Chapter 1: Landfall

[SirLoganofGilead]

Oliver's teeth clenched when the 'lacking in intelligence' comment came out.  He had been hearing similar things his whole life, and had at one time, had enough of a temper to do something about it.  Instead, he let the comment slide by and responded honestly.  "I assumed you didn't know anything about surviving in the wild, because you are acting like you don't.  Arguing isn't getting either task done though."  

He turned his attention to McCuddy.  "You don't need to be good with weapons to help search for shelter or food.  If you see something dangerous you can point that out too." He started heading north, it was as good a direction as any.

[TheWhitefire]

"Good. Let's get going." McCuddy fell in step with Oliver after grabbing a bag and canteen from his makeshift clinic, heading north as well.

[Powderhorn]

Day 1, Late Night

It takes the day to go about fifteen miles north, reaching what is the tip of a large bay.  Feeding into the bay is a shallow stream, but the water is clear and cool.  The ground continues north about five more miles before hitting ocean once again, but there seems to be a fair bit of ground to cover before you discover the extent of this island.

 

[SirLoganofGilead]

Oliver stopped when he saw the bay and the stream.  With those two features alone, it looked far more suitable for a short-term set-up than their landing spot.  "Unless someone has a better idea, this looks like the kind of place we were looking for.  We should set up some quick sleeping shelters in the tree line, the trees will help with the elements.  Then we can spend some time doing some recon before we make long-term plans, but I think we should have everything brought here for now.  We can have 10 or so of us start building quick shelters while everyone else starts moving cargo."  He pauses as he looks at the others.  "Unless any of you have a smarter idea.  I know the basics of surviving, but logistics?  We always had a guy for that."

[8w_gremlin]

Brother Koji

"Sounds good" Koji walks up the to the highest point around "what do you recon, over there, on the rocky part, high above tide and flooding" he asks Oliver, seeking his wisdom, and guidance, offering an olive branch for the mornings disagreement. "or perhaps up there?" pointing to an equally safe location high above flood, or tide. 

Whichever Oliver picked Koji moved up and started work on clearing and setting up temporary shelters for the three score people. "Hey Stavard, how do you want to work, and McCuddy, where would be good for you to practice your medicine?"

With Olivers and the others assistance Koji sets to work

Edited February 4, 2023 by 8w_gremlin (see edit history)

[matt_s]

  

Stavard, Carpenter's Mate

Stavard took a look around. This did seem like as good a place to camp as any. Freshwater and access to the sea were the two things they need most.

Aye, I reckon this'll do nicely. The sea will feed us, and the stream will wet our throats. It's too late of course for the return trip, and 15 miles is a rather long portage for all our equipment. I say a makeshift raft or other boat will serve us well to move our gear from the landing spot to here. The food and powder we might want to carry, that stuff I'd rather not get wet at all. Let us make camp for the night a good distance from the treeline so we can see any critters that wish to give us an unwelcome surprise.

For the boat, there are enough carpenters and sailors in the broader company I think it will be no trouble to get something serviceable thrown together.

First things here we should do, build a palisade surrounded by a trench, high and deep as we can make them. Equally important, we ought to dig a latrine, and punish severely anyone who dares to either conduct their business upstream or gather water downstream of facilities aforementioned. A midden should also be well outside the palisade, both for sanitation and to avoid the unwanted trespass of woodland critters.

The basics of construction can run concurrent to the portage. I can work on and supervise if need be the basic construction of our encampment.

 

 

 

[SirLoganofGilead]

Oliver nodded a bit at the last part.  "Not sure we are going to get much done tonight.  I do have to disagree about staying on the beach though, especially with very little shelter available.  Animals are a concern, but people are always a bigger threat in my experience.  If there are any kind of natives in this place they will notice fires in the open more than under trees, and at least being at the edge of the tree line means they can't stand at the edge of the tree line and fire arrows into our camp.  I will defer to your own final decisions on that though.  I can take the first watch. either way."  

Oliver checks both pistol and rifle to make sure they are ready and secure.  

[TheWhitefire]

"I'm inclined to agree. Strong winds blow off the water, likely as not to set any structures we build to falling on our heads. As for my clinic..." He looks about. "Away from the privvy, at any rate. And somewhere dry, and easy to access." He shrugs, and sets about making a simple leanto.

[8w_gremlin]

Brother Koji

Brother Koji nods, and moves to the tree line and starts to make a small camp with the tents and canvas. ensuring that they have are protected as best they can from the wind and from the deeper jungle sides. He gathers some wood and starts to dig a couple of holes for the fire, one to feed into the fire from the bottom, the other for the fire itself, surrounding the hole with some larger stones to keep the warmth for longer. 

Once set up he helps the other colonists set up thier encampments too, aiding where he can. 

"the wind changes direction in the morning and evening, as the land warms up and cools. When we have the supplies here, I'll get to making more permanent shelters, any suggestions on designs or types, like keeping the ground clear, raising them up a little to stop vermin, insects, and water getting in?" he asks the group so as to get a clearer consensus of what they all envision

"So shelter, water, and food, the rock pools at low tide might be good to gather shell fish etc, and we can make some spears, and perhaps nets easy enough, what else should we make top priority? As we have two craftsmen would it be best to have two projects on the go?" he adds

Edited February 7, 2023 by 8w_gremlin (see edit history)

[Powderhorn]

Day 2, Early Morning

     The morning dawns cool, with a cold wind blowing from the north and out to sea.  Frozen digits fumble with small objects, and a small patina of rust is visible on any exposed metals.  Still, the night has passed quietly.  Though coyotes could be heard in the distance, none came to investigate this new group.  How close or how far they were is unclear, as the wind carried their voices through the night.

     The morning brings different sounds though - bird calls that are unrecognizable to your ears.  A buzzing of insects from the woods.  A rapid tapping whose origin is uncertain.

     It is, all in all, peaceful.  However the uncertainty of food, and the mysteries shrouded beyond the horizon, are easy reasons for someone to be on edge.

 

[matt_s]

  

Stavard, Carpenter's Mate

Stavard tries to recall if they saw any signs of human habitation besides their own. People tended to leave unsubtle hints of their passage, whether ashes of a fire, crude tools, or other detritus.

I think we should definitely be wary of where we camp, and be sure that the camp will not flood during a high tide. My vote is to backtrack to the main landing spot, blazing a trail as we go, and then arrange for people and goods to make the journey by foot and by boat. My guess is that fishing will be our best source of food until we can get some crops planted, if indeed this island is hospitable to agriculture. Furthermore, boats are probably our best means of transportation by hopping along the coast rather than blundering through the densely forested interior. Once we have a quorum of sorts here, the impetus of survival will motivate hard labor to get us settled.

 

 

 

[SirLoganofGilead]

Oliver woke early despite having taken the first watch.  It had given him enough time to settle his mind, grab some water, and ready himself for a hard day's labor.  "I think we should all make one run to the equipment to help get most of the things here, then allow experts to start the work that is important while the others continue getting the gear here.  Laborers, soldiers, and sailors can keep moving things.  The surveyor and cartographer can start figuring out the best spot to make a permanent camp.  I can take the hunters and we can start setting up passive sources for meat.  Nets for fish and traps for other prey.  We should hurry back though."  He stood, checking his rifle and pistol again.  He was also making sure they were clear in their holsters.  

[Powderhorn]

Dungeon Master

Those searching for signs of intelligent habitation, such as camp fires or intelligently shaped plants find no such evidence in this location.

 

[TheWhitefire]

McCuddy seems unsettled as he wakes up the next day, constantly eyeing the treeline.

"Anyone else hear all that... screaming last night? Like yelping, or howling. But not like any animal I've ever heard before." He says, his voice weary from his lack of sleep. "Whatever it is, lets hope it's friendlier than it sounds at any rate."

With a shrug, he listens to the discussion about what to do for the day. "We should set out back to our landing site in any case. Get the bodies and goods over here so we can dig in and start setting up a proper base of operations, before we get too carried away with exploring. Plus, then we get to decide who will test all the fun new fruits and berries we find so I can take notes on which ones are toxic!"

[Powderhorn]

Day 2, Late Afternoon

     It is a relatively quick walk back now that you've made the journey one way.  Those who remained behind took advantage of the time spent scouting for a settlement, and have inventoried the supplies as listed - checking for rot or damage and repackaging them for transport.  A few people spent time fishing, and were able to turn up a lot of crabs.  A crab boil is already going by the time you arrive back to the disembarkation point, and from what the fishermen say, it sounds like crab will be relatively plentiful from the bay, though you can quickly imagine getting tired of both the taste and your hands getting cut up by breaking them open.

     There was another small party of hunters who went to the interior to try to scare up some meat.  However, at this point they have not yet returned - though their comrades do not seem to be too distraught, as it is still sun-up.