Game 2, the "Iron Fjord"

[Charles R. Stevens]

Thanks for the reminder on the sling and stones. 

[odblacksmith]

Yep I say we go for the area with denser trees willow alder and hemlock all make good useful materials and serve as a natural windbreak,everyone in agreement?Its a bit steep but I think we can manage.

[Steve Sells]

new player

 

[Frosty]

The sun is set and it's getting dark. Nightfall Day 2 game time.

Okay, you''re tentatively setting up in Meadow 2.

How many and what kind of traps did you set Brandon?

  A rescue party hasn't left, everybody is talking about what should be done. Not having heard from Bruno and Max last turn they must've gone fishing or stone gathering or something. Clinton and Ben have been organizing this site. There are as many straight poles as you can want around the sunlit edges of the 2.5+/- acre meadow. Trunks range from finger sized sprouts to a few thigh size trunks.

See you in the morning, you guys really need to start picking up the pace.

(Read ALL the posts so you know what everybody is doing and what's going on.) I'll be picking up the pace, you better get ahead of the Game Master, not react to my posts. If YOU don't do something I'll just invent something for you and roll and roll a die to save. Didn't you ever play: Army, Cowboys and Indians, Caveman vs Dinosaurs, etc. as kids?

Frostig Den Heldig.

[Darious]

Brandon set tension, Basic, Lifting, and whip snares as well as leg locks and dead-fall traps. 5 to 10 of each spread out over the span of approximately 2 kilometers.(1.2 miles)

After getting back to the camp and hearing what everyone has to say Brandon volunteers to be in charge of procuring what food he can. "I will need some better equipment if anyone is able to craft some. A decent bow and some arrows would be nice. Finding one of the rifle cases would be even better. Slings and spears will work temporarily but I would not want to get caught by any larger animals with nothing but a makeshift spear."

Brandon stops to think for a moment. "I'll need someone to partner up with me for a while and help. that way we can stop going out alone."

While everyone was settling in Brandon Volunteers to take first watch again. He makes sure there is enough firewood close by to keep the fire going throughout the night.

Given an uneventful night Brandon started making plans for better equipment and the possibility of some flame cooked rabbit. Hopefully someone was a better cook then he was.

 

[Frosty]

Are we still playing or are you all busy?

We have a Mark Aspery workshop this weekend so I'll be busy or probably exhausted.

 

[Darious]

i'm good to keep going

 

[Daswulf]

I've been a lil busy to get myself into another world. This weekend I'll be at Bantam jeep festival but I'll try to get back into it and keep going. 

[Charles R. Stevens]

I either forgot to push send, or it got ate, but I thought I posted that after lining out Ben on cutting and stripping poles for the lodge Max and a lento. Went to police up Aaron.  

 

[Frosty]

(Okay, everybody's busy, been that way for me too. This weekend is going to be really busy for me so I may be slow responding.)

Okay, Clinton and Max took off a couple hours before sundown and found Aaron still alive but not too coherent. He's only been alone for about 4 hours and is hanging on.

They have to rig a travois and use tarps and poles already cut for camp. The party took most of the gear when they went hunting for a new site so Clinton and Max are able to take the rest on the travois. They quickly discover that the plains Indian's almost universal cargo hauling travois sucks big time in the woods. The ends of the poles dig into the thick peaty over burden and are just plain hard to move.

They experiment and discover that using longer, thin whippy poles with the thin ends dragging work much better. The top ends bend and make skids that flow over the ground and don't snag or dig in. They have to use 2 poles to a side but they're on their way in about an hour. This gets them back to the current camp just before dark.

They are just getting Aaron doctored and settled in when Brandon returns from setting traps and exploring. He helps getting things set for night while Ben roasts dinner.

Ben ROASTS DINNER!? Why yes, Ben heard then spotted a porcupine eating bark high a tree and was able to knock it out with a long pole. Then clubbed it to death. Dinner tonight is big fat berry stuffed roast porky with sea water for seasoning. He saved the hide and quills and buried the guts away from camp, down wind.

The party didn't quite get a TeePee erected but you have adequate shelter for the night. No saving roll necessary tonight though it's cold. Dawn comes with a hard frost.

Start Day 3, below freezing cold and icy morning.

Frostig Den Arbitus.

 

[Charles R. Stevens]

Well, last watch was spent prepping for a teepee raising this morning. Over morning "tea"...

"ok Gents, as I'm stuck being wet nurse and den mother, I think it's time to have a powwow. We all dropped the ball yeasterday day and Aaron is the worse for it." Sipping some tea and grimacing at the aftertaste." I need your help to get the lodge poles and skin up first off. Then I think we need to institute a three times a day meeting rule. Morning, noon and nite check in and planning sessions. That way we are all on the same page and we don't forget something that will night us in the but later" another sip of tea, raising a finger befor any one can coment. This morning I propose that Bruno and Brandon keep scouting, running their trap lines and gathering. For heavens sake stay together a swatch each other's back, last thing I need is to be nursing one of you!" Turning the "eye" on the you gems" Max and Ben, you boys feel like fishing and beach coming wile I square away camp? Maybe fallow the tide out and see if you can get near that boat? Probe for quicksand and both of you carry long poles just I case. No dodling and start back befor the tide turns. I'm no seaman but the incoming tide seems to scare Aaron, and he seems a tough cookie." Another sip of tea" I assume you boys can set tide traps and     Drop lines? Hand fishing is fun but slow. If you want a bit of sport make fish spears, remember how I made the crutches?

Same way exept you notch the insides of the arms. I have never made a harpoon, but if the fish are to big I know how." Turning back to Brandon and Bruno, "either of you know how to use a proper sling?". 

I have to take over driving, I will finish with my day's work plan later. 

[Charles R. Stevens]

Ok, after getting the tripod up (one leg to the west and the open side facing the east) and setting the other 6 poles (with streamers) and hanging the skin Clinton lets the other guys get to back their projects. 

Checking with Aaron seing that I get some liquid and calories in him and helping him with his morning absolutions.

the smoke liner and hearth are next, 4 stakes and a simple log cabin crib, the steel plate and some of those wonderful rocks this place is made of should do the trick.

pulling the duff back and building a half dozen crib frames to hold duff, fir and hemlock brouse for beds. That's going to be pushing it for all day. If not trenching in and laying poles on the outside will. 

Barring a desasterr that is...

 

[Darious]

Brandon wakes up seeing the condition of the weather thoroughly checks over his warm weather gear and clothing. A cup of tea helps to ward off the cold and the work putting up the shelter stirred his blood and woke him up more. After that was done Brandon prepped for the hike with Bruno.

Brandon grabbed a stout branch and sharpened the end into a spike. A few minutes and the fire and it was hardened into a nice functional spear head for temporary use, and doubled as a walking stick.

“I don’t have much experience using a sling but I have made a few out of basket woven paracord” Brandon replies when asked. “Maybe tonight I will use some of what I have left and make a good one. Personally I much prefer a Bow and some arrows. Someone get me a make shift plane and one of these fir tree branches might make a decent bow with a few days work.”

Before they leave Brandon sits down with Bruno and helps him to check his footwear looking for holes and making sure they are close enough fitting for lots of hiking. A blister may not be much to start but out in the woods without proper covers and they can be the bane of a hiker’s existence.

Using a clear patch of dirt and a stick Brandon draws out a rough diagram and briefly describes his trap line and the best plan and angle for checking the traps without disturbing them.

Stuffing a pocket with packets of peanut butter they were ready to go.

The plan was to be back at camp at approximately noon to touch base with everyone else. Then head back out. After giving the “Den Mother” a brief description of where they were going and the direction of travel Brandon started out.

While traveling he kept his eyes peeled for anything that might be useful to the camp.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Clinton ads "potential bow wood" to his list of things to watch out for wile he is cutting materials for camp...

 

[odblacksmith]

Bruno apologizes for his absent-mindedness and follows Brandons' lead,making sure to listen and watch as he lays out the diagram and goes over how to check the traps efficiently.Bruno is on board with the "meet up 3 times a day"plan and decides he will stay close to camp and do what he can rather than isolating himself.After making a spear from alder he and brandon head out to check traps and plan to be back as soon as possible.

[Frosty]

2 hours ago, odblacksmith said:

Bruno apologizes for his absent-mindedness and follows Brandons' lead,making sure to listen and watch as he lays out the diagram and goes over how to check the traps efficiently.Bruno is on board with the "meet up 3 times a day"plan and decides he will stay close to camp and do what he can rather than isolating himself.After making a spear from alder he and brandon head out to check traps and plan to be back as soon as possible.

While Brandon is sketching the trap line map Bruno remembers he has the Weather Write tablet. He and Brandon get together to make a better area and route map.

[odblacksmith]

Dur' Bruno whole-heartedly admits that he deserves a knock on the head with a decent sized stick....THE MAP!we can really get things going now that we can estimate where Brandons' traps are laid,Distance,terrain etc:As well as the fact when/if Aaron is coherent enough we can show him and see if anything from the map sparks valuable info...Again Bruno (and everyone else) has suffered shock and is in an autopilot state,except Clinton...If Bruno didnt know better he would have swore hes been shipwrecked before.

[Charles R. Stevens]

"I've been in a few wrecks before, but I can honestly say a ship wreck is new to me" lol. "Guess I will have to add that to my resume"

[odblacksmith]

So after Brandon and Bruno return from checking the traps(don't know how successful we were)I ask if anyone would like to take a salvage run with me?I feel we are "ok" but with this group scrap metal is treasure and we could definatly use some improvements to the camp,i feel there may be a weather shift coming and suggest seeing what we can find in the old boat wreck i saw...if we can get to it.

[Frosty]

Ah, Island time warp resumes game time.  Day 3.

As you wake up you notice everybody migrated closer together and you aren't overly stiff, not much more so than sleeping on the ground.

Brandon and Ben start checking the traps while Max and Ben start beach combing with an eye out for likely fishing holes and a way out to the boat wreck.

Before anybody leaves camp they make sure Clinton has everything he thinks he'll need and helps as much as possible with Aaron.

Aaron's running a fever though not dangerously high. He's semi responsive and a bit delirious. He eats roast porcupine and berries slowly and is sipping cooled tea without help.

Someone's, (die says Brandon) feet were uncomfortable being wet and he suggested everyone hang them to dry, a little quick work with cord did the trick. Everybody has dry shoes and socks to start the day.

Trap line first. Everybody laughs at Bruno for being so hard on himself, he's the only  one who brought a notebook and thought of sketching in maps as he explored. He doesn't know why but he saw a display in one of the outdoor stores and bought it on impulse.

Brandon and Bruno start out, Brandon with his fire hardened spear and Bruno with a club about 3/4 base ball bat size to dispatch any trapped animal too dangerous to slit it's throat. The close trapline yields a fat marmot no clubbing necessary the dead fall finished it nicely, it almost fits in one of the emergency packs. Ben marks the line rather than traps he's also marking desirable features for traps as Brandon points them out.

The second line shows signs of being robbed, something likes peanut butter but is too smart to step into a snare or whip snare and it appears it knocked a dead fall apart to get at the bait. Brandon doesn't recognize the only prints he finds but it's larger than his fist (Hammer fist position) and has claws. Brandon collects most of these traps and only resets a couple. HOW does he set a trap for a smart bait thief?

They carry on to the last line as there's time to check it and get back for the Noon meeting. Part way through you find a porcupine caught in a leg snare requiring Bruno to club it.  How are you going to carry a 14lb. porcupine?  There are even few quills stuck in Bruno's club.

As you're making your way back to camp you hear crashing in the woods over the intermittent breezes and wind gusts. You've been accustomed to not jumping at whispers and minor stick cracks but this is something moving fast and coming your way. You drop the porky, however you're carrying it and brace for action, Brandon with his spear and Bruno with his club. Bruno is feeling under dressed for combat with the unknown and Brandon his his fingers crossed.

Suddenly a small herd of deer bursts across a 30' meadow about 50' in front of you seconds later a decent sized black bear crosses obviously in hot pursuit.

Beach patrol.   Max and Ben cobble together a couple fish spears by tying sharpened sticks to the end of light willow poles about 8' long. They walk the bluff top first then follow a gap and stream down to a more hospitable shore line than they washed up on. It's still boulders and cobbles but there is gravel and sand in the holes so it isn't so treacherous walking. The tide is going out according to Bruno's notes and it appears to be. 

The boat wreck is about 80' from "dry" shore with waves breaking between. She's on her side deck towards shore, the mast is still attached the top is the closest thing to shore. There is a block and some rigging on the mast and a ladder leading to the deck. You see  rocks exposed in troughs between swells occasionally. "dry" shore extends out a little near the wreck, it looks like it grounded on a shallow point maybe. You find some flotsam and jetsam but the only thing exciting is a small, maybe 3gl. SS bucket, dented up but doesn't leak. You pick up some various sea weed samples and mussel looking shell fish to take back.

On your way back you walk the bluff line and take a close look at the boat wreck and the water line. It does look to be wrecked on a rocky point, now you can see the bottom is closer to the surface as the tide goes out. You head back to camp for the noon meeting.

Camp

Clinton has been improving the camp, concentrating on the Tee Pee and beds. Aaron is in and out of it but seems stable for now. He even asked for help to take a dump and was able to hobble to the latrine with help. He's managing to pee in a pouch as well. He's not a major chore but does need to be watched.

Clinton has been checking the wood he's collecting and while most is reasonably springy none has any snap. He collects a number of samples for Brandon and sure wishes he had an axe, hatchet or even just a machete. The wire saws work but green wood is a real PITA to cut with them, the sap makes the cuttings stick to the wire so it's slow going.

In his exploration of the camp meadow he discovers Tamarack needles are soft, almost like fur, black spruce is prickly, Hemlock is okay and white spruce is reasonably soft. Dug fir is okay but the branches tend to be pretty high, these are BIG trees. You discover willow bark peals easily and makes decent cordage if pounded to break the fibers loose. You find quite a few rocks and boulders but the meadow has pretty well matured ground cover and you don't want to leave Aaron to go exploring, you can keep an eye on him in the meadow ad fringes. You found plenty of small stones when clearing over burden in the Tee Pee and where ever else. (I don't know where Clinton might be digging holes but it seems to be one of his things) There are about 100 stones from fist down to golf ball size and about 100 shooter marble down to small 1/4" gravel, for every egg size stone. There is one orange to large cantaloupe size for every 100 fist sized ones and he didn't find a boulder. Sand down to mud fills the space, probably in a similar 100:1 ratio but who cares?

What he did notice is most of the stone is broken in a roughly lateral parallelogram: two parallel smooth faces, two parallel rough but uniform faces at about a 25* angle, forming a misshapen box the two remaining "sides" are rough, almost jagged. All sides are roughly the same size, variations are uniform on the opposing side.

Max and Ben appear for the Noon meeting with Ben happily tapping a tattoo the bucket like a drum. He must be thinking about stew or soup or ?

Brandon and Bruno appear shortly after and seem excited and kid of spooked. How are you carrying that porcupine dinner roast again?

Frostig Den Arbitus.

Noon Day 3. next turn.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Well, the rocks let me build a "safe" fire, tho no good sling stones. He will have to get one of the guys to spell him at camp at a later time so he can check the beach..

Keeping on with bed and shelter building. May have to make a camp loome and start on grass mats, not being any other "good bedding" avalable. Once the matrices are made that is, corse material on the bottom, soft on top. With the reflective liner, fire and beds to insulate us from the ground we should be ok for now. 

Clinton will wait on "shingling" the outside of the lodge with evergreen bows, as the orange tarps are a good signal in them selves, and with the fire it should look like a giant trafic cone at night. 

 

 

 

[Charles R. Stevens]

With more critters needing made into food, it's time to build a cooking area away from the lodge, say 100 yards? Can't help but bring food to Aaron, but a bear visiting isn't my idea of fun, and I do remember wolverines from all those Saturday mattinae "infomercials".

hanging the pot and other "meat" coming and handling gear as well as the offel (Bruno and Brandon can use it for bait, as can Ben and Max) and carcuses. Getting the remaines of last nights porkipine simmering will be good, asking one of the "beach boys" to bring back more sea water (seasoning and making more "wound wash" for Aaron, and the rest of us). 

Skin the marmot and save its brain, not a big pelt but hey...) Clinton will leave the fun of singing of the quils and roasting the prorker to the "great white hunters" 

once that's done to Clintons satisfaction it's time to look to camp defenses. He dosnt want to be bair bate. 

Slow going with the wire saw, but stakes and poles need cut to form some defends, a long pole with "spears lashed in "X"s com to mind for big critters and small sarpend stakes for the smaller ones. 

, 

[Darious]

As they walk the trap line Brandon helps Bruno to try and relax a bit. When he sees the print left by the trap thief Brandon asks Bruno to sketch it in his book, maybe someone back at camp would be able to identify it. The Marmot was a great catch for the team and the roast porcupine did not taste as bad as Brandon thought it would. Overall he was in good spirits. When they reach the second porcupine it seems that things are ok for at least a bit.

Brandon watches as Bruno Clubs the Porcupine then using the butt end of his spear shows Bruno how you can roll the porcupine partially onto its back and using a knife shear away some of the quills at the base around the front leg. This gives a nice hold for carrying it. They will keep the rest of the quills as they make really good options for fishing and other things.

When Brandon heard the crashing in the woods he dropped the porcupine and readied his spear. His body shot with Adrenaline, he bent his knees slightly to lower his center of gravity and widened his stance. His eyes combed the surroundings watching and waiting. When he saw the deer and bear rush past he relaxed slightly. Man how he wished he had a bow right now.

After all was said and done they returned back to the camp and explained the adventure to Clinton. Maybe he would recognize the tracks. Meanwhile Brandon was wracking his brain for ideas on how to make a two or three layer trap to catch the creature.

[odblacksmith]

Boy was Bruno glad when Brandon sheared some quills to make the porky handle-able,considering what happened shortly after...Bruno probably would have gutted it(away from camp)and carried it on a stick/spear or "in one end out the other".After returning to camp with meat and a story to tell the two are relieved and Bruno rushes to show the sketch of the print(good thinkin' Brandon)to Clinton and maybe Aaron if he is well enough.Well now we know there are deer and bear...<Gulp>.

[Frosty]

Noon Meeting day 3.

You spend noon meeting making some decisions about camp, bear defenses, trapping, shelter, sanitation, and stuff you think important. Brandon evaluates all the wood samples he and Clinton have taken to see if any can be used for a bow. He's disappointed, they are springy but not "live", no "snap" to them, dry examples are strong but not very springy. Excellent walking stick or spear wood but nothing he thinks will make a useful bow.

Max and Ben take a look at the stones and gravel Clinton dug out of the fire pit and tell him they're about the same as what's on the shore line. You don't see any rounded stones, they're angular but smoothed by wave action. You haven't seen any rounded stream type stones, even in the streams you've crossed and followed up and down from the fjord. You can try hammering on the ones you have but they're okay for sling stones as is, close range maybe but they'll work.

Another factoid about the stones available, you haven't found any that will flake into a usable blade or point. Wrong kind of stone.

By now Ben has pioneered a good trail to the fjord, sea water is only about 10 minutes away on a pretty good brushed trail. The stream cutting the cliff is a fast running cataract coming from a spring a way up from the cliff edge. It's in a currently dry stream bed but there's nothing flowing above ground above the spring.

Aaron takes a look at the bucket of samples from the "beach". He says, "I'm a hunting guide, I don't know much about shell fish except there are seasons they're not safe to eat and I don't know them. I do know you have to eat enough to do more than barf or get the runs so a volunteer can eat a little and see what happens. If he doesn't get sick it's okay. The bacterial toxin isn't like a poison plant, the bacteria won't hurt you it's the toxin they leave behind. Boiling won't break it down. That's all I know about it. Seaweed is sort of the same thing, kelp is good food and the natives eat other stuff but I don't know what. Taste and see is all I can think of."

Brandon and Bruno show Aaron the sketch of the track of the critter that was robbing the traps.

 

"It's not a lynx or fox for sure. Looks like a badger or maybe a wolverine. If we're in a wolverine's territory it'll be by in a while to chase us out. Bad news Wolverines, nastiest meanest animal I know of I'd rather wrestle a bear." He looks around the Tee Pee and what he can see of the camp. "Don't you guys have any weapons? You need something serious, the natives carried spears before firearms arrived. Did the Dahlia ground where you can get at it? There were a couple just in case rifles aboard and maybe one of yours survived the rocks."

Clinton mentions putting the orange signal flag side of the space blankets on the tee pee so planes can see it. Aaron replies, "Planes aren't going to come up this Fjord it's too narrow and the mountains are too high. They can't turn around or climb out. the most they'll do is dip into the mouth a little. A helicopter can come in but they won't do general searching with helos. We need a radar and visual signal in sight of the sound. Here in a meadow won't even help if a coasty sails up the fjord."

Okay guys Aaron is reasonably alert but is getting tired anything you want to say or ask him?

Frostig Den Arbitus.