Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Kagus]

First of Granite, 1052

That a year should begin with such tragedy.

I am the last remaining member of the expedition that set out from our homeland in search of a new home, to build a fortress that would spark bard's tales throughout the rest of the world.  We dreamt of a towering gate, and magnificient halls lined with exquisitely carved effigies of our ancestors.  That I could still entertain such childish fantasies at my age, I cannot fathom.

When the bandits struck, I was off in the woods to the side of the path my fellows took with the supply wagon, looking for berries and roots to siupplement our dwindling food supplies.  When I heard the screams, I ran back to the path only to see my friends butchered like cattle.

The bandits, goblins mostly, took every scrap of metal they could find, and every piece of food that suited their palate.  They left the broken corpses of my brethren to fester in the noonday sun, the expression of surprise still painted on their blood-soaked faces.  I couldn't bear to look at that expression, that bewildered blankness that made them look like they didn't yet know they were dead.

I knew that all the supplies were in that wagon, and that I could not hope to sustain myself with berries alone, but it still pained me to no end as I salvaged what little had gone unnoticed or unwanted by the goblins.

The flies were just starting to settle on the bodies as I went through what remained of our supplies.  I managed to find some sallted fish that the goblins had apparently disagreed with, along with two barrels of ale which had apparently disagreed with the goblins.  I felt my heart crack at the seams when I found the pet kitten Ilral had brought with her.  The tiny animal was the only intact remnant of that brave dwarf, and so I felt beholden to sheltering it as long as I could.  It was the least I could do to make up for not being there when she truly needed me the most.

And that's what I had.  Some fish, some drink, my grandfather's battle axe which has never left my side, even though I never learned how to use it, the kitten, and my two hunting dogs.    My survival would weigh on these few things.  

The burden, I am sure, will be heavy.  

.

.

[OOC] I felt there hadn't been enough hermit challenges lately, so here I am.  This time, I'm taking a little twist on things, so this guy's going to be building his cabin in the woods, instead of an underground abode.  Here's hoping he doesn't die to the river-fishies.  [/OOC]

[Kagus]

I brought my meager bounty over to a small clearing and tried to clear my head.  If I am to survive in this forest, I am going to need to keep my thoughts together.

My first need would be shelter.  I set up a small hovel that will house my bedding, and I have improvised a small woodshop for my needs.  It is not much, but it will do for now.

With my bedding complete, my second need would be food.  I cannot fool myself into believing that these few slivers of salt-shriveled fish will sustain me.  Although I was never what one might call an herbalist, my grandfather taught me which plants could be eaten safely, and which ones cannot.  It is one of the few lessons of his which I actually took to heart.

If I'd listened to him more, I wouldn't even be in this damned forest.

And so I began picking my way through the scrub around my new home, my 'grand, awe-inspiring fortress'.  

I should never have come.  But I should never delude myself into thinking that I wouldn't have come.  My friends were everything to me, and I couldn't simply let my life walk away from me.  Not knowing would have been worse than the truth that they had met their end tragically.

Although I cannot hope to give them any sort of proper burial, I have given my thanks to them for being my friends throughout the years that we had known each other.

It is all I can give, and I can only hope that it makes their souls rest just a little easier.

[Kagus]

Seventh of Slate, 1052

Prickle berries.  "Hard on the fingers, soft on the tongue", as the saying goes.

Berries may not be the most filling of meals, but I have been sated temporarily.  And there appear to be thousands more in the area, so I feel that I can sustain myself for the time being.

And now to my third and most troubling need.  Drink.

Although there is a river nearby, it is filled with monstrously huge fish that I dare not get too close to.  My ale stocks are shrinking rapidly, so I'll need to find some way of securing an alcohol supply.

It is too warm on the surface for proper brewing, even if I did know my way around a still.  And I have no means with which to dig out a suitable cellar.

My only option then, aside from drinking from the scum-covered ponds nearby, is to build a brewery structure above the ground.  I will eventually need a larger home than this pathetic little hut I currently reside in, so I may as well get started now.  At least this is a task I know a little about, something that I now feel indebted to my father for providing me with.

As my axe strikes into the first tree and sap begins to ooze from the cut, I realize just how long this is going to take me.  I stand there for a moment, watching the amber liquid move ever-so-slowly down the trunk of the tree.  Maybe I should continue on?  Surely there must be a settlement nearby, or a caravan moving through the woods?  

I suck in a deep breath and hold it.  Finally, I let it out in a great sigh, and continue to cut down the tree.  I am in the forest now, and the forest does not look kindly upon the slow.

[Othob Rithol]

::high pitched lispy voice over-emphasizing every syllable::

I saw the gnarled little demon first at the prickle-berry bushes gorging his dimunitive but gorged belly. He ravaged the bushes while I sat, hidden in the trees. He trampled more than he harvested, but in the end none would be left for me to take back to the sanctuary. Think of the starving hedgehogs! The ruffian!

After heading over another clump of bushes that the heathen evidently didn't know about, or perhaps was saving the pleasure of his wanton ways for later, I passed by the clearing he was tainting.

I was aghast! I knew the rotten little things were known to rape the forest, but he had hewn the living foliage into a pathetic shelter, bed, and what appeared to be some sort of tree-torturing shop! I was always under the impression the nasty little creatures built of stone, but he was evidently a more evil sort of pygmy.

Just when I was about the whip out my bow and fill him full of nature-love I was shocked! The half-pint whipped out an ax and sunk it deep into a tree! the lifeblood of the holy plant oozed out slowly onto his ax as he watched, savoring  his foul mockery of the natural divinity! As I turned to go, stunned and nauseated by his unabashed foulness, I heard him, no I heard It, for this being did not deserve identity, let out a sigh of ecstasy before heading deep into his  perverted slaughter!

<good>

[Kagus]

Malachite Eleventh, 1052

Well, I've finished a little brewery room.  The temperature's not what I'd like it to be, but it will have to do.  I've moved my bed in here as well, and I've started taking down the small shack I've been sleeping in.  No need to have perfectly usable wood being useless.

I think this brewery may be set up just in time.  I'm down to the last barrel of ale, and it's beginning to get discouragingly light in the hand.  I may not have a brewer's hand, but a drink is a drink, and I need as many fish-free drinks as I can get.  

I've found a few strawberries along with the prickles, and I'm going to see how gree my beard is by attempting to grow a few of them.  I can probably survive with just gathering, but I don't want to risk having low food stores when winter comes.

So far, I haven't seen so much as a deer come walking through this part of the woods.  It's so quiet here, you'd think you'd gone deaf if you didn't have one very outspoken kitten following you around everywhere.  Although I'm not really a cat dwarf, I'm beginning to grow rather soft for the little bundle of fur.  At least when her claws are retracted into her paws like they should be, and not digging into my back in an impromptu mountain climbing expedition.  

I'm starting to feel someting akin to comfortable here, but I know that it's not safe in the woods.  I may have muscles from my time spent cutting and shaping wood, but mere strength isn't enough to keep you alive out here.  I've got to move, and I've got to move fast.  I'll feel more comfortable when I'm a bit more settled in, and no longer have to worry about whether or not I'm going to have food to put in my mouth come winter.

It's so damn quiet out here...

[Salmeuk]

Great writing.

[Pandarsenic]

Epic. I'm going to have to watch this one...

[martinuzz]

It's Hermit time!

Nice!

[Nesoo]

quote:Originally posted by Salmeuk:
<STRONG>Great writing.</STRONG>

Indeed.

[Lord_Frodo]

Very nice. I hope you wont neglect Death and glory for this one (Or vise versa for that matter   )

[Kagus]

Narr, DnG wil carry on for a long time to come.  When I finally have no more spirit for it, I will request that someone else take up the position of gamekeeper so that it may live on in my absence.  I gots biiiiig plans when I makes a thread, yarr.

Not sure where the "narr" and "yarr" came from.  I just felt like saying them.

.

Malachite Twenty-Fifth, 1052

Hottest time of the year, and my drink supplies are just as low.  At least now I have the ability to make some more.

I'll have to hope that my grandfather was right when he said that "Some dwarves know a pick, some dwarves know an axe, but every dwarf knows a barrel".  Full to the brim with handy and impossible to contain wisdom.

Now if only a few other things were "full to the brim" around here...  I doubt that one can live off of wisdom alone.

I've moved my bed into the brewery, and I've even fashioned a lumpy table and one rather rough stool to sit on, but they're what I've got and you either live with what you've got or you die.

If I'm to live here for any reasonable amount of time, I'll need to be able to hunt, and to defend myself if necessary.  I have a small amount of training with the crossbow, but I doubt that it will be enough to keep me alive for any large amount of time.  I have plenty of wood in this forest, so I will construct a makeshift target and practice my aim.  It's not much, but I can't let my hands forget the feel of a crossbow.

I will need to extend my woodshop in order to accommodate fletching.  I know how to make bolts, and so I know that I will need at least a rudimentary setup for them.

My ale barrel is getting to be quite low.  I'll need to test my skill at brewing soon.

For as lovely as it is in the summer light, this forest still scares me.  It has not yet accepted me as one of its creatures, and that troubles me greatly.  But to dwell on such things will only serve to make me dead sooner than I would like.

I'd best get back to work.

[Kagus]

First of Limestone, 1052

It's a change that's hard to detect, but it's definitely getting colder.  Autumn, and then winter, is coming to my little piece of the forest.

I've set up my little target, and while I won't say I'm as good as I'd like to be, I could still place most of the shots where I wanted them to be.  Or at least somewhere on the target.

With winter coming and my food stocks lower than ever, I'll most likely be needing a steady crossbow hand soon enough.  I can't hope to grow a suitable amount of food at this point, so I'll just have to hunt for my dinner.  I'll set up a chopping block around the back when I get some time.

I've noticed that Pandora, one of my hounds, has been getting a rather saggy belly for some time.  After a time spent bloated with the full swing of pregnancy, she has finally given birth to a small litter.  Two females and one male.  I've named the male 'Saab', but have yet to decide upon names for the females.  I doubt that it would make much difference right now, as they are far too young to do much else than tumble after their mother.

Pax, the father, affects an air of not noticing the fact that he has produced offspring, but when one of the pups finds itself in a compromising position, Pax is always there to get it out.  I find myself thankful for Pax having taken up this duty, as it gives me one less job to do.

I've drained the last of the ale from the barrel.  It is probably for the best, as it was starting to get somewhat stale.  I'll make an attempt at brewing the sprig of wild Longland grass I found into something drinkable.

[valcon]

I love it Kagus, keep this up man =)  only wish i could join in, le sigh

[ March 09, 2008: Message edited by: valcon ]

[Kagus]

Considering this is a hermit game, that might be a little bit difficult...  I won't be receiving visitors for a long, long time.  I'll try and keep you in mind though.

.

Sandstone Twenty-First, 1052

The larches have all turned bright red, the only trees in this area that are not evergreens.  I can't shake the feeling that this vivid red is a warning, telling me to leave the forest which is so obviously not my home.  

Although staying here is an uncertain survival, leaving -particularly now, with winter so close- would be a certain death.  

I've worked with the brewery I set up, and I can proudly say that I didn't ruin everything I put into it.  I was encouraged by my success with the Longland grass, and decided to turn what remained of my strawberry and prickle berry stocks into a more cold-resistant form.  Perhaps I just didn't want to risk drinking that pond scum again...  I still haven't gotten that taste out of my mouth.

I now have a veritable pack of dogs trailing after me, as the puppies always follow Pandora around and Pandora always follows me around.  The puppis have grown significantly in the short time since their birth, and are now happily flopping about with overlarge feet, constantly getting themselves in my way.  I can't bear to get mad at them though, and not only because they have the natural defense mechanism of looking to damned cute to be angry with, but also because they're the only things I can consider a friend out here.  

Aside from the occasional fox and the overly large fish in the river, there really isn't anything out here.  At least nothing that lets me know about it.

I shouldn't think about that.

[valcon]

=(  i wants a fishing hut =(  i guess i can make my own  last time i tried i got wtfpwned by carp though!