Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
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Jacon
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Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
" Make sure to present a few to Fengo before you give any to Yala. Perhaps he will award you with a gift of his own." Gereth says bending down and shifting through the guana.
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nikohl
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Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
GM input -
The cave floor is about 1 inch deep with guano, bits of mouldy fruit, and bat skeletons. There is very little else here, other than the nest of eggs in the corner - which is 9 eggs each the size of a boys fist. Although the edges of the cave have a few loose rocks here and there, there aren't many big ones. Nothing is growing in here. Hitto's stick is starting to burn less well now.
The cave floor is about 1 inch deep with guano, bits of mouldy fruit, and bat skeletons. There is very little else here, other than the nest of eggs in the corner - which is 9 eggs each the size of a boys fist. Although the edges of the cave have a few loose rocks here and there, there aren't many big ones. Nothing is growing in here. Hitto's stick is starting to burn less well now.
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Nerre
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Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
"Yes, I will give one to him and one to Yala. So, what about the eggs? I would bring them back so we can decide if we breed or eat them in the cave, after the othes had a look at the snakes. If they are poisonous it might pay of breeding them for their poison. If Rongarr for some reason sends his men so far they would find us here, poison might give us at least a chance. I don't want to eat up a chance like that, if I can find bird eggs instead."
If there is no objection about bringing them back, Hitto will grab the nest and carefully balance it back to the main cave and explain to the chief and Vera what he just said. But if they just want to have a omelette or if the snakes are not poisonous, he will give in and let the othes cook them.
If there is no objection about bringing them back, Hitto will grab the nest and carefully balance it back to the main cave and explain to the chief and Vera what he just said. But if they just want to have a omelette or if the snakes are not poisonous, he will give in and let the othes cook them.
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BadgeAddict
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Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
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Yarl watched as Hitto picked up the eggs and ran off in the direction of camp, he then looked at the gruff old fart that was with them and rolled his eyes in mockery of Hitto. ÔÇ£I suppose someone will have to clean up this cave before we can make it into a burial shrineÔÇØ Yarl said as he let out a long sigh. ÔÇ£IÔÇÖll go back to the cave and find something to make torch that will last a bit longer.ÔÇØ With that, Yarl headed out of the cave making a few mental notes on the condition of the cave before heading back to the caves.
On arriving back, he gave the three snakes to the women who were in charge of food prep and asked that they skin them and prepare them but to try to keep the skin intact as much as possible. Yarl then found Elto and told him everything that they had found, explaining that the cave would be perfect if it could be cleaned out and some sort of cover made for the entrance. After explaining what he had found, Yarl offers to take some of the menfolk back in order to clean out the cave if Elto will allow it.
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Nerre
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Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
OOC: I did not run with a nest full of eggs. Carefully walking, so you should be able to even overtake me or catch up with the slightest jogging. 
Hitto tells the women preparing the snakes they should check it for poison glands, and if there were some, hand them over to Vera. If they are done with the two he killed, he takes them. He brings one to Fengo as a gift, and keeps the other one so he can show it to Yala later, who seems busy right now. Since he already reported to the chief, he will wait what Elto has to say. If he agrees to clean the caves, Hitto will join Yarl and the others to help.
Hitto tells the women preparing the snakes they should check it for poison glands, and if there were some, hand them over to Vera. If they are done with the two he killed, he takes them. He brings one to Fengo as a gift, and keeps the other one so he can show it to Yala later, who seems busy right now. Since he already reported to the chief, he will wait what Elto has to say. If he agrees to clean the caves, Hitto will join Yarl and the others to help.
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nikohl
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Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
GM input: Elto agrees that the cave should be cleared out in advance of the burial, and sends three villagers with Yarl and Hitto to complete that task. He doesn't include Gereth for that task as he assumes the man will want to rest a while, but won't stop him if he also wants to take part in clearing the cave. The women find no poison glands in the snakes, however all three have large sharp fangs. They have been prepared by chopping off their heads and removing the skins, so that the body can be roasted - the heads and skins are able to be taken, so Hitto takes the two he wanted and the third remains (remember there is one white-grey and two blue-black, please indicate who has which.)
Snake pics:
Snake pics:
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and 
, both are subspecies of the same snake just different colours - I thought they were pretty cool -
nikohl
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Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
[Yala]
Now that the villager working on the frames had vines, the building works progressed very well. The villager had cut the poles and dug the holes in the ground into which the poles would sink, but was previously unable to tie them together. He now slots the cut parts together and lashes them together, then stands them into the holes made for the bases. He buried them deeply and stamped the earth down around the poles, then stacked rocks against the poles for extra stability.
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Yala saw that the building of the frames was complete, so she took the folded bear skin outside and tied it onto the square frame, poking holes in the edges and tying it on with sinew and vine so that it was fully stretched out. She rubbed cold ashes from the fire into the damp hide until it was completely covered and left it there while she went looking for a source of fat. Since she and Vera had eaten the bear's brain the first night, Yala resorted to taking the cat's brain, and fat off the edges of the organs left over from the butchery of the cat as well. She took the first large bowl that Boro had carved, and mixed the fat in with water from her waterskin, until it formed a milky solution. She took this back outside and left it in the sun to warm, while she scraped the ash mixture and the remaining flesh from the bear's hide with a sharp, flat stone.
After the scraping was completed, Yala then took down the hide from the rack and coated it thickly with the brain and fat mixture, rubbing it firmly into the whole hide and folding it onto itself to keep the mixture inside. After some time, she twisted the hide and wrung it out firmly, then applied the remainder of the mixture all over it again and re-hung it on the stretching rack. It would stay there now until it dried, much later on in the day.
(Yala +1 post, -3 dressing the bear hide, total 13)
Now that the villager working on the frames had vines, the building works progressed very well. The villager had cut the poles and dug the holes in the ground into which the poles would sink, but was previously unable to tie them together. He now slots the cut parts together and lashes them together, then stands them into the holes made for the bases. He buried them deeply and stamped the earth down around the poles, then stacked rocks against the poles for extra stability.
--
Yala saw that the building of the frames was complete, so she took the folded bear skin outside and tied it onto the square frame, poking holes in the edges and tying it on with sinew and vine so that it was fully stretched out. She rubbed cold ashes from the fire into the damp hide until it was completely covered and left it there while she went looking for a source of fat. Since she and Vera had eaten the bear's brain the first night, Yala resorted to taking the cat's brain, and fat off the edges of the organs left over from the butchery of the cat as well. She took the first large bowl that Boro had carved, and mixed the fat in with water from her waterskin, until it formed a milky solution. She took this back outside and left it in the sun to warm, while she scraped the ash mixture and the remaining flesh from the bear's hide with a sharp, flat stone.
After the scraping was completed, Yala then took down the hide from the rack and coated it thickly with the brain and fat mixture, rubbing it firmly into the whole hide and folding it onto itself to keep the mixture inside. After some time, she twisted the hide and wrung it out firmly, then applied the remainder of the mixture all over it again and re-hung it on the stretching rack. It would stay there now until it dried, much later on in the day.
(Yala +1 post, -3 dressing the bear hide, total 13)
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Jacon
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Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
Gereth has a quiet laugh at Hittos idea of taming snakes before taking a nap.
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GathersIngredients
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Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
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When Min wasn't able to find Muck, even though she asked around for him as much as she dared without drawing too much attention, and her grabbing a burning stick from the fire pit to make a quick round through the dwelling caves, in case he decided to take a nap and just overslept, yielded no result, either, she heaved a sigh and a frown crept onto her face. Frustrated she threw the stick back into the fire.
She didn't know if she should be worried about his sudden disappearance, or angry.
Maybe he had planned this from the beginning. Maybe it was his way of trying to get even with her for the humiliation he had to endure the night before. Maybe he hadn't forgiven her after all, but instead tricked her into stirring up some commotion among the womenfolk making her tell them that they would get some fighting lessons and now she would have to explain to them that there would be no lesson.
Min shook her head angrily at these thoughts. How could she think something like that? Muck hadn't been anything but kind and helpful to her and everyone else in the tribe as far back as she could remember. She wasn't aware of him telling a lie as long as she knew him. - Then again, she didn't know him too long a time yet, did she?
Scoffing irritably at these unwanted thoughts sneaking into her mind that was trying desperately to explain the situation she was faced with, obviously by any means necessary, Min heaved another sigh and tried again.
No, there has to be some other, perfectly normal explanation. Maybe something important has come up, something that delayed Muck. Or distracted him. Or something...
Maybe... Min remembered the exact words he had said to her earlier, this very day. "I know not what tasks you still have to do this morning, but when they are done, come find me again..."
Find me. - But it seemed very much to Min that Muck didn't want to be found. - Curse the unkind voice inside her head!
Maybe this was some kind of test, already some part of the first lesson. She - and everyone else who wanted to be a warrior - had to prove her determination, her will to do this. They would have to show that they wouldn't let themselves be swayed from this path by the first little inconvenience.
Min nodded to herself, a grim but satisfied smile on her face. Yes, that's a good way to look at this. I am going to assume it to be true, until I learn what Muck has to say about this.
Min imagined herself giving the part of her mind that was constantly feeding her ill-willed thoughts and trying to show Muck in a unfavorable light to her or at least cast some sliver of doubt about Muck into her thoughts a dirty look to let it know she was done and at peace with this issue for now, and that it could stop its nagging just as well.
Since she had promised Vera to meet her and [tribe member] at the cracked egg rock, and she also had told Boe that she would have to leave soon, or be late, Min didn't dare to dally much longer, lest she would look silly.
She grabbed a few branches from the pile with the cut-offs from Durang's trees - 3 short stick that were about as long as a hand and a half, those could double as pretend knives, 3 sticks that were a bit longer than a forearm from elbow tip to tip of the middle finger, those could be pretend swords, and also the longest and thickest branch she could find, that could play the role of a pretend polearm or something - carefully broke off all the green stuff that would still be useful for the smoking rig and which would only hinder in training, anyways, and stuck them into her back pack. Equipped like this and feeling as ready as she would ever be to go an meet Vera and having to tell her that Muck wouldn't show, Min heaved yet another sigh and started to trot off towards the rock.
A little while later, Min arrives at the rock and already finds Vera and [tribe member] waiting there for her. She gives them a tentative wave from a few steps away and when she is in earshot of them, Min tries to explain the situation.
"Hi there, glad you could make it. I'm sorry, but I couldn't find Muck. Maybe I misunderstood what he said." Min shrugs, then goes on catching a second wind. "Or maybe this is some kind of test, where we have to prove to him that we're serious about this. That we really WANT to learn something about fighting. That we won't let ourselves be scared off this goal at the first sign of difficulties. Because if we are going to break tradition, and learn the warrior's way, there WILL be opposition, you can count on that." Min says and pauses a little, to allow the words she had just spoken to sink in, and to let Vera and [tribe member] have their say, in case they have something to add.
"So I don't know about you two, but I am planning to learn something about fighting today, Muck or no Muck. Are you with me?"
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When Min wasn't able to find Muck, even though she asked around for him as much as she dared without drawing too much attention, and her grabbing a burning stick from the fire pit to make a quick round through the dwelling caves, in case he decided to take a nap and just overslept, yielded no result, either, she heaved a sigh and a frown crept onto her face. Frustrated she threw the stick back into the fire.
She didn't know if she should be worried about his sudden disappearance, or angry.
Maybe he had planned this from the beginning. Maybe it was his way of trying to get even with her for the humiliation he had to endure the night before. Maybe he hadn't forgiven her after all, but instead tricked her into stirring up some commotion among the womenfolk making her tell them that they would get some fighting lessons and now she would have to explain to them that there would be no lesson.
Min shook her head angrily at these thoughts. How could she think something like that? Muck hadn't been anything but kind and helpful to her and everyone else in the tribe as far back as she could remember. She wasn't aware of him telling a lie as long as she knew him. - Then again, she didn't know him too long a time yet, did she?
Scoffing irritably at these unwanted thoughts sneaking into her mind that was trying desperately to explain the situation she was faced with, obviously by any means necessary, Min heaved another sigh and tried again.
No, there has to be some other, perfectly normal explanation. Maybe something important has come up, something that delayed Muck. Or distracted him. Or something...
Maybe... Min remembered the exact words he had said to her earlier, this very day. "I know not what tasks you still have to do this morning, but when they are done, come find me again..."
Find me. - But it seemed very much to Min that Muck didn't want to be found. - Curse the unkind voice inside her head!
Maybe this was some kind of test, already some part of the first lesson. She - and everyone else who wanted to be a warrior - had to prove her determination, her will to do this. They would have to show that they wouldn't let themselves be swayed from this path by the first little inconvenience.
Min nodded to herself, a grim but satisfied smile on her face. Yes, that's a good way to look at this. I am going to assume it to be true, until I learn what Muck has to say about this.
Min imagined herself giving the part of her mind that was constantly feeding her ill-willed thoughts and trying to show Muck in a unfavorable light to her or at least cast some sliver of doubt about Muck into her thoughts a dirty look to let it know she was done and at peace with this issue for now, and that it could stop its nagging just as well.
Since she had promised Vera to meet her and [tribe member] at the cracked egg rock, and she also had told Boe that she would have to leave soon, or be late, Min didn't dare to dally much longer, lest she would look silly.
She grabbed a few branches from the pile with the cut-offs from Durang's trees - 3 short stick that were about as long as a hand and a half, those could double as pretend knives, 3 sticks that were a bit longer than a forearm from elbow tip to tip of the middle finger, those could be pretend swords, and also the longest and thickest branch she could find, that could play the role of a pretend polearm or something - carefully broke off all the green stuff that would still be useful for the smoking rig and which would only hinder in training, anyways, and stuck them into her back pack. Equipped like this and feeling as ready as she would ever be to go an meet Vera and having to tell her that Muck wouldn't show, Min heaved yet another sigh and started to trot off towards the rock.
A little while later, Min arrives at the rock and already finds Vera and [tribe member] waiting there for her. She gives them a tentative wave from a few steps away and when she is in earshot of them, Min tries to explain the situation.
"Hi there, glad you could make it. I'm sorry, but I couldn't find Muck. Maybe I misunderstood what he said." Min shrugs, then goes on catching a second wind. "Or maybe this is some kind of test, where we have to prove to him that we're serious about this. That we really WANT to learn something about fighting. That we won't let ourselves be scared off this goal at the first sign of difficulties. Because if we are going to break tradition, and learn the warrior's way, there WILL be opposition, you can count on that." Min says and pauses a little, to allow the words she had just spoken to sink in, and to let Vera and [tribe member] have their say, in case they have something to add.
"So I don't know about you two, but I am planning to learn something about fighting today, Muck or no Muck. Are you with me?"
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Excited for the Dungeon Eyes, Ricki and Lara kissing!Krulle wrote:My bad memory allows me to enjoy positive news far more often!
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nikohl
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Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
[GM NPC movement]
Vera and the tribeswoman both frown when they hear that Muck is not coming, but Min's speech lifts their spirits quite quickly. Vera, who had brought a real spear with her under the guise of needing protection outside of the caves, picked it up. "I'm not used to teaching anything other than healing and cooking, but...I know how to throw and to aim. Maybe I can show you two what I know? It's better than a wasted morning? Only...we should collect wood or fruit on the way back, if we want to keep this a secret for now. That way, we don't look to have wasted our hours.""
Vera and the tribeswoman both frown when they hear that Muck is not coming, but Min's speech lifts their spirits quite quickly. Vera, who had brought a real spear with her under the guise of needing protection outside of the caves, picked it up. "I'm not used to teaching anything other than healing and cooking, but...I know how to throw and to aim. Maybe I can show you two what I know? It's better than a wasted morning? Only...we should collect wood or fruit on the way back, if we want to keep this a secret for now. That way, we don't look to have wasted our hours.""
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GathersIngredients
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Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
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Min smiles at Vera, both for her brining a spear to the meeting as well as for her idea of gathering some fruit.
"That's great! I was going to suggest that we could try a little learning by doing, hence I brought these branches to imitate some weapons, yet without risk of getting hurt while we are still learning." Min says and shows her assorted sticks to Vera and [tribe member]. "But getting shown something one of us already knows, is even better."
Min looks a little lost in thought, as she digs deeply among her memories. There was this time when she was asked by one of the warriors to clean his home and cook a meal for him, while he was outside holding a speech to a bunch of boys who were about to be taught to fight and then getting right to it. Maybe she could tell a bit of what she had picked up then and there to Vera and [tribe member]?
Snapping out of it, Min adds: "Anyways, the idea of coming up with some kind of excuse what we have officially been doing this morning is good, too. But maybe we could try and combine both goals a little, by going to the river and try to spear a few fishes? I got my pointy stick with me, it's not as good as a real spear, but probably still plenty deadly to the fish..."
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Min smiles at Vera, both for her brining a spear to the meeting as well as for her idea of gathering some fruit.
"That's great! I was going to suggest that we could try a little learning by doing, hence I brought these branches to imitate some weapons, yet without risk of getting hurt while we are still learning." Min says and shows her assorted sticks to Vera and [tribe member]. "But getting shown something one of us already knows, is even better."
Min looks a little lost in thought, as she digs deeply among her memories. There was this time when she was asked by one of the warriors to clean his home and cook a meal for him, while he was outside holding a speech to a bunch of boys who were about to be taught to fight and then getting right to it. Maybe she could tell a bit of what she had picked up then and there to Vera and [tribe member]?
Snapping out of it, Min adds: "Anyways, the idea of coming up with some kind of excuse what we have officially been doing this morning is good, too. But maybe we could try and combine both goals a little, by going to the river and try to spear a few fishes? I got my pointy stick with me, it's not as good as a real spear, but probably still plenty deadly to the fish..."
reposting point system for own convenience
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Excited for the Dungeon Eyes, Ricki and Lara kissing!Krulle wrote:My bad memory allows me to enjoy positive news far more often!
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Arch Lich Burns
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Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
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Koael stands up and looks at his handiwork. Yes, this should be good enough for now, good enough to work at least for now. There is still pleanty of day in the sky, so he sets out to look for some more berries. He looks up and down for more berries to eat and for another patch. He uses his machete to go through the thick vines and thorns, as he looks around. He finds some small red berries on the ground, they are a bit dry but they will do for berries for the camp and the patch. The plants are very close to the ground and some look like they have been eaten by some animals, probably rabbits. He gathers as many of these red berries as he can and put them in his basket. He does not find as many strawberries as he did the rasberries, but it should be enough to last them for a while.
Added: 1
Used: 3
Total: 20
Koael stands up and looks at his handiwork. Yes, this should be good enough for now, good enough to work at least for now. There is still pleanty of day in the sky, so he sets out to look for some more berries. He looks up and down for more berries to eat and for another patch. He uses his machete to go through the thick vines and thorns, as he looks around. He finds some small red berries on the ground, they are a bit dry but they will do for berries for the camp and the patch. The plants are very close to the ground and some look like they have been eaten by some animals, probably rabbits. He gathers as many of these red berries as he can and put them in his basket. He does not find as many strawberries as he did the rasberries, but it should be enough to last them for a while.
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Theis2
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Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
Points 47
Paragraph +1
Sending children out to collect colorful flowers -5
Sending adults out to collect clay in various colors if available -5
Total 38
Boe quickly let Min free from his hold to avoid hindering her doing anything useful. He had already been holding her up for a long time trying to learn how to weave grass.
Given his new mobility he quickly moves around amongst the children and sends them out to collect as many colorful flowers as possible without moving too far away from the cave. Now that he is bound to the camp he might aswell explore several things that didn't require him to move.
Maybe clay in various colors would work too? It's further away from the camp so better to ask some of the older villagers than the kids.
Boe promptly asks a couple of the others to go collect some various clay for him. As many different colors as possible.
Boe wasn't sure if it would work like he thought it might, but he couldn't find a reason why it shouldn't. He had previously tried to rub a dandelion into his hand just to find out his fingers would take the color. The same would happen with charcoal, but that would also make the water dark if put into it. If water would take the color from plants and clay he could do the same as his father did before the attack. He wasn't sure if it was done with water or any of the other things, but his father used to paint important events or animals in a small cave a bit away from the old camp. Boe didn't know why they had to do it that far away from the camp or if anyone else knew about it. But Boe found them very useful as his father used it to explain how to hunt before attempting it. He would like to continue doing that, and the first thing to be done would be to draw the moment the tribe got a home through the chiefs fight against the bear.
But since he had none of the materials at the moment, Boe slowly, but steady walked towards the campfire to sit down. He looked around to see what people was doing, but decided to lie down and rest his eyes a little bit.
Paragraph +1
Sending children out to collect colorful flowers -5
Sending adults out to collect clay in various colors if available -5
Total 38
Boe quickly let Min free from his hold to avoid hindering her doing anything useful. He had already been holding her up for a long time trying to learn how to weave grass.
Given his new mobility he quickly moves around amongst the children and sends them out to collect as many colorful flowers as possible without moving too far away from the cave. Now that he is bound to the camp he might aswell explore several things that didn't require him to move.
Maybe clay in various colors would work too? It's further away from the camp so better to ask some of the older villagers than the kids.
Boe promptly asks a couple of the others to go collect some various clay for him. As many different colors as possible.
Boe wasn't sure if it would work like he thought it might, but he couldn't find a reason why it shouldn't. He had previously tried to rub a dandelion into his hand just to find out his fingers would take the color. The same would happen with charcoal, but that would also make the water dark if put into it. If water would take the color from plants and clay he could do the same as his father did before the attack. He wasn't sure if it was done with water or any of the other things, but his father used to paint important events or animals in a small cave a bit away from the old camp. Boe didn't know why they had to do it that far away from the camp or if anyone else knew about it. But Boe found them very useful as his father used it to explain how to hunt before attempting it. He would like to continue doing that, and the first thing to be done would be to draw the moment the tribe got a home through the chiefs fight against the bear.
But since he had none of the materials at the moment, Boe slowly, but steady walked towards the campfire to sit down. He looked around to see what people was doing, but decided to lie down and rest his eyes a little bit.
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nikohl
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Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
[NPC movements]
"Trying to fish sounds like a great idea. Let's go there now, and I'll explain what I know about throwing, while we walk" says Vera. Assuming Min doesn't want to stay on the plains for a while before moving to the river, Vera (and the tribeswoman) start walking the short extra distance to the river. She holds out the spear horizontally as she walks, and points to the centre area, around which worn-down vines are wrapped. "For spear-throwing, rather than stabbing motions or fighting, you need to hold it so that the weight is balanced. This middle bit is usually bound, for grip, and it marks where you should hold it to start with. As you get used to the throwing, you might find you want to hold it a little further forward or further back, but to get the hang of it at first, hold this middle bit. The vines give you something to grip onto. You need to aim, but knowing -how- to aim will only come with practice, because it's difficult to really explain. You can't just point it where you want it to go, it has to go up and then down again, and the wind changes its path too. Holding your other arm out for balance and as a guide helps, and you have to complete the swinging motion because where your throwing-hand ends up is part of the aiming. If you don't commit properly to the throw, the spear won't go anywhere near as far." She talks animatedly as they walk along, gesturing with the hand that isn't holding the spear. It's clear that she knows very little about using the spear as a weapon, she only knows how to throw it. But she knows how to throw it particularly well, and that's better than nothing.
--
The villagers and children that Boe has asked for help go off to search for colourful flowers and clays, although several have been sent to help with cleaning the burial cave, so the children stay within sight of the cave and two villagers go to the place where Hitto previously found clay. One of them mentions before he goes that Elto had made a dark purple grease-paint during Ril's honour-ritual, and that he had made it from the charred remains of an oily fish and one of the purple urchins that poisoned Ril herself.
They will all return within the hour as they do not want to miss the start of any funeral activities, but when they return the children have a variety of leaves, petals, berries and buds (bright green leaves, dark green pine needles, yellow petals, pink flowerbuds, round red berries they say are "from a spiky bush" and some over-ripe and squashed blueberries - they have child-sized handfuls of each) and the two tribe members who went to the clay beds have four different types of clay, wrapped in leaves to keep it wet (an almost-white yellow one, a reddish brown, a tan brown, and a very dark brown - they have a palm-sized block of each type.)
--
[Yala]
While the bear-skin was drying on the frame, Yala began work on the cat's hide. As it was fresh and she had peeled it from the cat herself, she had much less scraping work to do to clean it up. Plus, it was smaller. She went over the hide with her flat stone and scraped loose the few pieces of flesh and membrane that remained, then left the hide fur-side down in the sun, by the rack with the bear hide on it. She needed salt for this hide, since she had no brains or eggs left - and besides, she couldn't stretch it on the rack as it was already in use - so she set off down the tunnel to the waterfall, where the cave with the salt residue was found. Making sure to watch where she put her feet (though her slippers were tough and resilient), she entered the cave behind the waterfall. She went to the back of the cave, where the sheets of dried crystals were completely undisturbed, and pried loose a large chunk, breaking it into two pieces that she could carry in her hands. Returning to the Home Cave, she put one rock of salt in the cave she shared with Min for later, and took one back outside to her hideworking area. Bashing the slab of salt with a rock to chip off grains a bit at a time, using around half of the salt in total, she covered the catskin in a layer of salt crystals and rolled it up to keep the grains inside. She took the hide to the back of the cave, where it was cold and dark, and placed it there. It would have to remain for a day at least, to become dry and resist mold. Then she could ask Fengo whether he wanted it as clothing or a sleeping-mat, and finish the work appropriately.
When Min returned later on, she could show her how to flesh the rabbit hide in preparation for turning it into a waterskin. Until then, she spent her time checking on the bear-hide and tightening the stretching strings to make sure the bearskin was fully oiled and would remain supple.
(+1/-3, total 11. I'm going to have to start awarding myself a few bonus points at update time at this rate, or Yala won't be able to do anything!)
"Trying to fish sounds like a great idea. Let's go there now, and I'll explain what I know about throwing, while we walk" says Vera. Assuming Min doesn't want to stay on the plains for a while before moving to the river, Vera (and the tribeswoman) start walking the short extra distance to the river. She holds out the spear horizontally as she walks, and points to the centre area, around which worn-down vines are wrapped. "For spear-throwing, rather than stabbing motions or fighting, you need to hold it so that the weight is balanced. This middle bit is usually bound, for grip, and it marks where you should hold it to start with. As you get used to the throwing, you might find you want to hold it a little further forward or further back, but to get the hang of it at first, hold this middle bit. The vines give you something to grip onto. You need to aim, but knowing -how- to aim will only come with practice, because it's difficult to really explain. You can't just point it where you want it to go, it has to go up and then down again, and the wind changes its path too. Holding your other arm out for balance and as a guide helps, and you have to complete the swinging motion because where your throwing-hand ends up is part of the aiming. If you don't commit properly to the throw, the spear won't go anywhere near as far." She talks animatedly as they walk along, gesturing with the hand that isn't holding the spear. It's clear that she knows very little about using the spear as a weapon, she only knows how to throw it. But she knows how to throw it particularly well, and that's better than nothing.
--
The villagers and children that Boe has asked for help go off to search for colourful flowers and clays, although several have been sent to help with cleaning the burial cave, so the children stay within sight of the cave and two villagers go to the place where Hitto previously found clay. One of them mentions before he goes that Elto had made a dark purple grease-paint during Ril's honour-ritual, and that he had made it from the charred remains of an oily fish and one of the purple urchins that poisoned Ril herself.
They will all return within the hour as they do not want to miss the start of any funeral activities, but when they return the children have a variety of leaves, petals, berries and buds (bright green leaves, dark green pine needles, yellow petals, pink flowerbuds, round red berries they say are "from a spiky bush" and some over-ripe and squashed blueberries - they have child-sized handfuls of each) and the two tribe members who went to the clay beds have four different types of clay, wrapped in leaves to keep it wet (an almost-white yellow one, a reddish brown, a tan brown, and a very dark brown - they have a palm-sized block of each type.)
--
[Yala]
While the bear-skin was drying on the frame, Yala began work on the cat's hide. As it was fresh and she had peeled it from the cat herself, she had much less scraping work to do to clean it up. Plus, it was smaller. She went over the hide with her flat stone and scraped loose the few pieces of flesh and membrane that remained, then left the hide fur-side down in the sun, by the rack with the bear hide on it. She needed salt for this hide, since she had no brains or eggs left - and besides, she couldn't stretch it on the rack as it was already in use - so she set off down the tunnel to the waterfall, where the cave with the salt residue was found. Making sure to watch where she put her feet (though her slippers were tough and resilient), she entered the cave behind the waterfall. She went to the back of the cave, where the sheets of dried crystals were completely undisturbed, and pried loose a large chunk, breaking it into two pieces that she could carry in her hands. Returning to the Home Cave, she put one rock of salt in the cave she shared with Min for later, and took one back outside to her hideworking area. Bashing the slab of salt with a rock to chip off grains a bit at a time, using around half of the salt in total, she covered the catskin in a layer of salt crystals and rolled it up to keep the grains inside. She took the hide to the back of the cave, where it was cold and dark, and placed it there. It would have to remain for a day at least, to become dry and resist mold. Then she could ask Fengo whether he wanted it as clothing or a sleeping-mat, and finish the work appropriately.
When Min returned later on, she could show her how to flesh the rabbit hide in preparation for turning it into a waterskin. Until then, she spent her time checking on the bear-hide and tightening the stretching strings to make sure the bearskin was fully oiled and would remain supple.
(+1/-3, total 11. I'm going to have to start awarding myself a few bonus points at update time at this rate, or Yala won't be able to do anything!)
-
GathersIngredients
- Discussion Moderator
- Posts: 5148
Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
Starting points: 67
Spending: 1 (spotting some vines and - with the help of the other two - getting some of them down and wound nicely around the makeshift spears they will be using)
Earning: 1 (full paragraph)
Final points: 67
Min passes her pointy stick to [tribe member] and takes out the longest of the branches for herself to mimic a spear, as she walks alongside Vera towards the river. She listens to the Chieftess' words attentively and follows her every movement with keen eyes, eagerly soaking up the information presented to her, trying to imitate what Vera is doing.
"Well, I guess we the first thing we should do is to get some vines to wrap them around our makeshift 'spears', so we have some grip on them, too. Like these over there." Min points towards a nearby tree, makes a slight detour to it and, with the help of the other two women, manages to get some of them down, cut and wound around the spear-stand-ins. Nodding appreciatively, Min adds: "Now we can try throwing them a little while, and, depending on how that goes, move to something else or try to refine our skills there. Do you have any suggestion what we could take as a target, Vera?"
After listening to the Chieftess' reply, Min goes on, suggesting other options, so the others can pick what they would like best: "Whenever we get tired of throwing, we can practice melee fighting a bit with the branches I brought, pretending them to be knives. From what I have picked up when watching boys exercise fighting, hand to eye co-ordination is of utmost importance when trying to hit your opponent, and is something that must be learned by hours and hours of practice.
For starters, we should try and explicitly hit the other person's stick, something you wouldn't do in a normal fight, but to get used to handling these in the first place, it will do. Besides, I don't want any of us to get seriously hurt over this. We'll still get rapped plenty onto our fingers by accident, I suppose." Min watches the faces of both her companions, trying to judge if this comes as a surprise to them. But like they say: no pain, no gain.
Not to scare them off completely in any case, Min digs up some of the wisdom she had overheard from the warrior giving his speech. However, as she only remembers the odd word, she makes up her own sentences as she goes from the fragments she finds in her memory: "There are many other important aspects to fighting and being a successful warrior than just waving about or throwing a weapon and trying to get the pointy or sharp end into the enemy. It's more about scoring hits while avoiding damage to yourself. There are many ways to achieve this. Speed. Agility. Stealth. Superior reach. Superior equipment. Superior skill. And sometimes, pure dumb luck.
But, since you can't rely on luck to have your back all the time, we have to make sure we get ourselves the best we can be and obtain the best equipment we can have."
Again Min pauses to let the words sink in a bit.
She is quick to admit, though: "The equipment may have to wait until we don't have to hide anymore, or maybe even until we are officially called to arms. But the skills we can hone already, with no one being any wiser. We can train to run and move fast. We can learn to remain silent and unseen. We can practice how to dodge. Or to be agile, by doing some obstacle course, like trying to get across the rabbit warrens as fast as we can without stumbling." Min's head is basically bursting with various ideas of what they could do to improve themselves.
Noticing that she might be getting ahead of herself a little, Min takes a deep breath and tries to shift down a gear, also suggesting something a little less complicated, something that would hopefully yield a very tangible and very yummy reward soon, to keep spirits up: "For the fishing I would suggest that one or two of us stand ready with the spear, waiting to skewer any fish that come into reach, while the rest of us moves towards them, splashing around in the river as much as they can, stirring up the fishes and scaring them towards the ambush."
"So, what is it going to be?" Min asks and looks expectantly at the two other girls, wanting very much to know what they would like to do, and wanting to get started with that even more.
reposting point system for own convenience
Spending: 1 (spotting some vines and - with the help of the other two - getting some of them down and wound nicely around the makeshift spears they will be using)
Earning: 1 (full paragraph)
Final points: 67
Min passes her pointy stick to [tribe member] and takes out the longest of the branches for herself to mimic a spear, as she walks alongside Vera towards the river. She listens to the Chieftess' words attentively and follows her every movement with keen eyes, eagerly soaking up the information presented to her, trying to imitate what Vera is doing.
"Well, I guess we the first thing we should do is to get some vines to wrap them around our makeshift 'spears', so we have some grip on them, too. Like these over there." Min points towards a nearby tree, makes a slight detour to it and, with the help of the other two women, manages to get some of them down, cut and wound around the spear-stand-ins. Nodding appreciatively, Min adds: "Now we can try throwing them a little while, and, depending on how that goes, move to something else or try to refine our skills there. Do you have any suggestion what we could take as a target, Vera?"
After listening to the Chieftess' reply, Min goes on, suggesting other options, so the others can pick what they would like best: "Whenever we get tired of throwing, we can practice melee fighting a bit with the branches I brought, pretending them to be knives. From what I have picked up when watching boys exercise fighting, hand to eye co-ordination is of utmost importance when trying to hit your opponent, and is something that must be learned by hours and hours of practice.
For starters, we should try and explicitly hit the other person's stick, something you wouldn't do in a normal fight, but to get used to handling these in the first place, it will do. Besides, I don't want any of us to get seriously hurt over this. We'll still get rapped plenty onto our fingers by accident, I suppose." Min watches the faces of both her companions, trying to judge if this comes as a surprise to them. But like they say: no pain, no gain.
Not to scare them off completely in any case, Min digs up some of the wisdom she had overheard from the warrior giving his speech. However, as she only remembers the odd word, she makes up her own sentences as she goes from the fragments she finds in her memory: "There are many other important aspects to fighting and being a successful warrior than just waving about or throwing a weapon and trying to get the pointy or sharp end into the enemy. It's more about scoring hits while avoiding damage to yourself. There are many ways to achieve this. Speed. Agility. Stealth. Superior reach. Superior equipment. Superior skill. And sometimes, pure dumb luck.
But, since you can't rely on luck to have your back all the time, we have to make sure we get ourselves the best we can be and obtain the best equipment we can have."
Again Min pauses to let the words sink in a bit.
She is quick to admit, though: "The equipment may have to wait until we don't have to hide anymore, or maybe even until we are officially called to arms. But the skills we can hone already, with no one being any wiser. We can train to run and move fast. We can learn to remain silent and unseen. We can practice how to dodge. Or to be agile, by doing some obstacle course, like trying to get across the rabbit warrens as fast as we can without stumbling." Min's head is basically bursting with various ideas of what they could do to improve themselves.
Noticing that she might be getting ahead of herself a little, Min takes a deep breath and tries to shift down a gear, also suggesting something a little less complicated, something that would hopefully yield a very tangible and very yummy reward soon, to keep spirits up: "For the fishing I would suggest that one or two of us stand ready with the spear, waiting to skewer any fish that come into reach, while the rest of us moves towards them, splashing around in the river as much as they can, stirring up the fishes and scaring them towards the ambush."
"So, what is it going to be?" Min asks and looks expectantly at the two other girls, wanting very much to know what they would like to do, and wanting to get started with that even more.
reposting point system for own convenience
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Excited for the Dungeon Eyes, Ricki and Lara kissing!Krulle wrote:My bad memory allows me to enjoy positive news far more often!
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Nerre
- Game Master
- Posts: 4876
Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
+1
Hitto tries to organize the helpers. Some should move the rocks large enough to be used to block the cave entrance later a bit outside the cave, while the others should clean the dirt out of it. Plant parts, bones, earth, and feces. It would not be nice to put your dead on the feces of animals if it can be avoided. He also suggested filling the little gaps with earth and pebles, so the dead would not lose some of their bones if the fell down there. After they moved the rocks, the men grabbed dead branches of the tree behind the cave, and brushed out the dirt. It took a while for the dust to settle. Hitto used the time to check the vines on the little cave hill. Good ones, he might use some of them for ropes later. They were long and strong, and best of all of the kind that would not lose much strength when they became dry. He might even be able to split them into several long fibers to make even stronger ropes.
After the dust had settled, the filled the little gaps with pebble and small rocks, and then moved handfulls of earth into the cave to make it plain and soft. Not all areas where on the same height, but each of them was plain on its own. The height differences weren't too much for an adult to overcome with a large step, so it would be fine, Hitto thought. Then, the started to move the large rocks back to the entrance and putting them on each other as a strong wall, only leaving open a hole of a bit more than one person wide and a bit less high than one. One of the man found a long and wide rock, nearly as large as a torso, which they put over the hole as an architrave lintel . It was very heavy, but with the help of some vines and leverage they manged to put it over the door opening. The remaining hole could later be block with one large and a few smaller rocks.
"What you think, should we ask the woman to paint something for the dead on the walls? I saw some of them mixing colors I think. Maybe I am wrong and it was food, but it looked colorful. I think I will ask your sister for help, Yarl. She has a hand for color things." Hitto asks.
OOC: Jacon, Badge, any ideas what else to do? I am sick at home but not much at the pc. I see those back at the cave writing a lot, but I am a bit less creative right now than normally. Help.
Hitto tries to organize the helpers. Some should move the rocks large enough to be used to block the cave entrance later a bit outside the cave, while the others should clean the dirt out of it. Plant parts, bones, earth, and feces. It would not be nice to put your dead on the feces of animals if it can be avoided. He also suggested filling the little gaps with earth and pebles, so the dead would not lose some of their bones if the fell down there. After they moved the rocks, the men grabbed dead branches of the tree behind the cave, and brushed out the dirt. It took a while for the dust to settle. Hitto used the time to check the vines on the little cave hill. Good ones, he might use some of them for ropes later. They were long and strong, and best of all of the kind that would not lose much strength when they became dry. He might even be able to split them into several long fibers to make even stronger ropes.
After the dust had settled, the filled the little gaps with pebble and small rocks, and then moved handfulls of earth into the cave to make it plain and soft. Not all areas where on the same height, but each of them was plain on its own. The height differences weren't too much for an adult to overcome with a large step, so it would be fine, Hitto thought. Then, the started to move the large rocks back to the entrance and putting them on each other as a strong wall, only leaving open a hole of a bit more than one person wide and a bit less high than one. One of the man found a long and wide rock, nearly as large as a torso, which they put over the hole as an architrave lintel . It was very heavy, but with the help of some vines and leverage they manged to put it over the door opening. The remaining hole could later be block with one large and a few smaller rocks.
"What you think, should we ask the woman to paint something for the dead on the walls? I saw some of them mixing colors I think. Maybe I am wrong and it was food, but it looked colorful. I think I will ask your sister for help, Yarl. She has a hand for color things." Hitto asks.
OOC: Jacon, Badge, any ideas what else to do? I am sick at home but not much at the pc. I see those back at the cave writing a lot, but I am a bit less creative right now than normally. Help.
Last edited by Nerre on Tue Jan 21, 2014 7:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
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nikohl
- Discussion Moderator
- Posts: 4575
- Location: Ó▓á_Ó▓á
Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
"Well, for a target, it needs to be something quite soft otherwise we'll damage the spear. We could pile grasses together into a bundle, or we could find a large tree to aim at. We can't throw at rocks, as the spear will go blunt or the head will snap off. We can aim at rocks with the plain sticks, though. I think your idea of practicing to be faster and more agile in our own time is worth it too. We can make it into a competition, if you want to - we can work out how good we are, and then see how much we improve after some time."
While they speak, Vera looks around for a lone tree or grasses that they can cut down to make a target. A little closer to the river, she sees a fallen-down old tree, and points it out to Min. "Let's try aiming at that one. I'll show you, and then you can each try, and then I'll try and tell you how to do it better next time. After we all have the hang of throwing it properly, we can try and make practical use of the new skill by fishing. And if there's time, we can practice hitting the sticks too."
Vera picks up the spear and aims at the fallen log from a short distance away, not wanting to start too far away while she's teaching the other girls. She holds her free hand out in front of herself, palm down and fingers pointed, and squints at the log. She leans back on one leg and then puts her leading leg forward, then lunges onto her front leg, twists her hips and heaves the spear forward. It hits the fallen log in the centre with a loud 'Thwack!', and Vera smiles to herself, then runs to retrieve it. "We should try and improve our stamina over time too - let's keep moving as long as we can, so that if we need to run in the future, we are used to it."
While they speak, Vera looks around for a lone tree or grasses that they can cut down to make a target. A little closer to the river, she sees a fallen-down old tree, and points it out to Min. "Let's try aiming at that one. I'll show you, and then you can each try, and then I'll try and tell you how to do it better next time. After we all have the hang of throwing it properly, we can try and make practical use of the new skill by fishing. And if there's time, we can practice hitting the sticks too."
Vera picks up the spear and aims at the fallen log from a short distance away, not wanting to start too far away while she's teaching the other girls. She holds her free hand out in front of herself, palm down and fingers pointed, and squints at the log. She leans back on one leg and then puts her leading leg forward, then lunges onto her front leg, twists her hips and heaves the spear forward. It hits the fallen log in the centre with a loud 'Thwack!', and Vera smiles to herself, then runs to retrieve it. "We should try and improve our stamina over time too - let's keep moving as long as we can, so that if we need to run in the future, we are used to it."
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BadgeAddict
- Saves-A-Hyena
- Posts: 9145
- Location: Ohio
Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
Yarl watched the commotion about the cave with vague interest. As Hitto commanded this and that he watched and listened. As the men finished up the movings of the rocks and prepared a large stone that they had found for the entrance Yarl started walking toward the forest in order to grab a handful of wood before heading back to camp. He wasn't very fond of death and the ceremony that followed. His eyes still flooded when he thought back at the countless people that died when the barbarians attacked and they had never been laid to rest.
Yarl kicked a clump of dirt as he walked in bitter hatred as tears for his father streamed down his face.
(18+1=19 points)
Yarl kicked a clump of dirt as he walked in bitter hatred as tears for his father streamed down his face.
(18+1=19 points)
Last edited by BadgeAddict on Tue Jan 21, 2014 8:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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GathersIngredients
- Discussion Moderator
- Posts: 5148
Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
Starting points: 67
Spending: 1 (observe Vera closely, and when throwing not hurting herself at least)
Earning: 1 (full paragraph)
Final points: 67
Min nods to Vera's words, and when the Chieftess throws the spear at the tree, Min eagerly watches how she is doing it.
When it is her turn to throw, Min does have a lot of trouble repeating what she just saw. Her brain took note of a lot of different movements, all joint together into a smooth, combined motion by Vera, but Min's body, having next to no experience at all with this, has no muscle memory to aid her, and so the various orders her mind is giving to her limbs all at the same time just get jumbled up and the throw fails spectacularly.
Stumbling, yet preventing herself from falling down and hurting herself - barely so - is all Min is able to do, and her makeshift spear doesn't even fly a whole body length from where Min is standing, before it clatters to the ground again.
"Och, shrew poo!" Min exclaims, a bit disappointed, but keen to try again, she hurries to fetch her glorified stick, and get out of the way, so [tribe member] can have a go at it.
reposting point system for own convenience
Spending: 1 (observe Vera closely, and when throwing not hurting herself at least)
Earning: 1 (full paragraph)
Final points: 67
Min nods to Vera's words, and when the Chieftess throws the spear at the tree, Min eagerly watches how she is doing it.
When it is her turn to throw, Min does have a lot of trouble repeating what she just saw. Her brain took note of a lot of different movements, all joint together into a smooth, combined motion by Vera, but Min's body, having next to no experience at all with this, has no muscle memory to aid her, and so the various orders her mind is giving to her limbs all at the same time just get jumbled up and the throw fails spectacularly.
Stumbling, yet preventing herself from falling down and hurting herself - barely so - is all Min is able to do, and her makeshift spear doesn't even fly a whole body length from where Min is standing, before it clatters to the ground again.
"Och, shrew poo!" Min exclaims, a bit disappointed, but keen to try again, she hurries to fetch her glorified stick, and get out of the way, so [tribe member] can have a go at it.
reposting point system for own convenience
► Show Spoiler
Excited for the Dungeon Eyes, Ricki and Lara kissing!Krulle wrote:My bad memory allows me to enjoy positive news far more often!
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Mereneth
- Voices Opinions
- Posts: 447
Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
S: 39[i think... too tired to dig through and confirm. I just know I have a fair bit.] E: 8+1 Sp: 20 T: 28
Muck had left the cave shortly after speaking with Min, distracted and bothered by the heat of the blood in his cheeks. If he was going to offer them a good training session, they needed to have a good area for it. Frankly, though, he knew he would be more than agreeable for any reason to distract himself from his heart's protests that he turn back, catch Min up and carry her off while grinning like a fool.
It dawned on him, suddenly, that there was a small forest near the river he hadn't paid enough attention to to notice; a seemingly grand mix of level and uneven terrain with an abundant supply of mock weapons in the form of fallen limbs and saplings. He smiled slightly at the prospect and broke into a run, both to flee the cave and get to this opportunity faster. If it proved as good as it looked from the caves, it would be a perfect location to train the fresh recruits he would make of Min and any who followed her.
---
Upon reaching the tree line he noticed a few things. Bones were strewn about the edge of the tree line itself, mostly from prey animals. The ground itself outside the forest was about as he had thought it to be; a mixture of flat and uneven to even slightly hilly terrain. What struck him as odd, though, was what was almost certainly the bones of a caveman; shreds of 'clothes' too rotted by time to really understand how old they were. Beside the skull of this unknown individual were the bones of a massive cat, a sabre if he wasn't mistaken. It's teeth were gone, but a dagger of some sort protruded from the top of its skull; likely where the old spirit took the beast down with him.
Curiosity drove him closer until he found himself bracing his foot against the cat's skull an lurching backwards to yank the blade free by it's remarkably intact handle. He felt a cold wash through him, sending a shiver down his spine as he finally looked at the weapon in his hand. It was metal! He'd only seen Elto's Starmetal knife before this one, but he'd seen enough to know that the relic just might be Starmetal itself. Should he have even done such a thing? In removing the blade, had he freed the cat's spirit, or perhaps disgraced the spirit of the fallen hunter? It was too late to do more than lament the decision; whatever came next, the knife was his now, as was any curse it might bear, should it bear one at all.
Muck let his mind churn over the issue for a moment longer before fleeing the grim scene, returning to the task of setting up a training ground.
---
As time passed the area began to come together in fine shape. Slews of straight saplings, stripped of their branches and given a crude point, were piled at different marks where larger saplings, speared into the ground, marked points to stand. Along a distance lay stacks of bones for targets, gathered from the grisly remains scattered all over. Some skulls were set atop half spears, creating harder to hit, higher targets.
Short, sturdy sticks with blunted points made up a makeshift pile of blades, and Muck continued to work, oblivious to how much time had passed; oblivious to the fact that he should be returning to the cave to fetch Min and her recruits. His mind was lost in the pride he felt swell within him as every ounce of effort began to show in his field. Grand obstacles courses through the forest with whip ended saplings tied back as traps to slap the unprepared in the leg, arm or ass.
It would be a wonder to behold, he noted to himself as he looked over it all as he caught his breath. The knife strapped behind him flashed sunlight back towards the caves, almost like an evil eye glaring at its coming prey.
It knew what slept deeper in the woods.
It had seen the teeth.
Tasted the blood.
It knew.
Muck had left the cave shortly after speaking with Min, distracted and bothered by the heat of the blood in his cheeks. If he was going to offer them a good training session, they needed to have a good area for it. Frankly, though, he knew he would be more than agreeable for any reason to distract himself from his heart's protests that he turn back, catch Min up and carry her off while grinning like a fool.
It dawned on him, suddenly, that there was a small forest near the river he hadn't paid enough attention to to notice; a seemingly grand mix of level and uneven terrain with an abundant supply of mock weapons in the form of fallen limbs and saplings. He smiled slightly at the prospect and broke into a run, both to flee the cave and get to this opportunity faster. If it proved as good as it looked from the caves, it would be a perfect location to train the fresh recruits he would make of Min and any who followed her.
---
Upon reaching the tree line he noticed a few things. Bones were strewn about the edge of the tree line itself, mostly from prey animals. The ground itself outside the forest was about as he had thought it to be; a mixture of flat and uneven to even slightly hilly terrain. What struck him as odd, though, was what was almost certainly the bones of a caveman; shreds of 'clothes' too rotted by time to really understand how old they were. Beside the skull of this unknown individual were the bones of a massive cat, a sabre if he wasn't mistaken. It's teeth were gone, but a dagger of some sort protruded from the top of its skull; likely where the old spirit took the beast down with him.
Curiosity drove him closer until he found himself bracing his foot against the cat's skull an lurching backwards to yank the blade free by it's remarkably intact handle. He felt a cold wash through him, sending a shiver down his spine as he finally looked at the weapon in his hand. It was metal! He'd only seen Elto's Starmetal knife before this one, but he'd seen enough to know that the relic just might be Starmetal itself. Should he have even done such a thing? In removing the blade, had he freed the cat's spirit, or perhaps disgraced the spirit of the fallen hunter? It was too late to do more than lament the decision; whatever came next, the knife was his now, as was any curse it might bear, should it bear one at all.
Muck let his mind churn over the issue for a moment longer before fleeing the grim scene, returning to the task of setting up a training ground.
---
As time passed the area began to come together in fine shape. Slews of straight saplings, stripped of their branches and given a crude point, were piled at different marks where larger saplings, speared into the ground, marked points to stand. Along a distance lay stacks of bones for targets, gathered from the grisly remains scattered all over. Some skulls were set atop half spears, creating harder to hit, higher targets.
Short, sturdy sticks with blunted points made up a makeshift pile of blades, and Muck continued to work, oblivious to how much time had passed; oblivious to the fact that he should be returning to the cave to fetch Min and her recruits. His mind was lost in the pride he felt swell within him as every ounce of effort began to show in his field. Grand obstacles courses through the forest with whip ended saplings tied back as traps to slap the unprepared in the leg, arm or ass.
It would be a wonder to behold, he noted to himself as he looked over it all as he caught his breath. The knife strapped behind him flashed sunlight back towards the caves, almost like an evil eye glaring at its coming prey.
It knew what slept deeper in the woods.
It had seen the teeth.
Tasted the blood.
It knew.
Raptor at Heart - Recruitment Thread - Game/RP Thread
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Nerre
- Game Master
- Posts: 4876
Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
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<chance for Yarl to respond>.
Later, when he/they reached the cave, he put his equipment back on his sleeping spot and went to look after Yala. He found her still working on the skins.
"Hey Yala. Are those the new waterskins? They look good!" he asked curiously. Then he held his hand towards her, showing her one of the oily berries Yarl had found and which Hitto had used to build a makeshift candle. "Can this oil help you in making them? I remembered you said something about oiling it so the water does not make them bristle when Yarl found them, so I thought I should bring one example to you." He places the nut in her hand or where she is working if she is busy. "Actually, I came here for something else." he said, waiting a bit before he continued, swallowing, looking a bit nervous. "I know you can do draw things on walls and items with colors. Well, we just finished the rough preparation of the burial cave, you know, the one I found yesterday. Then I thought we should decorate it a bit more, and that led me to remember you and the colors. Would you like to paint something at the cave walls for Ril? The walls are smooth and nearly vertical. Maybe tilted a bit. In any case, the flat areas are large and you could paint something large and great in there. I think Ril's spirit might appreciate it."
After a second, he remembered he got something else than the oily berry to give her. Absentminded he lifted his hand and stared at the snake.
"Oh, and I found this. I saw how well Yarl did with a sling today, when we killed this snake. I thought that might be a good weapon for you, as you are dexterous, clever with your hands, so I think you would be able to sling very accurate and fast with some training. So please accept this snake skin as a present. This is the least I can do after you are making me a water skin. I only hit it on the head, so the rest of it should still be fine. With a sling, you would not be in danger by being close to things like somebody fighting with a knife, club or spear, and still would equally take part in fighting. I want you to be save if another cat shows up, you know?"
OOC: It is one of the rather blueish snakes. As Yarl killed the first one, he can still pick if he wants the rather brown-yellowish or the second blue-white-blackish. Hitto then will give the second one to Fengo.
Last edited by Nerre on Tue Jan 21, 2014 3:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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BadgeAddict
- Saves-A-Hyena
- Posts: 9145
- Location: Ohio
Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
Yarl gives Hitto an evil stare as he runs up next to him and blares at him "Why can't you leave anything alone you asshole" before running at top speed towards the forest, away from Hitto, away from everyone and anyone who could see his red face streaked with tears. It wasn't manly to cry, how could he be so weak.
(still 19 points)
(still 19 points)
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Nerre
- Game Master
- Posts: 4876
Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
+1
"Wait, don't run there! If you want to be alone, go back to the burial cave or somewhere safer!" Hitto yells after him, afraid something might happen to him if he goes into the forest alone. But he did not add anything else when Yarl did not stop. It was his choice, but he should not risk his life like that. They had found out there are more than one cats, and there might further yet unknown dangers out here.
What was it with everybody lately? Now, having found a new home and the hard times seeming to be kind of over, many seemed to let all the accumulated emotions out, without much caring about their safety. It all came down now. Yesterday Min, now Yarl. Hitto hoped they would not lose more people cause of that, they had already lost enough on the way. Losing them now for avoidable reasons, like going somewhere dangerous on your own, would be worse. He knew it was a bit much for Yarl, especially with the cat yesterday, which is why he wanted to offer him an open ear and a shoulder. He really had not expected Yarl to snap like that.
"Wait, don't run there! If you want to be alone, go back to the burial cave or somewhere safer!" Hitto yells after him, afraid something might happen to him if he goes into the forest alone. But he did not add anything else when Yarl did not stop. It was his choice, but he should not risk his life like that. They had found out there are more than one cats, and there might further yet unknown dangers out here.
What was it with everybody lately? Now, having found a new home and the hard times seeming to be kind of over, many seemed to let all the accumulated emotions out, without much caring about their safety. It all came down now. Yesterday Min, now Yarl. Hitto hoped they would not lose more people cause of that, they had already lost enough on the way. Losing them now for avoidable reasons, like going somewhere dangerous on your own, would be worse. He knew it was a bit much for Yarl, especially with the cat yesterday, which is why he wanted to offer him an open ear and a shoulder. He really had not expected Yarl to snap like that.
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Jacon
- Indulges in Conversation
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Re: Cavemen: Survival of the Fittest
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-1 for walking around.
Gereth sat in the cool darkness of his cave, his body aching from the tea and lack of sleep. Despite his best attempts to enter slumber he was still awake. To tired to move and yet unable to sleep. So he sat in tired thought until he heard a shout and than Yarl running by the mouth of his cave. Tears flooding his face. Gereth watched him somberly run by without comment. Despite his misgivings of the boy he could tell that the raid had taken more of a toll on him than the others. He had seen the same look of fury and sadness in the eyes of recently orphaned children in raids and from battle weary clans. He would not deny the boy his chance at sadness with his usual temper. In fact he made note to himself to request the boy for training from the chief for the next day. Perhaps he could find someway to settle the bad spirits around the boy and if not at less train him to help the clan.
Than he grabbed his spear. Perhaps a walk would help clear his tired mind and make him able to sleep. Hunched over he slowly made his way out the cave using the spear to support his weight. He makes a slow pass around the caves stopping every once in a while to catch his breath.