Location: Stavanger, Rogaland
Weather: a fresh wind blowing from the northwest, with chilly weather, cloudy skies and a slightly better outlook.
Looking for an acronym for comfortable clo, or clothing insulation, while travelling at an adventurer's pace, then adding it to the list above. I'm thinking perhaps a simpler word, to describe it, like "Ease." Then I could say, "The ease today is 1.61" ~ which it is.
I'm going to deal with the CLO post on Wednesday. For the moment, if people can manage an 'ease' of 1.61, it won't be a bad day for adventuring. At least it isn't raining.
At this point, I don't want to assume anything of the party, so I'll ask ~ are you setting out for the barrow as planned, given the weather?
Party's Answer: Yes
It does not take long for Lothar, hearing Rowan's vague directions to the barrow, to find the right path towards Store Stokka Lake. It is a distance of two miles, that will Lothar's direction will take a little less than three hours. You circumnavigate a small hill just west of Stavanger, then move over rolling country until you reach the lake.
The wind direction swings a little more to the north and you feel a little spattering rain on your faces. Not enough to actually make rain, but the hard wind (which has been blowing without let up since early yesterday) is enough to make horses on the lake when you get there.
The shore seems completely empty, devoid of a dock or even a hut that you can see. Lothar guesses that one trail you passed might lead to some kind of trappers' cabin somewhere to the north, probably on the lake, but he can't be sure how long it would take to find it. The best route around the lake is probably on the south, as you have come out on the left side of a prominent, isolated hill, about a 200 yards wide and 150 feet high. It is quite impressive. There are other isolated hills, less impressive, on the other side of the lake.
It is nearly 9am. Action?
Party's Answer: Yes
It does not take long for Lothar, hearing Rowan's vague directions to the barrow, to find the right path towards Store Stokka Lake. It is a distance of two miles, that will Lothar's direction will take a little less than three hours. You circumnavigate a small hill just west of Stavanger, then move over rolling country until you reach the lake.
The wind direction swings a little more to the north and you feel a little spattering rain on your faces. Not enough to actually make rain, but the hard wind (which has been blowing without let up since early yesterday) is enough to make horses on the lake when you get there.
The shore seems completely empty, devoid of a dock or even a hut that you can see. Lothar guesses that one trail you passed might lead to some kind of trappers' cabin somewhere to the north, probably on the lake, but he can't be sure how long it would take to find it. The best route around the lake is probably on the south, as you have come out on the left side of a prominent, isolated hill, about a 200 yards wide and 150 feet high. It is quite impressive. There are other isolated hills, less impressive, on the other side of the lake.
It is nearly 9am. Action?
31 comments:
I am all for it, stopping by the lake to inquire after a possible ferry across.
The sooner I get confirmation from at least three people, the sooner we'll move forward.
I want to head for the barrows too. I think I have enough CLO -- I've got about 1.1 without taking into account my leather armor or my gloves, and counting my friar's robe as "robe, long sleeve, wrap, long" (from "engineering toolbox" on the sidebar.)
I've got more than 1.61, so I'm up for the trip today.
Gudbrand: try using the wikipedia clothing insulation page.
You're right that the "robe" from D&D shouldn't be seen as the same "robe" described in a modern CLO calculation. The medieval robe was made deliberately thick and the amount of cloth used to make the robe took this into account. We can identify it as a long-sleeve long wrap robe (thick). Wikipedia has it rated at 0.69.
Compare the toolbox with wikipedia and take the highest result in all cases. When I sit down to make an official list for the wiki, this is what I intend to do (hand-made clothes being thicker than machine made clothes in my opinion).
If we're willing, then, look to the post above for an update.
So no boat across. Given what little I know about the location of Rowan's barrow, can we reach it before dark?
Well, there goes that idea.
I vote for trying to find the path to the north. If there is a lodge and hunters are in residence, they might have some more information about the area (and might have heard of the barrow, too). That being said, I don't want to spend a lot of our day looking for the path - maybe try for an hour or so, and if we don't find it, head south?
I doubt we'll find anyone at the lodge. Even if the owners are using it today, they'll be out looking for game at this hour. I think our best bet is to keep moving on our own. Our own local heathen (no offense meant) I think will be the best at finding the barrow in all those hills.
Did we pass through any woods to reach this hill country? I'm a bit fuzzy about the geography.
I take my sling in hand. No sense being unprepared. Maybe I'll trip over a rabbit.
"I agree with Aleksandra: let's follow that path Lothar spotted and see if we can find such a cabin. If we succeed we succeed; if not, no matter, as we were planning to go on our own anyway. Rowan, Lothar, what do you think? You are the ones experienced in moving about the wilderness."
(ooc: oops, posted before seeing Lothar's response.)
"OK then, I defer to your judgment. We'd be lost without you and Rowan after all!"
Fair enough, Lothar. I was a little worried about that, too. Let's press on the southern root, then. I'll take my bo stick out to help navigate the brush.
I agree with my fellows here. We'll give the path a go, and if it fails no harm done. I think all of us are well within 1.61, so today is, if anything, easier than we'd hoped!
As mentioned before, the spear is in hand, used as a walking stick. A walking stick half a foot taller than I, but thems the breaks.
A note here: my Natural Astronomy allows me to navigate, paraphrased as a kind of "travel sense". In what way is this different from our Ranger's Pathfinding, and what effects would that take on our travel?
I hope the north path leads to a ride, but even if they can't get us across, it would be nice to have a place to stop off before Stavanger to potentially resupply or rest. Four hours is four hours, after all!
"Fellow journeymen! Whichever the path we may end up taking, it behooves us to partake in some small way of the Lord's clairvoyance, that we get a good pair of eyes up yonder hill. His design has seen fit to present us with a way of shedding light upon our present choice and perhaps avoid future woes.
Please. It'll be but a moment of our time."
The middle way! Very well, if there is anything to be seen from atop the hill, let us see what it is.
"No better way to find a hill than from another. So be it."
Rowan will begin striking out towards the hilltop. In this case, I'm hoping to see a clear route through to our destination.
Some landmarks I'm keeping in mind, assuming Alexis' Mimmarudla is similar to the one pictured:
-A pair of trees situated about three feet apart, almost like a doorway into the woods.
-An abandoned farmstead, perhaps the homestead of the Druid who built Mimmarudla.
-According to Megalith, there were once two more barrows. It can't hurt to look for signs of those as well.
-The hill itself is massive. So let's find the massive hill.
I'd be surprised if we could see any of those from our current position, but since we're looking for this thing, Rowan will make some amount of chatter about his landmarks, particularly with our Ranger.
Beginning today with Rowan,
Regarding navigation: the "sense" that Rowan has regarding trails, ridges, currents or prevailing winds IS somewhat like the rangers' Pathfinder skill.
Note that the sage ability does say, however, that the character will not automatically choose the "best" route, only a "practical" route. In other words, the route you pick will get you there . . . eventually.
However, it DOES say under the ranger Pathfinder I skill that it will find the BEST route, saving travel time. That means faster, so that the ranger is better than you at finding the best route.
Still, together, you're probably going to discuss, compare notes, that sort of thing. Also notice, the Pathfinder skill doesn't give the ranger actual knowledge of where he or she is on the planet. The ranger measures by the terrain; the druid by the stars.
It is a fine distinction, but given the particular situation, you can see how the two classes come at the same problem from different directions.
Presuming that the rest of the party chooses or does not choose to follow you Rowan, I will tell you that you won't see any of the things you've described.
- The pair of trees are swallowed up by so many other trees, because there are no fields around the mound. It is in the middle of pure, virgin forest. Someone, I think it was Gudbrand, asked if it was forest between Stavanger and where you are now - it is, mixed evergreen and poplar trees.
- The abandoned farmstead is, I judge, perhaps 900 years old; it is there, because it hasn't be plowed over, but it too is lost in the trees. The forest would have grown up and swallowed any field next to the farmstead.
- There are three barrows; but they can't be seen from the hill you're on, once again because of the forest.
- You don't see a massive hill. Given the place where the map at megalithic places Mimmarudla, comparing that to Google Earth, there is no hill at that location. It is all flat ground - and while the barrow is 60 feet in diameter, it is only about 8 feet in height. Even if I presume that the land around the barrow has been raised due to time and farming, and call the barrow 12 feet tall in 1650, you wouldn't be able to see that from your location atop the hill.
That said, however, you CAN see the sea ~ Hafrs Fjord ~ about 2 miles away as the crow flies; and you are quite certain the barrow is located about halfway between Store Stokka Lake and the Fjord. The barrow can't be more than 2 miles overland . . . somewhere . . . OVER there.
Excellent. That is pretty much exactly what I'd expected to hear. Given that nothing was further pointed out about our surroundings, Rowan will confer with Lothar about the best route to take towards our destination.
I'm going to make two suggestions, and I'll trust whatever judgement the party wants to run with.
One: return to Stavanger, a three hour trip, get in the sloop, and go around the fjord, landing somewhere along the forest and trekking from there.
Two: Take the north path to the trappers, see if they can, or know someone who can ferry us across the Stokka. Precluding that, taking the long way around the lake, hunting along the way with the intention of eating the meat, and possibly selling the pelts.
Any suggestions my fellows have are most welcome.
Engelhart's sloop will sleep one/two, but how many people can it carry along (with no cargo)?
Rowan, if we return to Stavanger that's already six hours today spent traveling (assuming no delays, either, although since we just traveled the route I'd not expect anything too egregious.) In that case, were we to set out on the sloop we might want to do it tomorrow, to arrive with more daylight left to us -- although we don't know what the weather would be like tomorrow either.
That makes me want to ask: how long is the daylight at this time of year?
Just after 9pm, Gudbrand.
It took us three hours to make the two miles between the town and here. The barrow is another two miles from here. I believe South is the shorter way around the lake, it won't be so far out of our way to go around. Let us merely be on our way. If there are any trappers working to the North, and if they do chance to have taken note of a not very notable mound, in the time it takes to find them and learn all they have to know, though I do not think they have some information we cannot obtain in any other way, we could very well be standing at the barrow. In a mere four hours.
Please, my friends. Rowan and I have the means to find the barrow. Let us trust in ourselves, and have that much more time to set up camp and find the entrance to the barrow, rather than hunting for hunters and information which may not exist or even be helpful. May we simply go and see what we can make of it?
I concur with Lothar - let us make some headway today and take the south route.
Good, you have my support as well. Let's get moving.
Good. I'll write a new post in the morning.
My time-zone handicap means that I'm usually stuck in follower-mode but here there is no question, Lothar is just spot-on.
Engelhart,
I notice that it also allows you to be the "voice of reason" and to propose insightful ideas that the party totally misses ~ like climbing yon hill.
Where are you? I had asked earlier if anyone was in Europe.
I must've missed your question, Alexis, sorry. I am located in Portugal.
I hope not to bottleneck the decision processes too much. I'm playing a Class with a support bend and a conciliatory nature, thinking it should help somewhat.
I learned long ago, Engelhart, that the only way this campaign thing works online is if I take a majority of the party as meaning everyone goes in that direction. This keeps the momentum going.
For example, Rowan, Lothar and Aleksandra have agreed to the south route around the lake ~ so I'm going to make a route that has the party go that way, whatever you or Gudbrand have to say about it.
If you want to hold back, I can always make a special post just for you (and then try to get you back together with the party).
The next post is up.
Alexis, please don't take my comment as frustration being aired, I know full well what I signed up for.
It was meant (despite the tone not carrying, as is its wont) as bashful apology for my counter-cyclic posting habits.
If I know myself, I'd probably engage in much the same "throwing of stones from the back rank" approach if I were in the same time-zone; This merely exacerbates it all.
(heh, this came out rather in-character, despite me not wanting to).
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