6. Chapel of the Mysticet, Part 1

“HEY! MR. AZARY! I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS FOR YOU!”

Rosalyn broke into a sprint behind her target - but despite his thick rainboots and inflexible uniform, he was quickly outpacing her with almost supernatural speed. Rosalyn’s pursuit was also quickly interrupted by another convoy of cargo carriers cutting her off. “DAMMIT!” she shouted as she watched Deerin sprint up the steps into the cobblestone streets of Fogport.

Then, from the soles of her feet, a blast of violet ink erupted into the ground, launching Rosalyn 30 feet into the air to the shock, and frustration, of the now ink-covered dockworkers. Holding out her cloak like a parachute, the Detective floated down over the dozens of dockworkers below and over the railing into the city. “SORRY!” Rosalyn called back as, with a flick of her wrist, the ink that covered the dockworkers vanished like a stain under detergent. And she got back to running.

Inkjet

Spell Class: Inkantation (Basic)

The caster unleashes an explosion of ink from their hands or feet, blasting objects away or launching the caster high into the air while coating the surrounding area in slippery dye. This spell can be cast many times, but is far more taxing than a simple Inkshot, and can leave the caster exhausted.

A favourite spell of fledgling Ink Wizards, much to the chagrin of parents and janitors. While the ink produced by a Wizard can be magickally cleaned, new Wizards are often too preoccupied with their magick or studies to care about cleaning up messes.

“ROZ! WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?” Detective Darc heard Catherine call out from behind her. Rosalyn looked back to see Catherine standing a few hundred feet behind, near the Southern Docks, struggling to have her enormous physique keep pace with the hot pursuit.

“JUST FOLLOW!” she shouted back, before focusing her eyes back on Deerin. Suddenly, just as the boy looked back, he vanished into thin air, like he had stepped through a portal. “What? He can turn invisible?”

Rosalyn reached an intersection, where the cobblestone street split into three paths. She panned vigilantly around the scene, but even after casting Glow in the Dark, she saw no sign of recent footprints. Catherine, huffing and puffing, eventually caught up to Rosalyn’s side. “He just vanished… if he were just invisible I could track his footprints, but he’s just… gone.”

“Who?” Catherine panted.

“Deerin Azary. One of Elliott’s coworkers. What kind of powers do the Mysticet have? Maybe I can find some way to track him.”

“Deerin? Whoa whoa whoa why were you chasing Deerin?” the towering Knight asked. “Deerin’s isn’t Mysticet, is he? Elliott doesn’t hang around those guys.”

“To answer your first question, I chased him because he started running. And for answer your second question, Vimes says otherwise. And I saw him teleport right in front of me.” Rosalyn fumed as she continued to scan the avenues, which were sparsely populated beyond the odd vagrant or gaggle of drunkards stumbling home. “Did you not know Deerin was Mysticet?”

“I… I guess I didn’t.” Catherine said sheepishly. “I just thought Elliott didn’t like those guys, we’re always talking about it. I thought he would have shown better judgment… or at least would have told me.”

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“Did he ever mention anything to you about leaving Fogport?”

“What?! No, never. Elliott’s happy here, he’s settled in nice.” Catherine paused, a look of perturbed anxiety now on her face. “Where did you get that idea?”

“Henry Wintour told me. He said Elliott came to him a couple months ago, asking about learning engineering so he could get a job on one of the Goldpearl ships. He told him he wanted to see the world.” Rosalyn explained.

What little gusto Catherine had left deflated like air from a bootleg balloon, before being replaced with a fiery frustration. “No. No Elliott would have told me about that, we’re two peas in a pod, him and I. Henry’s probably misremembering, Elliott wouldn’t just-”

“It’s okay Catherine! I don’t think Elliott went anywhere… I was just curious, is all.” Rosalyn said, trying to calm the fuming Cannon Knight. Right now, Deerin and the Mysticet is my biggest lead… but I don’t think Catherine’s ready to hear the other possibilities I have in mind. she thought. She imagined Elliott off on beach somewhere, sipping Dragon Wine in Summertide.

Catherine and Rosalyn started to make their way North. “Their Church is on the North side of Fogport, near their special beach or whatever.” Catherine spat. “It’ll probably be locked, but I won’t have a problem breaking down the door if I have to.”

“Wouldn’t that be bad for relations on the island? You said yourself that if you went poking around, then that would escalate things.”

“That was before I knew they took Elliott.” the Knight hissed. “I’ve been trying to be the bigger person here for years, but if they think they can come after my family and expect me to just lie down, then they’re even dumber than I thought.”

Then something materialized in Catherine’s burly forearms: a massive bronze tube, about 6 feet long with a long handle at one end. Catherine put the handle in her right hand and began to carry the weapon over her shoulder, effortlessly wielding the behemoth of raw metal like it were a longsword. But it wasn’t really a longsword at all - it was a blunt cylinder, and while it could definitely crush something it looked like there was a bit more to it.

Then Rosalyn saw the spout at the end. It wasn’t a sword or a hammer - it was a cannon.

Knight’s Magick Cannon

Spell Class: Cannon Spell (Basic)

Summons a hybrid between a handheld weapon and cannon, which can be conjured magickally for a Cannon Knight to wield at any time. The size and characteristics of the weapon vary depending on the caster/wielder, their strength, and their fighting style. Some Magick Cannons are half-dagger, half-cannon, others resemble more of a greatsword, hammer, or mace. The Magick Cannon serves as a vessel for casting many of the Cannon Knights’ offensive spells. Like a Wizard’s staff, only far more intimidating in battle.

While many domains of Blackwater worship the storms, beasts, or other phenomena of the sea, the Cannon Knights are one of many new factions whose power derives from the works of mankind. Whether these man-made constructions can stand against the ancient orders of Blackwater is yet to be seen… but already, the Cannon Knights have earned a fearsome reputation on the battlefield.

“Whoa whoa whoa isn’t it a bit hasty for that, Cat?” Rosalyn laughed nervously.

Catherine didn’t seem to hear her. Instead, she just slowly turned her gaze towards Rosalyn - she seemed calm now, but a look of volatile intensity was smoldering behind her eyes. Like a unlit fuse, ready to detonate. “I told you how we lost our parents, right?”

Rosalyn nodded. “It was a sea monster, right?”

“A Hellshark the size of an island bit our ship in half. My parents… were on the wrong half. El was only 3, so he doesn’t remember it… but I do. I remember being there, as the beast swallowed all that metal and flesh like it was nothing. I see it all the time.” Catherine said, her voice low and serious now. “Anyone who tells you that the world is anything other than ‘us versus them’, humanity versus the Ocean, is wrong. Elliott and I have come together since then. I’ve given everything to try and give him a normal life, be the big sister he needs me to be… so there isn’t a chance in hell I’m going to let another sea monster and it’s freaks take him from me too.”