10.1 Vengeance and Ambition
[X] [Ordeal] Reinforce Houses
[X] [Action] Runner's Relay [Wonderful World] (1/5 actions)
[X] [Action] Expand Hunting: (Dogs, Traps, Herd Animals, Prize Animals)
[X] [Action] Expand Aquaculture: Water-Grass
The climate had continued to be excellent and the People enjoyed gentle summers and easy winters. Work on improving their dwellings went generally well. Before the improvements, the People generally lived in longhouses formed from countless wooden stakes embedded into the earth. Strips of bark or thin branches were woven together between the posts for walls and the frame of a great arch was raised over it to form the roof.
The longhouses were large, often housing an extended group of kin. Everyone from doddering, old grandparents to the youngest infant could be found within. The dwelling was often warm enough, but it left something to be desired when the winter winds whipped through and the snows piled high. Rot set into the wooden longhouses unpredictably and when an enormous snowstorm occurred, many homes collapsed underneath the weight. The People were always diligent about replacing damaged sections, but telling when wood rot or termites set in was extremely difficult.
Not to mention the number of trees needed. A longhouse could use hundreds and hundreds of straight poles to form the frame and countless more to actually build the walls in full. Fire could be used by the People to straighten crooked wood, but the sheer number needed meant that saplings had to be cut from near and far. The People needed something that resisted wind and water, didn't rot, and was much more easily sourced.
They quickly found it.
Mud bricks had long been known to the People, but often saw little use. Water seeped into the cracks and crevices between them and when the seasons turned to winter, they tended to disintegrate as ice expanded from the cracks. Lime solved this problem by acting as a binder and a covering to ensure water couldn't seep through. Mud bricks were often dried under the sun, and tended to leave a soft, crumbly quality to them. By firing them within a kiln, they took on a consistency much closer to stone. If the kiln was build big enough, hundreds of bricks could be made in a single firing. The fact that all it took was simple clay meant that producing bricks was profoundly easy. Most of the earth along the Great river, as well as the land it bounded to the south was clay. As a building material, it was without end.
There was even a quality to them, one that the People couldn't really name, where they seemed to hold heat far better than wood. Even in blocks of the same size, fired bricks retained heat for much longer than wood. The only part the People did not like was that most bricks often had small grey stone beads extruding out of them that had to be brushed away. It was a little thing, but having to carefully brush down every brick before use did slow things down.
Within a few years, most of the homes within the Fingers and on Crystal Lake transitioned from old wooden longhouses to brick designs. There was still some debate among the People whether the use of thatch roofs or clay tiles should be used, but by the broad strokes, the lives of the People had changed and for the better.
That was until the Hundred Bands returned, hell bent on blood and fire.
It had been years since their last raid. The People had not expected them to come back at all. Their noses had been bloodied and their Big Man killed. Clearly, they had not understood the memo. Instead, they had returned in force, acting like they had never heard of the beating they received at the hands of the People.
The numbers that the Hundred Bands brought were enormous, far larger than they had brought in the past. Each of their warriors came dressed in drab leathers with grey pigments ground into their skin. They still bore the same great two-handed war clubs that had been so popular among the Hundred Bands, but they wielded them with far more comfort and skill.
When they arrived on the People's shores, it was in a completely different manner than previously. They arrived in the spring, precisely when the People were most vulnerable. Most of the People of the Fingers were dispersed into the wilds surrounding the settlement, collecting tree sap in order to boil it into sugar. It was a bold move, to attack with few supplies so soon after the end of winter, but it paid them immense dividends.
None of the People were certain how many were killed in the initial skirmishing and how many were forced to flee, either losing their way or starving in the wilds. What was certain was that the number was high. Days passed before the angry and pained howls of the People's died down to silence. Once the Hundred Bands had dispersed most of the People's hunters, woodsmen and young men outside the palisade, they settled in to attack it.
Again, the inability of the People to aim their fire against the attackers as they cut into it with axes proved to be their undoing. The large wicker shields wielded by the Hundred Bands provided too much protection for lucky arrows to really take their toll. Once the palisade fell, the situation descended into pure chaos. So many of the People's hunters and men were caught away from the Fingers that resistance was ineffective. Even the dogs and their snarling fangs failed to slow the enemy for long.
Only a young girl heroically cooking off all of the Ember-Eyes lime reserve seemed to even stall the Hundred Bands' orgy of bloodshed and violence. Many of the People managed to escape in the confusion, as fires burned through the settlement, but far more were captured by the raiders. Countless others died, either to the clubs of the enemy or the fires that slowly raged out of control.
The fires burned for the better part of two days after the Hundred Band raiders left. Most of the brick buildings of the settlement still stood, even if many were missing thatched roofs, or had walls that partially collapsed. Initial estimates suggested the settlement would be easily rebuilt considering how easy it was to restack bricks, but that thought seemed more a mockery than anything.
What they discovered on closer inspection horrified them. Elders too old to quickly move had been tied together and their skulls smashed systematically by the clubs of the enemy. Others had been forced into buildings while the roofs slowly burned and collapsed. All of the People's dogs, even the pups, were slain. The young and all of the women had been carried off.
As days passed, more of the People trickled back; survivors of the raids, or travelers coming down from Crystal Lake. Eventually, a young hunter returned, but with a prisoner of the Hundred Bands in tow. He had not be treated gently, and the People's treatment with fist and foot left him near insensate. Still, the prisoner lived long enough to speak about what had happened within the Hundred Bands.
Apparently, after the People slew their Big Man, the Northern Hundred Bands had collapsed into infighting. They had a number of individuals who could plausibly claim to be the new Big Man, but no one could really make it stick. It was the arrival of a delegation from one of the Southern Hundred Band's Big Men that ended the infighting. As the leader of a one of their 'great islands', he had enough men with him to quickly quell the disorder of the north and force them to pay homage to him.
This new Big Man was ambitious. With the north secured, he was well positioned to begin asserting his authority over the Big Men of the Hundred Band's other 'great islands'. He decided that striking against the People, succeeding in an attack that the last Big Man of the North had failed at, would truly cement his control and serve as a future springboard. If he could somehow figure out how to produce sugar like the People, it was quite plausible that he would convince enough of the Hundred Band to follow him that he could leverage that into being the undisputed Big Man.
After the prisoner expired and had his body dumped in the river, another armada of canoes was spotted on the horizon. Fear gripped the hearts of many. Fire flashed behind their eyes and some turned to flee. When it the sharpest eyed among them realized that they were looking at the People coming in force from Crystal Lake, it was like a massive weight had left their shoulders. The tension snapped like an old bowstring. They were safe.
From what the hunters of Crystal Lake said, the Fingers had a dog to thank for the rescue. One managed to escape after being wounded and managed to escape to one of the first way stations that had been established for runners. The knife wound in its flank showed clearly that there was violence brewing in the Fingers. Arguments from cautious elders convinced the Big Man of Crystal Lake to send down the hunters, just in case.
Any happiness their reinforcements might have had quickly gave way to grim-faced expressions upon hearing the situation. The Fingers were secure, for now, but the situation was desperate. The People needed to find some way to respond to the aggression of the rising Big Man of the Hundred Bands.
What was to be done?
[ ] [Action] Fight Back! (Raid: Hundred Band, at least +1 Stab)
[ ] [Action] Focus on the Defense! (Improve Palisade, +1 Stab)
[ ] [Action] Search for allies against the Hundred Band! (Trade: Arrow Lake + Peace Seekers)
[ ] [Action] Try to negotiate with the Hundred Band (Trade: Hundred Band, potential Stab changes depending on negotiation)
[ ] [Action] Abandon the Fingers
[ ] [Action] Do nothing
There was also a lesson for the People to learn in this failure. They had been tested by the spirits and found wanting. How were they deficient?
[ ] [Lesson] Allowing a Known Enemy to Recover! (+1 Stab)
[ ] [Lesson] Lack of Defense! (+1 Stab)
[ ] [Lesson] Not Taking Seriously the Spirits' Ordeals!
[ ] [Lesson] Not Enough Humility!
[ ] [Lesson] Their Justice was Wrong (-1 Stab)
[X] [Action] Runner's Relay [Wonderful World] (1/5 actions)
[X] [Action] Expand Hunting: (Dogs, Traps, Herd Animals, Prize Animals)
[X] [Action] Expand Aquaculture: Water-Grass
The climate had continued to be excellent and the People enjoyed gentle summers and easy winters. Work on improving their dwellings went generally well. Before the improvements, the People generally lived in longhouses formed from countless wooden stakes embedded into the earth. Strips of bark or thin branches were woven together between the posts for walls and the frame of a great arch was raised over it to form the roof.
The longhouses were large, often housing an extended group of kin. Everyone from doddering, old grandparents to the youngest infant could be found within. The dwelling was often warm enough, but it left something to be desired when the winter winds whipped through and the snows piled high. Rot set into the wooden longhouses unpredictably and when an enormous snowstorm occurred, many homes collapsed underneath the weight. The People were always diligent about replacing damaged sections, but telling when wood rot or termites set in was extremely difficult.
Not to mention the number of trees needed. A longhouse could use hundreds and hundreds of straight poles to form the frame and countless more to actually build the walls in full. Fire could be used by the People to straighten crooked wood, but the sheer number needed meant that saplings had to be cut from near and far. The People needed something that resisted wind and water, didn't rot, and was much more easily sourced.
They quickly found it.
Mud bricks had long been known to the People, but often saw little use. Water seeped into the cracks and crevices between them and when the seasons turned to winter, they tended to disintegrate as ice expanded from the cracks. Lime solved this problem by acting as a binder and a covering to ensure water couldn't seep through. Mud bricks were often dried under the sun, and tended to leave a soft, crumbly quality to them. By firing them within a kiln, they took on a consistency much closer to stone. If the kiln was build big enough, hundreds of bricks could be made in a single firing. The fact that all it took was simple clay meant that producing bricks was profoundly easy. Most of the earth along the Great river, as well as the land it bounded to the south was clay. As a building material, it was without end.
There was even a quality to them, one that the People couldn't really name, where they seemed to hold heat far better than wood. Even in blocks of the same size, fired bricks retained heat for much longer than wood. The only part the People did not like was that most bricks often had small grey stone beads extruding out of them that had to be brushed away. It was a little thing, but having to carefully brush down every brick before use did slow things down.
Within a few years, most of the homes within the Fingers and on Crystal Lake transitioned from old wooden longhouses to brick designs. There was still some debate among the People whether the use of thatch roofs or clay tiles should be used, but by the broad strokes, the lives of the People had changed and for the better.
That was until the Hundred Bands returned, hell bent on blood and fire.
It had been years since their last raid. The People had not expected them to come back at all. Their noses had been bloodied and their Big Man killed. Clearly, they had not understood the memo. Instead, they had returned in force, acting like they had never heard of the beating they received at the hands of the People.
The numbers that the Hundred Bands brought were enormous, far larger than they had brought in the past. Each of their warriors came dressed in drab leathers with grey pigments ground into their skin. They still bore the same great two-handed war clubs that had been so popular among the Hundred Bands, but they wielded them with far more comfort and skill.
When they arrived on the People's shores, it was in a completely different manner than previously. They arrived in the spring, precisely when the People were most vulnerable. Most of the People of the Fingers were dispersed into the wilds surrounding the settlement, collecting tree sap in order to boil it into sugar. It was a bold move, to attack with few supplies so soon after the end of winter, but it paid them immense dividends.
None of the People were certain how many were killed in the initial skirmishing and how many were forced to flee, either losing their way or starving in the wilds. What was certain was that the number was high. Days passed before the angry and pained howls of the People's died down to silence. Once the Hundred Bands had dispersed most of the People's hunters, woodsmen and young men outside the palisade, they settled in to attack it.
Again, the inability of the People to aim their fire against the attackers as they cut into it with axes proved to be their undoing. The large wicker shields wielded by the Hundred Bands provided too much protection for lucky arrows to really take their toll. Once the palisade fell, the situation descended into pure chaos. So many of the People's hunters and men were caught away from the Fingers that resistance was ineffective. Even the dogs and their snarling fangs failed to slow the enemy for long.
Only a young girl heroically cooking off all of the Ember-Eyes lime reserve seemed to even stall the Hundred Bands' orgy of bloodshed and violence. Many of the People managed to escape in the confusion, as fires burned through the settlement, but far more were captured by the raiders. Countless others died, either to the clubs of the enemy or the fires that slowly raged out of control.
The fires burned for the better part of two days after the Hundred Band raiders left. Most of the brick buildings of the settlement still stood, even if many were missing thatched roofs, or had walls that partially collapsed. Initial estimates suggested the settlement would be easily rebuilt considering how easy it was to restack bricks, but that thought seemed more a mockery than anything.
What they discovered on closer inspection horrified them. Elders too old to quickly move had been tied together and their skulls smashed systematically by the clubs of the enemy. Others had been forced into buildings while the roofs slowly burned and collapsed. All of the People's dogs, even the pups, were slain. The young and all of the women had been carried off.
As days passed, more of the People trickled back; survivors of the raids, or travelers coming down from Crystal Lake. Eventually, a young hunter returned, but with a prisoner of the Hundred Bands in tow. He had not be treated gently, and the People's treatment with fist and foot left him near insensate. Still, the prisoner lived long enough to speak about what had happened within the Hundred Bands.
Apparently, after the People slew their Big Man, the Northern Hundred Bands had collapsed into infighting. They had a number of individuals who could plausibly claim to be the new Big Man, but no one could really make it stick. It was the arrival of a delegation from one of the Southern Hundred Band's Big Men that ended the infighting. As the leader of a one of their 'great islands', he had enough men with him to quickly quell the disorder of the north and force them to pay homage to him.
This new Big Man was ambitious. With the north secured, he was well positioned to begin asserting his authority over the Big Men of the Hundred Band's other 'great islands'. He decided that striking against the People, succeeding in an attack that the last Big Man of the North had failed at, would truly cement his control and serve as a future springboard. If he could somehow figure out how to produce sugar like the People, it was quite plausible that he would convince enough of the Hundred Band to follow him that he could leverage that into being the undisputed Big Man.
After the prisoner expired and had his body dumped in the river, another armada of canoes was spotted on the horizon. Fear gripped the hearts of many. Fire flashed behind their eyes and some turned to flee. When it the sharpest eyed among them realized that they were looking at the People coming in force from Crystal Lake, it was like a massive weight had left their shoulders. The tension snapped like an old bowstring. They were safe.
From what the hunters of Crystal Lake said, the Fingers had a dog to thank for the rescue. One managed to escape after being wounded and managed to escape to one of the first way stations that had been established for runners. The knife wound in its flank showed clearly that there was violence brewing in the Fingers. Arguments from cautious elders convinced the Big Man of Crystal Lake to send down the hunters, just in case.
Any happiness their reinforcements might have had quickly gave way to grim-faced expressions upon hearing the situation. The Fingers were secure, for now, but the situation was desperate. The People needed to find some way to respond to the aggression of the rising Big Man of the Hundred Bands.
What was to be done?
[ ] [Action] Fight Back! (Raid: Hundred Band, at least +1 Stab)
[ ] [Action] Focus on the Defense! (Improve Palisade, +1 Stab)
[ ] [Action] Search for allies against the Hundred Band! (Trade: Arrow Lake + Peace Seekers)
[ ] [Action] Try to negotiate with the Hundred Band (Trade: Hundred Band, potential Stab changes depending on negotiation)
[ ] [Action] Abandon the Fingers
[ ] [Action] Do nothing
There was also a lesson for the People to learn in this failure. They had been tested by the spirits and found wanting. How were they deficient?
[ ] [Lesson] Allowing a Known Enemy to Recover! (+1 Stab)
[ ] [Lesson] Lack of Defense! (+1 Stab)
[ ] [Lesson] Not Taking Seriously the Spirits' Ordeals!
[ ] [Lesson] Not Enough Humility!
[ ] [Lesson] Their Justice was Wrong (-1 Stab)
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