Topic: [Brygun] Tuukka  (Read 26964 times)


Brygun

« Reply #15 on: December 09, 2020, 09:06:22 AM »
As Tuukka started out Sage Torkel called out, “Why don’t you clear the stones from the field instead?”

Tuukka liked this idea much better. It meant not going far from the warmth of the village. This local gathering was done within a day. A few more traps by the logging camp. A day or two of whittling saw a trade done for payment for the work and various goods have Tuukka come away with a bag of broad beans and basket of hemp seeds. At the fishing camp was already a basket of turnip seeds. This would three types of crops should he ever setup a farm.

 
Day 5 of the 2nd week to midwinter

The snow was now calf deep. Tuukka’s self made shambles of leather shoes with fur wraps were always under the snow when we walked. Frostbite pains in both feet were constant. Tukka staggered into the Aijo village hall confounded by the gnawing pains. The village was surviving not prospering. They may have extra seed, beans and peas but clothing or axes were not up for trade. Henrik sat to trade more stories while Tuukka took shelter by the hall fire, feet facing toward he heat. Torkel the Sage came by later doing what he could.

Day 4 of the last week to midwinter

Staying in the hall has reduced the frostbitten feet problem. Working in the deep winter in bad footwear lends it to happening again. Without skis it is always a matter of stomping and spraying deepening snow. Tuukka is so glad the village is friendly, likes his crafts and lets him stay in the hall. The many hours inside has kept his feet better though the struggles when doing the necessary things outside.

He has traded now for a variety of seeds. The chance to buy their spare pot takes far more wealth than he can muster through whittling. Tuukka did make them two game sets. It is a pleasure to see the games being played in the hall. So far they are kind to Tuukka though there is a sense that come spring he should be moving on.

Odd tracks at the fishing camp. They come off the ice and move near the shelter. It wasn’t hare as it was too wide. It wasn’t fox nor wolf. After pondering Tuukka realized the camp had been visited by a seal. Far from what he expected. There is a big lever trap setup for wolf defense. Tuukka relocates this amid the seal tracks. Trap fencing is put up to steer it into the target. A roach fish sits on the trigger. Maybe one day the seal will come back.

Tuukka shrugged his shoulders. As a fisherman he never expected to be setting a seal trap.

Crossing the midwinter Tuukka finds himself laboring hard at the fishing camp just to stay warm. It is so bad that after a few days he decides he should spend his nights in the village. At least for the next few weeks. So much wood is needed to burn through the night that it is taking a great deal of time with his stone axe. He is hardly getting any fishing done for sake of keeping fires going. Paddling out on the raft has to stop as well. Even though the fishing tends to be better in deeper water there is now way to keep a safety fire going. The raft would burn!

<Tuukka deep winter villaged>>>

Brygun

« Reply #16 on: December 09, 2020, 11:20:52 PM »

Deep winter in a village seems embarrassing to Tuukka. Death would be worse.

“People shelter people,” Sage Torkel said, “Wolves and others huddle in their winter dens. Do not be ashamed to do the same. It is life. This is the way.”

“You’re right,” said Tuukka, “I expect much more of myself. This just my first year on my own. One day, spirits willing, my work will let me be the one to shelter others.”

Torkel patted him on the shoulder, “That’s how steads become villages and villages towns. Wouldn’t you like to trade for turnips? We still have some to spare. They will be good for your feet.”

Tuukka nodded. Splitting his meals up with turnips, even if uncooked, would extend his fish. That would mean less time needed at the fishing camp, which is where his feet suffered. The sage was right. Turnips would protect his feet. He could spend more time in the village hall. Checking the logging camp found another grouse worth bits of meat that also meant not needing to risk fishing in deep winter. The logging camp had a good stock now of a slender trunks, wood blocks for carving and a felled tree leaned up to dry for later blocking.
Others might have been trading boards to the village. Tuukka’s youth assisting in boat building had seen such boards brought in by the woodsmen. He knew the theory but was clumsy in practice hindered more by the lack of an iron axe. The stone-axe was rough to work with and had been reset a few times. Carving and whittling was Tuukka’s means for trade. Those skills had come in making fine connections on the boats.

Day 4 of the 12th week before summer

In the small hours Tuukka quietly as he can splits  small blocks from splitting a pine block, itself from the logging camp. A check of the weather finds it snowing in the great deep deathly cold. He could hardly measure the depth of cold by any craft he knew. Had he been at the fishing camp he might well be dead or at risk of losing a foot. He waited until next afternoon trade for smoked fish as trail provisions then with warmth and light went to check the fishing camp’s traps. There was no game nor signs of a seal’s return. With a roaring fire in the fire ring Tuukka caught several fish before his chilly walk back in the early evening.
It was on the next day leaving earlier and treating his warmth like a budget that he reset the fishing camp traps. The snow was brushed off. Ice knocked lose so that they could slam properly. The bait was restored to the triggers.

Day 7 of the 12th week before summer

Today was warmer, as such as to say it wasn’t deadly cold. Thoughts and talks suggested that the many traps at the landing camp were being warned of by the being their fishing with the needed fires. If true there would be a benefit to leave the traps there but set to fishing someplace else. It is this day that Tuukka takes that advice.
Scouting finds an area of open water on this island’s west side. With warmth from a work fire in a fire ring Tuukka raise a lean-to shelter. It sat in a spot that seems one could fish from. Spruce mats are woven to give a floor carpet and a wrap else wind shield. There wasn’t time today to stock much in the way of burnables. For now Tuukka would rest inside the village’s hall.

Day 4 of the 11the week before summer
End of Center Month

It was deadly cold yet needing food Tuukka had gone to inspect, though not reset, the landing camp’s traps. It was too frigid for that lengthy work. On his walk toward the new fishing camp his heart leaps into his throat. A foreign voice in foreign guard takes his mind to that stormy sea that tossed him into the water. Had he heard such voices on the sea. Walking in the forest was a foreign dressed man. Peering around a tree Tuukka sees the man is wearing a battleaxe. At least there is no trident! Even if it is a peaceful trader Tuukka has nothing to offer. There is no benefit only risk Tuukka thinks. Tuukka quietly slips away west.

These deep winter days were very cold. Traps only rarely produced a bird of one type or another. Fishing was done lightly for fear of freezing to death in the shelters. The real value of these days was first in still being alive. Second to that was the wealth slowly growing as new whittled shapes appeared. At the landing camp was a growing collection of baskets and bags of crops. If truly needed they could be eaten yet the plan remained to use them for planting. The one thing he might yield to that is for a good axe for that would make so much more work practical.


<Tuukka whittle trade 001>>>

Brygun

« Reply #17 on: December 10, 2020, 03:12:43 AM »
Day 5 of the 10th week before summer season

Tuukka had finally been cured of frostbite in his feet. This was greatly helped by Torkel the sage and all other good people of “Aijo’s bottom”. Early Pearl month’s name marks it as one full of deep snow. Great for skiing, which he has yet to build or obtain. The short trips from one face of the island to another is managed. His feet would get wet. Now there are always warm fires available at any of destinations: the landing camp in the north, the village in the east, the logging camp just west of the village and the fishing camp in the west.

The small whittlings have all been giving out to many of the villagers: Combs for hair and utensils made the same way; Bowls and cups for eating or sorting; figurines for rituals and others for children toys with gaming sets for everyone. Tuukka’s heart felt bright with how their lives were full of joy. That came from helping him, letting him share roof and hearth.

Other works were going to be needed. Those projects need boards. Splitting logs he is still clumsy at and using a stone-axe. He remembered how his father would go through boards brought in, scrape them with a knife to refine the shape, set them aside to dry then sand them. This would take a time, which in this part of winter they had.


<Tuukka drying boards>>>

Brygun

« Reply #18 on: December 10, 2020, 06:51:06 AM »
Kyosti the woodsman is remembered for giving Tuukka the fishing rod. The same rod that has kept him fed all this time. Tuukka asks and Kyosti agrees to come for logging. Tuukka will catch fish and Tuukka will use the stone-axe for felling trees. To be honest Kyosti is a little embarrassed at not having an axe but the one the village has is held in common and not for such private trips.

Kyosti is so much better at making boards! Two of them come out perfect! Ten are really fine with six decent and only two wobbly ones. Those Kyosti says is more an issue that no tree is perfectly straight. No wonder Tuukka’s father would hire a woodsman to supply them materials for their boat. Kyosti told Tuukka about how to use wedges and adjust the force while splitting. Tuukka will have to practice to understand this lesson.
Among the lessons is also studying the tracks around the village. Understanding how they age over time, how the spread suggests speed and so forth. Kyosti adds tidbits of knowledge of how different animals would compare to the human tracks. There are a few animals around too, like a fox that was caught in the landing camp’s paw board.
Kyotsi and Tuukka talk about paying Kyotsi for his work. Oh yes, that. Tuukka makes a fine gaming set with the king pieces looking like each of them. He lets Kyotsi keep the stone-axe so ply his own trade. He also insists on a fine wooden tub Tuukaa had made and a smoked pike. Tuukka has already made another stone-axe. A fresh stone was a good idea anyway.

Day 3 of the 8th week before summer seasons

The stocks of boards Kyosti made are still plentiful. Tuukka has found the training from the villagers very helpful. Though he is no master trapper the traps are catching the odd bird or fox. He only fishes when those cuts of meat run low. There is several days working as a carpenter for the village. He is also stocking up trade goods and good boards for the next voyage. For fun he even makes himself a portable stool with well sanded boards for a smooth sit.

<Tuukka made stool>>>

Brygun

« Reply #19 on: December 11, 2020, 09:27:33 AM »

Day 4 of the 8th week before summer season.

This morning with another healing frostbite pinch in a foot Tuukka sorts through his stores of hides. He figures there is enough bird leather to make a fresh pair of laced shoes. With what he has learned these past months from the villagers the result is certainly an improvement. These are low cut shoes coming just above the ankle. Each secured by a leather cordage to close the gap. The seams this time are certainly better. The old ones are so badly worn out. Gaps are sewn over several times to rip again. He just discards them which the villager’s decide to burn. With all the frostbite and sickness exposure Tuukka had in those its not worth taking risks. It was probably the smell.

Walking into the thigh deep snow Tuukka is quite happy with the feel of the new shows. The fur wraps were put back on top of them. The shoes feel like they are keeping melting snow out. This should be so much safer. The weather is still quite cold. A weather eye for temperature is still needed, his breath lasting a moderate time in front of him.

For crafting Tuukka makes larger pieces for trade. Like a pair of benches for the hall. He also decides to set up boards drying. Enough to make a go at building the villagers a closet. Only after the wood is dried to you really know its size. Working with green wood will have gaps appear in furniture when it eventually dries smaller. It will take nine days to dry and a few more for the sanding then building. Given how cold it is the ice in the seas will likely last that long. It would make a nice grand piece for these people to remember him by.

Day 7 of the 8th week before summer

The villagers were telling tales of a Bouidda who would catch seals. In the rare times they come ashore they might waddle into a trap. Tuukka wasn’t sure if this was the most efficient way. There was talk of using nets. Making nets takes a lot of decent cordage which Tuukka doesn’t have. More leather for clothes and chubby seal meat have enticed Tuukka.
Recalling having once seen seal tracks, at least he thinks they were seal tracks, at the landing camp Tuukka has adjusted his traps there. In addition to the moved lever big lever trap he adds two more. All fairly close to where the seal tracks had been right west of the fishing shelter. There hasn’t been any seal tracks for weeks. Tuukka shrugged. These would catch other animals too. He placed into the traps little roach fishes from his own fishing. Perhaps that is better bait for a seal. The cut of meat that was in the moved trap is used to now bait the fox trap. There is also meat in the three log bear trap that nothing seems to have disturbed.
Turning to look a willow grouse is in flight. Tuukka watches it pass, circle then land for the bait of a light trap. He actually say it get caught! Tuukka put out heather flowers as a thank you for the spirit then collected the bird. A squirrel was found frozen dead in a trap at the logging camp.
Both grouse and squirrel were taken back to the village hall. Tuukka did a lot of his work there now. First it had been for the warmth. Then the warmth of heart of having people. Now those people were teaching him skills and telling him stories. His games of hide and sneek with the children had also gotten him better at moving quietly. Watching how the people tracks changed had also helped his skills as did talking about animal tracks with them. Tuukka would leave the village much better skilled than when he stumbled in.

Day 1 of the 7th week before summer season

Using boards split and felled by Kyotsi a pair of decent tables was made by carpenter Tuukka. They were given in exchange for a heavy bag of barley grains. Checking about the pot that bag was about a third the worth of the one metal pot they village could spare. Perhaps that closet Tuukka was planning would fetch that pot. That is waiting on the boards drying.


<Tuukka drying boards 2>>>

Brygun

« Reply #20 on: December 11, 2020, 09:30:22 AM »
A shout out to Iago.

His whittling ideas have been in the BAC for a long time under Carpentry. Currently Tuukka is making frequent use of it. It also is a good task to do with an hour or two before sleeping. The stages of whittling then choosing a build path give several options. Its also various different items which is more important now that Saami put in "they have enough X" code.

Brygun

« Reply #21 on: December 11, 2020, 07:01:02 PM »
Day 5 of the 7th week before summer season.

“So you will be sailing to the mainland on a raft?” sage Torkel asked, “I thought you were a boat builder.”

Tuukka’s shoulders hunched, “Yes I am but there isn’t anyone here selling the tools or nails nor can in winter one fetch out ores from a swamp.”

“A forest has different animals,” sage Torke, “Are there different kinds of boats?”

Tuukka nodded to the sage, “Yes. I might not be able to make a clinkered punt nor gather the leather for a simple punt. A dug out then folded out punt is possible. I’d need to make pitch glue for bending heat and sealing it.”

“Glue making stinks,” a passing woman said, “Don’t you dare do that in our hall!”

Torkel waved to the woods, “There you go. You can make the glue at your camps.”

Tuukka thought for a moment, “Yes I can do that. I’ll need to carve a block into a pot shape for cooking pine tar into glue.”

Tuukka walked out into the woods. The pine tar is lumps of sap formed over old wounds on a pine tree. In a forest one can find bits of it here and there. He walked slower through the woods toward the fishing camp weaving in his path to search. Slowly his shirt began filling up.

Tuukka went to the fishing camp. It was here he started hollowing a block of wood from the burnable stocks there. The top center was burned for a while then the weakened area chiseled out. This would be repeated until the block had a hollow center. Once done hot rocks from a fire could be put in to heat water. It was crude and awkward but it could reach a low boil. That would melt the pine tar clumps to mix with charcoal remains from a fire tomake a glue.
Tuukka caught a more fish before slithering in between the spruce mats. With them, his elk fur clothing, new shoes and the mild weather he was able to sleep well enough without an overnight fire.


Day 2 of the 6th week before summer season

It had taken a few days with the stone axe to work a block into a hollow for a block pot. He still hadn’t fired the pine tar yet. He probably would have to gather more too. A very cold night had come. At risk of freezing Tuukka elected to run back to the village. There he slept in the hall again after those night away. It also looked like the boards for the closet had dried. It took the whole day to sand all the boards. Almost time to make the closest for the village.

The next morning the several days away meant it was time to check the traps. At the logging camp nothing had been disturbed. At the landing camp it was much the same. Settling into chore doing Tuukka began resetting the trap. There was a thud and a snort. A bear? That sounded dangerous. Tuukka turned around fearful of being attacked.

There, in an ice edge trap, was a badger. Mean and nasty. Furry. Hurt. Caught.

That may have been what was scaring off the seals. Tuukka guessed with its white fur it might have been waiting in a snow bank for a seal

Brygun

« Reply #22 on: December 11, 2020, 07:53:24 PM »
Dealing with a badger needs to be done carefully. Tuukka considers how to do so safely. He has a stockpile. There are two large stones and twenty five rocks he collects. Battering the badger from a distance is far safer. Heaving the first stone it smashes into the badger and it falls unconscious. Warily approaching Tuukka smashes the stone-axe into its skull. Basic care of the trap is done and the trap he was working on when he heard the badger. The skinning will be done in the village to proudly show them the beast.

Tuukka checks on his plans for the closet. Now he realizes he doesn’t have hinges! This will have to be shelves. Its rather embarrassing to tell the villagers. At least the shelves will still let them sort their household goods.

Day 6 of the 6th week before summer season, Early Soil month

The shelves have been made. It has inconsistencies with some twists in the boards. That is part of having chosen the average boards not the better ones. The better ones from Kyotsi’s work had gone into other smaller projects. Terhiki comes over right away to inspect it.

Terhiki says, “I need this. Someone pay Tuukka! I have all my herbs, spices, medicines and flowers to sort. This is going to be mine understand!”



<Tuukka made shelves>>>

Brygun

« Reply #23 on: December 11, 2020, 08:51:02 PM »
OOC:

Game bug

https://www.unrealworld.fi/forums/index.php?topic=6103.0

The pot (unpaid) isn't generating trade dialogues but is generating thief messages. Thief messages lead to hostility which I not only don't want but Tuukka might not survive.

Trying to deal with the game issues best I can as a player. One thing about making the frequent saves is I can frame the timeline for Saami.


(Game bug, reported, pot becoming free on its own. Poking around on prices a pot is 224 torches and its about 13 (?) arrows to a squirrel hide. The shelves decent quality is worth 24 squirrel hides. So the ‘inferior’ shelf is somewhere around the value of the pot. Since I can’t use the trade system due to the bug I’m leaving the shelves as payment…

…or not… as trying to leave with the pot is generating thief messages)
« Last Edit: December 11, 2020, 08:53:33 PM by Brygun »

Brygun

« Reply #24 on: December 12, 2020, 04:45:04 AM »
Day 6 of the 6th week before summer.

Getting the pot is proving troublesome. They want the shelf but its not condition isn’t enough to pay for it. Still Tuukka hopes to finish that trade. He had moved some of the boards to the landing camp. Those may be needed for more trade goods.
Arriving at the landing camp finds two ravens flapping in a trapping and a growl. A wolf! A wolf is trapped in the three log bear trap. Tracks suggest the wolf had been attracted by the trapped birds. Tuukka looks around nervous of stories of wolf packs but finds none. The birds are quickly dispatched. The wolf takes a barrage of stones and rocks before being unconscious. A stone-axe strike the skull ends it. The whole wolf weighs in at sixty five pounds. A decent four pound skin comes off the wolf, thirty pounds of meat and the bones.
A sacrifice of thanks is made to the local spirits. Tuukka cleans the skins, resets and rebaits the traps. The thought of other wolves in the area discourages staying in the landing camp over night. The rest of the tanning will be done at the stead.
At the village there is much rejoicing. Sage Torkel suspects it was a gift wolf but if not then it was a lone wolf. A lone wolf could get hungry and might endanger people.

“A gift wolf that isn’t caught in a proper trap can become a lone wolf,” Torkel said, “It is a testament of your trap skill to have caught it.”

Terhiki crossed her arms, “Well? Are you trading the shelf for the pot now? Those old furs you don’t need now? Or your old hood? Then you can wear a wolf hood.”

Tuukka said, “Well, let me think. That wolf hood idea sounds good. It will show my journeys.” 

<Tuukka caught wolf>>>

Brygun

« Reply #25 on: December 12, 2020, 07:41:37 AM »

Thus it was that Tuukka finally got a metal pot for cooking. The inferior shelves, fine boards, gaming sets, his roughed up fur hood and numerous small things were needed in the trade. The metal pot opens up a lot of cooking options.

The main task now then is working towards a Finnish punt. One that is a hollowed dug out log then folded outward. The folding is done with steaming and pitch to temporarily soften the wood to turn the arcs of the hollow out. This will displace more water while providing vertical height to resist waves.

As Terhiki had suggested, and with her help, Tuukka would now wear the wolf. Using the wolf’s fur. bones, thin wood and cords they made a wolf animal headdress for Tuukka. It is styled to keep the ears pointing out and the eye holes appears to be looking forward. As if the gift-wolf was watching what Tuukka was doing. Torkel came along chanting over the headdress. A thanks and invitation to the gift-wolf to watch over  whomever wore this provided, to drive away bad spirits and warn them of danger.

Now for the dug out punt, a far simpler craft than the clinkered punts he had apprenticed from his family making. For where to build Tuukka choses the fishing camp. This will leave the large traps at the landing camp less disturbed in hopes of other mid-sized animals like the badger or wolf. The fishing camp is at water making it possible, when the ice melts, to sail the punt over to the landing camp where the supplies are currently stored.

For a tree Tuukka chooses pine as the preferred material. Its soft, as woods go, to empty out yet decently durable. He strolled the slopes looking for a good tree. It should be a healthy diameter with good straightness. Straight can be found from a tree in a center clump where the outer trees had to sheltered it from wind. This he brings down and drags across the snow to the fishing camp.

To feed himself he ground rye grains, purchased earlier, into flour. He had wolf meat still but could fish when exhausted. In the village, with Terhiki’s guidance, he cooked the resulting flour into a hard tack.


Day 6 of the 5th week before summer season

Traders visited the landing camp. They talk of wanting furs, like that in the wolf headdress. They offer quality metal goods like a mace weapon. They don’t seem to have much interest in the camp. They to are waiting for the ice to melt so they can trade on the mainland. Tuukka shows his traps as he resets them. They promise to let him skin the animals if they get caught. They want to have good relations in later expeditions.

At the fishing camp the stone-axe is awkward to use. It takes some going so a new edge is worked onto this second stone-axe. The bark was easy enough to clean off. It was tacking off big chunks yet not random destruction to give the log a pointed shape. Fatigued Tuukka sits on the rough stool in the matted shelter using the fishing rod to bring in a harvest of fish.

The next day the work of burning the pointed log begins. Just like the block pot a controlled burn on the center weakens it making it easier to dig out material. This is done multiple times over multiple days to create an upward open C shape. The weather of Soil month is at times above freezing. It will be some times before the great sheets of sea ice melt. Rain started in the afternoon. Its wetness speeding the descent of snow and ice.

To get the deeper wood out a normal axe swing no longer works. Tuukka converts a stone into a stone based adze axe. The blade is turned sideways to as to swing with a scooping motion. There is two days of this plus time fishing. Tuukka fetched one of the perfect looking boards from those Kyotsi had made. Tuukka smiles wide at the perfect looking paddle he carves from it.
On another day comes the expanding. The pitch glue is mixed with steaming hot water to be pasted as a hot paint. Stakes and slender trunks are shoved in with the weight of heaving blocks pushing them down. As the steaming paint heats the wood it softens enough to give way to the spreading force. It has to sit like this for some time.

Day 6 of the 4th week before summer season.

Tuukka is tapping his knife and small knife along the wood. The imperfections of axe and bending are straightened for clean water shedding lines. More pitch glue mixed with water as a paint is spread along this time at a cooler temperature. This is the second layer which will seek the last cracks or the spots just worked by a knife. This seals the punt from absorbing water while also giving it the black coloring.

Tuukka is so happy as he faces to land with one foot in the punt. His other foot pushes them off. A ritual launching taught by his father. The punt slides into the punt. With the new paddle making decorative twirls Tuukka crosses the short open space over to another island. Most of the coast is still blocked with ice. This channel had remained open. One the east side was the fishing camp. Now Tuukka stood on the ground of the west. He was greatly pleased.

<Tuukka made Finnish punt>>>

Brygun

« Reply #26 on: December 12, 2020, 11:39:31 PM »
Looking across the sea to the fishing camp Tuukka feels a deep pride. He was back. Like coming home. He was again a fisherman boat-builder. He had awoken with nothing but his skills. Death danced with him in the cold. He had lived. He had come from one to a second and a now a third mountain. The wolf headdress seemed to stare farther east. As if it could something of his life farther east still.

Tuukka wished to celebrate. He gathered eight stones to make a four star compass, two stones deep, around a dip in the ground. In the dip he started a small branch fire for smoke climbing upwards to the ancestors. He puts heather flowers as an offering into the fire.

Then he explored this third island. There were a lot of hills and cliffs. There wasn’t any other settlement here. In the spring there would probably be lots of different plants. On the highest part of the nearest cliff he stacked rocks and stones in an anokshook marker. There was a lonely tall pine and a great boulder watching. The three would now keep each other company.

Near the shore there was a fallen tree and other stones. These Tuukka quietly asked to come. They would be proof that he had been across the sea. Backwards pushing in ritual the punt took to the water. On the open sea Tuukka fished up a half dozen bream. The first of these was tossed back to the sea in a ritual of thanks.

On returning to the village Tuukka tries seeking in as far as he can. The child Mikko soon spots him. They laugh at their game. Torkel the sage turns to approach.

“I have been told to speak to you,” Torkel said.

Tukka asked, “What chores does the village need done?”

“Its the spirits that spoke,” said Torkel, “They have said to teach you the beginner lessons.”

Torkel began to explain nature of spirits. It seemed familiar from the stories of Tuukka’s youth. There was more in this telling. Something deeper was being said. The wolf headdress shifted as if nodding in attention to the sage. The lore of the man of the forest, with his grey hat, is explained. An offer of silver is needed.

The village has a silver bracelet for trade. Tuukka wonders for a moment if this just a way to get him to buy the bracelet. Winds shift the wolf head dress as if it was shaking its head no. Tuukka could make another dug out punt. Leaving this Islander village with a fresh boat is even better than those wobbly shelves.

An idea came to him. It turned over in his head. He would try selling the punt he just made. Then the new one for himself would come from the tree of the third island. Alas in trade they insist on a few things more, it is silver after all.

Tuukka goes about gathering boards stockpiled at the landing camp. He makes some benches and still more is needed. There is quite a bit of work to do.

Day 1 of 3rd week before summer season

While travelling Tuukka hears a man singing to the south-west. The voice is unfamiliar. He is boasting in his song of robberies done.

<Tuukka hears robber>>>

Brygun

« Reply #27 on: December 14, 2020, 02:27:19 AM »
What to do about the robber? With dispersed camps Tuukka could well be robbed without knowing about it for days. The villagers are in danger. Perhaps though there lies the solution. Ill equipped Tuukka might higher up a fighter or two to take the robber on. Together they might manage it.
Kyosti is Tuukka’s first choice, the one who gave him the fishing pole that has meant so much and made the boards Tuukka used for weeks. Kyosti says he couldn’t come now. Sage Torkel of course shouldn’t be risked nor leave the village. Olaus, the other woodsman, couldn’t be arranged for either.
Without company this will be more dangerous. Tuukka thinks then to go to the landing camp for supplies to make himself a wood shield. Made with his stone axe it is a rough substitute for a proper wooden shield with a metal boss. This one has a raised grip to make a place to put a hand. Less wieldy to be sure though certainly better than nothing. It troubles Tuukka that this takes the rest of the day. The thief could well have escaped. At least the thief hasn’t raided the landing and its stores of seed crop.

Day 2 of the 3rd week before summer

The day is quite warm. The sea ice on the coasts is depleting yet enough to still change traveling to the mainland. Thigh deep snow burdens movement but will also make it easier to track the brigand. First he checks the fishing camp with its shelter, stool and stocks of wood. No disturbance there.
Now skilled in tracking, much thanks to Torkel and the villagers, Tuukka seeks to find the bandit’s tracks. The effort is fruitless. Checks of coastal ice was done, where the wind might have hidden the tracks. High cliffs are climbed to gaze out. There isn’t any sign of the bandit. There is still enough ice such that if one dared it they could go to other islands that way. Perhaps then that is where the bandit sounding man went.
Fishing at the fishing camp for the rest of the day is followed by a night guarding the landing camp. Awakening Tuukka has decided that rather than more furniture to make more shields, that the villagers might better defend themselves. Like his own they will lack a metal center boss so an raised handle is needed.
Voices of the traders are heard singing. Perhaps it was them the bandit was after. Perhaps it was they who dealt with the bandit. With armor and metal weapons it would have been quite easy!
Tuukka finds Kyotsi. Deliberately Tuukka buys back some items at low value in exchange for one of the wooden shields. He wants his friend to be well protected! A similar, though not so generous, bargain is struck so that Olaus the other woodsman will have a shield.
More carpentry and more shields. Finally the silver bracelet is purchased for the first punt with its fine lines, 2 shields and a host of other carpentry work.
Now to arrange to be up at midnight for the ritual of meeting the man of the forest. Also to make himself a punt. There is a happiness in Tuukka knowing his friends have furniture, a fishing punt and shields. He hopes they will tell of his visit for some time. He certainly will remember them.

<Tuukka got silver bracelet>>>

Brygun

« Reply #28 on: December 14, 2020, 02:29:50 AM »
Note:

I did do trades with the Kyotsi and Olaus so they have shields in their equipment. It was a way to make sure they have them. Might be important if I hire them later on. Two more shields were involved with the trade for the bracelet.

Brygun

« Reply #29 on: December 14, 2020, 06:25:55 AM »
To ready for the ritual of greeting Tuukka forces himself to do chores in the night. This lets him sleep in the day to be awake at night.

Day 1 of the 2nd week before summer season

In the dark of night Tuukka returns to an ant nest he had marked on an earlier day. He shaves off silver as instructed. Its strange to see the silver fleck into the nest. He stays up until the small hours of dawn. He never saw the gray man. Tuukka wonders if he should try again once on the mainland.
For now he has his own punt to replace. The snows have receded from his thighs to his knees.
First he makes a fresh batch of pine tar glue. The good amount he will need for mixing for the steaming and later sealing. A mix of roasted fish and rye baking sustain him. The “sacred” log from across the waters is cleared of its bark into a log shape. That took a day the next day he’s studying the log. There are defects in this tree he’s not sure about cutting through.
Frustration is settled with fishing sessions. Getting off his stool for a walk he checks a birch. Finally the birch bark is in condition to be pulled off. Frustration grows again as two trees are felled then converted to logs to find defects making them inappropriate to continue. Tuukka made one already. Perhaps the Gray Man of the forest didn’t appear because of some imbalance in the spirit realm with tendrils around Tuukka. Tuukka decides to head to the village to hire one of the woodsmen.
Speaking to Olaus its learned old man Teppo needs chores done. It simple work done in a few hours. While doing it a hare ran by very close. Perhaps a sign the woods are calming to Tuukka.

Day 2 of the last week before summer season.

Today green greets Tuukka. The snows have melted in blotches. The sea ice seems to be weakening.

Tuukka hasn’t yet found a viable tree for his second punt. He made one before so it is a little confusing to him. Now he will either have to use the raft or just keep trying. With the bark of the various trees harvestable he gathers quite a bit of birch and rowan. Rowan bark is worked into a set of tassets decorated with elk bones, the bones of the first animal he found in the ice here at the landing camp.
Tuukka takes a break by working on other projects, making fish glue for a bow. He fells a possible birch and sections it up. Nothing really looks too god for bow making.
Coming back fresh minded to the punt Tuukka gets started on the punt again. He tries on one of the partially worked trees. It really is looking full of knots and parts that might crack. Struggling for days Tuukka comes to appreciate the value of skilled woodsman like Kyotsi. Was it one of the trees he had worked on?

Day 5 of the 13th week before midsummer.

Tuukka has three pointed logs all with concerns and one unpointed log around the fishing camp. Its time to just get going on one of them. He chooses the original intended “spirit” log from the other island.

There are many steps where he can clean out problems so long as the material that is left is the good. He turns the log to a slight angle to aim the worst at the top. Hacking the start of the opening and starting the burn Tuukka starts getting around the worst parts. He reshapes the bow and stern to compensate. It might turn out okay after all.

The next day he continues digging deeper with the adze. New fires started inside. Tuukka smiles then laughs. Its coming together decently after all. Maybe he was too nervous. Still a better start is always good. One must do with what can find, or something like that. After that days hard work he works the traps at the landing and logging camp. The landing camp traps he leaves the section he has to walk a ways to check down so as not to accidental leave caught animals suffering.
A few days later Tuuka has done the deep digging then pitch-steamed the walls to expand the boat shape. He finishes it off producing a decent Finnish punt. Its not as magnificent in his mind as the first one but it will do well on the seas.

Day 3 of the 12th week before midsummer

Skillfully Tuukka paddles in his new Finnish punt. A testing is done fishing between the two islands. To honor the boat the first fish caught is thrown back. Probing along the ice packs Tuukka does a few yards of dragging overland to slip around a sheet of ice. Then he paddles along finding a narrow path where the punt just squeezes by. A pleasant sea battle on a sunny day finds him sailing onto the beach at the landing camp!
Checking stores he’ll have to leave wood and other stockpiles behind.

<Tuukka sailed to landing camp>>>

(OOC: a bit confused over why he couldn't make the pointed logs when he did it before. Has the same tools and his skill is better. Did tweak the recipe to shorten the time slightly. Its supposed to be doable with stone tools.)

IF you wish to learn more of this type of punt there are links in the BAC text which is as follows:

// >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
// Finnish dug out punt
// uses 6 steps
//
// Brygun's inspiraton based on discussions at
// https://www.unrealworld.fi/forums/index.php?topic=4661.0
// espicially Erkka (co-dev of UrW) sharing a youtube
// https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW7BdhOZZ_c&t=4s
//
// Requires a Stone adze axe or Iron adze axe
//


« Last Edit: December 14, 2020, 06:29:11 AM by Brygun »