Rauko

[JEB Davis]

The journey has been long since that fateful day, but Rauko is happy that the Kuikka suggested he travel south along the coast to the Driikaiset. Still hopeful to find a mail shirt like that work of art he found in the first Driik village, he travels the road south-east toward a 3rd village.

The craftsmen there have some fine swords, but Rauko is not trained to use those. There is a battleaxe which tempts him, but he will hold out for some good armor and trust in his handaxe and shield. So he journeys on...

Early afternoon brings him to a 4th village, in which he trades his shortbow for a badger fur, then finds they have several swords available. The last workshop he visits has what he is looking for, a long mail hauberk (which he gives up a huge amount of his possessions for) and perfect mail cowl (which he does not barter for).



Inside, Rauko is very proud and excited to have such a piece of armor, but he tries hard to act casual about it. Anyway, he can certainly find something other than barley to cook in his new pot. And now his load is considerably lighter too!

[JEB Davis]

Walking south toward his camp through many, many spruces and along the west shore of a large lake, 2 more villages come into view. It never hurts to meet more people and see what they have to trade, so he enters the first village, which has a wall around it. They have cows and a fine-quality battleaxe.

Rauko makes his way back south to his shelter and is grateful to lay down and rest after scraping the tanning fat off a grouse skin with snow falling on his head.

Waking in the small hours after peaceful sleep, it's still snowing so he stays in the shelter and makes some arrow heads. The snow stops and melts on the ground without sticking, but now the lake has thin ice around the shoreline.

[JEB Davis]

It's late morning but he sets off to hunt, leaving his hauberk in the shelter, taking minimal gear. He picks some blueberries and finds some bearpaw mushrooms and knows they are not safe unless boiled.

There are no hills near camp to the south, so seeing animals is not very easy, and the snowfall reduces visibility. Evening is near and it's time to head back. Exhausted, he falls into a deep sleep and wakes refreshed in the small hours to a warmer day with moderate rain.

Cutting down a small spruce to make stakes, then arrow shafts occupies his time until the rain stops. Looking inland, his snare has caught a black grouse!

[JEB Davis]

Worried about angering the spirits by this lake with the previous grouse snared, Rauko makes sure to sacrifice 1/2 the meat. This time he has a good feeling and thinks the spirits must be happy. The leather looks like it might turn out better than the last time, too.

Early morning brings another overcast day with some drizzle, and with only bow and knife, he sets out hunting. Tramping through spruces, they spot a badger and Rauko commands the dog to attack. Following, he can't see well through the trees and rain, but then hears barking to the south-west and the dog has made the kill.

He names the dog "Badgerbane".



The hide is too mauled to bother trying to tan, but the meat is very welcome and he sets a piece out for the spirits.

[JEB Davis]

Badgerbane enjoys playing with the bones while Rauko makes some wood stakes and fashions a few arrow shafts from them. Another grouse is caught in a snare, and he is pleased with the abundance of game by this lake, even without baiting the snares. After killing the grouse, he resets all 5 snares and this time puts some blueberries in each one.

By the time he has finished doing this, 2 more grouse are caught!

While he is killing the first grouse, a 3rd and 4th are snared. Blueberries! This is unbelievable!

[JEB Davis]

His excitement is dulled a bit by the feeling he gets when sacrificing some of the grouse meat. But he does have four skins to tan now. Exhausted, he falls asleep in late afternoon. Nightmares return and more images of angry spirits haunt him during the night... he wakes, sweating and afraid.

Rauko decides he should set free any more grouse if they are caught, and sure enough, there is another that has gone for the blueberries. This bird is very lucky because it flies away to live another day.



For now, he picks up all his traps, makes a few arrow shafts, and finishes tanning the 5 grouse leathers. Tired, he shares a roasted badger cut with his companion and beds down for the night, wishing he still had a large elk fur to sleep on.

[zer0lis]

I am enjoying this series of posts a lot!
AWESOME JOB

[JEB Davis]

Rauko wakes while it's still dark and can't help thinking that as plentiful as the food has been around this lake, it's not the place to stay any longer. He can't shake the feeling that the spirits are not happy here. Besides, winter is not far away and finding a place to spend the winter is important.

Where should he go?
     
Stay with the Driik? ...... no, that doesn't feel right.
Travel back to the Kuikka or Owl tribes? ...... this seems better, he felt more of a connection with them.

Today he will think on this while trying to make a better arrow shaft... unsuccessfully.

[JEB Davis]

Frustrated with the poor quality of arrows he's making, Rauko shoots them at the large spruce, only hitting it twice out of two dozen shots. The arrows are not worth keeping, so after gathering those he can easily find, he shoots until they are all lost.



As the day passes, his mind becomes made up. He will travel back up the river if it still flows. If there is ice, he will leave the canoe at the mouth and travel up-river on foot.

He's going to leave the shelter and the arrowheads & shafts, along with some ratty cords here. Using a rope, he packs 3 furs onto Badgerbane's back. Rauko's own load is just about all he can carry when the canoe is hefted onto his back.

He says goodbye to the capricious spirits that inhabit the area and heads north-west toward the river.

Around mid-day, they find a squirrel in a large mire and his faithful companion trees it. Rauko takes this as a good chance to practice throwing his knives. The squirrel ends up on the worst end of it.

[MrMotorhead]

Heading north with winter looming, good times.

[JEB Davis]

Just a few hundred paces further and yes, it's another animal... this time the favorite quarry of the dog... a BADGER! And true to form, she chases it down and kills it without being injured.

Rauko will stay here by this ice-covered pool for the night.



To pass the time while the badger fur tans, he makes arrow shafts from branches using a fire to help straighten them. The fur turns out looking ragged and none of the arrow shafts are very good.

As a reward, the dog gets a roasted badger cut along with the bones.

[JEB Davis]

Waking in the small hours before dawn to a cold rain, Rauko gathers his gear, wakes up Badgerbane, and heads north-west again. He will find a tree trunk to finish beating the badger fur later on... the weather is too miserable.

Walking through the rain in an open pine mire, his good tracking ability reveals what could be badger tracks that are too fresh to be from yesterday's victim. He decides to follow the tracks for a bit and drops his canoe & heavy gear, also unpacking Badgerbane.

In the rain, he loses the trail and decides it's better to continue his journey. Soon he enters a large spruce forest, then some heathland and up to some high, ground. From there he thinks he might see the river in the dimness far ahead.

[JEB Davis]

As early morning comes, we find Rauko on the river, navigating downstream and steering around areas that have iced over. Then the river is blocked and he decides to go ashore until he's past the ice.  Soon he reaches the river's mouth.

The plan now is to head briefly south along the sea's shore to the Driik village where he had hung meat to smoke and share with them. Then he can turn back north and find the "original" river that leads back to the Kuikka.

It's good to be on the water again!



Seeing a wisp of smoke to the east, he recognizes the shoreline near the village he is seeking. Going ashore through thin ice, he lights a fire and roasts the last 3 badger cuts after feeding a raw one to Badgerbane. There are lingonberries here and he picks some, then moves inland to the village.

[aat]

Wow, such nicely organized map markers!!

Just a question: how can Rauko sacrifice so much meat without angering the spirits?

[JEB Davis]

@aat - There have been times when it seems the spirits were unhappy. He tends to sacrifice one cut from every animal, or one fish from each catch... but not always exactly.
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Arriving at Murhikolkka (not the nicest name, but the people have been friendly), he finds the deer meat is not ready yet and looks like it may take a few more days. Rauko reaquaints himself with all the villagers, assuring them he will share the meat as agreed.



He then finishes the badger fur, and a hunter named Vetka snickers at the ragged result.