And here I go again on my own

by **Finn Reefdiver** on May 30th, 2019, 1:56 am

55th Spring of 519

Finn noticed that the ship’s name on the back of his casinor had completely worn off now, it also needed a few other repairs from the service it had seen since he received it from the pod. He was also quite proud with how his little ship had performed along with all that he had learned during their brief time so far but he also knew he had plenty more to learn. He needed to plan some time to make the necessary repairs to the ship but it couldn’t be today as he had already had set his day. Mentally he added it to what seemed to be an ever increasing to do list, he seemed to do much more adding over completing things.

Looking out over the sea in front of him as the gentle breeze cooled the beach to make it the heat tolerable. As he walked off the ship with his backpack in hand that carried his few necessities like sacks, some rope, and insect repellent. His cutlass was on his hip along with his dagger and he wore just his pants at the moment but he planned on buying a few supplies before he went fishing today so he set out for the mercantile for the things he needed and put off buying for far too long since he decided to stay a while in Syka. Camira had went in search of food when he started grabbing the gear and prepared to leave for the day leaving the bird to her own wanderings.

He walked toward the store as he looked at the white billowy clouds that dotted the sky and occasionally gave a chime or two of shade as the cloud passed overhead before the sun beat back down on his back and shoulders again otherwise it was a beautiful day in Syka although warm as ever which he was very thankful for. The warm sand fell from his feet as he climbed the stairs and entered the little building that always seemed to be piled with various wares that the residents would seem to need.

The one item he took especially close care as he purchased was the a new harpoon. He had been unsuccessful in finding one on his casinor so he assumed he had lost it since the last time he used it. Finn inspected the stock, which consisted of only a few to be certain, regardless he carefully checked the new harpoons to pick the sharpest and sturdiest one of the bunch.. The lines looked good but not his biggest concern as he could replace it easily enough if needed. Once he picked the best of what he saw, a two meter stick with only a minor flaw on the the hook, he took it and set it next to the counter and continued on with his purchases.

Although he had limited experience in jungle survival, he recently had been reminded of many of the dangers in the jungle. He quickly found a pair of leather boots that fit rather well and some of the local isuas clothes that appeared to be his size and set it all up on the counter in a neat little pile. The boots should protect him well from stepping on anything and especially from any snakes that he missed while he trekked. Juli had to remind him of the price as his mind was on his plans, he quickly dug them out of his pack and handed them to her before he packed his things to leave, although he stopped at the door long enough to thank her before he walked out to return down to Syka’s cobblestone path.

Ledger :

by **Finn Reefdiver** on June 1st, 2019, 3:25 am

Finn returned his purchases to his casinor where he tossed the clothes and boots onto his bunk in a pile to be stowed away later when he had more time before he went over and rummaged around in his storage chest until he found the whetstone tucked away at the bottom. With whetstone in hand as he went topside, he grabbed his waterskin and sat down in the little bit of shade that he could find on the ship. He set the stone down on the deck so he could pour a little bit of water on top of it to let it soak in, of course he the water was fresh but warm but he drank from it anyway before he set it beside him.

Next he grabbed the harpoon to inspect again, the line was long and fastened tightly at the end of the harpoon, while the junction of the wood and metal appeared tight and usable. The hook needed to tuned and sharpened at the point so he would be able to get the more leathery hides or scales of various species. Something he hoped to fix in short order on the whetstone once it was ready. Forced to wait for several chimes as the water soaked into his stone, he set the harpoon down and leaned back against the bulwark to wait and relax. His casinor rocked slightly as the bay was calm as he waited, every chime or two he added a little extra water to the stone as the heat dried the stone too quickly.

Once the stone looked ready, he added a little water to it and picked up the weapon and checked the tip. Finn didn’t like the tip and he wanted it pointed slightly more so he put the point down on the stone and then lifted the handle higher until it reached the angle he wanted for the blade. Then he laid the blade on the stone while he pushed it away from him to grind the edge of the tip down before he repeated the process. He worked on one side before he flipped it over and worked on the other side, he continued to added water as he worked on the point. The chimes passed quickly as he worked, but once it reached an acceptable point he stopped shaping it. He wiped the harpoon off once, before he checked it very closely. He now liked the point, he thought it would puncture more reliably now that it didn’t have the bulge in the very point of it. He ran his finger across the blade portion to make sure it was sharp.

Although it definitely wasn’t dull, he decided to sharpen it slightly as he had the stone out anyway. He added more water again before he ran the very edge of the blade, each edge was ran along the stone many times before he again swapped sides and repeated. Once he was done, he ran the blade along his forearm where it easily sliced a little hair and skin. He quickly stopped and returned the stone to the chest now that the harpoon was ready, he figured he had all he needed to fish again.

by **Finn Reefdiver** on June 2nd, 2019, 5:13 am

Now that the harpoon was sharpened and ready to go fishing, he quickly untied his mooring lines before he jumped onto the pier and pulled the lines off. Once the lines were released, he tossed them over the rail of his ship one at a time. On the last line, he tossed it over just before he pushed his casinor off the dock before he jumped onto the deck of the ship as it floated away. The tide slowly pulled the ship away from shore as he pulled the mooring lines in and coiled them on deck where he left them for the day. Finn took a moment as he stepped to the back of the ship where he said a prayer and made a small offering to Laviku for a safe journey and for bountiful fishing on his journey.

He turned the wheel and let the ship drift as it slowly turned the bow out to sea while he slowly raised the sail to get himself underway. As the wind filled the sail, the ship slowly started to move forward. He steered the vessel out of the bay before he turned it south again as he stayed just offshore to follow the beach as he searched for some bait fish to catch. The ship coasted down the shore slowly but steadily until he felt comfortable that he would find fish. He reached up the sail and released it and allowed it to drop down to lay on the deck as the ship drifted onward.

He reached over and grabbed his fishing net that he quickly stretched out for a thow. As he drifted he tossed the net behind them and let it sink. As he pulled it up, he had an assortment of fish in it that was good for little but today it would fit his needs. He released his catch into a tub onboard the ship before he threw the net a second time as he drifted on. The second net doubled his catch as he dropped it in the tub with the first. The third throw was accompanied by a flutter of wings as Camira joined him onboard. The thought a free meal never seemed to be missed by the special gull as she watched him drop the fish from the net and into his tub. Afterwards he cleaned it in the sea, folded it as best as he could, and neatly stored the net away for later use.

After the net was stowed neatly, he threw Camira one of the larger fish in the tub before he stood and moved to the mast, he pulled the sail back up slowly and tied it off safely to a cleat. After another fish made its way to the bird, he steered the ship out to sea as the wind started to push the ship along again. A third and a fourth fish was sent to the awaiting bird as she gulped the fish down before she stopped begging for food from him. He relaxed comfortably as the ship slowly sailed out to sea with his freshly caught bait that waited to used.

by **Finn Reefdiver** on June 2nd, 2019, 1:33 pm

Finn stretched out across the wooden deck and soaked up a bit of sun as he sailed away from Syka. The ship sailed slowly as it gently rocked with the waves, almost lulled the young Svefra to sleep as he went. Sleep never found him but he thoroughly enjoyed the trip as it had been several weeks since he the last time he had been on the water much at all. He even lost a little track of time as chimes passed but it had to of been thirty to forty chimes of sail time that he simply enjoying the trip before he finally stood up and stretched the laziness out of his body and forced himself to get back to the business at hand.

Even the breeze that blew across the ship didn’t cool the heat of the sun as it beat down on him and the water. Finn pulled a bucket out and set it down in front of the bait fish before he grabbed one of his throwing knives from his weapon belt. He reached into the tub and pulled out a bait fish which he cut into several pieces as he tossed it back into the tub. He continued to prep his chum as the ship sailed for another ten or fifteen chimes before he rinsed off his hands and the knife in the salt water before he stuck the knife into the top of tub.

Finn stood again and went to the mainsail where he untied the line to the sail and furled it neatly.The inertia of the ship continued to keep it moving forward as it had been but it quickly dropped speed until it floated in the water being pushed in the waves like a cork bobber. He pulled his newly purchased and sharpened harpoon out and set it near the center of the deck and a safe location. He untied the line to the harpoon and stretched it out on board the ship. As the sun slowly heated the line, it relaxed and started to straighten the coils out of itself as it changed before his very eyes.

Once the ship drifted in the currents, Finn raised the sail just enough for a slight forward momentum as he turned the ship northward and tied the wheel back off again. As the ship gingerly moved forward, he dipped some of the chum out of the tub and walked to the back of the ship where with a swing of his arms he spread it out behind the ship in as large of an area as he could throw it. He waited several chimes before he repeated the motions again before he proceeded to coil up the line on the harpoon again as he needed it to be thrown.

Every few chimes he tossed out more chum behind him while he sailed and created a long path of the chum. In between the chumming he picked up the harpoon and walked very slowly around the ship as he watched the water for signs of any kind fish that might be seen around him. He continued throwing out chum every few chimes, luckily patience was something he had plenty of for his afternoon work.

by **Finn Reefdiver** on June 2nd, 2019, 11:47 pm

The work turned long and tedious as he drifted along with a wide trail of chum that strung out behind him like a tail as he watched for any signs of life in the seas around him. He continued the work as he surveyed behind him before he was finally rewarded as he started to see some fish checking out the bait. In the distance, some fish or at least one fish was breaking the surface of the water and seeing that elated him a little more.

Finn moved to the mast where he furled the sail completely to allow the ship to drift with the sea around him before he chummed all the water surrounding him. He then waited and watched for the fish to come to him. It didn’t take long for the fish to make it around his boat as he watched them swim around and under his ship. Many of them were gigantic in size btu he was sure he couldn’t handle fish that large on his own and he had not seen many Sykians venture out onto the Suvan in his short time there. Luckily it appeared to be a large school of fish, bluefin tunas if he wasn’t mistaken, as he prepared himself for a throw.

Several large coils of the line in his left line, while he held the spear in his right and the line held tightly against the harpoon as well. He rested the harpoon on his shoulder as the point followed his eyes while he intently looked and waited for the perfect one today. Enormous fish swam all around, he waited until the smaller dark shapes approached afterwards, these seemed a little more skiddish and reserved, Finn held perfectly still with his arm raised as he le leaned slightly over the side and poised to throw. Slowly they worked their way closer to Finn as he tensed for the throw, he waited until one was close to the side of the ship as it fed on the chum. As soon as it neared the water’s surface, Finn heaved the harpoon as hard as he could at the side of the fish.

The harpoon sailed straight into the water and his aimed proved true and it sunk deeply into the fish. The line pulled easily from his left hand as the fish ran for a chime. He grabbed the running line with his right hand and slowly tightened his grip until he stopped the line entirely. His hands burned slightly where the line ran them as the fish continued to fight. He slowly pulled the line and fish back to him as the fight slowly dissipated on the line, once he had it back at the side he reached down and grabbed the fish. He struggled as he lifted it up and over the rail, it took all of his strength to get it over the rail and finally onto the deck.

Once on the deck, he ran his knife down next to the harpoon tip so he could easily remove it and not destroy a large chunk of his catch. As he looked at the fish, it looked to be a good four feet long and he suspected it could be a good hundred pounds of fish. He secured the fish with a line in the shade for the moment so he could return to fishing. If he could catch another fish like that or maybe two then he could feel that it was a good day at sea. He tossed some more chum around the boat before he picked up and readied his harpoon for a second time.

Solo And here I go again on my own