tulkawen

Recently, I made a run aimed to banish the Darkwalker. Wanted to share my impressions and a route that works in case anyone else is looking for options. I started in Bleak Inlet to avoid timberwolves due to the 24h grace period. I also tend to get lost in it so I wanted less pressure. Used the cave to exit at Muskeg. Followed the bank to Spencers (quick loot) and upper path past the tower towards the Broken Railroad. At RR I followed straight path to the green fire and after sleeping left the lure and went down to the maintenance yard without entering it to take the path up and out of the zone. Since I was crossing the Muskeg again, it was foggy already. So I followed the railroad straight to the Muskeg green fire and then followed the railroad straight to Mystery Lake. (I had another idea to go left and attempt to get through the cave and to enter Milton from that huge ravine near big farmhouse, but I was afraid of getting lost in the fog.) Taking the fire note on the way back made DW run slower at RR. At ML I turned left towards the hunters cabin or rather the transition cave to Milton. I bee lined along the main street and tried to cross as swiftly as possible since this zone is huge. The fog begins to accumulate as early as when you exit the cave. You will need to climb down the rope, then climb up the rope, then cross the entire town and etc. Also used the open office to get a couple of hours of shut eye and looted it quickly. DW tends to pin on you super fast when you enter loading screen buildings, however, it's possible to quick loot places that don't have a loading screen like Spencers, TW hut or the office. Used the cave to transition to Hushed River Valley. I wanted to follow the path straight and right to take the rope down, but I slipped off one of the tree bridges. I had to fumble through and find a way around lower area. Since one does not walk into HRV without stamina, I had to drop the bear bedroll down and sleep the maximum DW, allowed although the safe green fire expires after three hours or so. Luckily, this route allows you to get the bear bedroll early and this allows you to avoid freezing to death in your sleep without a fire, even when you are wearing poor and unmended gear. I got to recover full stamina before DW appeared. I dropped the lure and hooved it for the nearest ropes. Getting out of the HRV was extremely difficult. Prior, I was getting away with dropping one or two lures in each zone. I used up almost all of my sprays to get out of HRV and to dodge him at Milton. Up to HRV I experienced mild pressure or in places a bit tricky with positioning myself relative to the DW. At HRV, I had massive pressure and average pressure at Milton. Back at Milton, I ran towards the church and used the path behind it to head for the green fire. At this point the wolves were out and about. I heard them in the fog killing rabbits. I already had the revolver, but it didn't save me. I got ambushed in the fog by one of the wolves near the logging area. I fired 3 shots at him, and one shot hit, but he jumped on me anyway. It wasn't a good fight since I did not pick up a hatchet or any defense tool to keep the weight to the minimum so I could move faster. I was forced to use the spray to lift the fog because it was giving me death approach warning and I still had to reach the open office and climb two ropes to get to the transition cave to ML and needed to mend after the wolf attack. At ML, I headed for the green fire. Outpaced DW. Although DW moves faster with each note, if you have good stamina and under 30kg, you still outpace him by walking with all ten notes, so run only when he's in anxiety zone or if you know you'll need to cross the zone twice. (can't remember where is what, but I never picked up the rifle, choosing revolver defense since it's lighter. also grudgingly picked up a knife in case another wolf ambushed me after the attack) Went through the Ravine. At Coastal took the path downhill past the rabbit cabin and cut left at the bear campgrounds to exit at the fishing village where I went on the ice and headed for the green fire. The lure works well, since you drop at the ravine entrance and DW needs to get rather far away from you to eat it. Coastal is large too and I had to cross it twice, so I was concerned I might be devoured by fog on the way back and I had no more dispel spray due to Milton use. Had to maximum run through this zone although stamina was suffering. From Coastal, I went through the transition zone and to the Desolation Point. The stamina was hurting and DW was putting a decent amount of pressure due to sleeping in random places. Had to use a good amount of pistol amo to punt some wolves out of the way. On the way back, DW does appear in front of you in the transition zone, so, he needs to be dodged and the can were use fairly too. Since I already picked up the green fire at Coastal, I wanted to use an easily defined route in the heavy fog. I followed the highway straight to Orca and went uphill. I did manage to trick and outpace DW, not comfortably but he wasn't breathing down my neck. I had planned to take the rope, but got lost and ended up following the road in the opposite direction where I bumped into the bear. I was unlucky since he wasn't really turned towards me and he wasn't arm's reach close when we met, but he did notice and although I had full sprint he tackled me (beside a wolf too). He didn't kill me, but he ruined several clothing items and didn't leave me much health. I mended the wounds and picked up dropped revolver from the ground. While I was mending, the bear disappeared in the fog, but I saw where his butt went. I was darn mad since he ruined a moderate moment of peace when DW was giving me a rare break, so I fired two shots in the direction the bear disappeared. One of those shots hit his butt because I heard him roar and run. I ran in the opposite direction up the road and had to shoot at a wolf to scare him out of the way. The death fog warning was up to my ears when I jumped out of Coastal zone. I ran out of food and was starving, so, I looted the transition mine to PV and ate everything I found as I moved through the mine. At PV, I headed straight for the green fire. DW was giving me moderate amount of trouble and it was hard to keep the stamina up since I was getting through all of my coffees and energy drinks fast. Once I reached the rope leading to the Timberwolf Mountain, I used the stim because I wasn't sure I'd make the climb and didn't want DW on me at the rope after sleeping. You can outpace DW walking without injuries, but not when you climb ropes, then you are slower. Ran as fast as I could but had to drop the bedroll and sleep as soon as the stim effect worn off. However, upon waking up didn't have big trouble using the lure and outpacing DW. I quick looted TW hut (my clothes were torn so the stuff I found there was useful) and went to the green fire. This was the last note I picked up and at this point DW was fast, but I had all the notes to banish him at the Ash Canyon. At first, I went up the rope to the deer clearing and entered the cave. Unfortunately, when I entered the transition cave to the Ash Canyon, Darkwalker appeared right in front of me in the narrow tunnel. There was absolutely no way around him and spray was useless since you'd end up walking through him. I was forced out of the cave. When I went out, DW was near the rope down, so, it was tricky to circle around him since I needed that rope. I had to backtrack and use another open exit to AC. Since you need to walk along a narrow fissure to another AC exit, I was afraid DW would cut me off somehow anyway and would appear between me and AC exit in the narrow space and the fog wouldn't allow me to make another exit attempt. So, I walked to the tree bridge that's right on top of the exit and made an insane attempt to mountain goat down. I don't know which was the safer play. DW wasn't far behind. When you are crouching and trying to goat down, DW is much much faster than you. Plus, jumping down the mountain is a bad idea. I flopped down the mountain next to the AC exit, but I took severe damage. My health was in red, 5% or so. Both ankles and other limbs broken. And DW was under 50m proximity. I popped the stim. You cannot sprint with twisted ankles on stim, however, you are walking slightly faster than the DW. Madly, I limped out of TW into AC and made about 80m distance, dropped a lure to waste DW time and kept limping until the stim wore off. Then I used two of my bandages to fix the ankles. Had injured wrists too, but I had no more bandages. All this time I was in DW anxiety zone. I popped another stim and this allowed me to sprint away from him with mended ankles. I managed to run past the fishing hut. Then the stim wore off. I dropped the bedroll and went to sleep because DW will outpace you with full fatigue. He gave me about 3h. My stamina barely turned white when DW started breathing down my neck again. I picked up the bedroll and started walking with him burning a hole with evil stares in my back. I saw the banishing circle was in the direction of the mine and really hoped it wasn't up that path, although, I had one more stim for a rope. Luckily, the banishing circle was in the lower area. I couldn't sprint since the stamina was so low and I had no more coffee or energy drinks. I had one spray can left with 75%. So I just kept walking and also had to fire a few shots to scare the wolves away. DW pressure was insane. I couldn't get out of the anxiety zone. The stamina had a very narrow red line left before it would tank. Then finally, I saw the green light up ahead just when I was a few seconds away from full fatigue. I entered the circle and used the banishing glyph with DW 150m away. Then he entered the circle and got fried. And I almost fell out of my chair in exhaustion. My time was 4h and 11min. I think it's a cool challenge, especially for Halloween, but I will not be doing this again. I felt a lot of pressure and I found it to be rather stressful. Route that works: BI -> Muskeg -> BR -> Muskeg take fire -> ML -> Milton -> HRV -> Milton take fire (I used dispel glyph) -> ML take fire -> Coastal from Ravine take fire -> DP -> Coastal -> PV -> TW -> AC

🤣 I imagine as his second wish he'll ask for Astrid after all.

Hi guys, art isn't my thing, but I came up with a funny idea from a comic strip applicable to playing Interloper. Slide One: Frozen Will is crawling through snow on his dying breath and comes across another less lucky adventurer who has a lamp beside him. 🥶 Slide Two: Will rubs the lamp and an all powerful Genie comes out. 🎇 Slide Three: In exchange for freedom, Genie offers Will a mountain of gold and diamonds. Will is completely unimpressed. 🤨 Slide Four: Genie offers his master a harem of the most beautiful women. Will can't care less. 🙄 Slide Five: Will tells the Genie his true heart's desire. A box of matches. 🤩 Genie almost drops back into his lamp from shock O_O 😵

I set Aurora to High to be able to read or repair. You can still do these things by the fire while cooking and boiling water, but it is a tuff challenge.

Will you be starting and posting your new game then? Since many of the challenges are day count based, I do find it rather inconvenient. I guess we need to count hours then for a 30 day in the dark challenge. Plus, I'm wandering how long Day 1 log will stretch since each day tended to record all the locations you've been to. 🤔

Has anyone else noticed a change? I had attempted the night challenge. After the update, the save disappeared. When I started a new game with endless night, the calendar never changes from Day 1. 🤔 Am I bugged or is this a new feature?

I believe this challenge is intended for new players and I remember how much I died on voyager as a newbie. Even though extra difficulty would be fun for me, I don't think it needs to be made harder. However, once you reach the location, there is literally nothing to do but play cards for 3 days in a row whether you are a newbie or not. One day is more than enough to loot the spot and repair all your clothes/read/sleep off wolf attack. It really is boring because if you go fishing near TW hut, it doesn't count as staying at that location, it has to be specifically indoor.

😋 I find it rather clever as it has some FrostBite to it, very much attuned to the Long Dark.

Fluffy was the HydroDam wolf and the most legendary of them all. Scruffy is the wolf living in the cave at the Desolation Point. Frosty is the Hushed River Valley wolf living in the ice caves. I don't know the name of the Cannery Wolf. I believe some people refer to him as the new Fluffy.

I remember you doing this challenge. It seems super hard to be poisoned day and night, however, Bjorn is quite the character! Best of luck to him braving the wilds once more. 😀

You have bedroll and hacksaw right? From Milton I'd go va bank without clothes or a knife -> ML -> Flare -> CH -> PV -> TW By the way, aren't looted Milton clothes really good too? It's the best place in the game to get clothes. It's still warm regardless.

In the outdoors scenarios, TW seems like a luxury hotel. The flare gun from the Ravine is a good defense to make Timberwolf Mountain trip.

I believe they were on top of the drawer, not inside. I checked those huts many times after, but never found them again. Hold on, you found a Moose with full 38kg meat just lying around on the ground? O_O

I once found the matches in one of the fishing huts where the camp office is. But, ML ironically seems like the biggest death hole start in tricky scenarios. Nice to see the spiral of life in action. 😋 Newbie me: spawn on voyager in ML -> get dead within 24h Veteran me: spawn on Loper in ML -> get dead within 24h 😄

Anything that requires searching in the dark is an automatic no for me like Grey Mother's, could never do this without at least some greyish visibility. Most BR spawns are at the Muskeg exit. I would turn around and Spencer it, actually might Spencer even from the other end of the BR map. I don't recall, but there MIGHT be matches in the blue truck by the wagon, but I'm highly unsure. ML You spawn on Loper on the hill, if you go straight you'll run past the logging area to the blue trailers or to small hut that's near frozen pond if you go right. Muskeg is probably the easiest. It also has a flare in the red wagon. Bedroll sounds like tactic, but you don't spawn with a bedroll on loper and usually bedroll tends to be found after the matches. At least I never tried this tactic.

This is a neat new challenge. It seems to rely heavily on finding a source of light and fire within the first day when you won't have the light to assist you in finding it. I'm tempted to try this myself. Although, I generally dislike playing in dark surroundings as it's bothersome with the low visibility.

I've been trying my luck with a 30 day Deadman challenge. I was having an epic run. Had a bedroll, clothes, bow, all the tools needed for survival and lots of health. Day 29 before going to bed, I received a food poisoning. Oh well, I'm next to the bed right before scheduled sleep, just need to take a drink of water, take my pills and go to bed. I took a sip of water and.... went for an 8h chunk of sleep without the medicine. 😱

I don't believe ignorance of your surroundings is a 'skill.' 🤭 The best loot spawns at the major locations that everyone visits no matter which mode they play - most of the time that's where everyone starts looking first. 😂 Someone has to be a total loonie to avoid those locations. 😂 All right raise your hands, the last time you spawned on Timberwolf, how many of you AVOIDED the Mountaineers Hut? Unless you were completely new and didn't know that hut existed or simply got lost along the way. But, I would like to ask you - what in your opinion in this game would be considered 'skill?' Which parameters would you apply? In my opinion, going for the top loot spots or not going for the top loot spots as the game begins is not what indicates a good player. It's what they do with their resources that counts - especially when those resources are very limited - but in order to have any resources to manage you still have to go and find them first, thus if you aren't nuts you will likely steer towards a major loot hub. On Interloper it's also how the player deals with the situation when they don't find what they were looking for at the certain locations that showcases their skill, how they adapt to sudden things popping up and how they find the strength to keep going when things aren't going their way at all. Players who enjoy playing Loper are very good at managing their time and resources so calories don't go wasting and hunger at their heels doesn't come staring into their eyes. You started a fire to warm up? Craft bandages/mushroom teas/repair clothes while cooking meat or boiling water - don't just pass time aimlessly farting into the air. Things like that. 🎄 I also imagine this is why a lot of players don't like Loper. Because you can't just take a breather and place your butt into a cushioned chair and pass time to relax. No breaks for you on Loper or you will die fast, even if you get to that cushioned chair, your hands better be doing something productive while sitting in it. Only advanced Loper players who already have established themselves with a full set of stuff at a base can sometimes afford such luxury. Otherwise, it's mush mush mush!

That's very true. For example, there are deer carcasses on the ground. You can harvest them without any tool, but to do so with bare hands you need to start a fire next to it and wait for the freezing to go down to 50% before you can extract anything. Usually, you have to start your fire without a solid wind block to defrost. Thus, the longer you're keeping the fire going, the higher your chances of high weather variability kicking in along with the wind that will blow out your fire and you having wasted a match and a coal having gained nothing from it. You are running higher risk doing this bare hand, but you will not keel over dead on the spot if the fire gets blown out. Having wasted time and resources, yes, dying asap unlikely. Thus, also the need to beeline for that hacksaw, you can start a fire and are guaranteed at least a small scrap of food because you can start harvesting asap. But it's not undoable to get the meat, hide and both guts without a hacksaw providing the game cuts you a break and doesn't kill your fire.

I wanted to ask, has anyone developed a new deadman code after all the updates? Today I plugged 8MHI-/z8M-Dw++-wSWm-bAAA into the engine and checked what it offered me. I found a number of errors. Birch bark is allowed, some negative settings were high instead of very high, starting weather set to light fog instead of random. Has any player made a new Deadman code? If so, what is the code? Thanks guys! 😀

🤣 I found some of the OP statements hilarious. 🤣 Interloper players enjoy this mode precisely because they have very limited resources and they must craft vital resources, not be given them. Giving yourself whole bunch of stuff at the start would be the opposite of what you wanted. I can share my personal preferences why I like Loper or something similar to it - btw the BEST game mode is CUSTOM. I've noticed that I enjoy mobility and get bored very quickly once I have all the stuff and can afford to hole up in one of the 'base' locations and stay there safely. Loper prompts you to keep moving to keep living. Starting with nothing, gives me a lot of early goals that keep me busy at least for a month. Starting - must find a fire source/water quick, must find a bedroll, must find clever ways to cover long distances while I don't have the bedroll. Must find hacksaw, prybar, hammer. Must gear up via clothes before going to one of the tool crafting places. Then start working on bows and crafting your clothes out of animals. On voyager, I find jackets better than what I can craft within the first few days, on Loper the crafted stuff is more valuable because stuff you find is not as warm or good as what you can find on any map. This is another reason I like Loper. I find a piece of metal and I'm like WHOOO! 1/3 of a knife!! On voyager it's like meh whatever. It's more exciting to find stuff on Loper. I remember running a thread that described my starting voyager and the Loper experiences. Some of the seasoned players died laughing when I described my first Loper experience and indignation when I've discovered that I have no matches or a bedroll and cannot sleep on the floor. 😂 When I moved from Voyager to Loper, I've noticed: a) TEAS are your BEST travel friends. Use beds to warm up faster before you can venture out again and explore. Use the back of the caves to warm up freely while doing tasks like reading IF you have good enough clothes or sleep in the bedroll at the back of the cave to take the edge off hypothermia. b) I had to pay a lot more attention to the travelling weather and to logistics. Not just go from x to y. It's bloody cold, so, you will likely need to find a spot in between and warm up before continuing the trek - and you still need to improvise. Something you think hmm... this is far, but I'll carry a torch and hide in a cave located in between, warm up and continue. Except hurr durr... POOF your torch goes out when the wind suddenly picks up and you have to run around some random rock you were passing by to start a warming fire on the wind shield side, but maybe you're lucky and it's a bright day so free magnifying lens fire or well the wind is brutal and doesn't want to let you start a fire so you suck it up and keeping running to that cave where you can start that fire. c) A whole bunch of tricks to avoid wasting your matches - most known one using your torch for fire. If you start a fire, you must do your best to preserve it. Cold is your main enemy. Finding mag lens and using opportunities to light free fires with it is very important. Grouping tasks that require you to start a fire. Like cooking your caught rabbits, boiling water and making yourself two teas right before heading out to travel. Or if you've reached an x spot far from 'safe' locations. You can start a fire in a 'safe' corner with coal, warm up quickly - set water to boil or meat to cook and travel away from the fire to explore or pick up something, then return to the still burning fire to warm up d) I couldn't afford to camp too long early game. You must hit all big loot locations asap and keep moving to other regions until you are able to craft good clothes, tools, and obtain a flare gun for defense or a bow. Then you can return to the regions and search remote map corners for saplings and possible minor loot later in game or if you're getting desperate for matches you will be prompted to visit wolfed locations for potential matches or a flare. e) Loper forces hard decisions. Shredding the clothes you are currently wearing to make emergency bandages or a shelter. I had one Loper run where I stayed in the Ash Canyon only - whelp I found zero metal in the region and I needed fishing to live. What would you like to scrap for metal to make the hooks - your only lantern or your only pot? XD f) ROCKS are valuable! Distract wolves and catch rabbits. STICKS are valuable! You will catch your death in the cold chopping wood! Pick up your sticks to make fires with! g) It's beyond helpful to be a first class sniper and take out the bunnies fast with rocks, in addition to a big food bonus you might get guts fast too and hives for hat/gloves. (Though you don't have to - I'm the worst shot, but I do get by. You only have a couple of shots on randomly encountered rabbits before you freeze to death, so, until I get lucky with one of the shots, I eat cattails and deer and tend to get deer guts to cure to set up rabbit traps and get them that way for the clothes). I personally don't find it a 'scripted' experience when it comes to traveling to specific locations to find items that will help me survive just because the journeys themselves are extremely varied. One run, I had a particularly evasive bedroll. I searched FOUR regions and none of them had it. I ended up going to HRV and tangling with that cave wolf just to obtain it. This was a goal that had me occupied and entertained for a long period of time in a single game. While I was looking for it, I ended up searching whole bunch of other locations and finding other important things needed for my survival. I also found a moose jumping out at me in an area that had no marked trees to indicate his presence. Did I know, it's one of the moose areas? Yup. Did I look both ways before crossing the road? Yup. He ambushed me anyway. When I start in any other mode, I go to the same places too because that's the sane thing to do since I don't want to die. If you spawn at RR, you either exit to Muskeg or go for the Maintenance yard. You're not going to grab a rope and jump into that big ravine by the bridge as your first action. I had a successful 220 day voyager run before I moved to make serious attempts on Interloper. At this point, I already had the advanced map knowledge through playing the game so I knew which way to run from many starting points. However - this didn't give me the experience where vitals items, such as a bedroll, appeared in this mode. I've learned that by playing the game. Furthermore, after some updates, the location of these items does change sometimes. So, you do need to re-learn and die... A LOT while doing so. Ash Canyon just came out. I died a lot on Loper trying to explore it and then went back to voyager mode to explore this region thoroughly with starting survivors. Once I knew the region better, I went back to Loper mode. Also - when I went back to voyager after playing Loper a lot - I found it puzzling that I don't need to perform certain actions that I would on Loper. So, your personal habit come into play. For example, it felt odd that I was swimming in matches and didn't need to bother with the torches. On voyager, it's actually extra weight and not necessary to drag around. In terms of loading, I can't say I enjoy re-doing the same stuff in any game. I once got stuck at the Ravine when I was trying to leap from the red wagon to the crossing tree. My survivor slipped off the trunk and got stuck on a lower tree branch - no death but can't go anywhere. I couldn't make her take one step from the branch back to the cliff edge and I seriously didn't feel like voluntarily jumping into ravine to my death. So, there are occasional cases where I might tab out and load the previous saving checkpoint, but I certainly am thoroughly bored by the idea of tabbing out all the time to redo an action that didn't even kill me. I would have loaded on voyager too in that situation so meh. The overall advice I can give is - it's a game and you should do whatever is fun for you in a game. We are all very lucky that this game allows extremely different play styles. I've completed Deadman challenge and survived 30 days for pride. However, I found that having no health regeneration simply felt depressing, thus, after nailing the challenge, I actually bounced to doing one of the easier challenges just to relax. Never say never, perhaps I'll poke at the Deadman again in the future if such sudden want occur, but I know that most of the time I will not be making the experience that difficult for myself. Majority of my games are the same level difficulty and style, unless I'm experimenting with challenges.

In my opinion Stalker is scarier and more punishing than Interloper. I feel that each of these modes tips the challenge into the opposite direction. Stalker is stalky for a reason, these are the meanest and stickiest wolves in the game that travel in huge packs. So your game style revolves around getting a good firearm just in case and learning to deal with the predators, the game style revolves around this teeth gauntlet. Whereas Interloper is tipped stronger towards combating natural elements and resource scavenging. Cold, hunger and weather are far more menacing enemies than the wolves in this mode, but the wolves are fewer and not as persistent. It is not a hundred percent clear cut to me which one is harder. I started with voyager and I was past 200 day voyager mark when I felt ready for a new mode. I jumped directly from voyager to Loper precisely because I didn't fancy running wolf hurdles every two steps of the way. Loper was a HUGE learning curve, especially when you learn about a few starting surprises (yep I didn't know about those 😅 when I first tried Loper). But then you learn to appreciate the resources. But, before you go into Loper, you definitely need to have strong map knowledge of the Muskeg and of any Forge maps.

My problem with snow shelters is that I'd use one during an emergency when a snow storm catches me out in the open. The problem is that jumping into it during a snow storm doesn't raise the temperature above freezing. Meanwhile, a fire next to it cannot be maintained because the wind blows it out. This is made worse by the fact that snow shelters are so incredibly picky with where they wish to be built and don't allow it near hills or places that actually offer a windblock. For example I was by the black train wagons at the Muskeg and wanted to benefit from both windblock and snow shelter warmth bonus and it wouldn't let me place it against the wagons. I think shelters need to be structured with 3 small walls hugging the entry point where a fire can be built so it has 3 side wind block and would only go out if the wind changes and goes into 1 unprotected direction. Of course if you want to get out you'd need to put it out first, but maybe the snow shelter design should in the template offer a spot for a protected fire and give you a choice if you want a fire in that spot or to build it elsewhere near a shelter. In any case, I do use shelters, but I feel their use can be more frequent by improving them. That's an item that needs to be beefed up.

Dec 20th In the morning I put my hacksaw to a very good use only to discover a blizzard by midday. This prompted me to search the Upper Dam. I'm still hunting for leather to repair my work boots. The search is rewarded by a pack of matches and my very first can opener. Yay! It's getting dark by the time the search is over. At the upper dam, the next survivor will find an extra match, half a sewing kit, a couple of antibiotics, a whetstone and books, both for reading and fuel, tucked into various places. It's still a blizzard by nightfall. I almost get lost walking from the dam to the nearest trailer where I hacksaw another shelf to get tucked out and go to sleep. Dec 21st The blizzard is still howling when I wake up. This gives me an opportunity to bust an upturned chair and then sort out all my items. At the trailer, I've left 3 cattails, a jerry can and a blue toolbox before venturing out in the wake of the departing blizzard. I realise it's not the best idea to travel due to the bitter cold. It would have been a smarter play to collect some cattails by the river and return to the trailer to read and warm up while waiting for warmer weather, but I persist and move on to a clearing where in a the hunter's blind a bedroll is waiting for me. Hypothermia got me even before I reached the clearing, but I keep going. I've left a bottle of antiseptic at the hunter's blind for the next survivor. The wolves hardly seem to favour this cold as well. I meet none at the clearing or at the riverbed where I chop down a few birch saplings. There is one at the far end of the lake where I spot an opportunity. The deer doesn't want to play along. He runs leftward away from the wolf. The lake headquarters are like a beacon in the falling snow. This place is warm. This place is large. This might be just the right home, a place to live. Dec 22nd This trip did cost my health quite a bit, but in the evening when the temperature reached about -4C, I've decided to head for the Lake Cabins. Giving the lonely wolf plenty of room, I checked a couple of fishing huts and holed up at the cabin for the night. I've left a pair of mittens at the lake house for the next survivor. There were more lake cabins along the shore, they served me as night refuge. A red wool scarf will be waiting for the next survivor there. Another blizzard howled in the morning. It's a good thing I have a ten hour field dressing book. I check the weather. Ugh! Dense fog and snow. The perfect visibility to get eaten by a bear. More reading. Past noon the fog clears up. It is fairly cold, -11C when I reach the last cabin closest to the bear den. I can't see him anywhere, though, the bear was around the previous day. I decide to leave the cattails closest to the bear den alone and travel back to the headquarters. Since the water is running low, I dedicate an entire evening to boiling water and reading. I also begin working on a W sign next to the headquarters. This will indicate a warm welcome to any survivor. Perhaps, after another supplies trip, I will find another person waiting. My cabin is their cabin, my home is their home. Dec 23rd Bedroll ready. Hacksaw ready. I have coal and I have lots of metal. I am ready for the Forlorn Muskeg! It's rather cold again, yet, the weather is crystal bright. It might turn worse if I wait and I don't want to remain too long. The wolf was guarding the tracks very closely and kept howling. It was tricky to crouch past him. Once he was cleared, I sprinted down the rail tracks away from the Mystery Lake. I grabbed cattails on the way and bee lined for the red wagon as soon as possible. Hypothermia got me rather good anyway, but the bright sun allowed to make a free fire with a shiny magnifying glass I found at the headquarters. In the wagon I found another storm lantern. I filled up the lantern and left it for the next adventurer. The next part of my journey was filled with peril. Wolves! Wolves here and there and everywhere! Lurking around each cattail! I changed direction three times trying to cross the treacherous muskeg and ice that kept cracking under my feet. No matter how much I sneaked, one of the wolves spotted me. Due to the blocked routes, I had to get close to him. I sprinted crazy across the cracking ice away from the snapping teeth. The escort hounded me all the way to the farm where he tag teamed another local resident. I bolted up the barn boards to the second floor and crouched behind some green crates listening for the wolf who was refusing to leave. His footfalls lingered around the barn for many hours. And then he howled pitifully at nightfall having lost his prey. December 24th 🎄 I have a good feeling about this bright day! Having fired up the forged in the middle of the night, it was two coals away from being able to put to use my good heavy hammer! At noon when the weather turned bright, I risked peeking out of barn and then tiptoed towards the docks that led me to a small shack on an isle. I picked up more metal and coal along the way. Then tiptoed around another barn on shore in search of wood and metal. Living at the forge sure is fuel costly. Another night at the forge and a raid in the morning for the larger logs. I only found one cedar nearby and caught a cold chopping it down. More forging and one more night before all my metal was converted into knives and hatches and many many arrowheads. All the while the wolf kept checking on my barn and howling. In the middle of the night, through dreams, I heard an attempted attack, but the fire blazing inside the forge kept the intruder away. Only by noon the following day was I ready leave this wolf forsaken marsh and return to the cozy mystery lake. The hammer was going to stay at the forge for the future use regardless. Given the spirit of the holidays I could not in good will leave this wonderful place without some presents! The next lucky survivor will find wrapped in birch bark ribbons. A hatchet. Four arrowheads. Three matches. One vest. Five cattails. A cup of the birch bark tea. And one accelerant. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! ❤️

Dec. 19th The fog trails thick along the ground. Since following the rail tracks will prevent me from getting lost, I welcome the windless weather, although, being on the broken railway bridge is an eerie experience hence there is nothing above, nothing below and the tracks cut off a few steps ahead into nowhere. When I make it across, the fog thins and I spot a couple of rabbits. Taking several shots that go miles off target, I abandon this pursuit before I get too tired. It's best to search for a way down across a fallen tree. The frisky bunny cave will have a crafted beard with antiseptic properties waiting for someone. The fatigue begins setting in. Just as the weight starts nagging my back, I spot a rock suitable for a mountain climbing rope. A lonely bunny lurks in the grass. This time I'm successful snipering him with a stone. It's tempting to hide in a cave, warm up and skin it. I could leave the stinky guts to cure without risking a wolf that enjoys his life near the Hydro Dam. The weather might turn, thus, I keep moving and collect cattails on the far end of the river before climbing a slope near a red wagon where I find a nearly full jerry can. Party! My lantern fuel was at the very bottom. Perhaps, the following survivor will appreciate a bandage. The fatigue is bordering red. I'm in danger of losing sprint before reaching the Mystery Lake. If the wolf is waiting in ambush, I'll drop the rabbit for him to nibble on instead of my leg. Mild snowflakes begin spinning through the air as I drag my feet slowly towards the trailer. Luckily, the wolf must be visiting his aunt Snarky. I sleep an hour. Skin the rabbit. Note that I'm nearly out of water. With nine matches remaining, I've been careful to preserve them. I drop off all my items into a locker and notice that I used to have two copies of the Frozen Angular. Accidentally, I've left the unread copy at Coastal. Six hours of rest to remove the dangerous fatigue level. Step into a starry night. At least the Hydro Dam gate isn't far, I'd like to cook the rabbit and boil some water. A dawn is near when I finish the water boiling session. Fatigue is full once more. I return to the trailer and nap five hours following a tasty bunny snack. Mid-day, I venture into the lower damn to begin a very thorough search with a glowing lantern. It's about time I found IT the tool of tools! The glorious hacksaw! Leave no nook or cranny unlit. I left a tin of sardines and a torch for the next adventurer at the lower dam. Where might a hacksaw be? With about an hour of daylight remaining, I've decided to check a part of the upper dam too. Right there, before darkness fall, there it was. Astrid sure is doing well! Her health is almost perfect! This was the fifth day of sharing.