Oppression vs. Ambition

[MacConnell]

The clerk was a young Ansylin woman, not too many cycles older than the two boys. Being under the pavilion, she had doffed her hooded cloak that was to protect her from the Daylight. Ansylins do not grow much for hair. Like nearly all that did not reside in the Flats, the clerk had shaved her head. The baldness was part of the culture and differed as dramatically from the Centrins as the color of their skin. Centrins were profusely hair, and both genders often braided their long hair. The clerk explained a quick overview, then identified what could currently earn pay, adding at the end that there was more than she could remember to mention.

Basically, residents are expected to collect food or building materials. Building materials are always available but crops are not. Some of the sources of meat also change during the cycle, most particularly reef clams, which can make a person sick from the start of Stasis through Harvest seasons. It stands to reason that items that are in great demand or difficult to collect offer greater pay. It seems less oppressive to collect food than building material.

The boys own nothing other than their tunics and pantaloons; so after the young woman records the boy’s names, she hands them a cotton satchel with a drawstring. “This is in case you catch Welcome Crabs. The drawstring keeps them from climbing out of the sack.”

Welcome Crabs was the local name for Shield Crabs. The crab is about the size of a person’s fist and has one enlarged claw of the same size as their body. As part of their breeding ritual, the male continually waves this claw, evidently in hopes of attracting a mate. There are many thousands of the crabs, and they are worth more and taste better than the Periwinkle Clams, the most prolific meat source in the Flats.

GM: Jalakaag has increased in innate magical ability, and Whiron has increased in overall cognitive ability.

OOC: State nominal actions and intentions. Provide 2 random rolls. (d10)

 

[MacConnell]

Jalakaag touches his right hand to his forehead, as is the formal greeting, then takes the satchel and gestures for Whiron, giving one last glance over his shoulder at the woman, realizing, possibly for the first time, that she is pretty.

OOC: d10 = 2, 6

 

[Eric Zephlaer]

Whiron foregoes the formality but still thanks the woman. He hustles to walk beside Jalakaag. “Let’s go catch some crabs. It sounds more fun than picking up snails.”

OOC: d10 = 3, 9

 

[MacConnell]

For a couple of adolescent boys, catching a satchel full of Welcome Crabs is not only fun, it becomes a bit of a competition. The two are so successful that they regularly eat and drink their fill of fresh water four times in a day. The crabs are available anytime during the entire Cycle, and a full belly makes for happy thoughts, until enough time passes that it does not.

The entire Cycle returns to the start of the Stasis season when the two finally realize that, even though they are in better condition than many of the other residents, especially the older ones, their lives are a circle of drudgery. The two do not even have a single piece of cane that they may call their own, much less anything of greater value. This frustration lends itself to greater thinking.

Whiron realizes that the drawstring can be removed from the cotton satchel and used as a snare. Snares are really only effective if used at night so that the last bag cannot be filled and deposited until the following day, if the string is going to be used in such a manner. No resident of the Flats is allowed to carry a weapon, not even a carving knife, but Jalakaag remembers that Reef Clams have very sharp edges to their shells, which is what makes them dangerous to collect, and there are thousands of discarded shells along the edge of the pavilion’s rise. Even such a stone tool would allow them to cut and sharpen a piece of cane for a crude spear, or skin a captured rat or some such snared fare.

GM: Jalakaag has increased in overall physical ability, and Whiron has increased in innate magical ability.

OOC: State nominal actions and intentions. Provide 2 random rolls. (d10)

 

[MacConnell]

So a Cycle has passed comes to mind as Jalakaag exchanges his first satchel of the day for a bowl of some swill and fresh water. He sits with his friend, under the shade of the pavilion while he eats, pondering. He speaks quietly so that only Whiron should be able to hear him. “If we continue to do the same things, we will end up just like everyone else out here, old and tired. We need to come up with a better plan. There has to be another option. We are not looking beyond our next meal.”

OOC: d10 = 5, 9

 

[Eric Zephlaer]

Whiron goes through the motions of records and exchange without really paying any attention to what he is doing. He is thinking, as well. He removes his hat as he sits in the shade, hearing the words of his friend. “I could not agree more, and I have an idea. I was thinking of using the string on the satchela we are loaned as a snare, but the whole bage may be of use, if we keep it overnight. There are all sorts of small animals in the Flats. I think I can prop this open on one of their muddy trails. We have two bags. Maybe it will be worth more than the crabs. That is all I have, at the moment.”

OOC: d10 = 6, 2

 

[MacConnell]

Elsewhere…

Magister Karef Gyenin sat in his favorite wicker chair under the fabric pergola, on the flat roof of his official building in the Artisan District. As he lounged and sipped some tea, he was fanned by two scantily clad servants on each side of him. The servant on the Magister’s left was a Centrin boy, on the right was an Ansylin girl. The Centrin boy was kept away from the Burning Sun as much as possible. His skin was almost as pale as milk. The Ansylin girl had a perfectly smooth complexion but she was as dark as a night without the silver moon. The Magister was waiting on a scheduled meeting, a meeting that he hated to take but was necessary, for the Magister wanted someone to be killed.

A thin, elderly, Ansylin man soon topped the stairs to the roof and bowed a formal greeting toward the Magister, before proceeding further. If he ever chose to cut off his earlobes, he would quite readily pass for a Sioliri. Ansylins and Sioliri were often confused when an individual in question was still a child. The man moved, with a slight limp, to a distance that would be comfortable for speaking but not all that close. “Dobrogo vam dnya, milord.”

It grated on the Magister that the man spoke Sioliri, but he was not surprised. He and the others of his species, who had integrated with the Aedamans, were secretive about their own language. Everyone in the region commonly spoke, Ansylin, though very few could read, much less write, since they were not taught.

 

[MacConnell]

As an afterthought, when Jalakaag rises and returns his bowl, he motions for Whiron. Walking to the edge of the Pavilion’s rise, he picks up a few discarded reef clam shells and tosses two toward the feet of his friend, not wanting to risk getting him cut if he tries to catch it. Of his own, he scrapes the thicker end along one of the faux stone blocks that reinforce the rise until he dulls it. He then scraps the narrow end to make it sharper. He looks at Whiron and says, “Our first tool.”

 

[Eric Zephlaer]

Whiron follows and retrieves the shells that jalakaag tosses to him. He performs the same task, but his mind is on the possibility of catching game. He thinks that he has a bit of affinity with animals, as he has always been able to get much closer to them than other people can, but he is not sure of what all he might be able to capture while he cannot see. He visibly shakes his head, realizing that he can do something about the dark of night but suspects that he needs to keep that talent hidden from others. He his not concerned about his friend. He also thinks that Jalakaag might have his own talents. “Yes, let’s go. With these, hopefully, we can cut a piece of cane, which will give us another.”

 

[MacConnell]

If the two pause to think about it, not that pausing from physical activity is actually required for either, there are a vast variety of animals that can be taken from the marsh and used for food. Those in the water would be the most difficult for the two, but other residents, especially much older ones, have managed to snare game. It mostly consists of black rats. A disgusting animal that smells and will eat anything, whose population has increased due to the discarded remains of other animals cleaned for food. Despite its ugly appearance, once cleaned, the meat is perfectly safe to eat, especially if stewed with bulb fruit, during the Harvest Season.

Like people, birds cannot see in the dark and only move about during the day, making them difficult to catch even for the ones that do not fly. It seems likely that the farther the two are able to get away from the normal activity of other residents, the more likely they are to snare something. Whiron realizes that, though a whole bag might be more productive, if it is damaged, he will be forced to replace it, a cost he cannot afford. The string, alone, will have to do for now.

As the Daylight begins to sink toward the horizon, the two slosh beyond the drier paths in hopes of a less disturbed natural high spot. A great many flying insects and various skittish birds are noticed during the journey. The insects seem to ignore the two and the birds seem less afraid than those normally seen. In addition to black rats, it is known that a larger, grass eating, brown rodent lives in the marsh, as well as several types of fowlers. The brown rat, called a nutria, is good to eat, but fowlers are inedible, though their hides have decent value.

GM: Jalakaag has increased in overall physical ability, and Whiron has increased in innate magical ability.

OOC: State nominal actions and intentions. Provide 2 random rolls. (d10)