It's a shame you don't like the statues as I was thinking I could come over to visit you one year and spend some time carving tree stumps into similar shapes :)
Stocking up Lantern singular, as it turned out, which was a shame. I would definitely have appreciated having two lanterns for going back through those dark, winding stone passages, but one was better than none, and we picked up two flasks of oil from a box of a dozen. That would sort out torches as well as keep the lantern filled. Ben wound a decent length of rope around his waist, and then we overturned a few boxes and kicked some of the boat-tools about. When we came out through the window-hole, Ben took out the wickedly sharp knife he'd taken from the building and used it to score some deep scratches into the wood. "They don't look a lot like the ones in the floor," said Jimmy. He sounded doubtful and was standing a little way back, staring critically at Ben's work. "They don't need to," said Ben. "One, it's wood here not stone, and two, people already know what makes gouges marks in buildings. They don't go looking for other explanations first." "Point," I said, since Jimmy still looked hesitant. "Letting people deceive themselves is the best way to run any con, short or long." "I guess," said Jimmy, which pretty much ended that conversation. We looked around the dock a little more, but there wasn't much there -- just enough to patch a boat up after a voyage, and that was about it. We'd almost given up when we found a low sand-bunker like box, as long as the three of us laid head-to-toe. That wasn't padlocked, which was a surprise when we lifted the lid and discovered sacks of potatoes, grain and ship's biscuit. "They were thinking of staying here at some point," said Ben. He bit a biscuit experimentally, and it was still tough, not softened at all by the water in the air. "I guess the things from the black square chased them off before they brought much else." "Or they took it away with them again," I said. "These are heavy item, bulky. I'd leave these behind in favour of gold if I were them." Jimmy found an empty sack and starting piling some of each kind of dry good into it. "You wouldn't want your boat to be too heavy along that river either," he said. "You can see how rough it must be. We need to remember to refill our water bottles too, guys." "Fair," said Ben. "Oh," said Jimmy, sounding innocent but looking mischievous, "and since you've got the knife, Ben, you're on potato-peeling duty tonight." By this point the sun had started to slip behind the mountains that surrounded us, and while there was probably another two hours of the day left, none of us really wanted to be wandering around too much in the twilight. Ben looked for a moment like he was going to propose that we stay in the administrative building again, but then he seemed to reconsider, and we walked back through the city, following our path as best we could remember. We got a little lost right at the end and walked around probably our entire neighbourhood before spotting the stairs above us and getting back to our little room. Jimmy took on cooking duty again, Ben started peeling potatoes so meekly that I had to check it was actually him, and I was unsubtly sat next to our tiny, but growing, collection of books and clearly expected to read while there was enough light.
Greg - well, you're still welcome to visit. And if it requires carving for you to come, I suppose I could deal with one stump shaped into some horror or another...
I do enjoy these interactions between the three of them as they go about whatever they're going about. They each have a role to play and they each play them well :)
2 comments:
It's a shame you don't like the statues as I was thinking I could come over to visit you one year and spend some time carving tree stumps into similar shapes :)
Stocking up
Lantern singular, as it turned out, which was a shame. I would definitely have appreciated having two lanterns for going back through those dark, winding stone passages, but one was better than none, and we picked up two flasks of oil from a box of a dozen. That would sort out torches as well as keep the lantern filled. Ben wound a decent length of rope around his waist, and then we overturned a few boxes and kicked some of the boat-tools about. When we came out through the window-hole, Ben took out the wickedly sharp knife he'd taken from the building and used it to score some deep scratches into the wood.
"They don't look a lot like the ones in the floor," said Jimmy. He sounded doubtful and was standing a little way back, staring critically at Ben's work.
"They don't need to," said Ben. "One, it's wood here not stone, and two, people already know what makes gouges marks in buildings. They don't go looking for other explanations first."
"Point," I said, since Jimmy still looked hesitant. "Letting people deceive themselves is the best way to run any con, short or long."
"I guess," said Jimmy, which pretty much ended that conversation. We looked around the dock a little more, but there wasn't much there -- just enough to patch a boat up after a voyage, and that was about it. We'd almost given up when we found a low sand-bunker like box, as long as the three of us laid head-to-toe. That wasn't padlocked, which was a surprise when we lifted the lid and discovered sacks of potatoes, grain and ship's biscuit.
"They were thinking of staying here at some point," said Ben. He bit a biscuit experimentally, and it was still tough, not softened at all by the water in the air. "I guess the things from the black square chased them off before they brought much else."
"Or they took it away with them again," I said. "These are heavy item, bulky. I'd leave these behind in favour of gold if I were them."
Jimmy found an empty sack and starting piling some of each kind of dry good into it. "You wouldn't want your boat to be too heavy along that river either," he said. "You can see how rough it must be. We need to remember to refill our water bottles too, guys."
"Fair," said Ben.
"Oh," said Jimmy, sounding innocent but looking mischievous, "and since you've got the knife, Ben, you're on potato-peeling duty tonight."
By this point the sun had started to slip behind the mountains that surrounded us, and while there was probably another two hours of the day left, none of us really wanted to be wandering around too much in the twilight. Ben looked for a moment like he was going to propose that we stay in the administrative building again, but then he seemed to reconsider, and we walked back through the city, following our path as best we could remember. We got a little lost right at the end and walked around probably our entire neighbourhood before spotting the stairs above us and getting back to our little room. Jimmy took on cooking duty again, Ben started peeling potatoes so meekly that I had to check it was actually him, and I was unsubtly sat next to our tiny, but growing, collection of books and clearly expected to read while there was enough light.
Greg - well, you're still welcome to visit. And if it requires carving for you to come, I suppose I could deal with one stump shaped into some horror or another...
I do enjoy these interactions between the three of them as they go about whatever they're going about. They each have a role to play and they each play them well :)
Post a Comment