Solo A Forest Found II

[Crylon Stonecraft]

31 Winter 520 N & A Challenge Day 1 Continued It did not take long following along in the direction before Crylon saw his outer marker. It was not quite in line with the stream though, and so sighting back to the initial marker he dug in with his heel and scraped up some dirt, and then went and fetched the outer marker from its spot stuck int he dirt. Then going back to his scuff mark he replanted it with a thrust of his left arm. Now, Crylon smiled to himself as he thought, he had two markers. One that was where he had started. And another second one that was in the direction from that starting spot and the route to the stream. One possible known spot, and another known spot of the stream. With a third he could confirm his position on the map and take a rest for a moment. But first things first he needed to fix his position. Snapping off another branch with his left arm, Crylon sat at his starting point while he worked the wood, twisting and molding the wood like a sculptor would clay. Not with as much finesse, since only one of his hands could mold the material, but still similar to such a task. Like before he stretched and pushed out the material, making it longer until it formed a point of sorts. Then he flipped it over and repeated the process on the other end. Stretching, pulling, and making a point. Sort of. Frowning Crylon considered what he should do to differentiate this marker from the other, and settled on gripping the middle and twisting the wood at its midpoint to give it an odd melted waxy look. It would make sense to him upon close inspection, which was all that mattered to Crylon, and was enough to help him find his way. Standing again Crylon took out the map, considering each spots relative position. He thought he was here, at this small x. And the stream he thought was here... Which was in this direction... And if that was true then this other stream was here... And in... This direction, Crylon thought to himself, holding up a hand and pointing. Getting to his feet Crylon marched out ten paces, the same distance from the central point as the original outer marker, stopping on the spot. This would serve as another outer known point, and as a guide post once he confirmed its placement in comparison to the other outer post and the central point. With another shove of his strengthened left arm Crylon pushed it into the grass and dirt, before continuing onward. This time he focused more on keeping a consistent direction than watching for something, since he was simply checking that the stream was where he thought it was rather than searching for a completely unknown landmark. This took a few chimes of walking carefully before the sound of water came into earshot, marking his nearing his destination. WC: 493

[Crylon Stonecraft]

Continuing onward Crylon kept his eyes and ears open, until soon enough he came upon another stream. Here he stopped and took out the rough map he had, and carefully examined it. If the stream here ran like so... And was this spot on the map... And this other stream he first found was here... Running as such... Then he had started over here... Which was the smaller x. Letting out another sigh of relief Crylon whispered his thanks to the divine again, glad he had worked out his position. Now he knew where he had begun, where the small x was, and other landmarks close to it. And using that he could figure out which way on the map was north, or more so which way that was up or north on the map was up or north on the ground. Taking a few moments he considered the two markers he had planted, along with the central starting marker, and realized that if all of those were as they were... Then north was this way... Tracing along north to the larger X, Crylon reasoned out how he would need to go. But he also knew he would need to prepare for travel, since the other X was a bit away and not something he could get to just that night. Bending down he moved to get a drink of water from the stream, it surely being clean as the other one was, but noticed a bit of a odd smell. Dipping a single figure he brought it up to his nose, and noticed a very subtle scent. There was something off about the water, though he was unsure why. Odd to Crylon's mind, since they were both so close... Following along the streams and the bodies of water, Crylon figured out where each came and went, finally realizing the problem. Both of the streams seemed to end at the pond. But the other stream had been moving towards the pond, likely feeding it from a spring or such underground source of water. This one though did not end at the pond, but began there. This one was traveling south, not easy to tell without looking closely at the water and knowing everything's position on the map. While the other was a pure source going into the pond or lake or whatever, this one was from water having rested in the pond... And containing some contaminant which gave it a smell... As he still felt fine from the other water apparently this bit was clean and that bit was not. Crylon mentally noted that to himself on the version of the map in his head, overlaying those notes atop the actual physical markings. Good and clean to use here... Not good or clean to use there... Replacing his map in his bag Crylon made his way back to the initial starting point, where he planned to set up some sort of camp. WC: 492

[Crylon Stonecraft]

Now that he was not so focused on keeping his direction, knowing if he went in the same general direction he would end up back at the starting point, Crylon began to examine the plants in the forest more. He saw for one that he was not completely alone, at least not in terms of life. He saw a squirrel climbing a tree holding a nut, a rabbit vanish into a hole, and a bird stare at him from a branch. He also saw various plants, flowers, buds, and protuberances. One thing that caught his attention was some berries, red and bright and which made his stomach rumble. He was unsure how long he had been there, but it had certainly been bells, and he had not eaten since the day before. Moving closer Crylon saw that there was a bush, covered in flowers and bright red berries. The hue made Crylon think of some strawberries he had seen before, bright vibrant things that were sweet. It made sense if one plant was red and fruiting and was safe, perhaps this one was as well? Picking one off the bush Crylon sniffed, not noticing any strong scent. Then he licked it, not finding much out since it had a smooth surface without much taste either. Finally he carefully bit into the berry, feeling it burst in his mouth. It was not quite liquid, but did have some juice within along with thick pulpy innards. Once that was gone he was left with a small hard bit, a speed which he spit out. The taste was odd. Not quite sweet, but not quite sour, a bit tangy and sour but not dis pleasingly so. Grabbing a few more Crylon popped them into his mouth, biting and chewing the pulp before spitting out the seeds. He then took a pull from his waterskin, washing the redness of the juice away with some clean water. Not quite a meal but better than nothing, Crylon headed back to the starting point. This did not take him long, as he soon saw bits of forest which he felt where familiar. That done Crylon set about his next task, starting a fire. Walking about he tapped at trees, trying to find a dead or dry one. He knew from seeing wood worked before that fresh wood was wetter inside than old dried wood, and it made sense to him that wetter wood would burn less well than dried out wood. Rapping his knuckles he felt for the subtle difference in touch and sound, using his right hand for this due to its increased sensitivity compared to his enhanced left limb. After a few chimes of this he found one that felt and sounded different, and using his left hand promptly gripped and snapped the dead wood at the base. The wood cracked and snapped in his vice like grip, separating from its base within the ground. He then dragged this back to the starting point, and began breaking it apart. Snapping off branches one by one, piling these up, and then using his foot and his left hand in conjunction to apply pressure and snap the length of the dead tree-ling along its core. At the end he was left with a pile of branches, along with some thicker chunks of trunk piled next to it. As he was considered his next steps Crylon felt a piercing pain in his gut, and a surging in his chest, and rushed to get away from the spot he had marked as his base. However before he got even ten steps he felt the surging increase, and felt the wet thickness leaving him as a great emptying occurred. As he fell to his knees and retched Crylon absentmindedly noticed the odd look of the liquid dyed red and bits of pulpy redness leaving his throat. Much more, it felt, than he had consumed. WC: 654

[Crylon Stonecraft]

For the next few chimes Crylon spent his time on his hands and knees heaving. After getting sick up a few times nothing continued to come out, but his stomach seemed insistent on turning itself inside out. After a few more chimes this finally settled, and Crylon was able to catch his breath. Taking out his waterskin Crylon rinsed off his mouth as best he could, and then rinsed out the inside before spitting out the odd red liquid residue that remained. Once that was done he took a small sip of the water, feeling his stomach still roiling inside of him. Note to self, Crylon thought, red berries here are not like strawberries and are not safe to eat. Shaking his head Crylon tried to mentally put the past moment out of his head, but finding the first thing he tried to eat was malicious was not so easy. He knew if he was to stay here long he would need to eat, but he was unsure what. Hunting was not really an option, he had no tools let alone knowledge of how to use them, and even if he did he had no idea how to prepare them and cook them. But before that... Turning to the piles of wood Crylon knew his next task was to start a fire. He had branches to feed the fire, and pieces of the small dead trees trunk, which would burn easier than live wood. But he still needed something else to burn to begin with and start the flame... Looking around he noticed something on the ground, dead and dried leaves littering the ground which were likely from prior years but due to a lack of rain or something wetting them were dried out still... That could serve. He carefully picked through the leaves, finding most under the top layer were wet and not suitable to his needs. Only the top layer seemed dry in any given spot, likely as it was not protected by an upper layer from the sun and wind. Eventually he had gathered enough of these that he had a small pile, which he placed next to the others. Picking a spot close to a tree Crylon used his hands to scrap away any loose leaves, keeping at it until only dirt was left in a patch about three feet wide. Wide enough, he felt, to use as a fire spot. Once he got the fire going he could find some stones and things to set around it and keep the flames from getting out, or perhaps even to shape into some tools, but first he wanted a fire going and growing. Keeping all of the three piles within reach Crylon set down several leaves, took out the flint and steel he had, and began to rub and strike the edge of the steel against the flint to send sparks going. Once, twice, three times, and he saw a spark hit a dry leave, for a moment burning!... And then going out as a chill wind blew through the forest. Letting out another sigh Crylon shook his head, rethinking his attempt. WC: 525

[Crylon Stonecraft]

Getting up from the spot and setting aside his tools, Crylon considered the trees around him. Live, live, live... Knocking his knuckles against a bigger tree a bit further away he found it was also dead. Good for use later... But for now. Looking at it from one way, then the other, he drew back his left arm and then swung it at the tree like a club. Nothing dramatic happened on the impact, but the bark did crack from the impact. Another strike, then one more after that, and a few chunks came loose. Grabbing the edges of this new opening Crylon pulled, showing his left hands fingers underneath the new lip and tearing and forcing his way in. The softer dead wood was no match for his ungiving Izurdin graced fingers, sending chunks of the outer bark falling outward from his push. He kept at this for another chime or two till he had a decent piece of the trees face denuded. Gathering all of the bark chunks Crylon moved back tot he fire storage and made a fourth pile of the bark. Thinking of it like a forge or a chimney, Crylon began building a simple thing of the bark. A wide flat piece for the base, with two more pieces making up sides when leaned against each other. Sort of like a pyramid, but with one face open. Using this open face he crunched up several leaves and placed them within, then set another whole leaf inside. Finally he picked up his flint and steel again. Angling the tools so that, he hoped, the sparks would go into the confined opening, Crylon began moving again. Once, twice, three times, with many of the sparks going wide. Finally one landed within the enclosure, landing on a bit of leaf and sparking into life. Bending down Crylon used his body to block the final side of the pyramid, while softly blowing into it to feed it air. Just like a forge and bellows. Too much wind and it went out, but not enough and it starved. Slowly the spark spread, becoming more flame than spark, and then another, and then many of the leaf pieces were burning quickly. Once this got going Crylon fed in small bits of bark he broke off until these too were burning. Little chips easily catching aflame and burning through. But eventually... The flames intensified, and the surrounding bark enclosure caught aflame. These were thicker bits of dead bark, not crisping and burning through in an instant like the leaves and smaller chips. With that done he began adding in bits of branches, snapping them off and feeding them into the flame. After a bit the flaming enclosure collapsed, more a heap of burning material. With that done Crylon moved in more bits of wood, slowly getting them bigger. With more bits catching he then added in some larger trunk pieces, pyling them in an open aired and sided pyramid, or the frame of one. He piled more pieces along this to solidify it, and once the fuel within caught this larger structure alight he knew the flames would hold. Setting a few more pieces on it to catch aflame Crylon got up and began looking for some stones which he could use to surround the fire circle. WC: 555

[Crylon Stonecraft]

As he moved about the woods looking for stones, Crylon slowly found some and placed them in his bag one by one. He did not want pebbles, only bigger ones, which meant passing over many. Finally when he realized there were not enough big enough close to the camp Crylon headed back to the clean stream to find some on the way and around that spot. While traveling he considered his needs and what he would do next. He was not overly concerned about the cold. He had the cloak in his bag, but beyond that he was an Isur. They tended on the thicker skinned and boned side, and he did not often feel the true fullness of cold soak into him. Plus the temperature seemed moderate, not enough to warrant a full house. He was more worried about rain, both for it to soak him and to put out his fire. If nothing else, Crylon reasoned, he would need a covering to keep out rain. Once at the stream he found more rocks, though some were wet or too big. He set a few aside of proper size to dry, but focused on the dry ones of the right dimensions to work and put these in his bag. Before he was done though Crylon made sure to top off his waterskin, noticing the sun was beginning to dip and knowing that night would come soon. Once he had a full load Crylon made his way back to his camp, and began assembling a simple fire break. Nothing more than a small line of stones assembled around the fire circle to stop the full force of any wind, and to keep the fire from getting out. This reminded Crylon of masonry and building a smithies chimney, and so he smiled as he assembled the stones in a rough circle. As he worked he stopped occasionally to feed the flames, only to return to his task. Once he had a proper ring around it Crylon let out a great sigh and rested on the ground for a moment. This did not last long though as he pushed himself to rise and find a spot to lay in. He went over the area and denuded it of wet leaves and small stones, finishing by sweeping his hand over the area several times until no further things were found. Nestled with a tree on one side and the fire on the other, Crylon took out the cloak and wrapped himself in it. He was tired in truth, and even an Isur's endurance had limits. Particularly his, seeing as he was not an overly physical or combative Isur. The shelter for rain would need to wait till tomorrow, as would food. He was tired, and his limbs ached. Between his moving back and force, hauling wood and stone, getting sick all over the place, and general exertions, he needed to rest and recuperate. He only hoped his stomach would feel better in the morning, and he would find something other than water to fill it. Drifting off to sleep quickly Crylon muttered a quick prayer to Izurdin and Priskil, before falling into slumber. WC: 530

[Alric Lysane]

Your Grades

Crylon Stonecraft

Skills

Body Building – 3
Cartography – 2
Carving – 1
Endurance – 1
Foraging – 2
Land Navigation – 2
Logic – 2
Wilderness Survival – 4


Lores

Foraging: Creating Kindling
Foraging: Finding Berries
Foraging: Red Berries, Not Like Strawberries
Land Navigation: Differentiated Markers
Wilderness Survival: Bark Fire Pit Construction
Wilderness Survival: Making A Basic Campsite
Wilderness Survival: Notice Dry/Wet Wood
Wilderness Survival: Notice Stagnant Water
Wilderness Survival: Starting A Fire