desire

A salty sea breeze, carrying the smells of the fish market and rotting seaweed, swept across the winding wharf of Bilgewater. Everett wiped the sweat from his brow with the rough back of his hand. He had been a sailor on the "Sea Serpent" since he was fifteen, and had seven years of seafaring experience. At this moment, he watched as the arrogant timber merchant Morritt and Captain Jolvey fiercely bargained on the dock.

“This batch of cedar wood isn’t dense enough,” Morritt scoffed, tapping the wood with his ring-encrusted fingers. “I’ll give you two-thirds of the original price at most.”

Captain Joelvi argued, “Sir, this timber was carefully selected in Ionia and transported here through stormy seas. My crew and I almost lost our lives because of it.”

Morritt waved his hand dismissively: "Every captain says that. Either accept it, or get out of Bilgewater with your rotten wood."

Everett gritted his teeth. The low price meant the crew's share would be meager, and the income from more than four months at sea would be disproportionate to the return.

"You're feeling dissatisfied and complaining; it seems you need some 'help'."

A deep, dark voice came from beside him. Everett turned and saw a huge figure emerge from the shadows of the pile of goods. The creature was unsettlingly large, draped in fine clothing, with skin as slippery as an amphibian, and a cunning smile on its lips.

"Who are you?" Everett asked warily, his hand unconsciously reaching for the dagger at his waist.

“A person who can give you what you want,” the creature bowed slightly, its movements surprisingly graceful, “Tam Kench, at your service. I hear the desires in your heart.”

Everett wanted to tell the strange creature to leave, but he swallowed the words back. Young and hot-blooded, he was filled with resentment and anger.

"What can you give me?" he asked, as if possessed.

Tam's smile widened. "It depends on what you want, and... what you're willing to pay." He stuck out his tongue and licked his lips. "A small price for a big reward."

Everett looked around and was surprised to find that people were coming and going on the dock, but no one seemed to notice the presence of this huge monster.

“I want the captain to negotiate a good price,” Everett blurted out, “so that we crew members can get a bigger share.”

Tamm's laughter was like the sound of bubbles bursting in deep water: "Simple! The price..." Tamm's small eyes narrowed into slits, "...just that dagger at your waist."

Everett paused, then touched the dagger at his waist. It was an ordinary sailor's dagger, rusty on the blade and blackened by sweat. It wasn't worth much, but it had been with him for years.

"that's all?"

"First transaction, special price." Tam's smile was meaningful.

Everett hesitated, but ultimately unsheathed his dagger and handed it over. "The deal is done!"

Tam cheered, his enormous hand producing a yellowed parchment and a pen from who-knows-where. Before Everett could even read the terms carefully, he signed his name on a whim.

When he looked up, Tamm had vanished, as if he had never been there.

Just then, a commotion arose on the dock. A messenger rushed to Morritt's side and whispered something in his ear. The merchant's face immediately changed, and he nervously glanced at the dock entrance, where several other timber merchants were peering out.

“Captain Jolvey,” Morritt suddenly changed his expression, lowering his voice, “I just received word that an ‘old friend’ needs high-quality timber to repair his fleet. Your shipment perfectly fits the bill…”

“We’ve known each other for so many years. Instead of wasting time negotiating with other merchants—look over there, Marcos and Bell have already noticed what’s going on here—let’s close the deal now. I’m willing to pay the full price, plus an emergency procurement fee!” He looked around and continued, “Take it easy and don’t forget that you’re not the only timber merchant ship at the dock.”

The captain looked at Morritt in surprise, then glanced at the other merchants indeed watching at the dock entrance, and quickly made a decision. He took the money bag, turned to his crew, and shouted, "Men, good news! Mr. Morritt is willing to pay the full price plus another ten percent! Tonight, each of you will get eight extra silver coins!"

The crew cheered, and Everett felt a surge of satisfaction. But when he instinctively reached for his waist, he found the dagger was indeed gone, leaving only a lingering unease in his heart.

More than four months later, Everett returned to Bilgewater by ship. During this voyage, he accidentally broke his arm when caught in a cable, and would likely need several months of recovery, meaning no income.

"It seems misfortune has befallen you, my dear friend."

Everett looked up abruptly and saw Tam Kench standing beside him, looking at the timber being unloaded on the dock.

“It’s you,” Everett swallowed hard. “The last deal—”

“Perfectly executed, isn’t it?” Tam interrupted him. “But I know you need more now. Money for treatment? Income during your recovery period?”

Everett really needed the money. He thought of his fiancée, Lena, waiting for him in Lungmen; how would they get married if they had no income for months?

“I want some money,” Everett said resolutely, “enough for my household expenses while I recover from my injury.”

“A wise choice!” Tam clapped his hands, making a wet, sticky sound. “The price…” Tam’s eyes gleamed with an eerie light. “You must untie the mooring lines of the two small boats on the west side of the dock tonight.”

Everett was shocked. "That would cause the ship to drift away! The owner would suffer huge losses!"

Tam shrugged. "Just a minor inconvenience. The Bilgewaters always lose ships. Or you can choose to remain poor and keep your Lina waiting even longer..."

The thought of his fiancée's expectant eyes clenched Everett's heart. Finally, he nodded. That night, he secretly untied the ropes of the two small boats, listening to their gentle lapping as they drifted away, his guilt overwhelmed by the satisfaction of his need.

In return, he found a lost money bag at the dock, which was just enough for his household expenses for a whole year.

By the third transaction, Everett no longer hesitated. He proactively sought out Tam in a tavern in Bilgewater.

“I need good luck,” Everett said to Tam, who had suddenly appeared beside him. “The captain said the next voyage might be the last time he hires me, saying that I’m young but always getting into trouble.”

Tam looked at him admiringly: “You’ve grown up fast! This time the price is a little special—you have to get your friend drunk, Bran.”

Everett's heart skipped a beat. It was old sailor Bran, his friend who had been on the same ship with him for many years.

“What will happen?” he asked.

“My dear friend,” Tam said softly, “you are saying goodbye to past friendships, aren’t you? Loyalty is the shackles of the weak.”

Everett hesitated for a long time, but finally did as he was told. In return, the captain unexpectedly decided to give him another chance and did not fire him. Bran, on the other hand, was fired by the captain for causing a fire while drunk, knocking over an oil lamp. Although he was discovered in time and a major disaster was averted, he was still dismissed.

The seventh deal occurred three years later. Everett had become accustomed to turning to Tam when he was in trouble, and he found himself increasingly reliant on this "deal."

“I want to be a partner,” Everett said to Tam in the shadows of the dock. He had saved up a lot of gold coins over the past three years through “trading” and his salary. “Captain Jolvey said he wanted to find a partner to share the risks so he could reduce the number of times he went to sea.”

"Ah, finally a truly ambitious demand has been made!" Tam said gleefully. "The price this time is: you must tell Jolvey that you saw First Mate Brent stealing cargo."

Everett froze: "But that's a lie! Brent is the most honest man!"

Tam shrugged. "Then just stay a regular sailor. Think about the partner's share—it'll be five times what you're making now. You can get married sooner and give your Lina a good life."

Everett didn't sleep a wink all night, but at dawn, he lied to Jolvey. First mate Brent was ruthlessly dismissed, and Everett became the captain's partner as he had hoped. But whenever he saw the trusting look in Jolvey's eyes, he always felt that old Brent's disappointed eyes were watching him from behind.

By the eighth transaction, Everett had become unrecognizable. His eyes were filled with ambition and greed, and he even began to covet ownership of the entire ship.

It was a stormy night when Everett found Tam in a corner of the Bloodharbor tavern. The River King was leisurely savoring a plate of oysters, seemingly quite pleased with the delicious taste of the human souls he had lured into corruption.

“Ah, my dear friend,” Tam looked up, a fragment of seashell still clinging to the corner of his mouth, “I sense a greater desire brewing within you.”

Everett took a deep breath, rain dripping from his coat onto the floor. “I want the ‘Sea Serpent’,” he whispered, his voice almost drowned out by the tavern’s noise, “the whole ship. Jolvey is too old; it’s time for him to retire completely.”

Tam's grin stretched almost to his ears: "The desires of the supreme! But the price is correspondingly high." He leaned forward, his voice low and seductive, "Jolvey won't sell his beloved ship willingly; you must... make sure he has no choice but to sell."

Everett felt a chill run down his spine: "What do you mean?"

“An accident,” Tam said casually. “Sailing is always dangerous. A misjudgment, a wrong instruction…you know. When he can no longer sail, you can buy the ship for a low price.”

“You want me to murder the captain?” Everett’s voice trembled. “That’s too much! Jolvey has treated me well! I…I…!”

Tam's smile vanished, replaced by an expression of near pity: "My dear friend, look at yourself. You've come so far, and you're going to back down at the last minute? Think about what it means to own your own ship—"

Everett was torn. He remembered the afternoon Jolvey taught him navigation, and the captain's heartfelt congratulations when he became a partner. But he also remembered Lena's expectant eyes and the promise he had made.

“I…I can’t,” Everett finally said, standing up to leave.

“Think of your Lina,” Tam’s voice slithered into his ears like a snake, “she deserves a better life, doesn’t she? With her own boat, you can buy a house in Lungmen, and then have a few more kids…”

Everett froze on the spot. He slowly sat back down in his chair, his hands trembling.

"How do we do it?" he finally asked, his voice barely audible.

Tam's smile returned: "Next time a storm comes, just 'forget' to remind Jolvey that the ropes are worn when he checks the foremast. A small oversight, that's all. He won't die, just... he'll never be able to sail again."

Everett didn't sleep a wink all night, his mind filled with alternating images of Jolvey's kind face and Lena's expectant eyes. When the storm finally arrived, he stood on the swaying deck, watching Jolvey walk toward the foremast, the words of warning stuck in his throat, unable to be uttered.

The sound of the cable snapping was like a gunshot, and the look of shock in Jolvey's eyes before he was thrown out would be forever etched in Everett's memory.

Although Jolvey survived, he lost both legs and could no longer sail. Everett bought the Sea Serpent at a "friendly price" and became its new owner.

But young Everett soon discovered that while he was skilled at sea, he had absolutely no business acumen. He was unfamiliar with market conditions, didn't know how to deal with cunning Bilgewater merchants, and had no connections. A series of bad deals left him heavily in debt.

On a foggy morning, disaster struck. Due to Everett's misjudgment, the Sea Serpent ran aground and sank near Bilgewater. Although the crew survived, Everett lost everything—his ship, his cargo, and all his investments.

Now, he sits alone in the darkest corner of the Blood Harbor tavern, with only a glass of cheap rum in front of him. At twenty-seven, he has nothing left and is heavily in debt.

"It seems you need some special help, my dear friend."

Tam Kench was already sitting opposite me, his massive frame casting an ominous shadow in the dim light.

Everett looked up, his eyes bloodshot. "I have nothing left, Tam. The ship is gone, the money is gone, I don't even have the money to get home."

Tam feigned sympathy, but a greedy glint gleamed in his eyes: "There's always a way, my dear friend. Perhaps... you need something special to turn things around?"

Just then, a fight broke out in the tavern. Two groups of locals were fighting over gambling debts, overturning tables and chairs, and shattering glasses. In the chaos, a burly man with tattoos on his face suddenly stretched out his hands, his palms bursting with blazing flames, forcing his opponents back. A skinny guy from the other group chanted a spell, causing shards of broken glass on the ground to float up and shoot at the other side like arrows.

Everett stared in disbelief. He had never witnessed the power of magic so closely before, and its extraordinary abilities made his heart race.

"Magic..." he murmured to himself, a burning desire igniting in his eyes, "If only I had that power..."

Tam's eyes lit up. "Ah, magic! That's certainly an interesting idea." He began rummaging in the pockets of his ornate coat, muttering, "Let me see... Ah, here it is! This is a little bet I won from an old friend—it's utterly useless to us aquatic creatures."

The River King took out an object emitting a soft glow from his pocket. It was a small crystal, with what seemed to be some kind of vein flowing inside, radiating a strange and alluring energy.

“Look at this, a natural magical affinity.” Tam’s voice became seductive. “It can grant you spellcasting abilities, but the price you’ll have to pay is a bit high. Are you sure you want it?”

Driven by alcohol and despair, Everett stared greedily at the glowing crystal and said urgently, "I want it, no matter the cost!"

Tam's smile deepened and became dangerous: "Are you sure? My dear friend, this is no small price to pay."

“Give it to me!” Everett almost roared as he reached for the glowing crystal.

Just as his fingers were about to touch the crystal, Tam Kench suddenly opened his enormous mouth, which expanded to an unbelievable size. The last thing Everett saw was rows of sharp teeth and bottomless darkness.

Then, there was only darkness.

Tam licked his lips with satisfaction, opened his palm, looked at the magic crystal, and felt the man he had just devoured inside him. Suddenly, he let out a low laugh.

“What a bargain,” the River King muttered to himself. “Trading a magical affinity that’s useless to me for a rare defensive trait.” He patted his belly, feeling Everett’s yet-to-awaken defensive trait merging with his own essence—a magical defensive constitution that could reduce damage from magical attacks, a welcome addition for someone like Tam.

But he suddenly frowned—the contract had not yet been fully fulfilled.

Tam closed his eyes, sensing the distance through the crisscrossing waterways. His consciousness flowed with the sea, across the ocean, and arrived at a small river in Lungmen. There, he sensed Everett's wife, Lina, washing clothes by the river, a new life growing within her.

“Here you go,” he whispered to the air before him, the magic crystal vanishing from his hand. “Transaction complete.”

Tam Kench straightened his collar and stepped into the Bilgewater night, seeking the next disgruntled soul. After all, the River King was always hungry, and human greed was an inexhaustible feast.