Ball of Nothing

The trip on a dragon's back lasted for almost a week, and by the time they found land again, Pocky realised something.

Despite leaving this place for years, nothing about its landscape changed. A strong sense of nostalgia hit Pocky, and after getting off Bob's back, he walked as if he was possessed. He knew this sight. He knew this sea. He knew this view too well! It was as if he wasn't trapped in a mountain cave for decades.

Now that they were very close to Pocky's home, Zero decided to give Pocky the gift he prepared. They've been travelling in almost a straight line. The shipwright had also seen the end of the sea before they reached land again. The answer should be clear by now what shape the world was.

"Here," Zero carefully handed Pocky the globe he commissioned. "For you. I hope you can patch things with your brother."

Pocky took the spherical map and spun it around a few times. The details weren't quite there, but he understood what Zero was doing. If he continued to be stubborn even after seeing it for himself that the world didn't fall off at the edge of the sea, he would only be a stubborn fool unworthy of his title as the Left Sea Hand.

"From here onwards, we will travel by foot," Zero explained. "The magic contract will be voided the moment you meet with your brother. However, I still hope that you can keep at least Bob's identity a secret to avoid unnecessary panic."

From here, it only took Pocky two days to travel on foot before the familiar sight of a shipyard greeted him.

With his stubby legs, Pocky ran all the way back and recognised some of the villagers. They'd grown up in the time he was trapped in the swampland.

Zero, Bob and Truen took their time to stroll into the shipyard. There were broken sh.i.p.s everywhere and half-built sh.i.p.s. Zero had never seen a shipbuilding factory throughout their adventure and was fascinated by the technology these sea otters used. The gnomes and lab rats would be equally curious, and if the older brother permitted, Half Moon Village had a lot of learning to do from these werebeasts.

There were many shouts, tears and hugs when the sea otter folks realised that their Left Sea Hand was back. For years, the Right Sea Hand ruled the village and took the b.a.r.e minimum orders for sh.i.p.s. For regular people, they would think that the Right Sea Hand was just a grumpy old man. However, only those in this village understood why.

Apart from the blueprints that the brothers already created before they separated, Docky could not successfully build any of his newer creations. Without Pocky's engineering expertise, nobody could bring Docky's inventions to live. Sea technology and marine trade didn't make any significant progress over the years, and there wasn't a single day that the sea otters did not pray for Pocky's safe return.

Pocky was busy catching up with the children who were now skilled shipwrights when the crowd parted for an old man with a face similar to his.

Docky was slightly out of breath, and his eyes were red at the sight of his younger brother. They walked slowly towards each other, and Zero smiled when they finally hugged each other with tears and snot running down their faces. It was ugly crying but a touching reunion worthy of a celebration. Thankfully, they didn't finish all the grilled Kraken on their way here.

Bob decided to transform into his lizard appearance and slept like a rock cuddled in Zero's shirt. Truen and Zero were swiftly introduced to the village as Pocky's saviour. The shipwright did his best to leave out as many details as possible but made sure to tell everyone that Zero was the Chosen One who needed their help.

As the leader of this village, Docky bowed and kneeled on the ground to show his gratitude.

"Heroes! Thank you for saving my brother and bringing him back to us. My name is Docky, and I am the Right Sea Hand. I heard that you have a request."

Zero nodded and got straight to the point. "We need to find Indra Seagloo. Won't you help us build the sinking ship? We have the materials required to build it."

Truen and Zero continued to pile the wood and silk without stopping until they made small hills. The finishing touch was a huge mana stone that Zero harvested from the Kraken. The mana stone was even bigger than some of the sea otter folks, and Docky was dumbfounded. No wonder his brother said that this human called Zero was the Chosen One. There was simply no other explanation.

"That's the last of it," Truen said as he chucked a particularly thick undead root to the top of his pile.

Zero sat on his stack of spider silk and wondered if there was enough silk. It probably would be enough for now. If they had excess, the villagers could use it to make better clothes. The shipwrights were dressed in rags, and some of them looked starved. Under Zero's watch, nobody should have to suffer.

"T-this is a little too much," Docky stuttered, and Zero smiled.

"Don't worry. You can use it to build more things. Also, I believe you and your brother have a lot to discuss after not seeing each other for many years. How about hosting a feast to celebrate his homecoming? The food is on me, song and dance prepared by your village."

Unable to refuse Zero's pushiness, the sea otter leader gave in and almost at once, the children swarmed around Zero, asking him questions.

Truen stealthily left as Zero tackled the curious crowd. He didn't like socialising too much, and Zero could be the star of the party. For him, the wood elf was more than happy to help with party preparations.

"Should I go for larger beer or dwarven stout?" he debated and placed an order with Zoe for a variety of squid dipping sauces.