A True Adventurer

Adventuring. Lovely word isn't it? Makes it all sound like a bit of lark. Tales of derring do, stories of treasures found and foes overcome. What nobody ever wants to tell you is that, for the most part, its a dreadfully dull affair. Weeks, sometimes months, spent alone, but for the company of nasty little beasties and insects ranging from the deadly poisonous down tot he just plain annoying. As I mentioned previously, that's why I've found the recent invention of the ARC such a boon.

The reason people usually leave out teh detail and truth of adventuring is, well who wants to hear it? You'll never hear a man in your local tavern holding court with "Did I ever tell you the about the time I searched the deepest darkest regions of the jungle for eight months, with nothing to show for it but dysentry!" No we talk about our successes, our finds, our more glamourous hardships. Because nobody wants to hear about how you were suffering a nasty rash because you'd long since run out of anthing that resembled toiletries and there was nothing in the surrounding area but poisonous leaved plants. There's little interest to be found in tales of walking through very similar surrounds for months, with little danger, and little to overcome save a few blisters and loneliness. Hell, on full expeditions loneliness isn't always a major factor, with others around you to laugh the night away, and maybe share a rum or two.

For the most part, its actually quite pleasant. Ample edible vegetation, plentiful supplies of potable water, walking through peaceful areas with nothing but natural sounds and sights around you. I wouldn't ever want to give it up even if it was that alone. But then there are the side benefits, the treasures, both natural and unnatural, the fortune and glory, the excitement of a battle against extreme consitions or bloodthirsty creatures. And the opportunities for experimentation, be it with a new cutting technique, usages of a newly discovered plant, or discovery and subsequent investigations into new species of fauna. Successful adventurers have the most marvelous life, the unsuccessful, however, well, the human skeletons we periodically find on our expeditions attest to the way their lives tend to go.