Chapter 3

The next day after work, Kitiala decided to treat herself to a bath before going to see Jobis. She loved to swim just behind the guildhouse, which was right next to the ocean.

Most folks preferred the public beaches and baths, so she was able to disrobe and bathe in relative privacy. The salty water stung the fresh cuts on her back, but, after a couple minutes of immersion, the pain lessened to a point where she could move around. She swam across the surface of the little inlet, bobbing up and down on the gentle waves.

There were a few people nearby: Behr'rooj murlocks bringing goods from underwater and loading them on the nearby House Gilasgalow dock. The murlocks took advantage of the same ocean currents that Kitiala enjoyed swimming in to buoy the weight of their cargo.

Kitiala had always been fascinated with murlocks. Many humanoids found their mindset and mannerisms to be alien, but she found them intriguing.

Kitiala spotted an old aquamancer named Pugul that she had befriended and swam over to speak with her. (The murlocks thought nothing of the Quelese girl's nudity: they themselves wore little in the way of clothing. Kitiala suspected it had to do with their near sexless appearance; it took a skilled eye to tell the difference between male and female murlocks.) Pugul, an older female, was one of her favorite murlocks to talk to.

"Good afternoon, mother," Kitiala chirped. "Mother" was a customary title for the high-ranking female aquamancers among the Behr'rooj.

"You're looking healthy today, child," replied Pugul. Though fluent in the common tongue, her speech was labored due to her fish-like mouth. "Is your training going well?"

"Yes, mother. Let me show you." Kitiala raised her right hand out of the water and cast a magic missile into an incoming wave a few meters away. Pugul slapped her webbed hands together in an approximation of human applause.

"Very good, child. You have a natural talent. A week ago you were conjuring magic lanterns. Now," remarked Pugul, touching Kitiala's hand for emphasis, "you're a deadly weapon."

Kitiala giggled. "Maybe I'll be good enough to learn magic from you." She envied Pugul. Murlocks seemed to take so easily to magic, living and breathing their spells more so than just casting them.

"It's not unheard of, and I am a master. Perhaps you could do that trick you wanted to." The water deepened just a couple meters from the shore, enough that Kitiala had joked about diving from the hall's second floor. Kitiala turned around and gave the guildhall a wistful look.

"Dear child, what happened to your back?" asked an concerned Pugul.

Kitiala's whole body blushed pink with embarrassment. She had not wanted to get Pugul involved again. Well, she thought, there is no stopping her now.

"Be still, child. I'll help." Kitiala heard splashing behind her, and within seconds she could feel the cuts on her back tingling. Then the lingering pain suddenly stopped. Sticky residue dripped down her back to be washed away by the lapping water. She gingerly touched her back, rubbing the tenderness out of the newly grown skin. There were still scars, though.

"Thank you, mother." Kitiala was genuinely grateful. She had been afraid of getting an infection. She would have never been able to afford healing magic from a priest, let alone a cure disease spell.

"Oh, it was nothing, child. I just encouraged the good water and dispersed the bad water."

"What?" Kitiala was trying hard to understand murlock speech patterns, but some idioms still escaped her.

Pugul attempted to clarify. "Your body did the healing. I simply accelerated the process."

As Kitiala contemplated that statement, she realized something, "I'm supposed to train with Jobis this afternoon! I've got to go! Please, excuse me." Pugul bobbed her head in a brief bow as Kitiala waded to shore.

Kitiala left the water, dressed, and hurried off to find Jobis. Since he decided that she had mastered the magic missile spell, he was going to teach her a new spell today.