Open Teach A Man To Fish

[Michael Kyber]

Spring 7th, 517AV

Syliras was starting to feel like home. The stuffy air and smell of thousands of people crammed into a small space was no longer something that Michael noticed unless reminded of it, and he no longer found himself getting lost or pushed around by the large crowds of people. He'd been around for just under a full season now, but Michael had made some close friends inside and out of the knights order, and felt the stirrings of a personal desire to keep the city safe and peaceful.

Which was why the shortage of food that resulted from the absent winter was particularly worrying for the young squire. A government could be as honorable or benevolent as it wanted, but if it couldn't feed its people the populace would undoubtedly rise up in protest at it. As he walked the streets Michael could feel an unease stirring in the air; the amount of people grumbling about the thinning food supplies was growing everyday, and each new complaint seemed to tighten an invisible tension hanging over the city. The feeling that something terrible was going to happen when that tension broke haunted Michael wherever he went, and judging by the wariness in the eyes of his fellow knights and squires as they went out on patrols he wasn't the only one feeling it.

This spring was undoubtedly going to be a trying time for the city. Up at the Mithryn Outpost the farmers were doing all they could to keep as many crops alive as they could, but it was unfair to leave the responsibility of getting Syliras though this to them alone. Everyone had to do their part, no matter how big or small it may be.

For his part Michael had decided to put his skills at sailing to use and had signed up to help on a fishing voyage. In light of the crisis the city was facing Thazz had allowed him to take the time of from his training, and so Michael now found himself down at the docks among a group of 13 men and women of all ages and races as they crossed the gangplank connecting the fishing vessel to the dock. Across the docks Michael could see a number of other fishing ships, some of which where merchant or military ships that'd been temporarily re-purposed for fishing expeditions, piling up with similarly sized groups of people and setting off out into the ocean.

There were two people already waiting on the deck for the group as they boarded; a gnarled elderly man with a fishing rod, and a young blonde woman in a blue captains overcoat who called for the group to gather around her.

"Okay, listen up everyone." She commanded, her voice clearly well used to giving order and demanding of respect. "Our job's a very simple one, we sail out to a prime fishing spot, fill up the cargo hold with as much fish as we can catch, and get back again sometime tonight. The knights will handle payment for our catch when we get back, and whatever we make will be split equally between us all. Whilst at sea my word is law, okay? I don't want to hear any complaining or see anyone fighting or lazing around. If you do, you can swim back. Are we clear?"

There was a resounding cry of "aye captain" which Michael joined in with. Clearly satisfied, the captain took a handful of silver miza's from her pocket and cast them into the sea, offering a short prayer to Laviku, then patted the old man on the back and strode to the helm. "Alright, fishing crew follow Stru here and seat yourselves somewhere out of the way until we reach the fishing spot. Sailing crew, untie the lines, unfold the mainsail and weigh anchor. Let's get moving!"

Michael leaped into action, pulling up the anchor from the back of the ship and tugging on the ropes that unfolded the mainsail. The wind caught the sails, and with a lurch the ship sailed out of the docks and off into the deep blue sea.

[Aladari Coolwater]

Timestamp: Spring 7th, 517 AV

Ahh, the sea!

Walking across that plank onto the fishing boat, surrounded by the chaos of men and women, Fratava and Common, tattooed muscles and soft baby-faces, Aladari could not have felt more at home. She had begun venturing into the city more and more and, as the season changed, she felt the winds change too. The anger was losing steam, and instead of blaming her, people were now slowly opening up to let her help solve the problems. This, Aladari could handle; hard work was her middle name.

As she fell in to the mess of bodies, a stern voice carried across the space that made her stand up straight and puff out her chest as if at attention. This was the voice of a captain, and she was clearly not to be ignored.

"Okay, listen up everyone."

As the captain explained the procedure, Aladari's eyes wandered to the ship. It was a grand ship overall, with great size and plenty of cargo space. It did not look as though it were necessarily specialized for fishing, but if all they meant to do was set a few lines, then that wouldn't matter much at all. All they needed was a little rail space to cast, and some wide open waters.

The captain up front quieted at a cry of "Aye, Captain" that Aladari was just a little late in. She nodded in acknowledgment, then sent a few Silvers splashing into the water with a prayer. Aladari was not accustomed to the tradition, but she knew that it was common among sailors, and did not want to be singled out by asking about it. Instead, as they boarded the ship, she pulled a Silver out of her own pocket and tossed it into the water, just to get a feel for the movement.

"To Laviku." She muttered in a clumsy version of Fratava. Hopefully He would understand any form of the language, no matter how mangled it may be.

Then, it was on board the great ship. People rushed to their jobs, grabbing ropes of all shapes and functions. Aladari sighed, her eyes flushing a soft blue. It had been so long since she had run a ship that she couldn't hardly remember which way was North on the ocean. Sadly, she found herself a barrel to sit on not so far off the mainsail. A few others camped beside her, but they chattered merrily with each other as if they were already acquainted, leaving no room for an outsider to jump in. Aladari kicked her feet like a child from atop her barrel as she watched the work go on.

Even if it's not home... She thought, tuning out the chatter of the others around her, Maybe if I close my eyes I can imagine.

A few of the men ran to work on untying the lines, casting off the heavy ropes from the back of the ship. One or two of the others worked to pull the anchor up from the water, and then ran the short distance to near her, where they worked on the mainsails. Almost instantly, the ship shuddered and groaned, setting off with a strong, sassy swaying of its hips.

Aladari laughed out loud in unexpected glee. The few nearby shot her mixed looks, ranging from annoyance, to amusement, to nostalgia for their own passion for the sea. Aladari ignored all of them.

She stood up, catching herself on a post when her legs betrayed her. This again caused her to smile, and lit her eyes with shimmering green. "Is my firs' time in a long time. Three years, i's been!" She explained to the onlookers.

"Sit down, then. We don't want you puking here." Someone answered, to raucous support.

"Nah, nah." She assured them. "I jus' gotta fin' my legs firs'. I'll be fine."

And with that, Aladari wobbled over to the railing, leaned over, and proceeded to puke into the beautiful blue water.

Rock the Boat

Word Count661

[Michael Kyber]

As the ship steered out of the port the sails caught the stronger breeze of the open ocean, and with a creak as the bit of wood about the hull strained slightly the vessel took off, gliding out into the vast openness of the Suvan Sea. Michael and the other sailing hands quickly worked to open up all the sails and stretch them to their fullest, and in moments they were cutting through the water like an arrow fresh out of a bow.

Michael took a moment to lean over the side of the ship and stare out at the sight around them. With the clear skies above and calm water bellow the world looked like an endless expanse of blue; as if they were sliding across the surface of a giant sapphire. The wind was cold and blustery, but pleasantly so under the strong light of the spring sun, and Michael found that he couldn't keep the smile off his lips as it blew his hair all about the place. It reminded him of the life he'd left behind in Zeltiva, and he relaxed for a while as stray memories ran through his head.

"Bleugh!"

The unmistakable sound of regurgitating caught Michael's ear, and he looked to his left to see a young woman hurling overboard. A small crowd of onlookers were quietly laughing to themselves nearby, and Michael chuckled a little to himself at the sight as well. It was always funny to watch first-timers struggle to get to grips with the rocking of a boat, it was like a sailors rite of passage.

Deciding to be helpful, Michael popped down bellow deck and grabbed a small cup from one of the cupboards in the kitchen. He went to the cargo hold, searching for a barrel of fresh water to fill it up with, but paused as he spotted a small barrel with two all too familiar words.

Kelp Beer.

With a wicked grin on his face, Michael filled the cup up nearly to the top with Zeltiva's number one drink. Gods bless the captain for stocking some of this on board. He brought it back up to the top deck and approached the queasy girl, putting on his best straight face as he offered the cup to her.

"Drink, it'll wash the taste out of your mouth. You don't want to ruin a beautiful day like this with bile in your mouth."

[Tolgar Cotterill]

7th of Spring, 517

Tolgar took a step back and let out a sigh of relief as the wind caught the sails, and he took a step back. Neither sailing nor fishing were his forte, and so he followed the actions of the men and women around him, who so clearly knew what they were doing. Being a citizen of Syrilas, he was well aware of the issues it currently faced with food shortages, and so opted to try his hand at learning to fish the seas in an effort to help.

Tolgar rubbed his hands on his cloth shirt, a tad sore from the pulling of ropes to release the sails, and then brought his cloak around to encompass most of his body. He was dressed in relatively simple clothes, not the nicest, but ample enough. The only item of note was the hand-axe in an axe-ring at his hip, which was now mostly covered the cloak.

It seemed the boat required little extra effort from here, as most people began to congregate in their groups. He looked around, many familiar faces, locals of Syliras. Everyone was here to do their part, all had heeded the call for some reason or another.

While he wasn’t familiar with the sounds of marine operation, one sound caught his attention: the regurgitation of someone’s last meal, going right over the side of the boat. He looked over, inspecting the culprit. A small woman, probably a whole foot smaller than himself. With her being unable to hold back the troubles of the sea, perhaps she was also someone not familiar with being on a rocky boat.

Tolgar made mental note of the man who seemed to take off beneath the deck after seeing the woman vomit, something seemed familiar about him.

He caught the eye of a few men, and approached, greeting with an upwards nod.
“A’ight.” The men returned the greetings quite openly. Tolgar was raised as a working man, and spent a long time in the field with various merc groups. He was no stranger to getting involved into such social groups, yet still struggled to fully integrate himself into them, often simply sticking around for the money and leaving when it dried up. This would be something he'd have to improve, should his goals eventually come to realization.

“Am Davos, this is Braum.” The man nodded to his rather scrawny companion, both leather clad and sporting a city’s worth of tattoos. Tolgar had often considered getting a tattoo, but never quite found the right time or type.
“You lads spend much time fishin’ on boats?” Tolgar questioned, motioning to several anchor and water-based tattoos.
“Yeah, it’s how we make our livin’. Man’s gotta eat.”

Tolgar nodded, then watched as the man came back to the deck with a drink and offered it to the puking woman. He stared at the man for a few moments, amazed at how he had not yet recognised him. This was Michael, Michael Kyber. He had been one of members of a party who saved him from a bandit encampment in the latter quarter of last season. Tolgar was in a bad situation, then, and potentially owed this man his life.

“Gonna introduce meself to these folk.” With that, Tolgar gave a departing nod to Davos and Braum, then headed for the weak stomached woman and the accompanying Michael.

He strode towards them. Seeing as Michael knew exactly where to find the drink he’s presenting, Tolgar could only assume he was a regular of this ship. Or, at the very least, was an experienced sailor.
"Savin' people from their demise, yet again, eh, Michael?" He smiled, then looked down to the woman.
"Not a fan of boats, lassy?"

[Aladari Coolwater]

Aladari leaned back up on the ship, groaning softly. What was this? She had never had such a sea sickness, even when she was a baby. Laviku damn it all. I offered you coin!

He must have felt bad for her, for no sooner had she cursed His name than a sailor waltzed up to her with a mug to rinse her mouth. With him came another man, almost amassing a crowd around Aladari.

As much as she despised the attention, she was grateful for the help, and eagerly took the mug from him. It was only at the last tick that she caught the tell-tale whiff of the alcohol, but it was too late to stop. She took a swig into her mouth, planning to swish it briefly, but instead finding herself spitting it out over the railing.

Out of the corner of her eye, Aladari could see the man named Michael's mischievous smile.

As a Zeltivan at birth, she recognized the seaweed taste, but she had not expected the bland and burning combination of the alcohol. Aladari could not be shown up, though. Her pride would not let her.

She clicked her tongue around in her mouth, allowing herself to warm up to the taste slowly. Taking a deep breath to steel herself, Aladari slowly lifted the mug to her lips again and took another drink.

"Not a fan of boats, lassy?" Asked another man, sidling up to Michael.

Aladari's eyes tinted darker. "Name's Al." She corrected him. "An' I'm jus' warmin' up. I'll get there."

Eager to prove herself, Aladari nodded at the men in a tough-looking manner the way she had seen gang members do. She immediately regretted the movement, as it set her stomach churning again, but she powered through with a heavy gulp. Aladari leaned back on the railing for support, taking another stabilizing breath.

"I'm a fisher on land, mos' times." She told them. "I'm good at it, swear, I's just not use' to tha waves. Wha's about you folks? Wha's you guys doin' 'ere?"

Word Count342

[Michael Kyber]

Michael erupted into a round of chuckles as the girl spat out her first mouthful of drink into the ocean in shock. However when, to his surprise, she then took another swig of the Kelp Beer his chuckles turned into a grin of impressed amusement. She obviously didn't like it, but still toughed up and took another for the sake of pride. He could respect that.

It was then that a familiar voice caught his attention, and Michael looked behind him to see a face he hadn't expected to find. "Tolgar, good to see you bud!" He said with a grin, offering him his hand. "How have you been? You weren't exactly in the best of shape last time I saw you."

He switched his attention back to the girl as she introduced herself as Al, a fisherwoman, who for some reason nodded at the two of them like they were pantomime thugs. "Well I'm training with the order to be a knight, but I was a sailor before that. Hence..." He gestured around to the ship, "this. Speaking of which..."

The others in the sailing crew had started moving around the ship fiddling with the ropes, and Michael jogged over to join them. One by one the sails went down and the ship began to slow, and Michael and one of the other crew members hauled the anchor over the side. No sooner than the ship had come to a stop than some of the crew came on deck with fishing rods and handed them out to everyone, placing a number of buckets of bait and barrels mostly filled with ice about the deck.

"Okay guys, get fishin'." Old man Stru called out, and across the ship the crew members took up seats on the rails and began casting their lines out into the ocean.

Michael came back with a line and took a seat up on the rails too. He'd rarely ever done any fishing himself, but he'd seen enough of it back in his hometown to know how to do it. He speared a piece of bait and let the line drop into the ocean, watching the hook disappear into the dark of the water.

"I hope we'll be able to catch enough fish to help make a difference today, his crop shortage thing has been a real pain." He grinned down at his reflection in the water. "Maybe we'll get lucky and snag ourselves some kind of sea monster. I hear the Suvan is full of them."

[Tolgar Cotterill]

7th of Spring, 517

Tolgar let out a smirk as the woman sprayed the drink overboard, clearly not too keen on its taste. He had no idea what it could be, but assumed it was something a little harsher than water. The woman took another, seemingly hesitant, swig of the mug. An odd decision, but probably one to try and save face. It seemed she’d try to have the last laugh, typical of a woman. He smiled again as the woman introduced herself as Al. ”No bother, lass, am not too fond of the sea meself. Not really me place of… expertise.” He spoke no lies to comfort her, either. He’d simply deemed it necessary to do his part and perhaps learn to fish, in order to help the ongoing food problem.

It was then that Michael turned, and thankfully remembered him. The experiences they shared together would likely not be easily forgotten, at least not for a time.
“Aye, not doin’ too shabby. Got a couple scars from that predicament, but y’know, the usual.” Tolgar shook his hand with a quick nod. It was good to see a familiar face, someone who could perhaps guide his efforts in learning the ways of this fishing vessel.

Tolgar looked back to the woman as Michael did, listening as she spoke. Michael spoke first, mentioning his efforts to become a knight. Tolgar frowned slightly, he had mixed feelings regarding the Syliran Knights. As a child, he had adored them, watched in awe as they waded through the streets, commanding utmost respect from all. But he had seen far too many pompous, arrogant dicks who’d rather keep their armour clean than get into the thick of real, brutal combat. Regardless, Toglar knew Michael, at least a little, and knew he was to be of the good sort. Someone he could actually rely on. He shook the thoughts from his head as Michael finished.

“Aye, am wantin’ to expand me own skill set. Fishin’s never really been my thing, I was a farmer, like me father before me. But.. there’s only so much bread we can produce this time, so am happy to help out ‘n get some fish, too.” Of course, he wasn’t a farmer by choice, and nor would he consider it his primary profession anymore, but that was beside the point.

Tolgar looked stared idly around the ship as people moved into action once more. He followed Michael’s actions, perhaps getting in the way more often than helping. He pulled the same ropes, helped heave the anchor, and generally just followed what other people did. No use trying to do something no one needs doing.

Someone brought some rods and bait buckets from below deck, and set them around the boat. He took a rod, and positioned himself next to Michael. With rod in hand, he took a piece of bait, and awkwardly tried impaling it on the hook. It slipped from his fingers, landing on the deck below him. He quickly kneeled down, picking it up. ”Fuckin’ ‘ell, this ‘ns makin’ his grand escape.” Tolgar almost flung the line back, as he’d seen it done in drawings and such, but stopped as he noticed Michael simply dropping it overboard, so he done the same.

He nodded in agreement as Michael spoke, then laughed a little. ”Sea monsters? Nah, the only monster in there is your reflection, heh.”

[Aladari Coolwater]

Aladari began to settle in as the fishing began. It put her in a different headspace, where she could ignore the swaying of the boat and the judgmental looks of her peers. Instead, she could focus on herself, and Laviku.

Aladari grabbed a piece of bait, winding it around and onto her hook before tossing the line gently underhand into the water. Then, she climbed up onto the railing to sit with her two newest companions.

She was a good enough distance from them to keep from crossing lines, but she was plenty close enough to hear their discussion. "Sea monsters?" She grinned. "Oh, I tell ya, I seen some sea monsters in the Suvan."

Pulling from her father's stories, her own memory, and a bit of fabrication, Aladari began to weave her story. After all, what was fishing without fish stories?

"I wasn't ten," She began, "An' we'd jus' settled in Zeltiva. Pa was goin' out to sea for fishin', an' I said, 'Well, I wanna go!" An' so I went with Pa out on the Suvan. Was all fun at firs'. I watched 'im drop the net in the water, and we chattered for a bell." Aladari paused, feeling the drag in her story. She would have to push on to the important part. "But when Pa went over to pull the net in to go home, I saw on his face there was somethin' wrong. 'E went like a Ghost, and backed up. Then I heard this horrible sound. Ain't nothin' like you ever heard. There was a rippin', an' tearin', and this awful growlin'."

Aladari shook her head and shifted her grip, waiting for the dramatic reveal.

"When I went an' looked, I saw this monster. It was as big as me or you, an' it had teeth stickin' all out from the side o' it's mouth. 'Is head was all long an' pointed, with white skin, an' 'is eyes was deep red." In truth, she could not remember exactly what the shark had looked like, but she decided that this version sounded much scarier, and therefore, much more interesting. "The thing tore open the net with is face, and ate all the fish! An' then, when 'e was done, 'e looked up at me, an' I swear, that monster said to me with 'is red eyes, 'I'll find you'."

Aladari shrugged, as if she were nonchalant about the situation. "Could come up 'ere, I s'pose. Laviku only knows. Jus' tell me if any you feel a big, sharp pull or 'ear a tearin', growlin' sound. If we's lucky, we's only catchin' the little ones today. They're good eatin', but they won't eat you, right Michael?" Aladari winked conspiratorially, not bothering to hide her grin.

Word Count459

[Anuk]

　
Grade Withheld

Due to inactivity


Players, if you return to Mizahar, please deduct living expenses for Spring 517AV from your ledgers. You may also want to check out this announcement and amend your skills accordingly in your CS. Then feel free to PM me or resubmit this thread to the queue for your grade!