Solo With an Ocean View

[Aladari Coolwater]

57th of Spring, 516 AV Aladari yawned, stretched, and cleared her eyes of sleep, as was her morning routine. Then, as usual, she shuffled to her one counter and hearth, where she rekindled the previous night's flames and placed a hunk of bread next to the fire to warm. On her way to look out her one, small window for the first time that morning, she patted her dog, Tar's head. He whimpered urgently, trying to nudge her away from the window an door, but in her morning grog, Aladari ignored him. "Stop that, dog! I've got no time for games right now." She scolded him in Vani. But as she reached the window and glanced outside, she suddenly realized the source of Tar's anxiety. Just outside her door was water. And not only was there water at her door; there was nothing but water. The street, and indeed the bay itself, was unrecognizable, completely flooded out with the murky, swishing water. Aladari blinked silently, trying to rub the last of the crust from her eyes so that she could see more clearly. But no matter how many times Aladari cleared her eyes, the water was still there. "But...It was only puddles yesterday! Maybe ankle deep- if you were a pycon! And she was right. The previous day, the floods had been mild, only ankle-deep at most. Today, the streets were nearly waist-deep in the shallow spots. It was strange, it was shocking, but it was true. Suddenly much more awake, Aladari moved back to the ashes of the previous day's fire in her hearth. Not only, she noticed, was her bread just now drying out, but the raised edge of the hearth was one of the few things in the home that wasn't soggy. Her bed was safe, being slightly off the ground, too, but her shoes laying by the door were damp, her box of fishing supplies were wet, and even her chest holding all her valuables and her backpack was showing signs of water damage. Cursing under her breath, Aladari kicked at the ground, listening to the soft, moist sound of the floorboards squishing. Tar gave another huff to test Aladari and see if she was truly irritated. Naturally, she was, and snapped back at him instantly. The dog lowered his head and slunk to the corner, hopping up on the bed to evade any reminders of the flood outside. He fell asleep quickly, abandoning his cares without trouble. Aladari, however, could not give up her troubles so easily. She walked to the door once more, peering outside of the window and analyzing the situation. In the murky water, there were pieces of wreckage floating about, as well as miscellaneous scraps of seaweed and underwater foliage. Upon closer examination, there were also a few seacreatures washed to the land, too, including a few confused lobsters, some clams, and many very, very happy fish. Aladari paced the floors, trying her best to ignore the squishing beneath her feet. How could she get out of the house without ruining her home? Besides that, how could she get out of the house at all? She had things to do! She was due to work today! She needed to- Mid-thought, she froze. Work. Like, fishing. In the water... It took a second for the idea to settle, even though she had come up with it. It seemed bizarre, insane, but as the idea was growing, she could feel her confidence in her plan growing with it. Maybe, just maybe, this would be the easiest day of work in her life.

[Aladari Coolwater]

Aladari wiggled under her bed, reaching as far back as she could, until she could grab the net stored there. Pulling it from under the bed, she stood up and let the edges fall to the ground, straightening out the net to its full size. It was a new net, as her old one had failed her just that season, so it was still strong and smelled of rope rather than salt. She smiled and showed the net to Tar, nearly cooing, "Isn't it perfect! The dog perked up his ears and held them there for a tick, but as soon as he realized he wasn't being fed, he quickly slumped back down. Aladari on the other hand, remained excited. She dragged the net behind her, no longer lamenting over the soggy floors, and made her way to the door. At the door, she knelt, examining the frame. She was no carpenter, and the door was no work of art, but as far as she could see, the door frame was sturdy enough. So, step one was a go. Aladari pulled her fish knife and eating knife off of the table. She set them down beside her, and picked up the net in one hand. Pinning one corner of the net to the wall with one hand, she grabbed a knife with the other hand. Then, with a single, quick motion, she stabbed the knife into the wall. The knife sank in relatively easily, as the wood was already damp and splintering. Encouraged, Aladari moved to the other side and repeated the process with similar results. Standing back, she admired her creation. The net now spanned the width of the doorway, creating a filter for anything that came through. Humans wouldn't be able to get through, nor would animals such as dogs, but that wasn't her purpose, and she wouldn't use this technique long anyway. She would open the door, let all the water rush in, and hopefully catch some fish in the net when the water rushed in. As soon as the water was done flowing, she would close the door, remove the knives, and let the net fall. If it worked as well as she planned, she would have fish in the net, and plenty to sell. She would also have a flooded, ruined house, but she was going to have that anyway. Maybe this way, she would make enough money to repair the house after the flood, even. Wouldn't that be something. And so, hopeful and nervous, Aladari moved to the door, her hand resting on the knob hesitantly. She could already see small amounts of water seeping through the flimsy wood, pouring onto the floor in a steady stream. She took a deep breath. Then, in her head, she counted it off. One, two...three! And with that she threw the door open.

[Aladari Coolwater]

Or, rather, she pushed against the door. It didn't quite open right away, nor was it as easy as swinging it open. The pressure of the water made it difficult to crack, and it took her a few moments to even get it that far. But once the door was ajar, the floods took over, and opened the door itself. The water rushed into the room, nearly knocking Aladari off her feet for a tick with the force of it. It formed white crests in the dirty brown water as it moved, crashing over itself in folds and ceases not unlike that of a crumpled sheet of paper. But she stayed standing, and was able to keep her bearings under the pressure. This meant that when the white folds disappeared, and the water slowed, she was able to close the door, just as she had planned. And, just as she had planned, there were her fish, trapped between the rotten door and her net, flapping mindlessly. There were fish, of course, but in addition there were a few crayfish, a confused crab, and a handful of seaweed. It would be enough to feed her for the day, and to sell. Absolutely giddy, Aladari rushed forward to claim her prize. One thing that had not been considered, though, was the debris trapped in the house. Although the water had looked high outside, up close it was less intimidating. Being only up to her calves, it was manageable. It was the material within the water that was concerning. There were pieces of other broken buildings, wood planks, scraps of fabric, and even old bottles floating in the water. They bumped against Aladari's ankles, leaving bumps and scrapes around her feet. She huffed in anger, kicking the debris away from her and creating small splashes in the water. What now? She knew that she had to finish her job, for if she were ever going to repair the damage to her home, she would need money, and work was the only way to get that. So, she waded forward and moved to the net, pulling it away from the door and plucking the fish from it one by one. She held on to her bucket in one hand, depositing the fish in it with her other. She carried only one fish at a time, as they were still very much alive and floundering in her grip. By the time she was done, she had dropped only two, not including the large crayfish that had escaped her. She didn't worry about them, though. She would have to clean the debris from the house anyway, and so she was certain she would uncover them at some point. Besides, the house already smelled so deeply of fish that only the sailors could stand it. Looking at the still-ankle-deep water, Aladari sighed. She knew she would not be able to begin repairs until well after the flood waters had receded, and Syna's summer heat had dried her home. There was nothing to do now but continue on with her work and resign herself to a soggy existence.

[Aladari Coolwater]

Aladari gripped her bucket with both hands, fearing she would drop it in the water and lose it all. The bucket was heavy, too, and she struggled to hoist it up onto the countertop. Luckily, she managed, and the bucket slammed onto the counter with a solid sound. Once finished, she turned back to look at the waters. Laviku save me. But, of course, the God took no action over such a little thing, and Aladari had to take it upon herself. She slowly began picking debris from the water, carefully cradling it in her free arm. The wet junk dripped on her shirt, and marked her skin where the jagged edges rubbed her. She cursed softly, her movements becoming more and more aggressive as she went. Finally having gathered an armful, she shoved on the door to open it, and tossed the junk outside. "Petching worthless flood. Those fish are probably contaminated anyway." It had been an off handed bitter remark, but as she closed the door, she considered it more seriously. Had the fish been snagged by nails from rotten boards, or tossed through a Sunberthian alleyway? Had a poisoncrafter found them, or worse, a mage? Aladari shivered at the thought. After depositing the rest of the debris outdoors, she moved back to the concern of the fish. She waded to her counter, eyeing the contents of the bucket suspiciously. Surely she would be able to see the taint of Djed...right? The material that could manifest itself as elements, or even create a life, could such power ever be invisible? She shook her head free of the thought. Never. It wouldn't make sense. She did still have the very real fear of poison, or other taints. She knew that dirt would show itself, but some people could craft powerful toxins and inject them into anything. Besides, even without nefarious intentions, a sick person could easily create a danger by coming in contact with a raw fish. No, she couldn't sell these raw in good conscious. She could, however, cook and sell them without worry of blame. After all, it was their own fault if they ate something poison. All she could do was make sure it was cooked to the point of being clean; the rest of it was on the consumer. But maybe I won't sell these to gang members...

[Aladari Coolwater]

Aladari had never been one familiar with nefarious arts. It simply wasn't in her nature to use loaded dice, or to tell blank-faced lies. However, it may have done her good to gain some knowledge of subterfuge and larceny, for she had no idea what she was looking for. The fish's skins were not visibly pierced, so tampering was unlikely, but she could not shake the mental image of a long, sharp needle inserting poison into the fish through a minuscule hole. Gripping her fish knife in her hand, she slowly began to open up the stomach of one fish with the flat edge. With the point, she pulled out the viscera, and poked through it in search of some telltale signs. The stomach was full, which meant one of two things; either the fish had eaten something that caused it to die, or the fish died on a full stomach and no one had punctured the stomach afterwards. Aladari scrunched her brow in thought. She poked idly through the other organs, examining them with her inexperienced eye. She wished she had a book of fish organs. Then she would have something to compare to. As it was, she hadn't paid much attention to the fish she had prepared in the past. It was a menial task, but she now wished she had examined them more closely. Then, a breakthrough. She could compare the fish's organs, and she wouldn't use the odd ones. Although there was the possibility that they were all tainted and so were identical, she deemed this unlikely enough to give it a shot. If she didn't, she wouldn't be able to sell her catch, she wouldn't make any money for the day, and that would make paying for food tough. So, she began. Aladari cut open each fish, and pulled its innards out onto the counter. She poked through each one, comparing it to the last. Most of the stomachs and intestines looked relatively similar. They were all full but not bloated, and opening them revealed exactly what one would expect from intestines (she only made that mistake once). She ended up throwing out a smaller fish with a more shriveled stomach, even though it wasn't immediately alarming. Better safe than sorry. After she had skinned and filleted them, instead of salting them to save for later sale, Aladari immediately threw the meat into the bucket and placed it next to the heart. Although wet now, and unable to start a cooking fire, she had to remind herself to cook them as soon as she was able. Selling them raw would cause people to be sick- just like when she had fed Tar raw fish. She shivered at the memory of the old dog vomiting almost to death. No, with the flood waters and the looming feeling of death in Sunberth, people didn't need to worry about getting sick on top of it all. Aladari herself didn't need the stress of angry sailors knocking on her front door either- especially since it was already so fragile from the wear of the water! Total word count2502

[Samuel Longwell]

Grading Complete Please edit your grade request thread so that it's obvious that it's been graded. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions/problems with your grade. Name: Aladari XP Award: Planning 4 Fishing 4 Logic 2 Butchering 2 Lore: Fishing with less effort. An inventive use of a net. Comparing fish to check for abnormalities Consequences:Once Aladari's home has dried out, various parts of the wood within will show signs of rot. Many floorboards will have bent out of shape due to the water, meaning the floor will be uneven. The house will contain significant amounts of mud and dirt that the flood has brought in. Notes: Good job thread, enjoy your grades.