Turn 004 · Saltmere — Result
Hearth Warmth, Fuel, and Draft Defense
Early winter has brought sharp frost across the sound, but Saltmere’s domestic defenses have held firm. Families remain consolidated into the two primary longhouses, where communal living and careful management keep the cold at bay.
Each morning, bundles of thin-split willow and alder laths brought in from the hollow shelter are placed along the rafters near the central hearth eaves. Pre-drying and tempering them in the rising warm air before burning has allowed them to mix cleanly with the village's core hardwood billets, successfully extending dry fuel reserves while keeping interior smoke minimal. At night, hearth tenders practice strict ash-banking, burying live coals under deep blankets of fine ash so embers survive until dawn without consuming whole logs.
Around the doorways and along windward seams, Sava’s double-layered woven reed draft-screens have proven effective against cutting northern gales. For outdoor labor, Sava’s woven reed-and-grass boot liners and overshoes insulate footwear, and villagers have avoided frostbite despite freezing mud and icy shores.
Winter Subsistence and Shore Maintenance
In the storehouses, Daro maintains balanced weekly draws from the stores of barley, salted fish, and tubers. The sand clamps have kept roots firm, and regular weekly sorting has allowed the storekeeper to cull decaying roots before rot spreads to adjacent stock.
Whenever clear, midday low tides coincide with settled weather, small foraging parties wade the western shallows within waist-deep safety limits, bringing in steady baskets of cockles, mussels, and winter kelp. In the southern reed channels, Orin uses wooden poles to break skim ice over Sava’s submerged wicker pots, retrieving catches of winter eels.
At the works, Fen keeps the western pan bank under close observation following hard overnight freezes. The thick revetment of dry reed bundles and turf flaps has held its shape, shedding winter moisture and preventing frost heaving or surface cracking along the stabilized clay core. The greased pans and covered brine barrels remain secure, while the thatched timber canopy over the springhead has been kept cleared of snow, ensuring the freshwater runnel remains clear and running.
The Barter Embassy to Marker Beach
On the first clear, windless morning of the month, Evi led the four-person delegation north along the shingle track toward Marker Beach. The party carried three pressed cakes of prime white salt alongside Sava’s tightly woven reed sleeping mats and storage hampers.
Upon arriving at the neutral ground, the delegation set up on the open shingle and lit a clean signal smudge in plain view, as agreed during late autumn's parley. Evi and her companions waited near the marker throughout the morning. However, no party from Keelstrand emerged or approached from across the northern creek.
In accordance with council instructions, the delegation held their ground without advancing beyond the marker or attempting a creek crossing. By mid-afternoon, with no answer to the smoke, the party repacked the salt and woven goods and made the return walk along the shingle path, reaching Saltmere safely before nightfall.
Visible Costs and Immediate Pressures
As winter deepens, Saltmere faces several immediate conditions for the coming month:
- Unrealized Trade: The barter goods returned intact to the storehouse, but Saltmere remains without the hoped-for metal cutting edges (axes, adzes, or chisels) or seasoned boat timbers. Keelstrand’s absence leaves it unconfirmed whether the neighbors were hindered by the freeze, occupied with internal needs, or hesitant to trade. Whether to attempt another smoke signal, send a scout to observe from the dunes, or defer contact until spring remains an open decision.
- Foraging Pressures in Freezing Weather: While shallows gathering and eel trapping currently supplement Daro’s measured rations, thicker ice or prolonged storms would close the tidal mudflats and reed channels, shifting the entire settlement's caloric burden onto stored barley, clamped parsnips, and cured fish.
- Dormant Pans: With full boiling suspended to protect the domestic hearths, no new salt is being produced. Current stores must be carefully balanced between domestic preservation and any future trade goods.