Day 2 of the 5th week before summer season.
A fence enclosure close to the cabin is complete. That is where it doesn’t come to the flowing rapids nor the river ice. Most of the year this will be a way to have an inner compound. Various fence gates allow easy transfer at various places.
In the center north on the river bank is the cabin extended from the smoke house and thrust of land. East of that is the smithy, the south east is the outdoor stockpiles of wood, tree trunks, blocks, boards, rocks and stones. South is toward the charcoal ring and the two small animal pens, currently empty. West is fairly unused save that it gives easy skiing onto the river ice several lengths away from where the rapids break it up.
Crafting has seen the creation of several shields and a pair of longbows. Decent enough work to aid the hunters of the lands.
Day 4 of the 5th week before summer season
The warming yet still frozen day finds Tuukka skiing to the north east. He is searching a possible Owl village. This would be the area he had been heading for when he brought down an unexpected winter elk. This time trade goods are shields and longbows.
Many are the lakes frozen over. The ice and snow make it possible to efficiently ski in straight lines of search patterns. Though there aren’t much if any hills there are many mires feeding these lakes. It would be possible, when the ice is gone, to scoop up lake ores in many places. Not as efficient as bogging but the spirits that form the lumps will have laid their eggs.
His search discovers the Owl-tribe villae of “Bowbog”. Wimme an adventurer shares a tale of another adventurer now here recovering. This tribe keeps reindeer with a few for sale. They stomp around in an enclosure outside the kuuta sheltering the wounded man. He speaks of a wolf attack, wanting a woodsman’s axe back at a spruce mire and pine mire.
Which Tuukka laughs, “Is about everywhere here!”
Searching the area Tuuka made a shelter of his own on an island in roughly the middle of the best guess. The next day he began scouting to try and figure this out. In the early evening he found wolf tracks, crossed by many other animals: ermine, fox and a few grouse. The criss crossing was making it hard to determine if this was the right place. The wolf was alone, prowling and growling, from a under ten man lengths away. Tuukka notched a broad head arrow.
Looking down the arrow Tuukka put his thoughts toward the wolf.
“I’m here for the man things that were left behind,” Tuukka said, “I do not know how he wronged you. I am not here to fight you. It is not my wish for us to fight. If I do not take them the stink of the bad man things will linger here. I will leave a sacrifice of respect to you. To apologies for the rest of mankind for whatever wrong was done.”
The wolf’s growl asserted its strength.
Then it started to trot away.
Tuukka took a deep breath. He returned the arrow to his quiver. Skiing on he searched the mix of trails. Making a shelter amid the spruce he slept nervous. Both the wolf and the warm rain were dangers. The warm rain meaning the snow then ice were melting.
Fox then ermine show themselves. Tuukka is tempted but keeps to his promise to the wolf. He will not hunt them. He is here for the bad man things left by the adventurer. The tale of the battle could mean the adventurer was paying for some bad deed. This is what Tuukka hopes. It does not mean the man is forever bad. He can be taught to respect the spirits. The spirits are also being seen that there are those, like Tuukka, who respect them.
On the next dawn rains confound sight. It drains off his many furs. Onto the morning Tuukka has started back tracing the wolf tracks to now find a blood scrape. This is a few bow shots from where he first met the wolf. It must be close. More sets of trail markers are put out. This time 3-1-1-1 of spruce pointing to the blood scrape. Now if the rain melts the dried clots away he could still know where to center his search. A second blood scrape is found yet it is surrounded by fox tracks. Perhaps the fox was hunting? Or the fox spirit is playing its own game with Tuukka.
These two points give a line of movement but which way? Tuukka’s first guess is wrong. Able to return to his trail markers he goes the other way and finds the camp. There is the axe and very little else. Still this is a promise. As a sign to the spirits Tuukka dismantles the bad-man’s shelter then burns the materials.
<Tuukka found camp 001>>>