Book 4 - Schemer of the Scalding Sands: Chapter 34; Aquatic Support

The screen turns on as the next chapter title plays "Chapter 34; Aquatic Support".

Grim put his paws up as he exclaims "Hoo boy! Yuu, you really go for the jugular sometimes!"

Floyd rubs the back of his head as he says "I'm with Little Shrimpy on this one. Sea Otter, you're, like… TOO nice. It's kinda…grating…"

Kalim was shocked as he asked "Huh?! Is it?!"

Jade has a hand over his chest as he answers Kalim "Yes. If I were betrayed by someone the way you were… I'd lash out with a torrent of unmitigated verbal abuse to break them down mentally, then bind them and drag them beneath the waves. The way you blame yourself and try to excuse his behavior is, quite frankly, a tad galling."

Kalim was shocked but also seemed confused as he asked "Galling? Really?" He then shook his head as he mumbled "But, I mean…"

He then seemed to have steeled his resolve as he states "Jamil would never betray me, ever."

Floyd seems to partially laugh as he tells Kalim "Uh, news flash: he did~ In fact, he was gonna make you out to be the bad guy and get you expelled. He's an enormous dirt-bag!~"

Jade crosses his arms as he informs Kalim "When it comes to underhanded ploys, Azul at his worst still couldn't hold a candle to that. That's quite a feat, you know. It's okay to hold your head high and denounce him for the traitor that he is."

Yuu put a hand to the edge of her forehead as she shakes her head and mumbles "That's…not much of a compliment…Why would he hold his head high…?"

Azul then also tries to make Kalim understand, explaining "You carry yourself like a goody-two-shoes, laughing off conflict with a flippant word or two. To twisted individuals like myself and Jamil…"

Azul then fakes a cough before fixing his mistake "Ah, I mean, to calculating individuals, those remarks are like barbs digging under our skin. I'd say you've been pushing Jamil ever since your formative years."

Kalim looks down in sadness so Azul adds on "It's not your fault in the least, of course. You were born into a very high social class. As showered as you were with affection from your family and everyone around you, you grew up with honesty and integrity. An upbringing like that would make anyone take certain things for granted." Jade also says "I would argue that in Kalim's case, it might simply be a case of naturally innocent disposition."

Kalim then says "Oh…" before asking "So Jamil is…bad?"

Yuu freaks out a little and shouts "Extremely! It took you this long to get it through your head?!" although the shouting was mostly due to the shock.

Kalim then clenches a fist before shouting "In that case, I'd better get back fast! I'll punch him and yell, 'Traitor!' I owe him that much!" Grim complains to Kalim "One punch ain't enough! You oughta also make him march to the oasis and back ten times!"

Azul, still being one of the most rational here, or at least not as impulsive, says "That, and we need to bring him back to his senses fast. If we don't, his life will be in danger. We have to get back before his magic reserves run dry."

Floyd crosses his arms as he complains "That puts us right back to where this conversation started!~ How do we get back? Walkin' really fast?"

Grim then nuzzles up to Yuu after he complains "My nose is gonna freeze over if we stay out here much longer!"

Jade looks around as he comments "If there was a river, we could swim back. Sadly, the rivers around here are all dried out." as he spots an empty riverbed.

This makes Kalim ask them "So a lack of water is the problem?" Azul nods as he explains "Yes. Floyd and Jade can easily outpace brooms when they're in their true forms. But we can't exactly restore a dry river…"

Kalim then smiles as he tells them "Maybe you can't… But I can!"

This makes the Octavinelle trio shout "HUH?!" Yuu snaps her finger as she realizes and says "Oh yeah! Your signature spell!"

Kalim then explains to them "My signature spell, Oasis Maker, can produce an enormous volume of water with just a smidgen of magical power."

Kalim then asks, double checking "If I make you a river, you can get us back to the dorm, right?"

Azul pushes up his glasses as he asks "Y-you mean to tell me THAT'S your signature spell?! That's insane!"

But Kalim laughs as he puts his hands to his hips and says "It's pretty useless though when we've already got running water."

But Azul shouts "Don't 'aha ha' me! Some countries don't HAVE that sort of infrastructure! Your power would make you nothing short of a here to those people! That's…. That's… ABSURDLY marketable!"

Jade then coughs to get most of the attention away from Azul, as he continued ranting, and tells them "I think we can leave Azul to his get-rich-quick fantasies for a bit."

He then asks "Kalim, if you would oblige us?" Kalim asks "You just need a river, right?" Which got nods in response, so Kalim exclaimed "Okay! I'm on it!"

He then used his signature spell causing it to rain a whole lot, but only over the riverbed.

They looked on in shock or amazement or both, Grim even exclaims "Holy mackerel… The river's fillin' up with water right before our eyes!"

Once the water was deep enough Floyd and Jade got into it and transformed into their eel mer-forms.

Jade then tells Floyd "Let's get moving before the water freezes over, Floyd."

He then instructs "Now, Azul and Grim, grab hold of my back." Floyd then tells the other two "Little Shrimpy and Sea Otter, you're with me!~"

But before getting on Grim asked "Wait, but I thought Azul was a merman. Can't he swim himself?" Jade then explains with a bit of a teasing look "Azul isn't a fast swimmer, even in his mer form." Azul had already climbed onto Jade as he says "Yes, well, not all of us have tailfins like yours."

Then once everyone was one Azul declares "Now, off we go to Scarabia!"

The screen then fades to black as "To be continued" plays before fully turning off.