Historian 2009/11/28(Sat)18:19 No. 82972 ID: 608d50
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The motley group of travelers had been on its way through rugged terrain for a long time now and their provisions began to run low. Thankfully, they reached a seemingly fertile plain and they allowed themselves and their horses to rest. It was a morning in late spring.

Taking a deep breath of fresh morning air, Silop called his companions together and everybody hurried to comply, since they were eager to hear what their leader wanted to say.
“Listen, fellows. We shall end our march and build an adequate settlement for us to live and thrive.”

Everybody cheered, and although the stresses and strains of the past months had exhausted them, the travelers were devoted to do everything to accomplish this glorious task.

“How shall we proceed, oh great Silop?” one asked.

“The first step is to carefully examine our current situation”, Silop answered, “I have asked my good friend here, who is a skilled cartographer, to draw a map of our surroundings.
Now, together we shall write a list with crucial information about ourselves. Both map and list shall be the basis of our future decision-making.”

Historian 2009/11/28(Sat)18:20 No. 82973 ID: 608d50
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“Hooray!” the travelers cheered and gathered to do exactly as Silop had told them.

The cartographer stepped forward and showed his map.

Historian 2009/11/28(Sat)18:21 No. 82974 ID: 608d50
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REPORT:

GROUP STATUS:
1 leader
1 cartographer
5 archers
5 swordsmen
40 men and women of yet unknown capabilities
10 children

Total: 62 humans

EQUIPMENT:
10 iron swords (5 in use)
10 short bows and quivers (5 in use)
10 carts (10 in use, pulled by 2 horses each)
an ample supply of simple tools like wood axes, shovels and hammers (0 in use)

LIVESTOCK:
20 sturdy horses

RESOURCES:
Food Supply: 570

(an adult human uses 1 unit of food a day)


GENERAL INFORMATION:
Our group came from the west.
Silop is our supreme leader.
We have no exceptional incidents to report.
The morale of the group is very good.


The travelers await orders.

Send men to investigate the river and the forests. See if we can make some boats to make our journey east easier.

Historian 2009/11/28(Sat)22:12 No. 83107 ID: 608d50
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Scout Group 1:
5/5 men

"We were sent northwards, but we found no way to cross the river. It is wide and the stream is fast. We decided to follow the river until we could see a big lake."


Group 2:
5/5 men

"We were sent westwards. We crossed a small forest, but we did not dare to go deeper and kept to its border. We found a grass plain, very similar to where the camp resides. Then we reached another forest, seemingly bigger than the first. Far in the distance we can see mountains."

Group 3:
4/5 men

"We were sent southwards. The terrain was flat and we saw many small animals, not unlike bunnies. In the west we saw the border of the desert we have crossed during the last weeks.

We reached a forest. We decided to explore, but unfortunately we were attacked by a large bear shortly after we entered the forest. The bear killed one of our men and since we did not have any weapons but some wooden sticks we found, the four of us decided to run away. We found a large river."

Camp:
1 leader
1 cartographer
5 archers
5 swordsmen
25 men and women of yet unknown capabilities
10 children

"We don't have enough wood to make boats, even if we take apart all our carts. We would have to send men to one of the forests. But boats are difficult to transport over land, so we should know which river we'd like to travel on."

The river on the south would probably be the best bet, as it's closer to the forest. Send the tribe down there and begin construction of boats capable of transporting us and our equipment. Also, construct some canoes to allow for scouting along the river. Canoes are easy to make and light enough to transport with just two men.

Historian 2009/11/28(Sat)23:16 No. 83118 ID: 608d50
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The camp is reocated to the south. Several times, wild animals are seen or heard by the travelers, but they seem too frightened by the size of the group to attack.

The travelers spend the rest of the day cutting down trees and constructing boats.

In the evening Silop makes an announcement. "Good work! We have now five boats, each capable of transporting 15 persons, and three canoes, capable of transporting 5 persons while still being light enough to be carried by two adult men. If we cram ourselves into the boats, we can even take our horses with us."


END OF DAY REPORT

GROUP STATUS:
1 leader
1 cartographer
5 archers
5 swordsmen
39 men and women of yet unknown capabilities
10 children

Total: 61 humans (51 fit for work)

EQUIPMENT:
10 iron swords (5 in use)
10 short bows and quivers (5 in use)
10 carts (0 in use, pulled by 2 horses each)
an ample supply of simple tools like wood axes, shovels and hammers (all put to good use)

5 boats (space for 15 persons)
3 canoes (space for 5 persons)

LIVESTOCK:
20 sturdy horses

RESOURCES:
Food Supply: 514

GENERAL INFORMATION:
Silop is our supreme leader.
We have to report one death.
The morale of the group is very good.

Booze and music for everyone!!!

Historian 2009/11/29(Sun)02:56 No. 83149 ID: 608d50
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It was decided to have a great feast in order to celebrate the group's accomoplisments until now.

Music and singing fill the air, beer and wine flow like water.

The group loses 50 units of food.



In the night, a pack of wolves raids the camp, but the travelers did not put up any guards.

The wolves kill a woman, two children and two horses.

MORNING REPORT:

GROUP STATUS:
1 leader
1 cartographer
5 archers
5 swordsmen
38 men and women of yet unknown capabilities
8 children

Total: 58 humans

EQUIPMENT:
10 iron swords (5 in use)
10 short bows and quivers (5 in use)
10 carts (0 in use, pulled by 2 horses each)
an ample supply of simple tools like wood axes, shovels and hammers (0 in use)

5 boats (space for 15 persons)
3 canoes (space for 5 persons)

LIVESTOCK:
18 sturdy horses

RESOURCES:
Food Supply: 474

GENERAL INFORMATION:
Silop is our supreme leader.
Wolves raided our camp.
The morale of the group is: hangoverish.

Post guards from now on.

Send a 4 man team down river in a canoe. Include one archer and one swordsman, just in case the current is too strong and we have to walk back through the wilderness.
Likewise, send a 4 man team (also including an archer and a swordsman) up to the northern river with a canoe and have them scout downstream there. Hopefully they'll be able to follow the edges of the lake and give us a good idea of the area to the north. This scouting mission is bound to take more time, so give them extra rations just in case they don't make it home in time for supper.
Meanwhile, have the rest of the camp see what they can do about making our supplies last as long as possible. Within the safety of the camp, which we should have guarded by at least 2 swordsman and a 1 archer, have the people begin to fish the river and gather edible plants. Make sure no one wanders too far that they can't be protected.
Have the remaining 2 archers hunt in the woods. Based on the ferocity of the local wildlife small game is probably scarce, but with a bit of luck we might be able to net something big. Tell them to stick together, and assign them the last swordsman as a bodyguard. We cannot afford to lose any more people to the local fauna at this stage of our journey.

Historian 2009/11/29(Sun)06:47 No. 83158 ID: 608d50
File 125950607250.png - (83.06KB , 1500x1500 , map4.png )

[Part 1]


TEAM 1: Red
4/4 (1 archer, 1 swordsman, 2 simple men), 1 canoe

Team 1 is sent down the southern river in a canoe. Late in the night they return, tired and tattered but otherwise unharmed.

Their leader reports to Silop:
“On both sides of the river, all we saw were thick forests, the heavy leaves of the trees almost reaching the surface of the water. The current was strong, thus we made quick progress.

The river flows eastwards, but takes a turn southwards after several miles. We were able to see huge mountains to the east. Snow was gleaming at their peaks

About noon we decided to turn around and head back for the camp to make our report. After paddling furiously for half an hour, we realised we were unable to fight the current. We disembarked and began to wander back to the camp, carrying the canoe on our back. Fortunately, while travelling on foot, we encountered no dangerous animal.

I feel obliged to add, that towards the second hour of our travel, the archer swore he saw something observing us from the riverbank . It was not human, but not an animal either. He said it stood tall and upright on two legs like a man. He cried out and pointed, but nobody else beside him was able to spot the creature, since our canoe was fast and the vegetation blocked our sight. Chances are that the archer was still drunk from yesterday as our swordsman suggested, but it is also true that the archer was the man with the sharpest eyes in our scouting group.”



TEAM 2: Yellow
4/4 (1 archer, 1 swordsman, 2 simple men), 1 canoe, 20 units of food

The men bid farewell and set out, the archer taking the vanguard, behind him two men with a canoe and in the rear the swordsman, balancing his deadly iron on his shoulder. Soon, they are out of sight.

They don’t return that day, but they carry ample provisions and nobody feels extraordinarily worried beside their wives. Their travel was expected to take two or three days.

Historian 2009/11/29(Sun)06:49 No. 83159 ID: 608d50
File 125950616775.png - (66.56KB , 550x550 , camp1.png )

[Part 2]

CAMP:
10 men and women, 2 swordsmen and 1 archer guard the nearby area. They are able to fend all dangerous animals off.

1 leader and 1 cartographer are in the central tent, plotting.

24 men and women are collecting edible plants and catching fish. They gather 36 units worth of food.

2 archers and 1 swordsman are roaming through the nearby forest, hunting. The archers are able to kill two deer-like animals. They bring back 8 units of food.

Summary: 44 units of food obtained, 54 units of food consumed (+20 used as provisions for Team 2)

For the night, Silop appoints several men and women as sentries. They will take turns to keep guard the camp. This will now happen automatically every evening, at least as long as special conditions won’t prohibit it.


END OF DAY REPORT:

GROUP STATUS (at camp):
1 leader
1 cartographer
4 archers
4 swordsmen
4 guards with swords
4 guards with bows
24 men and women
8 children

Total: 54 humans

EQUIPMENT (at camp):
9 iron swords (9 in use)
9 short bows and quivers (9 in use)
10 carts (0 in use, pulled by 2 horses each)
an ample supply of simple tools like wood axes, shovels and hammers (0 in use)

5 boats (space for 15 persons)
2 canoes (space for 5 persons)

LIVESTOCK:
18 sturdy horses

RESOURCES:
Food Supply: 444

GENERAL INFORMATION:
Silop is our supreme leader.
Team 1 (red) has returned.
We await the report of Team 2 (yellow).
Nobody died today.
The cartographer informs Silop that he has changed the use of colour. He uses now white for the camp location and the main groups path and other colours for scouting parties and their paths. He also says that he will paint the areas currently not visible in a grey tone.
The morale of the group is: very good

Erect defensive wall with timber. Start training any capable men who are otherwise unoccupied to be able to fight and hunt. Once this is complete, deploy more forces for hunting. Also, any way to achieve an agrarian society should be pursued with zeal.

>>83225
That's only assuming we're settling here. While we should stay put until the return of Yellow Team, this is hardly an ideal location to set up a permanent settlment.

Based off of the current map information there should be some kind of pass between that mountain and the lake. Hopefully we can snuggle up between a nice defendable rock formation and the resource rich lake.

In the morning dispatch the canoers along the river again. When they get to the point where the river bends, have them disembark and explore the edge of the mountain. Maybe even see if they can get a better vantage of the area if the sides arent too steep.

Have everyone else continue to harvest the area for food. The camp won't be able to support us for long as is, but at least we won't eat up all of our reserves waiting for yellow team to return. Make sure to tell everyone to keep an eye open for anything strange. These are new lands and there is likely much to be discovered.

Oh, and have the children, if they have free time, construct a little monument out of whatever logs and rocks and things are around. That'll keep their morale up and ensure that those who follow in our footsteps will know that we were here.

I feel some quick defences are a good idea. No need for a castle or anything large and grand, but a simple wooden fence should help discourage wild animals. In addition, have the swordsmen and archers who are not busy teach some capable men and women how to handle the sword and bow, and have them hunt/defend.

Also, if we've anyone with the skill, I suggest making more bows, and quivers out of the deer-like creatures hides.

Historian 2009/11/29(Sun)17:09 No. 83356 ID: 608d50
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Since the food supplies are stagnating and beside some wolves and bears, Silop has decided to not order the building of defensive structures just yet. This can be, of course, changed if wanted.

Team Red is sent away on the southern river again. This time, they take 10 units of food as provisions.
The swordsman, the archer and the two men of Team Red are in a good temper. They seem to think of themselves as veteran scouts by now, making the trip for the second time.

5 men with swords, 5 men with bows, 2 swordsmen and 1 archer continue to secure the perimeter. Nothing happens, but the swordsmen and the archer complain about the lack of combat experience of the other guards.

Silop knows, the professional warriors could train their makeshift comrades in the arts of combat, but that would take a long time, probably weeks, and the trainer and his apprentices would not be available for other tasks. Silop is not sure if the group could manage to compensate that lack of manpower right now.

22 women continue to gather both the fruit of the forest and the river. They collect 33 units of food.

2 men have produced 2 short bows and quivers (arrows included). They used 2 units of wood and the 2 hides of the deer-like animals.

The hunting party has a lucky day! The swordsman and 2 archers bring back 3 big animals, thus acquiring 12 units of food and 3 of hide.

A total of 45 units of food were gathered.

Historian 2009/11/29(Sun)17:09 No. 83357 ID: 608d50
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The 8 children are taken care of by 2 women. Despite the hardship of the last weeks, they seem to be in good health.
The children spend the day erecting a statute out of stones, sticks and clay, measuring five foot. They call it “The Silopian Colossus”. It is both a source of delight and amusement for the whole camp.

Historian 2009/11/29(Sun)17:10 No. 83358 ID: 608d50
File 125954342783.png - (27.01KB , 603x461 , rettel.png )

Around noon Silop is approached by a woman. She explains that she has found several rettels near the river-bank. Rettels are dragonfly-like insects, approximately as long as a grown man’s forearm. The woman explains that these insect are harmless to humans and have an outstanding ability: They remember the location of their “home” very precisely and can find their way back to that spot over extremely long distances. The woman says that she could catch some rettels and get them used to be fed by a human hand. Thus the travellers could use them as message carriers and, for example, stay in contact to scout groups by having the rettels transport notes and mails. If the camp was relocated, the rettels could get used to other locations with only little effort, since these insect are very adaptive.

Problem is, of course, that the insects would need a person to look after them and that person would not be able to do any other work. She says, if Silop approved, she would volunteer to take care of the rettels and start the group’s very own carrier-dragonfly colony.

Historian 2009/11/29(Sun)17:11 No. 83360 ID: 608d50
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The day comes to an end. It’s a pity that there are no news of the scout teams. Everybody is eager to hear news about these lands.


END OF DAY REPORT:

GROUP STATUS (at camp):
1 leader
1 cartographer
3 archers
3 swordsmen
5 guards with swords
5 guards with bows
2 men
24 women
8 children

Total: 52 humans in proximity of the camp (44 fit for work)

Subgroups:
Food gatherers: 2 men + 22 women
Children’s Care: 8 children + 2 women
Hunting party: 1 swordsman + 2 archers
Bow makers: 2 men

EQUIPMENT (at camp):
9 iron swords (9 in use)
11 short bows and quivers (9 in use)
10 carts (0 in use, pulled by 2 horses each)
an ample supply of simple tools like wood axes, shovels and hammers (0 in use)

5 boats (space for 15 persons)
2 canoes (space for 5 persons)

LIVESTOCK:
18 sturdy horses

RESOURCES:
Food Supply: 441
Leather: 3
Wood: a nearby forest provides ample wood

GROUPS OUTSIDE THE CAMP:
Team Red: 4 men (1 swordsman, 1 archer, 2 men), status unknown
Team Yellow: 4 men (1 swordsman, 1 archer, 2 men), status unknown

GENERAL INFORMATION:
Silop is our supreme leader.
Team Red was sent out.
We still await the report of Team Yellow.
A woman has found rettels near the riverbank.
The cartographer informs us, that he has improved the map of the camp. He also says he is sorry for not drawing the paddock with the horses just a few meters east of the camp.
The cartographer also wants to tell us that a landmark/river/forest etc. may be given a name, if the need should arise.

The morale of the group is: excellent (bonus by “The Silopian Colossus” nearby)


Please note: at the moment, nobody is really considered “unoccupied” or similar. If giving an order to do something, it would be very nice if you could be as precise as possible (e.g. X people should do Y instead of Z).

Please note also: An individual or a group containing several individuals who are deemed important enough may be given a symbol/colour on the map if requested. They can also be named.

carrier flies are good

These carrier insects sound almost too good to be true. Begin training them at once. Find a nest of eggs if you can, we may need many of them. Grant the woman the title of Carrier Matron (unless you guys can suggest something else / something awesome?)

Well, we're stuck waiting here until the scouts report back. Let's take a trio of women off of food duty and one of the swordsmen off of gaurd duty and have them explore the area across the river to the south for a few hours. Don't send them too far. We want them to be able to come back by late afternoon - that should give them ample time to deal with any unsuspected incidents, and I don't think the cartographer likes ending the day without hearing from the scouts. Have them take one of the message cariers at least. Even if it isn't tamed, it should fly home back to the camp easilly enough.

Also, make sure everyone is saving the seeds from any fruits they have been eating. Such things may prove usefull when we start farming.

And um. Let's have someone try to climb the highest tree they can spot. Should be able to get a better view of the area immediatly surrounding the campsite that way.

Historian 2009/11/30(Mon)15:11 No. 83823 ID: 3497e1
File 125962266328.png - (34.40KB , 550x400 , stone.png )

Silop ordered the woman who had found the rettels to start domesticating them immediately. Henceforth she was referred to as Carrier Matron.

Silop also dispatches 3 women and 1 swordsman to explore the area south of the river. The Carrier Matron hands them a makeshift cage made out of a basket and a piece of cloth containing three rettels. The insects still regard their nest at the riverbank as their home and one of the guards promises to have a look for any rettels with messages tied to their tail.
The group takes one canoe and crosses the water. They are Team Cyan.

“First message:

Dear companions,

I hope my writing is readable, for I am a man of the sword and not the brush.
Compared to the reports of Team Red concerning the forest in the south, the vegetation directly south of the camp is less thick, probably due to the nearby desert. We left the canoe near the river, since we have the intention to return to that spot today anyways.
We left the forest behind us and reached a plain. The grass stood almost as tall as one of the older children.
To our surprise, one of the women identified some of the gramineous plants as a sort of cereal. Too bad it is spring and not autumn, else we could have collected their seeds.
We did not want to travel too far to the south, since the grass plain seemed to go on forever. We changed our course eastwards.”

“Second message:
The forest is stretching its arms farer and farer to the south the longer we travel eastwards.
We halted under the shade of a tree. I have to say the three women proved to be inexhaustible companions so far.
While we rested, one woman was leaning against a large stone. Her hair became intertwined a little with some of the twines growing on the stone and she had to be freed by one of the other women, tearing the twines in two. We all gasped as an engraving was revealed under the plants! We removed more of the twines and discovered that the whole stone was covered by symbols!
I cannot say what these symbols meant or who made them, but I will try to describe:
They were crude and simple, looking like arrows pointing in different directions, left and right, up and down. From time to time another symbol, a circle or a triangle, would interrupt a series of arrows. They were carved into the stone with great strength, the lines reaching almost as deep into the material as the first phalanx of my pinkie. There was also a ridge around the lines, probably a side effect of the carving process.

At first, the discovery startled us and we almost wanted to flee back to the camp, but then one of the women pointed out that the signs seemed to be very old. She must be right, since there was already soil filling some of the engravings, small plants protruding from them. Also, the ridges I mentioned had been already abraded by wind and rain. If they weren’t as deep as they are, the symbols would have been probably erased.

Still, this is clearly a sign that somebody must have been here before?

We will go north and follow the river back to our canoe.”

Late afternoon, Team Cyan returned to the camp.The rettels have proved to be useful, but they would be much more useful on longer trips, since the scout group will relay their visual range and group status to the camp.

Historian 2009/11/30(Mon)15:11 No. 83824 ID: 3497e1
File 125962269519.png - (177.17KB , 1500x1500 , map6.png )

In the evening, loud cheering could be heard throughout the camp. Team Yellow has finally retuned! The tired men are embosomed by their wives, but they quickly make their way to the central tent, for they have much to tell.

“We travelled north and came across the spot where the camp was located four days ago. Wild animals seemed to have roamed the place, but we saw nothing of them except their tracks.

We reached the river and readied our canoe. The current was quite slow, but it was still faster than marching (and also easier). Another river, coming from the north, merged with the stream we travelled on and we decided to explore it. The current of this sidearm was even slower and we could travel upstream almost effortlessly.
Unfortunately we encountered we encountered a waterfall, thus we could not continue. We returned to the main river and reached the big lake we already knew of.
The lake was really enormous and we wanted to follow its shore in our canoe.

In the south of the lake was another waterfall and we had no chance to climb down the cliffs. But we just did not want to simply turn around, so we decided to explore the east a bit, travelling on foot and leaving our canoe behind.
The trees of the forest here were gigantic.
After marching on a while, we saw some high hills in the distance and we wanted to get to the top to look around. The hills are not very steep, thus we made quick progress.

The peak offered a spectacular view. Far, far in the north, we could see the sea! Not a lake, but an actual ocean! It was probably a day’s worth of travel away, but we decided not to go there, because we wanted to have enough provisions left for going home.
To the west we could see that the forest changed its look. While in the south it was a mixed forest, in the northwest it became a coniferous forest.
To the east we saw plains and some mountains behind.
To the south we could see the river going southeast and huge mountains with snow at their peaks behind it.

We stayed on top of the hills for the night and decided to begin our journey back home the next day.
In the morning, the light of the sun showed us something twinkling lying on the ground. As one of our men took a closer look at what seemed to be at first glance a simple stone, he discovered that it contained a vein of silver! We brought the stone with us as proof. Maybe in the future, we can find more silver there.
We descended and reached the forest. Everything was going smooth, but suddenly, we had the feeling of being followed. After hearing some suspicious noises, we readied ourselves for combat, standing shoulder to shoulder.
One cannot imagine our surprise!
A predatory animal lunged at us, and it came from nowhere! It was lightning fast.
Sheer luck saved our lives: The animal jumped, attacked the swordsman and impaled itself on his sword. He was only slightly injured by falling on his back.
We made sure the predator was dead and took a closer look. And now we understood why we did not see it coming! Its fur was green, with some black and grey dots, but mostly very green. I have not seen something like this before. A green furred animal, a perfectly disguised predator in the woods!
Its body reminded us of a mixture of a wolf and a cat, although at second thought it was more similar to a cat than anything else.
We flayed its skin and carried it back with us. You can look at it, if you like, it’s in the canoe.

Afterwards, we returned to our canoe, circled the lake and began to travel home. Nothing unusual happened then and I will describe the landscape later to the cartographer. Now we need some rest.”

Historian 2009/11/30(Mon)15:14 No. 83827 ID: 3497e1
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One of the guards with bows climbed the highest tree near the camp to get a better view of the surroundings. The other guards thought that this a good idea and helped him to build a very small and simple platform. From now on, one of the guards will keep watch from there, increasing the visual range.

5 men with swords, 4 men with bows, 1 swordsman and 1 archer patrol the area. 1 men with bow and quiver is atop the new tree platform.

The Bow Makers constructed 2 more bows and quivers.

The Hunting Party returns with 8 units of food.

20 food gatherers collected 30 units of food and 10 units of seeds.

(The food gatherers will from now on collect ½ units of seeds per member per day.)

The Carrier Matron reports, that there are currently a good two dozen rettels belonging to the nest at the riverbank and at least just as many eggs. If the camp stays where it is now, they can use all of the insects as carriers.
She has already started to make them recognize humans as their primary “food source”, feeding them other worms, insects and little birds. The children have been very helpful in finding food for the rettels and it even seems like they have fun digging for worms and catching grass-hoppers.

Team Yellow adds the unused provisions (5) to the Food Supply Depot.

END OF DAY REPORT:

GROUP STATUS (at camp):
1 Leader
1 Cartographer
1 Carrier Matron
4 Archers
4 Swordsmen
5 Guards with swords
5 Guards with bows
4 Men
24 Women
8 Children

Total: 56 Humans in proximity of the camp (48 fit for work)

Subgroups:
Leadership Group: Silop, Cartographer, Carrier Matron
Food gatherers: 2 men + 18 women
Children’s Care: 8 children + 2 women
Hunting party: 1 swordsman + 2 archers
Bow makers: 2 men
Team Red: 1 swordsman, 1 archer, 2 men; status unknown
Team Yellow: 1 swordsman, 1 archer, 2 men; resting and awaiting further orders
Team Cyan: 1 swordsman, 3 women; joining their former work groups for tomorrow

EQUIPMENT (at camp):
9 iron swords (9 in use)
13 short bows and quivers (9 in use)
10 carts (0 in use, pulled by 2 horses each)
an ample supply of simple tools like wood axes, shovels and hammers (several in use)

5 boats (space for 15 persons)
2 canoes (space for 5 persons)

LIVESTOCK:
18 sturdy horses

RESOURCES:
Food Supply: 425
Seeds: 10
Leather: 3
Wood: a nearby forest provides as much as is needed


GENERAL INFORMATION:
Silop is our supreme leader.
Team Yellow has finally returned.
Team Cyan successfully finished its scouting mission.
We await the return of Team Red.
The Carrier Matron is now part of the leadership group.
The morale of the group is: excellent (bonus by “The Silopian Colossus” nearby)

Make skin into outfit that can be used as camouflage.

We should have the people that aren't extraordinarily skilled or otherwise preoccupied practice archery. Nothing major, maybe two hours a day, less if needed.

How curious. Mark the ruin stone on our map.

Ok, what I'm seeing so far guys is that we can settle up near the mountain and strike the earth as a silver mining colony, we can settle in the plains to the south near the forest as a farming colony, or we can settle near the lake as a fishing colony. I think we should wait and see what red team brings back before making our decision, of course, but from the sounds of the river passes close to a tall mountain, so that might be a good potential mining spot as well.

Wait for Red team to get back. I think we've been waiting at this location long enough. Maybe send out Yellow team to go get an etching of the runestone so that we can study it later at our lesure.

Have I mentioned how much this reminds me of Kings of Dragon Pass, and how awesome that is?

Historian 2009/12/01(Tue)21:31 No. 84731 ID: ddaf33
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b] DAY 7 [/b]

The archer who belongs to the group guarding the camp and its surroundings has begun to train the other men with bows in the art of archery. They shoot at trees and leaves for practice. In the course of time, they will become professional archers and Silop will be informed as soon as the bow-armed guards have reached the necessary level of skill, although this might take some time.

“By my mother's tits, I'm glad nobody shot himself in the foot”, said the archer after the first lesson was finished.

Historian 2009/12/01(Tue)21:31 No. 84732 ID: ddaf33
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The cartographer expresses special interest in the stone with the symbols Team Cyan has found. He explains that his profession naturally included the study of maps from all kinds of regions and ages, thus he is versed in several languages. Maybe he can translate the writing on the stone.

Silop thinks that this is a good idea and sends out Team Yellow to fabricate a likeness of the stone symbols. They successfully return just four hours later. The cartographer promises to report as soon as he has found out something interesting.



In the afternoon it suddenly begins to rain heavy raindrops. It did not last long, but it was unfortunately enough to soak the tents. What a mess!

Our supplies got wet: Lost 20 units of food.

During her leisure-time, one of the women has crafted a cloak out of the fur of the greenish predator Team Yellow had encountered. At first, she had just thought that it would make a very precious piece of cloth, but she soon realized that the cloak blended in the environment. It was an astonishing effect and one of the gatherers meant that it had probably something to do with the tiny specks of grey and black on the fur.
But whatever the cause, the cloak could be very useful: A person wrapped in the cloak would be able to move very stealthily through the wilderness.

Who should be allowed to wear the cloak?

Historian 2009/12/01(Tue)21:32 No. 84733 ID: ddaf33
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[Day 8]
Team Red has returned! And they seemingly have outdone themselves, for they did not only climb the mountains once, but twice.

“We did as we were told and disembarked at the point where the river bends. The mountains are gigantic and at first the thought of climbing up there made us feel very helpless.

But thanks to our archer’s sharp eyes we found the entrance to a mountain pass. The pass allowed us to gain some impressive height in relatively short time, but it was still very, very exhaustive. I would not advise to take that way with women, children or heavy baggage.

At what we thought would be the highest point we took a halt and observed the landscape. In the north we could see a river flowing through a forest. Far, far away in the north we saw the peaks of some hills and more forest.

To the south, the southeast and the northwest our view was mainly obscured by the mountains. We want back until we found a suitable place to stay for the night.

The next day, we descended and followed the edge of the mountains. Unfortunately we couldn’t find another pass.
We reached a rivulet, which came down from the mountains. We could cross it without problems, carrying our shoes over our heads. We took the opportunity to catch two small fish to extend our provisions.

I cannot express how wonderful the area between the mountain and the large river is as soon as one crosses that rivulet. The land is lush and fertile. If I was a cow, I would have probably stuffed myself to the brim with the plants and the grass.

After some more wandering around, as much as we enjoyed it, we almost decided to give up and return to the camp, because there was no way to climb the mountains again.
But then we reached another small river that came down from the mountains. The way the water had formed the mountain rocks enabled us to climb up once more.

We didn’t get too high, but we still had a great view over the lands behind the mountains, since we stood on the mountain’s southern shoulder, metaphorically.

East of the mountains is a large swamp area. Countless small lakes and pools of water were glistening in the sunlight. It did not look too inviting.

In the south, the large river flows on and the soil over there near the river looked like it was just as fertile as in the area we already crossed.

We rested near the mountain’s edge for the night.

In the morning, we decided to go back by following the small river. Just as expected it led to the big southern river, whose riverbed we followed northwards until we reached the bent. We picked up our canoe and walked back to the camp.”

STATUS REPORT OF THE LAST 2 DAYS:

A bear attacked the food gatherers, but the guards were able to chase it off with ease, thanks to their high numbers.

The Hunting Party collected 16 units of food and 4 of leather.

The Bow Makers produced 4 bows and quivers, using 4 units of wood and 4 units of leather.

The food gatherers have collected 63 units of food and 21 units of seeds

108 units of food consumed + 20 units destroyed by heavy rain.

GROUP STATUS (at camp):
1 Leader
1 Cartographer
1 Carrier Matron
5 Archers
5 Swordsmen
5 Guards with swords
5 Guards with bows
4 Men
23 Women
8 Children

Total: 58 Humans in proximity of the camp (50 fit for work)

Subgroups:
Leadership Group: Silop, Cartographer, Carrier Matron
Food gatherers: 21 women
Children’s Care: 8 children + 2 women
Hunting party: 1 swordsman + 2 archers
Bow makers: 2 men
Camp Guards: 2 swordsmen, 1 archer, 5 guards with bows, 5 guards with swords
Team Red: 1 swordsman, 1 archer, 2 men; resting and awaiting further orders
Team Yellow: 1 swordsman, 1 archer, 2 men; resting and awaiting further orders


EQUIPMENT (at camp):
10 iron swords (10 in use)
18 short bows and quivers (10 in use)
10 carts (0 in use, pulled by 2 horses each)
an ample supply of simple tools like wood axes, shovels and hammers (several in use)

5 boats (space for 15 persons)
2 canoes (space for 5 persons)

LIVESTOCK:
18 sturdy horses

RESOURCES:
Food Supply: 396
Seeds: 31
Leather: 3
Wood: a nearby forest provides as much as is needed


GENERAL INFORMATION:
Silop is our supreme leader.
Team Red has returned.
A bear attack was thwarted.
The guards with bows received some training. Still miss a barn door.
A woman has crafted a camo-cloak.
Momentarily, the cartographer is at loss regarding the symbols oft he stone.
The morale of the group is: excellent (bonus by “The Silopian Colossus” nearby)

Suggestion 2009/12/01(Tue)23:48 No. 84789 ID: 956c3c
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Ok, here's what I got. What say you guys?

(C) sounds really good, but I wouldnt mind getting in on (B) because of that lake. (A) sounds like hardship but has the biggest potential pay off that we know of right now. We could also explore further to the south if you guys want, but I'm betting its mostly just going to be more open plains.

>>84789
I have an idea. Embark to site A. We can supplement farming for hunting for the time being and actively kill off all of the predator wildlife in the local area. Send 6 of the women gatherers deep into the mountain to find plants that are able to grow underground, like spores or mushrooms. Report the conditions it was growing in as well as bringing back samples for testing on animals then humans. Switch the five swordsmen explorers for lumberjacks and chop down a bunch of trees to construct a palisade wall around the temporary camp while we wait for results of underground farming. Take the 5 archers out to start hunting immediately.

Gentlemen. It's time to strike the earth!

Site C. Think of the horses.

>>84811
Horses can just chill out in our meeting hall with the kids.

If we go to site A we won't have any water without hiking through the forest to the lake. We're not dwarves and we probably won't find any underground rivers or lakes. Play it safe. Go C.

Suggestion 2009/12/02(Wed)09:40 No. 84814 ID: 099247
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>>84813
>bringing the light of civilisation to uncharted and dangerous new lands
>play it safe

We can do the exact same mining schenanigans at sites B or C and we'll have easy access to a much larger mountain range. We may not get silver deposits but we'll have a much greater chance of striking useful metals like iron and bronze. You want underground farming we can do that as well, we'll also have a much greater chance of finding caves and things amidst the snow topped mountains that we will upon that rocky hill up north. A is a death trap.

site C will provide the best in the long term, Fertile farmlands are very sustainable, hunting and fishing not so much.

End of Chapter 1: Early Days Historian 2009/12/02(Wed)16:46 No. 84956 ID: ddaf33
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Packing up and heading southwards!

Site C chosen as location for settlement.

There are several options available before Chapter 2 begins. If you are interested, look out for the discussion thread (coming soon) to prearrange the layout of the settlement + some other things.

Chapter 2 will then start here in this thread.