6 Peonu 720

[GM]

Time: Beginning 1st watch - End 1st watch

Algared continues his watch, the night remains cold, windy and the snow continues to fall lightly. Sensing his watch is at an end he returns to the shelter to awake Barak for his turn on watch and like Kugald, Algared soon finds warmth once again in his sleeping gear. Meanwhile Barak with his cloak drawn tightly around him wanders the camp as he takes his turn on watch. He frequently returns to the fire to keep warm during the cold night. Barak can clearly see where Algared has wandered and stood beneath a tree for shelter, his footprints are clearly visible in the snow underfoot.

The wind continues to blow through the tree tops above and the ground is now covered with a white quilt of snow. The forest seems silent except for the wind in the trees, but at this hour most animals have returned to their burrows etc with their hunting finished, they may reappear later in the morning to feed and drink before sleeping during the day.

With Barak's watch over he wakes Borygg for his turn on watch and is soon warm again as he curls up in his sleeping gear. Borygg now stands and dons his boots and cloak and then gathers his equipment for his turn on watch. The scenery has changed since he fell asleep, light snow falls through the trees falling to the ground which is now covered in a blanket of snow several inches deep and the night has become much colder as well.

Taking his turn on watch Borygg wanders out to the fire to warm up and can clearly see the footprints left by Barak as he wandered the camp. Borygg soon finds a tree to stand under to offer him shelter from the falling snow. Borygg is not long awake before he hears the howl of a wolf - the call wakes everyone in the warband as well as sleeping gear is flung off bodies and hands fly to spears and shields only to realise that the call is quite distant - the warriors return to their slumber with their last vision being that of Borygg standing watch near the fire alert and attentive.

Soon another wolf call is heard - again like the first it seems quite distant but this second call is answered by a third call which seems somewhat closer. Again the warriors of the warband not yet having returned to sleep are once again on alert.

Your actions please

[Jurri Grebel]

Jurri rubs his eyes.

"Well, I could sing Njall's Edda. That would put anything to sleep."

[Barak Daas]

Barak decides he is going to get no more sleep tonight, so he gets up. Ensuring his shield and spear are to hand he pulls on his chainmail, dons his helmet, and buckles on his belt (complete with his sheaved weapons) and quiver. He then picks up his spear and shield, and joins Borygg. He moves away from the fire (in the direction of the nearest howl) in an attempt to regain his night vision.

[OoC: Hey, I like Njall's saga]

[Kugald Daas]

Seeing Barak has joined Borygg on sentry, Kugald decides to get a little more sleep. He pulls his spear a little closer and clutches it in his right hand as he falls back asleep.

TTYL

- Kerry

[Algared]

Muttering as he is woken by the howl of the wolf and the response Algared listens to gage the distance, though whether far off or not he expects if these are the same pack that attacked the camp they will soon be a lot closer. As Barak rises to assist Borryg with guard duty Algared like kugald tries to get more sleep bet also draws his spear a lettle closer. As he lies a sleep Algared gives silent thanks to Sarajin for keeping safe thus far and hopes their god will continue to guard and shield them. While it is colder and the new snow will make it difficult to hide their tracks as they walk on ther morrow it will certainly make tracking them to their current campa lot a harder. With those thoughts he tries to let himself drifts to sleep.

[GM]

Time: End 1st watch - Mid 2nd watch

The snow continues to fall only briefly before it stops, the sky remains dark and ominous and the wind picks up again as it blows strong from the north east, straight into the hollow you are all in, the trees however, provide a good windbreak and you feel little more than slight gusts while the tree tops above bend and sway with the wind.

From the darkness you hear the cracking of timber and then a low sounding boom, the wakes everyone yet again - the sound is unmistakable as that of a falling tree. The sound seems to come from downstream and is far enough away that it is the noise that wakes you and not the fear of being crushed by a falling tree.

The wolves continue to howl on and off during the rest of the night - their calls seem quite distant and to the north, from across the river.

With the coming of dawns first rays over the eastern mountains Borygg rekindles the glowing embers back into a fire with flame about 1' high. The warmth off the fire is soothing after last nights cold and anxious watch. It is not long before there is enough light for you to work in and Borygg and Barak set to waking the rest of the warband.

You all find you have not slept as well as the previous night, the cold kept you all tossing and turning trying to keep warm, the howls of the wolves kept you nerves on edge and then the falling tree shattered what slumber you got in a rude shock.

The warriors once woken go about their morning routines, you pack up your sleeping gear, wash the sleep from your faces (and with the cold water available it does wonders to refresh you from you miserable night), break up your shelter while Algared after completing his morning routine once again sets to preparing a warm meal.

As Algared prepares the morning meal he notices that some of the fresh caught fish might be starting to go off, as it has been kept for several days without any preparations to preserve it. Algared tosses the waterskins to Jurri and asks for them to be filled again, as they are now only about half full after Algared has emptied them while for cooking both meals. Jurri and Borygg wander down to the river and quickly fill the waterskins before returning to the camp. By the end of the 2nd watch the warband have eaten their morning meal of fish stew and forage from the forest.

[Algared]

Algared separates the fish that is suspect and points out that their rations will be reduced by a day.
"We'll have three days supplies left at our current rate of consumption, we can ration the supplies to stretch them but we have the river and could try fishing, and spend time preserving the what we catch. We can use the fish that we have here as bait". Algared indicates the suspect fish. "Though we should also check on that tree fall there may be a nest or two that still has some unbroken eggs, and we may also find it has bridged this river for us, Sarajin does provide.' He looks to his friends and cousins and smiles before asking, "What do you think?"

[Barak Daas]

"Travelling in this snow will be difficult but not impossible. We'll need to take care with footing. We don't want any twisted ankles. I have to admit I am curious to find out how that tree came to fall. I don't remember a lightning strike at that time. As to the choice, fishing and resting would be useful, but so would getting back home and away from the wolves. One thing is fishing won't give us any more grain. We could compromise and stay here till midday and then push on for a watch or so in the afternoon.

[Algared]

'As to our supplies the rabbits we have left will give us fresh meat for a meal, other than that we have a days rations worth of dried fish. Our dry rations and grains make up the balance of our supplies. From Kugalds previous estimate we probably have nine days more to go. So we will certainly need to forage, hunt and or fish at some point, the only real question is when. with the snow we will be ableto replenish our water by melting the snow in a pot. I'll admit the idea of wolves doesn't fill me with joy either nor does trying to avoid wolves without rations... it seems we may well be between a hammer and anvil."

Algared stops and ponders as he looks over the rations. "To smoking and preserve fresh meat... we likely need to either salt or dry it first before smoking. I'm not sure how much we could salt with our supply either not to mention the process of salting or drying take several hours or longer as could the actual smoking of the meat. Which I think probabalymakes it difficult to smoke or preserve meats while we are trying to march as well."

[Barak Daas]

"Not that I am a salter, but I believe you need a pound of salt for every pound of meat. So for enough fish to last us a day you would need ten pounds of salt. I doubt I have ten pinches of salt left. As for smoking fish, I've seen it done. You gut and split the fish, thread them on a spit in a chamber, but for how long, what sort of wood you need to get the right smoke, and where you'd find a smoke house I just don't know."

"As I've said before, I think we have to forage and hunt as we go. I don't think we can get and preserve enough for a tenday's march."

[Algared]

"Indeed Cousin," Algared says to Barak. "We've marched a double watch the last two days, we have food for a day at our current rate and fresh meat, rabbit, for the meal tonight and then a days worth of dried fish. So the choice would seem to be march a double watch today and forage in future days, or forage today. My personal preference if we are going to forage and to do so at a water source. It may also be worth making a snare we may catch another rabbit as well. And that tree fall may provide some eggs of other choice forage.

I think your idea of foraging, fishing or even hunting for a watch makes sense for this morning, and we aim to cross this river and find camp for the evening by the river, depending on how long it takes us to find a safe crossing. Though maybe felling a couple of trees to span its width is an option."

Algared looks from Barak to Borryg, Kugald and Jurri ansd asks "Any thoughts, objections?"

Post edited by GM I have edited the amount of food the warband has left....

[Jurri Grebel]

"No objections, but maybe we should go check out that tree before we make too many plans. I don't care about finding frozen eggs, but a bridge would be very nice."

[Algared]

"Ok we forage or fish, today, but since we hope the treefall will also bridge the river, how about we move towards where the tree sounded like it fell, foraging as we go? We can forage around the tree also and it by chance it crosses the rivers and we can also cross safely we do so and find a new camp and then fish or forage. If the tree fails to offer a bridge we return searching the banks for a crossing. We ensure today we spend at least one watch foraging or fishing."

[Barak Daas]

[OoC: Barak will use his woodsman and militiary skills (Survival and Initiative) to take a fresh look at the camp site and assure himself that it is really a good choice. He also ponders on the weather (Weatherlore) considering if it is likely to snow more, rain or whether the fallen snow is likely to melt quickly. Whilst waiting for GM's response I will go with the below - Neil please edit this in the light of Barak's skill tests.]

"There is no need to move camp that I can see - this camp is adequate for our needs and we proved last night it was a good shelter for the worse of the weather.

As for the tree spanning the river, I doubt that we will be so lucky, and even if it does, I for one would not trust it. I am more interested to see if it fell down naturally or whether it was felled by demonic magics. We only need one scout to check it out.

As this snow starts to melt, the river will flood and what was a bad crossing yesterday will become an impossible one tomorrow. We need to trek up river a long way before it will be safe to cross.

Lastly, now old are those rabbits? I am not sure I am hungry enough to eat them after all of this time."

[Algared]

"The rabbit appears to be fine, and if we're staying here all day I'll put it to simmer away now, with some foraged roots we may stretch it to lunch and dinner. though if we fish the fish would be a better evening meal. Personally I would prefer to stop only a watch to gather roots, fish or hunt.... and then seek to move closer to home. We still need to find the Storzer, and I'd rather do that before the Ibanvaal dog continues his campaign and has the FroyA valley men marching upon Dasslund...

...Anyway I'll fish if we are staying. And we'll want a good supply of firewood... especially with wolves abroad."

[Barak Daas]

"I agree we stay here until midday and then we move on. I think with us having camped here, the noisy wolves, and the snow I won't be able to find anything to hunt, so I may as well try my hand at fishing too - I will be back by noon. Before I do that I will go check out that tree - I think I had a good idea of where the noise came from last night. We won't need a lot of firewood, only enough to cook that rabbit."

Barak will take off and pack his armour, and gather his fishing kit (he will keep his weapons from last night too - bow, spear & shield, sword, dagger and hatchet)

Assuming that Kugald hasn't spoken against the plan, he will then try and locate the fallen try and investigate why it fell (and obviously to see if it bridges the river, which he doubts), then he'll head up river to see if the river becomes any narrower and to fish for a while. He'll keep a watch over the sun and leave in time to get back to the camp by high noon.

Post by GM Barak leaving the campsite behind heads towards the noise of the falling tree from last night. He has travelled not quite a hundred yards downstream from the campsite when he arrives at the site of the fallen tree. It is a spruce tree that has collapsed during the night. The tree has snapped about 8' from the base and has fallen such that the crest of the tree is several yards short of entering the river. After searching the area it would seem that the tree weaken during the storm fell when stressed by the wind.

Seeing that this tree will not serve them as their crossing point on the river, Barak heads upstream in search of a crossing place. You head north for several hundred yards, while Barak heads upstream as he passes a small stand of reeds common for hiding the grey ducks nest he is able to find the water birds nest and retrieve three eggs. Placing them gingerly in his sack he heads a little further upstream before he finds a suitable site where he can try his hand at fishing.

All the way along the riverbank Barak has not been able to find a suitable crossing site.

Finding a fishing spot that he thinks will bring in some fish Barak wets a line and there seems to be nothing happening here until late in the morning when he catchs one, then two and finally three trout. All up his catch will feed the warband for about a day. Satisfied with his catch and with a quick glance skyward Barak decides to head back to camp. Following the river downstream he finds the fallen tree and then heads back towards the campsite arriving around high sun.

Over the midday meal, Barak again advances the idea of heading up river to find a crossing point, rather than trying to cross using a fallen/felled tree trunk.

[Algared]

With the quiet aggreement of the their companions or at least since their is no disagreement, Barak heads off to search for the fallen tree taking his fishing gear with him.
'Aim to be back by midday Cousin.' Algared calls out. If no-one heads off with barak Algared will suggest they forage near by for roots and the like as he fills his pot with water from the river and sets the rabbits to stew slowly in preparation for the miday meal. Once satisifed that the rabbits will stew nicely without boiling dry he then goes to fish at the near by bank and casts his line baited with the fish. Algared willl ensure his spear and shield are handy.

Post by GM Algared heads towards the river near the campsite and spends the best part of the morning casting and recasting his line in vane as by high sun there is nothing to show for his efforts and he returns to the camp empty handed.

[Borygg Raal]

Borygg will head out to forage for food, taking his weapons with him.

Post by GM Borygg heads off keeping close to the river as this is the only known landmark familiar to Borygg in these surroundings and be able to find his way back to the campsite.

Along the riverbank you find a small stand of mushrooms, a blueberry bush and several other little additives to the warband's stockpile of food and by the time high sun approaches Borygg has gathered enough to feed the warband for a little more than a meal.

[Barak Daas]

Barak returns to the campsite "I've got a good haul, three duck eggs and three trout. I've also checked out the fallen tree. It looks like it was old and weak. Regardless it dosn't bridge the river. I think we'll have to go a long way up stream to be able to safely cross the river - I couldn't find a crossing point on my walk this morning. I suggest we eat that rabbit stew, and as soon as we're done pack up and head up river to see if we can find a crossing point today. Even if we don't a half day's march should improve our position, the river will be narrower and easier to bridge."

[Algared]

"Excellent work Barak and Borryg, unfortunately my efforts were in vain." Algared says as he serves up rabbit stew stew for their band miday meal.

'I agree Barak, we head up river as soon as we have cleared away. I think we aim to march a watch that will give us time to set up a camp and gather wood enough for the evening. If we find a suitable crossing earlier in the march we'll take it. Either way if we give ourselves time we would do well for some of us to forage while camp is set up, wood gathered and dinner prepared. What say you?"

[Kugald Daas]

With everyone heading off to fish and look for food, Kugald decides to stay in camp. He spends the morning gathering dry deadfall and stockpiling enough wood to keep the fire going and cook lunch. He regularly stirs the rabbit stew to make sure it doesn’t burn.

When the others return, Kugald says, “I think we should cook the fish now so it doesn’t go off like the last batch. Let’s cook it through until it is completely dry. It might not be so succulent, but it will last longer. We can pack it inside Algared’s cooking pot with the food Borygg has gathered and eat it for dinner.”

As soon as everyone has eaten and had a little bit of time to relax, Kugald brings up the issue of where to go next.

“Based on what we have seen, there is no where safe to cross the river in the immediate vicinity. I suggest we head further upstream to look for a sandbar or somewhere wide but shallow to cross. Given the cold weather, a slip and fall into the stream could result in the ‘death shivers’ [OOC: hypothermia]. Finding a safe crossing point may take us extra time, but it is worth it to avoid the risks.”

“Also, I strongly recommend that when we do cross the river, we strip off our breeches and boots and wade across in bare feet and legs. Everyone should have a walking stick…a spear will do…to help them keep their footing on the slippery rocks. Once we get across, we can stop, light a small fire, warm up and get dressed again. If our leather boots get wet, it could take them days to dry and our feet could get up getting the ‘ice toes’ [OOC: frost-bite].”

Kugald finishes his stew, rinses out his bowl and packs his gear.

“I will be glad when we get back to Daaslund and can travel on the roads again. Traipsing through the woods is fine when you are hunting, but it is a pain when you are trying to make good time.”

'I agree Barak, we head up river as soon as we have cleared away. I think we aim to march a watch that will give us time to set up a camp and gather wood enough for the evening. If we find a suitable crossing earlier in the march we'll take it. Either way if we give ourselves time we would do well for some of us to forage while camp is set up, wood gathered and dinner prepared. What say you?"

"Sounds good to me. We will cover less distance, but experience has shown a good camp is worth it."

He stands up and throws on his pack.

“So, everyone ready to go?”

TTYL

- Kerry

[Algared]

"Normally I would aggree with your logic Kugald, but to cook the fish before we leave so that it is dried will take too long. The fish we lost was two days old. What barak has caught is enough for a day. With the cooler weather as well it will keep for the evening meal and morning meal and we get a march in today before dark. Our problem with our last fish was both our blessing and curse... Barak and I had both caught enough to feed us for a couple of days we just couldn't eat it quick enough. Clean the fish, rub them with salt. if we fish tonight and catch anything then we will dry it over night."

Once the meal is eaten and everything clean and packed away, the eggs carefully wrapped in cloth before being placed into a caudron to stop them being crushed, the warband head off following the river hiver higher to its source.

[Kugald Daas]

"OK, we will eat the fresh fish for dinner."

"Let's move out."

TTYL

- Kerry

[Barak Daas]

Barak leads the way, once more with shield and spear in hand, up the river looking for a good crossing point. To begin with he makes a good pace crossing the area he covered when going fishing. Soon he is on new territory, and he tries to lead the party over level ground a little away from the river, but every 50m or so he approaches the river to check it for natural crossing points, and to see if it narrows at all. When the sun starts to get lower in the sky (late afternoon), if no crossing has been found, Barak starts to look out for good camping sites, sufficiently above the river to avoid any chance of flooding, in a defensable place, preferably with fresh water nearby.

[GM]

Time: End 3rd watch - Mid 3rd watch

The warband pack up their camp and disturb the ground on which they had been camping on to remove as much sign of their passing as possible. With Barak leading the way the warband follows the river upstream. The ground is still covered in a light covering of snow, the day is cool with the a strong wind howling through the trees from the north east. The sky remains mostly hidden by dark clouds, both Barak and Kugald agree that there is no rain in them but they do little to improve the weather.

Barak weaves his way along the river checking the river bank for possible crossing sites. He quickly makes his way upto the site where he spent a few hours fishing, then his pace slows a little both because he is now in unfamiliar territory and because the terrain is becoming more rugged. The river winds it way between steep hills and gullies, Barak checking at the bottom of the gullies for any possible crossing points.

The warband has progressed for perhaps several kilometres when there before them they are greeted with an almost impassable cliff face and splitting the cliff is a 30 yard gap from which the river flows. The river is about 20 yards wide at this point and is flowing swiftly along each side of the river is an area about 5 yards wide that consists of rocks and boulders that border both sides of the river.

You judge that it could be possible to cross the river here but it would be both difficult and dangerous....

You can look for a campsite here or there is still enough daylight left to return to your previous campsite and setup there again. Which do you choose

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