From The Jackals To The Shepherds 09: Queen of Hearts

The Woods:

The Map:

Dave – Taylor

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Battlebards Tracks used:

Elven Dirge – Farewell – Score Music – Philippe Payet

Elven Dirge – Journey To The Silver Isles – Score Music – Novak Cuic

Transcription:

For a long time, we were at war with The Jackals. But now, we’ve driven them off, and we have this – a year of relative peace. In this moment, there is an opportunity to build something.

A week has passed.

Still shaken by the grim warnings of the metallic plates, we try to return to life as normal. Or as close to normal as we can get in our new home. Still, nine weeks is a fair amount of time to adjust to a new setting. While Drach hammers away on our houses, and Eileen and Lyanna toil in the soil to prepare our fields, we know that for every unsettling moment in the camp, there will be a moment of peace coming for us. The town square hums with life and we make a conscious effort to lift up the spirits of those who may still be anxious or worried about the message left to us by those passed.

The mountains above us have reached warmer temperatures, and the river swells with floodwater. Thankfully, the riverbanks hold and even with the increased current from the meltwater no danger presents itself from rushing tides. Ezekiel and Yuen still play in the mud with the other children. The chilled water is crystal clear and refreshingly cold as the spring sun grows stronger and stronger. With the clearer waters we are granted a better view of the river’s bottom. The mud of the riverbank transitions into light pebbles and gravel which eventually turns into smooth boulders that line the bottom of the riverbed. Occasionally one of the older members of the community will spot a bone of some kind of animal reaching up from the rocks below, and try to steer the youngest of us away from the area, but if the children see the bones they either don’t care or don’t say anything.

Iridescent trout school together in the deeper pools, and long sturgeon swim the bottom of the river. With the clearer water, we can observe their movements exposed to the sun’s rays. The lackadaisical meandering of the larger fish tells us that, even at the deepest parts of the river, the current is lazy and serene. The occasional group of river otters splashes and plays with each other in the rocks below, and one morning Clovis returns to the camp telling of a massive elk drinking from the stream. He neglects to relay the significant scar running down the elk’s neck, or the fact that one of its antlers was chipped and broken in places. After the events of last week it’s best to emphasize the beautiful and gloss over the grisly.

The clear water and our glimpse into the hidden parts of the river has inspired a new project. Operating in threes, with two people working and one person keeping watch, we begin to weave nets and set traps to catch the plentiful fish we now see live in the river. Those keeping watch labor over whether or not to outfit themselves with the ancient weapons we found weeks ago. Some of us have forgotten the war with the Jackals already and grab a sword or spear eagerly, with a mind to show the Beast in the woods punishment for Jules and Gerrard’s death. Others still remember their roles in the war and leave the weapons behind in favor of signal horns or footwear for running away.

We work to set up these new fish farms and budget a few week’s for their progress.

And a week passes.

Thank you for joining us for the ninth episode of From The Jackals To The Shepherds. If you like this show please give us a rating on iTunes, tell a friend, or share us on social media. As always the intro for the show was read by Dave Lapru, who is also our mapkeeper. You can find Dave on twitter at plantbird, and I’m at leviathan files. Please consider supporting the show on Patreon at patreon dot com slash Riverhouse Games. Music for this episode was provided by Battlebards dot com. Until next week, I hope your week goes well.