I inspected the speargun, wishing that I misread the notification.

---

Shoddy Speargun

Damage: N/A

Durability: 0/15 (broken)

---

The elastic band thing had snapped and now the speargun was useless. I could still scrounge around for the smaller shellfish but without the speargun, I had no way to make money. Without money, I had no way to pay for passage off of the island. Without passage off the island, I would never get to save princesses and kill the evil wizards keeping them prisoner! That would just be unacceptable.

I went to see Frankie. I got the thing from him in the first place, he might know where I could find a replacement part. I didn’t get the answer I was hoping for though.

“What? A replacement? Why would I have something like that? I just pulled that piece of junk out of the lost and found bin.”

“There’s a lost and found? Can I take a look?”

“Did you lose anything?”

“Erm, no…”

“Then no, you can’t.”

“Look, I can’t get any more lobsters for you unless I fix this speargun. Help me help you, Frankie.”

He huffed.

“Fine, it’s not like anyone would come all the way back here for any of this junk anyway, knock yourself out.”

He beckoned me to come around his bar. It was even dirtier on this side. I held my breath as I rummaged through the wooden crate of forgotten junk. There were three left boots, a fancy hat, a sorry looking fiddle, tattered bits of cloth, a handful of rusty hooks, and a green button.

Nothing in there would be any help.

“Do you have any idea what this strap was made of?” I asked hopefully. Frankie took the snapped component and looked at it closely before stretching it experimentally.

“Looks like mermaid skin” He said casually and tossed it back to me. I dodged it and stared at Frankie.

“Mermaid skin? Like those legendarily beautiful singers?”

“Nothin’ legendary about mermaids. Pests of the waves they are. Sickly, lonely creatures in truth. They tempt men with hallucinations for their companionship, and eventually for vittles.”

I gulped. It was one thing to hear one of Frankie’s fish-tales. It was another thing entirely when he brought a prop into the mix. It made the story seem that much more believable.

“You can probably buy a bit off of one of the passing ships with a little luck. It’s common enough that it should only cost thirty coppers or so.”

“Thirty coppers? That’s nearly half of everything I own!”

Frankie shrugged.

“You want more mermaid skin, you can pay the people who have it, or find a mermaid yourself.”

That got my attention.

“There are mermaids on this island?”

Frankie chuckled and shook his head.

“Nothing like mermaids have been seen around Outset in decades lad. It wouldn’t make a very good shelter if it was crawling with monsters, would it? Now get out of here, I have important work to do.” He nodded out the window where a new arrival was just lowering its anchor into the harbor.

As far as I could tell, that work consisted of chewing on a home-made toothpick while he whittled more. I made my way to the single dock of the island. The large ships themselves anchored in the harbor. The dock was barely adequate for tying off dinghys.

I didn’t have to wait long before a longboat rowed in from the newly arrived ship. The ranks of oars moving in unison made it look like some kind of strange beetle skimming across the smooth harbor.

I stayed back until they were on solid land. Then I stepped forward holding the broken bit of speargun.

“Hello, I would like to buy some mermaid skin.” I blurted out before they could react. They looked at me, then each other. Then they burst out laughing. I reddened and clenched my fist. I looked back to Frankie’s place to see him leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching the drama play out with a satisfied smile.

“Goddamnit Frankie, I’m never going to believe another word you say!” I shouted before throwing the scrap of material on the ground and storming off.

I fumed and raged back at my crappy excuse for a lean-to. This was supposed to be a grand adventure, I was supposed to save kingdoms and vanquish undead armies. How could I just get stuck on this damn island forever?

I went to sleep hungry that night. It was better than going back to Frankie’s, but by the next morning I was forced to swallow my pride and go back to the cook.

“Patrick! Where were you last night? We missed your antics.”

I gave him a glare and a copper. He slid a bowl of stew over along with the previously broken piece of the speargun. It had been inexpertly patched up.

“One of the swabbies you entertained last night has a bit of skill with repairing stuff like this. He did this as thanks for a good laugh.”

I didn’t know what to say. It was the first purely altruistic act I’d run into on the island. It was probably motivated by pity though. I wasn’t exactly the sort of person to turn away a helping hand due to pride but it was still uncomfortable. I didn’t want to become some beggar/fisherman. That wasn’t the epic story I wanted to leave behind.

“Well don’t just sit there like a landed carp. Eat that soup before it gets cold or I’ll throw you into the harbor.”

I gagged at the vile thought before attacking the soup. I slowed about halfway through when Frankie stopped looming over me like a gargoyle. The repaired sling drew my eye. Then I was struck with a sudden realization.

---

Skill: Jester

Level: 6

Increased effect of performances

Increased chance to earn tips

---

I ignored this skill after I got it, but could it be my ticket to the mainland? It says performances here. Could that mean I don’t have to make a fool of myself to earn tips? The skill isn’t called Fool at least. Weren’t jesters all-round entertainers?

“Hey Frankie.” I called “Could you lend me the violin in your lost and found?”

He turned a raised eyebrow in my direction.

“You planning to use that fiddle to catch lobsters now?”

“Come on Frankie. How much food have I brought you since we met. Let me just borrow it. If anyone comes looking for it you can point them in my direction.”

He grunted as he cleaned a wooden bowl with a filthy rag.

“Ten coppers”

“What? You’re going to charge me for something in your lost and found?”

“Just taking my cut of this little illegal operation.”

“We’re not doing anything illegal here.” I protested

“Right, and is that fiddle yours?”

“No.”

“So if you want to walk off with something that isn’t yours, it’s a good idea to grease the wheels a little bit. Like bribing a guard to look the other way, for a minute or two.”

Frankie’s smiling face was unreadable. I couldn’t tell if he was just pulling my leg again, dead serious, or trying to pull off a scam. Either way, I could get the fiddle for ten copper. Even if my idea didn’t pan out it would be nice to have something to break the monotony. Thinking about it a little more, It wouldn't be so bad to whip out a violin and serenade rescued damsels. Can you play a violin in shining armor? Only one way to find out!

“Hmm, that’s problematic.” I muttered while adopting a troubled expression.

“I haven’t seen any guards in town. How about this, I give you the copper for safe-keeping, and you hold onto it until a guard comes around.”

Frankie’s smile stretched a bit wider

“That sounds like an excellent idea. Why don’t you leave the money here? I’ll make sure it finds its way to the proper authorities.” He indicated his counterspace. I laid out ten copper coins and Frankie tisked.

“You shouldn’t let your money get so dirty, you’ll never find it again if you drop it on the ground!”

He made a show of grabbing a coin before turning his back and lifting the coin into a shaft of light. He started polishing it, looking almost in the exact opposite direction of the lost and found. I nonchalantly slid off of my stool and pulled the fiddle and its bow from the crate. There was no one else in the small restaurant so I flipped the bird at Frankies turned back before taking my leave. My Jester skill increased as the door shut behind me. Things were not exactly going the way I had hoped, but they were starting to get interesting.

Once I got back to my base I wasted no time in reassembling my weapon. I was going to have to feed myself and it was better to bring Frankie some ingredients rather than spend money and set my departure back even further.

---

Shoddy Speargun

Damage: 2-3 piercing

Durability: 13/13

---

It wasn’t going to hold together forever. I’d need to learn to repair this myself. I could also buy a replacement or even a better speargun. It probably wasn’t made from hard to find exotic materials considering it was classified as shoddy.

I took a closer look at the break. It looked like the frayed chords were twisted back together and held in place by something like glue. If a sailor could casually use it there was no way it would be prohibitively expensive. I won’t have to worry about that for a little while though, so long as I don’t fish more than I need to.

Next, I took out the violin. I knew the basics of music theory from that EDM phase I went through but I had no idea how to play an actual instrument. I’d seen them on TV and in movies so I knew enough to put the violin on one shoulder and drag the bow across it.

The resulting shriek made me wince.

Right, you have to tune string instruments. How the hell am I supposed to do that without a tuner? I don’t even know which notes each string is supposed to play! What a waste of 10 copper. I put the violin back in my inventory to keep it safe and took the speargun into the water.