Ithilien, Harondor, The Eastern Fiefdoms (Free RP)

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

Duinion nodded. "That's right. Obviously, the best sort of shelter is one you don't have to use any effort to create. In addition to the things you mentioned," he pointed to a large tree some distance off, the base of which was split open and formed a hollow space just big enough for a person to huddle up into. "There are also a surprising number of trees like that one, which serve as shelters, in a pinch." He wasn't sure if that particular tree would have been big enough to fit a large-built man like Rome, but he was sure he had seen some hollow-based trees around the forest that would be big enough. "But, of course, sometimes you may not be able to find any already-existing shelters, or, you may spend more energy wandering around searching for one than it would take to simply build one." He mentioned. "So, in that case, you'll want to build something quick and easy. Now, the way that you can build your shelter is going to depend heavily on your surroundings, but I'm going to show you the two most common shelter types, and the easiest ways to build them."

He motioned him to come along, and headed toward a fallen tree. "A tree like this makes a good start. One of the easiest structures to build is a lean-to, called such for the fact that it generally consists of leaning building materials up against a pre-existing structure or natural formation, such as a wall, rocks, fallen tree, or anything else that will serve the purpose. Even a standing tree, if that's all you have. You can also use the same general idea as a free-standing A-frame shelter, if you can construct a three-piece standalone frame onto which you can lean your building materials. You can even make an open-sided lean to using two side poles... which can be two trees close together, and one support beam stretched across between them, and lean your sticks against that." He paused and then added, "The downside to this type of shelter is that it does not generally offer protection on all angles. And, it will likely not be as resistant to water as your tarp. That being said, it’s an excellent structure in a pinch."

Taking some sturdy, broken-off branches, he leaned them against the trunk. "Basically what you'll do is just find a lot of branches like that to lean against it to start the basic structure. Then, you can take leaves, foliage, and green branches to cover it... which also serves as camouflage. Fir or other kinds of evergreen are good choices for the 'roofing' as you're likely to find those with plenty of greenery no matter what season. The thicker the foliage, the less water is likely to seep through." He paused and then added, "If you're near a river, and are expecting to need to use this shelter for a while, you could even press some mud in around the gaps and cover it with more leaves, to help further seal it against the elements. And for additional ideas on camouflaging, you can also cover it with dirt or whatever is on the ground around your shelter." He smiled. "I'd like to see you finish this one." He told the recruit, stepping back to let him take over. Duinion had only added a few sticks leaned against the fallen tree.

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

The mood seemed to lighten as Duinion explained different ways of constructing a shelter. The basic premise as far as Romeran could tell was to lean large sticks and branches against something, even against other large sticks or balanced by trees. “It makes sense that it’s called a ‘lean-to’ then” he said after having listened to a description of a few of them. “Like a very basic log cabin” it seemed likely to Romeran that such basic structures had been the foundations of later more elaborate log cabins which would have taken more time, effort, and tools. It seemed fairly straightforward to Romeran and so when Duinion suggested the current one he nodded in agreement “all right then” he said

Looking up and down at the fallen over log it was not quite as tall as Romeran although some of the upturned roots, where they were building the shelter, reached nearly to his head. The first task was to make the outside skeleton of the lean to shelter. “I best be finding some large sticks then” he said and marched off to compete the task. The woods of Ithilien were fairly dense and so it was not too much trouble for Romeran to find fallen branches of an appropriate size. His great strength allowed him to haul over some larger branches that would have strained an average man.

With the skeleton of the shelter complete, Romeran looked to add some insulation to protect from the rain and cold. He liked the idea of using fir trees to create a thatched roof. There was a fir tree nearby which was large with low branches. Romeran walked over to the tree and pulled out his axe. He stopped himself. “I suppose if I’m out of my supplies I wouldn’t have my axe,” he reasoned “although I would be more likely to have the gear on my belt than the gear in my bag. But a challenge is a challenge and I won’t use my axe”.

A sharp edge would be necessary if he wanted to use any of the limbs of the fir tree as shelter. He could use a different solution but he had decided that the branches were best and he wanted a challenge. Romeran began rummaging around at the rocks tapping them against each other to see whether one would crumble and grind and if he could chip it into an edge. After five or so minutes he found two suitable rocks, one hard and one which chipped to a sharp edge. Using the harder rock as a hammer, he chipped the second rock into an edge on one side. The rock was slightly larger than a fist but still small enough to be held in one hand.

Testing the edge with his thumb revealed that it wasn’t razor sharp but sufficient for cutting down small limbs on the trees. Equipped with his handaxe, in the sense that it was a stone which he held in his hand as an axe, he chopped at the base of smaller branches on the fir tree to cut them off and brought them back to the lean to.

As he worked Romeran got up the courage to ask another personal questions. “Did you ever serve with the Prince Faramir?” He asked. Duinion had been a ranger during the war and since Prince Faramir, although he was not a prince at the time, often commanded a unit or more of rangers during the war. Romeran had heard many stories of the Prince but had not had a chance to meet him.

The first row of branches he placed with the cut end down to provide some stability. He then weaved in more of the branches alternating up and down to help the branches pull together. He had to return to the fir tree several times having underestimated how many branches he would need. Eventually, however, he made a sufficient shelter with interlocking fir branches, cut with a make shift stone axe.

Stepping back and looking at his work, Romeran breathed out. It looked pretty decent, he thought, for his first attempt. “If I had some rope or cord or strips of leather or would be nice to lash the branches together. Keep them in place some more” he suggested. Although in the exercise he supposed he would have neither. It had taken Romeran some time to make the shelter as it had taken many large sticks as a base plus the branches. But it was large enough for him to fit inside and another and the fir branch lended Romeran at least some confidence in their ability to withstand normal weather conditions.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

"Yes, like a very, very basic log cabin," Duinion agreed with a smile. While Rome set about gathering sticks, he moved to a sturdy portion of the log, out of the way from where Rome was building, and sat on it, getting comfortable. This was for the recruit to build, after all, so he would merely watch. Aside from occasionally pointing out a few tips here and there, or that that branch might need to be woven in a little better, he did nothing to aid in building it, so that Rome would get the benefits of having built it himself.

The ranger smiled, however, upon watching how he went about acquiring a crude blade to cut the young branches off, rather than using his convenient ax. The shelter was beginning to look like a proper shelter, one that would, if nothing else, serve to shield a person from the wind, and keep the rain off. Rome's question surprised him slightly, but he could understand that he might be curious, Captain, now Prince, Faramir was rather well-renowned and almost like a legend, to some. "Indeed, I did." He answered with a small nod. "In fact, I was with him as we fought to defend Osgiliath, when all the forces of the enemy came forth from Mordor." He frowned at the memory of all that had happened during the war. "That was a day or two that I think we would all like to forget, though...it's doubtful we ever will."

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

There was a certain amount of reverence in Romeran's eyes when Duinion confirmed that he had indeed served with the Prince Faramir and in defense of Osgiliath to boot. Everyone had heard stories about the conflict in Osgiliath and Romeran was not surprised that Duinion's voice cast darkly when it was brought up, Osgiliath during the war was no source of great victories after it had fallen. "Still it must have been a great honour to serve with Captain Faramir?" he asked, hesitantly, "what was he like?" Romeran was loth to change the subject as he was truly interested in hearing about Faramir, but perhaps he was pushing Duinion too far with his curiosity. He decided to see how the ranger responded to his questions and then make a decision whether or not to pester him further.

Romeran had just about finished putting together the shelter at this point and he was walking around inspecting his handiwork looking for any obvious holes or places where the rain or wind would blow through. In a few places he tucked the trees in more or found another small fir branch to fit in any holes. After this, Romeran went inside the shelter to see if there was sufficient space. He was able to sit up and lie down completely covered. In a pinch it could fit another person although they'd be pretty close together, which might not be a bad thing if the weather turned cold. Romeran was quite happy with how the shelter had come out even if it had taken him a good deal of time to make it, much longer than it would have taken him to put up his oilcloth tarp, he thought, better not to lose one's gear whenever possible! But he was glad that he knew now at least how to make a basic shelter should he lose all of his equipment.

"So what do you think?" he said, motioning to his constructed shelter.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

Smiling faintly, Duinion could well understand the young man's curiosity and took a moment to think about all he knew of Faramir. "He is a good leader. Very honorable, and kind." He could tell of a few instances over the years as examples of these traits, but decided against it. "It's very hard not to like him, and he's not only kind to others, but a fair and just man. I would still be in his service today, except that with the king now in place again, I was intrigued to learn what it would be like in his service, and so I chose to join the king's rangers, rather than staying with Faramir's. I like all that I've heard of him, thus far."

Watching Rome test out the shelter, Duinion smiled faintly, and nodded approvingly. "It looks very good, you did a fine job." He meant that. The shelter had taken some time to build, but it was better that he know how to when he didn't need it, rather than not knowing when he did need it. "Another version of a shelter, is almost the same concept, except that it's round, and you can do it with multiple poles all leaning against each other, forming a center point. Or, you can lean several against a tree, as a 'center pole', or against a tree with many branches sticking out." He paused as a breeze passed through the forest, slightly cooler than before. Glancing up at the sky, he then looked around at the trees thoughtfully. "Perhaps we'll build one of those tonight while we're cooking supper. It may rain, and it would be good practice, even if it doesn't."

Standing up from the log, he thought it might be best to move on with the next lesson. "I think the next thing on our to-do list involves foraging." He smiled. "I do hope we've caught a rabbit, I think a stew would be nice, don't you?" He waited until Rome had climbed out of the shelter and then took the lead. "In addition to catching or hunting down animals for meat, you can find a great many kinds of vegetation out here in the forest. Do you know of anything at all that we might be able to find out here?" He wondered if the farming experience would transfer over into the forest, but he would understand if he couldn't think of anything.

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

It seemed a strange thing to envy someone who had gone through such a violent war and yet Romeran did envy Duinion for having fought to defend Gondor and among such brave and honorable men, yet less than half of the men who left from Lossarnach returned. Romeran had been too young at the time to go, though he had argued desperately to do so and he would have lied to join if it were not for love of his mother. But he was here now, a member of the king's rangers, and while Sauron himself was defeated the remnants of his army were still abroad and there were still evil things which might threaten Gondor.

A smile came to Romeran as Duinion complemented his shelter. He had worked hard on it and had taken the assignment quite seriously, this was not just a game of fun and Romeran felt it was important to treat it as important work, and knowledge which could possibly safe his life and others in the future. Envisioning the other two styles of shelters which Duinion had described came much easier now that he had built a similar one himself. It seemed that the premise was quite versatile and in the forests of Ithilien trees were plentiful.

They grew a fair variety on the farm that Romeran grew up in, fields of corn and barley and wheat, but they did not grow everything in fields and Romeran had always enjoyed going out and picking foods with his mother. He smiled at the mention of doing some foraging, he knew some things, which his mother had taught him, but as someone who appreciated greatly food he was always excited to learn more. "A stew sounds like a fine thing indeed" he said, already picturing making the stew, it was going to make him hungry too soon if he thought about it for too long.

"Berries are an obvious one, assuming you know which ones are good to eat" he said, berry picking was a common pass time for children in the right seasons and pies were one of Romeran's favorite desserts. "Wild onion and garlic, if you're lucky, make for fragrant and delicious food, although wild garlic and onion are not nearly as large and filling as farm grown" garlic and onion were staple parts in a meal as far as he was concerned. "My mother once also said you could eat dandilions and cattails in a pinch, I tried it once and it wasn't very nice but I also didn't cook them which in hindsight might have been part of the problem" he said with a laugh of realization. "Mushrooms too, but I was never confident in knowing which ones were edible and it always seemed a bit," he paused "risky, to eat anything which you're unsure about."

Romeran stopped to think for a moment and scratched the beard on his chin. Mud still flaked from when they had practiced camouflage earlier in the day. He wondered how long it would take for him to get completely clean. "That's all I can think of" he said finally.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

Nodding, Duinion listened to the items Rome listed. "Yes, berries." He agreed, and smiled faintly as he spoke of the danger of eating things you're unsure about. "Indeed. I was going to say just that. If you aren't sure about something, better to pass it up. You wouldn't want to end up sick from something you ate... or worse, dead. So unless you're a hundred percent positive that it's safe to eat, then I'd suggest you refrain from eating it." He paused and then added as a joke, "Of course, if you've got any enemies nearby, you could offer it to them and see what happens."

Grinning, he nodded about the wild onions and garlic and other things. "Yes, those are good things to look for. If we find garlic, it tends to grow very thickly, so we should have no shortage of that. And I believe I mentioned cattails at some point. The roots, anyway. You can grill, bake or boil the root until it's tender. Once cooked, you scrape the fleshy part away from the fibers with your teeth*. I'm not terribly fond of it but it's useful to know, in case you ever get in a situation where it's all you have."

Mention of dandelions brought another wry smile. He paused for a moment as he thought about that. "As for dandelion.. which part did you try?" He wondered. "It's the greens which are usually best for eating... not the flower. Though, the whole plant is edible, the flower tends to be most bitter. The roots can be used as well, but I think healers usually use those for some medicinal tea. I'm not sure what the use is, there. For eating, there's usually not much there to cook." He thought for a moment. "As for the leaves... I wouldn't recommend cooking those." He made a face. "They become bitter and..well. Sort of slimy.. and just..ugh. No thanks." Given that the plant grew wild in abundance in the little courtyard behind the orphan home, the cook at the orphanage had often used dandelion as a free substitute for other greens, like turnip greens and spinach. It had taken a little while for Duinion to adjust to the idea that, eaten fresh, they weren't so bad.

"There are also wild carrots, which would go nicely in a stew," He mentioned, thinking about any thing else. "Oh," He paused, catching sight of some spots of white on the forest floor a little ways ahead. "See that?" He pointed with a smile. "That's a perfect one for you to begin with for foraging, since it’s easy to identify and is a really tasty wild mushroom," He said, cautiously moving forward. "Be careful where you step. These are called hedgehog mushrooms." He knelt down and picked one, showing it to Rome on all sides. "It is especially recognizable by the fact that the underside of the cap has lots of white spines, like a hedgehog. The cap is light creme-yellow in color, though sometimes it can have a more orangish color. You will find the hedgehog mushroom around this time of year, on the forest floor. One nice thing about hedgehog mushrooms is that they are strongly resistant to insects and their larvae."

He let Rome take the mushroom to look over, while he dug out an empty sack from his bag. "Let's collect a few, not too many... maybe a half dozen or so. If you want to experiment with some different cooking techniques later, you might take a few extra along, but we don't want to deplete the patch entirely." He held the sack so that any collected mushrooms could be put into it. "You can cook these mushroom in a lot of ways." He paused, smiling faintly. "My wife used to pan fry them with butter and some herb seasonings, and served with toasted bread."

*One website I found compared cattail roots to eating an artichoke. But I'm not sure if artichokes are familiar to people in gondor.

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

A laugh erupted from Romeran's mouth as Duinion made a joke, he hadn't expected it from the ranger let alone a vaguely morbid one at that. Perhaps there was another side of Duinion that he hadn't encountered yet. This made him all the more glad to have him as a mentor and looked forward to learning more about him. "Bandits would make good food testers I guess" he replied with a grin. Romeran had encountered real bandits as a young teenager, but it was grim story he wasn't about to tell.

"I dearly hope we find some garlic" Romeran said with a smile. If they were going to make stew then some garlic would make for a much more fragrant and delicious stew. "I'd much rather have garlic in the stew than cattails" he confessed "but it's good to know you can eat them in a pinch" he added, not trying to dismiss the information, although he sorely hoped that they wouldn't end up having to eat cattails and dandelions. Truth be told, Romeran would eat practically anything and especially if there wasn't anything better to eat. That didn't mean that Romeran didn't have things he preferred to eat, and he preferred to avoid eating weeds.

When Duinion had explained that the flower part wasn't the best for eating Romeran let out an 'ahh' sound of understanding "That might explain it, I tried eating the flower part, it seemed the obvious choice" he said although thinking back perhaps it had not been the obvious choice. It was a bitter in taste and not a texture that was particularly inspiring either, in general he would not have recommended it. "Maybe I will ask Ranger Pele about the medicinal properties of dandelions when I have a lesson with her" he proposed. Now that there may be some food related side-effects of learning about the use of herbs and plants, Romeran had become more interested in learning about it.

Carrots would go particularly nicely in a stew, especially if they had caught some rabbit and could find a bit of wild onion or garlic. Romeran always brought some salt with him which would bring out the flavors of the stew. His mouth was practically watering thinking about it already. His disappointment would be immeasurable if they caught nothing, although in that case perhaps they'd still have caught some fish for a fish stew. "Carrots and garlic in a stew, who needs the city anyway?" he said with a smile, it was beginning to sound like a feast worthy of the Guest House in Minas Tirith.

The Hedgehog mushrooms had a very distinctive appearance, and Romeran inspected it in his hand when Duinion passed it to him. "The color and spines would make this quite easy to recognize, I'm sure I've seen these before" he said suddenly having a name associated with the wild mushrooms he had seen throughout his childhood and teenage years, he was certain he'd even eaten them before but had no idea what they were called beyond 'mushrooms'. Romeran picked a handful of the mushrooms trying to find the ones which looked 'best' to him. Not too big but not to small, the big ones often lost a lot of their flavor and the smaller ones sometimes had too muddy a taste to Romeran's liking and so he found a half dozen medium sized ones and put them in the sack which Duinion held out. "That does sound delicious" he agreed, although Romeran had not brought a pan or any butter which might make such a dish a particular challenge. They would go well in the stew, he thought.

A good deal of the early afternoon had been spent eating and then constructing the shelter, Romeran wondered if perhaps he should take it down. But since it was constructed fully from natural materials he figured it would be fine, and perhaps some poor animal might find the shelter useful. "Shall we look for some wild carrots and garlic or even onion as we make our way back?" he asked, already scanning the area. "When do you think we should check the trap we laid this morning?" he asked curiously. Romeran was not sure what Duinion had in mind for the rest of the afternoon and the evening, but he was glad at least some part of it involved cooking and eating.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

Duinion couldn't help a grin, seeing that the joke had brought a laugh. He couldn't actually take credit for that; it was something one of his mentors had once said to him. The grin faded a bit, however, at the mention of bandits, though he tried not to let it affect him too much. "Sadly, there are too many bandits that cause trouble in these woods, from time to time." He mentioned. "Beware of that.." He paused, wondering if he ought to mention anymore about it, but then Rome spoke of hoping to find garlic.

"I'm sure we'll find some," He was glad to change the subject. "It's one of the most common plants to find in the woods. It tends to be very invasive, so you will usually find a large area filled with the stuff." He tried to think of the best area to find some. "Of course, as with anything, you must make sure it is the right stuff. Wild garlic can be misidentified with other plants, so be sure to check that what you find smells like onion or garlic." He paused and then smiled at the recruit. "Wild garlic grows best in shady and damp conditions, under a dense forest canopy in soil that's rich with organic matter. So, where do you think we ought to look for it?"

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

“And that is why the King still has rangers” he said, and in part it had been his experience with bandits which had made him want to be a ranger in the first place. There was an inherent risk in what they did as rangers and Romeran accepted that, or else he would not have taken his vows. That being said, he was not eager to go off chasing bandits any time soon at least if he could help it. He had survived once but he did not feel like testing his luck once more without refining his skills first.

Wild garlic did not look anything like their bulb garlic counter parts, he knew that at least and he knew that they had white flowers and green leaves and obviously a fragrant garlic smell. When Duinion had pointed out that they lived in damp places rich in soil he had remembered the old woods areas with dense fields of white garlic flowers crowded in the trees. “I suppose they would live near the trees in the old woods areas where the soil is rich”. Romeran began walking towards the woods looking for older looking trees.

It didn’t take long for them to find some wild garlic as the woods of Ithilien were dense, old, and it was a the right time of year for it. Romeran was soon able to point to a densely populated area of white flowers among green leaves near the base of a group of old and gnarled trees. By the smell alone as they approached, Romeran was quite confident he was right. “I think this should be some here” he said as they approached. Wild garlic was, as foraging goes, probably one of the easier targets given its distinctive smell, appearance, and abundance. Wild carrots and onions Romeran figured would be more elusive.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

Duinion followed along after Rome, letting him take the lead. Before long, he began to smell the tell-tale odor of garlic, faint at first, but stronger as they drew near, until soon there was a very scene before them; all the trees seemed to be growing in a sea of tiny white flowers. He smiled, it was a sight that he always enjoyed when coming to this area of the forest. "As you can see," He grinned, "it tends to spread very well." He knelt and examined one of the nearby plants. "Had we come upon a small patch, however, I would suggest that we only took a few leaves, and left the bulb in the ground, so not to deplete the patch. But," He looked around. "I think we should certainly have plenty for our needs. Normally I find it best to harvest from the outer edges, and leave the rest alone. I should think one plant ought to be sufficient, don't you?" he motioned for Rome to go ahead.

"With any foraging, it's important to make sure you don't take more than you need, but also, make sure that you leave enough that the plant will continue to grow and thrive, so there's plenty for others... and any animals who may depend on it." He stepped back to observe Rome's harvesting methods. "No matter what sort of plant you're harvesting, if you're cutting leaves off make sure that you use a very sharp knife, because a dull one will do more harm than good - you could end up mutilating the roots or stem so it's not usable as food, or the plant may be unable to grow. You can use your knife to loosen the soil around roots, as well, but you may want to touch up your blade afterward, as the grit of the dirt can, over time, dull your blade."

Once they had the garlic added to their sack, Duinion began to think about what other vegetables may grow wild in the forest. "Let's see if we can find any wild carrots, next." He felt sure that Rome must have seen these before and not even known what they were, but he decided to keep that to himself for now. "For this, we'll need to search in areas where the trees aren't as thick, you're most likely to find them at the edges of trails or clearings, by roadsides, and open fields." He explained.

"Would you care to take the lead again?" He asked with a smile. As they walked, he mentioned an idea which had helped him a lot when he was learning all of this. "I'd suggest, if you'd really like to learn more about all of this, you might start keeping a foraging journal, and take notes about all that you learn. This is really helpful for developing a sense of what is available in the area. After a while of recording your foraging finds, you'll gradually compile a calendar that tells you what's on the horizon for harvesting... and before long you won't even need to consult it anymore, if you've got as good a memory as you seem to have."

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

The scene in front of them with the white flowers carpeting the forest floor was already a beautiful sight, that it was also an aromatic and edible plant made it even more alluring. He stood for a moment just gazing at the plants listening to Duinion as he explained how to maintain the forest growth so as to ensure the resource would renew on its own. Romeran appreciated the notion having seen acres of woodland cut down by the forces of Mordor never to be planted again.

“One plant should be more than sufficient”, Romeran agreed and pulled his knife from behind him. Romeran carried a whetstone and always kept his knife at a razor sharp edge. A blunt knife was a liability more than a tool in most instances and Romeran knew that. He knelt down and softened the earth around one of the plants on the end with his knife. He carefully removed the plant, bulb and all, from the ground making sure not to disturb the plants and roots around the one he had chosen as best as he could. The strong aroma became even more notable as the bulb was pulled and some of the roots were cut. Leaving some of the roots behind might also encourage another plant to grow in its place.

After dusting as much of the mud off the garlic and cleaning his knife blade with a rag in his pack, Romeran put the garlic in the sack along with the mushrooms they had already found.

Keeping a journal with foraging information seemed a good idea to him as there was a great deal to learn and he was unlikely to memorize it all the first time. Careful crop planning journals and documents were constructed most years to maximize yield and plant the right crops during the right seasons. It seemed much the same and just as most of the seasons and timings of the plants came as second nature to Romeran he expected that he would soon learn the ways of the woods.

Pointing to where the woods became clearer and back towards the trail that led to their camp, Romeran spoke “the woods clear up that way, back towards where we set the trap” they had laid the trap in more of a thicket of bushes where they had seen the trails of some small creatures, presumably hares or rabbits, but between there and where they stood now there was a wide field and much less dense population of trees. It seemed promising based on what Duinion had said.

They walked for a short time before they encountered the field. There were some green stemmed plants with small white flowers, reminiscent of the wild garlic but not the same. Romeran had seen them before but he was not familiar with them or if they were actually wild carrots or even edible at all. “I’m not really sure what wild carrots looked like” he confessed “we used to grow carrots on our farm but of course they are a rather short plant with big green leaves and large carrots when you pull them which can be quite a deal of work” he explained. “And when they are ready often the roots will bulge up above the ground and it’s quite obvious that you’re looking at a carrot” by contrast, Romeran was looking around the field and not sure whether he was even in the presence of wild carrots.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

Before long, they had stopped in a clearing with more open spaces. There were several kinds of wildflowers growing here. "Yes, these won't look like the carrots you grew on your uncle's farm." He pointed to a tall, lacy white flower. "This is commonly called Queen's Lace, I'm sure you must have seen it around, growing wild in the fields, at the edges of fences, and the sides of roads. Most people think of it as a weed, or hardly give it a second glance unless it's invading what they want to grow in that spot, then they want to get rid of it." He smiled faintly. "It's also called a wild carrot." He motioned Rome to take a closer look. "Pay close attention to how it looks. Notice how this plant has these tall, hairy stems, and the flower usually has a single red or purple spot in the center, but not always. Any time you're identifying a plant in the wild, use all of your senses. Don’t limit yourself to visual identification alone. Lots of wild edible plants have lookalikes that are not edible. Learn how to differentiate similar plants by smell, feel, texture, and so on. It’s not a rule, but in many cases, poisonous plants are unpalatable and rank smelling. That said, taste should only be used if you’re absolutely sure the plant is not poisonous. Some plants are deadly in very small doses." He glanced back at Rome, wanting to make sure he was paying attention here.

"There is a similar-looking plant, called the poison hemlock, which is extremely deadly. Many people have died eating what they thought was the carrot-like root of Queen’s lace plant. So, it is vitally important to know the differences between these two plants, and if you aren't sure, it’s safer to avoid eating it altogether. Fortunately, there is a simple way to tell the difference. Both poison hemlock, and another very similar one called fool’s parsley, smell horrible, while Queen's lace has pleasant smell, with kind of a sweetness to it." He picked a leaf from it and crushed it, holding it out for Rome to smell. "The leaves and stem of this one smell like a carrot when crushed. In addition, the stem of the wild carrot is hairy, while the stem of poison hemlock is smooth."

Once he felt he had emphasized that well enough, he moved back to let Rome examine them more closely. "Queen’s lace grows from a taproot, which looks much like a carrot and is edible when young. It can be eaten alone as a vegetable or in soup. You can find these biennials in bloom during their second year from spring on into fall. You'll want to find the younger plants that haven't flowered yet, and then carefully dig up the taproot. And, as with the garlic, we don't want to take more than we'll need, and leave plenty of these here to continue growing."

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

"Queen's lace" he repeated "it's nice putting a name to something that I have seen so many times before" Romeran suddenly wished he had been more curious with his mother when they went on walks in the woods. She had known the names of all of the plants and leaves and flowers and would often tell Romeran who paid little heed. Eventually he had told her that he didn't care and after a time she stopped doing it, he sorely regretted his childhood folly now. Queen's lace had been quite common as Duinion had pointed out and he had seen it many times before and considered it nothing more than a weed. Surprised he was to learn then that this was in fact a wild carrot. Since their farm had grown carrots they hardly had the need to eat wild carrots and so it was not terribly surprising that he did not know what they looked like. "It's good to know that you can tell the carrots by their smell being good" there were a few things which were known to smell bad but taste good but that was usually the exception rather than the rule and those things which smell bad but taste good were easy to remember or simply avoid.

It was interesting to learn how different wild carrots were to the farmed carrots he had used. Both roots were 'hairy' so that was the same and of course the leafy green tops. But the wild ones grew flowers which the farmed ones did not and of course the general size of them, the farmed ones had also been bred to grow much larger rather than take like roots. "I see, so we don't take the flowered ones" he said as he knelt down to examine some of the plants. The flowers were quite pretty, he thought, inspecting them in his hands but not pulling them out. Romeran went towards the end of the patch of wild carrots rather than the middle, following what Duinion had suggested about the wild garlic.

Kneeling down, Romeran pulled out his knife again from the sheath at his back. He started loosening the dirt around some of the carrots which had not yet flowered as Duinion had suggested. He had picked farm carrots many time and so he was comfortable with loosening the dirt carefully while avoiding nicking the carrot or the roots of nearby plants. When he pulled out the first one he let out a small laugh "well they're quite a bit smaller" he said with a grin holding it up to Duinion. Romeran picked off the root 'hairs' from the carrot and put them back in the dirt, brushing it back over again. Perhaps the root fragments would help the next carrots grow. He put the carrot in the bag with the garlic and mushrooms. "We may need more than that" he continued with a grin, a single wild carrot was only a couple of inches long at best, and thinner than any of Romeran's fingers. He picked just over a half a dozen more which would be sufficient to add some flavor and variety of texture to the stew.

Standing up, Romeran used his tunic to clean off his knife again before replacing it in his sheath and synching up the bag of food stuffs. "Garlic, carrots, mushrooms. We've got the makings of a good stew, I think" he said with a smile, he was growing more hungry now "hopefully we will have caught something in our little trap, or else at least we might make some fish stew if we aren't lucky with the the land trap. And I suppose worst case a nice vegetable stew, although then I might seek some other forgeable food like wild onions if such things can be found in this region" he mused, carrots, onions and garlic were such a classic combination of aromatics and vegetables in a stew or soup it would have been quite impressive for them to acquire them all in the wild. "What should we do now?" he asked Duinion. The hour in the afternoon was getting later but they still had time yet before supper, perhaps more foraging for vegetables to hedge a lack of captured meat, or some other lesson, Romeran wondered.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

"Yes, I'm very hopeful as well," he grinned. "We should have a nice enough meal, regardless." It would still take a little while to get the food made, so he wanted to get back as quickly as possible. But no sense in rushing, they wouldn't starve if they had to wait a while to eat. "Good job on the carrots," he mentioned, noticing how well he was able to get them without breaking off the root in the ground, and without disturbing the other plants. "Now, before we move on, you might take a look around and see if you notice anything else worth taking a look at." He mentioned, having noticed a few clusters of something that wasn't grass, but half-hidden among the grass in the clearing. Wild onions were smaller than the kind grown on farms, but it would go nicely in a stew.

After that, there was only one item he hoped to find, and thankfully he had spied some of this earlier while they were setting the trap, so it ought not be too far out of their way. "After we're done here, we'd better go and check our trap." he mentioned. "Do you know the way back?" They'd gone all around and turned in many directions during their forest outing, and he wouldn't be terribly surprised if the recruit was a little turned around or even totally lost, though he had hope maybe he'd been paying attention to his surroundings enough that he could find his way back. Still, being in a forest this vast and not being familiar to it, it could be challenging to keep your bearings, and Duinion remembered how lost he'd gotten, his first time out here.

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

It had been nice that Duinion recognized his skill with picking plants, after all he had spent many years through his childhood and teenage years picking, admittedly much larger versions of, vegetables and the like on his uncle's farm. In any case, it was always nice to be recognized, he thought, especially by someone who he held in such high regard. When Dunion told him to scan for something else worth taking a look at Romeran was at a bit of a loss. He wasn't entirely sure what other forgeable food looked like. But since Duinion was around to confirm or deny whether he had found something edible he decided to at least look around and see whether he could find something which looked unusual. Romeran walked around a bit looking at his surroundings. Before he reached a patchy area of grass there was a rotting log which had fallen down. There were some mushrooms growing on them. Romeran paused and looked at them "Usually I wouldn't consider mushrooms because I don't know them well, but since you're here I can ask: what about these?" he said, pointing to the brown mushrooms growing on the log.

A little ways further they came to a small patch of grass which led down to a small pond. In the distance at the edge of the pond were some cattails, Romeran pointed to them "There are some of those cattails, although to be honest I'm not sure if I fancy having them in a stew...." to Romeran that seemed more like a desperate survival food rather than something which they might choose to eat if given the option. Romeran was struggling to find something else to point out at this point and he started looking around at the grass. Every now and again, he noticed that there were small patches of what at first glance appeared to be grass but had a more shoot-like appearance, with flat leaves, and grew in small patches rather than as a field like the grass. Romeran bent down and smelled them and they had a strong onion-like smell. He looked up to Duinion and smiled "I would guess this is something related to an onion or a leek" he said pointing to the strange grass.

When Duinion asked if Romeran remembered the way back he had to pause for a few moments. He looked around at his surroundings and in his mind tried to re-walk the steps they had come "Well I'm fairly sure our trap from this morning is that way" he said, pointing in a north-easterly direction. "But we didn't walk directly here from there and I'm not sure if I would be able to take us on the straightest path back to where the trap is." he confessed, although he might walk in the direction he desired first he might not be right in which case he could walk for a while and not know he was going the wrong way, but even if he was right he did not know the terrain and there may be intervening obstacles which could prevent him from returning. He pondered for a moment what he would do if he was not with Duinion. "I think if I was by myself I would probably just back track to each previous location." he said trying to think of how he would get to the last place and the one before that "it would be a roundabout way to get there" he added, since they had gone all about that day "but I'm fairly confident that I would be able to get from one place to the next, as each location would spark a memory of where we had been earlier in the day." Romeran hadn't considered how much longer it would take them to get there, but they had spent a good deal of time at or around each location, building shelters, playing hide and seek, or searching for food, and so they couldn't have covered too great a distance that back-tracking would have been prohibitive.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

Watching Rome search around, Duinion had actually expected him to spot the onion tops right off, but when he went past them, he reminded himself that the young man was still learning all of this. He went, instead, beyond to a spot beyond where Duinion yet cast his gaze, and the ranger had to come closer to see what Rome had found. Mushrooms? He took a look at the log and frowned. "No, not those." He shook his head and decided it was as good a time as any to teach Rome about this particular kind. "These mushrooms are known by a variety of names... funeral bell, deadly skullcap, or deadly galerina... notice a theme?" he glanced up at Rome.

"In addition to learning the plants you can safely eat, it's also a good idea to learn to recognize the ones that you can't. This very poisonous mushroom grows mostly on decaying conifer wood. Notice how they have brown to yellow-brown caps. These will fade in color when drying. And look underneath," he pushed one over to show the underside. "The gills are brownish and give a rusty spore print. A well-defined membranous ring is typically seen on the stems of young ones, but that often disappears with age. In older mushrooms the caps are flatter and the gills and stems browner." He paused to let Rome take a moment to study it, then added, "If you were to consume this kind of mushroom, you can expect to suffer from severe liver damage, with a great deal of vomiting, diarrhea, hypothermia, and eventual death if not treated rapidly. Make sure you learn to identify this so that you don't make that mistake."

Once they had moved on from the mushroom log, he was pleased when Rome did at last notice the onion greens hiding among the grass. "Yes, those are what I was talking about before." he smiled. "Wild onions, or technically they would be called scallions or shallots. They're all over the field here, so digging up one cluster will be fine. I'd say that's all we need, and it will help the stew be even better. They aren't quite as strong as onions but they'll still be nice to add to it, and since it's a lot of small bulbs, we won't have to chop up one big onion. No onion tears." He grinned. He was well-familiar with chopping onions, and had always hated that task.

Listening to Rome's reply about the navigation, Duinion nodded a little. It was about how he expected. "Backtracking is one way you could find your way back, but what if you miss a landmark and take a wrong turn? You might end up wandering in circles or you might see a landmark that looks familiar, but it actually only a lookalike to your landmark, then you're going off in the wrong direction." he pointed out. "Remember what I spoke about before, about the trees telling you the direction? And, if you recall, we set our trap by the river. That alone should help give you a clue. Find the river, and then all you have to do is follow it to the right spot. Assuming you know whether you need to go upstream or downstream, it shouldn't be too difficult to locate the area we need to find."

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

Glad he was then that Duinion had been there, not that he would have realistically have tried the mushrooms since he did not know what they were. When Duinion had given the names that the mushroom went by he couldn't help but smile "Well I guess they are aptly named" he replied "we won't be eating these ones then." Romeran took another look at the mushrooms trying to take mental note of their appearance and tried to associate the name with them, or at least to know that they shouldn't be eaten. That they seemed to grow on a rotten log might have been reasonable sign enough. Romeran bent down and examined the parts of the mushroom as Duinion pointed them out to him, he was sure he wouldn't remember it all but perhaps the next time he encountered this particular type he would remember another thing about their appearance.

"That sounds particularly nasty" he commented upon learning about the repercussions of eating that particular mushroom, shuddering slightly. "I'm surprised that such a small thing can be so deadly" he said looking down at the mushrooms with a new level of caution. "That certainly reinforces the idea of not eating anything which you are not certain of what it is"

Once Duinion had mentioned that he had been expecting Romeran to find the green onions, he looked around and realized that he had walked past several patches of them on his search while he had been distracted by the mushrooms and the cattails. "I think I have had these before, then" he said recognizing the names "I've heard of these before, but I have never seen them growing" he said, looking down at the stalks in the ground. Much the same as with the carrots, Romeran took particular care to remove the spring onions until he had a small bunch of them. He brushed off as much dirt as he could from the roots and placed them in the sack. They were going to have a fine stew, rabbit or no rabbit.

The point about missing a wrong turn was well taken and Romeran nodded in grave understanding. Romeran listened to Duinion's advice about how to navigate and he remembered some of the discussion they had before, it was good to reinforce the learning with practical experience. He pondered for a moment. "Well I can hear the river over that way" he said, pointing east. Romeran looked over to some of the nearest trees and up into the boughs "I think that way must be North then" he said, pointing where the branches did not grow as much and pointed more upwards. "So I think based on where I believe our trap was laid that we ought to go" he paused doing the calculation based on north established from the trees "east over to the river, and then follow it north up stream until we get to the trap, which I believe would be on the eastern" he was fairly confident that was the case, but it was also quite possible that he had gotten turned around.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

Listening as Rome went through the process of figuring out how to navigate back to their trap, he smiled slowly and nodded now and then, encouragingly, as the young man reasoned through the problem. "Rome, I have a feeling you're going to be an excellent ranger." He said with a grin. "That was exactly right. Lead the way then." He hoped with more practice in all of these things, Rome would become more confident in all of these new skills. Yet, of course, he hoped to also exhibit enough caution to not get himself killed young. That was always the hardest, Duinion thought.

He trailed along after the recruit as he led them back toward the river by the method he had just described, and before long they were approaching the area where the rabbits frequented. Duinion stopped Rome with a hand on his arm, and spoke softly. "Practice some of that stealthy movement we were speaking of earlier, as you move closer." he whispered. "If the trap is empty, and we don't frighten away and rabbits who may be nearby, we may still be able to shoot one." he mentioned, with a nod toward his bow. He had high hopes, but there was still the chance that the rabbits had perhaps caught scent of humans in the area and avoided it, or else they may have simply seen or sensed something strange and avoided their usual tunnel, or perhaps they simply had not been here yet today.

But as the two drew nearer to the trap, Duinion could see the sapling was no longer bent over, and though the trees hid the snare from sight, he had a feeling it held something. He didn't comment, however, because it was still possible the trap could have went off without anything in it, and he didn't want to get Rome's hopes up too early. But the way the young sapling looked, he had a feeling that something was weighing the top down, and smiled. It would be nicer to let Rome make the discovery without him pointing it out first, after all.

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

A wide grin came across his face at Duinion’s remark that he would make a fine ranger yet, “if so then it will be only because of your instruction master Duinion” he replied in kind. If this was what it was like training to be a ranger then he might enjoy it a lot, at least he was enjoying it so far.

Their trek through the woods towards the river was fairly uneventful. They walked past a few more patches of wild onions and carrots which Romeran was now spotting with relative consistency and he pointed them out to Duinion a few times. Every now and then Romeran would stop and ask about a particular variety of mushrooms they had encountered. Mushrooms seemed to be the most numerous in varieties as well as difficult to tell whether or not you could eat them. Romeran figured that it would just be something he would learn over time.

The sound of the rushing water grew louder as they approached the river. They were currently on the opposite side of the river which they had needed to beX having crossed at some point when they went foraging. Romeran spotted a crossing where there were several clusters of rocks and the river narrowed slightly. This made for a convenient crossing although they had to check the rocks before stepping on them to ensure they could bear their weight. The crossing was otherwise uneventful.

As they approached the trap Romeran slowed his pace as instructed. He began to move slowly and only when the sound of the blowing wind and rushing water covered the noise. He took care when standing still to pick out a path which would create as little sound as possible. His bow was still unstrung and attached to his pack so if they did have to shoot anything it would be down to Duinion. But as they slowly approached the trap there were signs that something had been caught.

The sapling had sprung up but the top where they had tied it was still bent as it bearing and unusual burden. Romeran smiled wifey at the sight but didn’t want to risk a whisper until they got closer. As they moved in and past the trees they were able to see that they had indeed caught a rabbit. It dangled from the trap and had apparently tired itself. “We got one!” Romeran said as quietly as he could but still the excitement was obvious in his voice. “Should I take it down and deal with it?” He asked politely.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

For Duinion, the hardest part about approaching, and seeing ahead of time that they had something in their trap, was not grinning too early. He wanted to let Rome discover the catch, and so when he finally got near enough and saw that they had, indeed, caught something, Duinion was glad to let his grin emerge at last. "Yes, deal with it. I'm not sure if the string killed it or not, but if it isn't dead then we don't want to make it suffer." He answered. Glancing around, he saw no indication of any nearby rabbits, but that didn't mean they weren't there. Still, one ought to be enough, he thought. No sense in taking more than they really needed. With the vegetables and the meat from one rabbit, they should have plenty for a stew.

Once Rome had dealt with the rabbit, Duinion spoke up again. "We'll be leaving the forest tomorrow, so we'd better dismantle the trap. We don't want to leave any trace that we were here. Even if we come back to this same spot and put the same trap out a couple of weeks from now, it's better to take it down now, so that nothing gets accidentally caught in it, even though it's not set." He could list a few reasons if necessary, but hopefully the young man would already have a good idea of what those were, and wouldn't need to be told.

"Now then, we have almost everything... but there is one more thing I'd like to get for our stew." He smiled. "Would you be surprised to learn you can find potatoes even in the wild?" He asked with a grin, before motioning him to follow. Just a short distance away, a flowering vine had spread its tendrils across the ground, over a few bushes and climbing up a couple of nearby trees. "I don't know if you've ever seen this vine before, but it's most common name is Morning Glory. It's pretty, isn't it?" He lightly touched one of the white trumpet flowers, with a deep pink center. "It's rather aggressive though, as you can see... it's taking over everything within reach. It doesn't look like something that would be edible, but if we can find where the roots are... we'll find a wild version of a potato. This vine forms a large root that's a bit sweeter than an average potato, and it's quite good. One ought to be just right to chop up and add to our stew, I think." He started moving the vines around trying to find where the roots were located.

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

The rabbit was still alive but passed out when Romeran pulled it off the trap but it was easy enough to put out of its misery. Romeran tied it up with some of the string from the trap and attached it to the pack rather than putting it in the bag with the foraged goods so as not to spoil them before Romeran had a chance to gut and clean the meat. After being told to do so, Romeran began to take down the trap they had set. Since it had sprung already it was really just a question of untying some of the rope they had used to set the trap in place and picking up the sticks they had used. He assumed that he could simply toss the sticks, they were sticks after all but decided to ask "what should I do with the sticks, leave them here? Or somewhere else? I assume we won't need them again?" The cord he took and carefully wrapped it and put it back in his pack with the rest of the cord and leather strips. All in all it was a very low material required trap which was convenient.

"I guess it probably would take some time for the rabbits to realize that this is a potential trap spot, I imagine it's not exactly as if 'word' would get around quickly. So does that mean at least over short periods of time, or with large amounts of time between, that using the same trapping spot is a good idea? Especially if it has been successful once before?" he had learned something from Duinion already about selecting trap spots but was curious how reasonable it was to re-use the same spot which had already found to be successful at least once. That could mean at least that once a good spot was found, he wouldn't have to continually find new ones, if for some reason he found himself stranded in the woods with a need to survive for a while on hunted game.

"Potatoes!" Romeran exclaimed in surprise, potatoes were one of Romeran's most favorite foods, they could go with anything 'boil 'em mash 'em stick 'em in a stew' as they say, he had never expected to find wild potatoes but he supposed they must have started in the wild at some point before being cultivated and bred by humans to the potatoes which Romeran was used to. Following Duinion, Romeran was looking at the morning glory flowers "I think that's one of the few names I remember my mother telling me when I was a child, but I'm not sure I could have picked it out without you telling me" he explained.

As they followed the vines along, which indeed seemed to have spread like a fog over a lake across the entire area, they slowly found the main roots. "So we just dig down and pull out the root? What will happen to the vines if we do that?" honestly it looked more like an invasive weed that something that they might have wanted to take care to remove carefully, maybe they would be doing the other plants a favor by taking some of the morning glory out by the roots.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

After telling Rome to just toss the sticks aside, he watched while he dealt with the rabbit, and nodded in approval that he tied it up separately from the vegetables. "Yes, you could set the same traps in the same place for a while, but before long you'd want to move it elsewhere." he confirmed. "Give it some time, then try that spot again. You don't want to over-hunt an area. That is, if we keep putting a lot of traps around this area for weeks and weeks, and keep catching rabbits from here..pretty soon there won't be any left to catch. So if you had set up a trap line, you'd want to move it after a while. Besides that, then the animals won't get too used to the traps and start avoiding them. I've heard of people who use the same places for their trap lines year after year, and eventually they start getting fewer catches because they've depleted the population so much.. and perhaps the animals have begun to get wise to the traps." He shook his head a little. "You don't want to do that, of course. It's the same idea as with not taking too much when foraging."

As they searched for the roots of the vine, he answered the other questions as best he could. "First, we have to find the roots," he answered. "It's best to lift the vines up and follow them to the base... Don’t be surprised if there are numerous vines coming out of the same root as this is not uncommon. Some roots break off into two or more trunks. Multiple vines can come off of each of these trunks and still be from the same root. These can grow quite deep into the earth, so it's best if we can find some of the younger roots, they'll taste better anyway." He paused, thinking back about something he'd learned from his wife, "These are.. 'storage roots', that we're looking for. They store the plant's energy or something of that sort. As for what happens to it, well," He looked at the monstrous vine. "I don't think we need to worry about doing any damage. We may kill one or two small vines, but I think the plant can spare them."

He smiled, glancing around at the bushes and trees being consumed by the aggressive vine. "I think the trees and other plants would thank us for that, don't you?" He pointed out a promising-looking spot where a few vines had come up, young, but not too young to have a reasonably sized root at their base. "This one should do." Having seen how well Rome did at digging up the other root vegetables, he didn't think it necessary to tell him about loosening the soil first, and merely held back the vines so that the young man could get to the root. Thinking on what he said about his mother telling him of this, he nodded thoughtfully. "I've heard of some farmers having trouble with these trying to take over their beans and other crops. Probably from birds carrying the seeds. I imagine it could be a nightmare trying to fight off this thing so that it doesn't choke out the crops you want to grow."

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

The vines really did cover a large part of the ground nearby and he agreed with Duinion that removing some of them may in fact be a boon to many of the other nearby plant life. Romeran followed the particular vine which Duinion pointed out and tried his best to take note of what it looked like as an example of what they were looking for. This vine wasn’t as long as some of them and that seemed to indicate the age, Romeran figured. He followed it to the root and pulled out his knife carefully loosening the ground and pulling out the large root. He held it up and looked at it for a moment. “Well I suppose it does look a bit like a potato, even if it isn’t exactly oval shaped” he said with a smile “I’ll be curious to see how it tastes”.

As Romeran cleared some of the vines away he was glad that they had never grown crops which required a trellis. “We never green beans or things which required a trellis for support. I never really thought to ask why but now that you mention it, it’s quite possible dealing with invasive vines is a good reason. It’s trouble enough with insects and crows without aggressively growing vines choking out your crops” indeed it sounded like a nightmare to deal with. Romeran was glad he had moved on from being a farmer.

As they had made their way back to the trap which they had laid in the morning it was only a short walk to where they had stayed the previous night. “Should we go back to the previous camp. It was a nice spot. Or should we find somewhere else?” Romeran put the root vegetable in the sack with the other foraged goods. With the combination they had found and the rabbit they caught they would be in for a delicious meal by Romeran’s assessment. He was already planning how to cook it as he put his pack away and back in his shoulders. “It will be a good hike back tomorrow” he said, recalling how long their initial journey in had been “it will be nice to have such a hearty stew tonight to help” he said, his mind never too far from food.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

"Yes, I think it was a good spot. We're not on any sort of mission where we'd need to worry about enemies finding us, else I would suggest finding a different spot to confuse them. And," He mentioned, "After we get the stew cooking, I think it'd be a good idea to practice building a shelter.. I was thinking a round shelter this time, rather than a lean-to style." He glanced up, suspecting rain by the time nightfall came. "The wind is picking up a little, and we'll want to make sure we have someplace dry to sleep. You have your tarp, of course, but it doesn't hurt to practice making shelter out of what's already in the forest."

Before long they had arrived at the camping spot they had used the night before. "I'll take the vegetables down to the stream while you get the fire going," He suggested. Taking the sack of vegetables along, he went to the stream to clean all the dirt off of all the vegetables they had collected. It would be a very nice, filling meal and he was looking forward to sitting down to eat it, though it would still be a little while before it was ready to eat.

Upon returning with his face also washed of the mud camouflage from earlier, he laid out the slightly damp vegetables on a blanket he had spread out on the ground for that purpose, so they could dry while they worked on assembling the stew. "Do you know how to cut up the meat?" He asked, wondering, as he remembered having to explain about how to gut the fish last night. Taking out his knife, the ranger got to work on cutting the carrots into smaller pieces.

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

A round shelter seemed interesting to Romeran although he was not sure precisely what that meant. He thought to ask immediately when Duinion asked, but decided that he would find out soon enough. “Being prepared for anything certainly seems to be an important ranger quality.” He said in reply to practicing making shelters out of what he could find rather than what he could carry. After all he was here to learn to be a ranger and survival skills were a big part of the ranger requirements if he wanted to become a full ranger.

The trip back to their first camp was short as they had placed the trap nearby earlier in the morning. Romeran was noticing more things as he walked through the forest now than he had noticed before. Food that he hadn’t noticed before and trees branches growing towards the south. He noticed some of the tracks they had left this morning and even some signs of other things having moved in the area. It was like he had acquired a second sight, this one was still fuzzy and out of focus, but with time and effort he would develop it until it truly was an additional sense. Just like Duinion had done.

When Duinion went down to wash the vegetables, Romeran started to make the fire. They would need it to burn down enough for them to cook on anyway. After gathering tinder and organizing the fire wood into a square shape, Romeran lit the fire with his flint and tinder using the back of his knife to create a spark with the flint. Romeran got the metal pot out from his bag which they could use for cooking.

“I can handle the rabbit” he said, picking up the pot and rabbit and standing up from the now burning fire when Duinion returned. “I’m familiar with rabbits and deer and the like. Just not fish” he said explaining. “It’ll be easier with the running stream and I need to fill this pot with water for the stew anyway.” Romeran noticed that Duinion had washed his face of the camouflage and mud and smiled “also I could use a bit of a wash myself” he said rubbing his beard and letting some more of the dirt loose. “I’ll be right back” he said letting Duinion cut the vegetables.

They had chosen a spot that was close by the river which was convenient. When he got there Romeran decided he would wash his face and hands first. He was eager to be clean of the mud and he wouldn’t want it falling into the pot or the rabbit anyway. Once he was clean he gutted the rabbit using the running river to wash the meat and the pelt. If the pelt was left out to dry it could be used later. Romeran finally filled the pot with water, they wouldn’t need all of it but could pour it out or use it for something else at camp.

Returning to the camp, Romeran checked on the fire and to see how the vegetable chopping was coming along. “I have a bit of seasoning including some salt in a tin in my bag” he said, the salt alone would be an invaluable addition to their stew and bring out the flavors. Sitting down next to Duinion, Romeran began to cut the rabbit meat into smaller pieces and removing the bones, usually he would do that at the end but it took much longer to cook when it was on the bone and Romeran didn’t want to have to constantly manage a fire and the stew if he was going to be working on another shelter.

When the fire was at the right level Romeran poured some of the water from the pot into his canteen. It was still too full and he offered some to Duinion before pouring out the rest until the level of water on the pot was an appropriate level. He stoked the coals and arranged the fire so that the pot would sit level on the coals and then shoved some more around them. Romeran loved cooking. The potatoes, carrots, and onions went in first along with some salt. The garlic wouldn’t need to cook too long or else it would lose all its flavor and the rabbit and mushrooms cooked much faster than the other vegetables. When the stew had come to boil for a minute or so he put in the garlic and sometime after added the rabbit and mushrooms and a little of his seasoning mix. When the rabbit was cooked he took out the small spoon from his bag and tasted the stew he nodded approvingly but added more salt. Romeran preferred to go easy on the salt in the beginning and then season to taste when the stew was ready this was a good way to avoid over salting the stew as it boiled down. When he was satisfied, Romeran offered his spoon to Duinion “care to taste?” he asked with a smile.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

Observing Rome work on the stew, Duinion decided that the younger man might be better at cooking than himself, and therefore left him in control of the stew. That would be a good asset to any groups that he may be part of in the future. Having a good cook wasn't the most important thing, of course, but it certainly helped make things more enjoyable for everyone.

While Rome was getting the stew going, Duinion cleaned off his knife after finishing with the vegetables and then went to poke around some of the nearby plants around, pretty sure he had seen something of interest at an earlier point. He returned with a few sprigs of leaves somewhat resembling a feathery fern. "I'm no expert on cooking, but I thought these may be useful." He mentioned, offering it. "Wild parsley... I believe that's an herb that goes well in stew. And, over there is something else you may find useful in your cooking," Smiling, he pointed toward the cluster of boulders. "See the small bushy plant growing up around those rocks?" He directed Rome's attention toward the wild thyme plant he had spotted. The branches were thin, a mix of brown and dark green with tiny silvery and blue-green leaves with rounded points. He didn't have to get any closer to know, from experience, that they would break off easily in hand, and the scent of thyme would easily identify the plant.

While waiting for the stew to cook, Duinion started gathering a pile of branches that were already lying around the ground, to save a little time for building the shelter. The sky was looking steadily grayer. He decided to get Rome to cut the rest of the needed branches with his ax, so there would be plenty for the support of the structure. Hearing the recruit offering a taste, he returned to the fire, eagerly accepting the sample of the broth. "Mm, that's wonderful," He grinned. "You're a very good cook." He could hardly wait to actually eat, but figured some of the harder vegetables would still need a little more time to cook. "How much longer do you think til it's done? Think we'd have time to start building a shelter before it's ready to eat?"

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

As the stew was cooking Duinion brought over some fresh parsley which would go perfectly with rabbit and mushroom stew “fantastic!” He said, taking the parsley and removing the stems. He tore the, already small, leaves up to release some of the flavor and make for smaller pieces. He put them in the stew and smelled it again. It was really coming together. If he had been at home with a few pans and some butter he would have liked to brown the meat and caramelize the onions but this would do nicely. When Duinion pointed out another herb Romeran went looking after it. He bent down and smelled it “oh wow thyme” he exclaimed “it might as well be a kitchen out here” he said and took a few pieces of thyme and brought them back for the stew “the stew is going to be delightful” he said stirring it.

“I took the meat off the bones so that it would cook faster, but honestly it’s a stew and the good thing about stew is the longer you let it stew” he smiled at his play on words “the better it tastes. We just need to care that it’s not cooking too hot for too long or else all of the liquid will boil away but the coals were already cooling and maintaining a reasonable simmer should only require tending occasionally.” He explained. Managing the heat of a cooking fire was one of the most important and first learned skills in cooking.

“We should have time to get started on a shelter at least.” Romeran moved some of the coals around so that the heat was slightly less and he left the stew to integrate the flavors. “You mentioned a round shelter? I’m not really sure what that would look like if I’m honest” looking down Romeran noticed that Duinion had already gathered some sticks. So at least he knew that sticks would be involved. Although unless they were going to dig a cave he figured sticks had a high probability of being involved.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

He grinned at Rome's comment. "Yes, it might as well." He agreed. "That's why I said before, almost everything you need can be found out in the forest." He looked around, enjoying the open air, the large trees all around, everything. "A person could live out here for their whole lives and never need to go to a city for anything," He mentioned quietly. Of course, most people preferred to return to the city now and then, and he knew that. But it was absolutely true, the woods provided everything that one could really need. Wants and needs were different, but many folks didn't quite seem to realize that.

"A round shelter is made almost like a lean to, but instead of leaning your sticks onto something to form a roof that slants... you're leaning your sticks all against a center point, and forming a sort of cone." He explained. Taking a few twigs, he showed in miniature how they could be made to lean against each other for the framework. "You can do it that way, or if you find a sturdy, straight tree, you can use it for a center point and lean your poles against it, like this," He used the twigs again as a demonstration, this time leaned against a small nearby sapling. "Then you would cover it with leaves and boughs and all that, just the same as you did with the other shelter earlier. One benefit of this style shelter, over the other kind, is that there's only one opening, and therefore it should block out the wind. If it was cold, it would also keep us warmer."

He took a look around. "First we have to decide where to build it. It's going to rain pretty soon, so we'll want to make sure the ground is slanting away from us, so we don't get water coming in from under the shelter. We can build a sort of barrier around the sides to channel any rainwater around our shelter. Another major consideration is figuring out what direction the wind is blowing." He mentioned, glancing up at the trees as another stiff breeze stirred them. "We'll want to build it with the doorway facing away from the wind, so that we get as much protection as possible." He motioned toward the fire. "Also we have to make sure the wind won't be blowing the smoke in at us." Glancing at Rome, he smiled, using this as another learning opportunity. "Where would you suggest we build, and which direction?"

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

The circular house made more sense now that Duinion had shown him in miniature version what it would look like. It seemed like there were two options: free standing and using a tree as a center piece. The pole in the middle of the shelter would certainly reduce the space available. On the other hand it provided some central structure and the natural branches of the tree would also provide some protection from the wind and rain.

“Well we should be on higher ground if we can because we don’t want to get caught where the rain might pool.” He reasoned having done some camping in the rain even with a tarp would get bogged if you placed it in low ground where the water would collect.

“I think maybe choosing to construct it around a tree with wide branches might help create a natural protection against the wind. We would have to make the shelter somewhat bigger to account for the loss of space and we can choose a tree which does not have a thick trunk” Romeran began to look around their area at the trees in the more elevated ground. He didn’t want to end up camping in a spot where the rains could cause a temporary stream towards the river.

There was a tree on a slightly elevated area that was not too thick in diameter. It was an evergreen tree with wide pine needle laden branches but which didn’t begin until above Romeran’s head. “How about making it around this tree here? Using it as a central pole as you described” it also seemed to Romeran that it would be easier to construct the shelter if there was a stable center column. The balancing act that Duinion had to do to make the small sticks stand independently in a cone was fiddly and he could only imagine how much more challenging it might be with bigger logs and branches.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

Nodding thoughtfully, Duinion looked over the tree he had selected. "Yes, that looks like a good spot." He agreed. "The pine needle layer will help soften the ground, too." He mentioned, though he still intended to show him how to make a 'bed' of sorts. "I'm going to help build this time, so we can get it done sooner." He mentioned, unsure how long it might be before the rain started.

Dragging the branches he'd collected over, he showed Rome how they could use some of the lowest branches of the pine tree to prop their poles against, for better support. "We'll need more poles than these, of course." He mentioned. "I thought you might take your ax and find the rest of what we'll need. I'll work on arranging the poles while you gather more, how does that sound?" He asked. Since Rome had done similarly with the other shelter, it wasn't as necessary for him to do all of the work this time, though he would still get plenty of practice.

After arranging the basic structure, Duinion pointed out to the recruit how he had left a gap in one side. "Notice these two that form a sort of 'doorframe'," he pointed, "I chose these because of the forked branches here, which are just stubs now, but it'll work to form a sort of..what's it called..." He paused, thinking back to recall some of what he'd learned about carpentry while he was with Addhor in Rohan, "Lintel beam? So that we can enclose the upper portion of this and still have the opening below." He explained. "That'll keep more water and wind out." (like this)

Soon they were adding foliage and boughs to make it more water-tight, and filling in the gaps. "Would you rather make sure that it's water proof, and wrap your tarp around it, or would you like to test it out without that?" He asked, giving Rome that option. "If we don't use it on here, you could possibly lay it on the ground to ensure that the water doesn't seep in under the shelter," He mentioned. "I'll leave that up to you." Whichever way they went, he intended to cover it with leaves and boughs regardless if there was a tarp under it all or not, for camouflage purposes if nothing else.

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

Using the pine needles as a cushion wasn't something Romeran would have thought of but it seemed very smart in hindsight. Romeran was also glad that Duinion was going to help, in addition to the chance of a rain sooner than they might have wanted, there was also the question of supper and the stew was beginning to make the area smell delicious. It wouldn't be long before his stomach was growling loudly.

As instructed, Romeran went off to find appropriately sized branches or small trees which they could use as poles for the shelter. Romeran found a reasonably sized sapling and using his axe he cut at alternating angles from a vertical downward angle at first to a horizontal afterwards, near the base of the tree, until a right angle triangle shaped chunk had been cut on one side half way into the tree. Romeran then repeated this procedure on the other side but making a smaller right triangle slightly above where he had made the first one, creating a hinge. A small push then was all that was required to fell the tree. The tree was fairly narrow, small enough that Romeran could wrap his hands around it and his fingers would touch, but it was tall, taller than Romeran had initially thought.

Using the length of the tree to his advantage, Romeran first cut away the small branches and then sectioned the tree up into equal sized logs. He was able to get four poles out of a single tree of this particular size, and the woods in this area was full of trees of this size and considerably larger. Using this process, Romeran was able to fairly quickly accumulate enough of the wooden poles for them to construct the shelter. Each time be brought several back and presented them to Duinion to inspect and then organize into the shelter. Romeran took time between each pass to survey how Duinion had placed the poles so far trying to keep track of where each one had subsequently been placed. He wanted to make sure he was following along with what was happening even if he wasn't doing every part of the work.

When they were adding the doorframe part, Romeran took a step back "I'm rather impressed, if I'm honest" he said, it looked surprisingly like a proper shelter for something made with sticks, albeit large ones. The combination of Romeran's source of tall and sturdy poles with Duinion's skill at arrangement had created a solid looking structure and the doorframe made it look even more like a 'house'. Foliage, leaves, and the tight pine branches made the structure even more complete. With the additional shelter lent to them by the tree that they were centered around, Romeran figured that they would probably have sufficient protection from the rain.

"I say we put the tarp on the ground to stop the water from seeping in underneath. I think we ought to have sufficient protection above us" he reasoned, admiring the shelter that they had now created. He looked up at the sky. It wasn't yet raining, which was good because the stew was still simmering on the fire, but the clouds upwind looked menacing and it likely wouldn't be long before they arrived. Romeran made his way over to the cooking fire and inspected the soup, taking again a small mouthful with the spoon. "Mmm that's quite good if I do say so myself" he said with a smile and his stomach growled as if in agreement. "I think it's ready" he concluded.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

Duinion smiled, hearing how impressed Rome sounded. "A shelter like this can last a pretty good while, even unattended." He mentioned. "Provided no very heavy winds come along and blow any parts of it away, but it would take quite a wind to completely knock it down." He tucked a bough into a gap and then moved to place another. "Those branches you cut off from the poles, we'll use those to cover the outside." he mentioned, so that Rome knew that they would be used. Soon he had weaved all the little branches in, and stuffed leaves and ferns into any remaining gaps, especially focusing on the peak of the structure where all the poles met in the middle. "That should do it." He stepped back and nodded. "And it's large enough to fit us both and still have room to move around." He added.

"Alright," He nodded as Rome chose to put the tarp on the ground, "You do that and I'm going to gather some bedding." He smiled and went off a little ways. Laying his cloak on the ground, he gathered some leaves from under some nearby deciduous trees, piling them onto the cloak. Once it was full, he carried it back to their structure. "This is another thing that's useful to know," he mentioned. "When the weather is cold, as it tends to get at night, the ground can actually suck all the warmth from your body. So you want to make sure you have plenty of layers between yourself and the ground. So what we do is, take some logs and make a frame like a bed, and then fill it with leaves and things to create some padding between you and the ground, and then you've got a bed. It'll make it softer, but also keep you warmer." He explained.

"So I'm going to gather some leaves if you'll get some logs. Two your height, and two my height. One more that can be cut into the head and foot for both of us, that should be all we need." He paused, thinking. "There's a fallen tree over that way, it might provide enough branches so you don't have to cut down too many living trees." He mentioned, as they would need somewhat thicker poles for this purpose, than for the structure. Leaving his load of leaves in a pile in the middle of the tarp, he went to gather more so they'd have plenty gathered before the rain started. Already he was feeling a few drops starting to hit his face, but hopefully they'd have time to get the bedding and bring the stew into the shelter to eat. Working quickly, he gathered several loads of leaves and moss and things to fill in the frames once Rome had the logs for them.

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

Wrapping the tarp around the tree on the inside of the shelter would have been a challenge if his tarp had been much smaller but luckily for him it was big enough to wrap around the center tree and still extend to the end of the shelter on all sides. When it was covered with the materials that they were going to use for bedding it should make for a good protection from any rain and wind. Duinion had been correct that there was a fallen tree nearby which would suffice for cutting logs large enough to make the bedframes. It would be a bit of a squeeze inside the shelter but the would fit and the two of them would be all the more comfortable for it. As Romeran worked he remarked at how glad he was that he had brought his axe but also reminded himself that he ought to spend some time sharpening the bade later that night. To cleanly remove some of the branches on the log, Romeran resorted to using his knife as the blade edge on his axe had become to dull from use for such fine work. It was an easy thing to fix with a whetstone but he didn't need the axe to be so sharp for splitting wood and his knife worked well enough for the task.

When Romeran returned with the logs for the bed frames, Duinion had already gathered all of the material which they would use to fill them. They worked quickly to construct the make-shift bedframes inside the shelter. It was good that they had started when they had as it was already beginning to rain more consistently now, if still gently. The raindrops landing on the coals where the stew was simmering caused steam and the fire was now creating more smoke. "We should probably take the stew inside before it rains much more or else it will get watered down from the rain" he suggested, already moving towards it. Romeran also made sure to move his pack and things inside the shelter so that they would not get wet.

With the stew finished and brought inside and the rain starting to pick up again, Romeran was glad for their new shelter. He dug around into his pack and removed the small metal cup which in this case would function as a bowl for the soup. "Do you have a cup or bowl or should we split it between this and the pot?" he said, holding up the metal cup that he had. "I suppose you could carve one from some wood" he said, half in jest but also he was quite confident that Duinion would not struggle to do so if he needed to and was sure he could have even made his own spoon out of a stuck if he had needed that as well. Most children and even adults took to whittling of some form on the farm, it was something that would kill the time during the quiet months when the crops were still growing or in the winter season when they planted little.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

Thankfully, it didn't take long to get the 'beds' made, and to bring their things inside, including the stew. Rather than waiting for the rain to put out the fire slowly, he extinguished it quickly so there would be no lingering smoke. Once everything was moved inside, Duinion let Rome go into the shelter first, and followed.

"Well, it's not a palace, but it should keep us dry." He smiled. "And far more comfortable than any dwelling you'll find in the city. To me anyway." He shrugged and pulled his pack closer, grinning at Rome's joke. "I've got a cup, yes." He dug into the pack, finding a battered tin cup he'd carried around for many years. "It'd take too long to carve out a bowl," he laughed, holding out his cup. "Though I suppose I could if I really needed to."

He didn't even feel the need for a spoon, because he could sip the stew right from the cup. And did just that, carefully, blowing to cool it. "Mm. There's something about a meal you've had to labor for, don't you think? It somehow tastes better, I think." Outside the rain was coming down harder, but the inside of the shelter remained dry. "This is delicious, you're a very good cook, Rome."

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

It was lucky that they had completed all of the tasks when they did as the rain began to come down considerably harder once they had moved inside the shelter. “I am unused to the city as well.” He said in response to Duinion calling the shelter more comfortable than anywhere in the city “I feel more comfortable here than I have since moving to Minas Tirith. It’s not the same as the farm of course but it’s a lot closer than the white city.” Romeran was still unused the city but he had only been there a few weeks.

Wearing a pair of leather gloves that he kept in a bag, Romeran had moved the hot pot from the fire into their shelter and he used them again to serve out the stew, using his spoon to ensure that sufficient meat and vegetables from the bottom got into each cup. “Thanks” he said when Duinion had complimented his cooking. “It’s one of the things I used to bond with my mother over. She used to say that since I had such an appetite I best learn how to cook. I suppose I just ended up liking it eventually.” In truth it had been one of the few ways he had bonded with his mother who otherwise seemed to look at Romeran with pain in her eyes.

“Do you know how to row a boat?” Romeran asked as they were eating and the rain was falling. Perhaps it was the rain and the sound of the rushing river which was now growing more full with the rain which had made Romeran think of it. “Boatcraft is in the handbook for things which I’m supposed to learn. And horseback riding although I know a good deal of riding since we used horses of various types on the farm. Some large draft horses for turning the soil and other smaller horses simply for traveling across the farm, it was too large to cross by foot in reasonable time” Romeran enjoyed horseback riding although he usually had to find a larger than average horse or at least a sturdy one which did not mind his burden. Boating on the other hand he had almost no experience with. Parts of Lossarnach were on the shores of Anduin but Romeran’s farm had been to the north and west of the great river nearer to the White Mountains which was the northern border of that land.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

Listening quietly to Rome talk about how he and his mother bonded over cooking, he managed a faint smile, and kept quiet for a little while as he sipped on his stew. Long ago, he had given up on ever finding out anything about who his parents might have been, but it still left a twinge of sadness to hear others speak about their parents. It was one reason he made sure to spend as much time as he could with Eryn, and tried to be close with her. Especially after they lost her mother, he wanted to ensure that his daughter had what he never did, but had always longed for.

"Boats?" Rome's question drew him out of his thoughts, and looked up at him. "Mm, rowing a boat isn't that difficult, but I don't spend much time in them. I could if I had to, but... I don't have much to do with them, honestly." He shrugged. "Funny, isn't it.." He smiled. "My name means 'son of the river', yet I don't have much interest in boats or being on the water." He sipped some of the broth, thinking a moment. "There are many fishermen around the area who could probably teach you a lot about boating, if you need some training. Sorry I can't help much in that regard, I only just got through the required amount, myself."

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

Since they had gathered quite a few wild ingredients in addition to the game they had caught there was plenty of stew to go around and it felt especially warm given the weather. Romeran agreed that the food tasted better when you had worked hard in it. He went in for seconds as they were talking. It seemed Romeran would have to find someone else to teach him boatcraft although he imagined it wouldn’t be too hard to find someone as Duinion had suggested. The rain continued to beat down on their shelter and still there was no water which got inside. Romeran nodded approvingly as he finished his second bowl of the stew. Romeran had also sheepishly taken some of the hard tack from his rations and put it in the stew as crackers. He offered some to Duinion. Since they were leaving the next day he decided that it was safe to eat some of the extra rations he had brought.

“We return to the city tomorrow is that right?” He asked now confirming even though he had already dug into his spare rations, he still had some extra food regardless and of course he had learned a great deal about living off the land in this very trip. The journey back would likely take the rest of the day if they left early. When Romeran had finished his meal he cleaned his bowl quickly using the convenient rain and the door to their shelter. He then took the whetstone from his bag and carefully sharpened the blade on his axe. It had done a good amount of work that day and Romeran liked to keep it knife-sharp so that it could perform some of the tasks of a knife in a pinch in addition to being a woodsman’s axe and a dangerous weapon that could even be thrown. “It’s getting late.” He said after a while looking as the sun had set completely now. “Is there anything else we are to do tonight or should we get to sleeping and rest up for the trip tomorrow?” He asked, Romeran was already quite tired as it had been a long day both physically and mentally as they had covered a lot of material. He would need to revise when he got back and write down all that he remembered.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

A second portion was certainly in order, and he gratefully accepted some of the tack offered by Rome. "Thanks." It was really an excellent meal and he was highly pleased that they'd had such luck in finding everything for a stew. Sometimes it wasn't so easy to find the needed ingredients, so it was nice that there had been such a bounty of available food around on this occasion.

"Hmm, we'll probably make it as far as the Rammas Echor, at least, before nightfall. I won't be going into the city," he answered. "I'll stop when we reach the dairy farm, but it won't be too much further from there to the city. It'll probably be about this time or later when we get that far, so you're welcome to stay at the farm overnight, or go on to the city if you prefer." He had a suspicion the recruit would prefer to get to the city and to his barracks to sleep, but the offer was there, anyway.

Watching Rome sharpen his blade, Duinion nodded slightly to himself in approval. It was nice to see good habits had already been taught to him from somewhere. He would have done the same with his own blade if he had used it more, but he'd barely used it for the whole day, so it ought to be fine. "I think there's not much we can do for the rest of the night. There isn't much light to see by, and we can't very well build a fire in here. We could get some sleep now, and get an early start in the morning." He hoped it would have finished raining by then, but he wasn't unused to having to travel in unfavorable conditions. "What do you think about all that you've learned today?" He wondered, curious if he felt it was overwhelming or if he would've rather gotten to learn more, or what.

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

“I’ll probably continue on to the barracks” he confirmed “thank you kindly for the offer” ultimately he felt more comfortable sleeping in his own quarters and he didn’t want to impose on Duinion or the dairy farm. “If it’s really late or something happens I may take you up on the offer” he added although he couldn’t imagine many scenarios where he wouldn’t simply make for his quarters even if it would take him another hour.

When he finished sharpening his axe blade he put the leather cover back on it. Because he kept the blade so sharp and the axe head was roughly level with his hands when standing it was dangerous not to keep it covered and while it presented one additional movement if the axe had to be drawn for combat it seemed a reasonable trade off for not accidentally cutting off a finger.

Duinion’s question distracted Romeran from staring out the makeshift door at the rain trying to go over all of what they had covered on the trip. “I think I learned a lot. It helped greatly to apply the learning in some practical tasks. I felt that really helped in solidifying my understanding.” Learning by doing certainly was the way that Romeran preferred to learn. “I plan to take some notes as soon as we get back in a journal so that I can refer to it later. I didn’t carry writing tools on this trip as it seemed cumbersome to bring ink and quill. ”

Romeran was already looking forward to the future lessons with Duinion in both archery and the tracking and survival skills that they had practiced on this trip. He was glad to have such an expert hand guiding him in his training. For the time being he yawned. His stomach was now full and his head was also full and he was eager for some rest. He planned to review what he had learned with Duinion as they walked back home the next day. The march would be long and so they would have ample time to talk about what he had learned so far and make plans for later lessons.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

"Yes, that's a good idea. I always found it better to wait to write everything down, so it forced me to make sure I remembered all that I'd learned. Plus, if you brought your writing supplies along, you could accidentally break your ink bottle, and then it's all over your things. Or your paper might get wet and ruined." After washing his cup with the rain coming down outside, he stowed it away in his bag. "Having it with you, yes, you could write things down immediately so you don't have to worry about forgetting, but if you're focused on writing everything down, you may miss something important... or you may write things down, but still forget something that might be important because you didn't have to worry about not forgetting it... if that makes sense."

He stretched out on his leafy bed. "Much of this will become ingrained in your mind before long, if you practice it often enough. But for now, just remember, you're doing fine. No one expects you to know everything, that's why you have a training period." He smiled faintly. "You're learning a lot of things all at once, so be patient with yourself. You're a fast learner but don't be surprised if you make a few mistakes along the way. It's one of the best ways to learn... just make sure your mistakes aren't fatal." He glanced over, thoughtful. "Even I still make mistakes, you know," he added quietly. "I just.. try to make sure I learn from them, so not to repeat the same ones again."

Folding his arms behind his head, he listened to the rain pouring down, a comforting, monotonous sound that helped him begin to grow sleepy. "Good night, Romeran." Their trap in the stream would likely be full by morning, and they could have a plentiful breakfast, and have enough to bring along for a lunch for later. If it was still raining the next day, he thought, they could pack up the tarp and clear all the dry leaves and things out of their shelter and build a fire inside, to cook the fish. With that potential problem solved, he slowly drifted into a light sleep.

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 2
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

The additional reasons that Duinion had listed for writing down things later made Romeran feel like he had made a good decision even if it had really been for the first reason of not wanting to have to bring ink and paper. "I hadn't really thought of that, to be honest, I was mostly concerned about not wanting to bring ink and paper" he said with a smile "but those are good points, I'll have to use that more intentionally." Romeran finished packing away his things in his pack and laid it at the foot of his make-shift bed.

"Thanks for the words of encouragement" he said, earnestly "it can seem like a lot at times especially since most of the other rangers appear to have been doing this for such a long time and for whom this all seems already to be second nature" Romeran had noticed that there were not many new recruits or even that many younger rangers among the King's rangers. It had contributed to his sense of loneliness as many of them seemed to know each other well and had formed a tight knit group. It had also contributed to his sense of inadequacy. So it felt nice knowing that his level of experience, or rather inexperience, was to be expected and that he shouldn't fret it too much.

The soothing sound of the pouring rain was quickly going to lull Romeran to sleep and he managed to echo "good night" before drifting away. Romeran slept a dreamless night, or at least if he had dreamed he did not remember it, for he had been tired from the day and slept soundly to the sound of the rain. When he awoke in the morning the rain had stopped and the birds were chirping as the first light was creeping through their 'door'. Romeran stretched in his 'bed' the morning was quite cold, colder than it had been yesterday, and Romeran was now glad for the beds which were designed to keep them off the ground to reduce the heat loss. He looked over to where Duinion's bed was.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 3
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

Duinion slept lightly, but not for lack of comfort. He was used to conditions like this, but it was thoughts and dreams that kept him from better sleep. Eventually, a sound jolted him awake and he listened carefully. It sounded like something moving just outside the shelter, and he pulled one of his daggers, which he kept ready at hand even as he slept. Cautiously raising up, he peered out of the doorway, and spotted a raccoon poking around curiously. It scurried off the moment it caught sight of a person. He let out a slow breath and relaxed. There was no sleeping after that, and it was nearly dawn anyway. The rain had slacked to a drizzle by then, so he sat up and rubbed his face. Rome was still asleep, and probably needed the rest after all the hiking of the last two days, and they'd be doing more today. He slipped out of the shelter quietly, careful not to wake him as he headed down to the stream.

The drizzle slacked off a few minutes later. Duinion splashed some water onto his face, helping to clear away any lingering tiredness so he would be alert and ready for the day. When he'd finished at the stream, he returned to their camp and glanced down at where their camp fire had been. He had forgotten something last night, that might have helped matters today. He ought to have stashed some firewood under their shelter, before it rained. But it was fine, he reminded himself. They could use the logs from their beds, and the leaves would serve as kindling and such. Still trying not to wake Rome, the ranger reached in and pulled out the nearest log from his own bed, since he was finished with it now.

The dry branch that had served as a frame for his bed now took only a little effort to break into smaller pieces, braced diagonally against one of the rocks, with a strong kick to break it. Once he had it broken up into a few smaller pieces, he took them back to the campfire spot and got started building a fire, figuring he could save them a little time by getting the fire started. Especially as it had gotten chilly overnight, and it might be nice for Rome to wake up to a nice fire to warm up by. The dawn had broken by now and he suspected the young man would be waking any moment now, if he hadn't already.

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 3
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

By the time Romeran had awoken and looked over to where Duionon's bed had been he noticed not only that the ranger wasn't there but the logs which had served as his bed were also gone. Romeran sat up quickly disturbed by this realization and reached behind him for his knife. Quietly as he could he got up towards the entrance of the shelter. He could hear someone working at splitting logs and stacking wood, or at least that's what it sounded like. With all probability it was Duinion who had simply awoken sooner than him and was likely using the very wood which had served as bedframe. Romeran's heart slowed down at the realization. Still he should check to be certain. He slowly got closer to the entrance and peered out. He could see clearly now that his assumptions has been correct and it had indeed been Duinion preparing the fire. Romeran sheathed the knife back in his belt and exited the shelter.

Stretching in the cool morning air Romeran let out a quiet groan as tight muscles stretched out. "Good morning Duinion" he said happily despite his sore muscles. "I see you've already getting the fire ready. Smart thinking using the bed frame. I hadn't even thought of what to do when the wood would be wet in the morning, in fact I hadn't thought of it at all until I noticed that you were re-using the dry wood from our shelter." Romeran was glad that he could learn things even by simply observing Duinion as he went about his work, even if it was not a specific lesson.

"Shall I go check the fish trap by the river? A nice hot meal might do well before the long hike back to the city, don't you think?" he asked, hopefully. He had remembered as he had drifted off to sleep that they still had the trap set in the river and had already begun to hope that they would get a proper breakfast rather than eating whatever rations remained in their packs. Now that it was morning and his stomach was no longer full from the previous night's strew -- of which they had eaten it entirely -- the prospect of skipping a full breakfast seemed particularly devious to Romeran.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 3
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

Glancing up, Duinion smiled. "Good morning. Did you sleep well enough?" he asked. Since he had appeared to sleep fairly soundly, Duinion guessed the answer would be yes. He nodded at the comment about the fire. "I should have suggested we bring some firewood into the shelter with us. If we'd been going to spend any more nights here, it would've made things a bit more difficult." He answered. "I guess that's one thing rangers are pretty skilled at doing though... being resourceful." He smiled and poked at the logs with a stick to get it shifted into a better position.

"Yes, I was going to suggest you check the trap." He nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised if there's more fish in there than we need, but bring back enough for a good breakfast, as well as for lunch. I thought we'd cook up extra and bring along with us, to eat along the way." He answered. "I'll work on getting the camp broken down." Duinion figured he could pull the rest of the things out and roll up the tarp for Rome, and get things packed up while he got breakfast, and by that time, hopefully the fire would be ready for cooking. "Oh, and Rome," he added before the young man had taken off, feeling a sudden twinge of worry, "Be wary, just in case." There were probably no dangers nearby, but one never knew, and he felt it wise to show caution, just in case. "Practice a bit of your stealth, along the way, perhaps?" He suggested, thinking a little on some of the memories that had troubled him during the night.

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 3
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

"I did sleep well" he said as he yawned waking up. Romeran was glad that they were going to at least check the trap for fish and some breakfast. He quickly removed his gear from the shelter they had used and also pulled out the logs and leaves in case Duinion would use them for the fire. He then took his tarp and dusted it off outside before rolling it up and attaching it back to his pack. With his gear set and ready to go, save his cooking things, Romeran made his way down to the river.

The short walk down to the river was refreshing and he stretched his legs as he went. When he arrived he splashed water on his face and cleaned himself up slightly before heading downstream towards where they had laid the trap. It had moved quite a lot since they had left it and he was glad for the float stick which revealed its location. Hauling the trap in, Romeran noted hat several fish were in the trap, more than they would need. He selected two of the larger ones and let the others free. He dismantled the trap and left the sticks behind, but he wringed out and kep the string that they had used. Since he was at the shore he used his knife to gut the fish and the running river to clean them, following the instructions Duinion had shown him the other day.

With the fillets of fish in hand, Romeran returned to the camp. "The trap had quite a few fish in it, but I picked these two" he said, holding up the fillets from the two fish. "I dismantled the trap as well and let the other fish go" If they cooked the fish wrapped in the leaves as they had done before then they could keep the wrapped fish in the food satchel in their packs and eat it later in the day for lunch. Romeran hadn't put away the rest of his seasoning and he was already looking around for some of the wild parsley that Duinion had found the previous night. Romeran's stomach began to growl.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 3
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

While Rome was packing up his things, Duinion took note of what was done and what still needed to be done. Once he had gone to check the trap, Duinion took some time to dismantle the shelter so that there would be less traces of their having been there. Later, it would be easier to gather poles and supplies for building another shelter for the next time someone camped here, which was likely to happen as it was a common place for taking new recruits for training.

"Good thinking," he replied to Rome as he returned, nodding. "We want to leave it as if we haven't been here, as much as possible." They certainly wouldn't want to have a bunch of fish trapped for no reason. "I think the fire is about ready for cooking now." He commented. Looking up, he noticed Rome was looking around. "What are you looking for?" He wondered if he could help him find something.

[Romeran]

Ranger Recruit Romeran studying under Ranger Duinion - Day 3
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War
@Rillewen

“Just a bit of parsley that you found yesterday” he said in reply. At this point he had found leaves of sufficient similarity as they had used the other day to cook the fish and was looking for a few herbs to season it with. “I thought it would go well with the fish. I know we are in a bit of a rush since it’s a long walk but if it’s nearby then I figured we would use it.”

The smell of cooking fish soon permeated what was left of their campsite and Romeran was eager to break his fast. Luckily for him fish cooked quickly and especially so when protected only by a thin layer of leaves. Soon enough he was enjoying half of his fish. He reluctantly saved the second half of his fish, leaving it sealed in the wrapped leaves although he removed the outer most layer which had burned away.

“I look forward to our next outing” he said after they had packed up their gear and had begun the hike back into town “perhaps we can go for longer next time” he suggested. The hike back home would take the rest of the day and Romeran did not expect to arrive home until dark. He still hoped to have some time before bed to write down some of this things most likely to slip his memory like the names of some of the plants and flowers. Nevertheless he was already eager for his next outing with Duinion even as his first was drawing to a close.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Ranger Duinion, training recruit Romeran - Day 3
Ithilien Forest - a couple of years after the War

Before long, breakfast was cooked and eaten. The rest of the fish was packed away for later, and Duinion put on his pack. "Well, let's get started." he took a last look around the campsite, making sure they hadn't left anything as it shouldn't be. "Do you know the way back?" He asked Rome, smiling faintly. "Want to lead the way?" he figured that might be good practice, and so motioned for the recruit to take the lead as they headed back, first to Osgiliath, and from there, to the gate and into the Pelennor. "I'm looking forward to another outing as well," he grinned. "Maybe next time we'll go further. I'll try to think of something useful we can do that would take us...somewhere further." At the moment, he wasn't sure where they might go, but taking off on adventures was definitely something he had been practicing for many years, since before he was a ranger, so he could definitely come up with something. He just had to figure out where would be safe enough to take a partially-trained recruit and still let him get a bit of real-life experience...


(End of this RP)

[Pele Alarion]

@Arnyn , @Rillewen
Merchant Escort

The night had been quiet, and Pele had rested comfortably under the warm blanket before taking over the watch from Duinion. Even though she had remained on alert and watchful, as duties required, she had enjoyed the late hours of the night and early morning all to herself before the camp started stirring. Making use of Firdaus' absence (sleeping in), the Captain made contact with the servants and engaged in some small talk with several purposes in mind: to see if she could glean some information, securing hearty breakfast for herself and Duinion, as well as simply having a bit of human interaction.

By the time they had set out yet again, Pele had not found out any satisfying information: all in all, this seemed to be just a usual trade run, and the journey had been uneventful this far. Regardless of everything to the contrary, she could not shake off the suspicion that something was off with this merchant and his business. After a few hours of travelling, they had reached the first outlying farm houses of Maegdruath village. Even though the settlement was relatively small, there were quite a few wooden houses, all clustered about the marketplace at its centre.

They rolled right into the marketplace, and having made appropriate excuses to his companion, as well as extending an invitation to join him if she wanted to, Firdaus set about his business. It was apparent that he was used to conducting business here, and soon he was in the midst of heated discussion with the local tailor over the quality and prices of fabric he had brought.

Having familiarised herself visually with the immediate surroundings and observing Firdaus' activities for a moment or two, Pele slipped out of the saddle and moved towards the carriage to see whether she could catch Kaylin and see if she had managed to extract some information from the wealthy merchant.

"Psst! Got a moment?" she tried to catch Kaylin's attention, casting another glance at Firdaus to see that he was still busy and would not pay attention to them conversing. "Any tidbits for me?"