Amity and Enmity

Chapter 66

Day: 1612

Days Left: 3868

Lives Saved: 8

It was finally the day. Betty had finished her medical examination and declared that it was safe for Sumit to leave the Raining Marshes. Though he was no longer an enormous kraken, his body was still trying to transform back into a full human; parts of his skin were red and smooth and squishy like an octopus, a few suckers on his arms, and occasionally he struggled to breathe unless he poured water over himself. Fortunately, in the number of months he was gone, a public bathhouse had been constructed for him to spend his time recovering.

"Ay! I get to go back!" Sumit punched his arms in the air. "Can't wait to see how much has changed! Both of you talking about all these new buildings and stuff!"

"We'll give you the tour," said Rin, holding a large towel so that Sumit could dry himself as he stepped across the border of the Raining Marshes, his clothes soaked.

Sumit, however, rushed to her, wrapping his arms around her, having missed giving people hugs.

Rin yelled out a series of swears and disgusted grumbles, but Sumti could see the smile that tried to escape. He then looked to Oscar, who stood at a distance, still talking to Betty as she explained how regularly Sumit would need water and what to do if his transformation went wrong. How desperately Sumit wanted to go over and kiss him, but Oscar looked rather serious talking to Betty. Perhaps later.

Once Sumit had dried himself and changed into a new set of clothes, they headed back to the village, Sumit gasping after seeing it for the first time. As the houses were made from the nearby forest, the wood was a splendid emerald green, and so many of them, each with unique carvings and signs, seeming to be one for each person instead of sharing, a few had scaffolding with future plans for a second story in the works. There were pathways and small signs of street names, which Rin explained were voted on by whoever lived on them, some named more seriously than others.

The place was more of an actual village than the small settlements he had previously lived in. And seemed a lot safe what with the high walls and defences where he could see people patrolling on top of and trenches surrounding the place.

A river cut through the village, and Sumit saw someone collecting it into buckets, using it to wash clothes and then hang them to dry. At the very centre was the large crater where Annika, the green dragon, had burst through. Sumit peered down and saw the mountainous piles of the Land of the Lost underground. The crater had been carved out, and a staircase built with safety rails down towards it. Several villagers were pushing a wooden cart full of supplies from the Land of the Lost back up.

"Wow, we finally figured out how to make the carts!" Sumit shouted in excitement, then a breath caught in his throat, realising how big the crater was, how big the dragon had been, and the kraken he had turned into. "Where's Annika? What happened?"

"She's in a box in one of the houses," explained Rin. "We keep an eye on her. She's still asleep and tiny."

Seeing how much had changed was both amazing and yet also terrifying as Sumit realised how much time had passed, how long he had been stuck as a kraken. What else had changed? He knew that Calanthe had gone, and he wished he could have said a proper farewell as a human instead of being unable to speak and only able to wave his tentacles at her. But he could not blame Calanthe for leaving and not wanting to wait. No one knew how long it would take for him to transform back or even if he could.

The tour continued, and Sumit was shown around the working hot water showers, the bathhouse, the communal eating area where Oscar proudly showed his handiwork at his new kitchen and his little imp sous chef, and then the garden next door. Ivette rushed towards Sumit in her wheelchair, pulling him down for a hug before giving him a long lecture on his recklessness.