Flora and Fauna

JP with Redsword, Jaxx and Cindy

Elizabeth directed Dagny and the team to the dining room so there would be more room for the maps. "Now, bear in mind I have not been north of the circle in a little over 2 years, and obviously testing water and such is still important anywhere but I have marked the best places, I know of to camp”

Dr. Jackal listened to the cartographer as she pulled out her maps. He looked at the new map to mentally compare it to the other two maps he already saw. He wanted to see if there were any differences between them. Lily on the other hand was impressed by the details included in the maps. She wondered how they were able to make them so detailed.

Dagny got some information, they'd travel till about 4 or 5 pm before camping. Of course, stopping for lunch on the way. She pointed out an area for each day to stop for lunch and to camp. In a few areas further south she gave options, places more likely go have other campers and ones that wouldn't.

The campsites were near rivers, a few with smaller lakes, one about halfway up had a hot spring nearby.

"A few of these areas have caves, which will need to be checked for animals but should be fairly safe." Dagny stated. "Before we talk about options in the area you want to stay in, were there any questions about these other areas?”

Dr. Jackal nodded as he said, "Just a few questions. Will the carts we are going to use be best for the terrain we will travel on? If the carts break down will any of the places be suitable to make repairs? What type of dangerous wildlife and plants will we need to be wary of? Are there any mines near the rivers that will camp by? And last but not least are there any humanoid threats in the area?" Dr. Jackal gave a soft smile as he was hoping for some kind of answer. Lily was impressed that the good doctor saw that far ahead.

Dagny asked for specifics on the cart that Elizabeth was looking at getting, then replied, "Yes, the carts you're getting are specifically designed for that terrain. Any place that's flat, the camping areas I pointed out are all semi-flat at least." The woman couldn't get them to completely flat areas in all places but she had done what she could. "Plants: To touch, I'd watch Stinging Needles. The most toxic plants we have here, though, are water hemlock, poison hemlock, fine leaved water dropwort, and fool's parsley. There are also several poisonous mushrooms. Your best bet, if you don't have one already, is to get a reference book to identify them." The dwarf/gnome thought for a moment, "Dangerous animals, we have one venomous animal in all of Norway, that's a danger to people, a snake, the European Adder. The Adder however tends to stay in wooded area, and away from people. The other animals that you should watch out for are Brown Bears, you aren't going to be far enough north for polar bears. There's also wolves, moose, musk oxen and be cautious around bulls of any variety." She paused. "Fortunately, it's not mating season so you shouldn't run into any of those as much as if it were." Dagny pulled out a small book with pictures and information on animals in it, it looked well used with dogeared pages, and notes in the margins. She got to one drawing, "This is the adder, you can tell it by its dark zig-zag pattern on the
back.”

Dagny then thought about the next question, " Some humans can always be a threat, no offense. There can be criminals that escape to that area, sometimes. Watch for them. However, there are stories of extraordinary encounters, like werewolves." It was probably because she was only half dwarf but the woman seemed to not sense or, perhaps not acknowledge if she did, that Lily was part werewolf.