Solo Zulrav's Summer Gift

[Tap]

1 Summer 516AV
Mura

Tap looked out the window of her small ocean-home. It was dark, evening had come and gone bells before and still Tap sat waiting for the changing season to come upon Mura and herself. Rain was beating against the tiny glass windows of the land portion of her home, underwater the waves pressed and rocked heavily against the walls. Across the beach and near the docks Tap watched the watchtower as it sat, braced against the storm. It was dutifully glowing a bright green, Spring. But as Tap stared the color suddenly went out, leaving a strange blackness, but only for half a tick before it flared a bright orange once more. Summer had come to the isle, accompanying stormy weather and darkness. But Tap smiled inwardly. She knew, that although she was stuck inside right now, owing both to the barriers of the weather and the dark, cold air, her patience would be rewarded the next morning, when the skies would clear and the ocean would rest, she would claim her gift of Summer.

She watched out the window for the rest of the night, observing the unwavering light of the watchtower, the subtle and rare glimpses of the moon shining brightly against the pitch black sky, watching as heavy clouds, dripping with storm, passed over and over it. The ocean would reflect light and she could see the homes lining the beach become bright as day when lighting struck. A horribly quick substitute for the sun, a jealous Zulrav had created. Or so Tap enjoyed imagining. Sometimes she would travel downstairs to the underwater portion of her home, place her hand up against the window looking out into the sea, and revel in the strength of the waters as it beat against her home, tapping a finger in line with the waves.

Shaken slowly out of her strange imaginings of Laviku and Zulrav battling harshly somewhere in the heavens, she felt her hand, which had previously been enjoying the beatings of the water against it, pressed peacefully against her wall. Looking out a nearby window she noticed the waters seemed to have calmed and lightened. She headed upstairs, and as she entered the ground floor she noticed, surely, that Syna had risen, just a little, over the horizon to the east. The storm that had raged, down pouring from the sky earlier that night had vanished, and Tap knew it was time.

Gathering nothing but the clothes on her back and a large mesh bag she headed to the beach. Far enough away from the docks so she wouldn't be interrupted by the fishermen and travelers who may or may not be populating the shipyard this early in the morning, she began her search. She knew from experience that heavy storms had a tendency to wash up treasures on the shore. Whether it be a few lagging fish, jellyfish, sea-stars, or something man-made, trash, bobbles, either way Tap considered it treasure. Treasure she could eat, treasure she could sell, treasure she could tinker. The early bird always gets the worm, and Tap was eager to be the earliest. In fact, Tap thought, an actual worm she wouldn't mind either, though it was doubtful to encounter one on the sandy beaches.

A blurry brown shape began to emerge in Taps vision. The Konti's eyesight wasn't very good, the shape was unidentifiable at this point. Tap's head was glued to the ground, searching across the beach and tips of rolling waves for something that didn't belong. Dents in the even sand where water would have been trapped, along with it an animal, clam, weed. Rocking where desperate starfish clung and oysters lay abandoned by the sea. Though when her vision was ripped from the sand and towards the upcoming shores, the large object, getting closer with each step, became clearer. Although utterly confused, and extraordinarily curious, she thought it must be nothing else but a ship. The shape was wrong, a broken ship?

Her heart skipped a beat. A broken ship. A sea wrecked ship. So many possibilities. Tap's mind eye rushed through images of metal, gold, silver treasure. Not once did she think perhaps a person may be on board, needing help. That thought didn't occur in the rush of the excitement. Her pace quickened, though Tap's eyes held fast to the ground, not wanting to miss anything important on her way over to the object. As she closed in on the beached shape, her vision cleared ever so slowly. And to her delight she saw her assumption was correct. A massive hull of a wooden ship, broken, torn, irreplaceable, the entire rest of the ship gone. If Tap had worried about possible life danger, she would have ceased now that she was in good view of the vessel. The wood was stained green with lichen and ocean moss, barnacles growing in huge clusters on every surface. Clearly this object had been under the great sea of Laviku for some time. Any persons on board would have surely perished or escaped by this point.

The ships had been thrown during the storm deep into the beach's sand. The ocean was between tides, receding from a high swell. Tap worried that when the tide returned, though she had bells and bells before it reached its peak, it would claim the artifact as its own and back down into the deep depths it would return. Another worry, though, was the appearance of another. The beaches were well populated during sunny days, and surely a lone fisherman or two would have the same idea she did. It would not be long before the ship was discovered for a second time, by someone who would tell others, and want a piece of the prize themselves.

Tap knew she would have to work quick. Searching the boat before anyone came. Making sure nothing terribly valuable and obvious was left out of her mesh bag. An opportunity of a lifetime, of the tinkering she could do, oh the artifacts she could alter.

[Tap]

The bow of the ship, broken and being slowly eaten by ocean lichen, was stuck heavily in the soft sand of the Konti Isle beaches. The ship washed up onto the shore in such a way that the large opening of the bow, the place where it had somehow broken off the rest of its body, was facing downward, into the ground. This made it difficult for someone of average proportions to wrestle their way inside, as there was no large, obvious opening into the washed-up artifact. Although there were many broken planks within the hull of the bow which created something of a porthole or open window into the inside, however they were no use for actual entrance. Before Tap started to look for a way in, she peered through many of these tiny openings.

The first, near the broken end of the bow and close to the ground, was where a couple planks in the boat had been wrestled away sometimes during the ships fight with the sea. Peeing into the downcast hole Tap could see very little except the slightly damp white sand and a few splinters of wood that may have been shed during the traumatic beaching. The second, on the same side of the boat, was closer to the front tip, and Tap had to go onto her tip-toes in order to look through the hole. This one was larger, larger enough for perhaps a small animal to wedge through, grants they would be able to climb up the the hole in the first place. Through this porthole Tap could see most of the inside.

Down at the bottom of the bow, where the sand settled, Tap could see that the bow didn't break away from the main ship at a random point in the hull. She saw instead that sand was covering a wall of sorts that must have separated this part of the ship with the rest of the bottom deck. Although she could see no door, whether it was buried in the sand with the rest of the wooden wall, or simply torn away by the currents, Tap did not know. This wall, though, seemed to have acted someone what a lid on a container when dealing with the ocean. Tap could see a few pieces of wooden furniture, in the same shape as the rest of the ship, broken and covered in green life, had managed to stay contained in the bow. Inside was an extremely broken table, with its legs scattered, unattached, across the ship room, a tiny, also broken, chair, and what looked like a small dresser or cabinet, though she was only able to see the back of this piece of furniture, as these were all stacked unceremoniously, at the bottom of the bow in the sand.

With a small smile stretching her face and an enormous bubble of excitement growing in her chest, Tap began to desperately search for a way into the ship. She was sure that the table and chair were most likely completely useless and invaluable, the dresser, or cabinet, or whatever it was, could hold an infinite amount of different treasures. Her mind's eyes showed her a compass, an old map that had somehow survived the water damage, strange and foreign contraptions. Perhaps fine cloth or silver dishes filled the drawers instead, either way Tap did not care. Her curiosity and need to see inside was growing exponentially every second and all Tap could thing was how unlucky it would be for someone to stumble by before she had found a way in.

[Tap]

Tap, taking a quick stroll around the outside of the bow, saw that, truly, there were no obvious openings besides the giant hole that was currently buried in the sand. She would have to figure out another way in. For a moment she thought that she might be able to dig through the sand to the hole at the bottom, but dismissed it after a ticks thought. The nature of sand proved it very difficult to make a sizeable hole, it would topple and fill the trench in before Tap would be able to make any noticeable headway. Plus when she got to the hole in the ship it was possible that the furniture that had fallen to the sand would fall out onto her and into her hole. Since she didn't want to damage the artifacts any more than they already were, plus the amount of effort to dig a hole in the sand was ridiculous, she tried thinking of other ways.

Her next thought, and probably the only other option besides waiting for the tide to come back in and hoping it would take the ship back out with it to a place where she could swim to, was breaking a hole in the hull and climbing through. She tapped the wood that made op the skeleton of the bow, seeing how thick and sturdy the make was. Surprisingly for a piece of wood that seemingly had been in the rotting water for a long time, was awfully dense and strong. Pulling slightly at a broken plank lining one of the small holes of the ship, she understood quickly that she would be unable to pry the wood away with her bare hands.

Tap had brought only her clothes on her back and her mesh collecting bag with he this morning. not that she had many useful tools at home that could help her pry open a ships hull, though maybe she could swing her clam shovel hard enough to break a plank or two, she would have to make due with whatever else she could find at the beach. She did no dare leave to make a quick trip home and grab something useful, that would leave the ship unguarded and the last thing she wanted was to leave and come back to the bow swarming with Konti.

Looking around Tap quickly realized that the beach, pure white sand and forever smooth and perfect, held nothing that the fisher could use to wrench a hole into the wood. She would have to look elsewhere. The only place left close enough for Tap she be comfortable with was the ocean. She would need to dive down and see if she could grab a large enough stone or something similar.

Taking her mesh bag, but kicking off her sandals, with her she walked out into the ocean. The water was her home and she felt joy wash over her as the warm, salty water, ignited her scales. Plunging into the small waves Tap could feel her lungs cease and her gills begin to work as water rushed over and over their surface. Breathing underwater, to Tap, was less of a workout. Above ground, although the motion was automatic for the most part, one had to move their lungs, breathe in and out through their nostrils or mouth, it required much more movement and work than gills did. Underwater breathing just meant moving, either yourself or the water. As long as fresh oxygen ran over the gills constantly then the Konti could breathe. Other than that it felt no different.

Tap grinned as her horrible vision was fixed instantly with the water washing over her eyes. She saw the beautiful sea brighten with color from Syna's rising light. Being close to the shore there wasn't much underwater to look at. A few sea weeds here and there and Tap felt a fish dart by close to her. Turning her head she saw the fish join a second and they swam blissfully away from her. The ground was covered in the same pure white sand that adorned a darker color when wet. A couple full and broken shells scattered across the shallow sea floor. Tap would have to swim a little farther out, get out past the ridge and that's where she would find something useful.

When she finally passed the ridge, a sudden deep drop in the ocean's floor, a half a chime later, the expanse of the ocean lit up before her. She could see a small coral reef out a few chimes swim to the right of her. A couple schools of tiny fish swam here and there all around her. Sea weed grew taller and bushier here too. Diving down quickly to the bottom of the ocean again, Tap began scanning for a tool of some sort. It didn't take her long to find something sufficient.

Although it wasn't a rock she found, it was just as dense and hard. It was a broken and dead piece of brain coral, bleached white and lying unceremoniously half buried and camouflaged in the sand. Grabbing the top of the round coral with her webbed fingers she pulled and used her other hand to push the wet sand away, helping it get loose. The process didn't take long and Tap was soon swimming back to shore with a piece of coral about as big as two hands put together. It was a bit heavy, and she was sure it would be heavier once she got out of the water, but she was sure she would be able to swing it hard enough to hit the hull of the ship with enough force to perhaps break through.

Dripping with salt water and sand clinging to the bottom of her scaled and webbed feet, Tap walked back over to the ship, coral in hand, ready to strike.

[Tap]

The coral was rough in her hand, deceased it no longer carried the organisms inside that it did when it was alive and growing, and so its exterior was dry. She bounced the dead rock in her hand, trying to find the perfect hold, though thinking how she wasn't much for rigorous activity. With her brow furrowed, she reviewed the boat again. Thinking that perhaps striking at a weak spot in the boat would work better than the a strong spot. That was common sense right? Nodding to herself she looked at one of the largest of the small holes in the boats hull.

The hole, large enough for Tap to squeeze her small hand through and wriggle about, was located near the middle of the wrecked bow, at level with her elbows when standing. Turning the coral in her hand once more she took a deep breath before flinging the animal carcass against the boat, hitting near the hole. She heard a crack, but when looking at the place where the coral hit she only saw minor damage. She wondered what made this ship, they were very good at it. Tap knew, looking at the growth of ocean animal and plant life on the wood, that if had to have been underwater for a while. Yet the wood that created the ship had not degraded enough to be brittle, and was still rather strong and dense. Tap looked around at the empty beach, smiling at the fact that it was still empty. She knew this task was going to take awhile. And the more time she was given alone the better.

Trying to aim as close to the hole as possible she swung at it again. Another cracking noise as Tap missed he target by a few good inches. Frowning, she swung back and forward once more, hitting the hole dead on. She heard and saw as a few chips of wood fell off from the edge of the blown hole. It hadn't made it any larger, but perhaps this would be a good start, maybe even begin to weaken the wood around her target. She swung the coral more times over and over until, making the wood chip more and more.

She got more excited the more times she hit the boat and the excitement caused her to hit faster and faster until she not only missed, but squished a small fingertip between the coral weapon and the hard wooden boat. Dropping the coral and jumping back, cursing, she looked at her throbbing finger, hoping she didn't do too much damage. She was marked by Avalis, not Rak'keli, and she certainly didn't want to end her adventure now. Thankfully her finger was fine, reddened and perhaps bruised, as well as a broken nail, but nothing seriously. She would just have to be a little delicate with the finger for now.

Picking up the dropped coral and going back to her task, Tap tried swinging with her non-dominant hand. Quickly realizing that was a mistake as she missed three swings in a row, rather horribly, she switched hands again and started at a slower pace, hoping not to injure herself again.

It was long work, but once the first large bit of wood broke off the boat, about 10 chimes later, it was easy enough to both hit and peel the wood back until she had made a hole large enough for her to squeeze through uncomfortably. She though about taking a few more chimes to make the hole bigger, but decided she didn't want to waste the little time she probably had left.

Dropping her coral for hopefully the last time Tap cheered inwardly at herself. Throwing her mesh bag inside the hole she had created then stooping and climbing in the ship herself, she landed delicately on sand and wood, missing the heap of ruined furniture slightly.

[Tap]

Inside the boat it was much lighter than she would have thought. The many holes allowed enough of the early light into the wreck for Tap to easily look around. Since the boat was at a perhaps a 30 degree angle and so all lose items, driftwood, dead seaweed and kelp had all fallen to the part of the boat that was wedged within the sand of Konti Isle. He gave the upper portion of the boat a quick glance, but nothing seemed to be wedged anywhere inside that part and so she traveled the couple of feet down to the bottom where all the junk had accumulated.

She began to sift through all the junk and although there wasn't much she tried as hard as she could to sift through thoroughly, but overall it didn't take a long time. The pile was mostly seaweed and broken pieces of wood. She would pick up one piece of refuse take a good look at it then throw it to the side.

1. Kelp, dead, unusable
2. Seaweed, dead, unusable
3. Wood, broken, seemed to be polished at one point but is now cracked, covered in grime, unusable
4. Wood, broken, again seemed to be polished at one point, perhaps from a pie of furniture, unusable.

As she got deeper into the small pile things got smaller, more broken and seemingly less usable than their larger counterparts, not that those were usable either. The wood she had found previously perhaps may have been washed and recovered but since Tap had no skill in anything relating to wood she really had no way of knowing if the wood could have been useful or how it might have been used. The kelp she found, though, was edible, but it was also dead, ripped and tangled to a point where eating it would just be a waste of time.

6. A handful of bent, rusted and grime covered nails, perhaps usable.
7. Torn pieces of coral, dead, unusable
8. A dead fish, mostly rotten and eaten, smelly and unusable
9. A warped piece of metal, rectangular in shape, rusted and grime covered, perhaps usable.
10. A clump of vaguely recognized metal, obviously missing pieces but looks as if it was once a small mechanical object.

The items she found now were certainly more interesting than before, though still practically useless. She found some metal, probably form broken down furniture or parts of the boat. The nails looked to be in pretty rough shape and she doubted they had the strength to be of any use anymore, and so she threw them aside. The dead fish was gross and obviously inedible. It smelled pretty bad and so she threw it outside a hole in the boat rather than simply aside to rid the wreck of the smell. The warped piece of metal was a bit interesting, but again she had no idea what it truly was. It was also misshapen, or so she assumed, and therefore probably useless. She also threw that aside, not wanting to take the time to research what it might be.

However the last item she found was nestled in the corner, half buried in the sand that had made its way into the wreck. She only noticed it because it had metal sticking up out of the grains that had scraped her as she moved some more seaweed away. It was only a small scratch, didn't even break the skin, but it caught Tap's attention and she pulled it out. It was made from metal but obviously broken, missing screws or other pieces. She wasn't sure what it had sued to be it looked mechanical, not just metal. Perhaps it was some sort of tool used in navigation for ships, or some other to but for weaponry on ships? She wasn't really sure. She decided to take it. It was the most interesting thing she had found for sure. And she was positive someone on the island could answer the question of what this thing was.

[Okara]

Grades and Awards   Tap Experience Observation 5 Scavenging 3 Investigation 2 Endurance 2 Lores Watchtowers Mark the Season Change Searching a Beach for Treasure After a Storm Scavenging: Dents in the Sand May Reveal Treasure Investigating a Broken Ship Washed Ashore Scavenge: Taking Unknown Objects for Later Research Other Unrecognizable Metal Object Notes I thought I better return the grading favor. This was a fun thread, I liked the process of Tap thinking through how to get inside the boat and make sure no one beat her to any good stuff. I awarded investigation since she did a pretty thorough one of the broken boat before trying to get in. Please let me know if I missed anything or if you would like your found object to worded in a different manner. Please edit your post in your grade request to reflect that it has been graded. PM me with any questions.