Mik

[JEB Davis]

Mik has now begun making another sacrifice to Kalma in the form of a spear target, and has the frame finished. He then sets his net out in the frozen lake. Fresh fish will be a nice change. It's a little warmer this morning, and he's wearing a fur overcoat now and is comfortable.

Yes, the badger has been seen again but is still elusive.

[JEB Davis]

Mik's expert bow skill finally pays off... the badger falls!
A short chase across the ice and the critter becomes his next meal.

[Blxz]

I like the way this story is told.

[JEB Davis]

Thanks Blxz, I appreciate it. I'm trying to use a minimum of words because pictures are so much better.
--------------------

Missing his mother's hot soups and stews, Mik decides he could try some simple cooking... if only he had a metal pot. There is not much snow yet to make travel difficult, so he starts off to visit the villages he knows of. But he's not sure if any of them will have a metal pot to trade.

Before leaving, he checks all his traps and then remembers to pulls up his net, which has caught a single bream, which he brings along.

The first Owl village to the south warns him about robbers nearby in the forest. In the 2nd, he trades a hunting bow for a nicer handaxe than what he owns. Weary, he sees the 3rd village from a hilltop in the distance, they will give him a place to sleep. No metal pot yet.

Next morning, heading north-west, he spots a small bear and hits it with a broadhead. It charges and he dons shield and mace (a bit late).



The bear hits him in the chest and flees, with Mik in pursuit.



The wound and fatigue are troublesome so he slows to a walk and keeps the bear in sight while he pauses for a rest when possible. The bear escapes into thick spruces and Mik must follow it's tracks warily. The tracks lead him in all directions through spruces, pines, heath. He has another opportunity with his bow, but misses.



The tracks lead all the way back to where his 2 fine broadheads lay in the snow. In this area, the tracks become too numerous and confused, and Mik gives up the chase because he just can't keep up with the bear well enough trudging through the snow. At least his best arrows are recovered.

[JEB Davis]

Climbing back to the hill where he dropped his extra goods to hunt the bear, he scans the trees and sees movement... yes, it's a bear. Mik decides to give this hunt another try, but can not find the bear after going back into the woods. Back on the hilltop, he gathers his gear and watches until late morning and gives up.

The extra weight of his lamellar is a burden on long journeys but he shudders to think what that bear's paw and teeth would have done to him without it.

He continues traveling north-west and he's pretty sure to be in unexplored territory. The sun is going lower and he heads back east to one of the villages he has visited. It's a small family with only one kota, and Mik trades a squirrel fur for 8 roasted deer cuts, then sleeps until the small hours of the night.

In the early hours, Mik wakes and heads north-east. The morning is briskly cold and the snow is less than knee-deep. Just as he was stopping for a short rest, there is a man who looks dressed as an owl tribesman ahead among the spruces.



The man doesn't see Mik as he puts down some of his items and readies his longbow to be safe. Stealthily turning to his left, Mik sees another man with a bow and takes a few steps back toward trees. Then another bow-armed man comes in view... these must be renegades!

So far Mik has not been seen. Heart pounding, he backs away and moves behind trees, checking in all directions. Then disaster! He can not find a way through the trees and the robbers are just out of sight.



The renegade chases after the arctic fox. Then Mik tries to crawl south out of the dead-end, but is spotted and the robber demand his possessions. Mik refuses and a fight ensues against the first robber wielding a northern spear. A second robber joins the fight with a big axe and things start going bad for Mik when he takes a nasty cut to his knee!

Then Mik hears the skull crack as he downs the second robber with a mace blow to the eye.
His mace and shield are damaged now from blocking so many attacks.




Mik drops his shield and his mace breaks!

The 3rd robber comes into the fight with a staff and hits Mik several times, but inflicts little if any injury. Mik disables the spear wielding man with two axe blows to his hip and begins backing away, blocking with his shield as robber #3 drops his staff and wields first an axe, then a knife.



Mik manages to stumble backward between two trees and continues to fight but isn't landing any blows with his axe... he's too injured and fatigued.



The injuries he has sustained become too much and Mik falls, unable to do anything but feebly defend himself against the two renegades.



The fight ends and Mik wakes... where is he?

[JEB Davis]

The robbers must have dragged him away from their territory so he could
not tell any local villagers about their threat.



Mik is too wounded to stand up, but fortunately he still has clothing.
He knew the fight would not end well before it began, but he gave the
outlaws a good pounding before falling.

[Blxz]

You've lost some valuable items in the mugging. Shame. You should have known that going out searching for pot would lead to bad things 

[JEB Davis]

As you can imagine, it's a long, thirsty, cold way back home for Mik in the frigid weather and a seriously injured leg, so I won't bore you with details.

So far, Mik has made the journey home and has been resting in his kota for several days.

Perhaps he should have searched for magic mushrooms rather than the pot 

[JEB Davis]

Mik has spent about 18 days recovering from his wounds, sometimes crafting parts for arrows and other stuff.

Lamenting the loss of his best gear (especially the lamellar cuirass and longbow) to the bandits, Mik repaired his leather clothing, boots, and armor. He does have another mace, a couple of shields, helm, and a good Northern bow.

Yesterday, Mik offered to Kalma the redshirt's head that was mounted on a tree as a warning so he could finish the target for training with his spear. As he watched the grim trophy burn he thanked the goddess for her protective hand and reflects on his past fights.

Today, with the snow about calf-deep, he puts on his homemade skis and practices on the frozen lake, quickly getting used to them since he had learned to ski quite well back when living at home with his parents.

[JEB Davis]

He feels ready to continue on his dangerous search for a metal pot! This time he heads north before the sun comes up. In the 2nd village at Suviotsa he is tempted by a northern bow of better quality than the one he is carrying, and trades the 2 shirts and dress he had.

Time to go back home... he won't have enough goods to trade for a pot if he finds one.

After checking a nearby cave with broadhead on bowstring and finding no inhabitant, he continues homeward and passes through a grove sparkling beautifully with ice crystals in the pale, low, noon sunlight.

Rustling branches attract his attention and there's a large squirrel in a pine tree. Well content with his own food supply, Mik leave it alone.

Snow begins falling and both Mik and the squirrel go about their business.


v3.50b2

[JEB Davis]

Next morning Mik gathers some extra knives, axes, dried meat, and his old northern bow as trade goods, along with a bear skull that needs to be properly hung on a tree so the bear's spirit can be free. He also takes his skis and his heavy northern spear, which doubles as a ski-stick.

He sets off northward again, this time for a longer trip, and the first three villages have no pots.
The next four villages have no pots...
Mik heads toward the west a bit further than he has explored before and then turns back toward home.



There is a new cave to explore, it's early morning and still dark and Mik is gathering branches to make a torch. Suddenly, a man moves into view quickly approaching and he doesn't seem friendly! Mik begins running away but he was already somewhat fatigued because of the nearly knee-deep snow and can't outrun the man, who was joined by another carrying a bow.

He turns at bay and readies his shield, keeping his northern spear in his right hand and dropping most of his gear for better fighting.



Then two more men come into view and Mik knows he is in desperate trouble. The first robber demands some of his possessions and Mik sees no choice but to give up. The first robber takes his demanded items.



As Mik is picking his other gear up so he can run away, the other robbers have a different idea and yell at him then attack!  Is there no honor among thieves? The first robber joins in the attack.



Mik is too exhausted to put up much resistance so he drops the gear again and begs them to stop but they knock him unconscious.

[koteko]

Ach, bad luck!

Might be the spirits are telling Mik not to buy a pot?

[JEB Davis]

Yeah... maybe a bit of soup isn't worth all that pain and loss! 

[JEB Davis]

Mik keeps busy while recouperating from the robber's nasty hit between the eyes that knocked him out. Weapons practice, net fishing (with scanty result), making a leather hood and gloves, a fur overcoat, and a new pair of skis.

It has snowed and is now knee-deep and the days are colder than ever.

It's just past mid-winter and Mik's wound is almost healed. He's not confident about finding a metal pot in Owl-tribe villages anymore, but it's time to get out of the kota and ski into the deep snow in search of some fresh meat to roast.

He is now without a shield or mace, and using his last handaxe... and not looking forward to meeting any more robbers!



The skis make traveling much easier, but he's finding it's too cold to go far without a fire to warm up. Mik sees a bear and some deer... which will he go after?

[JEB Davis]

Remembering that the bear skull he was carrying when he was robbed makes the decision for Mik. The spirit of that bear may not find rest, but he hopes to appease the spirits with another bear's skull.



It turned out to be his last bad decision. The spirits did not favor him. He failed every spear attempt.



Mik was one of my favorites.