[Hopetoun] Rule #3 Don't Dehydrate

[Vega]

28th Ashan, 721.

following this & this

It was time for them to have another lesson on fieldcraft and survival and Vega was holding this one in the central square of Hopetoun. She wanted to make sure that there were all the opportunities there could be for people from the settlement to make sure they learned things from each other, too, and so she'd been clear about the timings and there were a number of the Hopetounians there. "Thanks, everyone, for comin'" Vega said and she smiled. "I want to make sure that we're all covered in terms of survival basics. I've said it before an' I'll say it again, your best friend if you're goin' into the wilderness is the preparation you've done before hand." She did tend to repeat that, she knew. Looking at the people gathered, there were the five specialists from Saoire's school and there were eight of the Hopetoun residents. Vega knew that this was important, so she hoped that it got passed on.

"So, I want to talk to you about basic survival stuff. I mean real, genuine, basic survival. Life an' death stuff, you know?" She looked around and smiled. "If you find yourself in a situation where you are out in the wilderness an' you need to survive, what is your first priority?"

One of the settlers raised a hand and Vega nodded, encouragingly. "Finding food?" He was a sev'ryn-looking bloke who had been at all her lessons. Vega smiled, but shook her head. "That's a really common answer, an' it's actually way down the list. The thing is, you can go trials without food. Lots of them. You won't be comfortable, an' you won't like it, but you can." Vega spoke with a smile. "We all think of our stomachs first, but you know. Think about what's goin' to kill you first. Protect against that."

They were quiet for a moment and then Allie, another regular at her classes, raised a hand. "I want to say water?" Vega grinned. "That's much, much more important than food. But first, more than anythin' you need to make sure that you are not bleedin'." They all seemed rather surprised at that and Vega spoke with a serious tone. "You can bleed out in bits. Take care of bleedin' first, or you won't make it to recognisin' that you're hungry or thirsty. First thing, first aid." Looking at all of them, she turned her gaze then to the people from Saoire's school. "Honestly, that's the single best thing that you can do in order to help yourselves survive. know how to tie a bandage, an' how to apply a tourniquet. Stop any an' all bleedin' so that you don't bleed out an' so that animals don't get to follow the trail of your blood an' eat you."

Mavis, the small mouse-cadouri from Saoire's school shuddered, but Vega knew that this was the best lesson she could teach. "First Aid First. Then, stop an' think. Plan. Take notice of where you are, an' what you know, an' what you have. Think about what you're doin' an' who knows where you are." Vega was determined that they would get this information. "After you've stopped any bleedin', then 30 trills of stoppin' still an' takin' stock will save lives. Think about your resources, your next steps. An' more than anythin' don't panic."

"Well," said Allie. "Sometimes it's hard not to panic. What if you can't help yourself?"

Vega looked at her, her gaze level and honest. "Then you're doin' the opposite of helpin' yourself. You're makin' things worse. Make a choice. Panic later. Fall apart when you get home. Right now, in that moment, every decision you make helps you to survive." There was no beating around the bush, here, because it was too important. "An' if you decide to panic, you're decidin' to increase your chances of death."

Allie looked at her and smiled slightly. "I don't feel better," she said.

"Good," Vega replied. "I don't want you to. I want you to remember this moment, if you're ever in that situation, an' even though you don't feel better now, you'll hopefully be better equipped to survive then."

"Personally," piped up Mad-Eye, the cat cadouri from Saoire's school. "I think we should end the trial with a nice crochet session. It relaxes me immensely." There were chuckles from those gathered around.

[Vega]

28th Ashan, 721.

following this & this

Vega grinned and nodded. "It's true. It's big an' heavy-duty stuff. But it is what it is. Now, you've done first aid an' you've stopped bleedin'. You've taken a moment. What do you do next?" The sev'ryn looking bloke spoke, then, and he came up with the right idea. "Find shelter?" Vega nodded. "Yes! Shelter is really important. An' it's not jus' a tent. Shelter starts with your clothes." Vega looked around and she did her best to explain. "You have to think of shelter as bein' everythin' that protects your skin, an' your skin is what protects your insides."

Allie asked a question, "So, like. First aid is dealing with the medical issues that are already there, and shelter is dealing with ones that might happen?"

Vega nodded, pleasure on her face. "That's exactly it. I hadn't thought of it that way, but that's exactly right. So, what we're doin' is shelterin' against three things. Wind, water an' temperature. Temperature is hot or cold. Frostbite or heatstroke can kill." Vega knew this was important - it all was, in fairness. "We need to insulate, keep the body at a regular, an' safe, temperature. Wind an' water can hide that you're not. Too hot, an' you're riskin' heatstroke, an' dehydration from sweatin'. Too cold, an' you're talkin' frostbite an' that kills people quick - an' if you warm up too fast then you're goin' to sweat an' that'll kill you too."

The sev'ryn asked a question, sounding confused. "Hang on, you're saying that sweating is bad, hot or cold?"

Vega nodded her head. "Yeah, it is. If you're too hot an' you sweat, then you're losin' water an' you'll dehydrate. When you're cold, if you sweat then it can freeze an' make existin' frostbite worse. You want a nice, cool, middle ground." She nodded. "Layers of clothes, that's always your friend. It means that you can take off an' add layers, to keep your temperature where it should be."

"What I don't understand," Allie said, "is how you do that if you're stuck out in the wilderness and have nothing with you?"

Vega nodded. "It's why I'm goin' to keep comin' back to bein' prepared. Always. Make sure that you always have stuff with you, it doesn't take a lot. I have these," she said, lifting up her shawl. It was true, she always had one or two of them . "If it came to it, a shawl like this can be a blanket or a windbreak. I wear skirts an' an underskirt. In the winter, I wear trousers underneath a skirt. If I needed it to be, the skirt could be fabric I use for somethin' else, too. My bag is always ready." She smiled. "I know I repeat myself, but really, plannin' is the thing that will help you, no matter what you come across when you're out there. "

"So, what about the wind?" Allie asked that and Vega nodded. "It reduces the temperature, so in the cold it adds a wind-chill. Keepin' out of the wind is vital. A small camp, a small space which is protected against the wind an' insulated against the ground. That's the best thing you can set up." Vega looked at them and smiled. "First aid first, take a bit to look about an' then, shelter. From there, you can get yourself warmth an' water, an' all sorts. "

"Is it true," Mad-Eye asked, "that you can start a fire with two pieces of wood?"

Vega grinned. "Yeah. But look. One thing to be really careful of is the fact that fire spreads. Even in the snow, you'd be amazed. So make a barrier for it with stones or earth. Stones are best, because they hold heat an' you can use them. Then, yeah, you can. But it's not easy." She grinned. "It's really not easy." That was an understatement, Vega knew. "Carry a flint an' tinder with you. It doesn't take a lot of room, an' you'll be glad, I promise you."

The sev'ryn man looked at her and grinned. "So you're telling me that we worry about first aid, and thinking about what to do and where we are, then we worry about shelter and warmth and cold, and windbreaks. We rub sticks together, or doesn't, and at no point am I getting anything to eat?" There was laughter and Vega chuckled. "No. But when you live long enough to make it home, then you can eat as much as you like." He grinned. Mad-Eye spoke up then. "And, can we crochet while we eat?"

"If you like," Vega said with a grin. "An' speakin' of it, shall we go get some food?" And indeed, they made their way over to the food tent in a group. She liked that about this place, Vega thought. A community. A clan.

[Jackalope]

Experience: +10 xp

Knowledge:

Logistics: Planning for worst case scenarios
Logistics: Use mundane resources for survival.
Logistics: Ensuring that you are always prepared requires time and planning
Teaching: Humour can be acceptable when teaching.
Teaching: Answering questions in different ways.
Teaching: Give people lists of what to do in which order.

Non-skill:

Skillplay: Appropriate to level

Loot: None.

Injuries/Overstepping: Did you check to make sure you’re not bleeding out? :p None.

Magic Experience?: None.

Renown: +5 for teaching a good class.

Comments:
Vega knows her stuff and tells it like it is. She sets the right no-nonsense tone in her instruction, but still allows some humor. I wouldn’t mind having her as my teacher.

I’d be tempted to put Discipline among the skills used, simply because Vega had to deal with some rather…interesting questions and comments from her students. But those questions and suggestions just made the thread that much more entertaining.

And the central concept of her lesson was spot on: deal with problems in the order that they might kill you if you don’t. The snake that’s closest first, etc.

I’m not sure about the crocheting while eating thing, though.

Let me know if you have any questions/feedback. Enjoy your rewards!