[Flashback] How to Survive a Night in the Woods (Solo)

[Tessa Poe]

Timestamp: 27th of Sping 507 - Early Morning
Location: The Bronze Woods

Tessa was more than a little nervous as she followed Gregir along what she guessed was some kind of animal trail. They'd left the main road a couple of bells ago to track through the forest and she was pretty sure she'd never find her way back out of it without help. But then she was with Gregir, a man who she'd never known to show even the slightest hint of worry. It was sort of annoying how at home he looked wherever he went actually. Even now he never seemed to put a foot wrong, while she seemed to be forever tripping and stumbling over every last root and muddy bit of ground. She wasn't even sure why she was out here, she'd been sort of looking forwards to a bit of a break after the caravan had gotten back to Syliras, but then her Da had woken her at the crack of dawn and sent her out here with Gregir with her gear to... just walk apparently. Every time he'd asked him where they were going all he'd said was simply 'you'll see lass', which wasn't much of an answer at all. Her Da must've had a good reason for sending her out here, he usually had a good reason for everything he asked her to do, she'd just have to be patient and wait to find out what it was.

"Alright lass this'll do. Tell me, what d'you see round here?" She looked up at Gregir, wondering what on earth he was talking about as she slowly looked around. They were in the forest, somewhere. The trail they'd been following was narrow trail, the trees pressing in from either side with the undergrowth growing wild about their feet... and that was about it.
"Ummm... trees? Lots and lots of trees..."
Gregir turned, tutting as he smiled at her fondly "And that's what we're going to change, going to train you how to see the forest properly, make it so you can keep yourself going in here no matter what happens."
"What do you mean Gregir?"
"I mean if you get separated from the rest of us, anything can happen out on the roads so it's best to be prepared for it, even if it never happens."
Tessa blinked rapidly at the thought, it wasn't a nice one. Getting seperated from everyone would mean she was lost... and that meant... she swallowed heavily, driving those thoughts away as she always did. Now really wasn't the time, out here in the woods.

You'd never see them coming though... would you? a treachorous little voice whispered in the back of mind as she tensed, eyes flicking round as she strained to hear anything out of the ordinary over the usual background noise of the forest. There was nothing though, just her and Andre. She looked back to him, half to reassure herself that his familiar solid presence was still there before replying.

"Oh... 'kay, so what do we do first?"
"First and most important thing? Never panic. It's a cool head that'll keep you breathing if you find yourself in a bad spot. Soon as you start to panic you start to make mistakes. Maybe you hurt yourself, maybe you lose some of your kit, don't have to tell you that either of those things'll make it harder for yourself. Never underestimate the Wilds lass, wherever you are, it's better to be too careful than not careful enough."

Tessa nodded, listening to Gregir intently as he talked, she'd been asking for this for what seemed like forever, she'd always known she'd have to learn it... despite what might have been waiting out here, and now at last they'd listened and given her the chance to do it "Alright... no panicking... what's next?"
"For today we'll say you've got all your regular gear, except your tent, food and water. Later on we'll start taking other bits and pieces away from you but since we're just starting out you'll most likely need it all."
"'Kay... so what do we do?"
"Water first, most important thing. You can go for weeks without food, it's not pleasant but it won't kill you, but without water? You've got maybe a couple of days before you're on your back. That's why you've got to find water first. If you're looking for enough to keep yourself going in the morning just wrapping a shirt round your hands and dragging it through the bushes and grass will soak it in the dew. You take that and squeeze it out into your mouth and you'll get a few mouthfuls of water. That's more for emergencies though, you won't get nearly enough to keep you going long term."
"So I just soak my clothes and drink from them? Does that really work?" Her disbelief was practically dripping from her words as looked at him questioningly.
"Not well, but it'll do. Like I said that's for emergencies. Most of the time round here you'll need to find a stream or a pond. That way you'll have more than enough water for yourself. Course if it rains just get everything that'll hold some water and lay it out to catch it, get some big leaves too and place them round the edge of them, it'll funnel the water in for you and fill whatever you've got a lot quicker. You got the vial your Da gave you?"
"Yes, it's just..."

She tailed of as she reached into her coat, hands searching the shapes pressed against the many pockets in her coat, things tended to be in the last place she looked most of the time, she'd really have to get round to organising it a little better.
"You don't have to get it out, just remember to put a drop of that in with any water you get out here, it'll stop you getting sick. Last thing you want to do is get sick out here."
"Alright Gregir... but how do I find a stream?"
"Animal trails are your best bet for that, they'll head for water, and be a damn sight better at finding it than you are. Look at the ground on the trail, see if there's any recent tracks, good thing round here is that what with the ground being soft they're not that hard to spot. If they look big don't go down it, might be something at the other end you don't want to run into. If they're fresh though you know something's gone that way recently, and there's a chance at least it's heading for water. Course you don't just look for the prints they leave behind, anything's a clue to where an animal's gone before. Fur caught on bushes, signs that something's been eating, like teeth marks in the leaves and grass, if the barks been rubbed smoother by something passing by often, even their shyke'll tell you."

Tessa's face scrunched a little at his mention of the animals doing their business, not quite sure if she should believe him about that. "Right, so if I'm lost find an animal trail and hope it leads me to some water? But don't go down it if it looks like something big's gone that way?"
"It's about all you can do, if the season's right you might find some fruit you can squeeze, it'll help keep you going again, but it's not perfect. You got all that lass?"
She nodded, looking around where they'd stopped and wondering they were going to do next. "Alright then, let's find us some water. Lead on lass."
"Ummm... alright... but..."
"No buts, we're out here for you to practice, so lets go find some water. Once we've done that we'll talk about getting some shelter together."

[Tessa Poe]

She took a couple of steps forwards on the trail while carefully scanning the forest to either side... she really didn't know what she was supposed to be looking for round here. It was all just trees, and bushes, and mud. Seriously how were you supposed to see any of the things Gregir had been talking about? Honestly this was just pointless, the pair of them would just stand here 'til it got dark and then he'd take them back and... wait, what was that? Tessa crossed the trail in a couple of quick strides and knelt, peering at a tree. There was a patch of its bark there that was smoother, shinier than the rest. She’d only spotted it glimmering slight because there seemed to be a break in the canopy above her, letting a little more of the early morning sun through.
“Is this the sort of thing you meant Gregir?” she asked, pointing at the spot.
“That’d be one of them lass, you see how the grass and such down there’s bent to one side too?”
“Oh… yeah it is!”
“That shows something’s been coming through here regularly, since the branches up top aren’t bothered by it either it means whatever it is isn’t too big. Good spot there lass.”
She beamed in reply and eased herself through the undergrowth and lower branches along the small trail, finding that it cleared a bit once you were past the first bit. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure he was following her and was about set off when she realised something.
“You brought us here on purpose, didn’t you? You knew this trail was here.”
“This and about four others lass, though one of them looks like it’s not being used anymore. You Da’d kill me if I took you out somewhere I didn’t know, and I’d not put you at risk regardless.”
That thought was particularly comforting as they made their way along, ducking under the low hanging branches and squeezing through areas where the trail was barely wide enough to pass through. At least she knew that they’d not get lost, Gregir could always lead them back out again. It was after about half a bell as far as she could tell of tramping through the damp undergrowth and she was never able to see more than a few feet ahead, but the sounds of the forest, the birds calling to each other, the Gods knew how many insects buzzing and whatever else they did around her were almost welcoming. There was this strange sense of peace as she wandered along, not hurrying anymore, just enjoying the walk. There probably wasn’t another person around here for miles, no-one to bother her… she could see why Gregir liked to spend so much time out away from the caravan.

Finally though they found it, a little stream trickling though a shelf of rock, bubbling its way merrily along. It wasn’t much, but it’d be more than enough for the two of them.
“See lass? That was easy enough wasn’t it?”
“It was! So does following little trails like that usually work?”
“Ahh the little critters’ll have regular ways they go, usually they’ll go between their burrows, food, and water sources. If you don’t find water one way, try the other. Forest has got plenty of little streams like this one so it should never take you too long to find one. Alright then, now that you’ve found your water, you’ll need some shelter.”
“That’s more important than food too?”
Gregir nodded as he examined the area, sucking his breath through his teeth with a low whistle in thought. “We’ll do something nice and simple, first things first choose your ground lass, look for somewhere clear, if the ground’s a little higher so much the better. It’ll keep water from flooding you out if you get caught in a storm. Stay back from rivers and streams too for the same reason.”
“So… like over there?” Tessa pointed at a small rise that quickly levelled out a few feet from the stream.
“Exactly, that’ll do nicely. All you need for this is some wood, you want to get some nice long branches, and then a whole mess of little ones. You’ll need to make sure you get plenty of little ones though for building a fire. We’ll get to that later on though.”
“Alright… what if there aren’t enough sticks on the ground though?”
“You can always break them off of the trees if they’re thin enough, don’t use your sword to chop them down though, you’ll just blunt the blade.”
The pair of them moved off, eyes down on the ground as they searched for fallen branches, or in Gregir’s case half the time twisting and tearing them off of trees. Soon enough they had a goodly pile stacked in the spot Tessa had chosen as Gregir started to walk her through building a shelter. Following his instructions she started to lay the larger sticks to rest against the tree’s trunk, fanning them slightly to spread it out and ensure there was enough room for her in there. She still wasn’t quite sure how these sticks were supposed to turn into some kind of shelter. When she’d placed enough of them he showed her how to place the smaller sticks across the larger, weaving them in and out of the gaps to give the whole structure some more stability. At first… that didn’t go well, at all. Every time she tried she seemed to knock one of the longer sticks over, which usually took the rest of her ‘shelter’ with it. She growled more than once in frustration before sighing and picking the them all back up, leaning them against the tree before starting over again.
After what seemed like forever she finally had the skeleton of the thing together, and was quite sure she hated it intensely. “Making good progress there lass, course you can just rest the sticks on there but if the wind’s up you might lose the whole lot.”
“Now you tell me!?”
“If a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right, you know that lass” he gave her a cheeky grin as he crouched near a bush and started pulling fallen leaves out from under it, “You need to cover it now, keep the rain out and the heat in. Easiest way is with leaves, that’s why you made the gaps so small. Layer of dry ones, layer of damp ones if you can and then you weigh them down with more of the sticks. Not so bad is it? After that you’ve got somewhere warmish and dryish to spend the night.”

She had to concede he had a point, once she’d finished covering it in leaves and peered inside it did look quite cozy, and it would certainly be better than sleeping in the pouring rain.
“So, what’s next?”
“Getting yourself a fire going, without your flint and steel either. After that we’ll see if we can rustle up some food, sound good?”

[Tessa Poe]

Gregir spent a little time hunting for the right wood to start a fire with while Tessa fussed with her shelter, now that it was up she had to admit she was pretty damn proud of it, she was even sure she could probably build it again too. He came back a couple of chimes later and laid out a largish branch before setting a thinner stick alongside it.
"Alright, come and sit over here. This is one of the easier ways to get yourself a fire going. First off, you need to build a tinder nest for it. Can use anything small and dry for that, grass, twigs, that sort of thing. You wrap it all up together, like this, but you've got to leave it loose enough to catch.
"So... like building a regular fire then?"
"Well... look this is how I was taught, and it's how you're going to be taught, alright?"
She grinned and stuck her tongue out at him, quickly making herself a little tinder nest and setting it down, honestly she wasn't stupid, she knew how to start a fire with her flint and steel.
"Right, now, the wood I brought back? You'll want two bits like that, and you'll want softer wood for the bigger bit, stuff like cedar, or pine, hell any fir tree'll do you just fine too. Now, you cut a groove into the bigger bit about as wide as the smaller one, that smaller one should be something a little tougher, applewood, or beech, you know?"

She nodded as she reached into her pack and pulled one of her daggers, jabbing it into the branch and carefully cutting a long groove along its length, measuing it against the smaller stick he'd brought and finding that it fit just right. Beginner's luck was apparently with her at the moment.
"And now?"
"Now you take the smaller bit, put it into the groove, you push down hard on it and run it back and forth along it. You do that long enough and you'll see some sparks, with your tinder nest at the end of the groove you'll have a nice fire going for yourself in no time. Remember you've got to stack the wood round the timber like a tent too."
"I know! It's not like I've never done that before."
"Just checking lass, have to make sure I'm teaching you right don't I?"
She set to work, the only sound from the pair of them coming from the stick as it rubbed against the groove with a long rasping noise. She didn't see any sparks yet, was it supposed to take this long? Her arms were getting tired too... surely she was supposed to see something by now? And then all at once she saw them, the first little sparks and she started to push the damn stick faster until finally the tinder nest caught. From then on it was just the simple matter of carefully building the fire around it, laying the firewood in a cone over the top of the curling timber as the flames fed merrily on it.
“Well done lass, nice work indeed. So now you’ve got your water, your shelter for the night and a fire going.”
“I thought you said this was the easy way to do it?”
“It is, it’s easier than some of the others I’ll show you later.”
“Can’t wait!” came her slightly sarcastic reply as she gave him a wink, “Food now then?”
“Uhuh, basic rule of thumb for food? You can eat pretty much anything that flies, crawls, swims or runs, as long as you can catch it of course. I know Mother Trevile and your Ma are teaching you about herbs and such, so we won’t go looking for them.”
“You mean… like snails? Or ants?” Tessa couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose a little at that thought. It wasn’t that she was squeamish or anything, more the thought that there had to be better things to eat. Alright, maybe she was a little squeamish.

“Yep, they’ll do you in a pinch, worms too. When you get hungry enough you’ll find everything starts to look tasty.”
“But what about, rabbits or something?”
“Well unless you’ve gotten any good with that toy of yours we’d best see about making a snare or two.”
“Hey! I nearly hit a mountjack with it the other day!”
“And nearly’s any good to who exactly?”
Tessa scowled at him as he laughed and picked through the wood they’d gathered for the fire.
“Alright, two types of snares are probably all you’re going to need to know at the moment. First off, a nice easy one. You got those wires? Good, get a stick, a good thick one, and make a small loop in the wire and put it over the end of the stick, make sure you wrap it round good and tight. Next, make a loop at the other end, wrapping the wire around itself so it’ll still move and tighten if you pull on it. You want to make it just a bit bigger than whatever you’re trying to catch and then you’ve got your snare. Before you use it you’ll want to wash the thing and roll it in some dirt, you need to try and disguise your scent on it otherwise the critters’ll never come near it. All you’ve got to do then is drive it into the dirt over the top of run, a trail or a den, making sure the noose you’ve made is at about head height, then you just wait for them to come to you.”

As he talked Tessa worked, bending the snare wire carefully into position just like he said. First she wrapped it good and tight around the end of a stick, and then she quickly made the noose, leaving enough slack so that'd it pull nicely tight if anything got caught in it. It didn't take too long and when she was done she held it up for his approval.
“Good, real good. The other type of snare’s similar, for that you just need a pair of forked sticks, and you wrap the wire round the middle of another stick. Lay the stick between the two forks, plant those forks either side of a trail or a run and again you just have to wait. Now, come on, let’s go put these snares out and then you can show me what your Ma and Mother Trevile have been teaching you.”
She nodded with a grin, scrambling to her feet, the thought of some nice, hot rabbit or something else like it at the front of her mind. She was starving after the walk and the work they’d done out here today.

[Archelon]

Thread Award "Ah the wonders of natu- Hey look I have a butterfly fror a hat! Sweet deal... Now what was I saying?" And the Results!!!!: Tess : SkillName 1-5 How/why? Wilderness Survival 3 Tracking 2 Land Navigation 2 Observation 3 Socialization 1 Lores: Tracking Knowledge: Animal Trails(poor) Would you like some extra turtle sauce ? : Interesting thread, nice use of some Real world techniques. All in all- excellent job .