To survive and Thrive [closed thread]

- Thanks for the help.
- Only did what I was being paid for.
- Yes you did. Yes you did, indeed...

A young boy was peeking from a door but ran inside as the old man looked over his shoulder before walking over to the dust covered worker in front of him, stretching out a limp, pale skinned, hand, with impeccably clean fingernails.

- Is there anything we can do for you, son?
- Paying my due will be enough, sir.

The handshake was stiff and cold, as if touching something repulsive, after which he pulled back his hand and turned away, putting distance between himself and the dust covered figure standing under the morning sun.

- True, son.

He shouted inside as he climbed the 3 steps to the porch of the house to sit on a wide square stool, lined with died straw, cleaning his forehead and, more discreetly, his hands, to a large dark handkerchief he had produced from his left pocket; soon a woman in her early forties was at the door, wearing a dark colored straight cut dress with a stained and very use-beaten apron around her waist.

- Yes, Sir?
- Be a good girl and pay the man, Miriam.

Without a word, the woman turned back in. He remained silent where he was, looking at the other man as he now carefully cleaned a two-piece grayish white tobacco pipe, filled it with a coarse mix, lit and started pulling on it until a slow burning ember formed in the chamber; the smoke had a bitter and acidic scent.

- You smoke?
- No, sir.
- Mind if I do?
- It's your land; I believe a man is free to do as he chooses in his home.

The old man seemed amused by the answer and laughed, after which he smiled, large stained teeth showing, looking very pleased with himself. He kept pulling on the pipe, slowly, taking the smoke in, savoring it, looking at the man standing under the sun in front of his home. The morning was becoming warmer and the wind was dry against the skin, forewarning the hot day to come.

- You seem to be a smart man. Keep that way. It will keep you out of trouble and make your life a lot less painful.
- You believe so?
- I know so, son. You don't get old by being lucky; you get old being smart.
- I'll keep that in mind.
- You do that.

Coming from around the house, another man, in his mid-twenties, joined them. Tall and heavily built, he carried a hoe on his shoulder with a blade so large most men would be unable to use; he set it down, spat a foamy glob of spit to the ground and nodded to the outsider with a hint of disdain on his eye.

- Good morning.
- Good morning, Tom. I was just entertaining our guest for a moment.
- He's the man that fixed the water reservoir?
- He is, and a fine job he did.
- What's going to cost us, Will?
- Some supplies: food, clothes, footwear...

As silently as she had gone the woman returned, now carrying a large pile of items on her arms, that she promptly started displaying on the polished boarding of the porch: carefully folded, on a pile, two pairs of pants and three shirts. A pair of leather boots. A large water skin and a backpack, along with a small hunting knife, in its scabbard.

Walking over to the ledge of the porch, he took the boots on his hands; made of unstained leather, stitched together with what seemed to be twisted sinew string, with a thick, yet flexible sole, were very light and sturdy looking. He stopped to smell the leather before putting it down.

- Waterproofed?
- Treated with linseed oil, yes.

Backpack and water skin were both flexible and smooth to the touch, double stitched with the same sinew string used on the boots and the clothing items were made of a pale yellow fabric, slightly coarse to the touch.

- And the rest?
- Agatha!

At the call, a girl in her teens, dressed much like the older woman, walked outside and handed over what looked like a large envelope made of reeds, tied with a thick piece of string.

- Smoked meat and fish. Beans. Corn.

He followed her hand as she opened what was actually a cleverly made basket and pointed out each item, accessing the quantity and the aspect of the goods in front of him. Finally, taking the knife from its scabbard, he tested the edge on a fingernail.

- As agreed, son?
- As agreed.
- You can go, Miriam. And take Agatha with you.
- Yes, sir. Thank you.

The outsider quickly filled the backpack with the smaller items, hooked his older and smaller satchel to it, threw it onto his shoulders and picked up the empty water skin.

- You can fill that skin on the well near the gates. Tom will walk you out.

The old man dismissed them with a flick of his pipe and sent them on their way, Tom walking just a few steps behind the outsider, hoe again on his shoulder. Every garden they walked by smelled of freshly watered soil but all houses were silent as the two men walked across the small settlement and except for the encircled wheat fields waving under the breeze nothing moved.

Soon enough the village gate was in sight, a mesh of salvaged metal covered with discoloration marks where the metal had been heated to fuse the large nails used to hold the structure together over its hidden, tire filled, wooden skeleton; the rest of the wall looked very much alike, topped with a gangway and crowned with a few towers.

- There's the well. Fill your skins and hit the road.

Without a word, the man walked over to the well and did as he was told, under the eye of his makeshift guard.

- Man going out! Open the gate.

The gate screeched and creaked as it moved, opened just enough to allow a human body to slip trough its doors, stopped, and from the tower guard house near the gate, someone threw down what seemed to be a roll of cloth; Tom picked it up.

- If that wall you built comes down it won't matter, will it? You'll be long gone... And taking enough from us with you.
- I've worked for what I'm taking and just want what is mine.

He spoke without anger, looking straight into the eyes of the younger man.

- Now, if you please, the rest of my equipment.

Tom leaned forward, menacing, and shoved the parcel onto the outsider's chest.

- Get out.

Never taking his eyes from Tom's figure, the man crossed the gate, that quickly closed in front of him, with a loud thud. A moment after that, everything was silent and still again.

From inside the roll, the man produced a wooden staff and a belt with a large curved blade knife strapped to it that he put around his waist, hidden under his jacket, after which he tied the roll to the bottom of the backpack with whatever items still remaining inside.

The open road was in front of him, waiting, snaking as far as the eye could reach.

Colette was sitting in a cage. Trying once again not to cry. Just a few short hours ago, she was happily engaged to the son of her villages chief, and responsible for teaching the younglings of the village.

Colette was old enough to remember the before time. How happy she was living with her parents and going to school, and parties. But that all changed. Her parents died, and she lived on the streets until some kind soul in all black with a white collar took pity on her and brought her somewhere safe. He raised her, and other children he found later, educating them as the world crumbled.

One day the man they had come to know as Fr. Tony, went out to find food, and never returned. As the oldest Colette continued educating the others and scrounging for food. She kept them safe and feed as they grew. When they got older they began to raise some small crops, and they were able to trade some crops for livestock. Other people found the pleasant little village and it grew into a thriving community. Colette continued teaching the younglings.

The Village came to be called Tonyton after the man who started it. It was a peaceful place and very prosperus. Then one day a small band of raiders came and took much of their livestock and crops. That winter was a time of great sadness. Many died of starvation, and cold. The survivors began to rebuild. They built a wall keeping their own in and outsiders out.

The wall wasn't enough though and they occasionally were raided. One day the Village elders sent someone to the local warlord to ask about protection. The warlord agreed to protect them for a tribute. The Elders agreed.

Many years passed and no raiders had bothered the Village. The wall had fallen into disrepair, and other defnsive projects were only half completed, and work on them had been abondoned. Until today...

Word had reached the village that a large raiding party had attacked several of Tonytons trading partners and they were on there way to Tonyton. The elders sent their fastest runners to the warlords camp to ask for help. The runners never returned, nor did help arrive.

The few warriors in the village fought valiently along with the farmers, merchants, traders, pilgrims, and even visitors. Unfortunatly the lack of weapons, training, and being outnumbered 4 to 1 the one sided battle was over quickly. The townsfolk lost.

The raiders rounded up all the survivors. They killed to elderly, and any male old enough to bear weapons. The few males too young to be a threat were taken as prizes by the raiders to be raised as their own. The Females old enough to bear children were put in cages to either be sold to pleasure traders, or kept to bear children for the raiders.


All the woman were stripped naked, and loaded into a cage. Except Colette. SHe was stripped and put into a seperate cage. Then the raiders looted the village and began to feast on the livestock and drink all the fermented beverages they could find. While watching the raiders destroy all she had built up, she found a small stone and started to try and fray the fibers holding the cage together.

She waited until all the raiders went down for the night, and she was able to squeeze through the opening she made. She couldn't find any clothes, but grabbed one raiders weapons laying on the ground while he slept.

She ran from the village to a cave she had stocked with provisions for just such an emergency. There wasn't much there just some dried cured meat, a small amount of water, no clothes or weapons. She spent the night there, eating most of her food and drinking all of her water. In the morning she heard the raiders leaving the village without noticing...or caring she was gone.

Around midday she prepared to leave the cave with her megar possessions, 2 strips of dried meat, 1 piece of dried fruit, one small battle axe, a small knife, 2 empty water skins, 40 trader coins, a fire tool, a length of rope, and a satchel to carry it all.

She stayed in the woods heading west so her shadow wouldn't give her position away before she could see other travelers. She stuck to the side of the road so she would be able to hide and observe any who approached before revealing herself.

She came upon a small creek, and started a small fire to boil some water. Once boiled she drank her fill and filled her skins. She ate the las tof her food, and laid out the rope in a circle around her to keep away killer animals.

In the morning, she fashioned a wooden spear and was able to catch several fish for breakfast. She skillfully cleaned and cooked them. As they fried on a heated stone, she heard someone approaching on the road...

After the collapse, deprived of all the aids that enabled the comfortable and easy way of life of the Late Modern Period, mankind had been cut down in its numbers to a point where it could no longer call itself a dominant species with Nature, rid of the constant interference of man, reclaiming the land and the planet becoming once again wild and full of life, with time slowly erasing what mankind had built over many centuries.



The small farming community was long lost in the distance when he started looking for a place to stop but not wanting to resort to his provisions he had to hunt and soon the land had one less fat rabbit running on it, put down with a well thrown stone from his sling; it would be enough to feed him for at least two days.

He took a sip from a water skin, with the rabbit already hanging from his belt, as he searched for a place to set up camp, and what seemed to be a small grove, just on the line of the horizon, felt adequate.

Avoiding the road as much as possible, he walked across the hills to the grove, becoming very pleased when he stumbled on a small pond at the foot of the hill, fed by a shallow creek that streamed down its side, a few yards away from the tree line. For all he could see the place hadn't had human presence recently but with a well used road nearby, unexpected – and most probably unwelcome – visitors were a possibility deeming the placed too exposed for his use. He decided not to camp there and instead he entered the woods and climbed up the hill, keeping the road and the creek on his right side. He was nearly at the top of the hill when the smell of smoke came to him, from the other side of the road.

Moving from tree to tree, using the shadows to conceal himself, he moved towards the direction the scent of smoke came from, aware for the presence of other human beings hiding underneath the trees as well. He walked with his staff in his right hand, ready to twirl it forward from behind his arm.

He was soon near the road again and there he found a few twigs snapped and grass that had been stepped on recently but the marks were small and lite, unlike the ones heavy boots would make. He found himself even more intrigued when he found another footprint on the ground, with all the toes showing perfectly. Robbers and bandits would not walk barefoot.

Carefully, he approached the road, his staff tucked behind his arm and against his torso, crossed it and walked towards where the smell of smoke was coming, noticing the occasional broken twig or blade of grass. He stopped on his tracks deciding if he should follow further or turn back and disappear, realizing whoever was hiding there had gone a long way to go unnoticed. Then a popping sound was heard – probably a piece of wood still a bit green bursting on the fire – followed by a sudden screech.

A dirty woodsmen appeared at the edge of the clearing she was hiding in. She scurried behind an outcropping hiding herself from the unknown person. Unsure of who he was or what he wanted, she just needed to make herself invisible. She had her belongings in her bag, and she could always catch more fish.

She watched as he stopped and looked around.

He heard a rustle, indicating someone had taken to hide somewhere, and risked moving to the small clearing he had come across. There, atop of a rock, some fish were cooking on a small fire, the source of the smell he had followed and all around the makeshift camp were the intriguing footprints of bare feet.

He stop to consider his options. Whoever was in hiding posed little to no threat to him but was nonetheless a risk to camp nearby with another person lurking around, no matter how bad that person was at concealing itself. On the other hand, if he wasn't to stop where he was, it could be a long walk until he would find another spot. He let out a half bored half disgruntled sigh.

«Come out of there before I get you out of there.»

He relaxed his stance and allowed the staff to come into full view, setting the end of it on the ground in front of his right boot.

«I mean you no harm.» His voice was now more paused and controlled. «But if you weren't aiming at having guests you should do a better job at hiding where you camp.

Colette was torn between throwing herself into this mans arms and running. She knew he wasn't a raider, but hwas unknown to her. Finally she decided that no matter what, he would find her. She stood up keeping her distance, holding her knife behind her back.

«Shit...»

The word blurted out of his mouth when the girl stood up, a few steps away from him, as she had come to the world. In his mind, he was trying to decided what would be the best thing to say next, in order to stop things from derailing ever further but everything pointed downhill from that point on. The only thing familiar In the entire situation was the suspicious look in her eyes and her effort to conceal something behind her back.

«Would you mind...» He stepped back a few steps as he chewed on the words. «...putting something on?»

He retreated even further, putting the fire between him and the girl, waiting for her to make her next move.

"I...I have....have nothing. My whole...whole village...village gone...raiders" she said starting to cry.

A series of curses and foul words came to his mind when he was able to make sense of the few words the girl was able to babble before bursting into tears, on the brink of going hysterical. In her present state she wouldn't had been able to walk very far from wherever her village was – or used to be, for all that mattered – and that made one single word she had pronounced the most important piece of information for the present moment: raiders.

In a moment his backpack was on the ground in front of him and one of the shirts he had received for his work was in his hand.

«Put that on and stop crying!» His voice was commanding but not menacing. «How long have that been? Where did you came from? How did you get here?»

He talked has he put his things back into the backpack, keeping an eye on her.

His words penetrated her grief. Clothes she saw a piece of material fall to the ground. She dashe dforward grabbed it and dashed back to her hiding place to put it on.

While on the woodsman it owould have been a shirt, on her it was almost a knee length dress. The rough material felt heavenly after nothing between her skin and the world for what seemed like days. She felt stronger, more sure of herself.

She stepped into the clearing keeping her knife in her hand but not hiding it. She snorted a few times and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of the shirt. After taking a few deep breaths, she collected herself.

Her voice still quivered and she watched him carefully. "Yesterday morn, they came to my village, Tonyton. After killing all the blade age men, they took all the younger males as prizes, and all females of child bearing age for breeding or to sell to pleasure traders. I was in a cage alone and I was able to escape after they consumed too much ale."

Tears came again but she continued her story without sobbing. "I had hidden a cache of supplies in a cave in case I ever had to flee. The local warlord had kept us safe for so long most of my supplies ahd been destroyed. I took what was salvageable and headed west into the forest. I walked most of the night until I found this spring. I filled my water skins, and caught fish for breakfast. Just as I was about to eat, I heard you coming."

She looked longingly at the fish which were fully cooked, wanting to eat but if she moved that way she would be too close to the stranger to easily escape if he was unfriendly.

"Thank you for the garment." She said remembering a lesson learned long ago from Fr. Tony.

What happened was of no concern; towns and villages were all the same to him and one more or one less on the map was nothing to lose sleep about. When and where it happened was relevant as it would help decide what to do next because the possibility to cross paths with raiders and the events that could sprout from such encounters were his only immediate concern.

«Shut up and start moving.» He noticed a long piece of sturdy rope on the ground. «Wrap that piece of rope around your waist and use it as a belt.»

The grove they were in was no longer a good place to stay. Although small, the fire on the ground was giving out enough smoke to signal its location in the distance; if there was someone looking for her, that would be enough to send a search party.

«Here. Eat.» He plucked the fish from the stone it had been cooking, pinching its tails between the thumb and index finger of his left hand and kicked some dirt over the fire to smother it. «We have to leave this place.»

His mind raced, reviewing the landscape around the hill, taking in consideration the information she had given him to trace the safest route to leave the place with the least change of being noticed and leaving and trail to be followed.

« Listen to me.» His voice was low and sharp as he addressed the girl again. «I don't know you, I don't care about your story but I can't just leave you here on your own and be in good terms with myself knowing you most probably have a pack of raiders chasing you down.» His eyes were hard as he stared her down. «I'll help you reach somewhere where you can be safe with other people. Fall behind and I'll leave you behind. Try to double-cross me and I'll kill you myself. Understood?»

Colette took the rope and cinched it around her waist showing off her hourglass figure. But when he started ordering her around, she stopped moving and looked at him.

"The Raiders approached my village from the North. I watched from my cave which was less than a bowshot from the town. They left heading South yesterday dawn. They did not look for me, I suspect they don't even know I escaped. I traveled West from the village, so they are at least two days travel from here."

She sat down and started eating her fish, and looked up at him. IF you would like the other one, I think that is fair payment for this garment. I also have other....other things I can...I can give you if you help me."

She blushed while saying this last part leaving no doubt she was offering her body to him for his help.

He was dumbstruck at the sudden shift in the girl's manners, mood and attitude. The possibility of her suffering from some kind of mental ailment came to his mind.

«Keep the shirt and make good use of it.»

He turned around and walked out of the clearing, leaving her behind, making sure he wouldn't be followed or tracked down. He sensed the girl would mean bad luck if he was to keep around. But the information she had given him was valuable and he would keep in mind that.

She watched him walk away. "May the saints protect you in your travels." She called after him as she continued eating her meal.

Once the fish she had caught had been consummed, she gathered up her meager belongings and began looking for someone to help her rescue the younglings from a life of slavery and abuse.