Onboard the Great Drakkar, On Unkown Seas, Off the Coast of an Uncharted Land
Leif Eriksson gazed off to the west. Just on the horizon, barely visible, was a black speck. It was insignificant compared to the towering waves around his ship, yet to the crew of this Knorr it was the most significant thing in the world.

He, Lief Eriksson, son of Erik the Red of Greenland, had done it! Based on the reports of an Icelandic trader Bjarni Herjolfsson some 15 years before, Lief had accomplished the unaccomplishable- he had reached lands beyond Greenland, westward from the known world.

(To be continued...)

As the crew rowed closer to land, Leif's hopes were dashed- this was not a great new land to settle, but merely a bunch of rocks! After all the trials and tribulations of crossing miles of storm-swept seas, he had come to a land that was not useful at all.

Nonetheless, he went ashore and claimed the land for Greenland and Norway, and named it Helluland, which means 'Rock Slab Land.'

Then the sail was put up and they continued south, hoping for better prospects.

Leif has continued down the coast of the new land, and luckily has reached warmer climes. As he followed the coast the rocks gradually gave way to tall pine trees until now the ship is sailing next to a huge forest with straight trunks that Leif thinks would make excellent longships some day. He has christened this land Markland, for its abundant forests, but has decided to move on in search of still better land to the south.

A boat hunting ocean fish notices the large boats. The message reached Chief One Who is Born on Dark Moon.

OOC: Not too sure if you'd be able to contact me yet- after all, the Mississippians are in the gulf of Mexico region and don't have very advanced ships.

Soon my ship will land for the winter in Newfoundland; they'll camp there until Spring, and then either continue home or explore more. Once I land or in the spring would be a good time for some natives to contact me, and then those natives to eventually bring the news to you. You can RP the Algonquin and Inuit that I meet if you want, since you're the only American player so far.

IC: As the ship continues, vast white beaches have been sighted, and masses of fish that displace the water. One Viking lowered a basket into the water, and when he pulled it up there were three fish inside!

Leif has come to a place where the coast splits and a wide channel separates from the ocean. He has decided to camp for the winter on the spot between the split in the sea. The ship has landed, and foraging parties have been sent out for wood and food to begin the construction of a settlement before winter comes.

OOC:Actually, they where located in the Southeast, Midwest, and eastern US. forgot that part about the boat.

OOC: Ok then. We'll still meet soon though.

Leif's camp has been going well. Though the onset of winter brought snow and lower temperatures, the weather is mild compared to Nordic standards, and even in the short time the crew had there they were able to store enough food for the livestock through the winter. The men have had plenty to eat from fishing and hunting the bountiful game, but Leif is concerned due to the fact that sometimes when his men are out hunting, they see flickers in the distance that seem human and not animal. Leif is worried that there may be others in this land, and so is taking the precaution of building a palisade around the camp.

With the coming of spring, a startling discovery has been made by one of the Norsemen. One day he was out hunting. He stayed out overly late, and Leif was concerned, and so sent a search party after him. The man finally returned to camp during the night-blind drunk. The next morning, after his hangover had subsided, he was telling tales about fermented wild grapes further inland. Leif recognised this as the amazing discovery it was. Soon the vines were located and Leif built a winery in camp. Several men each day would pound the grapes into wine, and each night they would feast on the bounty of this amazing land.

Leif finally had a name for this land: Vinland.

With the coming of Spring, Leif has decided to head home with half his crew, while the rest stay in the settlement until he returns, probably at the end of the summer and hopefully with many settlers. Leif is eager to tell the Greenlanders about this wonderful land, and hopes that eventually a great many colonists from all around the Viking lands will come to Vinland.

OOC: where are you geographic wise

OOC: Assuming he's in the same place as Leif RL landed, it would be the island of Newfoundland.

OOC: That is correct, I am at the northern point of Newfoundland- modern-day L'anse Aux Meadows, the only place where a Viking settlement has been found in the Americas.

IC: Leif has returned to Greenland. His tale of vast fields of wheat, seas teeming with fish, tall forests, and most of all bundles of ripe grapes has attracted many colonists.

Leif's brother, Thorvald Eriksson, will travel to Iceland and then Norway to promote the settlement of Vinland and hopefully interest King Olaf Tryggvason in it. Meanwhile, Leif will return to Vinland, along with Thorfinn Karlsefni, a prominent jarl, and many colonists.

The large fleet has now set out from Brattahlid, Greenland, carrying more than a thousand colonists for the new land.