Into the West: Let's Play Oregon Trail II

[Zarah]

Whoa, we have little water and no food. Will we have to resort to canabalism?

Not if we keep going fast enough. On that note:



"Okay, maybe a tad slower."



"Too slow, let's pick it up!"



"Biggs Junction huh? I hope we don't get Wedged in. Then we would have to Luke for another trail."

From the looks people gave me after that, I can only thank god we were out of gunpowder.



"A tranquil river? Hah, it's got no idea what we're about to do to it..."



See what I mean? Don't underestimate that tranquility. And speaking of underestimating mother nature...



Here we go again.

[Squark]

Wait for a while and make a new comic

Just kidding. Let's keep using our usual strategy!

In other words, use ropes.

[Studoku]

There's a body of water nearby. I'm sure if we use the hill to increase our speed, we'll have an advantage at fording it.

[Aragehaor]

There's a body of water nearby. I'm sure if we use the hill to increase our speed, we'll have an advantage at fording it.

This is the best plan ever.

And on a completely unrelated note i look forward to seeing you all as ghosts.

[Zarah]

Wait for a while and make a new comic

I have no idea what you're talking about. >_>


Anyway! We pressed on, continuing up the mountain like it was nothing at all. We even blew our way through a lake on our way down. Let's hear those settlers complain about no water now...



"Wait a minute, RAFT down the river?"

Never trust a river you can't ford, I always said. The toll-road it is!



"Well, damn. I guess we should have kept a handful of cash after all."

Back to the Dalles we went, and there the raft to freedom was waiting for us. This was is, gentlemen. This was one of the last obstacles before Oregon City. We could smell the fresh, eastern air. We could taste our very destiny grasping at the tips of our tongues.

It was time to make history.

[arguskos]

RAFT IT!

Also, I never made it that far, is this like the end of the journey or some such?

[Zarah]

RAFT IT!

Also, I never made it that far, is this like the end of the journey or some such?

Just about. It's been so bloody long since I played the game, but this definitely looks like the last little bit, especially since we're on the last section of the map screen.

Of course, it's much easier said than done.

[The Glyphstone]

Is this where you have to play the rafting minigame?

[Flickerdart]

Oh man, I always hated this part in the original Oregon Trail. Everyone would die here because I sucked at the minigame and never saved up for the toll.

[Zarah]

Is this where you have to play the rafting minigame?

Yes. Yes it is. And after a rather heart-attack inducing session...



(This is much more intense than it looks.)

I managed to get to the next section of the river. The wagon tipped over twice, and we lost some supplies...



But we were alive. And we had arrived at a shoreline where we could collect our bearings, but we couldn't stay long. Our goal was in sight, and we had more choices to make.

[arguskos]

Damn, everything is all changing up on us! There's not fording option, there's a random minigame, and god only knows what else awaits us. I guess portage around?

[Arcanoi]

Ford those rapids, damnit.

[Teron]

I vote for portage, because it traditionally involves carrying a canoe upside down over one's head and, disregarding anything like reality, I like picturing soaked, underfed, miserable people carrying a covered wagon and oxen that way.

[Arcanoi]

^
Obviously a vampire. Kill him.

[Starbuck_II]

No, we need the vampire. They are tasty with ketchup. We have no other meat!

[xp194]

No ford option?

Fine.

Chevrolet those rapids!

[Avilan the Grey]

No ford option?

Fine.

Chevrolet those rapids!

Cadillac! Cadillac!

...Because I am sure there is no option to Mercedes the rapids.

[The Glyphstone]

I think Ford makes a car called the Portage. Therefore, we know our only choice.

If not, Ford should make a car called the Portage. In the meantime, we can encourage them by Portaging.

[Studoku]

They call them rapids for a reason- it'll be more rapid to go through them.

Onward!

[Zarah]

Well, it seemed that the others didn't want to waste time trying to go around. We needed to ford raft that river at that very moment, which is exactly what we did. However, we greatly underestimated the power of that river. We thought our wagon was invincible, as it had forded countless other bodies of water before it, but this would be the one to break it. I do not know what happened, but all I remember is tipping over and hitting the water. I felt my entire body ache all at once, and I remember seeing blood before passing out. Now, here I lay washed up upon the shore...

I tell you this story so that you may share it with others. No one else can make the same mistake as we did. The Oregon Trail... Bested us. I can go on no further.

This is... The end...

[arguskos]

Oooouch. You finally bit it. Shame, too, you were so very very close to great victory!

[The Glyphstone]

Do not vorry, for vhen the night falls, you vill rise again as vhat you vere truly meant to be...for that sting on your neck as you drowned, it vas not the edge of a sharp rock...


I vould also lodge a mild protest, as there vere more votes to portage than to vord. Oh vell.

[chiasaur11]

Do not vorry, for vhen the night falls, you vill rise again as vhat you vere truly meant to be...for that sting on your neck as you drowned, it vas not the edge of a sharp rock...


I vould also lodge a mild protest, as there vere more votes to portage than to vord. Oh vell.

Well, he might.

If'n nobody had the sense to have the padre bless the river.

Oldest trick in the book.

[The Glyphstone]

Well, he might.

If'n nobody had the sense to have the padre bless the river.

Oldest trick in the book.

And did you never vonder vhy the padre vould only conduct his sermons at night, and stayed hidden avay in his vagon during the daytime?

[chiasaur11]

And did you never vonder vhy the padre vould only conduct his sermons at night, and stayed hidden avay in his vagon during the daytime?

Oh, I knew.

I checked. However, it seems the enlightened brotherhood of dagon can make the seas just as unpleasant for you folks as more conventional preachers.

[The Glyphstone]

Vell, of course. Ve are on very good terms vith the local Deep Ones though, especially after arranging to have such a bounty of supplies lost in the rafting. The vagon riders vill mourn tonight, and ve vill share our unsuspecting bounty vith our water-dvelling allies.

[Zarah]

I awoke with a start. The wagon had rolled into a slight rut, causing things to rattle about, including myself. Groggily, I pulled myself from under the dusty canvas and out into the day's bright sunlight. I looked around a little, but before I could say anything, one of the nearby settlers took it upon himself to greet me.

"Sorry about that. The trail is a little rough around here," he explained with a slight smile.

"But... We were rafting through the rapids. I watched us crash and tip over into the water," I answered rather dumbfounded, going through my mind and all the details I could remember. "I... I saw myself die."

The other settler shrugged. "Sounds like a bad dream to me. We took the portage around that section of the river. You were resting after our first jaunt down the river, so we figured we would let you sleep. Hope you don't mind if we made a decision for you."

I stared into space for a long while, making sure everything sunk in. That's when I realized it.

"A second chance," I muttered. The other asked me to repeat myself, but I was already jumping out of the wagon and taking the reigns. I swore that I had seen myself die, but I was given another chance to prove myself. I was given another chance to lead my people to freedom. To Oregon City.

"Where are we?" I demanded.



"We're coming up to McCord Creek," he answered, taken back by my sudden leadership coming through once more. "But the trail ends here. We're going to have to raft our way down to Fort Vancouver from here."

"Alright," I said, somewhat nervous at the prospect of more rafting. It was something so foreign to me. Floating wagons? The idea terrified me, but I pressed on anyway. I had no other choice. Our freedom was at stake.

Thankfully, our luck held, as did the wooden planks of our wagon. The trip left me shaken up, but at least I was alive... This time.



"Come on, we're almost there! Just one more section of river to raft!" a female settler cried with joy. Joy that I simply could not share.

"One more?! Just one more?! We've come so close to death too many times to count, and this is just the final straw. This is the last few moments for mother nature to toy with us before she delivers the killing stroke. We won't make it. We can't make it. We were fools to have ever tried," I admitted, causing everyone left in the wagon train to freeze in place and stare at me, unable to even comprehend what their fearless leader had just said. Eventually, their looks turned into those of disgust, and they soon dispersed into the fort to collect themselves. Once I was alone, I followed after. Perhaps we could find a new home here?

I wandered around the small fort for a long time, trying to understand what was wrong with me. Something wasn't right, but I couldn't admit it. I couldn't put my finger on what it was. I wasn't... Myself. I plunged a hand into my pocket to finger through what little cash we had left, only to find that it was all gone. Every last cent. I must have lost it in the river at some point during our rafting and never realized it. Somehow, this news threw me into a panic and I hurried back to the riverbank.

There, I found a small child playing in the water. I recognized him as a member of our wagon train, although he didn't seem to be bothered by my presence. In fact, he seemed to have taken little notice of me at all, transfixed by his small toy. When I looked a little closer, I recognized the toy. It was a small block of wood with four wheels attached, and while it seemed simple to me, to the boy, it was another fully-functional wagon in our train. He was driving the toy straight through the water before letting it emerge on the other side, a little wet, but in-tact. That's when I realized what he was doing. That's when I finally saw what was wrong.

Everything I had done up until that moment, I now realized was simply training. I had learned how to navigate in the water so well by fording, but now we were rafting and I thought myself to be out of my element. I made the mistake of seeing them as two different things, but it was then that I realized how wrong I was. I had finally saw the truth. Our wagons may have been floating, but to my eyes, we were not rafting down this river.

"Ford it," I muttered to myself as I stared into the crystal, blue water. The child spun around and looked at me, a little surprised to see me there. However, once my eyes found their way back to his, he smiled at me and returned to his little game.

At once, I spun around in the gravel and raced back to the fort. Screaming at the top of my lungs, I rallied together everyone from our wagon train and told them to get ready. To say that they were confused by my sudden mood-swing would be an understatement like no other, but they followed the orders of their expedition leader nonetheless. Soon, everyone was gathered with their wagons once again and they were ready to press on. Our wagon was the first to be pushed into the water, and while I could feel the unfamiliar bobbing of a floating wagon, I tightened my grip and imagined our oxen in front, pulling us through the water without hesitation.

"A river never stopped us before..."



"...And be damned if it'll stop us now."

After spending some time rejoicing, I proudly pushed my way into town and walked straight into the first office I saw. I fought for my life all the way there, and I sure as hell wasn't going to make it all for nothing. I was going to start a new life. Even if I had to start from scratch.



The first thing I did was build a remembrance for Anatharan and Aragehaor. They would not go on forgotten. Not anymore.


With the Oregon Trail now blazed, I took my leave of adventuring. In our wake, we left chickens, candy, sugar, enough gunpowder and ammunition to blow up Washington, and of course, two loyal partners who now keep watch over us from the stars. However, the trail would call the names of settlers for years, and as my farm grew over time, I saw more and more people come from the East to start anew. We were not the first, and we were certainly not the last, but we left our mark upon the country.






And the country left its mark on us.

[absolmorph]

Woohoo, we made it!

[The Glyphstone]

And from the dark reaches of the nearby forests, gleaming yellow eyes watched. Hungry yellow eyes. The vampires had failed in their task, and even the ravenous children of Dagon were an insufficient impediment. They would be reprimanded, and punished horribly, but their task in this endeavour was over. It fell to a new force now, to ensure that the puny human settlers would not succeed in establishing their homes here in the Oregon wilderness.

This was the task of the sasquatch, and they were ready to kill.

[arguskos]

And thanks to the magic of the superheroes Save and Load, the wagon arrives, mostly dead and starving, but there at long last.