Re: Salt Wars

[David KUIJT <kuijt@umiacs.umd.edu>]

Poster: David KUIJT <kuijt@umiacs.umd.edu>


> >And since we are on the subject of old wars, what about Salt Wars? Who
> >was there when...?
> >
> >branwynn

Hah!  I was there!  That was my first Atlantian event, actually.
Morkwuddle was part of the East Kingdom, and I hadn't gone to any
Atlantian events, when I went with a road trip to Salt Wars.

I was not yet a fighter (authorized or other -- I had never picked up
sword and shield nor worn full armour). I participated in the battles by
being a combat archer.  It was a very unsatisfying thing -- I knew NOBODY,
I remember standing behind one line wondering if they were friends or
enemies.  I shot one person square in the back.  He didn't take it -- I'm
sure he had no idea that he had been shot.  I didn't know if I was
supposed to kill him or not, so I didn't really mind, then some other
person ran up and called me dead.  I didn't know what side _he_ was on
either, so it was very frustrating overall. 

I won the target archery.  The person running it had no idea how to do it,
and I ended up telling him what to do and in what order.

It was very, very, very cold.  Not the coldest I've ever camped, but
certainly the coldest I've ever SCA camped.  (The other time was in the
Rockies, winter camping at 20 below, and we warmed our boots over the fire
before putting them on).  The beer froze, I hear.  Eggs froze.  The first
night a lady in my shared tent (with several other people -- it was a big
tent) climbed into my sleeping bag just because she thought otherwise she
would freeze to death (nothing happened -- either I was a perfect
gentleman or it was too cold, one of the two).  The SECOND night I slept
fine until another lady woke me up -- she thought that I had been very
slowly opening my sleeping bag zipper, because there was a continuous slow
regular clicking sound, until she realized that no zipper was that long,
and that my teeth were chattering -- in my sleep.  I was sound asleep with
my teeth chattering.  Not possible for most humans.

Apparently Earl Gyrth was Prince that event, and Bertrand was King.  I
knew neither of them at the time.

There were some concrete-block cabins.  In one of them Sir Strykar
apparently snored so loudly that several people left, preferring to freeze
to death rather than be driven insane.

My only warm memory of that event was when I had volunteered to help wash
dishes.  I was very selfish -- in the kitchen, up to the elbows in hot
soapy water, was the only time I had been warm all event.  I was really
upset when someone took my place an hour later when I had to step out to
use the washroom.

Dafydd ap Gwystl,
known at that time as David the Lucky.

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