A civil war rages in Talestor. A boy from a forest chases after his friend, leaving the safety of the trees and thrusting himself into a world he can barely comprehend, happening upon a weary sword whose only wish is for peace. A group of slaves are...
Celestar was currently still under the water. It was clear enough, but the monochrome effect of night made everything slightly disorienting.
He came up for air once more, careful not to make too much noise, and dove back under. One last stretch brought him to the last boat at the end of the dock. It was a little fishing boat, with a quaint set of oars attached to it. Celestar felt bad about having to destroy it.
Hold up. He didn't have to destroy the boat. The dock itself was made of wood. It would burn well enough. Especially if... Aha!
In the little boat sat four lanterns. Four glass lanterns. Four glass oil lanterns.
Oil was flammable.
Quickly, Celestar revised the plan. Instead of burning a boat, he would untie them all quickly, and let them drift down the river with the current. Then he'd douse the dock in oil and set it ablaze. That should present both a time-consuming emergency to deal with and a loss of their main means of river transportation. Less people to go after them, and less ways to catch them. Perfect.
He removed the lanterns from the boat and laid them on the dock, then untied the boat. Celestar repeated this process with all the boats until he reached Nevay and Kaia. Thankfully, not many of the vessels were anchored in the harbor; otherwise, he'd have been there a long time.
"Wielder, what are you doing?" Asked the sword.
"Avoiding having to destroy boats," said Celestar. "I found oil. Instead of burning the boats, I'm burning the dock."
"That is very clever," said Nevay. "And very kind. This way, these people will still be able to recover their livelihoods."
"Thanks," said Celestar, beaming. He untied their barge and told them to be ready.
"I think I've figured out how to use the magic," said Kaia. "We should be fine."
"Nice," said Celestar. "I'm going to go set the fire."
"Good luck," said Kaia, and Nevay nodded.
On his way back to the other side of the dock, Celestar took all the lanterns underwater, broke them, and before all the oil could run out, brought them back into the air and poured the flammable liquid onto the dry wood of the dock. Thankfully there were no guards on the actual dock itself; they were all high up on the ramparts, watching, but not truly seeing.
When all the oil was on the dock, Celestar pulled himself flush against the dock and raised his hands out of the water. It was no longer important to stay hidden. Taking out his little parcel, he laid it on the dock and unwrapped it. The flint and steel were still dry. That was good.
It took a little effort to start up a flame. The sparks wouldn't catch, and Celestar had to resort to using his oilcloth as tinder. It caught beautifully. Soon the dock began to blaze, and he was off, speeding under the water towards his friends.
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Author's Note: Welcome back to Aer'denna, everybody!
Y'all might have noticed that Celestar can be a little (pardon my French) 'No shit Sherlock' sometimes. It's how he thinks. For example, if you wanted to set a fire, and you saw a thing of oil, your brain would make the connection "Hey, I can light oil on fire". With Celestar, such thoughts are a little more prominent. I think it's part of the charm of his character. What do you guys think? Comment and let me know!
As per usual, thanks for reading this chapter, and if you liked it, drop a vote or a comment! 'Till the next!
