A chill, not from the deepening night but from the raw power coursing through her, filled Janna. The crimson runes etched themselves deeper into her arm, burning with a cold fire. She stood on a narrow, elevated arch overlooking the main canal, the familiar bob of gondolas now a distant, irrelevant memory. Her gaze fixed on Nimmi’s Glassworks, a faint golden glow spilling from its doors, and the heavily loaded cart parked just outside, its glass panels shimmering even in the dimness. “Drown them all,” Janna whispered, the words rasping from a throat suddenly too dry. The air thickened around her, tasting of salt and ozone. She extended her rune-marked arm, flexing her fingers. The power surged, heavy and dark. The canal water below, usually a placid mirror reflecting the city’s soft lantern glow, began to stir with an unnatural turbulence. A low rumble, like a distant thunderclap, vibrated through the stone bridge. The canal surface fractured, not from wind, but from an unseen force churning beneath. A glistening, obsidian wave began to rise from the depths, dark and impossibly tall, coiling upon itself like a monstrous serpent. It swallowed the gentle light of the street lanterns, casting the waterway into an abyssal shadow. It grew, stretching its malevolent crest towards the sky, its roar growing louder, a hungry beast made of stolen memories and crushing ambition. It was not a natural wave. It was a liquid fist aimed squarely at Nimmi Varo and her precious centerpiece. The wave lunged forward, gathering speed, a wall of churning black water rushing down the canal, straight towards Nimmi’s loaded festival cart and the humble studio beyond. Inside the workshop, Nimmi hummed a tuneless song, carefully placing a final, shimmering bauble onto the grand centerpiece. Renzo, leaning against the doorframe, his gaze soft, watched her. The cart, laden with the finished artwork, sat just outside, waiting. He’d lashed the fragile-looking panels with his strongest canal-ropes, adding extra bracing for the journey to the Grand Plaza. Nimmi, meanwhile, had spent hours fortifying the structure. The cart’s entire outer shell, and indeed the lower half of the glassworks itself, now gleamed with a faint, opalescent sheen, almost imperceptible unless you knew to look. It was the Abyssal Pearl glass, tough as river stone, yet light as a feather, a secret only she and Renzo shared. And Bubbles, of course. A deep, guttural sound, like the city itself clearing its throat, made Renzo’s head snap up. His gaze, usually so wary, locked onto the trembling canal floor. “Nimmi… do you hear that?” Nimmi tilted her head. “Oh, that’s just the canal. Sounds like a big fish splashing, doesn’t it?” Renzo’s hand flew to the hilt of his short-sword, his knuckles white. “That’s no fish, Nimmi! That’s…” Before he could finish, the monstrous wave slammed into the glassworks and the waiting cart. Instead of splintering into a thousand pieces, the Pearl-glass panels of the cart glowed with an internal, soft light. The dark, magical water of the tsunami hit it, not with a crash, but with a wet, sloshing *thwump*. It didn’t break. It didn’t even budge. The tempered glass, humming with the deep magic Nimmi had unknowingly fused into it, simply deflected the colossal force. The wave, unable to penetrate, split and surged up and over the cart and the sturdy timber storefront, arcing impossibly high into the air. It cascaded down in a sudden, torrential downpour, completely drenching the entire street, the stone span, and everything in between. On the bridge, Janna stared, drenched, shivering, and utterly humiliated. The dark, potent magic of her tsunami had met Nimmi’s obliviously fortified glass and… bounced. The water streamed from her hair, plastered her clothes to her skin, and left her blinking saltwater from her eyes. The crimson runes on her arm pulsed weakly, sputtering like a dying ember. [CRITICAL FAILURE: TARGET CONFIDENCE UNCHANGED. DEVASTATING BLOW TO USER MORALE. LIFE FORCE DEPLETION: EXTREME. NEW QUEST GENERATED: IMMEDIATE SABOTAGE. EXPLOSIVE RUNE ACQUIRED.] Nimmi, peeking out from her miraculously dry doorway, giggled. “Oh, Bubbles must have gotten so excited! Look, Renzo, a spontaneous water show! How festive!” She stepped out, her enthusiasm undampened. “Alright, everyone! Let’s get this magnificent piece to the Plaza! It’s almost time!” From every doorway, every alley, and every upper-story terrace, the neighborhood spilled out. Elderly Varda with her basket of fresh bread, young Kylan with his sturdy handcart, the twins Piri and Pori clutching their fishing nets – all came running, beaming, to help Nimmi. They ignored their own damp clothes, ignored the still-swelling canal, their faces alight with pride for their beloved glassblower. They surrounded the cart, a cheerful, bustling throng, carefully guiding it down the cobblestone path. “Mind the wheel, Kylan, it’s a bit wobbly!” Nimmi called, directing the procession with a happy wave. She walked alongside the cart, a small, radiant beacon in the growing crowd. Janna, dripping and furious, her mind a blank slate of vengeful emptiness, watched them. Her eyes narrowed on the cart, specifically on the large, wooden spoke of the back wheel. Her wet hand fumbled in the pocket of her sodden skirt, pulling out a small, circular, metallic disk – the explosive rune. It hummed with a vicious, contained power. She had to get close. She had to. She melted into the cheerful crowd, her movements stiff and jerky. No one noticed her, too busy oohing and aahing over the centerpiece, too focused on helping Nimmi. Janna reached the cart, her fingers trembling. Her goal was the wheel, a weak point, a place where the rune could do maximum damage without anyone noticing until it was too late. She pressed the disk against the wooden spoke, the cold metal sticking to the damp wood. “Oh, Janna! You made it!” Nimmi's voice, bright and warm, made Janna flinch. Nimmi was right beside her, a sweet, oblivious smile on her face. “You’re all wet! Did you get caught in Bubbles’ splash too? Oh, and what’s this?” Nimmi’s gaze fell to Janna’s hand, still pressed against the wheel, but also catching a glimpse of the small, metallic disk. “A weird sticker!” Nimmi exclaimed, her eyes crinkling. With the casual, gentle touch of someone plucking a stray leaf from a friend’s hair, Nimmi reached out and, with a quick, playful flick of her finger, brushed the explosive rune clean off the cart wheel. It didn’t fall to the ground, however. Instead, with a soft, almost imperceptible *schlip*, it adhered itself perfectly to the damp hem of Janna’s sodden skirt. “There! All better. Don’t want anything getting stuck to my beautiful cart!” Janna froze, pale and rigid, staring at the small, glowing disk now stuck to her own leg. She took a furious step backward, a guttural sound escaping her lips. The rune, sensing the movement, glowed a malevolent red, then pulsed with a blinding light. There was a sharp, concussive *CRACK!* that echoed through the canal, and Janna, with a shriek of pure shock, was blasted backwards, a plume of water erupting around her. She flew through the air, flailing, and landed with a sickening splash directly into the murky depths of the canal. Just as the ripples from her impact spread, a colossal, unblinking eye, the size of a gondola, broke the surface of the water, its bioluminescent gaze locking onto the spot where Janna had disappeared.

The Sabotaged Tsunami