Solo The Disappearance of Aloys Jadesmith

[Dulute Jadesmith]

...................1st of Fall, 514 AV .......

Tranquility. The very essence of fishing. To haul in the big one, a fisherman need not be quick nor powerful. One must only blend in with his environment and the fish will come to him. Duluute followed this philosophy to the letter, remaining still in his camouflage of crumpled leaves and mud covered grasses. He didn’t even flinch when the salmon leaped onto his boat and flopped for oxygen. His eyes started tentatively at a dark shadow in the water. It knew he was there and was waiting patiently for its chance at a free meal.

But Duluute was determined to end its life before it could end his. Finally making a move, Duluute reached out one hand and easily caught one of the salmon in mid-jump. Reeling in his fishing line, Duluute tossed out the worm bait for the plump salmon before recasting. The shadow moved, floating away from the boat before turning abruptly to face him. Duluute could see the top of its head peeking out of the water, but its eyes were indistinguishable. This stand-off lasted only a second.

And then it was gone. Duluute scanned the waters for any trace of it, but he saw nothing but lime green. He kept his guard up anyway, listening out for the creature. One tug. That was the only warning he received. Suddenly his whole rod jerked forward, throwing Duluute overboard. The creature dragged the rod down with it as it swam about, but Duluute refused let go. Despite having water flooding around him he kept a firm grip as he disappeared into the abyss.

He was determined not to let the creature escape. Dragging his feet across the sea bottom he felt a rock jutting out the ground and held onto it for support. The creature must have felt the extra weight because the pulling abruptly stopped. Duluute tried to see through the mist of green, but the creature remained covered in a haze. He wouldn’t let lack of vision stop him from making the catch. With one mighty pull he attempted to yank the beast straight out of the water.

[Dulute Jadesmith]

He wouldn’t know what happened next, as his dream came to an anti-climactic end with Duluute blinking into morning sunshine. Yawning quietly, Duluute rubbed his eyes as he debated going back to sleep. He wasn’t happy about leaving his dream so suddenly and was eager to discover the identity of his newest adversary. It was premonition dreams like these that led him to spend hours waiting in a boat in the middle of the sea. While he never actually managed to catch what he dreamt about, it was still fun to hope against hope.

After a bit of failed sleep attempts Duluute decided to get up for morning cycles. Dressing in his blue cotton shorts and a black t-shirt, Duluute rummaged through the cupboard for something to eat for breakfast. There wasn’t much food in there since the Jadesmiths usually ate their food the same day they bought or caught it. All Duluute really saw was a couple bread rolls. The rest was nothing but dishware.

Taking a roll, Duluute noticed that the house seemed unusually quiet. Normally he would have been awoken by his father telling him it was time to start the work day. Looking out the window, Duluute saw the watchtower standing in the distance. The Watchstone had changed color again, going from yellow to red. Fall wasn’t exactly the best season for fishing but it could have been worse.

Munching on his roll, Duluute quickly realized he’d completely forgotten the context of his dream. All he could recall was an image of him on a boat. The rest was seemingly lost forever. He didn’t let this bother him too much, though. ”It’ll come back to me eventually. Just have to give it time.” Swallowing the rest of the bread with this thought in mind, Duluute made his way outside to see if his father was already working. He made sure to grab his notebook before he left…just in case.

[Dulute Jadesmith]

Making his way to the Fish Market, the sudden aroma of grilled Sand-Fish hit immediately hit Duluute’s nostrils. His lips draw back in a smile. He always loved the sweet aroma of cooking - even if it was intermixed with the terrible stench of freshly caught aquatic life. It was almost like a masking of sorts, with the cooked food mostly overpowering the raw food. Duluute would have loved to buy a Sand-Fish or two but he was still saving up to buy his own boat. Strolling about, Duluute kept an eye out for his father’s trademark blue hat and the sweet smell of flowers.

For some reason his father thought it was a good idea to compete with the Sand-Fish by adding the aroma of roses to mask the odor of raw fish. As a result, customers always seemed to expect to find a flower garden when they came to the Jadesmiths’ stand.

Duluute didn’t smell roses. The Sand-Fish was extra potent today, intermixing with the smell of other delicacies to completely cover up the flowery aroma. He tried looking around as well, but it didn’t seem like his father had really set up the booth at all. Fortunately one of his father’s friends was still working at the market.

”Marcus,” he greeted unceremoniously. Duluute never addressed fellow fisherman as ‘Sir’ or with whatever other honorific they might have wanted. Sure his father taught him to respect the other fisherman, but they would always poke fun at him for calling them by anything except their names. Marcus was no different. Though a heavy set fellow much more powerful than Duluute’s own father, Marcus had the smooth round face and curly brown locks of a middle-aged youth.

”Duluute,” he greeted just as casually. ”Come to sample the best fish around? Or did you just want to see how the competition was doing?” Marcus was always one to insist the Jadesmiths and Youngbloods had some kind of internal rivalry. Considering all the more prosperous stands around the market, Duluute always doubted this was true.

”Actually, I’m looking for my father. Has he been around today?” Marcus rubbed his naked chin for a moment before shaking his head. ”I can’t say I’ve seen him. Usually he’s here before I am. Maybe you should go ask Harkings.”

[Dulute Jadesmith]

No surprise Magnus’s name would come up. He was the go-to guy among fisherman for all your information needs. As the market overseer, he had to have known where his father was.

Waving goodbye to Marcus, Duluute made his way to the front of the market, thinking Harkings would be there making deals for new stalls. He actually found the old man by one of the Sand-Fish stalls. ”Not even Harkings can resist the allure of a fresh cooked Sand-Fish.”

Unfortunately, Harkings was just as in the dark about Duluute’s father as he and Marcus were. Duluute was starting to get worried now. Harkings was the sharpest guy he knew and if he didn’t know where his father was, it was a major cause for concern. "Okay...maybe he's at the docks. I'll go check there next." Waving goodbye to Harkings, Duluute picked up his pace a bit as he made towards the docks.

It was another busy day so there were a multitude of ships coming inland. His father was part of a twelve man crew that normally made the morning haul early in the morning. Considering the sun's placement, the ship should have long since made its catch and had the Jadesmiths set up the fish market stand. However, seeing as how the stand hadn't been set up at all, Duluute hoped the ship was still out to sea. If that were true, he could be satisfied knowing at least where his father was.

His heart sunk when he saw the ship was still docked in the harbour.

[Dulute Jadesmith]

"Father! Are you here somewhere? Is anyone here?" There was no response, at least not one he could hear over the noise of city life. He'd already checked the boat inside and out, but aside from a few leftover food mrsels he found nothing.

Leaning against the railing of the deck, Duluute stared for a moment into the distance. His father wasn't at home, he wasn't at the fish market, and he wasn't even on his ship. As those were the only locations he knew his father frequented, Aloys could have been anywhere.

"Father...where have you gone?" Staring at the sea, Duluute wondered if he had gone out alone for fishing. He hadn't done that since Laviku destroyed his rowboat several years back. Duluute doubted his father would tempt fate like that again. Even so, he said a silent prayer to Laviku for his father's safe passage.

He couldn't start work without his father, as he was still only an apprentice. At the same time, Duluute didn't have the time nor the patience to wander the streets in search of Aloys. All he could do now was head home to await his return. "If I'm fortunate, he'll appear within a few bells."

Though he held this position as he stepped off the ship, he still found himself moving towards the Fish Market only a few chimes later. He had to make sure his father hadn't appeared in his absence. Although Aloys was still missing, Duluute did manage to find their shared stand.

It was being run by two from Aloys's crew - a bulky man with a thick scraggly beard and a much stronger looking man with a smooth face & thick muscles. They seemed like complete opposites of each other appearance wise, but their personalities were one and the same. Despite giving off such an enthusiastic presence, Duluute couldn't remember ever learning either of their names.

When he asked about his father, there enthusiasm completely disappeared. They told him almost immediately that they didn't know where he was. "We were only told to watch the stand for the day," one of them was saying. Duluute tried to push them for more information, but they kept restating the same thing again and again. He could tell they were being too defensive to be effected by his interrogation - if it could even be called that.

"Very well. While I'm here, I might as well pick up a fish. Hmm...Perhaps I'll take this Salmon. It would be perfect for a new recipe I wanted to try." Reaching in his pockets, he pulled out twelve Zilos for the 6lb beauty. He always carried Zilos on hand just in case he found something his gut told him would be the secret ingredient.

Thoughts of cooking got his mind off his father a bit, though he couldn't shake his feeling of uneasiness. What was his father doing that he couldn't tell his own son about? Just thinking about it made him cringe for a brief moment.

Price Check :

Fresh Fish - 2GM/lb
6lb = 12 Zilos/GM

[Dulute Jadesmith]

Getting his mind off his father wasn't that difficult a task...at least not in the short run. As soon as he arrived home, he focused his mind utterly on the preparation of his dish. Since his Salmon was still fresh it was up to him handle the deboning.

In Duluute's home they didn't necessarily have a real kitchen. The best they had was a cupboard and a narrow wooden table, both located to directly left of the front door. To the far left there was another wooden table surrounded by three wooden chairs, but that was about it. It was a simple setup but they didn't really need much else considering their lifestyle.

All their foodstuff and utensils were stored in the cupboard both for convenience and because they found a cupboard a better storage space than any chest. Throwing the salmon on the table, Duluute grabbed a sharp knife from the bottom of the cupboard and went to work. Filleting was always Dulutue's preferred method of serving fish. As he was separating one fillet from the rest of the salmon, his mind began to wonder what he could add to the recipe.

All they had in the cupboard were a few bread rolls and a potato covered in sprouts. It was still good enough to use, however, so long as he cut off the skin. He decided to throw in the potato with two rolls and the fillets to make a strange new concoction. Unfortunately, since making a stew was much too time consuming, he decided to simply eat them all separately. After he had filleted and went on to removing all the bones, he threw everything in a wash basin to clean.

With his food newly sanitized, he moved to the fireplace, which was just far enough from the table to keep it from burning, to grill the fillets and boil the potatoes. When everything was done, he mashed up the potatoes and added salt to both items for taste. The whole meal was finished in little over half a bell, and as Duluute sat back to eat he found himself forgetting all his troubles as he was lost in the flavor. This didn't last any more than a chime.

"Tastes a bit plain. Perhaps a few more spices could have been used. Too bad we have nothing..." The thought came into Duluute's mind like a bitter jolt. He had know idea where it came from, and it startled him a bit to hear it. He knew his family was poor, but that had never really bothered him before. Duluute had always been happy with what he had...so what changed?

Chewing on his food, he tried to push the thought out of his mind but it soon crept back in with more force. "We have nothing. No spices. No supplies. We only feast on fish and whatever else we find in the inns..to become a chef is my dream...but these hands have barely touched a stove." Then, a more horrifying image flashed into his mind. "Will I only be fishing here my whole life? Will I be father's assistant forever?"

A screeching noise suddenly drew Duluute's attention. His fork had been dragging against bare glass. He hadn't even realized he had finished long ago. A quiet sigh escaped him. There was nothing he could do as things stood. He suddenly felt like a child who couldn't venture beyond the house without the permission of his parents. As long as he stayed here he wouldn't be able to move on as a chef and their would be little incentive beyond his own to do so.