Chapter -142: Working Hard
Between training his new Nature element and going to three other Tribes, Sarajin was starting to know what it was like to feel overwhelmed.
But when push came to shove he could always reliably fall back on fishing to give him a much needed breather.
And he decided to bring Justek along since it had been a few days since they last saw each other. Needless to say he accepted the request without hesitation.
Thus the two made their way to Aquamoria. It was getting to be cooler around this time of year but saying a hot place is getting cool just means there's a little less sweat going around.
Justek had brought along a book relating to Aquamoria and as they approached the sandy shores he remarked, "Sarajin, do you think you'd be able to fish me up a Shellwalker? They're these shelled creatures that secretly have legs. I heard the meat on them is very succulent, and good for the developing brain."
Sarajin peered over his shoulder and asked, "When are you going to fish for yourself instead of relying on me?"
Justek smirked and then said, "Ah but you see, by having you fish I get to preserve my energy for reading, you get to get better at fishing, and in the end we both enjoy a nice meal. It's a symbiotic relationship."
"Simba wha...?" Sarajin slacked his jaw in confusion.
"You really need to learn how to read." Justek mumbled, smugly pushing his glasses up.
Sarajin shrugged and then faced forward, the bustling folk of Aquamoria passing him by on their way to the docks.
"Must be something exciting happening over there!" Sarajin was eager to keep apace with the fine fisherman folk and ran up to the back of a crowd gathered before the dock.
He hopped around trying to peek over their heads and raised arms but all he could catch were a few young fishermen out on the docks.
"I can't see!" He shouted. Once he grounded himself for a bit and thought about it though, he felt like an idiot when he realized he could just elevate himself with a cloud platform.
After doing so with some grumbling he could clearly see Brine along with a few other fishermen his age reeling in fish.
Justek finally caught up and Sarajin knelt down so that he could hear him, "Hey look, Brine must be in a fishing competition!"
"So I take it I'll have to wait for my Shellwalker?" Justek said, his skewed priorities earning him a slight humored glare from Sarajin.
Sarajin watched as Lulu walked on up to the docks with a pair of fingers in her mouth, using them to let out a shrill whistle, "This competition's been decided!"
She walked on up to the third farthest fisherman and grabbed their free wrist, helping them stand tall and proud with their bodies glistening with sweat.
"The winner is Riley Reef! She's earned herself a Bronze Hook of Mastery, and a free fish of her choice from the mart!"
The crowd cheered hard and it made it difficult for Sarajin to make out how Brine was taking the loss. Some minutes passed before the crowd died down and daily life resumed.
Sarajin then ran on up to the docks and saw Lulu rustling Brine's hair a lot, trying to console him, "You'll get 'em next time, kiddo."
Brine was seen smiling once she finally let her hand go, propping his rod up against his arm and declaring, "Yeah, there's always next time!"
"Hey guys!" Sarajin shouted, making both of them flinch.
"Well I'll be a dried up flounder," Lulu chuckled, propping her knuckles against her hips and leaning in, "'Ere I thought you'd gone and left us, kid. Where've ya been?"
Sarajin rubbed the back of his head and sighed, "It's a loooong story. But I went to Oreore, just like I said I would!"
Lulu stood and let out a quick whistle, "And they didn't chew ya up and spit ya out with those crooked gap filled teeth of theirs eh?"
Sarajin gave an enthusiastic nod.
"Not bad, and I don't say that lightly," Lulu then crossed her arms under her chest and grinned, "Looks like ya mighta even put on a tiny bit of muscle over these last few days."
Sarajin stared down at his arms and remarked in his carefree tone, "I do feel a little stronger lately..."
"Well I'll fish the details outta ya later," Lulu smiled and then began walking away from the docks, waving out to the youngins she was passing by, "Enjoy the waters, the fish're bitin' fierce today!"
Sarajin then walked on up to Brine and he put his hands behind his head with a smile, "Missed ya, mate! How ya doing?"
"Fine! How about you?" Sarajin replied, relieved at the energy Brine was displaying.
"Oh I recovered pretty quick after that nasty fall, been fishin' in preparation for today ever since!" Brine made a brief glance towards the water and his mood seemed a little sour.
"Yeah I caught the fin end of that competition you were in! Sorry you lost though..." Sarajin paid his condolences but Brine was nice and chipper about it.
"Ha! Fin end, good one, chum!" He bellowed a laugh of joy, "But nah, ain't no big deal. I'll get another chance in five months."
He then took up his rod and declared, "Wanna help me get in some practice?"
"Sure!" Sarajin proclaimed, picking up his rod as well.
They took residence a few yards down and cast their lines into the open sea. Sarajin ruffled his shoulders around and relaxed his body, eyeing the sparkling blue seas for any sudden movements.
Justek sat down behind them and started thumbing through his book.
Brine looked around and then leaned towards Sarajin to whisper, "So what was it like in Oreore? They as loud as those quakes they make?"
"Yeah, they're pretty loud..." Sarajin chuckled faintly, the ringing in his ears still fresh, before taking on a more optimistic look at their lifestyle, "But they're very hard workers, just like you guys with your fishing!"
"Maybe, but we don't make a buncha noise when we do our jobs..."
Brine's rod tugged and started to pull him towards the sea, "WHOA! WE GOT A BIG ONE 'ERE!"
Justek poked his head up to raise his brows poignantly and then didn't say a word afterwards.
Brine then stood up and gripped his rod tightly, threatening to slide off the edge of the docks. Sarajin stood right up and tugged his rod back in for safety.
"Brine be careful, you don't want to take another dive do you?!"
"Nah, chum, I got this hook, line and sinker! Watch me reel in my biggest fish yet!" He found solid footing and through many grunts and groans was slowly dragging a fish half his size back to the docks.
Sarajin watched out to sea as the shadow got bigger and closer, with him pumping his fists by his chest and proclaiming, "Keep going, you can do it!"
"C'MERE YOU SCALYWAG!" Brine shouted to amp himself up for the biggest catch of his life up until now.
The two were so into this moment that it was Justek who heard the sound of wood creaking, causing him to peek his head up one more time with a hum.
As Brine was prepared to reel the fish in, the creaking sound got louder and gave him and Sarajin pause, only for Brine to fall back in recoil as his rod snapped in half.
"ACK!" He shouted in a panic before bonking the dock shut him up cold for a moment.
The large fish then bounced out of the water, having girth as wide as the human body and a tail as thick as a wood plank...Which it used to great effect by smacking the other half of Brine's rod right into his face as he rose.
Sarajin grimaced like he had been hit himself, and was forced to watch as Brine's catch was now zigzagging away from sight.
Sarajin then bent down and hovered over the defeated body that was once Brine, hesitant to ask, "...Are you okay?"
But no bruise on his face could hurt as much as his damaged pride. He lifted himself up a little, shook his head, and then found both halves of his rod on his lap.
"Aww man," He groaned, "Teacher's gonna hook me up on my trousers when she finds out about this."
"I-It's not that bad, you'll be able to get it fixed right?" Sarajin said, trying to keep his spirits up.
"I could, ya, but it'll cost me a few fish I'd been savin' up." Brine was in a dilemma as he raised them to his chest and Sarajin stared at both halves for a bit, the gears in his head beginning to turn.
His eyes popped open and he shot on up to his feet with a proclamation of, "I got it!"
"Huh huh?" Brine said, blinking rapidly as he stood as well.
Sarajin waved his finger out and said, "Hold the halves of your rod together, I think I can fix it!"
Brine had this blank stare on his face but obeyed the request. Justek even bothered to get off his book to observe what was about to happen.
Sarajin closed his eyes and concentrated within, "I'm starting to get a feel for this. Just think warm thoughts..."
He activated the Nature Conduit Form and then confidently opened his eyes, holding his hands out towards the rod, "I don't think I'm ready to grow new wood but if I just use a little sap..."
Orange sap oozed out from magical green energy on his palms and Sarajin had to reeled it back a bit before it slipped between Brine's hands.
"Not too far now...Steady, steady." He held enough sap in place to fit between both halves of the rod and then grabbed the halves and sandwiched the sap between them, holding it there for a while so the sap would stiffen under the heat.
He then grinned happily as he pulled away, feeling the rod was now as solid as it was originally.
"Ta-da, good as new!" He looked up but what he was greeted by was Brine's mouth stiffly agape and Justek's glasses slowly sliding down his nose.
His eyes widened and both halves of brain finally reconnected, causing him to crack an awkward grin and mutter, "Uhhh, oops...Ah ha ha..."
He then returned to his normal state and rubbed the back of his head, "Just...pretend you didn't see anything, ok guys?"
"What the finny FUCK?!" Shouted Lulu from behind, causing Sarajin to stumble a bit forward before turning right back around to the sight of her running on up and planting herself a foot before his body.
She then propped her fists on her hips, leaned in and looked more bewildered than mad, "Was I seein' green on ya, kiddo?! What sorta foul magic did those tree worshippers cast on ya?!"
Sarajin, still sporting that force grin, tried to look to Justek for a solution but he said what should've been obvious from the get go.
"I think it's time for that long story, Sarajin." He said, setting his glasses back into place.
"Yeeeeeeah, probably." Sarajin huffed out a sigh and then got to work trying to help catch Lulu and Brine up on how hectic things had been since the last time they saw each other.
It surprisingly didn't take very long since Justek knew everything but the whole Conduit Form deal, but he did seem to be oddly quiet after that part in particular.
When it was over Sarajin hung his head and felt tired and ashamed, "Sorry Nimus, I blew it."
It was lucky for him he only blew the secret in front of close, trusted friends. The worst Lulu had to say about the whole story was, "Have ya been feelin' funny at all?"
Brine joined in to ask, "Yeah like, do ya have a sudden urge to eat greens all the time and hate fish?"
Sarajin went "N-No?" and then Lulu followed up by leaning in closer and sniffing him, which made Sarajin flinch.
Lulu then stood and let out a sigh, "Guess yer still you, despite all that happened. Boy howdy..."
Her arms tensed up and she barked out in annoyance, "Ya seriously didn't know about the Rot Walkers or the War?! How ignorant they keepin' ya up there, boy?!"
Before Sarajin could muster up a response Justek did it for him, "Ridiculously so, it feels like..."
He then crossed his arms and said, "But he's definitely a work in progress, trust issues and all..."
"Huh?" Was all Sarajin had to say to that before Lulu took the lead over the conversation once more.
"Well yer kindness is appreciated, even if ya used the greenies' power, but I suspect that sap ain't gonna hold long under pressure. We'll just have to take the boy's rod off to get fixed."
Brine frowned and said, "Sorry, teacher."
"What'd I tell ya about fishing above yer weight class?" Lulu sighed, "You'll bulk up over time, yer lucky it didn't attack ya directly."
Brine nodded in agreement, and Lulu smiled, "Well so long as ya get it in yer thick skull for next time."
Lulu then turned around and guided the other three back to the shore so they could get Brine's rod repaired. Along the way the conversation made Sarajin want to ask, "Since we were talking about it, Lulu, do you happen to know where Aquamoria's Titan is?"
"Can't say I do," Lulu said, folding her hands behind her head and soaking up the sea breeze passing through, "Certainly never heard of no Trial either."
"Shouldn't the leader know where the Titan is?" Justek pointed out.
"Look, Coralcea's a busy blubberbus. They got a lotta sea to protect us from and plenty of fish to give birth to," Lulu shrugged, "I mean if ya want to try yer luck ya could swim out to sea to try 'n find them."
"N-No thanks, I'm not ready for that yet." Sarajin said with a half-grin.
"Swimmin' ain't all its cracked up to be anyways, chum!" Brine said.
"Speak for yerself, kiddo!" Lulu said with a lighthearted chuckle.
The two laughed it up like siblings would for a bit and Sarajin comfortably put his hands behind his head and smiled. He then looked back and found Justek sort of lagging behind.
When his eyes met Sarajin's he propped his glasses up and whispered, "Sarajin, a word for a moment."
They stood out in the middle of the beach and looked each other in the eyes, with Justek uttering out a mood-setting, "So when were you planning on telling me about this Conduit Form?"
Sarajin felt immediate guilt and hung his head mumbling, "S-Sorry Justek, I was going to bring it up eventually. I just didn't think it'd be a good idea to show it out in the open."
"Hmph," Justek smirked, "Well I'm hardly offended. Barely affects me in the slightest..."
Sarajin looked up and said with an earnest attitude, "I-I'll try not to make a habit out of hiding things from you from now on, ok?"
Justek paused for a good while and then shook his hand up beside his face, "I'm telling you, it's no big deal in the long run."
"More importantly," Justek crossed his arms, "So now the plan is to seek out each Tribes' Titan to obtain their Conduit Form?"
Sarajin perked up and admitted, "Well I thought about it and realized that having the ability to use the other elements at will might help bridge the gap between the Tribes."
"That's not invalid, from a certain point of view." Justek murmured.
"Buuuut?" Sarajin egged him on, sensing he was holding back.
"It's not wise to bank your plans on a miracle happening. So think of some other ideas to help bridge the Tribes together."
"...Alright, I'll try. It's just..." Sarajin rubbed the back of his head and humbly admitted, "How do you think of things so easily, Justek?"
"Well it's because I'm a natural-born genius." Justek replied with a ruffling of his nose and widening smirk.
He then settled on a more neutral expression as he glanced Sarajin in the eyes and told him, "If you learned how to focus, you'd figure these things out yourself."
"Do you really think so?" Sarajin said, looking all starry eyed, to which Justek propped up the bridge of his glasses and sighed.
"Sometimes I wonder how one can be so ignorant towards themselves..." When that warranted a blank gaze from Sarajin, Justek shook his head with a smile and said, "Forget it. You still owe me a Shellwalker, so let's deal with that boy's broken rod and get back to the docks."
The rest of the day was pretty lax for everyone involved.
But then time kept moving forward, with Sarajin going to Tanglefae to continue picking up new information on how to help with his Conduit Form, spending time in Aquamoria trying to learn what he could about Coralcea's location, and also committing more time to Oreore under Johnathan's watchful eye so he can learn to mine like the best of them...
"C'mon, lad!" Johnathan shouted from the side, arms gripped taut against his hairy chest, the force of his voice making him sweat.
Sarajin was holding onto a pick-axe that was more fit for his size, but even with a smaller tool lifting it was pushing his muscles to their extremes and he felt like they would bulge through his skin if he kept it up.
Though through sheer grit, he was able to swing it over his head and hit the brittle wall in front of him, dislodging a few chunks of brown metal, called copper, into a small pan.
He then fell forward, forced to use the bottom of the axe's handle to support his arms, his breaths ragged and foggy with the scent of his sweat.
Johnathan walked on up to the pan and pinched some of the chunks between his fingers, "Decent enough, I suppose."
He then sprinkled them back into the pan and rustled Sarajin with a little blunt advice, "Ya've got to work on yer form, lad. Otherwise ye'll throw yer back out."
Sarajin was panting and wheezing, dangling his hand out towards the water he had brought along nearby. Johnathan reached down and helped him hold it, at which point Sarajin stumbled around and then collapsed on his butt against the copper wall.
The sounds of hard labor reverberated throughout the ravine even this high up, at the very peak of it. But the sight of all the people working inspired Sarajin to want to keep trying, even if his body felt like it was about a few minutes away from giving up on him.
Chugging down the water helped. If only it didn't hurt to raise the container.
Ezekiel was a few feet beside him diligently chipping away at the copper wall with a few pans filled at his feet. He took a break to glance aside and remark, "Ya feelin' it now, Sarajin?"
"Aye, no breaks until ya fill all yer pans!" Johnathan shouted, making Ezekiel scramble to get back to work.
"Y-Yes pop!" He shouted.
Sarajin plopped his head against the wall and groaned, "I don't know if I feel anything at all..."
He leaned his head a little further out and looked at Justek standing against the wall beside Ezekiel calmly flipping through yet another of his books.
"H-Hey buddy, can you give me a massage?" Sarajin asked innocently.
Justek clamped his book over a thumb and then rolled his eyes back incredibly far, peeling off the wall with a weighty feel to his movements, "No, I will most certainly not, and please never say that again."
Johnathan crossed his arms and grumbled, "Ya could at least try and contribute somethin' instead of loiterin' around our work area."
Justek plopped back against the wall comfortably and smirked, "Oh but it's so much safer up here without the risk of boulders falling on my head, or my eardrums popping like air bubbles."
Johnathan narrowed his gaze and mumbled, "Ya got a response for everythin' don'tcha boy?"
"The boon of being educated." Justek said, his smirk growing beyond the reach of his face.
"Hmph." Johnathan scoffed.
"H-He's got such a way with words, doesn't he?" Sarajin said with a dazed sense of endearment towards his friend.
"That ain't the attitude ya want to be emulating boy." Johnathan gave a firm answer to this idolizing Sarajin was developing.
Sarajin continued to drink his water down to the last drop and then stood up, feeling a little light headed but otherwise ready to take another literal crack at the wall.
"Ok, I'm ready to fill this pan!" He proclaimed, reaching down to pick up his pick-axe.
He grunted and Johnathan hunched down, using his hands to force Sarajin to kneel, "Lift with yer knees."
And after he got the pick-axe up in both hands over his shoulder, Johnathan crossed his arms and said, "And when ya swing this time, don't let yer tool do all the work. Put some of yer weight into it."
With this advice taken to heart Sarajin was able to at least get close to filling his pan up before his body had to give up, otherwise he might not be able to make it back home later.
Sarajin fell onto his back, head leaning off the edge, and took very long and deep breaths. He was sweating all over and had a bit of a headache, but there was no lack of satisfaction in what he pulled off so far.
Johnathan picked up and rattled the pan around a little and held back a little on his bluntness, "Well...we'll iron out yer form before worryin' about the size of the chunks."
"S-So we're stopping for today?" Sarajin said, barely having the strength to turn his head.
"Oh?" Johnathan chuckled, "Ya still got a little fight in ya?"
That was enough to energize Sarajin so he could sit up and shake his head and hands around. Johnathan bellowed with laughter.
"Done!" Then shouted Ezekiel, wiping the sweat of his brows as he stood next to a messy stack of filled pans.
"Atta boy!" Johnathan roared, walking on up to his son with hands extended broad from his shoulders. Ezekiel leaped into his chest and they hugged for a long while, with Sarajin silently observing, feeling saddened and happy at the same time...
He then pushed himself onto his feet, having to hold a hand against the wall until his knees stopped shaking.
Once the Gaias were done hugging it out a miner a tier below them suddenly shouted up, "Oy boss!"
Johnathan looked down with a grunt and the man below bellowed, "Ya still wastin' time on that flyin' rat? We could use ya down here."
Johnathan firmly planted his arms and remarked, "If ya got the strength ta yap then use it to focus on yer work."
"I'm just sayin'-"
"Only language I be speaking is with me muscles," Johnathan's voice got all deep and grizzly, "And if ya want to keep talkin' that way, y'know exactly where we can settle this."
The man slowly and silently returned to his work not long after, and Johnathan raised his chest to let out a "Hmpf!"
Sarajin's expression was neutral throughout the exchange but returned to being perky when Johnathan looked his way, "Sorry 'bout the rudeness."
Sarajin shook his head and remarked, "That's why I got to keep working hard to reunite the Tribes."
"Heh, still on that eh?" Johnathan chuckled and sighed, "Made any progress?"
Sarajin shook his head some more and followed that, Justek remarked in his stead, "Sarajin, isn't there something important you've been meaning to ask?"
"Oh right!" Now seemed as good of a time as any since he wasn't busy, "Sir, I'm curious to know..."
"Eh? What's up, lad?" Johnathan stood and invested his full interest in what he had to say.
"...What color is the moon at night?" Sarajin said, straightfaced.
"Uhhhh, brown, obviously...?" Johnathan hesitated and then glanced at his son, "It IS brown, I ain't goin' color blind already am I?"
"No dad, it's brown, just like every other night!" Ezekiel proclaimed, "U-Unless my eyes're failin' me too..."
Sarajin crossed his arms under his poncho and muttered, "Well that just raises further questions!"
"Sarajin," Justek firmly remarked to get his attention, his gaze looking very annoyed, "The OTHER thing?"
Sarajin rubbed the back of his head and grinned, "O-Oh...right."
He then focused on Johnathan with a little humility on his face, "Johnathan, do you happen to know where your Titan is at?"
"Our Titan?" Johnathan had no hesitation answering but the way he did was rather smarmy, "Why, you've been walking on his domain for a while now!"
"You mean...he lives in this ravine?" Sarajin stared down, trying to imagine what type of form the Titan could take.
"Nah, lad..." But what Johnathan was about to say really undersold how small Sarajin's imagination was going, "He lives much deeper, around the very core of this 'ere planet."
Sarajin's eyes widened and his response was understandable if not a little naive, "Uhhh, just how...big is the core of the planet?"
"Heh heh heh," Johnathan grinned, "The mighty Tremorterra, the Crust Founder...Ain't a name that's been given to brag."
He spoke with reverence and delicately picked his words out, "The legend's been passed down through generations of miners that when the world was first formed, our Titan coiled itself around the molten core and excreted the surface we walked upon. And that even all these years later, it continues to replenish the land in spite of the Rot crawling over it."
"So he's...really big." Sarajin said, staring with awe at the ground.
"The biggest creature known to man." Johnathan said with some hint of pride.
"And he's also...very deep underground." Dawned on Sarajin with some degree of worry.
"Yep, ain't nobody ever seen what he looks like, and I doubt we ever will," Johnathan ended on a rather melancholy note but then perked up to ask, "So what brought this up all of a sudden, lad?"
"Well-"
"BOSS!" A miner screamed from all the way down at the bottom of the ravine.
Johnathan winced, turned, and held his hand aside at Sarajin, "Hold that thought."
He then leaped all the way down and shook the ravine with his landing. Sarajin then walked on up to Justek with his head hung and a sigh.
"Another complication, it seems." Justek's words just made Sarajin sigh harder.
He then followed up by saying, "Were you expecting this to be easy?"
Sarajin rubbed the side of his head and said, "N-No, but I didn't think it'd be this hard either."
"Ividae gave you the wrong impression. Benevolent though they may be, the Titans are still the Gods of this world," Justek closed his eyes and went adrift in a grandiose tone, "And though we may call them down, we will never rise to stand beside them."
"Well I'm going to keep trying!" Sarajin declared.
"I suppose you do have your whole youth to waste on such endeavors." Justek chuckled.
"Aren't we both the same age?" Sarajin said, innocently tiling his head.
Justek closed his eyes and his expression became rather peeved. He was constraining the urge to say something.
"WHAT?!" And the dead air was filled by the furious scream of Johnathan, whose voice echoed throughout the entire ravine.
The three of them peeked over and could just make out Johnathan's seething red face as he continued to roar in anger, "Where'd they go?!"
"They bolted for the westside with our steel reserves, boss!" The miner before him asked.
"Blasted Metal Munchers! Ghhh...!" Johnathan suddenly craned his head back and shouted, "BOY!"
Ezekiel sprang to his feet and then briefly exchanged looks with his two buds, "S-Sorry chaps, gotta high tail it after dem thieves!"
He leaped on down to join his pop with hammer in hand, and Johnathan hoisting his pick-axe in both hands. He swung it at the ground to create a wave of stone for them to leap on and ride through the ravine at a rapid pace.
They were quickly getting out of sight and try as he might, Sarajin's legs didn't have it in them to keep pace.
"Thieves?! Don't tell me my people are at it here too." He said in dismay.
"Clearly not the case, they mentioned Metal..." Justek remarked.
Sarajin looked back and he flashed a mischievous grin, "Want to find out?"
"...Yeah! Hold on!" Sarajin still had the strength of his elemental energy and created a sturdy cloud for the two of them to ride on, then took off after the Gaias to the end of the ravine.
By the time they had caught up to that part Johnathan used his pick-axe to tear up another rock wave towards the South. Sarajin could just make the corner of something sleek and pointed flying away from them.
But then Johnathan punched forward, hurtling a rock from the ground like a javelin through whatever it was, causing a small explosion that shook the air.
"W-Whoa!" Sarajin proclaimed, veering around the corner and forcing through the smoke cloud left behind, unable to make out anything on the ground but bits of metal scrap.
Justek, knelt down behind him, placed his hand over his eyes and muttered, "What the heck are those?"
The Gaias were in hot pursuit of these strange, metallic cubes with what looked like small windmill blades on their backs. They had arms too, but not round and squishy like a human's rather...They seemed rectangular and had perfectly rounded elbow joints.
"I've never seen creatures like that before," Sarajin murmured in awe, "But they're...flying like birds?"
Johnathan and Ezekiel were working in tandem to fling large stones at these so-called Metal Boxes but they were very agile, able to fly left and right without losing forward momentum.
When the two did manage to land a hit though, the boxes blew up and crashed to the ground with many burning, melting metal parts, and a few strange sparks flickering out.
"Keep at 'em boy, they ain't gonna get away on our watch!" Johnathan roared as he pushed his muscles to the limit to break those Metal Boxes apart.
What started off as a dozen of these strange metal creatures was slowly dwindling to four. They had long since passed the blood pool and were even venturing off of Oreore territory, judging by the darker ground.
And over the horizon, Sarajin noticed the Metal Boxes were flying towards this massive squared location with very high metal walls, the top of which were armed with coils of spiky metal strings that were surrounded by large sparks.
And the most bizarre thing was that it looked like the place was hovering off the ground.
The "Metal Boxes" suddenly got a lot faster and rose into the sky. Johnathan and Ezekiel hopped off their stone ride and Johnathan growled, venting his frustration by throwing his pick-axe straight at one of the Metal Boxes.
He actually managed to impale it through.
Sarajin dropped the two of them off beside Johnathan, who was glaring straight ahead with a stiff face as he thrust his right hand up and pulled the pick-axe back to his grasp with the Metal Box still on it.
"Damn ya to hell, ya opportunistic bastards...!" He tore the Metal Box off, and though it was the size of his head he crunched it down to the size of his eye with one hand, sparks spurting out between his fingers.
Sarajin's heart raced at the sight of his strength, Johnathan then glanced over his shoulder with the brief glimmer of fury vanishing upon doing so.
"Why'd ya follow us, lad?" He said, looking very puzzled.
"I-I was just curious what was happening." Sarajin replied.
Johnathan tossed the remains of the Metal Box over his shoulder and grumbled, "This ain't any of yer business."
Sarajin took a couple steps forward towards the big building only for Johnathan to pull him back via the shoulder, "Don't be approachin' that floating hellscape."
Johnathan squeezed his arms against his chest and with grizzled teeth he grunted, "The devils craft their wicked 'electronics' in that there place, and then set them loose to steal our hard-earned lodes."
"Is it a Tribe?" Sarajin wondered, mystified by how...different that building looked compared to anything he's ever seen or heard of before.
"Nah, it's a den of thieves..." Johnathan growled dismissively, "They call themselves Pulsa Minoria."
"Pulsa Minoria..." Sarajin committed the name to memory.
"I swear, if I could I'd march up to that place right now and tear down those walls with my bare hands!" Johnathan proclaimed, marching one step closer to the building and brandishing his finger at it mercilessly.
"Well why don't you then?" Justek said, but his ill-mannered attempts to egg him on were not working.
"Cause I'd get zapped by their weird metal barrels and probably be out cold for a week!" He shouted.
"Is it dangerous to go there?" Sarajin wondered.
"Hmph, they're pretty invitin' to other folk from what I've heard,'' Johnathan swerved towards Sarajin and warned him, "But I ain't gonna recommend it. They'd be likely to brainwash you into their devil ways."
Sarajin's face didn't budge and Johnathan remarked while tapping his fingertips along his arms, "That ain't gonna stop you though, will it?"
Sarajin put a finger on his chin and wondered, "Whether they're a Tribe or not they live in this world. So I want to try and see if I can convince them not to steal from you anymore. Maybe that'll help relations between you both?"
"HA!" Johnathan huffed a few laughs, "If ya somehow manage to make them give up their thievin' ways I might just retire and pass down leadership to ya!"
Sarajin gave him an uneasy stare and Johnathan shrugged again, "What ya do is yer business, lad. Me? I gotta be getting' back to assess our losses."
He picked up his pick-axe and turned to Ezekiel, who had been hanging his head the whole time, "Sorry I let three of them get away, pop."
Johnathan patted him on the back and said, "Ya did just fine, my boy. Let's go home."
He then swung his axe to send up another rock platform for them to ride back, leaving Sarajin and Justek to ponder the new information.
But Justek read Sarajin's thoughts and spoke for him in seconds, "You're planning on going to this 'Pulsa Minoria' place next, aren't you?"
Sarajin turned and nodded, then crossed his arms and remarked, "I'm confused how those boxes could fly..."
A grin slowly stretched across his face and he forced a giggle out, "But I'm REALLY interested to find out the reason!"
"Hmmm, well..." Justek pushed his glasses up by the bridge, "Out of everything that loud old man said I made out the 'elec' part, which is the first four letters of the element 'Electricity'."
"So they ARE a Tribe?" Sarajin blurted in shock.
"Representing the element of electricity, yes," Justek then laid a hand on his hip and glanced aside, "But then again..."
Sarajin noted, "You're not sounding very confident for once, Justek."
Justek's eyes flinched wide for a couple seconds and he blurted out, "Don't be absurd. I am merely theorizing in my head until I can confirm my suspicions there."
Sarajin stared at his face like he had a bug on it and then put his arms down, "Well, we should probably head over there tomorrow."
"Sounds like a plan," Justek gestured his hand out, "Though how far will it take us is the question. How will you convince the folks of Pulsa Minoria to get along with Oreore?"
"Ummm..." As much as Sarajin didn't like it, his father's words echoed in his mind, "Maaaaybe there's a good reason why the people of Pulsa Minoria are stealing metal?"
"We're bound to find out the reason when we go...Whether it's good or bad remains to be seen."
"Yeah..." Sarajin took one last look at the floating building and narrowed his gaze.
"Pulsa Minoria, a city of 'electronics'...I'll see you again tomorrow."
Next Time: Gaze into the Future