just enough water for us to drink.”

“You’re welcome.”



“If you told someone she was one of the island girls, no one would doubt it. Also, for some reason I’ve started to refer to her as though she wasn’t present.”

“What is that…? There in the water…?”



“That looks more like three sharks. I’d say that maybe they were dolphins, but those are some pretty damn angular fins.”

“We could be eaten… they’re circling our raft, but they’re not attacking…”

“Let’s think about this… I mean, we’re on the raft and they’re in the water…”

“I’ve got it! They’re not hungry!!”

“Kara, they’re sharks. They’re always hungry.”



“Your grandpa obviously didn’t own a cat. But still, you wouldn’t eat the fish until you were starving.”

“That’s right. They’re going. Good-bye, sharks…”



“The sunset was so beautiful from the corridor of the castle…but now I’ve come to hate it. After the sun has set, the darkness comes…I thought I’d never see the sunrise again…”



“That’s lovely, in a sun-addled, over-exposed kind of way.”

“With you by my side, I can even enjoy times like these.”

“I’ve wanted to say the same things to you, but somehow the words just wouldn’t come out. And now you’re all blurry and fuzzy around the edges…”



“Will! Will!! What’s wrong!! Wake up!! Don’t leave me here alone!”



“He’ll be fine if he takes Vitamin C. It’s scurvy, a disease caused by a long-term lack of vitamin C.”

“Hmmm…”



“When it gets worse, the blood gets bad and the skin turns black.”

“I thought you said it wasn’t something to worry about!”

“The gums bleed, and the body starts decaying…”

“Stop! I don’t want to listen to such talk!!”

“Ha ha ha. I’m glad you’re OK. You should thank the dog outside. He found your raft and came to get me.”



“We’ve reached land!! We’re saved!!!”

“Uhhh…Kara? Where am I?”

“We’re at the home of the kind man who saved us.”



“The city of Freejia is half a day to the north. If you’re looking for your friend, you should look in a big town.”

“We’ll… do that. Thanks, that makes a lot of sense.”

“You should thank the dog outside. He found your raft and came to get me.”

“You’re really insistent about that. This must be one incredible dog.”



There’s a bit of a hint here, in that there’s a red jewel in this pot. If you talk to the dog before getting it, it’s lost forever.



“I guess so? He’s very dignified.”

“Woof!”

“Well, let’s go. Maybe we’ll see Lilly, Lance, and Erik.”

“No mention of Seth. Ice cold.”




Geography buffs might have a better idea of where we are now, especially since that looks like the prime meridian off to the left. That’s a lot of territory to cover, especially since we’re almost to the north of Africa when we arrive at Freejia.



“People who live in such a pretty place must have beautiful hearts.”

“Either that or they’re spreading flowers around to cover something up.”

Next update: Labor traders, by any other name…