Solo Out in the Wide, Wild World

[Maria Talwa]

2, Summer, 517

The ground was still wet with the dew of early morning as the caravan traveled down a simple dirt road. Every so often a rock or dip in the rock caused the wagon to rock, shaking Maria as she rode in the back of the last wagon. As a caravan guard it was her duty to protect the rear and sound the alarm at the first sign of danger, however nothing of the sort was in the area. As part of the morning watch Maria was dressed down in her leather armor, something that hadn't seen much wear in the past. The simple brown armor offered a degree of protection with minimal loss of mobility, her key assert in fight. Riverfall had disappeared into the horizon more than an hour ago, and now Maria was slumped down watching the expanse of land behind the caravan grow ever larger as the journey continued onward.

The air was humid, scented faintly by wild flowers, and the heat was already beginning to rise despite the early hour. Maria knew that by the time morning guard duty was over with, she'd likely be peeling the armor off. While watching the ever growing plains of grass behind the caravan, Maria's mind wandered as she thought about the days and weeks to come. After consulting the caravan's navigator, who knew this circuit like the back of his hand, she found out that just traveling to Syliras would take roughly fifty days. In retrospect it was a wise decision for her bring sixty days worth of rations. Even though they would hit Kenash and resupply before moving on to Syliras, it was never a good idea to be low on food while traveling.

The caravan moved along slowly, but steadily, and from everything she'd seen, the people who worked this route were experienced and knew what they were doing, yet in talking with the navigator she also discovered the first hurtle to be overcome in this quest. The caravan would only be going as far as Syliras. From there it would turn around and head back to Kenash, then Riverfall. They worked a three city circuit like clockwork. The part of this journey that Maria was going to hate the most would be the waiting. She wanted to be in Ravok, now, looking for this Dovoras character, but that wouldn't come for a long, long time yet.

Near midday the caravan slowed and people began to take out meals to eat. It was mostly dried fruit and meat which is what Maria had as well. It was interesting to note that they didn't stop for the meal, and she hoped they would they would at least do so for the evening meal. In the middle of the afternoon the guard shift changed, although that didn't mean much. As a caravan guard Maria was always 'on duty', shifts just determined who was paying the most attention. This did give her a chance to relax a little as the heat was getting rather intense. The covered wagon only offered so much protection and Maria popped several of the straps on her armor to let it breath. This way she wouldn't sweat as much, but it could be quickly secured in the event of danger.

The first day passed without incident, and it was well past dusk when someone from the front finally called for the caravan to stop. As a whole the wagons slowly moved off to the side of the road and into the field before making a rough circle. Maria smirked a little figuring this is where the term 'circling the wagons' must have originated from. With the day's traveling over with, the people began to relax for the evening. Some were working with the wagons, others appeared to be gathering bits of wood, and the younger members of the caravan were running around enjoying themselves. For her part Maria remained on the back of the wagon keeping an eye out for trouble. Without the sun to light their way, it would be easier for someone or something to approach the caravan.

[Maria Talwa]

Once the caravan was settled in for the evening, Maria leaned on one of the wagons with her arms folded and watched the people going about their business. There were quite a few people in the caravan and a number of them appeared to be families. Most of them appeared to be winding down for the day and just enjoying themselves. In the center of the wagons there was a young man kneeling down over a pile of wood, rubbing his hands together. Curious about this, Maria decided to investigate. As she drew closer it became obvious the young man was rubbing one stick against another.

“What exactly are you doing?” Maria said.

“Starting a fire,” the young man said.

“With sticks?” Maria said. “Why not just use flint and steel, it'd be a lot easier.”

“And if you don't have flint and steel, then what?” the young man said. “I like to keep my skills sharp.” Though Maria didn't say anything, she mentally acknowledged that the young man had a point. Kneeling down she watched closely as he continued to quickly move his hands back and forth. It took some effort, but soon the piece of wood laying on the ground gave off a tiny curl of smoke. When this happened he added a bit of dry grass and continued. Now a little bit of breathing on the wood caused a tiny flame to appear.

“And there you are, one campfire,” the young man said. That surprised Maria to see a fire started without flint and steel, and she thought about that for a time. In a way it made sense as she knew rubbing two things together made them heat up, but hadn't seen the principle applied in such as way until now. Thoroughly fascinated by this, Maria decided to put it to the test for herself. Finding a pair of suitable sticks around the camp she knelt down and started to rub them together in a manner similar to what was seen earlier. After several minutes nothing happened so Maria tried going faster, still nothing, not even the slightest hint of smoke. Now becoming quite aggravated she tried even harder before finally standing up and stomping on both.

A man passed by and nodded for Maria to follow. She recognized him as one of the caravan guards and did so. Just outside the circle of wagons Hogar was standing there with the other guards and they all appeared to be doing something. When she got closer Maria could see that Hogar was holding his fist out and everyone was drawing blades of grass. She did so without speaking, removed a fairly short piece, then looked to Hogar.

“First watch,” Hogar said. After the night watch was decided, four other guards seemed to gravitate in her direction, no doubt part of the first watch as well. They were all fairly young, well built, and wearing chain shirts with a longsword at their side.

“So, who wants sentinel duty?” one man said.

“First night watch, sentinel duty?” Maria said.

“Four of us stand watch around caravan, the fifth, the sentinel, walks around the caravan keeping an eye out for trouble,” another said.

“I'll do the walking,” Maria said. When no one objected the little group broke and the four others took their positions around the camp. As per sentinel duty, she began to walk around the caravan in a continuous circle watching the darkness beyond for anything that might present a threat. In short order the activity within the caravan began to die down as people got ready to sleep for the night. As people milled about doing whatever it was they did, many of them slept inside the wagons, while others pitched tents inside the circle, and within an hour all was quiet. While on guard duty Maria also ate dinner which was another helping of rations she kept in a belt pouch. Unlike most people it would seem, she liked rations.

[Maria Talwa]

Every so often she would look at the other four guards to see them standing alert and ready for trouble. It was good to know that those on-duty took their jobs seriously, and this continued for quite some time. Maria stopped and nearly drew her swords at the sound of approaching footsteps until realizing they were coming from the caravan, rather than toward it. The man was older in appearance, but dressed the same as the others, much of his appearance obscured by the darkness. He stopped a few feet short of her and nodded.

“You are relieved,” the man said. Just to be sure Maria looked toward the other two guards that were in view, and saw them being relieved of duty as well. With a two finger salute she acknowledged the man and headed back to the camp to get some sleep, and this is where the real fun began. The wagon Maria rode in earlier that day was packed with sleeping people, so she would need to pitch a tent for the night. From the back she retrieved the tent, four pitons, a small hammer, and the bedroll. It didn't take long to find a small spot inside the caravan circle to pitch the single person tent which she tried to do. Having no idea how to go about doing this, Maria unrolled the tent and stood there looking at it for a moment trying to figure what to do now.

“You've never pitched a tent before, have you?” a guard said. Maria glanced over to see one of the guards from first watch getting ready to do the same thing.

“That obvious?” Maria said.

“Would you like me to show you how?” the guard said.

“Sure,” Maria said. The young man's features were plain an unremarkable, as was his short brown hair, but he seemed friendly enough and willing to help, so Maria kept her attitude in check. She also watched carefully as he spread the tent out, then went about hammering the pitons into the rings attached to the four corners making sure they were all tight. After that he took the metal pole and showed Maria how to secure it in the center of the tent.

“There you are, all done,” the guard said.

“Thanks,” Maria said. With the tent now set up she took the bedroll and crawled inside, spreading it across the ground. With the heat and humidity there were also a lot of bugs around, so Maria walked back to the wagon where her things were stored and found the bug repellent she'd bought in Riverfall. Inside the tent she stripped down out of the leather armor and opening the small can of repellent, her nose immediately wrinkled in response to the smell.

“This would make good people repellent too,” Maria said. After the initial nasal assault was overcome, she dabbed two fingers into the viscous cream and applied a light layer over any exposed portions of skin and rubbed it in. A short yawn came before Maria laid down on the bedroll and got comfortable for the night. As was often the case, it didn't take long for her to pass out, and the day was officially over.

[Maria Talwa]

3. Summer, 517

The following morning when Maria woke, it was already close to dawn and most of the caravan was either awake, or soon to be that way. Having grown up on the streets, sleeping on the ground was nothing new. Having slept soundly through the rest of the night, Maria sat up, stretched, and yawned rather loudly. Her mind was still lightly clouded by the fog of sleep, but it would fade soon enough. Soon enough turned out to last long enough for her nose to catch the smell of cooking food drifting through the morning air. Several sniffs later Maria's head poked through the tent flap and she noticed a fair sized cooking pot over a campfire in the middle of the caravan.

After some quick morning maintenance which included hair combing, she put the armor back on, broke down the tent, and put everything away in the wagon. That taken care of she approached the cooking pot where a number of people were sitting and eating. Most of them were chatting idly, and an older woman was stirring the pot.

“Good morning,” the woman said. “Fancy a bowl of fish stew?”

“Sure,” Maria said. The woman took a wooden bowl and spoon out of a large leather satchel on the ground, handed it to Maria, then filled it. Bowl in hand Maria tried a spoonful and was surprised to find it rather well cooked, the soup even tasted as though a pinch of salt had been added to the mix for flavor. Some distance outside camp also lay the answer to a mental question about where the fresh fish came from. Seated on the bank of a nearby river were roughly a dozen people with fishing rods, including a man walking back toward camp with four good sized catches. This was also the first time Maria realized there was a river nearby. Last night was so dark she failed to notice it. With the bowl of soup nearly finished she spoke to the man returning with the fish.

“How long before we break camp?” Maria said.

“I'd say about an hour or so,” the man said. That was enough time for Maria to get in some practice. After returning the bowl to the woman by the pot, Maria walked over to the wagon with her belongings and took out the fishing rod and kit and rod she'd bought in Riverfall. If she was going to be out here for a long period of time, it couldn't hurt to learn some survival skills. Near the edge of the river bank she looked down into the crystal clear water to see groups of fish moving about, the morning light reflecting off their scales. Next to Maria was a young girl no more than ten years old with a rod and line bobbing in the water. Her long blond hair was fashioned into pigtails and she wore a plain blue dress that came down to the ankles.

“Pardon me little one,” Maria said, drawing the girl's attention. “Would you mind showing me how to fish?”

“Sure, no problem,” the girl said. “You're that city lady that was hired to guard the caravan right?”

“That's right,” Maria said. “I've not traveled much, nor do I know a lot about the wilderness.”

“Never too late to learn,” the girl said, setting her rod down on the riverbank. “Here, let me see your rod.” Maria gave the girl the rod and opened up the fishing kit with all of the gear inside and looked down at it, as did the girl. From there she showed Maria how to string the rod, set a lure, and even what to do with the bait that came in the kit. Although she watched the girl carefully this would likely take a few tries to get right.

[Maria Talwa]

“This is boring,” Maria said, holding the rod over the water.

“You have to be patient,” the girl said. “A fish will bite, just wait and see.”

“So why the fishing?” Maria said. “Don't you have enough rations to make it to Kenash?”

“Of course we do, but momma said living off the land makes our supplies last longer,” the girl said. “Besides, you don't wanna eat rations the whole way there, do you?”

“I dunno, I kinda like'em,” Maria said. The little girl just made a face and it was obvious she wasn't too fond of them. Maria watched as the various different fish swam by, there were several varieties, silver, blue, even red, and she had no idea what any of them were called. Without warning the line jerked and Maria saw one of the silver scaled fish fighting to get free. It wasn't hard to pull it out of the water, to which it just flopped around on the end of the line.

“Hey, you caught one,” the girl said.

“Is this, a good one?” Maria said.

“Not bad for your first fish,” the girl said. “Here, let me see it.” Maria held the rod toward the girl who took the fish off the hook, then removed a knife from her belt, held the fish on the ground, and decapitated it. “Stops'em from flopping around.”

The girl placed the fish next to Maria, and by her own estimates it would make a good snack for someone when properly prepared. Over the next few minutes she caught one more fish, then noticed that the others all seemed to be packing up to leave.

“Where's everyone going?” Maria said.

“To take the fish back to camp, we'll be leaving soon,” the girl said. Maria followed suit and put all of her fishing gear away, collected the two modest sized fish she'd caught, and took everything, save the fish, back to the wagon. Next to the wagon Maria held the fish in her hands wondering what to do with them. If left out on the weather she knew they'd rot and become unfit for consumption. That was when she spied a woman near another wagon working with the fish on a makeshift table, so she decided to investigate.

The whole camp did seem to be preparing to leave as the campfire was broken down and snuffed, and things were being packed. The woman in question was older, with peppered brown hair and plain clothes set with an apron. On the table there was a metal pan and the woman was pouring salt over the fish. The use of salt to preserve food was no secret to Maria, she'd eaten enough preserved meat, but the actual process wasn't something she'd ever seen.

“Excuse me, are you preserving the fish?” Maria said, walking up to the woman.

“That I am young lady, need some help?” the woman said.

“It would be appreciated, I don't know a lot about preserving food,” Maria said. The woman motioned to an empty spot on the table and the fish were set down.

“The first thing you have to do is gut the fish, like this,” the woman said. With a knife in hand she went about gutting the fish, skinning the scales, deboning it, and soon it was little more than a fillet ready to be salted. Maria could tell the woman had done this a lot in the past. She was fast, effective, and got results.

“Here, you try it with the other one,” the woman said, placing the knife on the table. “I need to go get more salt.” When Maria held a knife it was usually with the intent of doing someone harm, not gutting a fish. This left her a little bewildered about what to do next. She tried to copy what the woman had done only moments ago, but the end result would have been better described as fish confetti rather than a fillet.

[Maria Talwa]

“What... happened?” the woman said. Having returned with the additional salt, now it was the woman who was bewildered as she looked down at Maria's work.

“It exploded,” Maria said.

“The fish exploded?” the woman said.

“Yes, it objected to being gutted and exploded,” Maria said.

“Okay...” the woman said. “Here's how you salt cure fish.” She watched as the woman poured salt onto the fish in the pan and noted that it was layered fairly think on the top, but not so much on the bottom.

“That's it, you just cover them with salt?” Maria said.

“That's it,” the woman said. “The salt draws the moisture out of the fish, dries, and cures it. If you like I keep this piece with the rest and you can pick it when it's ready.” Maria nodded in a agreement, and after the guards once again drew grass blades, she had second shift that day. It wasn't long before the caravan was once again on the road for Kenash and Maria was in the watching the landscape disappear behind them. With some free time on hand, she decided to try something. Back in Riverfall she'd bought some blank books, ink, and quills. Taking them out Maria tried her hand at keeping a journal.

3, Summer, 517

I desidid to ceep this jurnal becas this is the furst tim I have evr gon on a trip lik this. Mabi in the yers to cume I wil luk bak on this if I can evn reed any of this. I supose that is becas I wuz nevr taut how to reed and rite. That is why I normly hav peple rite letrs for me but I dont thnk I culd get that for a jurnal intri. Rite now I am ridng in the bak of a covrd wagin that is heding for Kenash, and then Syliras. Thos two nams I reed on a map so they r speld rite. I rely dont now how to fel abot any of this. Gong all the way to Ravok for an ansir that may not evn be ther.

Whut othr chos do I hav. All my lif I hav wundrd who I am wher I cume frum how did I ind up in Sunberth. I had parnts so why cant I rember them. Wht hapnd to thm was I jst dumpt becas they dint wont me did thy di. If I dont git any ansers Il be reel pised I now that.

[Grim Ravenwood]

Your Grades

Skills:
Socialization: 5
Observation: 3
Fishing: 1
Food preservation: 1

Lores:
Starting a fire with sticks
Pitching a tent
Self: The sentinel
Fishing: Boring
Pour salt on a fish to preserve it

Grader's Comments:
Please make sure to delete your post in the request section, and address the issue i have informed you of. If there is any issue regarding the grade, be sure to drop dead to my graveyard, and bury me a pm. Remember to enjoy your grades while you can, they are to die for.

As always, Death guide you swordsman
Grim