It was Friday night.

The week had been long, and arduous.  The fish had been scant, although not absent.  The weather took constant minding from the Decher family to keep from being miserable.  Even so, it was grey and overcast.

Torches and lanterns lit up the village square as restless, frustrated folk gathered for a distraction.  A bell sounded, gonging into the night, announcing the event.

Mawr heard the bell and went to the edge of the square.  He was curious, but didn't really want people to know that.  He wanted to know why the fish didn't seem to be running like normal.

The low, eager whine of a puppy alerts Mawr that he is not alone. A longer glance will reveal Spot, the many eyed dog, straining at the metal chain used for his leach. The chain rises up to an invisible hand, and it is easy enough to guess who is holding it.

Spot's eye-covered tail is wagging furiously at the sight of the village gathering, the warm lights and tinkling bells.

"Oh, uh. Hey, Mawr," comes Tunic's familiar voice from the empty air. "How is the.... Spot! Sit! Sit, Spot. I'm trying to talk here. Spot. Sit. Sit. Good boy. Siiiiit."

The dog does not sit, though several eyes alone his spine and shoulders turn to look lovingly upon an empty piece of ground, as the eager puppy continues to strain against his leash.

Nic.  Been slow.  Real slow.  Maybe they will reveal why?  If I can help resolve it, I will.  I want my fish to flow.

Bafflement fills his voice like they were a thing that you could put into other things. "Help? Resolve? How would we help anything? Hey, can you hold Spot's leash for a second while I change? Mama made me a cloak so that people could see me easier."

The chain moves closer to Mawr, clearly being held between two invisible hands, with a span's width drooping between them for the bear to grab onto.


Once both of his translucent hands are free, some rummaging and shifting is heard for a few seconds before a roughly spun, vividly tie-dyed cloak appears, seemingly out of nowhere (though Mawr knows it came from the backpack that Nic sitched his shed skin onto). The dyes and shades include every color known on the island, which some parts of the roughspun fabric clearly whitened using some arcane process known only to The Ancestors On The Hill.

Donning the multihued garment, it becomes very easy to see where Nic is, although his individual features are still mostly translucent.

Mawr isn't much for holding any sentient creature on a chain, as he has been chained before, when he first came to the island, but he is willing to help a friend.

He says, "Spot, Sit!" He didn't intend it to sound harsh, but a whisper isn't really his thing.

Spot immediately sits down.

Knowing there was a piece of fish in his pack, Mawr says, "Spot, Beg!"

Spot sits on two paws with his front feet in the air.  He gives him a piece of the fish.

You know, Nic, I am not sure why this "pet" doesn't listen to you.

Taking the chain back, Nic's cloak shrugs. "Nobody listens to me."

Spot barks happily to be reunited with his master and starts running around in circles, his countless eyes fixed lovingly upon the floating cloak, wrapping the chain around him.

"Why should he be any different? But you said something about helping with something? What do you need help with?"

Dragged forward by the eager puppy, Nic's cloak flows away from their brief reprieve and towards the bells.

Whatever is fouling the flow of fish needs to be flushed out.

"Oh, okay. I, uh, can look into that for you," Nic offers selflessly, before anyone can force him to do it.

"Uh, are you going to get anyone else to work on this with me or is it just me?" Nic asks, completely misinterpreting Mawr's idle concern as a job, and one Nic likely wouldn't even be paid for. Of course, his Mama would likely get paid for it.

I guess I should start by talking to the village elders, he thinks to himself.

Well, let's see what they say here before we go that route.  We can go together and take whomever would join us.

Stylus sat on a small, upturned barrel, somewhere within the crowded area.
He didn't smoke, or drink much.  And had nothing really to do with his hands, so he awkwardly placed them in his lap.

He'd been back from the Seeing Place about an hour before sundown, and had noticed the slow gathering ... even before the bells had begun to ring.

He was, by definition, curious about the gathering.

In reply to Stylus (msg # 11):

The stench heralded the raccoon before Stylus saw him. Lots of light meant lots of food, so Sheldon was here. He had another mission in mind as well. He dropped down from a nearby roof and crouched next to Stylus on a neighboring barrel.

"Hi." His fangs flashed as his muzzle made a bold effort at human speech.

"You read man?" He pantomimed opening a book and browsing it with a muzzle like it was smeared with fresh jelly.

The dank basement was getting stuffy. Desi would have to take a break soon. The five glassy-eyed card players were behaving themselves. Tonight’s game was low-stakes, anyway.  No one had signed up to fight.  Slow night.

“Hey, Appy. I’m going up for a minute.” Ap, Desi’s thick-necked brother was cleaning the counter with a filthy rag, and grunted so she knew he heard.  The sun was down, so Desi didn’t need her hood or glasses to protect her albino complexion.
Before she got to the top of the stairs, she heard the town bell. She turned around, and went back down.

“Appy. The they’re ringing the bell.” Ap stopped to listen.  So did the card-players.

“Hm. Want me to check it out?”

“No. It’s okay. You stay here.  I’ll go.”

Desi grabbed her cloak this time, and headed up the stairs and out of the little ramshackle house.

Stylus got a little scare, as Sheldon dropped down beside him.
And once over that, the smell hit him ... but he tried not to be rude, because the creatures talking demonstrated that it likely had feelings.  And Stylus didn't want to offend the little bugger.

When Sheldon finished his question, Stylus looked at him a moment.
Most human's didn't ask much after books and reading; it surprised Stylus that this mutant animal did.
But, "Yes.  Yes, that is me.  The, ah, 'read man'", then, "Can I help you with something?"

The end of what her called his day, which was usually when he deemed everything has been taken care of to his satisfaction, not whether or not his schedule was the same as anyone elses, the weather was what it was, and as long as it wasn't pouring down on him, Freddy was content..

Seeing the gathering of people, then hearing the bells, Freddy makes his way towards them, his tail dancing to a song in his head as much to give it something to do as to keep it out of the way, occasionally tapping on his own head and shoulders, which made him smile, sometimes he does forget it's just part of him and not a very close friend as he looks for those most familiar, walking around the perimeter of the gathering, listening for pieces of useful information..

In the center of the roped off arena where the fights usually happen, a little monkey stood perched on one of the posts. Most knew him as Gibbsy.



"COME ROUND!" he squeaked in a high-pitched voice.  "COME ROUND.  Since their are none who wish to fight this night, we will instead have a challenge!!"

The crowd to the rear parted, and from what was usually the staging area, a massive walrus undulated forth.

"Behold KOLE the MASSIVE!  50 gold to ANY who can raise him from the mat!"

The walrus THOOMFED to the mat in a puff of dust, and the ground actually shook at the impact.

Kole the Massive looked unimpressed with his fellow fishermen in the crowd.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:33, Fri 02 Oct 2020.

While several of the village elders stood back from the crowd, mostly seated and aloof... one man made the rounds through the crowd.  Placing a gentle hand on a shoulder here... giving a quiet word of greeting there.  He didn't smile, but neither was he harsh with any of them.

Sakai, the chief elder, moved through the group, making a point of knowing everyone's name. He was neither especially tall nor broad, but carried himself with a firm grace, hobbled only by the cane he used to support his crippled leg... an injury, it was said, gained fighting a Gamma Worm that had threatened the isle 20 years past.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:25, Fri 02 Oct 2020.