Completed Ice Cold Bargain I

[Ricky Maze]

Ice Cold Bargain I
Winter 51th 513 AV, 11th Bell
Location: The Docks

Swish did the line cry as the hook flung far out into the vast reaches of the ice cold waters, Zeltiva's air almost a frigid temperature to feel on one's own bare skin when they walked through the city. Ricky had been hard at work upholding his part of a bargain he struck with Mr. Sullins earlier this season, and more often than one would think they would find the old fisherman hard at work, spending early hours fishing as many fish as he could and then bringing them home to try and prep them for a seasons worth of preservation, though he had to actually get a bit of help from his wife who more or less needed instruction every time she tried to help. She wasn't the quickest to grasp the concept but then again it was rather tricky to get a hold of, at best she was good at preparing them as though they would be dinner. That part was the only part Ricky had to ask of her, as the fish brought home just generally needed to be ready for cooking but at the same time NOT cooked.

The reason? Salting. Ever since he finally got started on this project earlier this season, he'd spent each and every waking bell in the morning to catch up to his goal. A hundred pounds worth of fish. For the past half of the season he hadn't done a bad job, though only eighty-six pounds worth wasn't much to brag on even when winter itself made standing the cold proved difficult while fishing. Hence why Ricky wore layers, even if it made him feel hot and heavy later in the day. Every morning around the fifth bell he would wake up, force himself out of bed and come out to the docks to catch more fish. Now that he was on the way towards the agreed amount of weight, he couldn't find it in him to lighten up nor rest until at last this task was done. He was close now, so close he could almost taste it. If he could just reach that hundred mark, then he wouldn't have to worry about fishing again for the rest of the season.

He watched with exhausted eyes as the lure dipped into the water and the line bobbed a little, vigilant enough to keep a keen eye where the line itself went when he slowly started to reel in some. Finally he'd brought it close enough to him, now he just had to wait until another bite finally came along. Hopefully this would be another Bovine Guppy he'd been trying to caught, as them bastards were thick and heavy with meat all around. How many pounds did he managed to get today? Five and a half at least, so add that to the amount he'd already collected... ninety-one pounds and five ounces. He was close, definitely close to the mark. Even so he still had to consider how much meat he needed to strip off, how much bone he would have to remove in order to truly estimate a proper weight. At best he would have to catch another five pounds worth just to be on the safe side, he'd hate to come up just a hare short on his bargain after all.

[Ricky Maze]

He sat at the docks edge and waited to feel the same tug, that very same tug that would awaken a fisherman's inner senses as he'd snagged himself another one. Beside him was a bucket with but several fish he'd already caught, the hopes that a bigger one would be snagged high as he tried to keep himself from shivering. Petchin' cold, Oi must be mad as shyke fer takin' up dat offer. He yawned with a few powerful shakes that rattled his core, the freezing breeze almost unbearable even with his few extra layers. His hands and fingers were definitely cold and red as the blood circulation slowed, and painfully ached when he tried to keep the blood flowing as best as it could with hand flexes, though he couldn't help but wonder if they would freeze with the pole in hand.

Now that would be a site to see. Just 'old on, ain't got much longer now. He assured himself with a head bent forward and eyes shut, he started to imagine what it would feel like to be at home next to the new hearth that'd been installed in their home. Yes it had to be warm, so pleasantly warm. Telion would by now have fed Martin and made sure he's clean and wrapped comfortably in his blanket, all while sitting beside that warm little hearth that would fill the room with heat. 'eat... Oh 'eat. An' Telion. He could only imagine how warm she'd feel now, the soft smooth skin of his beloved became a sudden craving for him then, oh how he wanted to be home right now all snuggled up close to her. Winter was cold but it always had that advantage, as it was always the time of the year where one would bundle up to another to exchange heat with one another. How he missed that now.

Oh 'ow I miss yew Tel. He found himself smiling now as he could imagine what it felt like to be next to her, to be close while they were bundled underneath the blankets back at home. Suddenly he didn't feel as cold as he did now that he'd lost himself in that illusion, that is until something twitched in his hands. His eyes cracked open slowly as he suddenly came to remember where he was exactly, the fantasy he'd become lost in suddenly a simple daydream to the reality he still lived within. The rod jerked forward and shook his hands some, the line tight as though something had been caught on it. Oh shyke! Got anot'er bastard t' bring in! His initial reaction brought him to pull the rod in and start reeling hard, but when he felt the line not just tug but pull harshly he lightened his own pull to try and keep from the snapping the line. Sonn'o a bitch!! It was a huge one, probably large enough to hopefully be that Bovine Guppy he'd been after for a while now. They were common in the warmer seasons but winter they tended to drift deeper in the bay, likely to huddle together to find warmer places while they waited for the warmer seasons.

He felt the line jerk over to his left and in turn pulled his rod along with it, the stress on the line relieved if not for a moment before the strain on it returned once again. He had to continue to reel it in with a few off and on jerks toward himself, his arms already started to feel the same worked out exercise any fisherman would know to expect when they'd snagged a heavy load such as this. It was heavy just like the guppy but he couldn't tell just yet, not until it would be close to surfacing at least. He had quite the distance to cover too, about ten feet between the fish and his rod if not a little less. That may not seem much in walking standards but for fishing, every single step would count considering the strain on the line. One wrong move from either fish or fisherman and it could easily snap, and seeing as how Ricky had to work with what he had... he'd rather avoid a snapped line now and having to work on it in this blasted cold.

[Ricky Maze]

Petchin ass it's cold, t' cold fer dis shyke! Ricky cursed in silence as he continued to reel the rod to the best of his abilities, with this frigid temperature however it both made his abilities to swiftly pull in the line harder and of course increased chances for the line to snap. He had already worked on replacing a few lines over the course of time spent collecting this amount of fish, and for what did he agree to this in turn exactly? A lesson in Reimancy. Given the lesson was definitely educational he wished that it hadn't involved him freezing his ass off so much, even with the layers built he still felt his fingers and toes go numb.

Yet he wasn't able to let that stop him, he was near his goal for the season and he intended to haul this last catch today. Hopefully it would be his last catch at least. With the amount of progress made in reeling the large fish in there was only but several feet left between them, enough to where Ricky leaned forward as he was about to make a desperate attempt at pulling up the fish by line. Gods he hoped the cold wouldn't prove bitter and snap his line in the process, for he had just this one last fish to catch now and that would be it. He was certain the damned thing was going to be enough it weight, and shortly afterwards he would only need to head to the customs office and ship it off to Sahova for the man named Clyde Sullins. With but a couple of feet left between the line and the docks, Ricky grasped the line firm as he tossed the rod next to him on the dock, both hands quickly grappled on the line as he ever so desperately pulled with one hand after another to lift the fish from the water into the air. The flippers that followed when it dangled were to be expected but not allowed, the line was still under strain and could even still break with what small amount remained between the fish and Ricky.

Sure enough though, the haul of the heavy bastard turned out for the better as the silvery slippery thing was soon brought upon the dock with Ricky to laugh and bellow out a "Woo!" as he pulled the hook from its lip. It was another salmon, this one a big beauty compared to his average catch. By the estimations Ricky had, the fish seemed to weigh around eight pounds if not a little less. Given the fact innards and inedible parts were included, Ricky could assume that six pounds worth of that was enough to be considered the meat of the fish. That was enough for him to work with and finish the first half of his deal, which meant all that was left to do was now was skin it and remove all the unnecessary stuff, salt the shyke out of it and then ship it with the rest to Sahova. He was definitely going to do that tomorrow morning, seeing as how the rest of the season would finally require a little lesser time outdoors.

He was quite proud of himself for today's haul, not only did he managed to keep his end of the bargain for winters worth, but he also managed to catch a slightly impressive sized salmon right at the end too. Normally his average catches were around six to seven pounds, so if anything luck happened to smile upon him in his time of need.

When the next day followed Ricky was sure to work quickly, as he was ready to see what was left of the load to be off.

[Gale Austin McCenry]

Richard

Experience

Fishing	+3
Endurance	+1

Items/Consequences

Item	Description
16 lbs of Fish (not gutted)	Including 1 eight lb salmon

Lores

■	Telion: Not quick to understand fishing
■	Salt: Preserves fish
■	Clyde Sullins: Taking his crazy offer
■	Using imagination to keep warm
■	Bovine Guppy: Common during warm seasons
■	Fishing: The cold can snap lines
■	Fishing Technique: How to reel in a big fish
■	Fishing Technique: How to pull fish onto the dock

Additional Comments

I was a little hesitant on giving you an endurance point like you requested, because like you said, the thread was a little vague on actually pulling the fish to the dock, but, since you still had 10 something feet to pull it in and you did it while you were freezing, I gave it to you. I said 16 lbs of fish too because of the bucket of fish you already have, but I didn't know how many fish you had in it or what type or size or anything. If you want to talk to me about it then you can, but I went and said you had about 4 ish fish around 2 or 3 lbs each + the 8 lb salmon. Again, you can talk to me about that if you want.

The thread seemed a little dream like to me. Like, there wasn't a whole lot of detail but I still knew what was going on which was weird at first, but kind of an interesting effect. If wanted another point in endurance then I would suggest putting a tad more detail about how taxing reeling in large fish is, but other than that, I think you did a pretty good job. Overall, it was fun to read. Congrats on your 8 pound salmon. XD