Chapter Text
The Socorta Archipelago lies about three hundred Knauts from the nearest major trade route, and just north of the southern Storm Belt. It wasn’t the most remote patch of land in the Great Blue, but it certainly was out of the way for most.
Not that people didn’t go here. Like all places, the nine islands of Socorta had plenty of commerce coming in and out, merchants seeking for new wares and places to offload goods, adventurers and monster hunters hoping to make some easy coin, and pirates searching for new hunting grounds.
There was one area of special interest in the Socorta Archipelago, and That was the Solver’s Triangle. That patch of ocean has been haunted ever since the founder of Socorta’s daughter took her life in those waters trying to solve the Ocean’s mysteries. The phrase is curiosity killed the cat, but here there’s a new one.
Solve without sleep, get dragged to the Deep.
Of course, not the entire Socorta Archipelago is cursed. There are nine whole islands where sea monsters and ghosts don’t dare tread.
Except for when they do, but that’s an entirely different story.
On one of these Islands, Coppersurf specifically, is where the star of our story lives, so let’s see how she’s doing.
Uzi Elara Doorman strolled through the town of Coppersurf, with it's log timber buildings and the occasional high built house of a well off merchant. The streets were crowded with people of all colors, attire, and walks of life. A positive rainbow of eye colors flowed in a stream, all sorts of purple's, oranges, greens, reds, blues, pinks, and everything else. Uzi herself wore a dark vest and a small green dress. Her eyes were a subtly glowing violet, and her purple hair was just past her shoulders. She stood quite below everyone else, but despite this, and the fact that the crowd was headed in the opposite direction, Uzi made good ground to her destination.
Her destination wasn't the marketplace or her family home. Rather, it was the docks she was headed for, a strange location for a young lady of her stature. Or it would, but this was Uzi Elara Doorman, and she went where she damn well please.
Uzi walked into the harbor, wandering the piers in search of... well, I suppose we will find out. You see, there was a particular shop she was looking for, but due to it's nature it moved every week.
Uzi eventually found it in a secluded corner of a half rotten pier. It was a derelict shack, more hastily constructed than old. it was made of driftwood and 'armac for the base, and there was a few unsavory types with thick muted coats and bushy sideburns hammering in nails. Uzi gave them a friendly wave and they nodded back, not ones for emotion. The inside of the shop, for that's what it was, had several objects of note, scavenged from the bottom of the oceans surrounding the Socorta Archipelago. A bar of smooth driftwood was affixed to a wall to act as a makeshift counter, and a young woman was leaning on it, a thick book in her hands. She was taller than Uzi, with long indigo hair and blazing reddish orange optics, all covered by a dark red torn dress that showed her toned midriff and pale skin and had a net. Most people had tanned skin, but Doll Markorov was not most people, and she spent most of her time either inside or in an alchemical mech scavenging for wares to sell in her shop. She looked up and saw Uzi,before beaming brightly at her with her best customer smile.
Uzi smiled back. Doll was a RedSky mage, and thus didn't have too many customers due to superstitions, but the one's she did have paid her handsomely for anything she might find or paid her even more to find something specific. many stayed away from her shop, both her unusually pale appearance and reputation as a RedSky Mage making people wary about her, so she often changed her shops location every few weeks just to be on the safe side. Any customers that did come regularly usually got Doll's best treatment.
"Hey Uzi. How's life with the high and mighty?" Doll had an accent about her, one that made her words thick and clipped with a deep growl behind them. Apparently, Doll and her crew were part of an ancient race called 'Ussians, a warrior race that was known for being unbeatable in battle, long ago before the world was water. Uzi didn't entirely believe this, as let's be honest, huge chunks of land called 'continents' sounded a bit farfetched to her, but Doll swore by it.
"It's got it's highs and lows. Trust me, if my dad forces me to go to another damn party!" Doll chuckled at Uzi's indignance. They came from very different walks of life, but the two woman were very similar. Both had a certain hatred towards nobility, and despite Uzi's heritage, she was as loosely associated with the aristocracy as Doll was. The two women were in fact loose business partners, helping each other on salvage and scavenge runs. Doll did it to survive, Uzi did it to fund her various projects without having her father interfere. In spite of these conflicting reasons, the two were close and had vicious arguments and huddled conversations.
That didn't mean Uzi was above just simply asking for something Doll had found then leaving without conversation, however.
"Look, Doll, I need something." Uzi was a blunt woman with a very bad talent for conversations. Doll sniggered.
"When do you not need something, Мед?" Doll replied, voice lilting. Uzi hated it when Doll spoke in her mother tongue, since Uzi had no clue what she's saying. This time, though, she guessed Doll was being patronizing.
"I need a hydraulic compressor and a mechanical hinge. preferably the good kind."
"Hmmm". Doll hm'd for a bit, lips pursed in concentration. Suddenly, she held her hand out, a faint gust of red wind flowing from it and into the backroom. After a few moments of her concentrating, an object appeared, encased in the red wind. It was a large coil, about three feet across, and each end was a thick disk of metal, silvery in color and with rings of copper inlaid on both sides.
"Damn." Uzi was impressed. That was a serious piece of tech, only found in extremely old wrecks. "Where did you find this?"
"Really old wreck, hanging off the seabed and about to fall into Moustro Chasm, about sixty minqs off the coast of Adamantia." Doll looked smug now. "Best I could tell, it is most certainly from the Antesanguanian Era. Damn boat nearly took me and my mech with it when if finally fell into the trench."
Uzi whistled. Antesanguanian tech was very old, very old. It didn't rely on energies like Alchlemical fuel or wind power like most of present tech. This tech was built before the presence of the Blood Sea destroyed whatever civilization built it. No one knew what powered it, but it made it's own energy somehow, and touching parts of it could shock someone. this made them invaluable parts for just about anything meant to last. But Uzi had asked for two items, not one.
"Alright, that is most certainly the hydraulic press. But where's the mechanical hinge?" Uzi asked Doll. Doll's smug grin only grew wider.
"Well, I don't have anything like that in stock." she sounded sorry, but her sharp grin was telling otherwise. "But I do know where one might be."
Well, that was better than any information Uzi had. "Where is it?" She asked. Doll's grin would have been wider if her biology allowed it.
"I'll tell you." Uzi leaned in. "For a price." Uzi groaned. Doll was always looking for some coin, even in situations where it didn't make sense. Which was part of the reason why she never got invitations to any of the annual festivals. Uzi knew better than to try and persuade Doll out of it.
"How much?" Uzi sighed.
"300 curios for the glorified slinky, and 5 for a map to the hinge." Uzi gawked at her. 305 curios was a lot of money, something she didn't have on her. But she could bargain. She was GREAT at haggling, after all.
Uzi walked out of the shop dressed in her purple and black diving suit, a little ticked off. She had forgotten to account for just how slippery Doll was in bargaining. Uzi now owed Doll six hours of heavy work, half of anything sellable she found for the next month, and she had to dress up like an Aquartion maid at her shop two weeks from now to try and attract customers, and she had lost her clothes. At least Uzi's wallet was still heavy.
Uzi hefted the press in her arms, taking care not to touch the copper rings inset into the disks so as to not get shocked. A hand drawn map of where the mechanical hinge was laid in a pocket she was really glad she implemented three years ago. She had another destination, and luckily he wasn't too far from Doll's shop.
The Monsoon was a shabby boat, more oval than diamond like most ships, and quite smaller than most fishing boats. Rusted steel was riveted to parts of the wooden hull, painted in streaks of green. There was a figure on the boat,, his upper half buried underneath the wheel in the enclosed upper area. A stream of muffled curses could be heard coming from underneath the wheel.
"THAD!" Uzi yelled at the boat. The cursing stopped, and a tanned face framed by sandy blonde hair could be seen peeking out of the enclosed wheelhouse.
"HEYA UZI!" He called down. He took a running leap into the water, diving into it with an impressive splash. he surfaced and swam to the ladder, climbing up it with the ease of someone at sea. he clambered onto the pier, and stood up in his six foot two glory. Thad had tanned skin and sandy blond hair that was always slicked back with salt water and streaked from the sun. His bright sea green eyes shone in the midday light. He wore a faded red jacket that showed his bare chest, which had long raking scars down it. Interestingly, he seemed to have gained some new ones recently. He also wore faded pants with a striped design, and, as was his custom, barefoot. he positively towered over Uzi, and most other people for that matter.
"How are you doing?" He asked. Thad was someone whom you couldn't help but like, and had managed to get through Uzi's icy exterior.
"Hey Thad." Thad was one of the few people to make Uzi smile. It didn't help that most girls her age were absolute idiots. "I need help with something."
"Sure, Uzi." Thad said cheerfully. "What is it?" Uzi pulled out the map Doll gave her and handed it to Thad.
"I need to get there tomorrow, could you get me there?" Uzi asked in the nicest voice she could muster. Thad looked the map over, as if contemplating the distance, and how much fuel it would take.
"Hmmm. It's not too far from here. But it IS a little close to the Triangle..." He trailed off, as if in deep thought, then looked up at Uzi. "What exactly are you doing?"
"I'm doing a salvage dive at an old wreck. Might be down for a while." Uzi answered honestly. "Hey, do you think you could pick me up at my cove?"
Thad gave her a look. "You mean your super secret, do-not-trespass-on-suffering-of-your-wrath, totally not edgy secret base of yours? You're finally going to let me see it?"
Uzi sighed, then nodded. "Yes, Thad, you get to see my cove. Just don't tell anyone what's in it, please?"
Thad nodded. "Of course 'Zi. Can I actually know where it is?"
"I suppose", Uzi huffed. "It's on the northwest side of the island, protected from storms by a small headland and and squished next to the northern peninsula. You get in via a small cave that your boat should be able to go through."
"Huh, and no one's looked there, despite your father ordering out search parties the last six times you two had an argument and ran out?" Thad looked at her with some wry amusement. The fights between Uzi and her father, Khan, were legendary, a constant source of amusement for the elite. Khan wanted Uzi to have married already, and Uzi wanted to be as far away from any man that her father picked as possible.
"Yeah, on the maps it's an inaccessible sea cave, but it caved in eight years ago, becoming the cove." Uzi explained. "So, do I owe you anything, or..." Uzi trailed off. she didn't have a lot of money, and had already owed Doll a lot of favors. Thad Looked at her, before shaking his head.
"Nah, 'Zi, you go for free. Been meaning to g-, I mean, fish in that area for a while now anyway." Thad stated. Uzi looked at him, suspicions raised. He was a terrible liar, and he was clearly hiding something. But pressuring him was like trying to wrench a Colossus from it's rock: the more you pulled, the harder it grips. Not that Uzi cared about his real reason for wanting to go, if it meant she got a free ride.
"Right, see you tomorrow then!" Uzi called out, but Thad, in his embarrassment, had already dove off the dock and swam back to the Monsoon. Uzi sighed, then walked around the harbor.
It was about three o' clock that Uzi realized her day was going to take a turn for the worse. She had bought some lunch, a soretuna sandwich with jelly, when several noble girls walked onto the pier, tittering about, some were clearly drunk, and all were clearly on the lookout for the hottest sailor they could get their painted nails on. Their leader was evident, a tall young woman with light brown skin and elaborate blonde hair framing bright pink eyes. She was dressed in a frilly pink dress that matched her eyes, and was busy making fun of the other girls while examining her nails.
Lady Lizzy Frank, daughter of Lord Admirl Frank, ruled the noble youth with an elegant fist. She spotted Uzi, and Uzi saw her.
Uh oh.
There was an unspoken rule on the docks. Uzi could not be there at the same time as this other girl, Rebecca. The main reason being that those two would always get in a fight that ended with one of them throwing the other off the dock, most often Uzi doing the throwing, and since Rebecca can't swim, the sailors and dockrats had gotten quite annoyed at having to save her.
Lizzy didn't care about this rule, as it made her day more entertaining watching those two fight. Before Her Most Noble Bitchiness could start anything, however, Uzi decided to beat them to it. She sauntered over them, with a can do attitude and a hand full of fish sandwich.
"Hey ladies. how are you all doing?" Uzi welcomed, a sweat drop rolling down her forehead. Uzi feared no man, but these twittering idiots were no men, and far crueler than anyone should have the right to be.
"Oh look, it's Uzi DARKman." One of the women, a young one with short cerulean hair and a dark green dress with light blue wave patterns and eyes so light blue they were almost white. "C'mon, aren't you supposed to be hanging out with that filthy mage? Or blowing up something on the island?"
"Uh, no." Uzi would set a record today on how long she could tolerate Rebecca's crap. The last record was a minute and a half. "Actually, I was hanging out with Thad earlier."
"yeah right," Rebecca scoffed. "As if he would hang out with you. Why would he when there are ladies like me around?" She gestured to herself as if she was all that. Lizzy took notice, however.
"Don'y you mean," her voice was sweet, but with a razor's edge. "When there are ladies like ME?" Rebecca's eyes grew wide. People who disagree'd with Lizzy often found themselves as the laughing stock of the island. Case in point is Uzi. She had gotten stone drunk once, so the other young women had decided to do a Drunken Sailor, and the noble youths had covered her with glue, stuck her feathers and fish guts, then hung her by her undergarments on the large pole in the town square. She had been humiliated, and was oft still ridiculed for the event.
You can see why Rebecca would want to avoid getting Lizzy's bad side. But she was being called out, and she knew it. So she did the one thing that would help her.
Make fun of Uzi of course.
So, after one very tense argument, a herculean effort from Uzi trying to restrain her temper, and Rebecca being thrown into the water for the second time that month, Uzi found herself in the office of the Dock master.
Dockmaster Ron was a man who had aged far faster than he should, with no small thanks to Uzi for this. He had black sclera and white pupils, a common trait from the lands he was from, wearing an official dockmaster's uniform with a metal pin on his breast. His face had worry lines and his hair was turning grey at the ripe old age of thirty two. Currently he was pacing in his office that was set up to look like a captain's quarters while Uzi squirmed in her chair.
"Uzi." He said, stopping suddenly. Uzi looked up at him. "You know your not supposed to be near the harbor when Rebecca is there, right?"
"Technically," Uzi began. "That's not one of the official rules. I can go there whene-" She was cut off when Ron slammed his fist into the desk between them.
"UZI." He didn't shout, but his voice was definitely louder than before. "Every month this happens. Every damn month. and every month, I have to explain to Count Sarnel why his daughter has been dumped into the ocean, yet again."
"In all fairness, this wouldn't be a problem if she could swim." Uzi stated, miffed slightly. Ron gave her a look.
"This wouldn't be happening at ALL if you could keep your temper under control." Ron said. "Though admittedly, her not being able to swim is a safety hazard..." He was lost in thought for a few moments, before turning back to Uzi.
"Now, as for you, I have already contacted your father via Microwyvern-" Whatever he had been about to say was lost by Uzi's shout of NOOOO. "-and in addition, your banned from the harbor for a month."
"WHAT?!?!" Uzi all but screamed. "Bu-but my shop, m-my work, I-" She quelled under the look Ron gave her.
"You have two hours to close up shop and bring in any valuables you may have. As an extra courtesy, I will not inform your father of your business."
"Oh," a loud booming voice entered the room, making both Ron and Uzi freeze. "That won't be necessary."