sixthiterationlogs | Exploration Attempt #1

Entry tags:

Exploration Attempt #1

WHO: Sam Wilson
WHERE: Outskirts of Village Area, various points (see subthreads)
WHEN: July 3 - Morning
OPEN TO: OTA
WARNINGS: N/A
STATUS: Open
NOTE: Subthreads will be set up for the different paths by myself and anyone else who wants to take a path. Once a path is claimed, feel free to tag into that group and be part of the exploration party.

A few of them had the same idea and it seemed to make the most sense to divide and conquer. They had no map or compass to use, so it made sense to meet in the morning and use the sunlight as their guide. Of course, they would be working on the assumption that this sun even WORKED the same way, but at least it followed SOME pattern so they may as well designate where it rose as "East" and where it was setting as "West." It was going to be difficult with limited tools, but it was better than just holing themselves up in the abandoned buildings hoping for something to change. Not that it really mattered whether it was east or west, they'd be starting on the roads leading out of the village so they had an easy division and land marker to start with.

Sam couldn't tell you whose idea it had been originally, but most of them had agreed pretty quickly. After meeting in front of the Pub, they would divide into groups and each take a different path out of town. If the path ended, then they'd just have to do their best to press on in the woods. If they couldn't find a way out before sunset they'd mark their stopping point and return to the pub. That way they could all share details and figure out a plan for another attempt. More optimistically, they'd return with an idea of how to get out, though Sam was skeptical about it being that easy.

For his own sense of consistency and to make referencing things a little easier Sam had designated the four paths by letter.

Path A would head past the Blacksmith Shop.
Path B would head past the School house.
Path C would head towards the River.
Path D would head towards the Police.

After scratching the letters out into the dirt of each path, he waited for the groups to form and then they'd head out.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Food and water. The basics would be nice," Sam admits. He's hoping for a bigger discovery of course, but he'll also take what he can get to survive here too. If that's what it comes to anyway. He hopes for more, but he'll take less.

Not seeing anyone jumping at the chance to explore, Sam beckons Peggy to follow with a tilt of his head and turning his back to start down the path towards the edge of town. "Although, water might be less of a concern than food. There seems to be running water in the buildings -- it just hasn't been used in a long time and comes out pretty nasty. We'd need to make sure it's safe first before trying to drink it. Could just be we need to mess with the pipes though."

"We'll have to boil it off," she says, which will require fire. She hasn't had much of a chance to really inspect the insides of the homes she'd passed. "Have you had a chance to see what supplies we're working with?" she asks, her stomach growling as she thinks of food. She picks up the pace after him, not terribly concerned with an attack.

Everything here is eerily quiet and she has the feeling that whatever might happen, it's going to come when they least expect it.

He nods, he'd figured that much out. At least there was some kitchen equipment around that they'd have containers to boil water in and get that process going. "Considering the state most of the buildings have been in, I've been hesitant to try any of the food supplies -- whether they're in cans or boxes or not. We have no way of telling how good any of it actually is and we don't exactly have the medical supplies to help if someone gets food poisoning." He glances out towards the woods they are now heading in the direction of, "I'm hoping we might find something in the surrounding forests."

There was a source of water nearby, which most likely meant there was the capability of animals or plants that were edible in the forest. Of course, they would run into some problems with plant life since Sam couldn't exactly tell an edible berry from one he should avoid. "I know I saw fish in the stream if nothing else--we'll just have to improvise on tools, which we have plenty of materials to work with on that front I think."

"Anything in cans should be fairly safe, provided that it's been canned to last," she says absently, thinking of all the rations they had tinned away during the war and how desperate you had to be to eat them (and yet, how they had been eaten, every single time). "Not that I'm volunteering," she means to clarify.

"We'll need shelter," she says. "I'd really like to make sure I have a roof over my head that won't fall on me and I'm not entirely sure how structurally sound the building I'm in is."

Edited 2016-07-26 03:46 (UTC)

He knows that canning should be safe and that would normally be something he trusted. However, this place was throwing enough curve balls and they didn't exactly have a medical team to help should the cans be poorly preserved. "Still...not sure I want to risk a bad can. At least, I think we still have enough things to explore that we don't have to necessarily risk it. We know so little about this place after all."

That was another thing bothering him about this whole incident. As far as he'd found there were no records in the town -- not even someone's weird diary hidden under a bed in one of the empty houses. If people had existed here before -- as everything pointed to that -- there should be evidence of it. Didn't everyone prior to the internet keep diaries or journals or, hell, just write letters? He hadn't found a scrap of evidence of that.

"So far the buildings are the only thing I trust. I mean they stood up to those winds that pushed us towards the inn." He hadn't seen evidence of structural damage anyway. "Which place did you lay claim to anyway?"

Talking while they walked was a good thing. It would make the time pass and sure enough they were already getting to the outer-most houses, the tree line becoming clearer as they approached the woods.

The idea of a bad case of food poisoning in this place without the amenities of home (and in her case, Howard Stark's mansion and Edwin Jarvis' hurry to please) is enough to give her pause when it comes to reaching for something from the cupboards.

"I've got a little bungalow, it's a little north of the river," she says. "But that said, it's from a time I'm not really accustomed to and I'm not entirely sure what state of disarray the supporting beams are in. Shame we don't have a handyman around," she says, keeping to his side as they move. "You?"

"Picked one out close to the fountain...wanted to keep an eye out," Sam replied. He'd scouted the buildings for awhile before deciding on one that was at the "heart" of the village. He figured strategically having a place near where everyone came in at would help him stay informed of who was coming in -- if more people DID end up coming in. The Fountain hadn't really shown any activity since that first day after all.

"Guess we'll have to just keep an eye out on the structures--maybe someone is secretly a handyman and just hasn't come forward with that information yet." Sam wasn't bad with tools, but it wasn't like he could just look at a house and tell if it was solid. He hadn't noticed any bowing or anything though--which was at least a little reassuring. The fact that the houses had mostly stood up to the high winds of that first day was reassuring enough for him. "As long as there are no termites I think we'll be okay."

He glanced over his shoulder as they walked past the last of the houses in sight, though the road seemed to continue right into the woods. "Speaking of which...looks like we're about to leave civilization, if you can call it that."

She raises her brow when he remarks on where he's decided to set up shop, because it does make a great deal of sense to be close. "What will you do if someone comes out of that fountain that we ought to be wary about?" she can't help but wonder. It's hardly like they have anything to subdue someone, do they?

"If someone is holding back their handyman skills, I'm going to be very cross if I find out after a roof caves in on me," she deadpans, her gaze around her. "What do you think we're going to find?" she wonders, as they stand on the precipice of the unknown.

He considers that question. There are probably a few people Sam would prefer not to see wandering around here. Knowing a bit about when Peggy comes from, there are probably a few people she would rather not see either. "They'll be pretty disoriented and, to our advantage, unarmed. We have plenty of empty spaces we could stash them too, if necessary." He considers their situation though, and how all these different people have been coming together, "But, I have a feeling even some of the worst people we've faced would cooperate long enough to get out of here and survive with the rest of us."

Survival is important to even the biggest low life after all. And while Sam can think of several he'd rather punch in the face than go berry picking with, he'd make that sacrifice if necessary. In the meantime he will just hope it doesn't come to that.

But, no sense looking to the future and worrying about it when they were facing the present. The present was an unknown forest that could hold the key for getting out of here. "Animal and plant life, hopefully that's useful and not going to kill us. Maybe some clues about this place...at least I'm hoping for that part," Sam replied.

"Guess we'll never know until we head out though." They'd already come this far, so Sam moved forward towards the tree line. "If we're really lucky we may even find a way out of here."

Unarmed means nothing to a man like Yvchenko, who could turn this whole damn place on its head with nothing more than the power of his words and hypnotism. Similarly, Dottie Underwood and Whitney Frost have never needed weapons, leaving Peggy far from reassured about how disoriented they might be.

"I think I'd like to believe in luck, today," she says, trying to keep her mind from straying to such pessimistic thoughts. Especially when it's still early days, yet. "Let's see if we can't find ourselves a way out," she agrees. "Towards the canyon?" she suggests.

It's true that not everyone needs a weapon to be a threat. Sam knows that very well. But they had no way of knowing who will come through the fountain, so it's not like they can set up any traps around it. Sam will keep an eye out though and look for trouble -- if nothing else instead of confronting the problem (or problems) he can give the others a warning before it's too late.

But, no sense in worrying about something they literally have no control over.

Sam nods at her question and sets off in the direction. It isn't long into the woods before a distinct path becomes nonexistent. He figured that might be the case and Sam looks over his shoulder to see the community is still visible. Good, they didn't want to get too far without starting a trail. "We should probably mark our path. It'll also help if we have to explore more of the forest later -- we'll know we already explored this area." No sense getting lost. Sam pulls his bag around and opens it up to pull out a few scraps of fabric -- either Sam tore up some curtains or towels, but whatever the case he clearly thought ahead for this. He reaches up to a nearby tree branch and ties the fabric so it's visible clearly and is also pointing in the way of the village.

"Better than breadcrumbs anyway."

"Clever," Peggy says, leaning over to see what he's got with him. She'd been intending to mark some of the trees as landmarks, but she's yet to find a suitable item that she can also carry as a weapon. Peggy glances over her shoulder to the village behind them, wondering how far they might be able to get and whether they could simply keep walking.

"Do you suppose there's another village just like this one, some miles away?" she asks. "Perhaps with a line of communication to...well, somewhere?" She's not even sure what year it is, not really.

The weapon had eluded him too, and he'd been working on some but it seemed a shame to blunt it on trees just to make their path. They could spare some cloth and it was likely that nothing was going to bother some strips of cloth.

"It's possible...although it would really make me wonder more about why this place was abandoned without any clear reason. Most of the buildings are intact and it's not like we've found bodies or even any written records. This place should be thriving as far as I can tell." It really bothered him that apparently this town or village existed solely for the people coming through the fountain. If anyone had lived here prior they hadn't in years and there was no evidence of a written record of anyone being here either.

After Sam finishes tying off the cloth and closes his pack again. He straightens up, "We'll keep heading in a straight line as best we can and mark the trail every...50 steps?" He asks because he wants to make sure they can remain consistent about it. At least counting steps won't be hard and 50 is a pretty easy number to remember. He's also pretty sure that will get them far enough away from the first marker to be of use but still close enough that if they did get turned around later on they might stumble across it.

"That siren is what I don't understand," she says, shaking her head. "Someone must have set it off, someone must have been here, and the fact that there is one means there's a reason they needed it."It means someone was here to sound it or someone knew that something was coming. And if those sorts of storms are regular and they built a warning system for it, what else might happen." That's what keeps bugging her and it's something she can't help but obsess over as they walk>

Every fifty steps sounds fair to her and she offers a nod of her head. "How far do you want to go?" She hasn't brought many supplies and she's still considerably wary of being trapped without food and weapons, if something goes awry.

"Doesn't mean they are nearby though," Sam remarks, "They could have some kind of remote system in place or it could even be automated to trigger after certain things are triggered." That's not to say he disagrees with Peggy, just that there might be a siren unmanned and without someone at the controls in the immediate area. "But even if that is the case, finding it might also answer a lot of questions."

Sam considers her question as he starts walking again. He's keeping an eye out for any interesting landmarks or any other kinds of interesting pieces of the landscape to explore. "Well we should keep in mind that however far we walk in to the forest we're going to have to cover that same distance to get back. Considering this is pretty unfamiliar territory it kinda depends on what we come across. So let's see where we're at in a mile or in an hour -- whichever happens first." Because if they came across a cave or something interesting to examine that would mean stopping and exploring it. However, if there was nothing interesting they could try for distance and see what was a mile away from the town or further if they felt like it. It was just important not to get too tired that they couldn't make it back to the village.

The idea that there's some sort of trigger calms her mind just a little when it comes to someone sitting there and watching them, but it brings her right back around to the initial question. "If there is a trigger, who installed it," is what she says. "Who built these homes and who stocked them with furniture and all the things you need to live and then just left?"

What don't they know? is the bigger, more frightening question.

"I'm fine to walk as long as you are," she says, knowing her sheer stubbornness will keep her going.

Sam sighs, because he's been wondering the same thing. "That's certainly the big question, isn't it? Along with about a hundred others that all boil down to the basic fact that we still have no idea why we're here, how we got here, and who or what is behind all of this." It's certainly been taking away from his sleep at night, that's for sure. But that was also why he was trying to stay busy and do stuff like this. "That's why we're out here though. Gotta find answers somewhere and nowhere in town seems to have them."

He smirks at her answer, "We'll play it by ear then." As they continued to walk, Sam notices the terrain is starting to slope up gently. They're probably going over a hill, though it's hard to tell since there are trees and not an obvious curve -- just a sensation of going "up."

A few minutes pass as they walk uphill, though they are far enough from the village that they might start to hear slight rustling. Wind? Animal? Or something else? The place is too new for Sam to be sure and he keeps his eyes peeled.

Peggy's tense and on her guard as they walk, feeling like she's never going to be truly calm in this place. There's always going to be something that bumps in the night or something that catches her off guard and makes her think that she's only just jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.

"Do you have something that might help against, say, a bear?" she asks quietly, thinking of the general wild animals one might find in a situation like this.

Sam snorts. He'd hardly torn the entire place apart looking for weapons or tools, but he's sure there is nothing that's going to stop a bear and he really hopes their luck isn't THAT bad. "Like what exactly? I've never even seen a bear except at the zoo."

And why was her first go to a bear anyway? They had no idea where they were, it could be ANYTHING. Which wasn't exactly reassuring.

Suddenly, about ten feet away, the bushes started thrashing violently. Sam tensed up, not sure if he was preparing to run or attack. He need not have bothered however because it was not a bear that leaped from the bushes.

It was in fact a goat.

"Baaaah," the goat cried.

Peggy's getting ready to defend them as best as she can, even going so far as to step slightly in front of Sam as if she can somehow tackle and subdue a giant bear. Her body is coiled and tense, ready for anything. Then, the bushes give way and Peggy is shocked to discover that no, she's not ready for anything.

She's absolutely, one hundred percent, utterly not ready to be nearly accosted by a goat.

Peggy's torn between a heart attack and a fit of laughter and she settles for a hand on Sam's shoulder as she bows her head down, letting out a strangled laugh as she glances up. "It could still charge, I suppose," she says, as if she wants them to still be wary of the danger. "Are goats lethal?"

Sam knows he's not ready but he's certainly not going to let Peggy Carter take on a bear all by herself. He doesn't care what stories he's heard, he's pretty sure she can't do that.

And then it turns out to be a goat.

Okay. Wait a minute now.

Sam stares at the animal with a good deal of confusion written all over his face. This cannot be happening right now. When he feels Peggy's hand on his shoulder is when he finally relaxes and actually starts to chuckle a little himself. Man had they worked themselves up over nothing. "I honestly don't know. I mean...it's out here in the woods so does it still count as a wild animal?"

The goat doesn't seem to be interested in them now however, instead munching on some weeds nearby and flicking it's little goat tail occasionally.

"Do you think we could get milk out of it?" she asks, all of a sudden much more interested in this animal than she had been a few moments before. Their limited supply of food might grow exponentially if they could do things like create cream and butter. Of course, that would be even better if someone sat down to make bread, but she's currently staring down a goat.

So she's a little busy.

"The phrase stubborn as a goat does have to come from somewhere," she notes. "Do we want to attempt bringing it back with us?"

"If it's a female goat I think," he tilts his head, trying to peer at the goat from a different angle. "I can't really tell from here," Sam finally admits with a shake of his head. Sam glances around as if looking for more goats or a way to easily capture it. It's not like they have a rope or anything.

Still, it seems like a waste to not at least try, "If you're up for it. Not really sure how we're supposed to bring it back in. I mean, it probably doesn't weight much, but I don't know if goats are prone to just come along nicely. Like you said...they're stubborn." He's not taking his eyes off the goat now, just studying it and what it's doing. "We have no tools that would help and we have to consider would it be worth it to capture the goat if we get injured. Might be easier to build some kind of trap and come back in a few days with bait."

Peggy thinks if they can get a hand in all that mangy fur, they could at least guide the thing with them. Of course, they also might pick up a nasty case of fleas or ticks in the meantime, but her need for milk currently outweighs her need to primp and preen over proper cleanliness. "If we find a rope back home, we could tie it up until we decide what to do."

"Truthfully, I'm not sure we'll find it again if it wanders too deep into the canyon," Peggy admits.

The goat munches away at grass, completely oblivious to the two humans plotting a few feet away. Or maybe it is aware and just doesn't care. Goats have that air about them, they're the kind of creatures who just don't care.

Sam seems to pick up on this and relents. "You're probably right. So we should at least try then. There's two of us, so we can try to corner it instead if we don't have time for a trap." He wasn't sure how smart goats were or how strong, but he'd hate to go back to the village empty handed. If nothing else, they could try and explain how they tried to catch the goat.

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