"Of course! It probably isn't winter yet, so there must be no snow!"
First of all, reminder the Bruford is an enormous giant made of iron. How big is the barn? Can I fit through the door? If I can't, then make a hole in the wall with my fists, one large enough to use as an exit. Don't collapse the celling.
The barn is rather big, and the barn doors are larger than the portal you crawled through to get here. How tall is Bruford?
Lookit the fluffy animals!
The animals are large. Huge, even. They are at least as big as Freddie, covered in thick white fur that is course and ropey, and built like elephants, minus the snouts and flappy ears. They have six wide feet and a long, wide, flat tail that they keep draped over their backs like a blanket. They are all facing away from you so you don't see their faces much. There is a wide feed trough running along the back of their stalls. Some are eating some kind of course, dry looking, needlelike grass or hay or leaves or something. OSme are standing still, and one or two are shuffling about and stomping in their stalls. Occasionally one will make a sound like a woodwind instrument. usually a few of the others will respond with short, hig pitched toots of their own.
"It'll probably be colder higher up."
Go through the sleds, see all the supplies we have in them
food, some kind of thick brown liquid, alcohol, big furry tents, small potbelly stoves without vent pipes, stacks of cubes that look like pressed wood, only made of emerald instead of pulp, lots of construction equipment, some paint supplies, some decorative cloth, decorative but still thick and functional, hammers and pitons. Maybe some other stuff?
Chirrip. Leave the barn and begin exploring the new environment by circling the barn repeatedly.
You walk out into the cool air and sniff. The scents of fruits past ripe on the trees, leaves ready to decay, woodsmoke drifting in the breeze, dung in quantity, and the wet smell of a mountain brook all come to you in a medley that practically screams 'autumn.' Several large, orange ranch hands observe you idly from a fence about a hundred yards away. You loop teh barn and discover that it is one of four giant-ass barns all arranged in a square with a wide open grass and dirt pasture surrounding them before the woods are allowed to grow in a ring in the background. beyond the trees, you see tree covered hills and low mountains. A flock of birds fills the sky several miles away, thousands of birds flying in a great mass, following a valley off to wherever birds go in this world. There are two suns. One is similar to the suns you are familiar with, but the other is wider, flatter, redder, and less bright by a lot. Almost like a fat round cloud reflecting red sunset rays instead of a self illuminating orb. Closer by, you see half a dozen carts fully loaded for bear. These carts are large, with sled runners instead of wheels, and look like they'd give you trouble to haul along.
(Note to self: for Gwyn to fire autonomously is BAAAAAD. Must wield weapon like normal gun from now on. ...great. Shell test success but ended early, consider also finding anti deaf gear...ow)
While making notes, ask the officer for a tutorial on HOW TO OPERATE GWYN WHEN FIRING
The officer directs yo and Gwen through a series of exercises, both in girl form and in weapon form. She's not only a cannon, but a bladed weapon as well, so he directs you on how to hold her, brace yourself, fire, swing the weapon, and some basic maintenance, including whatever cold weather maintenance Lenglon can tell you about. On expressing your uncertainties regarding your skills with these weapon types, the officer smiles and pats your shoulder. "If it were just a gun and a scythe, I might have given her to someone else with the appropriate skills. But she is a living being as well - well, a construct, but what's the difference? If you like, feel free to see how she operates in someone else' hands. Just hang onto the control crystal yourself, unless you really need to pass control off to someone else, in which case, Vladen or Clunkers should be able to care for her in your stead. I recommend you and those two discuss the situation and work out a plan among yourselves." ((need any more instructions? I'll assume the basics are fully coverd, and yo uand Lenglon can talk it out ooc when necessary. I'll answer direct questions though))
Clunkers, who has been following in autopilot mode for a while now, suddenly wakes up, his eyeslits flaring up with light.
"Statement: Ah, this one had a rather pleasant snooze.
Query: Someone remind this one what we were supposed to accomplish here? What are our exact mission parameters?"
Head outside through the barn door and take in my surroundings. Also check the temperature, do I need antifreeze yet?
See Freddie's turn for immediate surroundings. You note that this area is rural, with little sign of large scale civilization nearby, yet these barns are well built and well maintained in a manner suitable for a larger population than, say, some local village. These barns look like they wold fit a much more urban trade center than a backwoods, self contained community.
You check your internal thermometer: a cool 53 Farenheit (11.7 C). There are no mountains tall enugh to have a frost line, and there is no snow or ice in evidence anywhere. There are ranch hands nearby, and a building reveals itself in the woods about two hundred yards off, a thin trail of smoke rising from a chimney, and a footpath leading into the woods in that direction. Looks like that wold be living quarters or an office or visitor welcome center.