Chapter 43 - Real Fisherman

The port of Novanny had changed a lot in a thousand years, like everything else.

Even the general shape was different, with buildings stretching out into the sea, standing on thick wooden beams that reached deep into the water. What had once been a simple harbor with basic docks had transformed into a sprawling maritime district.

Still, it was marked by the same two rivers running through the city, cutting through the port district in the same spot. There were still traces he could recognize, like the curve of the shoreline, and the way the buildings clustered near the river mouth.

Daniel walked by several fishing stalls and shipping halls, watching the port come to life in the morning. Merchants shouted prices for their catches, dockworkers hauled crates and barrels, and sailors stumbled out of taverns looking worse for wear. The smell of brine and tar permeated the area, along with hints of fish, both fresh and not.

Ahh, the smell of youth… 

The scent brought back memories. Early mornings helping his father mend nets, the ache in his hands from pulling rope, the pride of contributing to the family's survival. Life had been simple then.

I wonder how Barrelton is doing today, if it’s still on the map.

The little hamlet in which Artorias was born, where his father worked as a fisherman and his mother was a teacher. The humblest of beginnings, which made it all the easier to make him a fish out of water when he arrived at the great academy. 

That was easier to write, in many ways. And easier for readers to relate to. A fish out of water, so to speak.

By now, though, he wouldn’t be surprised if the hamlet were turned into a big city where pilgrims journeyed to see his birthplace. It was unlikely that anything remained of his childhood home.

What would you say if you saw Jerusalem, Jesus?

Daniel found a set of narrow, slick stairs that led down to the water. It was perfectly placed between two large buildings, shielding him from curious onlookers. 

He positioned himself right by the surface, close enough that he could hear the gentle slap of waves against stone. Then he sent a wave of mana into the water, converting it into liquid mana.

In an instant, the mana spread out under the surface, pushing in every direction at a shocking speed. The entirety of the area became clear to him, like an underwater version of mana sight—water sight, as it was called.

Thousands of fish in all shapes and sizes were revealed to him, as well as corals and plankton growing from the ocean floor. But he only needed one specific fish.

That one should do. Looks fast.

One of the fish caught his attention—a long silver-colored one with a large dorsal fin and the streamlined body of a natural swimmer. It was about a meter long, and currently cutting through the water in a sprint.

Suddenly, it became trapped in a box of golden light. It thrashed violently, sensing the constraint, but the prison held firm. Then the entire construct was pulled toward the surface, still encased in water, and quickly moved toward Daniel.

He removed the top of the box, then tried to grab the fish and pull it up from the water. It was slippery and cold, thrashing wildly in his grip, but eventually he got a good hold and pulled it up. 

From his index, he pulled a small bag, then three gold coins popped out and hovered gently in the fish’s gaping mouth.

The fish went rigid the moment the coins touched its tongue, stopping its struggle. Then its mouth snapped shut, and it went completely limp in his hand. A sign the old ritual still worked.

Thank god, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to capture a mermaid.

That would have been significantly more complicated. And potentially violent, depending on which mermaid he caught and how territorial they were feeling. A bad first meeting, in any case.

He tossed the fish back into the water, and the moment it hit the surface, it came alive again. It swam at top speed straight out to sea, going past his senses in a matter of seconds.

This will likely take a while, even at that speed. But I’ll keep an eye out while doing some research.

Daniel walked back up the stairs and started searching for someone who might know the legends of the sea. There were plenty of plausible options—drunken sailors slumped against barrels, old men with weathered faces and fishing hats, dock workers with the look of people who'd spent their entire lives on the water.

One even had an eyepatch.

Perfect.

"Excuse me, sir," Daniel said, walking up to the man with the eyepatch. He was sitting on a crate, mending a fishing net with practiced hands. "Can I ask you a few questions about legends of the sea?"

"Mbreeh?" The man looked up, squinting against the morning sun. "Whaddya wan', ya fancy scrummajite?"

Oh, a real fisherman.

The dialect was so thick that Daniel almost laughed. “Tales o’ the sea, ya blitherin foombogs a jite.” He switched dialects without missing a beat, letting childhood memories resurface. "Cannae ye see da fisherman inside, in?"

The man's eyebrow shot up, pausing his hands mid-stitch. "Hah! Manne'vta see deep. Them ol' tales, aye?" He set down his net, giving Daniel his full attention. "Gotchammay gold, in?"

"Still use them gold, in?" Daniel pulled out a gold coin and held it where the man could see. "Have a thri coin in, fir good tales."

The man studied the coin closely before replying. "Aye, me tell ya ol' tale, in. Anything in particular you want to know about, kid?"

The change in his dialect was so sudden that Daniel nearly had to look around to see who else had spoken, but the old man's mouth moved perfectly in sync with the words. The thick fisherman's cant had vanished, replaced by clear, educated speech.

"I'm surprised you know the old fisherman dialect, kid." The man's expression had also shifted, from rough laborer to something more calculating. "You speak like you were born into it."

"Yeah, my dad was a fisherman, but then I went to the academy when I was young." Daniel pocketed the coin for now, settling into a more comfortable stance. "I heard it all around in that little hamlet, but my mom didn’t like it much.”

"Heh, that's usually how it goes. Mothers trying to civilize their sons." The man chuckled, rough and genuine. "You really have gold coins? Not just the one?"

"I do. You could also have slivers, of course, but—"

"Nah, that shit falls in value all the time." The man waved a dismissive hand. "Gold holds steady. What do you want to know?"

"Right. Any tales about great or powerful undersea beings, or anything related to mermaids." Daniel studied the man's face, watching for signs of deception. "Are you the right person to ask?"

"Aye, I should be. Can't think of anyone else, at least." The man stroked his grey beard. "Hmm…"

He thought for a while, sifting through decades of memories and stories. "Plenty of mermaid stories, though only a few I really trust. Lots of drunk sailors claiming they saw beautiful women in the waves." He snorted. "But with powerful beings… It's not uncommon for great seabeasts to bump a few ships. People think they do it as a greeting of sorts, but it often causes damage. Crews hate them."

Daniel felt his enthusiasm deflate slightly. "...Are you sure you're the right person to ask?"

"I'm thinking, alright?" The man shot him an annoyed look. "Give an old man a moment. Mmmh…"

His fingers tapped against his knee. "You've got old tales of the great leviathan, of course. No one's ever seen it, but once in a while, entire ships would freeze up from mana suppression."

He leaned forward, lowering his tone like he was sharing a secret. "The water would be so dense with mana that it floated into the air around them as the great being passed, like rain frozen in time. And only after several minutes would they be able to move again."

Daniel's pulse quickened. Now that's what I'm looking for.

"That's much better," he said, flicking a single gold coin toward the man with a thought.

The man barely managed to catch it, forced to use both hands to secure it. "Have some sympathy for the lack of depth perception, would you?"

He looked at the coin with a wide eye, turning it over in his palm as if expecting it to vanish. Then he bit into it, testing if it was real. The slight bitemark he left caught his eye, confirming the metal's softness. "Good stuff, this! Real gold, not painted copper."

"There are two more in it for you, depending on your memory." Daniel crossed his arms, waiting.

"Yeah…" The man pocketed the coin carefully, tucking it somewhere inside his worn vest while watching his surroundings. "Well, mermaid stories are a dime a dozen, but I do know a guy who swears he saw one riding a whale as it breached the surface once."

His expression softened slightly, becoming almost fond. "You can still see him looking out to sea ever so often, hoping to get another glimpse of her. Been doing it for twenty years now. Which is why I feel I can trust him."

"Hmm… Sure, I can give a coin for that. I already know mermaids are real, though."

"Oh, 'course you do." The man's tone was amused, humoring him. "Bet your dad told you all about them. Fisher tales and such."

"No, I just know." Daniel didn't elaborate. "Anything else?"

"Mmh…" The man scratched his chin again, thinking harder now that gold was on the line. "This one could just be a great mage passing by in an airship, but… There was this ship that was severely damaged from hitting a reef once. Happened maybe fifteen years back."

He shifted on his crate, settling in to tell the story properly. "They started sinking, water pouring in faster than they could bail. Everyone was about to abandon ship and try their luck in the water, but then it lifted straight out of the sea and stopped sinking."

He made an upward gesture with his hands to demonstrate. "Turns out someone—or something—had created barriers to fix the damaged parts, sealing the holes. So it was fine to sail again, water and all."

"Oh yeah?" Daniel's interest sharpened. That was definitely done by someone powerful, to be able to lift an entire ship with telekinesis.

"I saw the aftermath myself, even." The man nodded emphatically. "The barrier lasted for months after that, glowing faintly at night. And even hired mages were unable to remove it so they could properly fix the bow. Had to wait for it to fade on its own before they could do the repairs. But that's many years ago now."

"Lasted for months? Are you sure?"

"Well, I only know what they told me, but they said they were on the east side of Patropil when it happened." The man shrugged. "So sailing here would take a long time. Could've been longer for all I know."

Daniel was quiet for a moment, trying to come up with possible explanations.

Normal barriers were weak and deteriorated quickly over time. His own gold light could do something similar to what happened in the story, but if he had to use a regular barrier instead, he probably didn't have enough mana to make it that strong and durable.

So either it was something other than a regular barrier, or someone immensely powerful was casting it.

Or it's a complete lie.

But the detail about not being able to remove it felt authentic. Not something most people would even know to lie about.

This story, along with the first one about the leviathan, made him nervous. The mana suppression suggested something brutally powerful, with power to at least rival himself. And a barrier that lasted months without maintenance suggested intelligence and skill, not just raw strength.

Maybe it’s already too late…

But if they were true, and if the egg had hatched, at least the mermaid queen seemed peaceful. Helping sinking ships rather than destroying them.

He flicked the final gold coin over to the old man, this time aiming it more carefully. "Thank you. These stories might come in handy."

"My pleasure, ya scrummajite!" The man caught it well this time, grinning wide enough to show several missing teeth. "Let me know if you need more stories in the future, kid. Name's Harren, by the way. I'm here most mornings."

"I'll be sure to find you, then." Daniel started backing away, already turning toward the water. "Try writing down anything interesting you hear. I might pay for more later."

"Will do. Good coin for good stories, that's an exchange I can get behind."

Daniel walked away, heading back toward the stairway he'd come up from earlier. His mana perception, which he'd kept partially extended toward the water, suddenly detected something new.

Something was waiting for him in the water.

That was fast.

Interlude 1 | Ch.44