Trice Forgotten 3 - Battens Down

Shahan Hamza as Siva

Gigi Zahir as Noor

Additional Voices by Maddy Searle, Karim Kronfli, Ahmed Aljabry, and Lydia Nicholas

### Content Warnings

FoodAlcohol and Alcohol Use

Innuendo

Imperialism & internalised racism

Physical violence (comedic)

Misophonia (eating and drinking)

Discussions of: animal harm, eating animals

Mentions of: alcohol, guns & blades, ageism

SFX: ocean & seagulls; waves; background chatter; crowds; insects; bells; metallic clanking and scraping (sword fighting and eating with metal utensils)

### Transcript

Official transcript (PDF)
Unofficial transcript (webpage)

## *Herring & Marnock Esq’s Dictionary of Nautical and Pyratical Terms, 1849:*

batten: a narrow strip of wood for fairing in lines, a strip of wood to fasten objects together.

**batten • down** **(verb):**

to make watertight, to secure, in preparation for a storm

## Summary

In which stingrays are caught, potatoes are consumed, and a map is purloined.

## Plot

The episode starts with the crew in a bar. Alestes, Baker and Siva are in different stages of drunk, while Noor is drinking tea.

Alestes and Baker argue about fishing. Baker says that he‘s been slinging carp, bass and ass since she was in swaddling clothes. Siva is impressed, thinking Baker means „donkey“ by ass and Noor humors him and advises him to have a conversation with Baker about it, when he is sober. Siva is thrilled and exclaims that Baker will teach him how to sling ass! Alestes jokes that Baker should be careful or else word will get around that he teaches the young men all about- and then she is cut off by Baker shushing her.

Siva remembers that he used a beer crate as a desk for months and months, but was never allowed to drink beer. He excitedly exclaims that he now understands the appeal and chugs his drink, while Noor makes a disapproving noise and says that one can find many reasons to abstain or at least slow down, if one looked around the bar.

A server brings a stew (the taverns specialty with glazed tumeric potatoes), Alestes loves it and wants to find out the spice blends, in exchange for coin. Baker reprimands her because they don‘t have that kind of coin. Alestes threatens the crew with „bad things“ if they don‘t make money. Siva and Noor leave to find work. Baker thinks Alestes is just teasing him. As he realises she is not, he reminds her that he is the cook, to which she replies that it‘s not like she‘s asking him to break contract. He is confused, as he doesn‘t have a contract, but maybe he should?

Alestes then sexily eats the stew and Baker leaves, promptly running into Noor. Is Siva kidnapped already? No, Noor just wants to ask Baker a question. How do Alestes and Baker know Anh. Baker tells Noor to trust Alestes and that it‘s sorted.

Meanwhile Siva enters a Mapsellers shop, who thinks Siva is trying to scam him. Siva shows him his work, a map of Kalitivu, and the mapseller is impressed. He asks whether Siva is employed, Siva starts bragging and going on and on about Alestes. The map seller goes to the back of the shop to „look closer“ and comes back with a sealed roll. He tells Siva quite aggressively to leave. Siva is confused and upset.

Baker found work in a kitchen, where he peels potatoes. The server wonders why a man that obviously skilled and experienced would take low paying work, is he trying to steal their secret recipe? No, he respects the dish too much, to think he could steal the recipe by being in the kitchen for a few hours.

Siva and Noor are walking through a busy market. Noor comforts Siva a bit, who is distraught by the rejections he has faced so far. They run into two merchants who are arguing with each other. One accuses the other of trying to sell fake stingray skin gloves. The argument escalates into a sword fight. Noor intervenes, trying to restore the peace, while Siva comments on how bad both merchants are at sword fighting. Eventually they listen to them, while still bickering and Noor offers to find the merchant a real stingray for twenty gold. Noor plans to teach Siva how to catch stingrays.

While Siva and Noor attempt to catch stingrays, Alestes is fishing on the boat. Baker approaches her and they share a drink. Baker brought a sack of potatoes, woop woop. Siva attempts to catch a stingray and falls into the water, Alestes and Baker laugh about his attempt, and Baker says that he is taking a real shine to them. Alestes counters that he takes a shine to everyone, even if they don‘t deserve it. They talk about their shared experiences, that Baker didn‘t really like Gammon or Anh, that they once nearly starved on the Galloping and that „he“ pretended to always be in control and have a grand plan. Alestes explains that she is tired and anxious and Baker attempts to comfort her. She then shushes him as the fishing line starts dragging and they attempt to catch a huge fish until the line snaps and the fish plops sadly back into the water.

Alestes commands Baker not to say anything about it and in that moment Siva calls from the shore to comment on it. Siva and Noor finally catch a stingray. They take it to the market, where the merchant is disgusted by the stingray. The merchant doesn‘t appear to know what a stingray is, not even that it is a fish. A royal would never wear the skin of a stinky fish after all! On Noors request the merchant explains what they think a stingray is and they describe a fantastical creature.

In the evening the crew eats the potatoes Baker made. They are delicious. Noor pitches the idea of an aquarium for the stingrays. The crew discusses this and Alestes allows it, but makes it clear that it is *her* aquarium.

She gives Baker the last potato. It‘s sweet.