G.U.T.S.™ * M.A.R.S.™ * Hexes Nexus™ * Players * Chronicle
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00004 - Lookin' out my back door.

Day 1, awakening + about 4 hours

We decided to start at Jody's end and work back to the left, just because we happened to be closer to that end. That meant that Jody & Dale would be the first explorers

Jody's Portal

Jody and Dale stepped through their portal with no idea what to expect. The first thing theynoticed was that they needed to give their eyes a moment to adjust to the high light levels. It was warm, sunny, and clear, but the sun was too bright for comfort. there was no way to look away from it, because it was reflecting from the light colored soil. After some squinting and time to adjust, they decided the problem was mostly that this was probably the frst time these bodies had ever seen natural light. Jody indicated his unclothed state with a gesture, and remarked that he had all the 'natural' he needed for the time being.

Both men looked around them, staying at the portal opening. They could see that they were in a small, irregularly shaped depression with upward sloping terrain all around them. They both indicated that they could see the same shimmer in the air where the portal opening was located, so they didn't think they'd have any trouble spotting it if they moved off a bit.

The ground was mostly white sand mixed with maybe 25% dirt, and the air smelled of the beach. From this, the breezes, and the birds they saw overhead, they concluded that they were probably near the ocean. Both men remarked that it was hard to keep their traction in this soil. They saw sparse vegetation, but no animal life in their limited field of view.

Jody said that there didn't seem to be anything useful or edible down in the depression, so he suggested that Dale stay here while he moved up to the top of the slight ridge. Jody said that this was his portal, so he should take the primary risk. Dale decided that was a reasonable precedent... for now. They agreed that Jody would not go out of Dale's sight, but that Dale would stay behind at first, ready to lend aid or return to the rest of the clothers with a warning if Jody got gobbled up by a T Rex.

Jody had a hard time getting up the slope, though it was neither far nor steep. The soil kept slipping out from under his feet. It didn't help that the ground was blisteringly hot and his skin was baby smooth. He slipped a few times, but always got back on his feet immediately, but he took some serious abrasions and minor burns in the process.

Jody had selected the direction that he though was most likely to lead to the ocean. As he neared the top of the rise, he saw that he had selected correctly, and that they were very close to the shore. The view behind him showed a level coastal plain with medium vegetation and some small and medium game. The view in front of him looked like casting call for a nature show. Lots of crabs, turtles, some unfamiliar lizards, and birds of asssorted sizes scrambled to scavenge from some large, unrecognizable carcasses.

While taking it all in, Jody noticed a group of 3 animals which looked like ostriches stopping their attempts to scavenge from one of the carcasses, and refocusing their attention on him. Though he couldn't understand their squawks, their sudden charge in his direction was a definite statement of intent. Jody immediately turned and fled full speed for the portal. He lost his footing and slip some of the way, tearing away yet a few more layers of tender skin, but he kept moving without pause.

As soon as Dale saw Jody hustling down the slope, he started moving carefully in his direction. He wanted to be there to help Jody if he was needed. When the birds topped the slope and came into view, Jody was still too far from the portal for Dale's comfort, so he was a little less careful getting the rest of the way to Jody. They both fell once more, but once they were together they were able to make better time by leaning against each other. Luckily for them, the birds had paused for a moment to consider the significance of the extra creature at the bottom of the incline. That was enough time for both men to reach and enter the portal.

When they stepped back into Jody's heelafaq, panting, chafed, and... in Jody's case... bleeding, everyone expressed their concern about what happened. Jody pointed out that all he had was some sand burns, and that he had hurt himself worse shaving. He also turned to Dale and said simply: "Thanks"

Dale and Jody gave a detailed account of their brief adventure, though there was no mention of Dale's extra assistance in the story. Dale's ears perked up when Jody mentioned the crabs, and said that he thought turtle was also very nourishing. Everyone agreed that this portal had good food foraging potential, but that it would be a dangerous one to use.

Dale and Jody estimated that they had spent about 1/2 hour maximum in the portal. The 6 people who were left behind said it seemed more like an hour to each of them.

Guttyr's Portal - awakening + about 5 hours

Guttyr's portal was next. By the original plan, Jody was supposed to accompany him, but Scott suggested that he go in his place. Jody insisted that he could do his part, but Scott was firm that Jody wasn't at his best with all these scrapes and bruises. He made the point that we didn't need to prove anything, that we owed it to each other to let the best person for a job be the one to do it. In this case Jody was the only wounded person... obvious because he was walking a bit funny from the burns on his feet... so he was the least suited to assist Guttyr if he got into trouble. Jody had to agree that was true, but made it clear that he would take Scott's place as 'assistant' when Scott's turn came. Scott agreed.

Guttyr & Scott stepped into the portal. Because of Jody's warning they had sheilded their eyes, but that was proven unnecessary. Upon arrival, they found themselves in a small cave. The exit to the outside was clearly visible about 15 yards ahead to the left of where they stepped out. They both saw the same shimmering in the air at the portal location that was reported by Dale & Jody, in this case up against the cave wall.

There was no sign that the cave was in use. There was a lot of loose stones of assorted materials and sizes in the cave. The men made a point to gather some examples of different types and sizes of stone near the portal. There were also some old bone fragments in a few scattered piles, indications that predators or scavengers had used the cave in the past. All of the bone fragments had been cracked open, and cracked again. Scott looked at them all in detail. None of them looked to be useful as weapons or tools. Both men selected a decent size stone to carry with them, and then they moved together towards the mouth of the cave.

At the mouth of the cave, they looked around carefully before exiting. Much of the exit was covered by overgrowth of bushes and vines, but there was a sufficient opening that hey could see out, and then exit, without seriously disturbing the growth. They could see that they were on a sun-facing slope, in the midst of a fairly thick forest in a very fertile, old montain range.

Both men spoke in whispers at that point. They each noted assorted small game moving nearby, squirrels, rabbits, rodents, and birds. Neither of them noticed anything larger or sign that anything larger was in the region. After a scan for any other movement, they decided to follow the same pattern used by Dale and Jody. Scott would stay inside the cave and keep watch while Guttyr did some initial exploring, since this was his portal. But with the visibility so short, they knew that Guttyr wouldn't get very far before he would go out of Scott's sight. They decided he would still go.

After he stepped out of the cave, Guttyr noted that there was a game trail that started at the cave mouth. From the size of the trail it was clear that this cave was probably used more often than not, and that the occupants could be quite large. Guttyr drew Scott's attention to this, and what it implied. They stepped back into the cave to discuss it.

Guttyr said that it looked like a some big animals lived here and that there could be an ambush along the trail. He said that he thought he should look around a bit, but that he didn't think he should go down that trail very far. He seemed uncomfortable as he said it. Scott said that made sense, so why was Guttyr acting so strange. Guttyr replied that he didn't want anybody to think he was trying to get out of doing hs part. Scott said that we were all supposed to be just scouting right now, and not take any chances. He didn't see why Guttyr was worried about it.

Guttyr said he was right, but that he was going to grab a few loose branches he saw near the cave mouth and look around a bit. Scott kept watch while Guttyr gathered a lot of limbs, branches, some more loose stone, and some smaller twigs. Guttyr said he realized we were going to need to make a fire at some point, so he decided to get some kindling as well as stuff to make tools. Scott said that Guttyr was bringing back some great materials.

Guttyr spent quite a while gathering. During that whole time Scott didn't catch sight of anything big moving in the area. Once he had gathered as much as he thought they could carry, they both moved it back into the cave near the portal. Between the rocks, and all the loose material Guttyr had gathered, they knew they couldn't take it all back with them. They decided to being back wood and stones that were most suitable for use as weapons. They gathered up what they could carry, and went back through the portal.

Frank's Portal - awakening + about 7 hours

Everyone is pleased to see the potential clubs that were brought back by Guttyr & Scott. They each fill in what they saw on the trip. Frank says he bets they can catch some of those squirrels or rabbits, but they don't have a way to cook them. Guttyr says he saw some kind of nuts on the ground, but they all seemed old. He wasn't sure what they were, but he brought one. Nobody recognized it. They cracked it open, and saw that something had burrowed into the nut and eaten its core. They also saw that the nuts' oil stained their hands pretty deeply.

Dale suggests that they put some kind of mark on their faces with that stain so they can tell each other apart. Everybody likes that idea, because they say it's been confusing. There isn't enough of the nut for everyone to stain themselves with anything fancy, so they all agree to just do some really simple patterns for now.

Dale remarks that the more he thinks about this, the more they should all do things to camouflage themselves. He thinks that our relatively fair and reflective skin probably makes us stand out more than we should. He suggests that we should get more of those nuts after we get our food needs met, and look for things to use for other colors. He says we should all chose a distinct pattern when we go the full body camoflague route. He calls 'dibs' on a tiger-stripe pattern.

Scott says he's going to see if any of the stones they brought back can be made to have sharp edges. Endekks offers to help with that. Everyone migrates to the portal corridor in Frank's heelafaq.

Frank grabs one of the limbs brought back by Guttyr & Scott and hefts it as a club. He looks at endekks and says: "Your portal is up next, so you shouldn't be going with me. Who else that hasn't gone through yet would like to come with me and beat us up some carry out chicken?" Mark says he'll go. He says that he hopes they can keep this to a scouting mission, but he picks up another limb and says he'll be ready if it turns into more than that.

Franks says that it's been hours now, and they all need food. He says that if he sees anything edible that he's going to try to gather it, even if that takes a bit of extra time. Mark says he's OK with that plan. They step throug the portal.

They emerge near the edge of a tall bluff which overlooks the north edge of a large westward flowing river. They note the same shimmering in the locatio of the portal which was reported by the previous crews. To the north is a relatively open meadow with lots of diverse vegetation and sporadic patches of trees.

Looking south, they see that they are quite a distance above the river. It has a much lower bluf on its southern edge, so they are able to see for many miles. The terrain south of the river is similar to the meadowland they see to their north, though it has more trees. There are small herds of horses and camel, and individual animals of other species on the meadow, and near the southern bank of the river at places where the southern bank allows access.

Mark remarks that it would be great to get a drink, as he's very thirsty. He looks for a way to safely climb down the bluff, but he doesn't find any way to do so that doesn't seem very risky. Frank watches his back for a bit, but then says it's time to explore the area we can reach to our north. He says that some of the bushes he can see in the distance look like they might have berries on them. He tells Mark to stay near the portal and keep an eye on him while he checks it out.

Frank moves almost due north to a clump of bushes/small treees about 40 yards to the north. Numerous birds and small animals scatter when he gets to the first of the bushes. Mark can see him picking small items from the bush and popping them in his mouth. He eats quite a few before moving on to investigate more of the area.

Frank pauses every so often to pull some small herbs from the ground and examine their roots. He doesn't sample any of the objects which he extracts. After about 1/2 hour of exploring and gathering more of the ground herbs, he heads back to where Mark is waiting for him. He shows him the items he had pulled from the ground: scallions and radishes. He tells Mark that he has already done a taste test on the most abudant resource, some berries. He said they tasted pretty good, and provided moisture. He said that if he ate enough of them that if he doesnt get sick in the next few hours that they are probably safe to feed to the mahrehees and the other clothers

Mark asked why he didn't eat just a few instead. Frank replied that eating just a few may not have been enough to see if they were dangerous. He said that we all needed food, and somebody had to be the food taster. He figured since this was his portal the the primary risk fell to him. He also said that he had limited himself to testing just the one kind of food, so he could be sure what made him sick if that occurred.

He then indicates the two piles of food and says: "You can help with the next test if you'd like: scallions, or radishes?" Mark says: "I think i'll try the radishes!" He rubs a bit more dirt from them, and then chews a few. "These aren't bad!" he remarks. Both Frank and he laugh a bit while Mark eats the rest of the pile of radishes.

Frank remarks that it's getting to be evening. He thinks they should suggest a change of plans to the group when they return. He goes back to gather a bit more of the radishes and scallions. He also drives some limbs into the ground to indicate the location of some of the richer patches he had already found. He brings a few loads back to where Mark waits, and they both take arms-full of food back with them through the portal.

Grocery run

When they arrive, they tell everyone of what they found and Frank's idea abot food tasting. Guttyr volunters to test the scallions, and starts munching on them. Frank remarks that he doesn't plan to sleep anywhere near either Guttyr or Mark tonight!

Franks asks the previous teams what time of day they thought it was when they were outside. Some simple calculations showed that there was a clear progression of the sun's location beween each of the three trips, with the later trips corresponding to later times in the day. Frank stated that it was nearing darkness at his portal. If the trend continues, he thinks the next team won't have a lot of time to explore before it gets dark. He suggests that instead we should have everyone go through his portal, eat their fill of berries, and gather a lot of the root food. He offers to return with every group, since its his portal.

The others say that he shouldn't have to do that, he's already taken his risks. He says he figured that's what people would say, so he had already marked spots that had a lot of the edibles by sticking a limb in the ground at five locations in the meadow near the portal.

Frank says that it's not long enough to know for sure, but that it's been over an hour since he ate a lot of the berries, and he feels fine. Mark says he wouldn't have minded some salt to sprinkle on them, but that the roots he ate tasted like nice ripe radishes to him, just like the ones he grew in his garden. Guttyr said it was too soon to know for sure about the scallions, but that he also felt fine.

The group decides to go ahead and use this place to stock up immediately. To stay equitable, they decide that everyone will go through Frank's portal, eat their fill of berries, and gather as many roots as they can carry on one trip. Dale, endekks, Jody, and Tyler will go first. Two will watch while two gather, and then they will switch roles. When they come back, Frank, Guttyr, Mark & Scott will go and repeat the same process. They figure that if everyone goes on this next trip, we can consider that a wash and pick right back up where we left off on exploring groups tomorrow.

That all goes according to plan for the first group. They eat, gather and return fairly quickly. The second group arrives when the sun is dropping from the sky. While the second set of them are gathering, their watchers notice a few wolf-like creatures coming out of the north heading in their general direction. They signal an alarm. The gatherers cut their efforts short and everyone goes back though the portal.

Upon returning, they told the others of the wolves they saw. Tyler said that it was good to know the time to look for them. Maybe that means they didn't hunt during the day. Guttyr said that we shouldn't make any assumptions yet. It could be a total coincidence that they showed up when they did. Tyler agreed that could be true.

Frank old everyone that Mark and Scott had only half what everyone else had, because they had to cut their time short. He said that was just bad luck on teir part, that he didn't think they should be penalized so he was going to share what he had with them. Tyler said he would share, too. Then everyone just agreed to pool all they had all collected, and then split it evenly.

After waiting a bit longer to see if there were any ill effects, eventually everyone decide that the food they had retrieved was safe. They agreed to meet back at endekks' portal after a few hours rest and to allow night to pass outside. Everyone took their shares and headed back to their respective room A's.

Each person deposited the majority of their roots in one of the compartments along the rear wall. Insect actvity in that compartment picked up within minutes, once one of them came in contact with the first root. After watching for a few moments, the relative emptiness of the compartment - the small amount of food which it contained - semed far too obvious to every clother. Individually, they all made the same decision, which they decided could wait until morning for discussion.

There really wasn't anyplace comfortable to lie down, but after eating the roots which they had allotted to themselves they all knew it was time to rest. Since one spot was as good as any other, they each lay down on one of the tables in the mess room and lay there until sleep finally arrived. Though the had no way to know, or reason to care, they may have found it interesting if they knew that every one of them had selected the same table upon which to sleep.

G.U.T.S.™ * M.A.R.S.™ * Hexes Nexus™ * Players * Chronicle
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