Riku Markku
Visitors often suspect Redshank Mill of having a sinister past, because of its past. In truth, however, the building is named for the redshanks nesting among its eves. The birds hunt the Osts muddy banks for worms and molluscs and bring welcome colour to the drab surrounds. Riku Markku (N male middle-aged human) has been Clovers Points miller for almost 20 years. He inherited the mill from his father and now works it with his family: Aila (his wife; NG female middle-aged human) and their sons (Elmo and Panu) and two daughters (Irja and Satu). A taciturn man, he is obsessed with treasure hunting and is widely thought of as odd. As a boy he found a trove of old coins in the river mud and he dreams of finding yet more treasure. Unbeknownst to all but his wife, he still has the coinsworn golden coins of ancient, unknown artifice. Sometimes he sits alone fondling them in the dead of night and dreaming dark dreams of what might be.