Invisible Parties — 25 of 31

Book - Hot Rock

hotrock is a party in tangle. hotrock is north of startroom and east of wakeroom. The printed name of hotrock is "Sun-sleeps-in-the-rock". Understand "rock" and "sun" and "sleeps" and "sun-sleeps-in-the-rock" or "africa" or "koppie" as hotrock.

The description of hotrock is "Slickrock hillside, orange-red, a hot sun low in a cloudless sky, a hard dry heat. Far downhill, the rock gives way to thornveldt, the plain punctuated by distant outcrops.[p]Beneath a lone, broad-spreading shade-tree, people kick back on boulders and blankets and camp-chairs. There are meaty things sizzling over a fire, a couple of coolers.[p]And outwards, across the sun-baked rock, you can sense the Barren Way beckoning."

the barrens is a waymouth in hotrock. Understand "barren" or "way" as barrens. The printed name of barrens is "Barren Way". The description of barrens is "Outwards, the familiar feel of the Barren Way. It feels like a hard-shelled insect scurrying under a rock; like the steady trudge of a camel, caribou or oryx; like dry skin."

[This is based on various koppies, and braais conducted therein, around the southern Africa of my childhood. Perhaps the foremost one in my mind was Bloedkoppie in Namibia, but the Matopos Hills of Zimbabwe and numerous places in the bush outside Molepolole, Botswana are also involved.]

the sinking sun is an unimplement in hotrock. Understand "hot" or "low" or "sunset" as sinking sun. The description of sinking sun is "The sun's a deep, peachy colour, beginning to shade towards red. Some optical illusion - dust in the atmosphere? - makes it seem gibbous on the lower side. There are not enough clouds for a truly spectacular sunset, but the warm red glow still paints a third of the sky." Understand "sunset" or "cloud" or "clouds" as sinking sun.

the cloudless sky is an unimplement in hotrock. The description of cloudless sky is "Not a cloud to be seen; the dome of the heavens is a single, vast gradient of colour, red to brilliant purple to cool dark blue. You can already see stars populating the eastern horizon." Understand "stars" or "star" as the cloudless sky.

the shade tree is scenery in hotrock. The description of shade tree is "You don't quite recognise the species, but you've seen its kind. Hard, slow-growing wood, waxy leaves, branches spreading wide and airy. A tree to survive drought."

Instead of climbing shade tree: say "Given less pressing circumstances, of finding a comfortable perch and retiring there with a six-pack and a book would be magnificent. The thought occurs, not for the first time, that the Rebeccas are wasting their talents on petty revenge."

the boulders are an unimplement in hotrock. Understand "rocks" or "rock" or "boulder" as boulders. The description of boulders is "Great rocks, from about the size of a house down to that of a desk, are strewn about the slope seemingly at random: stacked on one another, jumbled in heaps, or standing like lone monoliths. They're of the same red, grainy stone as the hillside."

the thornveldt is an unimplement in hotrock. The description of thornveldt is "A rambling, broken landscape, dry and rocky. 'Rocky' undersells it, really: the landscape is rocks, into the cracks of which some soil and thorn-trees are jammed. From your high vantage, you can see a very long way." Understand "veldt" or "plains" or "plain" or "outcrop" or "outcrops" as thornveldt.

the hillside is an unimplement in hotrock. Understand "slickrock" or "slick" or "rock" or "red" as hillside. The description of the hillside is "Although cracked and fissured, this hill is plainly one single, vast piece of rock."

the blankets are an unimplement in hotrock. The description of blankets is "Old, worn-out looking blankets with a vague institutional flavour, or else brightly-coloured patterned cloths."

the camp chairs are an unimplement in hotrock. The description of camp chairs is "They look uncomfortable and awkward to put away. Lots of metal tubing."

the coolers are an unimplement in hotrock. Understand "cooler" or "coldbox" or "coldboxes" or "water" or "jugs" or "water-jugs" as coolers. The description of coolers is "Big, beaten-up-looking coldboxes, stacked densely with beer and large water-jugs."

the meat is an unimplement in hotrock. The description of meat is "There are some baked potatoes roasting in the embers, and a big pot of thick corn pap over to the side of the fire, but the focus is clearly on the meat. There are some slabs of lean beef on the campfire grill, but most of the real estate is taken up by thick, smoky, grease-dripping sausages." Understand "potato" or "potatoes" or "corn" or "pap" or "pot" or "beef" or "slab" or "slabs" or "sausage" or "sausages" as the meat.

Instead of eating the meat: say "You snag a sausage, still-hissing, from a plate by the fire. It tastes of wood-smoke and grease and hot spicy beef."

the fire is an unimplement in hotrock. The description of the fire is "At this stage of the day the fire's purpose is solely for cooking, and most of the group stay well clear of it. It's a simple rock ring fueled by old, dry down-wood, the dense wood of the desert margin that burns hot and slow and sweet-smelling. It's just low, hot coals, quiet except for the sizzle of dripping sausage-fat." Understand "wood" as the fire.

The listendesc of hotrock is "The only music is the regular chirp of insects."

The closeclue of hotrock is "A half-drunk bottle of Castle lager is propped on a rock, still dotted with beads of condensation."

the bottle of Castle is a clue. the javeclue of hotrock is the bottle of Castle. Understand "lager" or "beer" as the bottle of castle. The description of the bottle of castle is "The only beer she actually likes. (Philistine. But certain allowances have to be made for South Africans)."

The javeinit of hotrock is "Jave seems a natural part of the group; if you didn't know her already, you wouldn't have picked her out."

The javedesc of hotrock is "Jave's sitting on the edge of a boulder, dividing her attention between a beer and a plate of greasy sausages. She's wearing a tired-looking beige tank-top with oily black stains on it, a wrap-around skirt in a bright pattern of yellow, red and white, beat-up leather sandals, an army cap."

The javecostume of hotrock is "She's wearing a tired-looking beige tank-top with oily black stains on it, a wrap-around skirt in a bright pattern of yellow, red and white, beat-up leather sandals, an army cap."

The boozedesc of hotrock is "The coolers are full of six-packs of lager, mostly cans. The kind of beer which, consumed steadily and continuously over the course of a hot day, will maintain a mild buzz while keeping you hydrated."

The shortbooze of hotrock is "You crack open a can of cold beer. It's recognisably beer, and fairly cold. In this heat, that makes it ambrosia."

Barren Way is outside from hotrock. The description of Barren Way is "It goes by other names - [i]high places, silk road, the tracks of the goats[/i]. It's old, bones-of-the-earth stuff. It leads through mountain, tundra, steppe, high desert: dry harsh land, where missing a cairn can kill you. It scares the everliving fuck out of you, every time, but your feet understand its course, it is one of [i]yours[/i], and a walker cannot help but love their way." Barren Way is an egress. Understand "silk road" or "barrens" or "high places" or "goats" or "tracks of the goats" as Barren Way.

The javeapp of Barren Way is "Jave regards the road ahead with some apprehension".

The roadahead of Barren Way is "The sun is just a dull purple tint around the western horizon, and the stars are coming out. You shuck off your shoes, the better to grip the rock, and feel the trapped warmth of the sun in the stone."

The rebadesc of Barren Way is "Reba is looking out over the rock, wearing the least hijab-ish hijab you've ever seen."

The rebalook of Barren Way is "The mission statement of hijab, you're given to understand, is modesty: primarily about one's body, secondarily about wealth. The hijab Reba is assuming is almost perfectly opposed to that: it's of an exceptionally fine black material. The fit is so flawless - intensely flattering, understating its own effect, suggesting the body beneath in a manner both subtle and achingly beautiful - that an expensive custom dressmaker is unavoidably implied. The neutral black of the headscarf only highlights her face, like a portrait by a Dutch master"

The tsadesc of Barren Way is "You're several shades tanner than normal, and protected by an indigo desert cloak. Light hiking shoes with a deep tread, and the buzz of anticipation that you always get before setting out into the Barrens."

The listendesc of Barren Way is "A steady chirp of insects. Off in the distance, you think you can make out the worried yip of a jackal."

The tsadesc of hotrock is "You're in shorts, sandals, a ratty white T-shirt and a farmer's tan."

The rivdesc of hotrock is "A little way up the hill, half-silhouetted against the sunset, Rivka Strossi stands on one leg and a staff."

The rivcostume of hotrock is "[one of]It takes you a minute to realise that s[or]S[stopping]he's naked except for thick-daubed ashes. (And those fucking aviator shades.) Her head's shaved clean. She's gazing out at the horizon, all her weight on one leg, the staff barely needed for balance."

The rivweapon of hotrock is "a knobkerrie".

The desolation of hotrock is "In the darkening portion of the sky, there's a blue streak, brighter than the setting sun. For about five minutes it shifts towards the horizon, then fades out.[p]Then there's a blinding flash, so intense that it seems to come from inside your head. You're still blinking when the shockwave punches you in the chest and sends you sprawling.[p]You make it to your feet, blood spattering from your nose, ears ringing. A dust-cloud is growing to fill the eastern sky with darkness; and after the dust-cloud, it will rain ash for weeks, and who knows how long it'll be before there's a clear sun again."

The demise of hotrock is "You try to walk out, but there's nothing; this section has separated out, and the meteor-strike must have disrupted your sense of the ways somehow, because it's just... the rock, and the sky heavy with ash, and the land about to die[if Jave is in the location]Jave squeezes your hand. 'Well, I suppose we need to start walking away from the point of impact, right?'[p]'I think it depends on prevailing winds. If we're downwind of it, might be better to take a right-angle. But absent a meteorologist, yes.'[p]'How fucked d'you think we are, Tsawac?'[p]'My surmise is pretty damn fucked. Still. Better walking than sitting in the dark waiting to starve. Let's see about that cooler.'[p]You walk faster alone. So does she, no doubt. But that's not a possibility either of you raise[end if]."

the loungers are a crowd in hotrock. The description of loungers is "A conspicuously mixed-race group; maybe a third each of unambiguous white and black. Dressed for a hot climate that's rough on clothes. There's some low-key chatter and occasional trips to the cooler or the fire, but your general impression is of a pride of very well-fed lions taking naps." The printed name of loungers is "guests".