Part 23: In Which Will Has Much to Apologize For

“So lovable that they didn’t even ask him if a bunch of random strangers could crash at his house. Still not sure if anybody actually talked to him about that before he left.”



“They play games with human lives…”

“Not seeing how that makes them different from anywhere else.”

“Freejia was the same way, but beautiful. Things always have another side to them…”



“I guess he went to look for him.”

“Has he been… strange… lately?”

“No stranger than usual.”



“Go outside and look behind the house. I feel a little guilty, but…”

“I’ll take a look when I have a minute.”



“It’s called a houseboat, Neil. I think they’re way ahead of you here.”



Everybody else is going to hang back in the house, so we’re free to explore. It’s… picturesque.




“I’m really sorry to hear that. I’ll just be going now.”



“What. The. Hell.”

“This animal is called a Kruk. It’s good for crossing the desert. It can live without food or water for a long time.”

“So… like a camel?”

“Ca..mel?”

“Right. Nevermind.”



“They say fluid from its body can cure anything. Chinese medicine has many strange things, but drinking an insect’s bodily fluids…”

“I just watched a man turn himself into a living painting. Miracle bug juice sounds like a downgrade in crazy.”



“I guess that’s one way to move around a water city. I’d suggest a magical thing called a ‘boat’ but I think you’d just look at me like the Kruk guy did.”



“He was with the explorer, Olman, on his expedition to the Tower of Babel. The crazy old man has grey hair, but they say he’s still young.”

“…there are a lot of people in this town I’m having to apologize to.”



“Lady, that’s the best news I’ve heard in this town. Thank you for restoring my faith in humanity.”



“And thank you for destroying it again. I notice you didn’t mention where your toilets are, so now I’m going to set up a rain water collector.”



On a slightly lighter note, another Red Jewel is always welcome. There’s a couple of these scattered around Watermia.



Along with a Dark Space in somebody’s house. The placement of these things is really random if you actually stop to think about it.



After that, we’re running out of things to do around town so we might as well take the lily pad express…



But it looks like we’ll have to come back later.



“Don’t you mean very rich?”

“That could happen too, I guess.”



This might be somebody’s betting stake, but it’s ours now.



“Something tells me that you don’t understand odds very well.”




Our old friend Jeweler Gem is hanging around as well, but we’re still one gem short of Dark Power. Even when you get things early, the game is very careful to make sure that you don’t get them too early. Not that Dark Power would be that helpful for the next dungeon.



“Okay, now I’m just starting to think that you guys don’t understand gambling.”




“I think we can add ‘throw up in it’ to that list of what people do in the water around here.”



“Oh, this is going to be good.”



“I was parched after the journey. Blisters on my feet, but I wrapped them in my handkerchief. Before, I would have complained, but I didn’t say anything. I think I’ve changed a little. I’m pleased that I can be so concerned with someone else.”



“If you wish over a lotus leaf on a full moon night, your love will notice you. A good saying. Maybe I’ll try it…”

“Well, color me obscurely disappointed. It’s almost like she guessed someone would find this and made it as vague as possible.”



“I finally met my lost father, but…”

“Yeah. I’m really sorry about that. I’ll just let you two…”



“I’m preparing Lilly’s birthday party. I want to finish by dark. Let’s go to our room.”

“Or you can move on with your life. That works too.”



“What? Everybody remembered my birthday?”

“Didn’t you expect it? Everybody kept it secret to surprise you.”

“Hey Kara. Bring that.”



“Ha ha ha. My first cake. It was harder than building an airplane.”

“And you have no idea how strange a thing that is to say. As long as you didn’t use oil and gas in the cake too.”

“Thank you, everyone… I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”



“Um… outside.”

“Huh? I wonder what? Excuse me everyone. I’ll be right back..”



“You’re not yourself. Relax.”

“You’re right. I’m not myself right now. This is your birthday present. I hope you like it.”



“Wait, rose buds. They’ll open up into roses. They smell wonderful…thank you. They’re beautiful…”




“…….”



“Okay, her turning into a flower was WAY down the list of responses I imagined.”

Next Update: The Great Wall