Gnautteekah's Tale

“I wannabe an underwater basket weaver!” Gnautteekah exclaimed as she turned and swam as quickly as her little gnermaid fins would allow, right out of the classroom, away from the palace grounds, past her parents’ coral abode and away from the underwater city of Gnoranndu. She had considered stopping by and giving her mom one last hug. But if she did that, she might lose the nerve to go and might not ever get a second opportunity to flee. Plus ever since she had come of age and was presented before the king’s court and it was declared that she was to be a fish schooler just like her mother and her mother’s mother, her mother had not only supported the court’s decision, but had argued vehemently with her about staying in line and protecting their family’s status.

However, Gnautteekah had other dreams for her life that did not include spending all day in fish schools. Yuck! No way! No how! Gnautteekah thought bitterly. Someone else could have that pleasure. She would find her own way! Actually, she had been prepping for this day now for several moons. She just needed to find the right time and gain enough courage to take the plunge into unknown waters. And when Mr. Gnimpet got a sandspur under one of his scales and jumped on her tail for the umpteenth time about just how inept she was and how she was, well, essentially a loser. Ugh! She blew a gasket! She just couldn’t take it anymore and exploded right there in front of everyone.

A searching siren sent forth a strong echolocating sound which not only reverberated in her ears but she could see rebounding off her scales back toward Gnoranndu. Holy sea snakes! They were after her already! She was nearly to her secret cave where she had stashed some valuables including a bracelet given to her by her auntie with the inscription: Be true to yourself. Be who you are. It was her auntie who had taught her the basics of underwater basket weaving. Unfortunately when her parents found out, oooooo….weeeee, she wasn’t sure if a hurricane could have been more terrifying. That had only been a couple years ago. Yet, she recalled her auntie being forced to go away. It was as if her auntie had been swept away in a riptide. Here one day, gone forever the next.

She lifted the giant mollusk shell that served as the door to the tunnel that led to her cave. She dashed inside, grabbed her silver sea spear; donned her bracelet and the sailfins she recently finished creating and had only been able to try out once; swallowed the super sonic sea star she had secretly purchased with her life’s savings and burst back out of the cave. Faster than a wahoo, she swam upwards and eventually breached the surface. “Wahoo,” she screamed as she spread her sailfins and glided for nearly a nautical mile before she reentered and then exited the sea for another gnomazing jaunt. Her pace quickened by a northerly current, she repeated this until she was sure no one would follow her. The effects of the super sonic sea star stopped functioning eventually and she succumbed to utter exhaustion. Finding some nori, she wrapped herself snuggly, for the waters here were downright frigid. And, Gnautteekah
began dreaming of nice things to come.

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A whirling spiral of water abruptly awoke Gnautteekah from her slumber, unwrapping her from the nori she had carefully concealed herself in. She ached all over from the extreme exertion of her escape from the city of Gnoranndu only yesterday. Screams of orcish delight reverberated in her pounding head. Suddenly, she realized she was exposed and in the midst of a feeding frenzy. Fortunately, none of the orcas had spotted her yet as her revealment was unintentional. They were too focused upon their quarry. A group of gnotters had apparently been herded up and the orcas were enjoying a sickening game of toss the gnotter, where one ocra would propel a gnotter way high in the sky and the gnotter would usually be caught in the massive jaws of a pod mate, crunched and swallowed.

She remembered meeting some gnotters once on a family vacation. They seemed like decent enough folks who mostly stayed to themselves. Being a cross between an otter and a gnome, they mostly maintained their otter appearance. But, they were able to walk upright, speak Underwater Gnomish and construct small settlements. Her father had mentioned to her that they enjoyed frolicking in the sea. Feasting upon sea critters or sea plants while floating on their backs, they sometimes forgot about the denizens of the deep. And, this was a prime example!

She had to think fast. Being about the size of the gnotters herself, she knew she could be next on their menu. Surfacing for a better view of her surroundings in hopes that she might be able to get out of the water, Gnautteekah watched the scene unfold in terrified fascination and shivered. A young gnotter was sent aloft with a strong thrust of an orcish tail fin. Screaming all the way, the gnotter belly flopped not two yards away from her location.

Holy sea snakes! She’d been spotted! She quickly grabbed the young lad and began a rapid descent. Splash! An orcish tail fin slapped the sea’s surface sending shock waves that suddenly stopped her progress. Stunned! Her eyes widened in fear as a gaping maw with rows of super sharp teeth propelled toward her, signaling her demise.

Hands grasped her head and desperately shook it. Shaking off the stunning blow, she told the gnotter to get onto her back and hold on. With a half dozen swishes from her tail fin, she breached the surface as an orca, realizing it wouldn’t be catching her so easily changed tactics and tried pushing her with its tail as it had the gnotter. Unfortunately for the orca, but fortunately for Gnautteekah and the gnotter, this only served to propel them faster and higher into the air. Gnautteekah spread out her arms along with the attached sailfins and soared away. Adjusting her course ever so slightly, she realized she’d make landfall with this glide and was instantly grateful for not being part of an orcish breakfast. “Wahoo,” she screamed in delightful triumph. “Wahoo,” a little voice echoed. They’d saved each other! “Wahoo,” they both grinned and cheered gleefully together.

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Gliding toward safety, Gnauttekah realized a couple of things. Firstly, she was in gnermaid form. With the way these sailfins worked, there was no way she would be able to convert to nimble gnome legs and stay aloft. The fins were attached to her arms and tail fin. Transforming in the air would destroy her aerodynamics, causing her to plunge back into the sea. Furthermore, she couldn’t feel any magic coursing through her aura. She was still drained from yesterday’s journey. In addition to swimming and flying rapidly yesterday, she had used numerous seaswirl spells to quickly dissolve her scent just to ensure no gnome was following her. Plus, she was dripping wet! Afterall, she had only just emerged from the sea a couple minutes ago. And while she was starting to harness more and more powerful magic every year, the mana needed for the transformation spell to be successful always drained her aura completely.

While the transformation spell was one of the simplest for her to learn, it was, at the same time, one of the most costliest in terms of mana in the gnerfolk arsenal. Even elders didn’t cast any spells besides simple cantrips on land or in the sea afterwards for the next day or so after putting themselves through this spell. Although arguably, it was a very useful spell, even the most powerful gnerfolk could only maintain the transformation for about one lunar cycle before needing to recast it. It was a spell that thoroughly changed one’s physical characteristics. Arm fins receded. Webbing between the fingers disappeared. Where there had once been a strong, powerful tailfin, two legs and two feet would appear. Most dramatically of all though, gills on the neck that allowed the gnerfolk to remain submerged sealed themselves up and lungs took over the process of obtaining oxygen out of the atmosphere.

Gnauttekah recalled the arduous process she underwent when first learning the transformation spell. She swam to an uninhabited island along with some classmates and her mentor. She had laid on the beach for nearly an hour to dry off before casting it. Additionally, she had needed to lay on the beach for another hour afterwards to recoup. Then, she and her classmates spent the next several days learning to crawl, walk, run and overcome land sickness! Ewwwww!

Contemplating better thoughts about the trip, hunting a pygmy boar was definitely one of the main highlights. She was elated that her spear found its mark helping to bring it down after they had tracked and cornered the boar in the tropical jungle. They roasted it on the beach and enjoyed it with some coconut, fine wild turnips and mushrooms they’d discovered and gathered. They even had an opportunity to take a dip under a full moon in a freshwater pool fed by a waterfall and taste cool, refreshing, fresh water that was so incredibly different from the salt water found in the sea. She thought that it was all, well, except for the land sickness during the first couple days, was all absolutely gnomazing!

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That journey to the tropical island had been about six full moons ago and Gnauttekah cherished the experience. She was, in fact, very thankful for it. For, she’d need to know how to survive on land for a while in order to fully escape those that might try searching for her. But, oh, how she wished she was back there now as her very life was literally hanging….Something tickled her tailfin and she couldn’t suppress a giggle. She looked down and backward, which cost her some altitude. She noticed several strands of her sail fin material dangling and, at that moment, a piece broke off began fluttering down to the surface of the sea.

Holy sea snakes! The gnotter had shredded some of the sailfin material. No wonder it appeared that the waves were getting a lot closer than she’d originally anticipated. Come to think of it, the weight of the gnotter was also another factor that was bringing them down faster. Would they make landfall afterall? She thought about it while trying to calculate their trajectory. Yeah, probably. Probably!?

Another more depressing thought came crashing into her mind...How were they going to land? Diving into the forgiving water and swimming out on the sandy beach would be ideal, if not for the orca that swam persistently under them tracking their movement in the sky. She recalled how hard the land was when she had walked upon it. Perhaps, she should collide into the cliff surrounding the beach and then fall? Ouch! That prospect didn’t sit well with her. Plus, she wasn’t sure they had enough altitude to make it that far. A crash and tumble further up on the beach? A collision with one of the gnotter teepees? Oh! But, those sticks looked mighty sharp. She wanted to cry. This was going to hurt!

“Stupid orca,” Gnauttekah screeched. “Go back to your pod!” “Leave us alone!” She watched the orca jump a wave and dive downwards submerging deeper into the sea. “Oh no!” she thought. She had used this maneuver herself and knew it was prepping for a leap into the sky. She continued straight for the time it took to swish a tailfin twice and then banked hard left. She knew certain animals could gain quite a height into the air after breaching the surface. While she wasn’t that familiar with orcas, she was a lot closer to the sea than she liked and didn’t want to take a chance. She hoped the orca would come up approximately where they would have been if they’d continued their original direction. Sure enough, the orca sailed out of the sea right where she thought it would and did a flip that would have knocked them out of the sky. Thanks to her knowledge, experience and foresight they’d managed to stay alive again!

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Gnauttekah banked toward the shore once more. Only a couple hundred more yards to go, she thought. It was a good thing too for she was getting tired. While technically out of the water because she was gliding over it, the extra weight from the gnotter on her back, the rips no in her sailfins, and the banking had cost them much needed altitude. She was well within biting range of the orcas now and she had to decide upon what her next course of action might be.

As she watched the orca that had tried to get her reenter the sea, the opportunity for her to make that decision was taken from her. Another orca appeared below her. Swimming rapidly, it outpaced her glide and jumped out of the sea in front of her with its mouth wide open. She had no desire to feel those extra sharp teeth. She brought in her arms which caused her to begin a rapid descent towards the sea. But, there was no way to avoid a collision. She firmly grabbed her spear and pushed it out in front of her as far as possible and prayed for a miracle.

She got to see the spear pierce the orca’s tongue and roof of its mouth. As the orca cried out in pain, so did she because the claws of the gnotter scratched her badly as it tried to hang on. With her momentum, Gnauttekah swung herself around and over the orca’s mouth and let go of her spear. She collided with the orca’s side and tried to grab its dorsal fin but missed. She slipped completely into the water as the orca also came back down into the sea. Fortunately, this orca was in too much pain to contemplate further action against her because her spear had driven itself deep into the roof of the orca’s mouth when it snapped its mouth shut.

The sea around her was turning a bit red which she knew was not good, not good at all. She contemplated slashing the orca’s side or belly with her knife but it began wildly thrashing in the sea trying to dislodge her spear. Having no other option available and wanting to get away from the beast before it accidentally pummeled her, she dove.

She didn’t get far before seeing the other orca closing in. She knew she wouldn’t make the seafloor or a cave she saw a little further towards the shore. So, Gnauttekah stopped swimming and spun herself around to face the approaching orca and grabbed her two sea stars from her hip. Speaking the incantation, they started spinning rapidly, vividly turning the water around themselves. She launched them separately and at slightly different angles toward the orca. As they raced off to inflict damage, she resumed swimming downwards.

The orca stopped its pursuit as it tried to dodge the sea stars. One connected and put a nice slash in a flipper while the other barely missed putting a nice gash in its belly. The tactic provided sufficient time for Gnauttekah to reach the safety of the underwater cave. She pivoted and saw a few orcas coming to investigate not only her but their injured podmates. She was uncertain of her next move. But for now, she was out of immediate danger. And, that was gnomazing!

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But, was she truly safe? She counted a half dozen orcas speeding towards her. Additionally, the one she’d injured with the sea star would be prodding its maw into this little shelter in just a few more tail strokes! Holy sea snakes! It was as if they were unnaturally possessed by some unforeseen force or spell. Or perhaps, she just hadn’t inflicted enough damage upon them for them to be satisfied that she wasn’t going to be an easy meal. She wasn’t sure which.

At that moment, the gnotter began squirming on her back and let go. Oh, my gosh, Gnauttekah thought. She’d temporarily forgotten about her traveling companion even though it was the reason she was in additional pain and leaving a bloody trail for the orcas to easily follow. While she could easily breathe underwater, the gnotter couldn’t. And, it needed air. Yet instead of swimming up and out, Gnauttekah noted that it swam a little further back into the cave where there was a small cavern-like formation about four feet wide and a couple feet high. The gnotter, obviously knowing this spot from swimming down here and exploring it before encountering her, even hoisted itself up onto a little rocky ledge.

Startled by a not too gentle touch on her back, Gnauttekah looked around. She’d allowed herself to be distracted by the gnotter and hadn’t swam back into the cave herself. Did she want to be an orcish delicacy, she thought as the beast tried to get at her. Fortunately, it didn’t have a sticky tongue like the lizards she’d seen on that tropical shore feasting on insects and it couldn’t pull her out. But, it could potentially collapse the entrance to this small sanctuary and trap them inside.

Woosh. Gnauttekah was pushed backwards by a wall of water. Then, the water, hitting the end of the cave, began pushing her back out. The wave inside the cave also knocked the gnotter off its perch. As the gnotter swam desperately back to the ledge, she grabbed the rocky surface above her and clung on desperately. While using her tail fin to propel her against the outgoing waves, she was scraped and slammed a couple times up against the mussel lined ceiling. Holy sea snakes! It was really determined! And, soon there’d be several more to help with this attack. Dang! If something didn’t happen soon to change the tide of this battle…

Through the surge of the outgoing waves, she saw and then felt the light sting of a jellyfish that had apparently been trapped in here. While she had a natural resistance to the stings, a lone gnermaid could lose her life in a large school of them. Inspiration and desperation worked together in her mind and she began to sing as loudly as possible a song and simple cantrip she remembered learning during fish schooling:

“Come to me and you will feed. Contented you will be in your ocean bliss. Come to me. Hurry please. Form a wall. Sting them all. Come to me and you will feed. They will meet your every need. Come to me. Hurry please. Come to me.”

As the other orcas arrived to help its podmate out with its attack, she could see a small gathering of jellyfish. It was working. It was working! Elated, she kept singing while thinking perhaps schooling fish hadn’t been so useless after all…

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Gnomazingly, the jellyfish were responding quickly to Gnauttekah’s spell, arriving magically as though an extremely favorable tide was bringing them to her. As long as she could keep singing, the entire bay would soon be full of these stinging critters and even the orcas wouldn’t be keen to that inevitability. The big question was whether or not she could she could hold on against the surging water. She had already banged her head and could tell the gnotter had been injured as well by being scraped along the rocks as the water was getting redder.

Woosh. Woosh. Woosh. The surges of water into the little tunnel and cave were overwhelming her strength and stamina. Woosh. Woosh. Woosh. Another series of surges was just too much. She lost her grip and was pushed uncontrollably to the back wall of the cave. Her body slammed against the rocks and the wind was knocked from her lungs. She gasped and noticed the gnotter was unconscious. It was a miracle it was still in the cave and hadn’t been swept out into the sea yet. Another attack like that and she might be unconscious too. The Jellyfish were gathering and undoubtedly stinging the orcas. But apparently, it just wasn’t enough, fast enough, to keep her and the gnotter from utter catastrophe.

A shimmering sparkle on the cave’s wall near the seafloor attracted her attention. Investigating quickly revealed a small treasure trove. She figured that the surging water had loosened the small rocks concealing pieces of a rotted bag that now drifted upwards in the current, several loose, rusted coins and a couple of items she recognized instantly. The one that stood out as the most useful was a beautiful turquoise ring with splashes of white that looked like moving waves. While the coins were tarnished and had obviously been there for many ages, the ring was unblemished. She reached out and it magically resized itself to fit her finger. Slipping it on, she could feel power stored within it.

Woosh. Woosh. Woosh. Three more major surges into the tiny cave pushed her first back and then forward. As she had been somewhat distracted by the find, her face met the cave wall, her nose crunch and she bit her cheek hard. Her right hand and forearm were shoved against the jagged stones and a nice laceration added to the discoloration of the water. Time to turn the tide, she thought angrily. And, the ring glowed in anticipation.

When she got to the tunnel entrance, a second group of orcas was in formation swimming directly at her. Abundant jellyfish filled the bay now. Unfortunately, they weren’t plentiful enough to cause significant damage yet to deter the orcas. Not knowing how much power the ring had, she directed it to create an icy, spiked barricade and thick icy wall around the tunnel and the tunnel’s entrance. She got the satisfaction of seeing one of the orcas critically impale itself before the ice became too thick to see through. She retreated back into the cave as the ring dimmed, thanking the gods for their gnomazing generosity!

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One problem solved. Yet, more had arisen that were just as pressing. Gnauttekah swam back into the cave thankful for the little bit of dim light that her newly acquired ring was providing. The turbulent waves were calming down and had receded sufficiently to provide a little ledge about an inch out of the water to prop the gnotter. Long enough too she noted, as she pushed the creature up on the ledge. Although its tail did droop into the water slightly, she was happy to see it was still alive, battered and bruised though it may be for it had been tossed about in the cave like a little rag doll.

Speaking about being battered and bruised, she too had received her fair share of injuries. As a matter of fact, the back of her hand and upper part of her arm were bleeding quite significantly from where they’d been cut after being pushed into the sharp mussels lining the rocks of the cave wall. Fortunately, after feeling her nose, she could tell it wasn’t broken. Bloody, but not broken. That was a good thing at least.

Quickly stemming the flow from that, she turned her attention to her arm. Oh, how it hurt! There wasn’t any seaweed in this cave to wrap it with. It was at that moment that she recalled the other object from the small treasure trove that she had discovered hidden in the cavern. Perhaps, she should investigate that a little further. Afterall, any insight to her situation here wouldn’t hurt.

She swam down and found that some of the contents of the crevice had been scattered about on the cave’s floor due to the surges of water that had been forced into the cave. That’s where she found the gnermaid earring. A beautiful piece of artwork and jewelry that had been designed out of an abalone shell. The pointed tip fit over about a third of her ear. It was a little big at first. But, like the ring, magically resized itself to the wearer. A small clap pierced her ear to help hold it on regardless of how one was oriented, which, of course, was very nice for swimming. With the amount of pain she was in, the piercings, for there were three more that held dangling chains with oceanic charms, a seahorse, an octopus, and a dolphin, barely registered with her senses. She shook her head and laughed at the irony of dolphins actually helping her. Even though it hurt to laugh, gnomazingly, it made her feel a bit better.

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A gnermaid earring was one of the last things a very powerful gnermaid, who had lived a long, lovely life could create, if so desired, before moving on to existence in the plane of eternal waters. Essentially, she would breathe her living essence into the finely crafted, magical device imbuing it with a bit of power from her three favorite sea creatures. She would then give this tremendous, treasured trinket to someone or hide it in one of their favorite locations for an unsuspecting adventurer to luckily locate. Afterwards, it was said that the gnermaid would swim peacefully out to sea where Gnaphrodite herself, the goddess of the sea, passion and romance, would appear and gently transfer the gnermaid’s soul to the plane of eternal waters, while the gnermaid’s body would mystically dissolve becoming one with the sea forevermore.

For a land lover, a gnermaid earring could help one acquire some traits of a gnermaid such as water breathing and better swimming. Furthermore, the charms magically infused with the earring would provide additional attributes. For example, a dolphin increases one’s swimming speed slightly and allows basic communication with the mammals of the sea. A seahorse would enable the wearer to cast a camouflage spell upon themselves once a day without spending any mana. It also would enable basic communication with fish. Lastly, an octopus would not only allow basic communication with invertebrates of the sea, but also enable the wearer to traverse through extremely tight things that normal vertebrates could not traverse through.

For Gnauttekah, being as she was a gnermaid, this valuable heirloom would allow her to effortlessly cast a transformation spell into a regular gnome and maintain that form even when fully submerged. As this particular earring had a seahorse, not only could she cast the camouflage spell, she could also gain assistance in transforming into one of the many other gnomish races that inhabited Gnomomia after she became familiar with that race for at least twelve lunar cycles. With the dolphin charm, she could now swim just as fast as the orcas, which, of course, would have been extremely nice not too long ago, Gnauttekah thought bitterly trying not to wince at the pain they inflicted as she stared at her still bleeding arm in the red water of the cavern.

Additionally, as a gnermaid earring attuned itself to its first and last bearer, if that bearer was a gnermaid or gnerman, she or he could gain insight into the creator of this ultimate, enchanted earpiece. Thus, Gnauttekah’s mind with filled with peaceful thoughts as it fused with her being and Gnauttekah began to learn about a gnomazingly gentle, generous and gorgeous gnermaid named Gnamantha……..

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“Hello friend,” the message relayed inside Gnauttekah’s mind. “I believe that I can call you friend anyway. For, my spell of concealment woundn’t have triggered to reveal this treasure if your heart wasn’t similar to my own in respect and concern for the creatures of the sea and good gnomish races of Gnomomia. Of course, there are other ways to open magically triggered things. But, a gnermaid can always be hopeful. Yes?

My name was Gnamanta. I imagine that I looked very similar to you. But alas, I digress. Appearances are only skin deep. It is what is on the inside that counts. Yes? A matter of the heart, some others might say. I always tried to align my personal philosophy for daily living and interaction with others similar in manner to that of the tides which flow in and out or to and fro. I felt that if I was nice to others then they would usually respond to me in similar fashion.

I hope that this treasure finds you well. Yet, I am well aware of the evil forces that continually strive to find purchase in the bay as well. Afterall, it is a very nice location. It was one of my favorites. I often found myself battling or sometimes even helping the gnotters to battle various minions to keep this bay wholesome and pure. But, I wasn’t the best warrior by far and injuries were the norm. In a couple other crevices in this cave, you should be able to find some salves I applied to myself to help treat various wounds. If they’re still there, that is. For, they weren’t as well concealed as this was. I hid other treasures in the sea too. Perhaps, one day you’ll come across another one as well. But, none will ever, at least in my opinion, compare to this.

You take care, my friend. Protect this bay. Protect the gnotters. Hide some treasures for future generations. Have fun. Enjoy life. Stay good and true. And, may the gods show great favor upon you and aid you in your quests. Perhaps then, after you have lived a full and meaningful life, we shall meet in the plane of eternal waters where we could exchange tales of valor and adventure. Fare Thee Well, my friend! And, have a Gnomazing Day!”

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Shaking her head and smiling despite the pain, Gnauttekah came out of the brief trance induced by the fusion of the magical device into the core of her being. She could only hope that she would truly be worthy of this gnomazing gift and discovery. Wow. Gnamantha was gnomazing! No ifs, ands, or buts about it. She had lived a rich life, Gnauttekah thought. She would be able to access a few other brief memories that Gnamatha had left ingrained in the earring at a later date. But for now, Gnauttekah’s mind suddenly became filled with the need for pain relief and Gnamantha’s message that there were some other treasures hidden in alcoves in this cave, specifically, those related to healing. Hopefully, the gnottes hadn’t discovered them, or at least all of them yet.

She was very thankful for the soft blue bioluminescence that the dinoflagellates were producing due to being so disturbed by the waves, which enabled her to see much more than just simple cavern contours. She wished her ring still emitted some light. The radiant blueish-white glow it had emitted when she activated it to cast her spell would be really helpful right now. But then, she thought and remembered one of the sayings from fish school…”Friendly fins swim together.” Where there was one type of creature emitting bioluminescence, there were bound to be others. Sure enough. Without looking too hard, she found an enormous Clusterwink Snail about the size of her fist. When she grabbed it and plucked it off of its perch, it retreated into its shell and began flashing a bright neon, emerald green. To calm it and gain its cooperation, Gnauttekah sang a quick encantation and gently stroked its foot. At once, the flashing stopped, replaced now by a steady emerald green glow.

She wished she could consult with her young traveling companion. Unfortunately, the gnotter was still unconscious. With the snail clutched firmly in her left palm, Gnauttekah began to search in earnest for other hidden treasures. Looking in every nook and cranny, she finally came upon a couple bottles. After pulling them out, she discovered that they were empty! Holy sea snakes, Gnauttekah thought! Of course they would have found the obvious ones, the ones just stuffed in a simple crevice. Uggggh! And, duhh! She would have to be smarter and more intentional than the gnotters that had been exploring this cave for gods knew how long.

Searching more carefully along the seafloor and the walls of the cavern, she recalled a saying from ancient gnermaid lore she had learned that hadn’t made much sense at time. Yet now, it was extremely poignant: “To discover what it is that you seek, you must first intentionally and carefully look high and low for it. One usually cannot find something worthwhile with just a glance.”

She did find one of Gnamantha’s hiding places opposite the wall where she’d found the ring and earring. Using her knife, she pried the muscles free that sealed the rocks together and pulled the loose rock out. Another empty vial was all she got for her efforts though. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream! So she did. Aaaaaggggghhhh! Through her agitation, she squeezed the snail in her palm and it began blinking again. Double Aaaagggghhhh! Gnauttekah thought. She was beyond frustrated. She wanted to smash the vial under some rocks. Or better yet, throw it up against the cave’s ceiling and watch it shatter into a million pieces.

At that final thought, she was again reminded of the ancient gnermaid saying and contemplated it more carefully. She had thought that “high and low” was only meant to be figurative, as in a careful and detailed search. But perhaps, it could also be literal. She surfaced. Swimming on her back, she calmed down a bit and got the snail’s cooperation once again. There! She saw what could be a loose rock in the ceiling. The waves had helped to move it a bit and gave Gnauttekah a better view. Setting the snail on her stomach so she would have both hands free, she wiggled and wiggled a few rocks out of their positions and let them sink to the cavern’s floor. She reached up into the opening and pulled out three jars. Two of them were properly sealed with salve. The third’s contents were a rotted mess, no longer of any use. She also found the rotted remnants of a dry cast. Unfortunately, it too was of no use to her now.

Dry casts were needed under the sea or the healing agent would just wash right off. She remembered one of her friends having to wear a dry cast for several moons after breaking her arm. Gnauttekah didn’t remember the details of why that had happened. But, she did remember using a purple coral pen to sign her name on her friend’s dry cast. She also remembered her friend saying that it often felt as if plankton were swimming up and down her arm continuously and how relieved she was to finally have it removed. That always made Gnauttekah squirm and she hoped she would never have to wear one. But now that she needed one, it, of course, wasn’t available.

She wouldn’t be able to use the ledge herself because the gnotter was laying on it so there wasn’t much room left. She looked around for seaweeds to help keep the poultice on her arm but was only able to find a few leaves. “Well,” she said aloud to herself. “These will have to do!” Using a bit of the ledge by the gnotter’s head, she placed the snail, leaves and one of the jars of healing salve. The other she placed back up in its hiding place but didn’t replace the rocks that hid it at this time for she had more pressing concerns, namely her aching body and bleeding hand and arm.

She struggled to get the jar open. Years of sitting in a moist saltwater environment had corroded the metal pieces sealing the jar. With as much care as possible for she didn’t want to lose any of the precious ointment, she broke the jar open and removed a couple pieces of glass that fell inside. She restrained herself from just dumping the contents on her hand, arm and other places that had been injured. She felt immediate relief after gently applying it to areas above the water like her hand, arm and face. She even put a bit on the inside of her cheek inside her mouth. Wow! Was it ever nasty tasting! Bleh.

Taking her knife in one hand, she gathered her hair across her shoulder in the other and proceeded to cut it off so the strands would be as long as possible. At this moment in time, she was glad that she chose to keep long hair. Unlike some of the other girls who were now wearing it shorter than shoulder length, her beautiful golden hair cascaded down to the midst of her back. Granted, she was sad to cut it off at the base of her skull. But eventually, it would grow back. Furthermore, she would recall this episode in her life as the reason to forevermore keep her hair nice and long. She didn’t want to look at it in a mirror right now either for this was definitely not a professional cut. Come to think about it, her entire face probably didn’t look too appealing if it was as similar as the rest of her body, badly battered, bruised and bleeding in various places.

She also cut off what was left of her sail fins and proceeded to create a few bandages.
They had served her well for their intended purpose, she thought. And now, they’d help her in another way too. She also created a long tether that she tucked under the gnotter and wrapped it around his body. With the tether, she created two loops. One was tied around the gnotter and the other was a small loop for which she could slip in her arm and keep it up on the ledge where it would remain relatively dry while she slept in the sea. She braided her cut off hair and used it to tie on some bandages to herself as well as the gnotter. Thinking this was as best as she could do for now, she slipped her arm in the loop of the tether and let herself drift into the dream world.

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To be continued...