Style Quest: Kelp Weaving

Varick walked out of the portal to find himself several yards above a vast ocean. This place was not where the mahogany Clydesdale had intended to go, but the portal snapped shut behind him. As he fell, Varick activated the magic in his leg armor to grant himself the ability to walk on water without a moment to spare, as the blonde horse couldn’t swim well at all. This ocean seemed to stretch on in all directions endlessly.

 

“Well, this is fun,” Varick sighed aloud as he looked around. A giant strand of kelp floated to the surface as the horse considered what to do next. It floated off to join a large swath of the plants that had amassed on the water’s surface. Varick eyed the plant curiously as he water walked over to the large swath of kelp. A bunch of spiky creatures suddenly surfaced around the kelp. They looked like sea urchins with large eyes.

 

“Are you here to help with those,” a voice behind Varick asked, startling the tailor. He turned to see a large grey seal-like creature poking out of the water. “There are new strangers all over the planet helping us fight those nasty urchins. My name is Sandra.”

 

“Hi, I’m Varick,” the tailor introduced himself, still slightly confused. “So those things need to be taken care of? I only came here by accident, but I think I can help if you need it.” Varick was already formulating a plan to deal with these urchin things. The kelp looked like a skilled hand could weave it into a net.

 

“Can you breathe underwater or have some sort of way to survive under the waves,” Sundra asked after she made a happy little noise. Needles flew from Varick’s hands, striking each of the urchins above water. Each of the creatures ignited in an inferno of blue and purple flames. Once the fire died, each of the urchins was scorched almost beyond recognition.

 

“No, but if you can bring them to me, I can keep setting them ablaze till they no longer pose a threat,” Varick suggested as he stepped over the large patch of dead kelp. Fire magic would dry these strands out after he wove them together to make a strong net.

 

“I can chase them a few at a time, but it’d take days to chase them all to the surface,” the grey seal creature pouted as she nosed one of the crispy urchins. The fried creature dissolved to ash at the slight touch from Sundra.

 

“What if we made a net of sorts from this kelp,” Varick asked as he finally revealed his plan. “We can work together to weave it. Then you can use it to gather them up underwater. Once the net is full, bring them back to me, and I’ll fry them.”

 

“Could you not fry one so intensely so I could snack on it,” Sundra requested after making a happy noise.

 

 Varick agreed to these terms and began construction on the kelp net. Progress was slow as his new seal-shaped friend lacked thumbs, but she enthusiastically made up for it with energy. Carefully the duo weaved the slimy rotting kelp into a massive lightweight net to capture the invasive urchins. Once construction was complete, the horse stepped back and had Sundra swim out a safe distance. Varick ignited the wet sea plant capture device with both out of the way. Blue and purple flames glowed on the ocean’s surface for a few minutes before disappearing. All the flame heat evaporated all the liquid out of the kelp and left what was essentially a wicker basket of a net.

 

Sundra dived deep with the basket net in her teeth. The holes in the net allowed water to flow through it easily but trapped the urchins. Having the time of her life round grey sea creature made a game of trying to gather as many at once as she could. When the net was full, Sundra brought it back to the surface and tipped it over, spilling out all the trapped urchins inside. Varick quickly hit the creatures as fast as he could with enchanted needles that fried them to ash. This cycle repeated several times over hours.

 

“Won’t all your little sharp metal things make it dangerous to swim around here,” Sundra inquired after one catch-and-burn cycle. Varick had been using many needles, and they fell in the water after the urchin they hit burnt up.

 

“Don’t worry, they won’t get caught in anyone’s skin or gills,” the blonde Clydesdale answered as he brushed the fur on the side of his wrist to the side to reveal a leather bracer with a large magnet on the bottom side. “When you dive back down, I use magic to enhance these magnets and bring the projectiles back to me. I’ve been keeping careful count and aren’t missing any.”

 

“Yay! I was worried we’d do more harm than helping,” the round seal-like creature cheered before diving back down with her net. This time Sundra came back up with only half full capture. “I think we got all the ones here!” Starting to feel sore, it took Varick a little extra time to incinerate all but one of the invasive urchins.

 

“You want to eat one of these things,” the horse tailor inquired as he watched the needle-laden creature float on the surface. Nothing about this large-eyed urchin looked in the least bit appetizing.

 

“Just a little nibble,” Sundra insisted as she licked her lips. “I want to know what it tastes like.” With a shrug, Varick hits the last urchin with a needle that only sets the sea menace partially ablaze. After the flames subsided, the Clydesdale water walked over to it and brushed off the needles that easily fell off, thanks to it now being a little crispy. Varick tossed the questionable snack to Sundra, who caught it in the air. The seal creature munched on the former menace happily.

 

“Well, now I need to figure out how I’m going to get home,” Varick sighed as he looked at the water, stretching out endlessly in all directions.

 

“You could just stay, and we can play some more,” Sundra suggested between bites.