Morte, the lost Heir (ONC 2024)

3. Night fishing

It was getting dark when they said goodbye to Sessom and headed towards the lake outside the city walls. They decided to accompany Dupe to his nightly lodging at the bridge, Tobi because he was curious about monster fishing, and Aura because she had never seen a real transformation before.

Dupe was in a hurry; he didn't want to transform in the city. It had happened to him before, and it was pretty unpleasant, as everyone stared at him and wanted to sit on his back to take a ride.

Outside the city walls, the fresh air and the gentle breeze were refreshing, tickling their faces and hair. The constant hustle and bustle of the city were barely audible here, replaced by the croaking of frogs and the buzzing of insects from the lake.

Several bridges stretched over the lake from the city, and they headed towards the furthest one, where the water was shallow, and they could comfortably sit under it without getting wet.

Hardly had they settled down when the last rays of the sun dipped below the horizon. Aura watched with keen eyes every movement of the winged creature.

First, a slight tremor could be seen in Dupe's body, as if an invisible force was circulating inside him. As the darkness of the night enveloped the surrounding landscape more and more, Dupe's body began to transform. First, his nails grew longer and sharper, as if turning into dragon claws. His human skin was slowly covered with shiny scales, which shimmered brilliantly in the water's reflection.

As the transformation continued, Dupe's body began to grow, his muscles swelled, and the lines of his body became more powerful. Wings on his back also grew massive and strangely played in white light. His ears elongated, and at their tips appeared small, sensitive scales.

At the peak of the transformation, Dupe's face was covered entirely with radiant scales, which took on a sparkling golden color. His eyes shone like two pearls in the dark, and long, snarling teeth appeared at the corners of his mouth.

Finally, Dupe transformed into a dragon, a beautiful and shiny creature sitting before them.

"Beautiful!" exclaimed Aura, even clapping her hands in amazement.

The dragon was unhappy; sorrow and disappointment were showing on his face.

"That's exactly it! I don't want to be beautiful. I would much rather be a fearsome beast that everyone flees from at the mere sight. But look at me. I'm like a cute little creature that everyone would love to cuddle or stroke my glittering scales..." Dupe stepped back because the elf girl was already moving to touch the aforementioned scales. "Don't even try!" Dupe snapped angrily.

Aura stopped. "Just a little! Please, I'm just curious about how it feels!"

"No, please don't! I hate it when people touch me without permission," he said, locking eyes with the girl. Meanwhile, Tobi also admired the dragon's dazzling colors.

"You're right, there! I would hate it too if all kinds of strangers wanted to pet me!" said the dwarf, making himself comfortable beside the dragon, leaning against the bridge's foot.

"All right, fine!" said Aura. "But can I lean on you? You seem so soft!"

The dragon lay down, resting his head on his massive clawed paws. "If you want to, I don't mind..."

The girl sat near the dragon's head, leaning comfortably against his shoulder blades. "Is this comfortable for you, too?" she asked the dragon.

"It's fine, but don't squirm around now!" said Dupe, then continued. "Do you see the people on the other side? They're getting ready for fishing."

It was good that they were hidden under the bridge, but they had a perfect view of the small campfires and the excited people preparing on the other side.

As the night darkness descended more and more on the lake, the fishermen meticulously prepared to catch monster fish. Gathered around the small fires on the shore, the fishermen chatted quietly and laughed while sharpening their hooks and baiting them.

Aura needed help understanding what the massive clubs were for. But she didn't ask; she didn't want to seem like an elf who knew nothing.

Then suddenly, more and more fishermen cast their bait into the water, their professional movements indicating that they knew the force they needed to exert to aim at the right spot.

"I wonder what bait they're using," said Tobi.

"It doesn't matter; these monster fish are smarter than we think. They'll only catch them if the fish wants it, too; that's how it seemed to me so far. They haven't caught a single fish yet. But you'll see. It's going to be funny!" chuckled Dupe.

A small, thin boy, his cloak snugly pulled over his shoulders, quickly cast his fishing rod into the water. While others patiently waited for a bite, he eagerly watched every movement of his fishing rod, ready to jump. It was evident that he was fishing for the first time. Some of his companions teased him with laughter.

As time passed, and Aura was almost nodding off, suddenly, a massive explosion broke the silence of the quiet night. The little fishing boy's rod jerked violently. An enormous monster fish was hooked, and the struggle began immediately. The boy started pulling the rod, and several fishermen rushed to help him. But the monster fish resisted strongly, almost pulling them into the water.

Then suddenly, the fish emerged from the water, and despite its tiny legs, it targeted the boy unusually swiftly.

"I told you, didn't I? It's singled out the small one!" said Dupe, raising his head to see the events better.

The fishermen tried to hit the fish's head with their clubs, but they relentlessly chased the boy around the lake.

As he ran backward, the boy desperately tried to cast spells against the monster fish, but in his panic, he kept missing them. The monster fish continued to chase, skillfully dodging the wizard's attempts to stop it.

"Is he a wizard?" asked Aura, watching the events with interest. The wizard boy and the monster fish came quite close to them, skirting around them from behind and then continuing to chase each other around the lake.

Finally, when they returned to the other fishermen, several fishermen stood ready with their clubs to strike the fish. But before the fish reached the fishermen, it leaped back into the water.

The exhausted boy collapsed on the shore while the fishermen, some laughing, some angrily, started preparing their rods again.

"And this goes on all night," said Dupe. "It always targets the unluckiest one and gets hooked on their bait."

"I've never seen anything like it! I'm glad we came out with you! It's much more exciting than the Blue Cat's one-legged singer," replied Tobi.

As time passed and the fishermen grew sleepier, the dragon also nodded off; Aura had been snoring for a while when sleep overtook Tobi too.

It was nearly dawn when Sessom's figure appeared. He woke Tobi up.

"I looked for you at the inn, too; I thought you'd gone back," said the soldier.

"We wanted to go back, but we fell asleep here," Tobi replied, sitting up. Aura slept beside him, her head leaning on Dupe's.

"How did I get here? I remember leaning against the wall," murmured Tobi.

"I have some bad news. I managed to speak with the king's physicians. The king was never told that Morte disappeared, so he's not being searched for. I tried to get close to Sol and ask his squires. They don't know anything about anyone looking for him either. So our only clue is Oner and the girl with some fruit name..."

"Seriously? Is this how we're going to search for him? We don't even know the girl's name?" Tobi was grumpy because his neck was sore, although the dragon's side was quite comfortable.

"You know what? I'll go with you. I've been asking too many questions at the court anyway. If Morte has enemies, they'll surely come after me too," said Sessom, sitting under the bridge with them and watching the fishermen. "Did they catch anything?"

"Nah, not at all! You should have seen it..." Then he started telling him how the fish chased the fishermen.