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[Glacies]

The year is 1839

The place is the Rapid farm, just on the outskirts of a place, not properly a town, called Sandy Lake, Mercer County, Pennsylvania.

Unremarkable. That's the way Emmett Rapid would be described, if people bothered to describe the Rapid Family's youngest surviving child at all. Emmett was by all accounts a good son, doing his chores with little fuss, taking in the schooling he was given with only the usual difficulties of a boy his age.

A few miles east of the Rapid's farm lived the Rapid's neighbors, the McKinneys. The McKinneys were a mostly unsociable family, old half-remembered feuds simmering beneath the surface. It was pure luck on Emmett's part that the head of the McKinney household was in a good mood when he discovered his daughter, Eunice, was pregnant. Instead of nailing the youngest Rapid's head to a tree, he opted for hosting a traditional hastily arranged shotgun wedding. The Rapids were not terribly pleased by this, but an uneasy agreement was reached. This is how Emmett has come to be a husband at sixteen.



This has not been a bad thing for the newlyweds, all things considered. Despite the understanding originally being a wholly carnal thing, the two do get along in day-to-day matters. It remains to be seen if this will continue to be the case. Arrangements have been made for Eunice Rapid to move in at the Rapid farm, at least until they can manage to find their own place.

One day, a friend of the family they hadn't laid eyes on a long time, Joshua Lawsson, happened to visit the family. Lawsson was a fur trader out west, a boisterous Norwegian with a bright red beard in contrast to his dark and receding scalp. Some sort of fever left him half deaf and so he spoke at volume with great enthusiasm, a trait that made him undesirable company to most. It had been years since he had last been around, but the decade had done little to change him. Save that he was going gray at the temples, Lawsson was the same man the family knew ten years ago.



At dinner that evening, he described a paradise out west, a 'land of milk and honey', a lush river valley begging to be settled. Highly taken with the idea of this place, Emmett and Eunice asked more of it, and Lawsson described the Willamette valley in great detail. Free of the fever and ague of the Mississippi, but lush and fertile, it sounded perfect. To get there, they would need to take the train to Missouri, then join a wagon train heading west along the Oregon trail.



That night, the young Rapids discussed the idea with their family, and they agreed to scrape together the money for the train ticket and supplies. Lawsson volunteered to guide them as far as Missouri, and maybe further. First, they would have to journey to Youngstown, which was some fifty miles away. Depending on the time Emmett and company make, this could range from a two to a four day journey through fairly civilized territory. From Youngstown, they could take the train all the way through Ohio and Indiana, Illinois and straight on to Missouri. From there, they would have to join a wagon train.

The Rapid family provides Emmett and Co. with $400 dollars, plus fare for the train. Emmett's brother will come with him as far as Youngstown so that they can travel by horse. Once they arrive at Youngstown, Emmett's brother will leave the party and return the horses.



-

Name: Emmett Rapid
Health: Perfect

Education: 2
Smarts: 3
Constitution: 3
Handiness: 3
Vision: 3
Luck: 5
Faith: 2

-

Inventory:
RATIONS x36
HORSE x4

[Andres]

We are a man.

Education: 2
Smarts: 3
Constitution: 3
Handiness: 3
Vision: 3
Luck: 5
Faith: 2

[StrawBarrel]

We are a man.

Education: 2
Smarts: 3
Constitution: 3
Handiness: 3
Vision: 3
Luck: 5
Faith: 2

+1 Sounds fine.

[Andres]

Bump.

[Glacies]

Bump.

Working on the update now, dont'cha worry. Might be a few hours, since drawing pictures and the like.

[Nunzillor]

We are a man.

Education: 2
Smarts: 3
Constitution: 3
Handiness: 3
Vision: 3
Luck: 5
Faith: 2

+1 Sounds fine.

+1 We'll need that luck.  Edit: Ninja'd by GM.

[Glacies]

The OP has been updated.  This should help set the mood.



Before you leave the Rapid farm, is there anything you want to pack? Come up with a list. Most reasonable requests can be accommodated.

You will need to determine rations and pace.

You can consume scarce rations (1), reasonable rations (2), or hearty rations (3) each day of travel. Hearty rations are good for your expedition members. Scarce rations are bad for them. Unless you have a very good reason, short-changing party members you don't like of rations is terrible for morale.

You can travel 12 hours a day, 14 hours a day, or 16 hours a day. Traveling for a long time each day depletes the stamina of your expedition members.

Character: Health/Morale

Emmett: Perfect/Good
Eunice: Perfect/Good
Lawsson: Perfect/Good
Georgie: Perfect/Good

[StrawBarrel]

I'm not that good at Oregon Trail, but I guess we should try to bring extra sets of clothes, a hen for eggs, a bucket, frying pan, kettle, thread, sewing needles, eating utensils, blankets, and a knife.

Settings to reasonable rations (2) and 14 hours a day.

[Glacies]

It's May 15th, 1839, fairly warm and pleasant out. The weather is Clear.

I'm not that good at Oregon Trail, but I guess we should try to bring extra sets of clothes, a hen for eggs, a bucket, frying pan, kettle, thread, sewing needles, eating utensils, blankets, and a knife.

Extra sets of clothes x6, Hen, Bucket, Mess Kit, Sewing Kit, Blankets x4, Multipurpose Knife acquired! The Rapid family has no qualms about providing these things. The party also receives a pair of simple canvas tents.

Settings to reasonable rations (2) and 14 hours a day.

Pace set accordingly.

---


From right to left: Joshua Lawsson, Emmett Rapid, Eunice Rapid, Georgie Rapid

The Rapid party sets a fair pace early that morning, though not hard enough to exhaust the horses. The trail to Sandy Lake cuts through thick pine forest, the morning air alive with bird song. Georgie rides a little ahead of the party, characteristically quiet. Lawsson is the opposite, and almost the moment after they set out he regales Emmett and Eunice with stories about the Willamette valley. His focus wanders, and soon he's babbling about the fur trade in Colorado.

“Course', then I was selling hides to the men in Fort Le Duc, but I hear it ain't doin' business any more. Colorado's wilder than Penn, place got burned out. By Indians, most likely. Apaches, or Utes or something like that.”

“Are there many Indians in Willamette, Joshua?” Eunice asked.

“Not as such. The sickness that comes with missionaries and such mostly killed them, that's what I hear.” Lawsson replied.

The party is almost at Sandy Lake by the end of the day, but has to stop and camp as it starts to get dark. Georgie goes to tie up the horses, tents are erected and insulated with pine boughs, and Emmett leaves to gather kindling.

Emmett is gathering kindling for a fire when he catches sight of a black wolf, unusual for the area, watching him intently from the woods. They stare at each other, then the wolf turns, apparently satisfied and pads off into the woods. Emmett can't help but shudder, and he thanks his lucky stars that he was paying attention. Although wolves don't attack people at all often, it was still unsettling.



Emmett returned to the camp and dropped the kindling for the fire unceremoniously, looked at Eunice, who was sitting with his brother and working on some sort of sewing project. “Saw a wolf out in the woods.” he said matter of factly.

“A wolf?” she asked, looking up from her sewing for a moment.

“Yeah. A big black one. All alone, too.” Emmett knelt, and started tucking the kindling beneath the tent of sticks Lawsson had set up.

“Is that so? What was he doing?” Eunice asked.

“Watching me.” said Emmett, struggling with flints. “Wish we had some matches.”

---


May 15th, 1839
Weather: Clear

Party Condition:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Emmett: Perfect/Good
Eunice: Perfect/Good
Lawsson: Perfect/Good
Georgie: Perfect/Good

Inventory:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

RATIONS x28
HORSES x4
SPARE CLOTHING x6
TENTS x2
BLANKETS x4
HEN x1
BUCKET x1
MESS KIT x1
SEWING KIT x1
MULTIPURPOSE KNIFE x1

---

Unless there is specific feedback, the party will continue like this towards their destination on the rigorous "whenever I feel like updating" schedule. If you want Emmett to do specific things or talk to people, just say so.

[StrawBarrel]

I don’t have anything to suggest yet, but I have mention that the art and writing is pretty nice so far.