What's more relaxing than fishing!? No really, what's more relaxing? Marris wants to know so she can try it.
446 PC, Ashfall 29-30
Keres
Draylor
Ragnum
Die-Anna
Dev
Barnacle armor [claimed by Dev, for now]
Gold pin [claimed by Dev]
???
Dev
Ashfall 30
After an evening of eating fresh paella with his friends on the beach, Dev breaks away from his companions for a moment. He leaves a silver coin on the sand, where it catches the moonlight. Dev whispers a quick prayer, “Lady of Silver, I am a man of scrolls and logic, not of temples. But I see the lines you wove across this empty sky to keep the madness of the void at bay. Thank you for buying us a chance down here to make sure the old stories are taught again.”
He returns to writing a letter he is not sure if he will send. Dev suspects that Sophia has fallen under the influence of contractual magic as part of whatever bargain she made to make Malrik Voss go away, and he hates himself a little for wondering if he can still trust her.
Dear Soph,
I just had the most amazing experience tonight. Draylor convinced me to join him on a fishing trip to “cheer me up.” Keres, Die-Anna and Ragnum joined us. We went to Sarna last night to borrow fishing equipment and a rowboat – I got her best fishing rod – and we went through the FILTR to the Banner’s forward base for exploring Olorru.
Ragnum had us up before dawn – 4 am is when interesting people are turning in for the night! I didn’t have patience for Draylor’s cheeriness this early, but at least Ragnum gave me some coffee to make the day a little more bearable.
When we left, it was still pitch black. I hang around with too many people who can see in the dark. Keres and Ragnum rowed our boat out into the ocean – their plan was to go out a little beyond the remains of the sunken city. Draylor was “helpfully” explaining to Keres and Ragnum how to sail, but I’d be surprised if he’d ever even been on a boat before. He’s fortunate that Keres didn’t pitch him overboard, but I managed to doze off for a bit and thankfully missed out on most of his “tips.”
I woke up to Draylor and Keres arguing about who was the better sailor and fisherman. I took a page from the family playbook and challenged them - whoever caught the biggest fish would earn the bragging rights. Draylor cast a spell to let us all breathe water, and Die-Anna and Ragnum both dove in to search for fish and get away from the argument. I wished I could join them, but it seemed like a terrible idea since I could barely see my own hand in front of my face.
Next thing I knew, something cold and clammy nearly knocked me out of the boat. I started to cast fireball, but I stopped when I realized Draylor had shapechanged into a giant octopus. He and Keres dove into the water in search of fish, leaving me alone to enjoy a peaceful morning on a calm sea.
I set my fishing pole, mostly by touch, and waited. After a little while, I got a bite. It was a medium size fish, maybe about 13 inches long. There was a gold pin through one of its fins, and I took it out before tossing the fish into a bucket. There was a loud thump as the fish more than doubled in size - my catch was actually 27 inches long. I kept the pin - maybe next time we try to fix something under the Mage Tower, I’ll have an easier time fitting in the service tunnels.
I caught another fish, but this one was small - about 6 inches long, with a glowing starry pattern. I decided to throw it back. After a little longer, I felt my hook catch something else that was big. There was a moment of resistance, and then I was able to pull up barnacle armor that seems like it is probably magical.
And then it happened. I was feeling a moment of zen, it was a perfect, peaceful moment where nothing else mattered but me and the water and waiting for the next bite. I was remembering a time that we had snuck away and gone fishing together when we were kids.
I was surprised as hell to hear an unfamiliar woman’s voice from behind me. “I like what you’re doing,” she said. I turned and saw a beautiful elven woman, who appeared out of nowhere. I stammered something stupid, like “where did you come from?” She ignored me and said, “ I think it's good that the stories are being told.” She disappeared.
While I was still trying to make sense of what I’d experienced, I saw an octopus throw a human-sized crab up into the boat. It went back for another and another. All told, there were four of them. It turns out I’d completely missed the big fight of the fishing excursion, but I think they missed the big adventure of our trip.
Ragnum believes I met Selune, and I think he must be right. You know I’ve never been religious, but I can’t pretend that it’s not real or important after fighting alongside Ragnum all these months and watching him intercede with Dumathoin on our behalf, and then meeting the Mirror Stag and now Selune myself.
I wish I knew what it all means.
Love to you,
Dev
Why have we attracted the interest of Selune?
item 2