The Ones That Got Away: A GURPS AAR

[Jubal]

INTRODUCTION

The world of Aya; a world in turmoil, torn apart by competing empires and civil wars, with priests and empresses gathering mighty forces to wield against one another. This, though, is not a story of great wars and mighty deeds; this is a tale of the folk who saw, and suffered, and had no voices. On a spring morning, far from their homes, a group of five refugees arrived on a barren stretch of coastline, and sheltered in the ruins of a town once occupied (and long since abandoned) by the Lizardfolk who once owned this shore. They were just south of the Ogieni colony of Bisanyedra, and not far from to a fortress-monastery of the priests of Maluran.

The first five came from the lands of Elor, in two small boats. One looked around, quick and darting, a fisherperson and pickpocket cast out for their thievery; another, believing that all men should hold all things in common, came fleeing from the rich and the powerful to start a new life. Another, a broad-shouldered and quiet man who saw and heard things that others did not, somewhere in the recesses of his own mind. The fourth stared sharply over the ocean, his eyes all that betrayed the story of love and death that had swept him far from home. And the last, no fisherman but a carpenter and mason, a little man, his dark skin and deep brown eyes showing his Veleril ancestry, world-weary of the evils that gods and men had wrought upon him.

But who really were these folk? What became of them, what stories did they tell, and how did they survive day by day?

This is a story of the refugee fisherfolk - these were the ones that got away.


SESSION ONE: DAYS 0-13

The first fortnight on an unfamiliar shore was a struggle for existence. Learning the ways of the strange seas, and what bait could be found locally, consumed a great deal of the refugees' time.

Scraping out a living did not mean a lack of ingenuity - quite the reverse; primitive salt-pans and and

Life on the edge meant danger in order to get ahead as well. Quiet thefts from the town were one example of such, and

One clue to the lives of the first fishermen comes from a fishing poem still passed along those shores:

The Crab-Fisher's Tale

Spoiler

Come hear! Come hail!
Hear the crab-fisher's tale,
The poor man who paddles the watery deep,
Who wakens the old armoured foe from its sleep,
Its pincers are sharp, its shell hard and strong,
With bare fists and blows they do fight hard and long,
The fishers were wroth, but the crab it fought fast,
Though the fishers they smote it until his heart brast
So fear the crab as it swims far and free,
And beware of the terrors that come from the sea!

SESSION TWO: Days 13-30

As the first month drew onwards, planning for the longer term became imperative. With a route into town and relations with local merchants beginning to come into being, money could be put aside to purchase water-barrels for the summer. A cistern was dug to collect water from a seasonal spring, and work began on fixing the roof of one of the houses to provide better shelter in the winter months.

The arrival of a mission of Maluran's priests was a large event for a tiny group of fisher-folk, and some, though not all, converted to the worship of the god of forge and fortress. The old furnaces in the temple were fired up for holy rituals, and the new converts took their turn to ritually beat out a breastplate in front of the old stone altar. Maluran's priests reward their followers well, though the faithful must donate as well as receive. Others of the group (including, ironically, their craftsman) stayed back, putting trust in things closer to hand than deities and prayers.

Taking time off roof repairs to do craftwork paid off for the group's carpenter, who managed to carve a particularly fine wooden dragon, a piece worth over forty gold coins.

Dark clouds, however, lay on the horizon. The Royal Ogieni Navy surrounded Bisanyedra and besieged it; as the only overseas colony the Ogieni had, its parliamentarian leanings were an embarrassment to the crown. They were to be embarrassed further, however, when after just four days separatist elements in the army were bribed to revolt, the incompetence of the ranking admiral and the gold-lust of one of his subordinates proving enough to tip the army into bitter infighting. The local merchants who unexpectedly succeeded in sparking the coup attempt were pushed to do so when they did, so it is said, by a poem that began to circulate about the evils of the crown and the pain it was causing to their city.

It is still known and heard in taverns around Bisanyedra to this day, and its words are as follows:

The Siege of Bisanyedra

Spoiler

Twenty ships came
From the Ogieni crown
They flew down the wind
And they flew to the town

There spears do shine
And there banners do fly
Where once was a market
And merchants did cry

For cannon are cruel
And great ships are strong
And long is the struggle
To right the sword's wrong

Where once was a merchant
Where once was a market
Where once there were craftsmen
And laughter and games
There now streets are empty
There now days are silent
There now the lost wind blows
And whispers their names

Twenty ships lie there
Sun up to sun down
So cry help for the people
And fear the crown.

SESSION THREE: Days 31-45

The second month came by.

Some good catches allowed for the purchase of more tools, as did the sale of the dragon carving. Finally a full set of carpentry tools was purchased, speeding up work on roof repairs. The fishermen were able to obtain hats, too, to shield them from the heat of day.

A new face came to the village, as well; a mysterious former poacher and Elorin refugee, Wilhelm, who became guard for the little group - something ever more needed as knowledge of their little group began to spread. Indeed, when carrying a load of ukiar into town, three bandits came with bows and took a large part of the catch. As they attempted to leave, though, Wilhelm shot one of them, and the fishermen fought back. The two fishermen killed one in a brawl with clubs, breaking his face in. Of the others, one was shot and nearly bled to death, and the other was held at knifepoint by the carpenter; both were then handed over to the town guards in Bisanyedra.

After the success of the dragon carving, and with a full set of tools finally available, the group's carpenter - through some mix of skill or luck - managed to make a rare masterpiece of crafting work, a dragoon gaming piece that was sold to Davide the cloth merchant for fifty platinum coins (that is to say, 500 gold). The process of creating the carving was slow, painstaking, and with little guarantee of success, but the final piece was a masterful display of craftsmanship. The resulting funds were buried under a household floor, put aside to help purchase vital tools for future use.

Other bandits sent scouts to the town; one was shot dead by Wilhelm (who had intended to hit the man's leg, but instead put an arrow in his chest). The man was buried solemnly at sea, with rituals of several gods. This harsh land drove men to desperation, and desperation in its turn seemed to be driving them to blood. Later, one of his comrades came after hime and was successfully shot in the leg, and sent back to his camp with a warning - that the Haven was defended. For that was its name, and ever after would be; officially Seastone Haven, Crabhaven to outsiders, but to its own, talking among themselves, "the Haven" was all the name it needed. A place of sanctuary for those in need, far from the crushing tyranny and bitter struggles of their past. Meanwhile, just as the bandit was captured, two huge fish of sorts not seen before were hauled from the sea by the fishermen...

The haven's early inhabitants are captured in an old song, the chorus of which was for many a long while after sung by the Haven's inhabitants:

Spoiler

My arrows sing sharp
Yet my heart it sings sore,
For I'm a lost poacher
On a far distant shore
Safe in the stone,
Fed by the sea,
We're the haven's own children
For here we live free!

I have been a thief
And I lie and I steal
For the sea's a harsh foe
With the rod and the reel
Safe in the stone,
Fed by the sea,
We're the haven's own children
For here we live free!

My lantern's warm glow
It will flicker with light,
And with lamplight and starlight
I fish through the night
Safe in the stone,
Fed by the sea,
We're the haven's own children
For here we live free!

I am Malloran's soldier
Who fights shell or man;
I found home far from Elor
On this distant strand
Safe in the stone,
Fed by the sea,
We're the haven's own children
For here we live free!

I fear no noble,
No squire and no king
And I stand without fear here
For the commons I sing,
Safe in the stone,
Fed by the sea,
We're the haven's own children
For here we live free!

I craft wood and writing,
I craft song and stone,
And I craft this long song
That I sing of my home.
Safe in the stone,
Fed by the sea,
We're the haven's own children
For here we live free!