Quoted By:
“So...that big fish that jumped right as we got here, he’s in the center right?”
Chuck shrugs. “Bigger fish do like to lurk out there, though you’ll have a harder time convincing them to take a bite. Over by those old roots-”
You give the fishing pole a natural flick, letting the fishing line spin out into the open air. The hook and unfortunate grasshopper Chuck had provided plunk into the water. You give Chuck an apologetic grin. “I have to try.”
Chuck just watches the slowly sinking hook intently, his voice trailing to nothingness. His lips part, then. “Now.”
“Now? Whoa!” The fishing pole nearly leaps from your hands and you tighten your grip. Chuck whoops and laughs as the fish thrashes on the end of your line.
“Keep the pole low! Don’t fight him too much, he’ll wear out soon enough!”
The big fish fights you valiantly for nearly a minute, thrashing and leaping into the air, before you feel the struggle go out of the creature. You reel the line in steadily and Chuck helps you snatch the creature from the water. The fish gives one last thrash before being dropped unceremoniously into Chuck’s pack that sits half in, half out of the water. The fisherman grins. “Well, you’ve got the hang of it I think. Still, I’d stick to the roots, or the edge of the waterfall myself. That was a beauty of a fish though.”
You laugh. “I bet I can get another one.” Chuck just grins and moves out of your way. Unfortunately the fisherman’s advice proves sound, you spend the rest of the afternoon fruitlessly tossing your line into the pond’s center, while Chuck pulls a dozen small and medium sized fish from the tree roots and waterfall, adding them to his growing pack of fish. Only once, with solemn focus does Chuck send his line whizzing in next to the old stump.
“What’s the story with the stump?” You ask.
“So...oh about a hundred or so leagues to the north east there was this magic forest.”
“Was?”
Chuck sighs. “Right, you don’t remember much. About two years ago, when that thing-” He gives a nod at the Wound’s unreal presence in the sky. “happened all the magic places of the world went strange, or bad, or just...faded. Can’t say I know much about it. Magic forest off to the north east, well parts of it went bad, parts of it faded.” He pulls in a respectable fish before continuing. “Well, before all that went down it had a pond of its own, with a fish twice the size of a man, clad in scale of gold. Story goes that an egg from that fish was hatched in this very pond, that it lurks around that stump.”
“Ever saw it?”
Chuck winks. “Maybe. Could be that dad likes to tell stories. All I’ve ever gotten from that stump is snapped fishing lines though, the other fish stay clear of it.”
Well, you can’t not try now. You whip your line out toward the old stump with a grin, not expecting much.
“Playing with fire miss.”
“It can’t really that big, right?”
