Triple Strength

74. Fishing: Wiremu

I returned from my fishing trip to find our backyard chock full of wagons with people everywhere. I almost turned around and went back to the fishing hole. I had bought enough fish so that I could smoke some for later, but there was nowhere left for me to set up a smokehouse. We chucked them on the fire, and I had a meal with the Catkin and got to know them. Tāoke came and joined us. They didn’t seem too wary of him. Modrica came out shortly after as well and was attacked by the kittens. She didn’t seem to mind, and it was highly unusual for people to be that comfortable around her. I knew that Tabitha and the Entertainers were performing at one of the Gaming Houses tonight.

There was a young teenager there, Ilaiya, who didn’t have his first Class yet. He seemed to have a bit of hero worship going on with Modrica. His father and brother were training him to be a Guard like they were, but he was struggling and didn’t appear to be very engaged in the training. I invited him to go fishing for a few days next week, and he seemed keen enough. I told him to tell his father we would work on some basic survival skills, but the main one would be fishing. He seemed quite excited, and I had another excuse to go fishing.

The next morning there wasn’t anywhere left in the yard to spar so we moved out into the street. It was predawn, and there was almost no traffic. All the Catkin adults joined us, including the Enchanter. Ilaiya had already gotten the Skill Unarmed Combat, but the Catkin style was very different from anything I had seen. They had claws and teeth, and they made good use of them. Sparing against Appā was a learning experience for me. After the first round, I engaged Snakeskin to help limit the scratches. I was interested in how I could get claws because if I could make scratches, then I could also Imbue Venom. Maybe small Granite Spikes on my knuckles? I might try to experiment. I am not often unarmed, so my Unarmed Combat Skill is mostly there to support me in a general melee.

I spent the day maintaining my equipment and catching up with Tāoke and Tabitha. Tabitha wanted the Catkin to join our little convoy, but they were wary of committing. She thought it was great I was taking the kid fishing and strongly hinted at me taking him on as an apprentice Hunter. When I reminded her it took me three years to learn enough to get the Class. She just became more enthusiastic. I know with the Tutor Skill that should reduce the time and I suspected the Catkin had some natural ability in the area, possibly speeding it up again. It was still at least a two-year commitment I wasn't sure I wanted to make, and then there is the continued training after getting the Class. All the training in Lore etc. that I missed out on. I am sure the kid would be enthusiastic and the family ecstatic if I offered because once the kid had the class he could level it and pass it on to the next generation, which is what they seem to do. It would be a major boon for them but a big commitment for me.

The weather was turning bad so we delayed the fishing trip for a few days and Skavt was OK for us to all join them for sparring at the Guild Training ground. I think she wanted to learn how to spar against Catkin as well. Never waste an opportunity to learn. The kid, Ilaiya had stars in his eyes training with all these successful mercenaries. I think his father and older brother were also elevated in his eyes, as they were holding their own in the training and trading tips. One of the things to watch out for in insular family groups is losing how you fit in the wider world and not having the same chances to learn and grow. The Catkin seemed to be managing it OK and the teenager is having his eyes opened.

I had been trying to create Granite Dust, quite unsuccessfully. I wasn’t sure what I was doing wrong. From my time in the quarry, I knew it was something that got into your eyes and nose and was a pain. But I didn’t seem to be able to create it. My attributes were enough to now get Petrification. It was a very slow skill to use, so unsuitable for combat. I used it on each of my spear shafts, slowly Petrifying the core of the wood. It took me all night to do one shaft, but the result was a much stronger spear. Wood on the outside layer and petrified rock on the inside was a good mix. I tried the same with his spearheads, but the process of Petrification was to convert organic material into stone and my stone spearheads had no organic material.

What I did discover was that if I put three points into my Mental Strength all my Spiritual attributes were enough to give me the Skill Granite Wall. The Skill was very energy intensive, even for a small wall. The size and shape could vary, but it sucked a lot of energy. If I had this Skill in the Goblin tunnels, I could have just walled off the tunnel.

Identify told me I wasn’t far from getting Granite Manipulation. Some more Spiritual Agility and Spiritual Perception, and I would be there. I was a bit envious of Kelda having Fire Manipulation so easily. I guess Granite was much harder to Manipulate than Fire. It sort of made sense.

I had spent a lot of time working on Skills for my Hunter and Granite affinity but seemed to be neglecting some of my other Classes. On the upcoming fishing trip, I was planning to take some tools with me and do some Prospecting with my Treasure Sense.

I felt I was neglecting my Spy Class. I had barely used the Veneer Skill since getting it. My Manipulate Status Skill was stuck at the top of the Apprentice Level and needed the push to Journeyman. My Truth Sensing Skill hadn't moved for a long while. My Identify Skill indicated that many better Spy-related skills required Sentient Lore at various levels. I was heading back into the Empire, so I would need to train all these skills to a much higher level. Especially Manipulate Status and a stronger Disguise Skill. Maybe I should follow Tabatha’s example and start gambling.

But first and most importantly, fishing. I told Ilaiya that we would be leaving at dawn tomorrow. The young lad was very keen, although he had not been promised anything beyond a fishing trip and some survival skills. Tāoke would come with us. There were still a lot of Goblins and a few Shamans roaming around. I was confident I could escape anything I couldn’t handle, but not if I was trying to protect the kid as well. Hence Tāoke was coming as a backup. Tāoke was also keen to do some hunting.

We left at Dawn. I rode Rocky, and Ilaiya was happy to trot alongside. I had my bow, three upgraded spears, and my usual knives, darts and fishing pole. Ilaiya had two knives and a small backpack. The fishing hole was about a six-hour ride, but I figured we would take all day to get there, and I would teach the kid some stuff on the way. After about 2 hours, we were out of sight of the city and stopped for a drink, and I started teaching a basic Stealth Skill. I showed him some basic Skills and then rode Rocky at a slow walk while Ilaiya practised the skills, trying to stay out of sight. I punished his carelessness with a thrown rock that left a bruise and then yelled additional pointers when I thought he should have done better. I obviously knew where he was at all times with Hearing Aid, but he didn’t know that. I didn’t expect him to get the skill that day. It had taken me over a week of constant practice to get the Stealth Skill when I was his age. He was doing better than I did on my first day. Ilaiya was well-versed in setting up a camp. We went over gear maintenance before we retired for the night.

The next morning we started with sparring. Ilaiya already had Unarmed Combat from training with his family. I am not sure how Catkin can ever be considered to be unarmed, but anyway, we sparred, and I showed him a couple of things to practice. I then taught him the Small Blade drills I was taught and had him practice. After breakfast, we went through some signals for several emergency situations, both if he got in trouble or if I thought there was something we couldn’t handle. The wilderness was not a safe place. I then showed him how to make some simple snare traps, and we looked for good places to set them up. It was mid-morning before I settled down to fish while Ilaiya practised sneaking up on things and went about his exploring on his own. I was a bit envious when I saw him downstream suddenly strike into the water and pull out a fish on the end of his claws.

We checked the traps in the late afternoon, and I was surprised one of them had caught a rabbit. We took it back to camp, and I talked him through skinning it. I think he was worse than I was when I started. The pelt was unusable, so I then talked him through butchering it, and he wanted to cook it for dinner, so I let him. He seemed happy eating a half-burnt and half-raw rabbit. I had fish. Tāoke had also found something to eat and curled up by the fire, digesting whatever was in his extended stomach.