“How did I get that ol’ girl?” A black bearded fisherman scratches his grizzled chin and looks up, trying to remember. One wrinkled eye winces and winks closed as he leans back against the pier post and crosses a leg before smiling as the memory comes to him.
“So long ago, I almost forgot. This relic behind me,” he points to a small fishing boat that slowly bobs and sways with the gentle ripples in of the lake Pajong Gai. “I had to ferry her down the river at the other end of the lake. Won her on a dare. The man who bet me had no idea that I’d already served in a merchant fleet off the coast of Crashton. Now there be waves and storms the likes of which this ol’ gal is glad to be rid of. Her previous owner, one Fezzle Drafton, dared me to take her out to the Moaning Reefs, out past the furthest edge of the trade routes that travelled all along the shores and even up the river to this lake. I guess the thing was, he was so annoyed with the way the engine sputtered and chugged the water that he was glad to be rid of her if only he could’ve found someone knew how take her out to sea and prove themselves worthy a captain. Of course, he half said it in jest on account of the fact he was covered head to toe in oil from his last miserable attempt to get the girl in working order. I had made some off hand remark about his land-lovin’ ways and that was that. He challenged me. I accepted. But the real tale is how I got all the way to the reefs edge and learned the reason it was called the Moaning Reefs.”