Meeting before Trip (Part 3)

JP with Redsword, Lorem, Lasersexpanther, Jaxx and Cindy

Lorem was already making the list before even asked. She looked up from her writing and sketching, “Yes Lady Elizabeth”. She returned to her task when the meeting continued.

Elizabeth, deciding she would ask again for questions later on, moved on to the next thing. "I have procured, each member of the team, large cloth bags and small cloth bags. It would be easiest if we do not have to take everyone's trunk off and on the wagons each day. So, I am asking for those that need to pack 5 days worth of clothing, six if you would like to be sure in case we run into delays, and items to sleep in into one of the large cloth bags. The smaller ones can be used as needed. They are a good size for toiletries and the like. Also, I have been assured, by Askel, that this house will be locked up until we return so if there is anything you would like to leave here, we have been invited to do so." She paused to give people a chance to speak up.

When no one spoke up, Elizabeth continued. "I have a few extra maps, which I'll mark tonight. Every wagon will have one, just in case. And everyone had their field guides. I also have a few Norwegian/English dictionaries. For those that want them." Elizabeth paused. "We have two crates of small pouches of travel food, nuts, dried fruit, dried meats, foods such as those and we have canteens for water. We have plenty of other foods for the trip. I would like everyone to grab a few pounces and one or two canteens. Cronk you can take more than two canteens. We do have water barrels. The water in them is drinkable. When we refuel the wagons, we can use the water in the barrels if we need to but we pass plenty of lakes and waterways, so, I would prefer to use the water from those to refill the tanks."

Dr. Jackal then said, "I am bringing a small distillery to clean the water so we can use it for the carts later on. We can recycle the water barrels used for the carts and add the treatment to the water for the steam engines as we go."

"How long will distilling the water take?" Elizabeth asked the doctor..

Dr. Jackal replied, "Well a typical countertop water distiller takes around 4-6 hours to produce a single gallon of distilled water, as the process is slow and produces water one droplet at a time. The larger, industrial distillers can produce water much faster, sometimes up to a few gallons per hour depending on the system. However my personal one cuts the time in half after I made a few adjustments to the design. The ideal time for me to do this is during out time for camping." Dr. Jackal looked confident in his abilities.

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, there will be plenty of time during the overnight stops to do that then." She continued, "I want everyone to bring what you can think of to make the trip more comfortable. I highly recommend individual blankets for traveling. We have plenty of blankets, bedding and pillows for everyone. We also have cots and bed rolls. I am recommending we leave the carts in the wagons until we get to the main area and use the bedrolls for the trip up."

Elizabeth thought for a moment, "For today. I first need one or two people to go through the crates that were delivered with me to make sure nothing is missing. Then I will send the servants to get anything else needed. While that's happening, if Miss Ipsum and Dr. Jackal go with Captain Maseo to retrieve the items from the ship, if anyone wants to help with that they are welcome to. We will then start loading the two wagons without the flag system, while Miss Ipsum, Dr. Jackal and Miss Lagrave install the flags onto the other two wagons. Once the flag systems are installed we will load the other two wagons. I have listed what I think will be the best way to do that. Mostly, it's making sure that the things we will use for the trip up are the easiest to access."

Before we end the meeting, is there anything anyone wants to add or discuss?"

Dr. Jackal asked, "Do we have a watch duty schedule yet?"

"I have been thinking of that. There are nine of us, so three people per shift would even things out. We can do three shifts a night or two. I am hedging towards two shifts at 4 hours each with one group getting to sleep through each night. Rotating the shifts of teams 1 and 2 have the first night, with team 3 being off. The second night teams 3 and 1 would have the shifts and 2 would be off. The third night teams 2 and 3 would have the shifts with 1 being off. We can use that configuration for the trip up and tweak it, if necessary, once we get to the main area. Of course, though, I am open to suggestions."

"Each watch needs one combatant." Sasha said. "In the event everyone else can't be roused quickly so

"That is a good idea. Our best fighters are Cronk, Mr. Sung and yourself, Miss Lagrave." Elizabeth said she could also fight but, in her mind, they were the top fighters. She hadn't actually ever witnessed Maseo's fighting but assumed he could. She just didn't know how well in the face of what might be lurking out there. "Beyond that maybe the choices for each team should be random. We could draw for each team, if one of the three I just mentioned gets picked for the same team, one can repick. Does that sound fair to everyone?"

Lorem continued working on her list and a rough draft of the fabrication schematics. She would be satisfied wherever the experts decided to place her.

Sung nodded. "I could be the commander of the watch and check each shift. I am not saying people need to be babysitters. But if someone is watching, they will see three or at every shift and have Sasha or I start the night and end the night since we have the most experience and we can check the area. " He suggested. He thought this could be a good thing.
"That is a good idea Mr. Sung but when will you sleep if you do that? And you would never have a night off." Elizabeth inquired.

"The watch commander sleeps during a shift. My sleep is just broken up a little more than others. Let's say four hours are done in one-hour time slots throughout the night." explained Sung.

"You would still have to be in a watch group or it will be uneven but if you are willing to, certainly, you are welcome to that job." Elizabeth explained..

" I would also be doing perimeter checks as well when the guard change happens." added Sung.

"That is fine." Elizabeth agreed with the suggestion. "Any other suggestions or questions?"

Lorem spoke up, mid writing. “I could easily set up some tripwires with alarms.” She looked up. “If you want.”

"For a static camp, that is an idea, but for just one night, that could be a lot of work to get set up and break down," suggested Sung. "To be honest, between Sasha's and I's heightened senses, I do not think anything is going to just sneak up on our camp," says Sung confidently. "Sleeping in a house and outside are two different situations," Sung added. (edited)

"The camp areas will also all be warded each night." Elizabeth added. "Miss Ipsum, I do think those alarms will be beneficial when we get to the main area."

Lorem nodded. Though to a gnome the concept of too much work was foreign. (edited)

"That reminds me though, who can cook using a campfire?" Campfire cooking was more difficult than using a stove and Elizabeth wanted to know how to split the tasks beyond guard duties.

Sasha raised a hand. "I do." She said, "Nothing complicated, only simple meals but I can cook."
"I guess we are the experts, Sasha," comments Sung. I brought my large cast iron skillets, " says Sung. He had them for more than cooking. They made great shields and weapons. and training tools.

"Have you forgotten Mr. Sung? I can cook over a campfire as well." Elizabeth added. "We have plenty of cooking supplies. Was there anyone else?"

Vor spoke up as he said, "I have camped in the past and cooked many a meal over a campfire. I am confident in my skills." Dr. Jackal spoke up, "I had to learn to fend for myself as well since I was living on a budget since I left for college back in the day."

"Lady Elizabeth, I know you like to be independent and show that you can get things done. But a Lady of your standing should not have to cook. We have plenty here that can." Sung said, pointing out Lady Elizabeth's position.

Elizabeth thought for a moment, then acquiesced to Sung's words. "All right I will leave the cooking to others." She paused, "That makes 4 cooks. I think it's the most fair for the four of you to decide on a schedule. Also, feel free to choose a helper as needed. Those not cooking or helping can do other jobs around camp as necessary." Elizabeth explained. "Before we decide on the guard schedule, was there anything else to discuss?"

When there seemed to be nothing else to discuss the guard teams were decided on by a random draw.

With nothing else, the meeting ended in time for an early lunch. Then it was to getting everything ready for the next day.