Cobalt Scar

It's a popular place, if you go during high season you are unlikely to end up alone. I contacted various travellers who I knew had an interest in fishing and made arrangements to head over early in the morning while the water was still calm.

Eclipsia, ever interested in new places and new species (although sometimes I worry about her motives) joined me once again, as did Lapislazuli, a half-elven bard who I have known for many seasons. She seems to have recently changed quite dramatically in personality; she's still very friendly but seems different somehow and has developed a rather odd penchant for shopping. I know the elves hold therapy and new age workshops and "finding yourself" in high regard and I guess Lapis has probably been involved in such things. She is still friendly and fun though and I was pleased she was coming.

We arrived at dawn and parked ourselves next to the Othmir and chatted about fine food and drink around Norrath. The Othmir have a simple sparkling beer that I very much enjoy although oddly when I've bought some to take home with me it never tastes as nice. Lapis had never tried it, which seemed a great shame. We agreed that Eclipsia really should learn about some of the finer things in life, and I took it upon myself to help her with her first steps.

She seemed oddly reluctant and repeatedly attacked an otter who was trying to assist us with the ingredients. Luckily the othmir are quite a relaxed race and other than some insults flung about they did not seem to hold a grudge. Finally, I was pleased to find that Eclipsia had in fact sat herself in front of the brew barrel and was managing to create Othmir Short Ale.

Meanwhile, we'd been joined by an Iksar who I've often run into on these shores, Xabkorak. What he lacks in fishing skill he makes up for in enthusiasm although in less populated waters I daresay he would scare all the fish away with his shouting. He stood on the shore, sword in one hand and fishing rod in the other, and dared the fish not to bite. This attracted a fair amount of notice and caused a halfling named Shallon to wander over and join us. I know Shallon fairly well but he is rather quiet and doesn't really seem to have a mind of his own. Xabkorak told him he should fish, and so he did, without saying another word the rest of the day.

Amongst all these distractions we had forgotten about Eclipsia: when we turned around again, we found her sitting on the sand with empty casks of beer around her; she had drunk everything! She's a bit unstable at the best of times and as we tried to pry the last drinks from her she began to mumble incoherently and throw herself at the Othmir. I do wish dark elves were better at holding their drink.

Typically, Ulija arrived just as we broke for lunch. Humans don't seem to deal well with mornings but mention food and they wake up fast. We had caught quite a bit of fish by then but the local cod and snappers are very oily and don't make for good very good eating. Lapis did have a go at extracting these oils but I guess there is a bit of a knack to it as it came out rather murky and foul-smelling. I saved a couple of jars of the cod oil which may be useful for softening tough hides.

Luckily the othmir offer guests a pleasant tasting clam dish; I do wish I could get them to give me the recipe, although an otter did give me a rather intriguing recipe for Saucy Salted Seadragon Steak which I must get around to trying. We had a wonderful picnic on the sand listening to otter music and comparing our catches. Poor Eclipsia had gone a rather disturbing shade of torquoise and Lapislazuli was kind enough to escort her to an inn where she could have a lie down.

It was early evening when we were joined by a wood elf called Atouraia. He's very independent for a wood elf and has travelled around Norrath. I enjoyed the chance to hear of the different lands that I had not journeyed to, this will be helpful in my journeys. He may not be much of a fisher but he has a real knack for finding things in the shore, he had collected a fair amount of crabs and mussels in now time at all which I'm sure could be used to make a rather nice seafood salad. As we watched the sunset and talked I was passed a message from a high elven friend that he was in need of a rare fish from Iceclad, the other side of Velious. Luckily, Atouraia knew this place and a direct route, so I happily took him up on his offer to guide me and we rushed to arrive before dark.