[Port Diablo] Fish Out of Water Pt. II

[Yeva]

60 Ashan 720

[A continuation from here.]

Yeva had opted to stay mostly quiet since her public exposure, huddled against the side of the deck, it was too much embarrassment to speak again. On the water, Professor Carter had tried to cheer her up, but her smiles were far from believable, "I think I'd just like to be left alone for awhile," she muttered.

He nodded, looking at the rest of the group, "We will talk again in Almund," Professor Carter made his way to the others while Caelin barked a few orders, pulling ropes and directing sails. Yeva especially avoided his eye, drawing her cloak around her tightly while the others began telling stories to pass the time. The water was rather peaceful and the weather was nice. For awhile, she rested her cheek against the railing and watched the waves, smiling faintly when she noticed some were the colors of rainbows. Scalvoris was truly a strange and wonderful place.

The soft lull of the sailing ship soothed her, distracted her. She began to close her eyes and listen to the sound of her classmates talking. One girl in particular seemed eager to share her tale, voice building for dramatic effect, "...and that was the day my dead pet returned to save my life!"

The others groaned, some laughed.

"Bullshit."

"It's true."

"There ain't nothing true about that story!"

Yeva smiled against the wood and began to close her eyes as the sunlight played upon the water.

[Yeva]

60 Ashan 720

A hand touched her shoulder, Professor Carter crouched beside her, "We're arriving, Yeva."

She sat up, disoriented in the unfamiliar place and looked around. With no memory of falling asleep, she was quick to rub her eyes. The sun had lowered on the water, barely visible over the horizon in a mass of purples, oranges, and lemon yellow. Her classmates stood along the railing, chatting as Almund came into view. Yeva stood up; her clothes had dried in her slumber and she absentmindedly felt her hair, wondering how un-tameable it must have looked.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Caelin called, steering the ketch to pass beneath the monstrous shadow of a true pirate's vessel. Yeva craned her neck as they swooped beneath it and its artistry, turning to see the dozens of other ships that dotted the water. Gulls swooped overhead, and the sound of curses, laughter, and foreign language mixed with the growing echo of dock bells, "Welcome to Port Diablo."

It wasn't a full port by any means, but it still had an air of importance that clung to the old docks, some more dilapidated than others. Men and women walked the boards, covered in tattoos and weaponry - signature sabers and cutlasses hanging from cloth waist bands - they paroled their goods, clearly distrustful of each other, and when the small scholarly group began to dock, Yeva shrunk back, "I'm going go have a chat with the port master; he's expecting me. Do not leave this ship."

Cealin finished tying a rope off and left them and not even Professor Carter spoke in his absence. They waited anxiously and in silence. Yeva thought she heard someone fall into the water and gave a start, imagining a pirate execution on a nearby ship, but she didn't turn her head. Interest might put her at risk.

Eventually, Caelin returned, walking alongside a woman who was speaking Rakahi. The two laughed and she touched his arm with a wink before heading back towards shore. Forgotten quickly, the guide hefted a crate of something in one arm which he dropped upon the deck in a wet thud. Something inside it scuttled around, the sound of hardened shell making the students collectively grimace, "Everyone still in one piece?" he was grinning again and already began to load up for departure.

"We're leaving?"

Caelin looked over but it was Professor Carter who spoke, "Ah, yes, this was only a temporary stop. Now, our trip really begins."

His teaching confidence returned and he took control, "Mr. Ash is going to take us around to the coast where we will hope to locate and capture an elusive aquatic creature - The Muter Fish!"

Everyone began to reach for their notebooks or study materials, realizing the lecture was about to begin in earnest and once ready, Professor Carter continued...

[Yeva]

60 Ashan 720

"The Muter Fish is an absolutely riveting creature, with properties vital in the medical community. Mr. Ash, why don't you tell our students a bit about what you know?"

Caelin shifted the sails of the small vessel, an arrogant half smile curling his lip, "It's big, it's ugly, and it's mean,"

"So like you, then?"

A group of students guffawed at the sharp observation, Professor Carter having to blink away his own stunned silence. That didn't last long, "Ms. Yeva, I understand you've had a challenging day, but that is no way to speak to our guest! Mr. Ash-"

"Ah, it's fine, Prof," Caelin's steely eyes found the red head, his grin turning to something a bit hungrier, "Sunspot's had a big day. I think she'd be a good volunteer to see what I'm talking about. Then, if she still agrees, I'll take her words."

"What a gentlemen," Yeva muttered under her breath, turning to glare out over the water. Caelin might have caught her eye back in Scalvoris Town, but his personality left a sour taste in her mouth. Her experience with seafarer's was extremely limited, but he had pirate written all over him. Was this the type of help the University employed? Was she supposed to be happy with how he spoke to her? So arrogant!

Yeva avoided Professor Carter's disapproving eyes, focusing on writing her notes, the sun setting over the horizon and the waters around them darkening to an inky black. In the distance, she could see the faintest lights of Almund flickering and still hear its doc bells, but the waters had grown cold and quiet. Even her paper had begun to lose its readability and eventually she was forced to seal her ink pot.

Muter Fish

The eyes of the Muter Fish are often called 'liquid gold', known for their jelly that gives off a bright glow in even the darkest of waters. When harvested, this substance is a highly potent pain inhibitor and is coveted by surgeons for its ability to numb even the more gruesome of injuries.

Caelin slowed the boat, leaning over to peer into the water, "There ya are, ya bastard."

The girl who had been telling stories about her dead pet suddenly sat up, "You see it?"

"How big does the Muter Fish grow?"

"That is actually unknown - some reports claim that it can grow up to three feet in length. Once, a few arcs back, a specimen washed up upon the shore boasting of nearly six feet. No one had ever quite seen anything like it. They're bodies are similiar to eels-"

"Shhh!" Caelin crept upon the boat and reached for the crate, "C'mon, Sunspot. You're gonna help me catch it."

"What?" she shot a pleading look towards Professor Carter, who was too busy looking at the water to see it, "But I don't know how to fish."

"Well, you're about to learn something. C'mere, now," Caelin crossed the deck and grabbed the medic's arm, tugging her towards the edge of the boat, "And shut up, will ya? The whole lot of ya."

Yeva grudgingly sat down by the edge, taking an oil lamp from the sailor who now whispered, "Turn the knob so that the flame pulses," Caelin cracked the crate open and threw a handful of bloody chum into the water, "Just wait."

She heard him unsheathe a knife, fingers turning up the brightness, then reducing it in slow rhythm. Just as she began to lower the flame, something stirred in the water - a large black fin slithered back below the surface and she felt her stomach drop. There was a faint glow in the water, just a flicker of luminous yellow and then it was gone, back into the darkness.

"He's here," Caelin's breath was hot on her ear, and Yeva felt his hand press upon the back of her neck and shove her chest roughly so that she hung halfway over the edge of the boat, "Put your hand in the water."

Fear shot straight through her body and she tried to push back but he kept his weight upon her. Panicked breath caught and she tried to whisper in protest, "Are you crazy!" The water stirred to their right, Caelin's eyes followed like a hunting cat.

"Do it, Sunspot. I won't let it get ya."

"Mr. Ash, I'm not sure-"

"Shh! Who's the fisherman here, huh?" Caelin gave the lantern to Professor Carter to keep the light fading in and out.

Yeva's breath was coming in quick succession and her hand shook as she brushed the surface of the icy water. Nothing happened when the first wave of darkness played. She splashed a bit harder, the wood railing digging into her ribs and biting her. She tried to shift, but Caelin held the scruff of her collar. She kept running her hands back and forth, withdrawing when she heard the water stir once more, "I c-can't," she tried to buck against Caelin, the boat rocking, "Please stop...!"

There was a flash of gold directly beneath her face, and then a row of razor teeth. Yeva opened her mouth to scream and suddenly she was thrown back as an explosion shot from the water, Caelin yelled something in Rakahi and pain radiated up her back from where she was thrown. Gasp and sounds of horror erupted from her classmates and then something large and wet thrashed beside her - illuminated in golden light was a creature with a large mouth, snapping in her direction at anything that moved and then... A knife was sunk into its skull, directly between its eyes and the monster stilled.

[Yeva]

60 Ashan 720

Tears had sprouted in her eyes and she struggled to rise to her unsteady feet, "What is wrong with you!" she shouted, wishing nothing more than to swing on the pirate, "I could have been killed!"

Yeva couldn't stop the tears that poured down her face, watching in angry fear while Caelin ignored her, straddling the large fish that must have been nearly four feet in length. He gripped it by the sharp dorsal fin and twisted its head, "The goods," he tugged his knife free with a sickening 'slichk' sound and pressed the bloody tip towards the edge of its eye, "You'll get one, having 'risked your life' and all that. Order'll like that, I bet."

She glared and scoffed. He couldn't have cared less about her feelings.

"Are you okay, Yeva?" one of her classmates offered her forgotten cloak to help warm her, "Are you hurt?"

"...No, I'm fine," she sniffled and clutched the fabric when it was draped around her shoulders, "It was just..." Really scary.

"You were so brave! I can't imagine how scary that was! Amazing!"

"I think Ms. Yeva deserves a bit of extra credit for her fearlessness," Professor Carter came over and rested a hand upon her shoulder, "Do you need to rest?"

The others were watching her in awe while Caelin continued to wrangle the massive tail on board. Was she brave? Truly? She chewed her lip and tried to force a smile, "Thank you, I'm fine. Just a bit shaken up," No one else had offered to do what they had done, not after they heard Caelin's instruction. Maybe... Maybe was brave! "It's... not what I expected."

"So, who wants to see how to harvest these things?" Caelin looked at the cooing group and waited for Professor Carter to jump back into his instruction. There was a brief demonstration on how to carve the eyes out without bursting the jelly, each eye about the size of a tennis ball, "It doesn't look like much, but it can make a man forget he's having a leg chopped off. You just squeeze it on."

Professor Carter cleared his throat, "Or! You may also dilute it with a saline solution and inject it via needle. A more concentrated and less wasteful approach. It should be noted that these are not common creatures and... they take a bit of preparation in capturing, as we have seen first hand."

"We can take it back to shore, sell the meat. Fins here have a bit of poison secretions, we'll cut those off, I got a few people who might be interested..."

Yeva was handed one of the eyes by her professor, rinsed off and tied in a small sack of cheesecloth, "When we get back to shore, I'll show you how to transfer that to vial. You did very well."

The young woman forced a smile, unable to look at the monster any more. She may have learned she was capable of bravery, and a few things about a new anesthesia, but she was ready to go home and put the trial behind her.

[Doran]

Yeva:

Knowledge:
Skill Knowledge:

Medicine
The Value of the Muter Fish in Medicine

Fishing
Use Chum to Attract Predator Attention
Splashing Water Can Draw Hungry Interest
How to Use Yourself as Bait
Be Quiet When On the Water

Chemistry
How to Extract Muter Fish Anestheia Jelly

Non-skill Knowledge:
Scalvoris: Almund
Almund: Port Diablo
Port Diablo: A Shady Pirate Hub

Loot: One Muter Fish Eye, slab of meat
Wealth: -
Injuries: A few bruises from getting tossed on the deck.
Renown: 5
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 10

- - -

Comments: I always enjoy your solos. They are quite entertaining!

Poor Yeva. Her embarrassment at what happened in the last thread is almost tangible, and Caelin is rather mean to her.

She’s quite brave though!

You did a good job when it comes to setting the scene and describing the NPCs. They all have a distinct personality, and their dialogue is entertaining and feels completely natural.

The Muter Fish does sound a bit like a monster!

Enjoy your rewards!