Grilling and Grilling

On the patio outside his home overlooking the sea, over a homey dinner of fresh-caught, grilled fish, Camellia, Damos, and Lynn squeezed Theio for every drop of information he had.

As Erasmus prepared the food, the three leaned over the table, staring intently at the old champion on the other side.

“I’ll tell you all I can, I suppose,” he chuckled, “though I must say, I’m surprised you’re going to actually try.”

“Why? Isn’t it the natural progression for champions of the sea to continue onwards?” Damos furrowed his brow in confusion. “If there’s more to get, why not go for it?”

“Well, I actually attempted the Trail myself, a long time ago,” Theio admitted. “This was before I met Erasmus, of course. Fresh from the ocean, I felt pretty good about myself for completing the Trials of Ascension.” He shook his head, smiling. “What a fool that young man was.”

In wonder, Damos asked, “What happened?”

“It kicked my ass,” Theio burst out laughing. “Strange animals I’d never seen before, had no clue how to fight, and no time to learn sent me packing.”

Lynn made a note on a piece of parchment. “What kinds of animals?”

“I can’t tell you the details, unfortunately,” Theio sighed.

Damos groaned. “Why is that always the answer? Why can’t you?”

“Champions and contenders just aren’t permitted to discuss the precise nature of the competition with aspiring participants,” Theio explained. “Wasn’t that the same rule back in The Bed, too? Even failed contenders couldn't share their expertise.”

“Plus, the Trail changes each time it opens; even if Theio could say the details, there’s no guarantee his advice would be accurate.” Erasmus brought over a hot plate of fish. “But, Theio, dear, what about simply informing them of the local wildlife around our home? Surely it’d be good to let them know what they might run into.” He winked as he walked back to the grill above the fire, “So what if those creatures coincidentally appear on the Trail of Ascension?”

A grin grew on Theio’s face, as he rubbed his beard in thought. “Yes, yes. I’m just telling them about our local fauna. Nothing more.” He laughed, “And now you see why I need my husband. Truly my better half.”

Camellia felt relief, but for some reason, felt scared to voice it.

“Right, so, as for the local animals,” Theio began, “the closer you get to Mt. Agon — that’s the volcano up there — they larger they tend to be. Don’t be surprised if you see some creatures well over five times your size.”

Lynn scribbled furiously as he spoke, noting every detail.

“For the kinds of animals… Well, I never made it past the second stage, the jungle. But the forest beneath that has huge, fuzzy, furry things with claws. Some leap at you, some sneak up behind you, some chase you down and bite you.” He shuddered, as if reliving a memory. “I don’t really know what they’re all called, but you’ll know them when you see them.”

“I think I might know,” Camellia interjected. Then, remembering only Lynn and Damos knew her secret, she added, “Heard about some wildlife in a book, once.”

If Theio doubted her response, he didn’t show it. He moved on, “Now, after the first stage, you, ah, might find a different environment. I barely made it ten steps in before something swatted at me. Couldn’t even see it. It was like it blended in with the trees themselves.” He sighed. “That is to say, be extra vigilant.”

Lynn and Damos looked at one another in fear.

Now that Theio had opened up about it, a thought occurred to Camellia. “Wait, why didn’t you tell us about any of this before? When you met us, you knew we were champions already, so that rule shouldn’t have applied, right? Why not tell us that the Trail even exists?” She stood up, realizing further, “And for that matter, how come nobody down in The Bed knows anything about this?”

“I’ll let him handle that one,” Theio said as Erasmus tottered over with a plate of fresh vegetables, which Theio began digging in to at once.

“Right, the law,” Erasmus said, sitting down.

Lynn stopped writing. “The law?”

Erasmus nodded. “Yes. There’s a reason you never heard about anything up here, let alone about Skyside,” he sighed. “The law passed down by the goddess of the land, Sylvia, mandates that no information pertaining to such things — the sky, the Trail, anything — can be communicated to sea-dwellers.”

Theio swallowed a bit of fish. “That’s why you never hear about it in those letters the champions send back down underwater, either.” He shook his head. “Even letters get monitored.”

Damos nearly fell over in shock. “Why? What’s the point of that?”

Erasmus shrugged. “It’s the will of the goddess. Not for a mortal to defy, really.”

As sad as it is, Obbie, that’s the truth of the matter. When a goddess decides what’s what, you can’t really change that.

Looking up somberly from her paper, Lynn asked, “Is that why all the people of Sylvios hate us?”

Camellia joined in, “We keep getting glares from random people on the street.”

“Yes, indeed.” Theio deflated. “It’s a sad state of affairs, but due to this divine law, the folks here have formed a sort of disdain for our people.” He gazed at the three of them sadly. “Simple discrimination, I suppose, and nothing more. Why question what the goddess herself tells you to believe? They don’t know much better.” He gestured at the sea next to them. “Why do you think we chose to live so far away?”

Scoffing, Camellia spoke, a sour look on her face, “Are the people here stupid? I’d bet all the gold in The Bed that the citizens up Skyside feel the exact same way about them. You’d think they’d treat us a little better.”

Erasmus and Theio stared at Camellia.

“What? What’d I say?” Camellia protested.

Theio cleared his throat. “The way they treat ‘us,’ you say. You may have found close friends among your team of oceanites, but I can say with certainty that I’ve never seen anyone — down there, or up here — with an aspect like yours.”