Open Outfitting For Survival

Tazrae begins to set up her own camp and learn what it is like to survive in the wilderness.

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Syka is a new settlement of primarily humans on the east coast of Falyndar opposite of Riverfall on The Suvan Sea. [Syka Codex]

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Outfitting For Survival

Postby Tazrae on May 10th, 2020, 10:37 pm

Timestamp: Spring 10, 520 A.V.


"So this is your father's Mercantile?" Taz asked, spinning around, looking at all the things the store had to offer. It was loaded with goods, mostly designed for jungle and beach living, but a few beautiful things too. There were fabrics, clothing, shoes, and a whole host of things Taz had never imagined. She walked among the tables and cupboards, touching this and that, taking a few things in that she'd never conceived of existing.

"You said you'd fix me up with a few things I'd need for the jungle... what did you have in mind?" Taz asked as Juli came around the counter and gave the newcomer to Syka a hug.

"Weapons for one! You have no real way to defend yourself or hunt! You need weapons for hunting and protection.... come with me. Let's pick you out something." She added, looking Taz up and down as if taking her measure. She paused then, once the stood in front of the weapons racks in the Mercantile, and looked Tazrae over. "How many coins do we have to spend today? I know you said yesterday that you needed some basic supplies and clothing suited to Syka, but are good weapons in the budget?" Juli asked, curious, and forthright.

"Well, I loaned a considerable sum from your father and his friends... about four thousand mizas. But I have about five hundred coins my stepfather gave me to supply me once over here. I spent some of that in Riverfall, but most I saved to get supplies here." She said, looking thoughtful.

Juli nodded. "Good. We'll get you quality weapons... clothing. Some survival gear... things you need to get going around here. I've made up some kits to make basic supplies like candles and soap too. You'll need a few of those. Can you sew?" Taz shook her head and Juli nodded. "I have books... so does Mathias. We're good at sharing knowledge. You'll need to learn a whole lot of things being over here verses Riverfall. Let's get started." The young shopkeeper said, rummaging through the weapons.

She pulled forth a compound longbow, grinned, and set it aside along with a quiver full of arrows to go with it. "Compound will make up for the strength you don't have on a longbow... it will shoot further and harder. You'll need lessons. And a machete. You can't go into the jungle without one of those or a Kukuri. Taz blinked in surprise. An Innkeeper was expected to wield weapons? She almost opened her mouth to complain when Juli added a hatchet to the pile. Then she picked up the lot of it, carried it to the counter, and sat it on the ledge.

"Clothing next." Juli commented as Tazrae followed her like a puppy... completely lost as to what was actually happening. Juli gathered up dresses, blouses, and skirts... all of a lightweight strong material she called Isuas. She added gloves, a broad-rimmed straw hat, and an apron to the pile. Then she pulled out two slips of fabric, one that looked like two triangles bound together and what appeared to be panties and added it to the pile. All the clothing was in bright colors suited to Taz's skin tones. "These fabrics wear better, wash better, and will last longer than the cotton you brought. I saw your footgear and you look well suited to life here... so we'll skip that for the moment." She said, adding the clothing to the pile on top of the weapons.

Then she roamed the store, collecting things at seemingly random. Netting, jars of oil and ointment, a belt pouch, a huge lantern, some of the kits she'd talked about, a few traps that looked like they were used in the ocean.... things for clams, for fishing, even something that acted to preserve food. Tazrae followed without complaint, nodding to some things, and actually grabbing a few things for herself.

A hammock and some sort of bedroll with a half dozen pillows followed. They were added to the top of the pile by Juli, claiming she wanted Taz to be comfortable even in her tent. It would be, after all, a while before even one room of the Inn was completed.

She picked up a washboard, eyeballed what appeared to be a bunch of oils used for massaging someone, and then dragged over a bench to add to the table deciding she'd pick up the hobby while she was here. James, she would ask her to find books in Riverfall on the subjects she was lacking.

The pile was enormous by the time they were done. Juli took almost an hour to tally up the total and then add the items Tazrae had purchased to her 'need list' on a clipboard that was hanging from behind the counter. Tazrae paid her and then Juli said she'd recruit Lars to deliver the pile in an elephant cart when he dropped off another load of items he said he'd bring her in the late evening... until then, Juli ordered her to go home... set up her tent, start a fire, and relax. It had been a long day getting here, picking out land, cooking, cleaning, and finally shopping. It was time to wind down.

Tazrae agreed, more tired than she had been in a long long time. "Thanks, Juli. Thank you for everything." She said softly.

Juli nodded, offered her a hug, and then quietly said. "I really really want to thank you for coming here and volunteering to open an Inn. I know it will be hard work, but its something we really need." She added, walking Taz to the door and watching as her new friend disappeared down the path towards the cobbled walkway that would lead her home.

Recipt :
Weapons

Composite Longbow – 100 gm
Quiver w/20 arrows – 21 GM
Machete – 10 GM
Hatchet - .2 GM

Total: 131.2 GM

General Gear

Belt Pouch – 1 GM
Insect Netting - 25 GM
Lantern – 7 GM
Insect Repellant – 1 GM
Clam Digging Toolkit – 15 GM
2 Crab Traps – 2 GM
2 Lobster Traps – 2 GM
Washboard – 1.2 GM
Mortar & Pestel – 1 GM
Soap Making Kit – 50 GM
Candle Making Kit – 20 GM
Handyman’s Toolkit – 20 GM
Survival Kit – 25 GM
Massage Bench (fine) – 4 GM
Messuse Kit – 20 GM
Fishing Kit – 10 GM
Fishing Pole – 1 GM
Perservation Kit – 5 GM
Sewing Kit – 20 GM
Total : 230.2 GM

Clothing

3 Isuas Dresses - 4.8 GM
Broad Rimmed Hat – 4 GM
Gloves - .5 GM
Apron - .3 GM
3 Isuas Skirts – 2.4 GM
Bikini - .2 GM
3 Isuas Blouses – 4.8 GM

Total: 17 GM

Storage/Misc Items:

Large Chest (Cedar) – 2 GM
Sewing Box – 2 GM
Lamp oil (gallon) – 1 GM
Large Tarp – 12 GM
Bedroll – .1 GM
Assorted Pillow – 1.4 GM
Hammock – 5 GM
Wooden flute - .5 GM
Chef’s knife Set - .8 GM
Sunburn Cream - .8 GM

Total: 25.6 GM


Grand Total: 404 GM


Word Count: 1202
Image
"A mark of an open mind is being more committed to your curiosity than your conviction.
The goal of learning is not to shield old views against new facts, but to revise old views with new facts.
Ideas are possibilities to explore, not certainties to defend."


Garden Beach Syka The Protea Inn

"Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence, it speaks. Listen to your heart, it knows."
User avatar
Tazrae
Be savage, not average.
 
Posts: 1335
Words: 1916653
Joined roleplay: May 3rd, 2020, 2:02 pm
Location: Syka
Race: Human
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Journal
Plotnotes
Medals: 5
Mizahar Grader (1) Overlored (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
Syka Seasonal Challenge (1)

Outfitting For Survival

Postby Tazrae on May 10th, 2020, 11:30 pm

Once 'home', Tazrae paced around the acre of land and looked to see where she wanted to set up her tent. It was a toss-up because she wanted to be out of the way of where she wanted the Inn to be built, but she also wanted to be able to hang her hammock up between two palms. She stuck close to where Juli and she had dragged her items from the ship and where a man named Lars had been told to deliver her things.

Down on the beach in a sheltered area with a bunch of palms growing in a grove, Tazrae found a nice clear spot that would provide a nice place to pitch her tent that would be shaded most of the day. Juli had warned her that the nights could be cold in the winter, though right now they were mild. Taz took the time to clear downed palm fronds, detritus, flotsam, and anything else that would interfere in her camp. She made a huge pile of 'burnable' for her campfire, and ended up tossing any rotten coconuts she found off to the side so they could grow as seeds if they needed too later out of the way. Then she cut low lying brush, bound it together with cordage she braided from sea grass, and formed a broom she was able to sweep the area she wanted to camp in completely clean.

A voice brought her out of her work as Randal Zor stepped out of the jungle, accompanied by Lars, hauling what appeared to be her order from the back of a cart still parked on the trail. The two men piled all her goods up with her goods from the ship and then spread the waterproof tarp over the whole mess. They came down to where Tazrae was forming her camp, and looked it over. "Taz, this is Lars. Lars, Taz. Taz will be getting a lot of wood from you in the near future as we build the Inn up here. " Randal said... and Lars nodded.

"Nice to meet you, Tazrae. I'm glad we are getting an Inn. It's something that I think overnight visitors or new people to Syka will really appreciate." He added, stepping forward to shake her hand. Taz repeated the gesture, smiled and nodded, and glanced between them both.

"Is this a good location for my tent?" She asked, indicating the wild overgrown shoreline she'd cleared out and made comfortable. Randal and Lars looked the spot over, noted the palms, the distance from the surf, and both of them nodded.

"I would start your fire, get some ashes burning, and once you get a big pile of ashes, spread it around your campsite. The ants hate ash, so too do the scorpions and spiders. They stay off it and you'll keep them out of your tent." He offered, as Lars nodded in agreement.

Lars added... "Most of us add ashes from our fires to the margins of our bungalows and workplaces for the same reasons. Ants won't cross a thick ash line." He said, nodding at Randal's advice. Tazrae thanked them both as they left and began to gather rocks for a fire ring to set up her fire. She'd thought to set up her tent first, but if she needed ashes to keep ants out, having ashes under her tent would probably go a long way to keeping her bedding bug free.

Taz was getting tired, but eyeing the hammock and tent she'd pulled out of the pile and dragged down to the campsite went a long way to reassure her she'd have a place to rest once this was all over.

Making a fire was probably the hard part after she'd gathered enough stones to form a fire ring. Taz had a vague idea but building a fire out in the open was different than laying logs on the hearth at home. She looked for dried material, tinder, and then used her small hatchet to cut up broken branches and pieces of driftwood to stack at the ready to add to the tinder in case she got the fire started. Her best find was an old birds nest tucked up into one of the small trees near where she'd decided to set up her camp.

She'd cheered slightly at the find - glad it was empty - and returned it to her campsite to hunker down above it in the ring of fire stones. Tazrae struck flint to steel repeatedly and sparked on the nest over and over until small tendrils of smoke rose and a spark caught. She gathered the bundle up in her hands, blew lightly on it, and then carefully added it to small shavings of driftwood she'd made in a little pile. As the shavings caught, Taz added small tinder, more kindling, then finally larger sticks. Grinning slightly, she felt victorious seeing her fire crackling happily and safely in its stone confinement.

Done with that task, Tazrae mentally checked it off her internal list and then eyed the hammock. She unwound it from where it was rolled, examined the ropes, and walked to the closest palm she'd figured she could string the hammock between. She wrapped one rope around tree and examined how the hammock fastened to the rope. The tackle was simple enough. She wrapped another part of her rope around another palm, fastened on the hammock, and bumped it satisfied with its swing. Grinning, she grabbed the fabric, backed up to it, and swung to give it a try laying down. She lasted all of two breaths before the whole thing fell down in a heap, carrying her with it dumping her abruptly on her ass.

Taz groaned, slowly climbed to her feet, and eyed the mess. There was absolutely more to hanging a hammock than she'd given it credit for.


Word Count: 1025
Image
"A mark of an open mind is being more committed to your curiosity than your conviction.
The goal of learning is not to shield old views against new facts, but to revise old views with new facts.
Ideas are possibilities to explore, not certainties to defend."


Garden Beach Syka The Protea Inn

"Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence, it speaks. Listen to your heart, it knows."
User avatar
Tazrae
Be savage, not average.
 
Posts: 1335
Words: 1916653
Joined roleplay: May 3rd, 2020, 2:02 pm
Location: Syka
Race: Human
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Journal
Plotnotes
Medals: 5
Mizahar Grader (1) Overlored (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
Syka Seasonal Challenge (1)

Outfitting For Survival

Postby Tazrae on May 14th, 2020, 7:56 pm

Tazrae winced as Randal's laughter reached her. "You saw that?" She said as she stood there undignified looking at the mess of the hammock. The future Innkeeper didn't look up or over at the Founder. Her first fear was that he was thinking he'd made a mistake accepting her into the Settlement and loaning her the money for the Inn. What kind of Innkeeper would she be if she couldn't hang simple hammocks?

"I did indeed. It's okay. I'd rate it a ten on the landing... at least you didn't break anything but your pride." He said, then walked more fully into the camp. He had a bundle of some sort of long yellow fruit over his shoulders and a mesh bag of what looked like the strangest plants she'd ever seen.

"I came back to bring you a bundle of bananas, some mangos, pineapple, and some papaya. These things grow wild all over the settlement and I figured you'd want to know they were edible." He said, setting down the mesh bag and carefully unloading it into a generous pile at the base of one of the trees.

"Need some help? I'm handy with more than building Inns." He added, chuckling slightly as he surveyed how she had her lines set up. "You know, most of the hammock hanging is in the knotwork.... the other half is in picking a good set of trees. You did well there. Hammocks are usually thirteen to fifteen feet long and you want a tree spread of at least fifteen to twenty ... a few feet further apart than your hammock is long." He added, then carefully joined her in untying the ropes tied awkwardly around each palm.

"Thank you for the fruit. I've never seen anything like it so I wouldn't have recognized it." She said thoughtfully, studying the pile as she untied the lines furthest from it. "I have no idea what I'm doing.... but I'm trying." She added, almost defensive, as Randal nodded.

"First off.... you need to be willing to cut your rope. You used all the same rope and tied it up so that you didn't have to cut it. Juli sells rope by the feet and you will need to have various lengths for various things, Tazrae." Randal instructed, gesturing to the palm trees and then to the hammock. " First things first... cut the tree binding pieces long enough so they can wrap around the trees two or three times. More is always better than less." He added, pulling out the length of rope he meant and hacking it off the hemp coil with one of his larger knives he drew from its belt sheath. He cut a second length, then showed her how to tie a loop and a knot in the end.

"Start by tying a single figure eight in the rope two feet from its end. Pass the free end through any tie-in point if desired. Retrace the original eight with the free end leaving a loop at the bottom of the desired size. Pull all four strands of rope to cinch down the knot. Then take the loose end and tie a backup knot in it for added security to your stopper knot." He said, then demonstrated that knot as well.

Randal wrapped the free end of the rope twice around the length of rope above the knot, working the rope away from the figure eight and towards where the line would be around the tree. Then he slipped the free end back through the loops he made towards the primary knot. Then all he had to do was tighten the backup knot down to the line.

"You try." He said, handing her the other rope. Tazrae wasn't a slacker on paying attention and was fairly good with her hands so tying the figure eight and passing the rope back through wasn't hard. When she got to the backup knot though, she wrapped it three times instead of two, forcing him to stop her and have her unwrap one loop. Then, she passed the line back through towards the figure-eight knot and pulled it tight.

"Very good. Now... go up as high as you can... over your head... and wrap this rope around the tree. Run the free side through the loop and pull the whole thing tight against the palm. I like doing it above a natural bulge or imperfection on the trunk to help hold it up that high. You want the loop around the tree tight." Randal instructed, him on one palm showing her, then Tazrae moving to another palm copying what he was doing. She had to jump a little to flick the rope around the palm as high as Randal had it, but in the end, she got it fastened on and the free end pulled through the loop.

"Now, tie another figure eight with a backup knot in the free end just a foot or so from where it cinches to the tree." he instructed. She did as he said. Then he turned, gathered the hammock with its rope end, and ran that rope up through the dangling loop. Tazrae copied him again on her end and then tied another figure-eight knot only this time through the existing figure-eight knot from the other rope. The hammock was then swaying about four feet off the ground.

"Thanks!" She said, admiring the handiwork and thinking how simple it was after all if someone knew what they were doing. Randal nodded, smiling. "You want about eighteen inches off the ground for about every hundred pounds you put in this hammock. At this height two of you can swing in it with zero danger of ground contact. Being up off the ground keeps you away from snakes, scorpions, spiders, and any other sort of insect that might sting or bite... and if you go high enough away from predators too. Snakes might crawl down the lines, but hemp rope is rough and they don't like the texture." He added, then bent to pick up a banana.

"I really appreciate the help." She said, giving the hammock an experimental swing as if it were a baby cradle before she turned to him. Then her eyes widened as he peeled the fruit, and began to eat it. Tazrae had never seen anything like it.... and stared.

"I think you'll find bananas delicious." He said around a mouthful of the fruit. Then he gestured up the hill beach towards the settlement. "In a few days when you are running low, I'll show you where to pick your own." He said thoughtfully. Taz nodded, offering him a smile.

"Thank you... I don't know what to say." She admitted, touched he'd come to bring her fruit and then offered her the help. Sykians were unique. They were all very friendly and knowing.

"I'm just glad you want to start an Inn here. It's a good idea. And frankly, it makes our settlement more of a town and less of a collection of claims." he added, before tipping his hat and walking off, still eating the half-peeled fruit. Tazrae watched him go before walking over and trying her own banana. It wasn't like anything she'd ever eaten and frankly... like he said... it was delicious.

Word Count: 1258
Image
"A mark of an open mind is being more committed to your curiosity than your conviction.
The goal of learning is not to shield old views against new facts, but to revise old views with new facts.
Ideas are possibilities to explore, not certainties to defend."


Garden Beach Syka The Protea Inn

"Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence, it speaks. Listen to your heart, it knows."
User avatar
Tazrae
Be savage, not average.
 
Posts: 1335
Words: 1916653
Joined roleplay: May 3rd, 2020, 2:02 pm
Location: Syka
Race: Human
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Journal
Plotnotes
Medals: 5
Mizahar Grader (1) Overlored (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
Syka Seasonal Challenge (1)

Outfitting For Survival

Postby Tazrae on September 2nd, 2020, 10:18 pm

Grades!


Tazrae:

+5 Observation, +1 Planning, +1 Interrogation, +5 Wilderness Survival, +1 Cleaning, +1 Construction, +1 Hatchet

Juli: Appearance and Mannerism, Syka: The Mercantile, WS: Setting Up A Tent, WS: Building A Fire, WS: Deciding Best Location For A Shelter, Construction: How To Make A Homemade Broom, Lars: Appearance And Mannerism, Randal: Appearance And Mannerism, WS: Spreading Ash To Prevent Ant/Scorpion/Spider Invasions, WS: Building A Fire Ring, WS: Setting Up A Hammock, WS: Bananas, Pineapple, Mango and Papaya Appearance & Taste, WS: Tying A Figure 8 and Stopper Knot
Image
"A mark of an open mind is being more committed to your curiosity than your conviction.
The goal of learning is not to shield old views against new facts, but to revise old views with new facts.
Ideas are possibilities to explore, not certainties to defend."


Garden Beach Syka The Protea Inn

"Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence, it speaks. Listen to your heart, it knows."
User avatar
Tazrae
Be savage, not average.
 
Posts: 1335
Words: 1916653
Joined roleplay: May 3rd, 2020, 2:02 pm
Location: Syka
Race: Human
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Journal
Plotnotes
Medals: 5
Mizahar Grader (1) Overlored (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
Syka Seasonal Challenge (1)


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