Sea cookout and tales - RPLOG
Participants
Date
28/6/477
Log
A fine evening down by the docks. The Bird Stain has been scrubbed as clean as that usually desultory place can get, although the main event is being held on the Rose Walk, where three gigantic pots have been set up side by side, heated by fire magic to prevent scorch marks from accumulating on the cobblestones. As many lines of beings are queued in front of them, passing their ingredients to the priests managing the event and getting their hands stamped so they can return after the stew's been cooked.
The entire event is rife with chit-chat, and it also appears that someone has sponsored a copious quantity of drink, too - which has only served to raise spirits.
Down to the docks a well dressed water folk with an air of self importance makes his way to a make a deposit of his catch. A modest catch, a small bony fish that he wishes to deposit before any turning of meat occurs, as he has committed the prep work for them. Besides, eating a ram might put some folks off. As he approaches the lines he gives a gentle bow to any sailors he sees, their important works not forgotten.
The smell of fish is what clues Angus that he's nearing the maritime district, which means he's getting closer to where the cook-out would be. The fox dressed casual for today, wearing a cotton tunic over his trousers as a pound of Salmon is tucked under his arm. He offers the Haddock a smile when he notices them, nodding in greeting before he looks around and takes his place in the line.
Millicent makes her way onto the scene, one hand in her pocket while the other held a few fish dangling from just as many strings. It wouldn't be proper for another fisher to be absent on such an occasion! Stopping to greet a few folk along the way, she approaches the pot with her offering, a smile on her face.
Jera arrives at the Maritime district on the way to the beach...though the commotion attracts him more right now. He spots the many pots of fish and all the offerings, realizing that he's not quite ready. He gives Angus a small nod and pats his hip to see if he's carrying the pistol gift before heading off for a short while.
"Welcome! Welcome!" The gargantuan cast-iron pots are so large that one requires a stepladder to even reach the top - which is not a surprise, since there must be hundreds of beings present this evening. All that one can see of the contents is the steam rising from the top, which only makes it more of a mystery. It's not just fish which are going into them - shrimp, eels, small crabs, seaweed, saltwater or fresh - so long as it passes the scrutiny of the priests present, it goes in.
Will it blend? That's the question, and it's a hard one to answer - the smell wafting down is uniformly fishy, although there certainly are enough spices about to cover up any strange tastes should they surface.
Off to another side, stools have been set up under an awning to catch the most of the sea breeze, while another priest reads relevant verses from the First Text. Something about fishers of beings, whatever that's supposed to mean.
Pierce eyes the priests curiously not sure what they have to do with all this but their work lets the workers relax so they can't be all too bad. He presents his ram, and then proceeds to wave to the strangely dressed fox. What an interesting... dress for someone lacking any noble graces. He was no fish that's for sure.
After depositing her contribution, Millicent steps back and sets her other hand in her pocket to join the first. Taking a look around again, she wanders off to converse briefly with one of the other fishers, casting a glance towards Angus. She wasn't expecting any nobles at a thing like this, certainly.
Angus presents the Salmon to the priest, sniffing at the pots curiously before he leans back with a cock of his head. "My, this will be an intresting stew." He states to no one in particular as he steps back to look over the crowd, his hands going to his pockets as he notices Jera, giving them a nod as they walk away.
Once he's clear, Jera takes a gryphon form and flies out towards the ocean near the maritime district, swooping down and raking the water with his talons to snag a large fish. He makes the short flight back, dropping the large tuna in front of the pots before circling and taking his landing in a clear spot and shaking dry a little.
"Thank you," the priest says as the contributions are taken and everyone's hand stamped with the local church's seal so they can come back later. "It certainly will be an interesting stew - we get a different one every year, even if it always smells a bit fishy. Still, we make sure that nothing strange gets put into the pot, so you can be rest assured that the worst you might end up with is a slightly upset stomach. The fact that you have to eat what's been cooked also dissuades anyone from putting anything strange in."
Under the awning, it seems that the reading of the First Text is over with, and that the meat of the event - the telling of tales with plenty of drink to grease tongues, and water folk sure do have many tales to tell.
Millicent smiles faintly as her ears perk at the thought of stories to be heard and told. In the meantime, she slinks over towards Angus and raises her brow. "What're you doin' down this way, fancypants?" She says it with a grin and without a hint of malice, clearly teasing.
Jera sniffs at his paw where the stamp is and then shrugs, rearing up even as his feathers fluff out a little proudly from his catch. He heads over towards Pierce and stares him over for a bit, tilting his head and looking the fish over for a moment. "Do I bring you to the pot too?" He blinks. Having not seen a fish being before.
Angus turns as Millicent adresses him and flashes her a smile. "Why not? It's a nice social event is it not Miss?" He counters, shrugging his shoulders a bit as he looks her over with curiosity.
Indeed, there are many tales to be told! Takes of rough seas, of encounters on the waves, and of course, of the ubiquitous sea monsters. Most of them give all impressions of being tall tales, although the sailors' descriptions of teeth and tentacles - somehow, those two seem to factor in a lot - at least try to be believable, even if the only tale that might have a grain of truth to it would be the leviathan sighted some months ago. Alcohol is passed out - rum and coarse beer - and it's an uphill task to keep everyones' minds off their stomachs until the seafood stew is ready.
Millicent nods slowly at Angus. "I suppose that's a good enough reason! I just didn't expect to see nobles out on the docks!" Ah, but now it was story time! "Well... I don't have any great feats or accomplishments, but there was the story of the eel I found out in the river on one of my fishing trips. A most unusual eel! One that glittered like gold, with diamonds for eyes!"
When the tales of Leviathans come about, Jera loses interest in Pierce for a moment as he lets his sling bag carrying his possessions drop a little so that he can rummage through and carefully pull out a simple string necklace with a large tooth hanging from it. "The Leviathan got our ship once." He added. "We dinged it up a bit. Got a tooth as proof."
Angus gives Millicent another shrug of his shoulders, smiling softly as he moves over to let her tell her tale. He crosses his arms, tail flicking a little in amusment as he eyes Jera's neckless, before turning his gaze on Millicent.
