Upward from Land's End

[MacConnell]

Antapkos tethers... will vent... and flip... and causes... red illumination...

... Cormorant will vent and deposit... set snares...

It takes half of the day before the tide shifts, and the bodies can be disposed. In the mean time, fortune smiles upon the trapping ventures. The innovative concept of using a red light for bait results in a basketful of piggy perch, seven of which are sizable enough for food or trade. As edible birds are more active during the day, Cormorant captures a marsh hen in one snare and, by chance, a teal in another.

Both young men are surprised and pleased with each other's catch. Back at the Pavilion, no one seems to pay any mind to the fact that the two no longer share a skiff. No one really pays much attention to anyone else outside of their own close knit unit. The records' clerk is a different matter. His notifications are irritating. While he could not identify either of the Bird Brothers even if forced and probably could not differentiate which name belonged to whom, his records are meticulous and accurate. He conveys that neither made yesterday's quota and that neither paid their repective dues. Owed fees must be paid before any compensation would be given for labor or collections.

Fortunately, the bountiful collection of fish and foul allows the fees to be paid with four coins left to spare. The clerk notes the payment in his records and points to it as a sort of mockery, knowing that Flats residents could not read. Unaware of the potential of the Bird Brothers, he cannot realize that both have learned numbers just from exposure and both can make a repeatable mark for his own moniker.

During polite conversation with the elderly cooks and other Pavilion workers, some questions are asked about how far into the marsh the two youths are willing to venture to return with such game. The response is actually irrelevant. They are only making small talk.

Spoiler: Character Data

Antapkos: full wellness
Cormorant: full wellness

Spoiler: Collections

2 clams: currency

Marsh Hen Feathers: 2 sets: ??
Marsh Hen Feet: 2 pair: ??
Marsh Hen Skulls: 2: ??
Marsh Rat Feet: 2 pars: ??
Marsh Rat Skulls: 2: ??

OOC: Each character receives 5 DP. Provide a random roll. Decision needs to be made on mode of behavior, if no change will be made for the next Tenday or if an attempt will be made to alter life.

 

[MacConnell]

OOC: Posting for Player 1

Teal being a new capture, Cormorant decides to determine if any of its parts lend a compulsion like those of the marsh rats and hens. At some point, he makes suggestion to Antapkos.

"I am thinking we should give a tenday to see if anything untoward develops, then see about a change in venue, whether we have a coin or not."

OOC: 48

 

[MacConnell]

OOC: Posting for Player 2

Antapkos rubs his thumbs against is forefingers, thinking briefly. "That's fine. Let's skip the labor, though, and head out into the marsh to see what we can capture. I will show you a trick with the fish trap."

OOC: 62

 

[MacConnell]

Cormorant decides to determine... makes suggestion...

Antapkos... thinking briefly...

Spoiler: Alchemical Sensitivity

Cormorant: 15(alchemy) + 17(analysis) + 48(d100) = 80, fail

Cormorant can intuit nothing concerning the teal but keeps some tail feathers and the skull, anyway.

Taking the tenday and skipping the monotonous labor of picking, cutting, or digging, the two young men pole their skiffs for half a day before stopping in some random cut to drop the trap and set snares. At nightfall, Antapkos demonstrates his newly found talent to make a stone glow and use it to bait the fish trap. Cormorant is intrigued, even more so to discover that, he too, can perform the same task. Traveling farther each day, for the next three days, the two find themselves in a part of the marsh seemingly undisturbed by the passage of other people.

Spoiler: Active Search

Antapkos: 19(observation) + 18(clarity) + 62(d100) = 99
Cormorant: 15 + 18 + 48 = 81

Catching nothing unusual, the two collect some perch and marsh rats each day, enough to make the effort worth skipping the labor, except for once catching a skunk. It is on the return trip that something untoward occurs. Never before having any occasion or cause to engage any of the Ansylin Javeliniers, it seems a bit tenuous that the guards would hail the two.

There are four guards. Three are Shimadow, and one is Ansylin. This is not unusual, as most javleiniers are Shimadow. The Ansylin appears to be in charge of the unit and it is he that speaks, inquiring after the disappearance of none other than the Mala'kio. It is quite out of the ordinary for a guard to ask anything of a missing Flats resident.

Spoiler: Character Data

Antapkos: full wellness
Cormorant: full wellness

Spoiler: Collections

2 clams: currency

Marsh Hen Feathers: 2 sets: ??
Marsh Hen Feet: 2 pair: ??
Marsh Hen Skulls: 2: ??
Marsh Rat Feet: 2 pars: ??
Marsh Rat Skulls: 2: ??

OOC: Each character receives 5 DP. Provide a random roll. State responses.

 

[MacConnell]

OOC: Posting for Player 1

Cormorant plants his pole to steady his skiff. He shows no expression on his face as he speaks. "I thought all of us mud cakes were the same to you. I cannot image why you would be asking after one. Even if I had seen her, I do not know if I would know her."

OOC: 86

 

[MacConnell]

OOC: Posting for Player 2

Always a bit more antagonistic, Antapkos cannot help but prod the guard a bit, even though he suspects that it is a bad idea. "Has someone paid you to look into a missing Flats resident. Who has that kind of coin?"

OOC: 85

 

[MacConnell]

There are two guards per skiff. The Ansylin is in the back of the one butted up against Cormorant's. He grips his skiff pole to control his ire and eases the skiff sideways to have a better view of Antapkos, across the way. "As it so happens, this particular girl is my daughter. No one need pay me to look for her. I want to find her. I know she is missing. I do not find your responses to be helpful. I find them callously apathetic. Maybe if I drown you two, I will feel less angry about the whole situation."

Spoiler: Character Data

Antapkos: full wellness
Cormorant: full wellness

Spoiler: Collections

2 clams: currency

Marsh Hen Feathers: 2 sets: ??
Marsh Hen Feet: 2 pair: ??
Marsh Hen Skulls: 2: ??
Marsh Rat Feet: 2 pars: ??
Marsh Rat Skulls: 2: ??

OOC: Each character receives 5 DP. State responses. The random roll is not yet used.

 

[MacConnell]

OOC: Posting for @Eitan Olevsky

Cormorant lifts his pole and drops it in his skiff, allowing the boat to begin to drift. If hostile action is initiated by one of the guards, he intends to fall onto the edge of their skiff, trying to capsize it. He thinks to himself, ~I see where the girl got her bad attitude.~

He says to the guard, "Drowning two boys will not help you find your daughter. If her attitude is anything like your own, she is probably dead or out trying to bully someone into doing her bidding. If you want to drown me, I hope you can swim."

OOC: 86

 

[MacConnell]

OOC: Posting for @Dana McCoy

Antapkos smiles at the angry words of his friend. It is the most emotion he has ever seen him display. He drops his skiff pole on the bottom of the boat, allowing his skiff to begin to drift. Most javelineers are known to be bullies, but having his life threatened, he considers to be a new low. Realizing that the situation is most likely going to degrade into violence, he reaches over and catches hold of the Shimadow skiff before his can drift away. He is prepared to abandon his own boat and enter the water to keep it from being capsized and losing the collected game.

OOC: 85

 

[MacConnell]

Cormorant... says...

Antapkos... is prepared...

The man who had spoken, who is apparently the leader of the javelineer unit, grinds his teeth and commands, "Kill the worthless mud grubbers!"

Spoiler: Reaction

Antapkos: 17(readiness) + 19(speed) + 18(clarity) + 86(d100) = 140
Cormorant: 16 + 16 + 18 + 85 = 135
Javelineers: 12 + 11 + 10 + 85 = 118

GM: Antapkos reacts first, then Cormorant, then the javelineers.

Spoiler: Character Data

Antapkos: full wellness
Cormorant: full wellness

Spoiler: Collections

2 clams: currency

Marsh Hen Feathers: 2 sets: ??
Marsh Hen Feet: 2 pair: ??
Marsh Hen Skulls: 2: ??
Marsh Rat Feet: 2 pars: ??
Marsh Rat Skulls: 2: ??

OOC: Each character receives 5 DP. State intentions and provide two random rolls.