Closed the debriefing.

[Caelum]

Timestamp: 89 Spring 515 AV The sun was languishing in its descent over the Suvan Sea and Riverfall's wide bay was experiencing low tide. It was low enough that the waters were pulled all the way back from the shore side of Alements dock, revealing one half of the stone pier all the way down to where it disappeared into the wet packed sand. The pier itself as carefully lined with several ladders carved into steps and hand grips climbing to the top. This had been done by Kavala with the children in mind for ease of climbing out of the bay should they fall into the waters. Today with the waters so low, Caelum himself was taking advantage of it by using these same steps to climb down barefoot and with a bucket. The ethaefal's pant legs were rolled up to his knees and he wore a white, sleeveless undershirt with them and nothing else. After all there was no reason to get his nicer clothes splashed with the weathering effect of salt water as he went wading in. He was aiming specifically for the middle branch of the pier because the bottom half of it was almost completely taken over by a large colony of saltwater mussels. The water lapped up Caelum's calves by the time he stopped and hooked the rope handle of the bucket of his forearm. A pair of heavy, reinforced work gloves were dug out from the bottom of the bucket so that he could tug them onto his hands, stretching his fingers into the right fit. They were his old gloves, already well worn but recently reinforced at the fingertips and thumb mound with scraps of leather. This was to protect his hands from the sharp edges of mussel shells as he collected them. A number of people foraged mussels and other saltwater mollusks with the use of a hand spade or a large, heavy bladed knife. The local fisherman who patronized Caelum's bar had informed him, though, that such methods could often do more harm than good. While they would successfully and rather speedily aid in the collecting of mussels, they would also do extensive damage to the colony and potentially the pier to which they clung. This would prevent the mussels from returning for continued fare and, done often enough and widespread, could eventually eradicate the mollusk from a particular stretch of shoreline. This in mind, Caelum made a study of the colony before reaching out to grasp a cluster of three mussels at once and tug them free with a quick, clean motion. The mussels went into the bucket and he repeated this action again and again, slowly but steadily filling up the bucket and occasionally adding a few inches of sea water to the harvest. He had been told that this would keep the mussels alive longer which was a key component to both flavor and avoiding sickness when it came to eating the tiny creatures. It was some while before the sound of someone stepping onto his dock lifted Caelum's head. He squinted against the swelter of the lowering sun and attempted to surface from the blessedly blank stream of his thoughts.

[Evalin]

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