Leaving for the Mainland

Writers: Aaron, Francesca
Date Posted: 6th April 2022

Characters: Jarrin, Kalshek
Description: Jarrin seeks passage to the mainland to search for his son.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 1, day 5 of Turn 11
Notes: Mentioned: Jarril

Jarrin took a final look through the bag on the table. It held a
change of clothes, enough food to last a few days, and, most
importantly, his fishing supplies. While traveling with a fishing pole
wasn't convenient, he'd created a sling so he could carry it across
his back. He wasn't sure how long he would be gone, and having a way
to make some marks as well as feed himself would be useful. There were
also two bottles of cheap alcohol, although they wouldn't last long.

He had already spoken to his two fosterlings that morning, before
sending them off to their daily duties. They were old enough to take
care of themselves, and he knew one of the older cooks was fond of
them and would make sure they were ok. His supervisor knew he was
leaving for an unknown amount of time. Now he just needed to head to
the docks to book passage to the mainland, to continue the search for
his son.

A wave of anger overtook him at the thought of that stupid boy. Jarrin
had already spent months searching, first around Leeward Lagoon Hold and then crisscrossing the entire island. His son, Jarril, wasn't
stupid, but being almost deaf made verbal communication frustrating.
That night one thing had led to another, he had a vague memory of
hitting the boy, and when he'd woken up the next day with a pounding
headache, Jarril was gone. It wasn't the first time he had
disappeared, but as days passed with no sign of him, Jarrin's worry
and anger had increased. And now, he was completely upending his life
to find Jarril and bring him home. He uncorked one of the bottles and
took a few gulps to help him calm down. Anger didn't serve him now. He
needed to stay focused.

With a grunt, Jarrin grabbed his bag, scooped up his fishing pole, and
made the short walk to the docks. There were four ships there that
day. One had just arrived and was still unloading its cargo, another
two were loading new cargo, and the final one seemed quiet. Jarrin
decided to start by approaching a small ship loading cargo, in the
hopes that it would leave as soon as they were done, and that the
captain would be open to reducing the cost of passage in exchange for
some manual labor. He had been trying to save up a few marks, but most
of his earnings went to buying alcohol, so he didn't have much.

He approached a man who seemed to be in charge and tried to give a
friendly smile. "Hello there. I'm looking to travel to the mainland.
Are you heading there soon?"

The man gave Jarrin a once-over, then a sigh and a scowl. It was
beginning to seem he was going to have to play host to a scraggly
ragamuffin every time he set sail from Leeward Lagoon. This one had
the benefit of asking first, but he smelled of booze already, and it
was not even noon.

"I'm not sailin' a passenger ship. I don't keep berths open fer more
than ma crew. Ya have the look about ya of a man who knows how ta
work, so I might have room for one more if yer not afraid of a little
heavy liftin'. Don't suppose yer rod is suited ta deep sea fishin', is
it?"

Jarrin drew himself up to show he was perfectly capable of some manual
labor. His build was more wiry than muscular, which worked well for
diving, and he could lift more than others might guess. "I'm a diver
by trade, but I also fish a fair bit. And I'm fine with carrying and
moving things around. This," he gestured to the fishing rod, "can
catch most deep sea fish; just maybe not the biggest ones." He was
stretching the truth just a bit. He knew little to nothing about deep
sea fishing but had brought his medium rod, since it could handle a
broad range of fish. Besides, if he didn't catch anything, it's not
like they'd throw him off the ship.

"Give a hand to the rest of the crew finishing up the loading, and
we'll be getting underway soon enough," said the captain. If the man
caught one fish, it would be better than nothing. They were not a
fishing vessel, but they had the room to slice, salt, and store most
anything he could pull up with that rod.

Jarrin gave a mental sigh of relief that his plan seemed to be
working. He hadn't actually thought through much of anything, beyond
finding his way to the mainland and then, somehow, tracking down his
son. But this was a good start. "All right. Where can I put my
things?"

"I'll stow them for you," said the captain. He was hardly going to let
the man poke around unsupervised before they cast off. He held out his
hand.

Jarrin hesitated, not liking the need to trust someone he'd just met.
Most of his half and quarter marks were on him, but there were a few
tucked in his bag that he hadn't thought to put with the others. And
he didn't know what the captain would do if he saw the alcohol. Would
he take it? Throw it overboard? Drink it himself? He should have had
more than a few gulps before going to the docks, just in case.

Well, he didn't have much of a choice. And he didn't think he'd get a
better deal on one of the other ships. With a small sigh, he handed
over the fishing rod and bag. If anything happened to them, he could
add it to the list of things to blame on Jarril.

The captain nodded. If he did have to confiscate any contraband, he
would give it back when they docked at Topaz.

"What shall I call you?" he asked.

Luckily, he had thought this through, and there was no hesitation this
time. "You can call me Varron." Varron was his younger brother. He
hoped Jarril had fond memories of playing with his uncle when he was
younger. The two hadn't seen one another in Turns, but he hoped if
word spread to Jarril that his uncle was looking for him, he might be
more likely to come straight to him.

"Welcome aboard, Varron," said the captain. "I'm Kalshek. You can get
acquainted with the rest of the crew once we set sail. For now, tell
them I sent you, and get to loading."

Jarrin gave a nod of understanding. "Thank you." After months of
searching and planning, this was finally happening. The Southern
Continent was big, but how hard could it be to find an almost deaf
boy? Well, he was going to find out.

Last updated on the July 15th 2022

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Leaving for the Mainland