[img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//41041469/849e969aff542cace47e7f0b73ebbc764c9ba4c5.jpg[/img] [b]What is it all about? [/b] Two brave Frostpunk fans - Lars Andreas Melsæter and John William Baier Hofoss - set off on an expedition through the frozen nooks of Norway. This is a story of their journey. The initial post about the venture can be read here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1601580/view/3122690263509401625 ---- Telegraph from New London ------------ Dear Citizens, Our efforts to descend into Norway territory in search of future trade routes and Imperial expansions had been exposed to delays, but quickly went back onto the right track and into steady progress. Please, be aware of the report provided by one of the Scouts. ---------------- [i]Vardø got a hold of us for longer than expected. What can lay ahead, when even the slightest beginning of our journey isn’t going as planned? We arrived at the town by ship and had a camp set outside the city before the sunset. The overall exhaustion, which we initially thought made us postpone the start of the real expedition by a day, proved to be something more once my partner was torn out of his sleep in the middle of the second night. Mr. Hoffos got sick and as I remained healthy, we parted ways. I remained in the tent, taking care of the dogs, and he was quarantined in a hotel room. It came to me that I may need to start the first phase of the journey on my own. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//41041469/da7e33e6267f3580e5cc5b9388084403e111ac79.jpg[/img] But I decided to wait. On the third day in Vardø, the wind climbed. It was bad yesterday, but Lord have mercy! I believe it was getting to 20 m/s from the side of the tent, which is bad. The small wall I built yesterday simply did not suffice. At 3 PM I had enough of listening to the poor tent battle for its well-being. I went outside to raise new snow-made constructions during the storm. Ten metres long, two metres tall, and half a metre wide - that should do. Still, the tent shakes. Mikey - one of our dogs - got out of the tent, but did not take long to turn around and dig his way back in. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//41041469/ef1df1e671c086e7bb5e9bce75ff6abc18efa430.jpg[/img] The next day, when the weather loosened, I went to the local store to get two beers and some candies. It was Saturday after all. I was healthy and needed to find something to do in Vardø since doubt is hasty to set in when there is nothing but a tent wall to look at. The people were tremendously nice, I have been offered several places to come inside if necessary. But what helped me most was a local theatre for kids. Everyone should see a kid's entertainment now and then. It’s good for the soul. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//41041469/b71c1027aea96e8f979e8e60c261c543cd022660.jpg[/img] On the sixth day we reached the conclusion that it would be best for me to continue alone, and for Hofoss to get fully cured and back in shape, and then find me again further West. A kind of a relief decision, since I felt purpose again while being moved out from my suspended state, came after a tiring and frustrating night. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//41041469/9be3cb895935353ebd97432551bcaa19250ab434.jpg[/img] I thought the weather was nice enough to let the dogs sleep outside, but they clearly didn’t agree. Gøril made such a fuss about it that she woke me twice. Both times I got dressed up and climbed out of the tent only to find both dogs in good shape, and some equipment torn to bites… [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//41041469/2cb2c489be4c147915166207fbbf60cdba428cd8.jpg[/img] It wasn’t any better the next day. These damned dogs haven't pulled anything a godforsaken meter! Barely 10 km today, solely my doing. The weather has shifted from bright sunshine to snow and white, from ice-cold winds to sweaty back, and then back. We have had some degrees below as of now remarkably still a beautiful sunset. A good end to a difficult day only to get up on the next one and learn that Mikey chewed off his rope. What I was saying about things not going as planned? [/i] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//41041469/2d20a2175408d54de972aa130e9aaa514cfeeb62.jpg[/img]