Postcards from Tamriel, Stories and such that fall somewhere between a snippet and a thread Options

[Grits]

Hi folks!

My characters are getting unruly, so I thought I’d make a place where I can hide from them while they fight it out. I mean, while I figure out what to do. The first time this happened, I posted Home for the Holidays, a very short story about Abiene’s Saturalia visit to Leyawiin in the year 3E432. I should have made this thread then, but at the time I still thought that every word I wrote would be the last. Someday I hope to make an offering at The Temple of Lore, but for now I’m still too guilty of undisciplined sprawling. I’ll start a story in the next post.

As always, comments and discussion are very welcome!

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jun 23 2019, 03:31 AM

[Grits]

Thank you so much everyone for the warm response to this little story!! Frankly, things IRL have been hectic, and I wanted a little break. I am delighted that Anvil’s boys of summer have provided some entertainment.

haute ecole rider: I know they must exist, but I just can’t make a skinny baker. It’s funny, when I pictured the boys on the beach, they were already picking up their rocks and shells. Writing this was a mental cup of tea for me throughout.

ureniashtram: Yep, I had to bring the three thugs and the sweetroll into Cyrodiil. I’m going to slow down posting Jerric’s Story for awhile to maybe once a week. There are so many great stories on this board, and I want to read them all. At first I thought I would have mine wrapped up by this fall, but HAH! Giving up that fantasy is quite liberating, now I can really take my time.

Acadian: Between the rocks and shells and the sweetroll incident, I hoped to show why these two are friends. Some things are the same, some different. More boyz coming up.

Destri Melarg: Oh, Tom and Huck, I need to go dust that one off! I grew up reading my Dad’s books, so I’m sure a browse through those shelves would reveal a lot of my inspirations. Plus my own early summer days were largely free of shoes and adult supervision. I’m pausing Jerric’s Story while I post this little one, then I’ll be posting slower than before.

mALX: Your intuition is right again, the seeds of their future conflict will be sown in this story. I love the sun and planets analogy, that really made me smile.

treydog: No one can resist Dachshund eyes! I grew up watching my male relatives fling themselves joyfully into various disasters, and each time events took a turn, they were surprised.

SubRosa: Exactly! I haven’t played Morrowind yet, but I heard the rumor in Oblivion where the person says, “So I took the sweetroll…” When I found out the origin of the three thugs and the sweetroll, I knew I’d have to use it somewhere. I loved Stand By Me. I promise they will not find any leeches.

King Coin: I’m glad you liked it! I’m afraid Jerric still hasn’t learned moderation.




Tides: The Middle Part

Jerric swam down toward the shadow near the cliff’s base. He could tell before he got there that it was an underwater cavern. Excitement shivered through him as he swam under the ledge. The opening was as wide as his bedchamber and high enough for his Fa to stand up in it. The water made his vision blurry, but he could see that the cavern narrowed into darkness at the back with light far beyond. Little yellow fish swarmed around him on their startled way out to the open sea. Jerric kicked harder and swam into the darkness.

The light ahead showed him how to angle through the tunnel. A few spots were narrow enough that he could pull himself along on the rocks. Surge from the waves outside pushed him forward and pulled him back, but not enough to alarm him. He held on to the rocks when the water pulled him, then kicked ahead when it pushed.

Eels like dark places, he suddenly remembered. So do sea serpents. And there’s no room to turn around in here if I need to grab a snake. He shot forward, propelled by the thought of venomous fangs on his defenseless toes.

Jerric could hear the rush and gurgle of water against rocks ahead. The tunnel widened as he swam into filtered sunlight. Relief let his breath loose. He blew bubbles out his nose and raced them to the surface. Rhano’s head popped up a moment later, while Jerric was still gulping air.

“Sea serpents!” gasped Rhano.

“Where?” Jerric scanned the water, right hand open and ready while his left kept him steady. He pulled his feet up, just in case.

“I didn’t see any. I’m just saying, there might be sea serpents.”

Jerric rolled his eyes and splashed Rhano. “Or eels. If we see one, we might get eel pie for dinner.”

Rhano sent a wave back at Jerric. “If we see one, there’ll be dreck in the water! You’ll fill your drawers for sure! You should have seen your face when I said serpents!”

The boys dunked each other until they both ran out of breath again. Then they looked around, treading water. The chamber was shaped like a shallow, upside-down bowl, as long as a caravan wagon with its team of six horses. Light and air came down through a crack like a chimney in the low ceiling. Jerric could hear sea birds crying high above them on the cliffs outside. There was no ledge to climb on in this chamber, water slapped against the walls on all sides.

“Not much to see in here,” Rhano remarked.

Jerric pointed to a niche in the far wall. “Maybe that’s another tunnel.”

“It took all of my breath to get here,” said Rhano.

“I know! We almost didn’t make it!” Their laughter filled the small cavern.

They swam over to the side and found that the water was shallow enough to stand up. Slippery weeds and dark algae coated the rocks where the light touched. Jerric stepped carefully into the low niche, ducking his head.

“There is a tunnel,” he breathed. “I can’t see if there’s any light down there.”

“Don’t use more than half of your air this time if you think you might turn back,” Rhano cautioned. “Do you want me to wait?”

“Yeah,” said Jerric, hoping to see at least a glimmer to show him the way. “I don’t want to back up with you behind me.”

“Well I don’t want your rotten zombie feet in my face.”

Jerric decided it was too slippery to wrestle on the rocks, so he let the moment pass. Maybe he could get his feet in Rhano’s face when they reached the next cavern, if there was one.

He made sure his heart was steady and his lungs were full before he eased under the surface.

“Don’t hit your head,” Rhano advised as Jerric’s ears filled with water.

This tunnel angled downward. As soon as he was stretched out in the darkness, Jerric could see light ahead. He swam down to it, reaching forward with one hand to protect his head. Rhano is right, he thought. This is a bad place to crack your skull.

This tunnel seemed a little longer, and it was harder to move through. Jerric’s lungs were convulsing before he reached the light. He surfaced into a narrow, flooded canyon in the sea cliffs. Sunshine streamed almost straight down, leaving only one side of the cliff in shadow at the very top. That’s what a mortal’s life looks like, Jerric decided, looking up while his chest heaved. Blue sky like a ribbon.

Rhano surfaced beside him, coughing for breath. His eyes were wide and filled with water. Jerric braced a hand against the wall and put out the other to steady his friend.

“That was far,” Rhano finally rasped. “We must be getting near the shore inside this cliff.” He cast his eyes up. “I wonder if we could make it up there? I see a bunch of cracks we could use to climb.”

“I don’t know. It’s almost close enough to push against both walls. That would make it easy.” Jerric floated on his back, looking up. “I guess that would surprise some birds.”

“Maybe up ahead,” said Rhano.

“Yeah. Let’s see where this goes. I think you’re right, this crack follows the shore line.” Jerric didn’t know how he could feel which way he was facing, but he trusted it.

The canyon led to another cavern, this one three times bigger than the last and partially open to the sky. Rocks poked up above the water’s surface around the edges, encrusted above the water line with red and pink barnacles. Light streamed down through the clear water. Jerric could see brilliant green weeds waving beneath his feet. Tiny glints of orange and blue flashed through them. Little fish, he realized. Where the last chamber had been dim and empty, this cavern teemed with life. “Is it magic?” Jerric whispered.

“It’s a grotto.” Rhano’s voice was just as soft. “I wonder if a sea nymph lives here. I heard Heinrich Oaken-Hull telling Newheim the Small that he’s seen new nymphs down at the harbor.”

Jerric looked around quickly. “I don’t think it’s deep enough in here,” he said doubtfully. “What do they eat? Can they summon anything?” He wondered how big a sea nymph was. He knew that forest nymphs could be hostile if you bothered them, and their summoned bears were as dangerous as regular ones.

“You’re right,” Rhano said, relief in his voice. “I bet they only come here to look, like we are.”

The boys paddled around the cavern, pointing out wonders to each other. Sharp barnacles kept them from climbing very high on the rocks, but there was plenty to discover in the water. At first they thought the wandering shells belonged to some kind of fast-moving snail. “Nomad crabs!” Rhano exclaimed when he picked one up. They had a contest to see who could find the smallest one. They did see black and purple banded eels in the weeds, but they were as thin as Jerric’s finger and only as long as his hand.

“I’m starving,” Jerric finally said with deep regret. He wished they could stay in the grotto forever.

“Me too. And we can’t drink seawater. We should head back, I think the tide has turned.”

Jerric had a bad moment in the tunnel on the way back to the first chamber. He could see light from more than one distant source when he faced this direction. A hand on his heel told him Rhano was right behind him. The tunnel on the right looked the brightest. It’s the middle one, he thought. There was no time to debate with himself. He headed into the middle tunnel, trusting his gut.

Moments later they burst into the niche in the side of the low chamber. Jerric glared at Rhano as he wheezed for breath. “I hope you liked swimming through my piss,” Jerric choked. “What in the blazing Deadlands were you thinking when you grabbed my foot?”

“I was thinking, move your backside, frosty.” Rhano coughed right in Jerric’s face, but Jerric thought it sounded better than hearing him drown.

Jerric crawled over the submerged rocks until he could stand, then he picked his way to the pool’s edge. Rhano’s sharp cry filled the cavern. Jerric whirled to find him on his side in the niche, arms braced to hold himself above the surface. One ankle looked caught between two rocks under the clear water. As Jerric splashed and slipped over to him, his stomach clenched with alarm. Rhano’s foot was not pointing the way it should.

Rhano ground his teeth while Jerric freed his ankle. Then he let loose with a stream of cursing that would have made a sailor proud.

“You can’t swim out like this,” Jerric said when Rhano stopped for breath. “And it’s too far for me to pull you.”

“I know,” Rhano gritted. “You have to go get my Fa. He can pull me out with a rope.”

“I have to stay with you until the tide turns again so I can help you swim in here,” said Jerric. “There won’t be any rocks to hold on to. This part will be flooded.”

He could see that Rhano knew he was right. Jerric found a spot where Rhano could lie against some rocks a little less painfully. He looked around the chamber and made his plan. “We could use Llyrela’s Helm of Fin Gleam right now. Wouldn’t it be great if she popped up in here looking for treasure?”

“Yeah,” said Rhano. His voice sounded tight. “No one’s seen her all summer, though. I guess she finally struck it rich.”

They boys sat quietly. Jerric listened to the birds and the water, thinking of sunken treasure. “Maybe the sea-sirens will come for us,” Jerric said after a while. “They rescue lost sailors, and you can breathe water when you’re with them.”

Rhano’s eyes widened with horror. “The sea-sirens sing the men into the water, Jerric. They drag them down to their sea castles so they can,” his voice dropped to a dreadful whisper, “marry them.”

Jerric eyed his friend. “Uh, Rhano, I think we might be a little too young for that. So if they come for us, I think we should go.”

“Would you go with a spriggan if one found you lost in the woods?” Rhano demanded.

Jerric considered the question. “I guess that would depend on if she saw me with an axe.” He watched Rhano for a moment. “Would it help if you put your leg on me? We’ll be here for hours until the tide turns again. I guess I can stand your rotten foot.”

They shifted again, and this time Rhano’s pain showed in his ragged breathing. His skin felt a little cold. He’s only half Nord, Jerric remembered. He looked around the chamber some more, trying to think of something to amuse his friend. “The barnacles in here are up on the walls,” he remarked. “It looks like the tide band on the dock pilings. You can really see how low the mid-summer tides are when you look at the lines in here.”

Rhano pushed himself up until he was sitting. “Jerric.”

His friend’s dread froze Jerric’s skin. “What?”

“Look where the line is.”

Comprehension came with fear that clenched his heart. Normal high tide would have them floating within a few feet of the ceiling. This incoming tide would dash their heads against it, or possibly flood the chamber entirely. “What are we going to do?” Jerric whispered.

“You have to go now,” Rhano told him. “You can make it.” His face said otherwise.

“I’m not leaving you. I can keep our heads off the rocks.” Jerric’s gut told him it wasn’t true.

Rhano’s hand found Jerric’s and clung like he was already drowning. “You have to go.” Rhano’s eyes seemed to fill his face.

Rhano is right, thought Jerric. I have to go.

They arranged Rhano on the submerged rocks without speaking. Jerric moved carefully to the edge. “I’ll come back for you.” He took a few quick breaths. “I’ll make it.”

“Jerric, wait!” Jerric looked back at his friend. “Don’t eat lunch first.” Rhano’s grin looked strained in his ashen face.

“I’ll just stop for a quick sweetroll.” Jerric forced a smile. Then he turned and dove into the pool.

This post has been edited by Grits: Aug 9 2011, 12:36 AM