Someone steps up and, holding his collar in his hands says:

"We's not free suh. None of us is free suh. We gots ta git these collars off suh. The greenies jus' need stare at us an' day kin hurt us or worse, suh. We kan't go nowhere's suh till we git these here collars off suh."

And a ripple goes through the crowd. He's telling the truth.

OOC) This is why I insisted on giving you two gauntlets. With only one, you wouldn't be strong enough to tear the collars off of people.

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 33):

"Well, let's see if we can fix that, sir."   My heart is moved by the suffering of these people, a bit anyways.  And my sympathy for the Tuatha I killed fades more.  It needed to be done. I walk over to the man and show him I'm gong to try to bend the torc in my hands.  I'mm being cautious not to hurt him.

I suppose I should set the stage here. It's still middle of the night. You've not got the entire population out here. It's maybe 20 or so people. The families from the nearest 5 or 6 houses. Most everyone else is still snoozing.

GE 12

After examining the collar, you determine that it closes and locks sort of like a pair of handcuffs. A toothed ratchet gear on one side and a lock of some sort on the other. You see no evidence of a keyhole anywhere. It wasn't intended to ever be removed. After taking some council of a few bystanders, you determine the best way to proceed would be to just brute force yank it open with your gauntlets.

So you do.

A loud rending of metal. The man gasps and takes a breath, like he's been underwater for months and is finally breaching the surface to take a breath. He smiles broadly and embraces you.

The collar is metal. Iron or some such. Crystals are on the inside. You are told that when the Tuatha do their stare, lights can be seen from under the collar. You would assume the crystals light up.

Of course now you've got people clamoring the get their collars removed. One woman says "This is great. But where are we gonna go after this. And what about the others?"

Other ghettos, she means. Are you planning to liberate them all?

(Doing Therapy)

I want to cry.  Poor guy been suffering so much.

"It's okay man It's okay." I pat him on the back again.  After a bit, I put the torc aside.  Part of me wants to rip it to shreds in wrath but I recognize that it might have some use in finding out how to stop this horror.

"Ma'am, I sure hope so.  But first, lets get the next step done."  And I rip her torc off.  And on to the next.

Toward the end, I ask the thoughtful lady to wake up another ten.

GE 14

You rip off collars. Nobody dies as some fear they will. All of them take deep breaths when the collars are off. Waking up neighbors gets a lot of grumbling and requires a lot more explaining. More than one person asks why you don't wait until the morning.

You are told that, assuming all of the Tuatha are really dead, it should be at least two more weeks before any more show up. It would be the higher-ups that come. They recommend waiting a day or two to evacuate. Let everyone get their things in order.

But, just as the sun is peaking over the horizon, you tear the last torc off of the younger daughter of the first family you met. The one who faked being stared at. When it's over she hugs you so tight you have a moment where you can't breathe. Her father comments "Looks like you won't ever have to give your show anymore."

Overall they're happy. Half of the are awake, the other half went back to bed.

(Doing Therapy)

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 37):

I stare in surprise the first time that is asked.  Then I shrugged.

"Seemed best to get ready as fast as we could."

I'll agree with one day.  I doubt they have that much stuff.

GE 17

You're right. They don't have much. And there are wagons and horses and whatnot to help.

So a lot of the people go back to sleep. You get several invites to stay at people's houses. When they all wake up, first they report to the Tuatha barracks, out of habit. Then they remember what the score is and start packing up.

What are you doing here?

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 39):

1. Help them pack.
2. Figure out how to burn the place.
3. Talk to some of the more knowledgeable about a good direction to go for a hideout.

There's really not much you can do here. You do help some old ladies lift some heavier items they're taking. Mostly you just get invited into people's houses to eat or socialize with their daughters. Yeah, everybody wants you to marry their daughters.



Asking around, there's all kinds of kerosene and lamp oil and whatnot for the lamps and lights. That won't be a problem at all.



GE 20

Nobody knows. A lot of them were born and raised here. Those that weren't can't tell which direction. Your guess is as good as any.

(Doing Therapy)

Any nearby mountains?  Head that way.  If not, head out anyways.

GE 8

Yeah, there are mountains off in the distance.

After a day or two of them getting organized, you all head out. They've taken some of the Tuatha horses and are using them to pull wagons. They've got enough of their meager food to make the journey, but not much more than that. There's a lot of people looking at you for when that runs out.

The trip is mostly uneventful, but you do come within visual distance of another ghetto. You can see them, you're not sure if they can see you.

(Doing Therapy)
This message was last edited by the player at 19:55, Fri 14 June 2019.

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 43):

Pray and hope that no one saw us.

Once we get to the mountains, set up hunnting groups to find meat, and gatheringn groups to find edible berries and veggies.  Set up another group to find a good spot (hidden with good blockage from sight for smoke)....either smoke goes against a wall of stone or cliff or down in a small valley.

Make sure everyone keeps track of where they are going and does not go to far.  Hate to have some lost hunters.

GE 22

Everybody looks at you puzzled. "Good sir, we've never hunted before. We don't know what plants are safe to eat. You were supposed to take care of that."

Then someone else says "You should have left us where we were. Now we're going to starve out here."

A few other people share a similar sentiment.

It looks like you might be the only one here who has any clue how to live off the land. They don't know how to hunt, they don't know about edible plants or anything.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:40, Tue 18 June 2019.

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 45):

Oh great.  As I hear the complaints, I smile.  Now I know how Moses felt.

"Its good. Its good. We can work with this.  First we need to find a safe location for a campfire."  Hopefully the campfire will bolster their spirits as such things seem to do.

Then I put one of the more responsible sorts in charge while I'm gone and take a couple tougher guys with me.  I need to hunt.  And if I see anyhting that looks vegetable like and edible....well, I can have people take a tiny bite and test it for a dozen hours.

Meat tho' is safer.

OOC) I was thinking about that too. Did you ever consider that birds as well as manna was what God left for them to eat? Did you ever consider that the manna might have been dried bird poop? Something to think about anyway.



Knowing how to start a fire is a fairly commonly known skill. Most houses have fireplaces. So the kids gather twigs and many fires are made. Whilst turning over logs for firewood, many pockets of insect larvae are found, which some of the older adults claim to be edible and rather tasty when cooked right. Not enough to sustain everyone, but an evening snack, sure.

OOC) I've been told the rule of thumb for whether or not you can eat an insect is "Black, Green or Brown, gulp him down. Red, Blue or Yellow, ignore that fellow."



With what are they hunting? Your favorite superverser taught you how to live off the land and how to make stone weapons. Bows, spears, tomahawks, whatever. Are you making stone weapons?

But as far as manna, there is a rather rough moss which some of the older folks claim makes a decent salad. Again, not enough to feed everyone, but a snack for the moment.

So, how are you hunting? You've got 2 guys with you.

(Doing Therapy)
This message was last edited by the player at 20:07, Tue 18 June 2019.

The snacks are good, and I smile tightly when it looks like bugs are on the menu.  Yay! Yum---not.  But its a good time to keep my opinion to myself.

I can teleport and I have swords.  And we would have taken some halberds which might serve as poor spears.

Well, they're really sweet and nutty. Like a honey roasted piece of edible something or other. The moss is chewy and hard. It has to be boiled into something like spinach to be really edible.



OOC) Well, are you teaching them how to make stone tools or animal traps? I just want to be clear about that. I mean, your favorite superverser did teach you all of that for a reason.

GE 19

Throwing the halberds, they catch maybe 1 out of 6 deer-sized creatures they encounter. There are some large dogs and cats which are killed for meat.

You teleport up on an ugly Komodo dragon looking lizard and take its head off with your sword. By nightfall, you've collected enough for a light meal and light breakfast if it's rationed. Which it's not. Morning comes, you gotta hunt again.

Some of your hunters ask if you can teach them to make weapons or if they're expected to use the halberds all the time.

Somebody else though is using a halberd as a kind of plow to plant a small garden.

Someone asks if you're planning to go liberate the ghetto you passed.

"My cousin's in that one, I think. I ain't seen him in so long, I kayn't be shure."

Says someone.

(Doing Therapy)
This message was last edited by the player at 15:13, Thu 20 June 2019.

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 49):

Day Two, I start showing them how to make stone tipped spears and basic traps.  I have to balance between investing in training and food for the day.  So we get four guys for hunting with spears and two guys to make traps and I hunt as I did last time.

I compliment the guy using the halberd as a hoe.

To the questioner: "Let's get ourselves set up here first, and then we can think about it, okay?"

The night before, people are complaining about not having anywhere to sleep, except for in blankets on the ground. It's going to rain eventually. And winter is only a scant few months away. They're going to need shelter.

GE 10

Most of the people you teach learn it. A lot of people sit around and watch your instruction. They compliment you on it. The hunt is better. Remembering your training, you identify an edible mushroom which is added to the menu.

(Doing Therapy)

I take some of the watchers with me in addition to the regulars to hunt.

I also look about for village sites.  We could build log cabins, but that would tend to be visible.  A large cave might be better.  We are in the mountains.

Now stone is very heavy, but durable, and we could probably camoflage it pretty good as being part of the mountain.  Might go for an outer wall of stone facing away from the mountain and then a wooden wall and roof facing toward the mountain.

GE 16

The mountainside is too steep for the most part to build a village. There are a number of caves however that you could stay in.

The day is uneventful. You hunt, you gather edibles. Blah blah blah.

(Doing Therapy)

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 53):

Cave it is then.

If we can start to get ahead of the food curve, I want to try to turn a clean cave into a secured from predators and hidden from Tuatha smoke house for meat.

GE 18

You can barely stay ahead of the food curve. Not enough left over at the moment to make preserving worthwhile. But at least not many are complaining about being hungry.

A couple of weeks go by. A few of your people volunteered to be scouts and lookouts for the party. They report that Tuatha patrols have been investigating the ghetto you escaped from. Word is they're looking for you.

(Doing Therapy)

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 55):

I'm going to have to ramp up the food gathering skills of my village.  See about fishing rods, fishing spears, and nets.

I have a plan for dealing with the Tuatha scouts, but first I gotta keep my group from starving while I'm dealing with this other issue.

The dice like you so you find some mountain streams for water and they have an abundance of fish in them. You just have to be wary of bears and whatnot. But a bear is just a meal.

So, fish and bear steak are added to tonight's menu.

(Doing Therapy)