Chapter 6: The Lumis and the Gateway to the ShimmerSea
The new offer had spread like wildfire in the TangleSea. The Tanglers stood in long lines at the sales counter of the octopus garden to have the pearl shells inoculated with their obsidian slices. The additional profits in the form of pearls were too tempting for anyone to pass up.
Fate had once again been kind to our octopus. With great gratitude and reverence for the miracle that had happened before his eyes, Mr. Tangle carried the first pearl he had found with him at all times since that day. Often, when he finished the day’s work at his favorite spot near the warm springs, he would take out the gem and watch the moonlight reflect on its smooth surface. It had something very calming for him and not infrequently he lost himself in his thoughts and forgot the stress of his long business day.
It was also on this day that Mr. Tangle let his thoughts wander and put the pearl carefully next to him in the soft sand. Deeply immersed in his thoughts, he was only distantly aware of a twinkle flitting past in the corner of his eye. He probably wouldn’t have noticed anything at first if the scurrying hadn’t been accompanied by a bright and excited giggle. He let his eyes wander over to the crevice where the sparkle had disappeared. Except for a small cloud of swirling sand that slowly began to settle in front of the crevice, he could see nothing. Full of curiosity, he wanted to get to the bottom of what was happening and take a closer look at the crevice. He reached for his pearl to keep it safe again. But his tentacles reached into the void and even after a desperate search his pearl remained missing. He did not suspect anything good and a quiet suspicion germinated in him. Whatever the sparkle in the corner of his eye might have been, it had to be connected with the disappearance of his pearl.
As Mr. Tangle slid toward the crevice, he paused briefly, his grandfather’s stories suddenly coming back to him. He had always warned him as a boy to stay away from the crevice. There were several stories about the crevice that were told by the older octopuses, for example, several young tanglers were said to have lost their way in the extensive corridors and caves that stretched out behind the crevice. To this day, nothing had ever been seen of them again and they seemed lost forever, it was said. Mr. Tangler had to struggle hard to shake off the old stories and descend into the cave world. But the loss of his pearl hurt too much for him to let it stop him.
He took heart and slipped into the darkness of the crevice. It seemed to take him half an eternity to push his way through the dark passages that snaked deep through the reef rock. If he had not heard the soft giggle from time to time and seen a brief bright glow in the distance, he would probably have given up some time ago. Undeterred, he continued to fight his way through the murky cave water. When a slight current of fresh water washed around him, he faltered briefly. He had not expected this in the depths of the caves, he must already be several hundred meters below the octopus garden, so certainly no fresh water from the TangleSea could reach him. The Tangler carefully pushed his way around the next corner of the narrow passage. He could not believe his own eyes. Before him stretched a large, expansive cavern lit by a soft, greenish glow. On the walls and on the floor of the cave grew all kinds of plants unknown to him, and it seemed that the green glow also emanated from these very plants. Incredulous and as if enchanted by the pleasant glow that pervaded the cave, the tangler floated further into the cave. Now it was clear to him where the fresh water must come from, because at the end of the cave another crack opened, through which one could look into a new world. The shimmering continued outside the cave and was lost only in the vastness of a great plain. This could only be the legendary ShimmerSea, around which many myths and stories of untold riches entwined.
When he reached the center of the cave, he realized that he was not alone. In close proximity to him, something moved behind one of these luminous plants and he immediately grabbed it. In his tentacle he held a tiny wriggling creature which in turn held a pearl in its small hand. When the little guy realized that there was no escape from the tentacle grip, he stopped wriggling. He looked at Mr. Tangle with big, innocent eyes and humbly lowered his two antennae, which were almost as long as the little creature itself. Slowly, it reached out its tiny hands and held out the pearl to Mr. Tangle. Mr. Tangle could not be angry with the cute little creature. He gently took the pearl from his hand and sat the tiny fellow down on a stone next to him. Gratefully, the tiny creature looked at Mr. Tangle, pursed his lips, and let out a soft whistle. It took only a moment and other funny creatures appeared from all corners. The little bead thief seemed to be telling them what had happened, and Mr. Tangler was sure he could hear some sort of dismay in the murmurs. The creatures were obviously very uncomfortable with what had happened.
They gathered green shining plants from all directions and put them on a pile in front of Mr. Tangle. His little friend, who must have noticed that Mr. Tangle didn’t really know how to deal with the situation, jumped onto the pile, grabbed a leaf of the glowing plant, bit into it with relish, and held it out to Mr. Tangler when prompted. The octopus hesitantly took the leaf and bit off a piece as well. Like a gentle summer rain, a comfortable warmth flowed through him and a pulsating glow spread over his body. He knew immediately that the plant could only be the legendary Lum grass, which had not been found in the TangleSea for generations. Because of its invigorating effect, the LUM was once highly traded and the unrestrained demand had led to the disappearance of the grass in the TangleSea. Mr. Tangle swore to keep the secret of the caves to himself and to preserve the origin of the LUM and thus the safety of his little friends, the Lumis.
