Cursed Draw

Chapter 29: Feeding Time

Alabaster

The Roe family had been fishers of one sort or another for generations. Yes, Alley’s mother had been the regional champion, and yes his father was a metal worker of rare skill by standards of the Deep River Country. None of that changed how they put food on the table, most of the time on the isolated backwater that was Cursed Isle.

Then there had been Alley’s grandparents. They had not been known for their craftsmanship or card playing. They had made their living entirely from the river and sea for something like forty years. The end result of all this was there were two things every Roe could be relied on to do well. Manipulate the bladed hook and swim. Even Hecatia who had been more of a sew dresses, and tend gardens kind of girl was better than decent at both.

When the pier was suddenly hit by a fucking tidal wave Alley found himself extremely grateful for both skills. It wasn’t really a tidal wave Alley knew, but it was still a fifteen-foot-high swell of surging water that had come from practically nowhere.

Without a thought Alley hurled himself to his right, whipping his hook and chain combo up at one of the occupied diving cages. He had already wrapped part of the chain around one of his hands. So when the hook looped around the cage’s bars the chain pulled taught and Alley swung out over the dark water like he had Manifested his old rope swing from home.

As his arcing path took him around the rushing water, Alley saw Darius avoid the wave by simply diving into the water beneath the pier. Unfortunately, the much older, much more heavily armored Stradivarius didn’t have time to get out of the way. This drew a wince from Alley; As when the Resonance-fueled wave passed it took the old hunter, the Manifested monsters, and about twenty feet of Piertop with it.

While the dark-haired boy was worried for the old man a much more immediate concern was his own survival. Yes, he had avoided the wave but now his swing was bringing him back onto the remaining nearby pier and directly into the path of the charging fish lady.

Alley hit the wood running, fist white-knuckling around the CoreSteel chain he took only three steps before launching himself back into the air avoiding a slice that would have separated his upper and lower body. He flashed a ‘yikes’ smile as the taut chain took him up and away from the surging Trials Deck Wielder. The last Roe grabbed ahold of the diving cage as he swung around it again.

With a little scramble of movement, he climbed atop the diving apparatus. Inside was what looked like a family unit of two adults and three children.

“Hi” Said Alley, filling his face and voice with cheer in the hopes of seeming reassuring. “ Just sit tight and we will have you out in no time.” The group still cringed away from him but Alley didn’t take it personally.

He quickly got to work freeing his hook and inspecting the cage’s lock. He only had time to confirm the door to the cage at the front had a little metal lock keeping it shut before his attention was stolen by a mass of shining blue light beneath the surface of the water. Once it finished Manifesting the waves went dark again hiding the monster, Alley Still whatever the creature was it was huge. More than half the length of the hundred-plus foot galley, and almost as wide as the ships deck across.

Stradivarius had mentioned a giant Unique Shark Card but Alley hadn’t realized the old man had meant this giant. All the more reason he needed to get to the captain and Challenge the man. The monster in the water was going to be a problem, as was the fish woman. Still, the crew and the other Manifested creatures were gone, and the path was basically clear to the galley and the long-haired man standing atop its prow.

Alley wanted to take advantage of the thirty-odd-second window before the pirate leader could Manifest another card. There was however the small matter of the fish lady sending the cages into the waters below if he dashed off to Challenge the captain. With the woman charging towards the lever at the base of the wooden pole the cage hung from Alley felt like there really was only one choice to make.

If the deep hunter had waited until the three of them had gotten closer before making their presence known, Alley was pretty sure he wouldn’t be in this mess. Repressing a sigh he span the hook over his head a few times and whipped it down at the fish lady. She made a little hop backward avoiding the attack and he quickly yanked the weapon back so he could try again.

“Hey! You!” He called in a friendly manner. “ Could you do me a favor and just fuck off?”

To his surprise, she burst into giggles that seemed far too girlish for her form. That didn’t mean she would acquiesce though, quite the opposite.

Shooting Alley a raised eyebrow grin she held the sword in front of herself and began to coalesce Water Resonance around the weapon again. Whatever the Card was she had activated hadn’t run out of time or uses yet. Narrowing his eyes, Alley began to spin up his chain again. With a little bit of luck and some good timing, he could maybe knock her harmonic attack aside.

Seeing what he was intending, her grin widened.

“ Okay! Let's play” she called cheerfully up at him.

The stand-off never got a chance to resolve. While the dark-haired boy and the fish lady with braided hair stared at each other, the enormous monster beneath the waves made its presence more than known.

A huge Dorsal fin almost as large as Alley was tall drove through the water and then drove through the pier. Planks and splinters exploded in all directions as the shark cut through the structure like it didn’t exist.

The diving cages were hanging from their own support poles thankfully separate from what was supporting the quickly collapsing pier. That wouldn’t offer anything resembling protection for him or the various townsfolk trapped in the cages once the monster’s attention was actually on them. For now, though it forced the woman to throw herself out of the way of the advancing Scalekin.

Something she did by almost casually leaping over the monster’s fin to lightly land on a chunk of still-supported wood.

‘I have got to get to a higher rank.’

The huge fish suddenly cut to the side obliterating one of the support poles and sending a group of five or so people plummeting into the depths. From within the cage he was perched on, Alley could hear screams and sobs at the horrific sight.

“You are going to be okay!” He called at his feet. Then was immediately shown as a potential liar when the slice of water Resonance cut through the air followed a half second behind by another enormous wave. The surging water only just clipped the cage, sending it swinging and hopefully not crushing anyone inside. Had the fish woman been aiming directly at them Alley was sure it would have knocked the support pole over, but it hadn’t.

Looking over he saw a familiar red-headed figure atop the same roughly ten by ten-foot chunk of pier the fish lady occupied. Dripping wet and pressing his bone spear against the woman’s sword in a contest of strength.

Alley had never been more glad to see his friend. It made his hopes reignite, with the other Trials Deck user occupied he had a real chance to reach the galley. If he could initiate a Challenge the massive shark and anything else the captain had Manifested would go right back into the man’s deck.

Something that needed to happen sooner rather than later the dark-haired boy realized with a wince as the Water monster obliterated yet more pier and sent another cage screaming into the depths and presumably the shark’s maw.

“Yeah okay.” He said with a sigh

Holding onto the cage with one hand Alley attached his hook to his belt and took a series of deep breaths intended to expand his lungs.

Then with as little trepidation as he could manage Alley executed a straight dive into the dark waters.