Chapter One - Return
I would pull up the last weighted down cage from the depths, being the only thing holding the first live catch of the day from fleeing back into the depths. It's a decent sized light green crustacean-like creature with four small but sharp claws aligned to the front of its torso and six small fins to the back of it. I hear the slow and muffled steps of the old man's boots hitting the wooden deck behind me. The light of his lantern would illuminate this section of the deck, branching off a bit onto the light green skim floating on the top of the water. Justus would turn and reveal the live catch in the cage to the old man. He would walk a bit closer and set the lantern down before appreciating the catch.
"Ahh, I see you caught a decent looking aqua-pincer this morning young Justus." The old man would say in a deep and gruff voice after observing the fresh catch. "This one will do great as breakfast, but first it's best to get the rest of those cages up quickly before the sun rises. We got a lot of people to feed when we get back." He says calmly as he walks over to the edge, gripping one of the other ropes leading to another cage weighed down into the depths. He would grunt continuously while trying to raise the cage out of the water, Each pull of the old rope was its own small struggle to the old timer. Justus would see this, quickly setting down the cage featuring his first catch, to go over to help the old timer raise the cage out of the water. The two of them pulled it up much faster and with a lot more ease off the old timer. Both of them grunting as the weighed cage finally hits the deck with another smaller aqua-pincer trapped inside.
After catching his breath for a few minutes the old man would speak once more. "I ain't getting any younger, Justus. Soon it will be time for me to retire and rest these old bones." He would look over to Justus, His brown eyes watching Justus intently, They would sparkle in the dim light of the lantern. He would stroke his short brown beard with the occasionally grey hair sticking out from it before continuing. "I would like to leave The Heffer to you when it's time for me to retire." He would say with a glint of pride in his eyes.
Justus would smirk at the old timer and would say with a hint of sarcasm "Yeah, You say this every year old man. But you can't seem to get away from the sea for too long. It's almost like you married it huh?" He would say jokingly to the old man, a smile all over his face. But the old man would look out past Justus, out onto the sea and stare with a regretful gaze for some time.
Justus would notice this and he would stop his antics and walk up to the old timer, His face dropping a bit as he sees the gaze the old man is making again. Justus does not know why the old timer does not want to retire, nor why he looks out to sea with a regretful or saddened look on his face occasionally, But this is somewhat normal for him. He once asked the old man why but he simply responded with: "There is something I still need to find, It's out there waiting for me. One day I will find it again, One day…"
He never did tell me what it was, and after that day I never asked. The look on the old man's face was something I didn't want to see again at first, But over time it became normal. He would just look out into the sea like he was expecting something to jump out at him. He would often smoke his pipe out on the edge and watch for hours and hours after the day was done. But nothing ever happened and he never found what he wanted. After a few extra days at sea, and after a few hard nights of hauling fresh produce onto the deck from the nets and the cages, we finally saw the docks of our small but cheerful village after a while away. It was about mid day when they docked.
The old man would quickly and smoothly slide The Heffer into the broken down, but usable docking slot, reserved specifically for fishermen and salvagers like us. The other three docks were filled as well by the other three vessels, their respective names being: "Dephcharger", "Seafarer" and "Ironskull". Each one being a bit larger and newer then our old but reliable Heffer. Made from a mix of standard wood and Hardwood, chopped from deep in the Bittergreen Forest to the East. Several crewmen were going to and from their respective ships. One older looking man with a great physique, light brown hair and a black inky tattoo of three eyes on their left shoulder. He is carrying two sealed barrels on each of his shoulders over the docks towards the rickety looking wooden steps leading up the small hill to the village.
He would look over as we are unloading our only two sealed barrels filled with various sizes of aqua-pincers. "Oui! Old Jams!" He would yell out, still carrying the two barrels on his shoulder. He is smiling happily at the old man. "You guys were out for a whole month, and you barely got anything too huh?" He says with a joking tone to the old timer. The old man would look up, also smiling at the man before responding in kind. "Oh, Nicks, you're still here? I thought you were going to the capital to learn how to swing a sword?" The old man would raise his arms and mimic swinging an invisible sword down in the air before sharing a short hearty chuckle with Nicks. "Yeah, Well… I figured I could help out one last time before heading out." He would say happily while lowering each of the barrels individually to the ground slowly. He would look over at Justus, His light brown eyes glimmering with caution for a moment before speaking once more. "Errm… Old Jams,I heard a rumor from Jock…" He says as he looks over at Justus for a moment, His eyes would have a bit of worry in them before switching his gaze back to the old man. "It seems that one of the newer captains from the capital is going around from village to village again, conscripting young men." He says, looking at the old timer with a bit of worry. "I think it would be best if you took Justus and went back out to sea. At least for a bit longer after you are done unloading and.... Resting I suppose." He would finish speaking, The old man looking back at Justus with a bit of worry crossing over his face. Justus would look back, his eyes would dart back and forth between the two men, but he wouldn't say a word.
The old man would stroke his short beard for a few moments before speaking: "Justus… Do you… Want to learn to use a sword or a spear?" He says cautiously. Justus would look at the old man, a bit of shock going through his mind, as the old man never talked to him about anything but fishing before. He would think for a few moments before answering. "No Old Man, You taught me everything I need to know to be the best fishermen in the village!" He says with a resolute smile plastered all over his face.
"Why would I need to learn how to swing a sword anyways if I'm going to be at sea all the time?" He says with a bit of sarcasm in his tone. But the old man would continue to look into Justus's eyes, with an even sadder gaze in his eyes now. This catches Justus off guard, and he quickly reacts by mimicking swinging a sword in the air and continuing to speak. "If I take all this time while I'm young learning to swing a sword around, How are we going to feed everyone?" He says as he stops mimicking the sword with his hands and looking into his old man's eyes again.
The old man would close his eyes and sigh a bit, before calmly walking up and holding Justus on the shoulder. The old man would calmly start to speak: "Justus, This opportunity doesnt come every day you know. If you become a Militia soldier you can learn valuable skills that can be used in all walks of life. While here, fishing is for the old and quite frankly the talentless. But you Justus…" The old man stops for a moment and continues calmly. Justus would listen intently, as his old man was never this serious when he spoke to him before. "You might have great talent as a soldier, Justus. Your father has great talent as well…" Justus would grip the old man's hand. "You never talk about my father, Old timer. Why now?" Justus would say with a bit of confusion in his voice. He would look intently at the old man, who would simply shake his head and sigh once more before taking his hand off of Justus's shoulder. "Nevermind, Just… Think about your options while you have them, Justus. Not everyone gets the chance to change their life." He would speak in a calm and wise tone, like an ancient man giving his wisdom to a young chick. The old man would abruptly change his tone to add a bit of cheer once again to the conversation. "Now then, let's get these barrels off and into the market." He says as he struggles to pick up one of the barrels from the deck of The Heffer. Justus would help the old timer raise the barrel to his shoulder before taking the other one, walking into town with a brisk pace.
The small market bustles with lively townfolk, A few copper coins change hands and barrels and boxes are stacked at the exchange. "This is normal, each village has one exchange, this is mainly done for taxing purposes." At least, this is what the old man once told Justus when he was a bit younger. "Fishermen and Salvagers here in the Salt village are paid a Commission to go out and obtain different types of fish and occasionally salvage from the further reaches of the western seas." But he never did tell Justus what happened to create the salvage litter around the western sea, He never did tell him how those ships crashed or what took them down. He once asked the old man when he was five or six, but the old man just said: "Best not to ask, and best not to know. Just don't go too far out if you're ever sailing alone."
The old man and Justus would leave the exchange, twelve coppers richer. They are walking down the main old and degraded cobblestone path to the centre of the village when The old man would grab Justus by the shoulder, signalling him to stop immediately. Justus however would be inside his head, His mind was occupied with the words the old man told him at the dock, about choices and opportunities. He failed to notice a well armored man walking down the road in front of him. He would slam into the man, not watching where he is going and falling to the ground after a nice hit to the face. He would look up to see a large man wearing partial copper plate armor with a nice looking copper or bronze looking sword sheathed on their hip. He would look down at Justus, scoffing at the young man who would dare walk into him.
He would however simply grab Justus by the back of his shirt and lift him to his feet, before continuing down the road like nothing happened.
He would slow down as he's about to pass by Justus and the old man. Speaking briefly to Justus as he passes him, He would speak in a harsh and menacing but also calm tone. Simply saying "Watch where you're walking." as he continues down the road without even one look back. The old man simply sighs with relief as he passes by, before quickly grabbing Justus's hand and rapidly walking his way down the street. He would take the first right, going a bit further down a smaller cobblestone path leading towards one of the two taverns in the small village of Salt. "Be careful who you bump into, Young Justus." He would quietly tell Justus while they walked. "Some people, especially the nobles, don't take kindly to us common folk touching them." he would continue in his whispered tone before reaching the Little Salt Tavern. "Now, are you going to be alright getting home yourself, Justus?" He would say, standing outside the tavern doors. Justus would hear laughing, clinking of wooden mugs and the occasional yelling and crashing from inside. "Yeah, Have a good time then Old Man." Justus says with a smile on his face as he starts to walk away from the tavern, down the cobblestone roads towards their small house on the outskirts. He looks back, seeing the old man swing open the doors. He hears men shouting and inviting the old man to sit with them and drink now that he's back again. Justus was never one to enter a place like this. He is aware that nothing good comes from alcohol and brawling, his old man taught him that since he was young. But the old man always stops in at the Little Salt Tavern every time he comes back from a fishing expedition. He says it's mostly to speak with the other fishermen and villager's, but Justus is aware that he just likes a good stiff drink once in a while too. He can't fault the old man for wanting to take the edge off once in a while as the old man is not getting any younger anyways.
Justus walks down the familiar cobblestone path until it becomes a small poorly maintained dirt road. He walks up the grassy hill, over and past the village's Nift fields, and finally reaching their small rundown shack on the outskirts of the village. He would open the door, locking it is usually a waste of time around here as everyone knows each other and looks out for each other and their houses when they're away. Walking inside, he sees the table against the wall to the right, with four tucked in and dusty chairs. Their stone fireplace is to the left against the wall, with the dusty counter to the right of that fireplace. Justus uses this counter occasionally to tinker with his fishing rigs, or to gut and clean fish he buys from the market or catches himself down by the western river. But today he will clean it and use it to start dinner for him and the old man when he gets home. He grabs a wooden bucket from the corner, it's old but still functional. Proceeding up the hill a bit further to the river and retrieving some fresh water to start cleaning and cooking with. The sun is a bit further down then it was when they got back, the walk taking about an hour to get back from the village centre. He swiftly and carefully carried the nearly full bucket of water back, dumping it into the cooking pot that hangs above the fireplace. He takes a tinderbox from underneath the counter, there being one more remaining, and proceeds to take the top off and sparks the fireplace. Blowing slowly and gently, he gets the fire up to its prime and leaves the water to boil as he cleans up around. Sweeping, organizing the sheets from the other room from two of the three beds that are in that small bedroom he calls a bunkie. The third stays the way it was, because that was his fathers bed a long time ago.
He finishes cleaning the floors, as the water comes to a nice boil. He waited a bit for the water to cool off before taking a rag and wiping down the table, chairs, and the counter briskly. Taking a bit of the now very warm water into the bucket and taking the sheets and blankets, stuffing them into the bucket as well and soaking them in the corner. He opens a small wooden trapdoor in the other corner beside the fireplace, and slinks down the old creaking ladder into a small cellar. There is a sealed barrel and two sealed clay jars, and upon opening one of the clay jars he would find an old but still quite edible preserved kar-root he placed there before they went on the last expedition. He sniffs it, it has an earthy smell with a hint of sweetness in the air. "Still good" Justus would say with a smile on his face, taking the entire jar and putting it to the side before looking at the sealed barrel. "I wonder if the meat is still good from that Forest Wolf, Should be anyways. I think I put enough salt in it." He thought to himself before proceeding to hover over the cap of the sealed barrel. He knocks the top once, then twice then a third time before turning back and grabbing a thin stone tool used to open the lids with ease. He cracks it into the gap between the lid and the barrel, sliding it far enough to get a good grip and then pushing down quickly and with good force. The lid easily pops off of the barrel, the air creating a quick pop sound before it comes off. Inside are two good sized chunks of meat with a layer of salt on top. He leans into the barrel a bit to give it a good sniff, it smells heavily of salt of course, but still has a light gamey smell and no rot that he can tell. "Smells just right, I suppose we should have a bit of meat in the soup now that we're back" Justus would think with a bit of excitement. For a month they had been surviving off Kar-roots, Aqua-pincher legs claws and Starfish Filets while at sea. It would be nice to have a bit of game meat after that voyage. He proceeds to take one of the chunks of meat out of the salt before popping the lid back on, using his shoulder to pop it back into place with a pop. He would grab the clay jar filled with more Kar-roots and proceed up the ladder balancing them on his elbows as he climbs slowly before placing them at the top of the trapdoor and climbing up himself.
He finishes cooking, cleaning and drying as dusk creeps in through the windows. The stew slowly boils in the cooking pot as he rests his head on the table. The old man should be back soon, so we can eat something nice and get some good sleep after so long. But as he puts his head down for a few moments he falls asleep almost instantly. His unconscious mind wandered from old memories of the old man teaching him different lure types, bait types, even making and untangling the nets and creating the cages they use to fish. But as it got to the end, His mind focused on what the old man said earlier at the docks, about learning to fight and about choices and paths. He wonders to himself if he should really be a fisherman for the rest of his life, like the old man. He learned so much over these eleven years of living with the old man, taking him in when he was five after his father… Where did his father go anyways? The old man never told him where he went, He remembers his father had long dark brown hair, a nice thick mustache on top of his lip and a shirt and thin beard on his chin. He had brown eyes, the same as him, and he always wore the same stained but clean cotton shirt. He said someone very special gave it to him I think… But I can't remember who. He used to speak in a soft but strict tone, always telling young Justus stories about the outside world. He always spoke of demons that came from the core of the earth, and of a thread that would enter and exit the bodies of certain people to strengthen their resolve. He never really knew his father, but he could tell the man had seen his share of war and fighting from the tone he would have when talking.