Glowing Marks

Gen then asked, "What do you mean too good?"

And Briny said, "I've never seen a boat show up in this part."

Raja then said, "Never seen it? You don't mean that we were supposed to swim through this part, right?"

And Briny said, "No. That's not what I meant. Every year, the boat that shows up is a canoe. That's why I was confused to see an actual boat."

Gen then said, "I wonder if it has something to do with the beach. From what your mother had said, the first beach is rarely chosen as the location of the event."

And Briny said, "Maybe it is, but if I had to guess why this is happening, I would say it is because of the marks on our arms."

Gen then said, "Why do you think that?"

"Well, as far as I know, we should be the first group to get through the first phase of the event with more than one mark. Everyone I've ever talked to told me they only had one mark at the end of the first part of the event. Besides, I've never heard of anyone using anything other than a canoe to get through the second part, and since the transport used in this part appears after pointing the marks out to sea, I figure that must be it."

Gen then said, "That makes sense."

And Raja said, "Well, lucky us then. If people can get past this part with a canoe, with a boat, it will be pretty easy."

Briny then said, "Not necessarily, but let's get on the boat. During the event, I'll be able to tell if it's easier or not."

The four of them got into the boat, and then it started to go towards the water temple by itself.

Gen then said, "What do we do now, Briny?"

Briny then said, "We have to wait a bit. The real challenge doesn't start until the boat stops."

And Gen said, "Okay."

The boat then kept going forward for a while until, at one point, it stopped, and Briny said, "Okay. Here we go. Let me explain how this part works. It's very simple. Inside the sea, there is a current that goes to the temple of the water, and we need to keep our boat in the current so it goes toward the temple."

Raja then said, "Is that it?"

And Briny said, "Yes."

"And how do we find this current?"

"It's simple. The marks on our arms indicate the direction in which the current is."

"I see. It really seems to be quite simple."

"Yes. Let's get started. First, we need to find the ship's steering controller. It's probably inside this cabin. Come with me."

Briny then led them to the cabin, and then the four of them went inside. The cabin was practically empty, and the only thing in it was a platform with a pillar.

Gen then said, "Is this the ship's controller?"

And Briny said, "I think so."

Raja then said, "You think so?"

And Briny said, "It looks like the boat's controller, but you can't tell if it's it just by looking. Let's get closer."

The four of them then headed toward the pillar. It was not very tall, about the height of their navels, and on top of it was a transparent ball.

When they got to the side of it, Briny started to go around it a few times and said, "I wasn't wrong. This is the ship's controller."

Gen then said, "Great. What do we do now?"

And Briny said, "We have to activate it. Put your hands on it."

Briny then stretched out her arm and put her hand on top of the pillar, and the other three followed her example and did the same. Their marks then began to glow, and so did the ball on top of the pillar.

Briny then said, "There. Now it's activated.", the ball on top of the pillar was now divided into four colors, those colors being the same as their marks.

Gen then said, "What do we do now?"

And Briny said, "One of our markings will start glowing soon, and then we'll know which way the current is."

Gen then said, "Ok, got it."

They then waited a short time until the mark on Gen's arm began to glow.

After some time, he said, "My mark is glowing. That means we have to go west, right?"

And Briny said, "Yes."

"How do we get the boat moving there?"

Briny was about to speak, but Raja then said, "Wait."

Gen then said, "What is it, Raja?"

And Raja said, "My mark is glowing too."

Gen then said, "What? Really?"

Raja then showed his arm, and everyone saw that his mark was indeed glowing.

Gen then asked, "What's going on, Briny? Were two marks supposed to glow at the same time?"

And Briny said, "I can't tell. I've never done this part of the event with more than one mark."

Lina then said, "I think that can only mean one thing."

And Gen said, "What?"

"Just like the first part. The second part also has multiple paths."

"That makes sense."

Raja then said, "Really? Can't that mean we have to take the path between the two directions?"

And Lina said, "I would also think that if another combination of marks had happened, but from the point when your mark and Gen's shone at the same time, it became impossible."

"Impossible? Why?"

"Have you forgotten what Briny said? Your mark represents the East, and Gen's represents the West. So there's no way to follow a path between the two of them."

"That's right. I had forgotten that detail."

Gen then said, "Now what? What do we do?"

And Briny said, "Let's pick one of them and go that way."

Gen then said, "Okay. Since they all lead to the same place, how about we go west?"

And Raja said, "Why west and not east?"

"There's no reason, if you prefer, we can go east then."

"I do."

"Let's go east then.", and the other three agreed. Gen then said, "How do we get the boat to go east, Briny?"

Briny then said, "We need the person with the east mark to put his hand on the pillar alone."

And Raja said, "Ok. Leave it to me."

He then placed his hand on the sphere of the pillar, and it took on the color blue. The boat then began to move eastward. They then traveled on for a short time, and then Raja's mark stopped glowing.

He then said, "My mark has stopped glowing. What do I do now?"

And Briny said, "Take your hand off the pillar."

Raja then took his hand off, and the sphere returned to four colors. Just then, they felt the boat rocking a little bit, and Briny said, "We've entered the current. Now, we need to pay attention to the marks that will glow to keep the boat in it."

Gen then said, "Got it."

And Briny said, "Well, now that we've put the boat in the current, we don't need to stay in here. All we need to do is for the person with the glowing mark to come over here and move the boat until it gets back into the current."

Raja then said, "Good. I'll go out then. I want to enjoy some sea breeze."

And Gen said, "I'm going out too. I've never been on a boat before. I want to see the view."

Briny then said, "Well, I'm tired of seeing the sea. I'll stay here."

And Lina said, "Well, then I'll stay too so that you won't be alone."

Briny then said, "Thanks."

Gen then said, "I'll trade with you later, Lina, so that you can enjoy the trip too."

And Lina said, "Ok."

Gen and Raja then came out of the cabin, and Raja went to the edge of the boat and said, "What is going on?!"

And Gen said, "What is it?"

"We are going back to where we started!"

"What?!"

Gen then looked at the direction the boat was going and saw that they were indeed going back to the shore."

Raja then said, "What do we do, Gen?"

And Gen said, "Calm down, Raja, maybe that is the way it is. Maybe the current makes several turns before it starts going to the temple."

"Gen, I don't know if that is true, but I know that if we keep going like this, we are going to run aground on the beach."

Gen then looked at how far they were from the beach and said, "You are right. I'll go in and talk to Briny."

Gen then went into the cabin, and as he entered, Lina asked, "Why are you back so soon, Gen?"

And Gen said, "We have a problem."

Briny then said, "What problem?"

And Gen said, "The current is taking us back to the beach."