RumikoOhara

14 Years and Counting // Walking Dead

@Wick@Polaris North

Cold Winters and a smaller starting population and the passage of time means that all the Older risen are reduced to Lurkers and we encounter the dead only in small groups now

14 Years and Counting // Walking Dead

April will be slinking around about a mile ahead of the Troop scouting any trouble or sight of interest @Wick

14 Years and Counting // Walking Dead

Jain sat atop Danny scanning the horizon looking for the telltale traces of Smoke which might reveal a human encampment and any Heliograph messages from her Scouts. Then she turned her eyes to the road and its cracked surface searching for and traces of heavy activity in the weeds and grass that filled the gaps and forced them wider.

She was happy to see that the road showed no trace of a wagon or train of horses in about two weeks which meant they shared the road with no one for the moment.

She felt out of sorts in her new position as Leader already missing the days of crawling through the grass and following a Track with Rafe her annoying Scout Partner but if the council said you do something you did it and besides she’d do anything for Chief so her trap was snapped.

Danny ate the flowers of the Bear Grass whenever it came in range something the horses would have found too rough a fair to digest but to a Mule was delicious. If Danny had not proved a good Scout’s mule he would likely be a pack animal under the Pony Princess Amelia. He and she such a good team these last three years were now a permanent couple and she could be happier.

It was while Danny pulled another snack that Jain felt him tense and lift his head and stop chewing his long rabbit ears pivoting like radar dishes as they honed in on the source of his disturbance. Jain used Silent American sign language to let her second in command know she would have the mount the entire troop as Jain rode towards the left wing of the Column to give Danny’s ears a closer shot at focusing on whatever he had heard.

@Polaris North@Dnafein@Joker892@Poi@FortunesFaded@Wick

14 Years and Counting // Walking Dead

@Wick

I put in the 0 Post then Spicy shrimp floated in my door an I had to eat considering they brought it here

14 Years and Counting // Walking Dead

Take a Gander Boys and Girls for there at the foot of Hood is our Lasthope; our home.
Ahead of us is either Adventure or our Ends
We are the Band of Hood and

"We Dare To Live"

We don't know what's out there
We don't know if there are armies of the Risen
Or worst Beasts in Human Guise and we don't care
We will Face them, we will overcome them.
We may be the children of Lasthope but ours not Lost
We will survive and our children safe.

Those are the words Jain said as if giving a speech to an election crowd or a Warleader to her troopers just before a battle and she meant every word.

She had two squad of Troopers numbering 16 strong, and their 3 leaders making for 19 total, add to that 2 Docs, a Tech and the 7 Muleskinners. Then came the animals that numbered at least 20 dogs, 40 horses and 5 Ravens. She lead a small expedition like a bull has small balls but that’s what Command had called them when they weren’t trying to Tag them the Band of Misfits.

It was her first Solo Command and Comber had told her it was exactly why she and those assigned under her were young; they could endure hardships older Troopers might have difficulty doing. He had stressed to her the importance of mapping out needed material locations because every year they waited nature destroyed the tech that was most needed pushing them farther back and Lasthope wasn’t about to go down without a fight.

There was more to the Chief’s speechifying but the gist was “Ride East, Take a Look around, Make Friends and Tag Enemies” so that was her plan and she was dead set on seeing Lake Superior in Minnesota or the Mississippi River which ever course was most promising. She had the tools and the people to Map Lasthope History; who knew she and her people might even be remembered years from now as the Lewis and Clarks of their age.

They had a destination and the hopes of finding other survivors as they headed first for the old Palmer Ranch near the Idaho border and Maisy’s former home which might be either a treasure or shock for her Second in command; maybe a bit of both.

She had already sent out Rafe and Athena early that morning to Celestial Falls which would be their mid day camp if there was no trouble; who knew they might enjoy the Falls.

It was a quiet morning and the troopers moved along walking their mounts at a steady pace to save their mounts energy with 6 mounted stretched out fore and aft as well as the wings. It was towards the end of Spring and the Bear Grass in full bloom. It was the kind of morning that made people complacent and in unknown country safety is measured in properly balanced Paranoia and Vigilance.

Jain was happy to see the Troop Dogs spread out around their masters hoping to find something in hiding. The strangest of them were the two huge Irish Wolfhounds whose sliver grey heads floated above the bear grass like the fins of sharks as they sought prey.

It didn’t take long for the two monsters to spring up a young deer which they herded towards the column.

---

---

Setting and other stuff

Stuff

The country around us is mountainous and as much as we may want walking straight to the east is impossible so you are forced to use roads out of Mount Hood Meadows which are screaming to be farmed or ranched as so as yall have the people to spread out more.

Roads are lonely and wind through the terrain following the easiest path through the topography. (Of course not as pretty as the one I pictured but other than cracks through which grass grows and the occasional washout serviceable)

Till we are free of the mountains we are held to the roads but once we reach open ground the other side of the Rockies we can move more cautiously, which will be helpful on the open plains

We are in River country as well and need bridges to cross them.

We will ride through a couple of small towns along the way because going around would be insane.

When we move through such close areas as towns everyone will be mounted and form sweeper teams to screen our movement against Risen

@Polaris North@Dnafein@Joker892@Poi@FortunesFaded@Wick

14 Years and Counting // Walking Dead

Morning

14 Years and Counting // Walking Dead

@Dnafein

Alisa and Rafe might get along

Her Ravens are the Expedition's early warning devices because they've been trained to alert her of strangers by turning circles or calling out above the locations they are spotted. when the unit is at rest the raven sit in the trees as Watchmen

14 Years and Counting // Walking Dead

Heck I was thinking of adding a girl I call Alisa who has a Talent with Birds that is like she can speak with them



Her Ravens can find Troopers and other People and know the Difference between people they know and those they don't and act accordingly to them

14 Years and Counting // Walking Dead

@Dnafein

Athena is family

Dogs are important to Troopers on the move and Scouts in the field

Lasthope Dogs that move with the Bands are trained to peak levels and don't bark only growl low and point towards danger

Kilo is a Husky Workdog so he is treated like a workdog, Marty and Dave are Hunting dogs and treated as such

I see about 20 dogs with the expedition and all except Athena are Workdogs, she's special because she is as I said more a Pet but that sounds too weak and is all I have. She works with you and is your buddy which is actually rare because anyone that works dogs can tell you Working Dogs are not Pets

14 Years and Counting // Walking Dead

@DeadDrop

Amelia is normally a town girl sort of if you can call Nova Ranch Town

She has more than two chasing her here

Here are her three skills

Horsemanship; includes caring and breeding horses as well as riding

Dog trainer; includes breeding and caring for dogs for specific use...meet Marty and Dave

Horse Acrobatics; basically meaning she can stand at a full gallop flip around facing backward or ride under her mount's neck, bareback...lets face it she's a circus act and often performs tricks at the town fairs for the kids and old folks