Chapter 6 Scene 5

Otanve takes Tom to the Western Forest where there is a bunch of dead trees. They each are carrying an axe, a crab trap, and a bag.

"We can chop some of these down, and pick up pieces of lumber on the way back from the beach," explains Otanve. "I think six trees will be enough, and we need to catch eight crabs."

Quest 71: Chop down six trees and catch eight crabs.

"Sounds good," answers Tom. They each chop down three trees far enough apart so they don't hit each other. Then they cut the fallen trees into pieces of lumber that will be good for making arrows or firewood. Next, they head west and reach the West Beach.

"Do you know how to use these crab traps?" asks Otanve.

"Sure, I used them on the other island as well as here."

They go after the crabs, and in ten minutes they have each caught three crabs. Otanve's last catch takes him near the hole left when Stefi helped Rogula get free from being stuck in sandstone. It is now all sand, and the hole is cone-shaped, a meter deep and two meters in diameter. He looks into the hole and spots a shell. He puts his crab trap, axe, and bag down, jumps in, which drives his feet into the sand to his ankles, bends down and picks up the shell.

You found a Red Ringside!

At that moment Tom is chasing a crab that is scurrying near the hole. He throws his crab trap just as Otanve stands up. The net lands over Otanve, and the rocks attached to the perimeter of the net hit the sand around the edge of the hole and cause the sand to collapse. Otanve just has enough time to raise his hands so his arms aren't trapped, but is instantly buryied up to his chest.

Tom is very apologetic. "Sorry Otanve, I didn't see you down there."

Otanve is not concerned. "That's okay, I found a rare shell. Can you put it in my bag?"

Otanve reaches through the net and hands the shell to Tom. Tom is more concerned about Otanve, but takes the shell and puts it in Otanve's bag. "Let me get that net off you."

Tom bends down to get the crab trap, but just then a butterfly flies by.

Otanve shouts, "No! You have to catch that butterfly!"

"But ..."

"I'm fine. We can't lose a chance to get a rarity!"

The alarm in Otanve's voice convinces Tom to chase the butterfly. Tom's hesitation gives the insect a big head start, and it flies to the edge of the Northwestern Forest before Tom gets it in his bag.

You found a Blue Ashywing!

As Tom turns around to free Otanve, Tom sees that he is surrounded by three boars. Without any tools or weapons, Tom has to climb a tree. The boars growl and don't let him come down.

Otanve tries to pull the crab trap over his head and off to one side, but it is difficult because some of the rocks tied to the perimeter of the trap are embedded in the sand. He strains, and when a couple rocks suddenly break free of the sand his arms get tangled in the net. A reflex action trying to undo what he just did makes it worse. He has to pause and rest a minute, and thinks, "*This is probably a test by the Spirits.*"

Otanve is worried about Tom, and figures he has to free himself. He realizes he has to be patient, and carefully works out how to free his arms. Then he slowly drags the net over his head. This works, but it feels like the weight of the rocks is packing the sand in more tightly around him. After half an hour the net is finally off him and to one side.

The native boy breathes a sigh of relief, puts his palms on the surface of the sand to push himself up, and goes absolutely nowhere. The rocks' weight did indeed pack the sand around him very tightly. He sees his axe, but it is a meter out of his reach. With no choice, he pushes the sand away from his body with his bare hands, and even with a lot of wriggling, it takes another hour to free himself.

The boars finally got bored and let Tom go. As Tom hurries back, he sees Otanve climbing out of the hole and realizes the boy has been stuck this whole time. When they meet, Otanve asks, "What happened?"

"I got the butterfly, but boars treed me and didn't leave until just now. Are you okay? You were stuck for an hour and a half."

"I'm fine, one and a half hours is nothing. Now we have to catch two more crabs."

In a few minutes they have one more crab each.

Quest 71 complete!

They head back, picking up the pieces of lumber along the way and make it to the Village.

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