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Rasmus “Caps” Winther may have been the youngest member of the G2 league of legends team but he didn’t have the most immature sense of humor. That belonged to Marcin by a mile. Unfortunately for them they were all stuck in a car together as they went somewhere. That way Marcin had a hostage audience for his jokes. His laugh was too loud and it was giving Rasmus a headache. He sighed and pulled up the hood on his jacket over his headphones. At least the scenery outside was nice to look at.
Rasmus knew he was told by Oliver where they were going but he didn’t remember. The details were better left to their general manager who was like a third parent. Scheduling their appointments and managing their time, reminding them of what they had to do. Again and again. So it surprised him as they turned off onto a dirt road and continued on it through the forest. Wherever they were going was really out there. As someone who played video games for a profession he was unsure if he liked being this far from civilization.
He hoped there was electricity and running water at wherever they ended up. Living it rough, even for a day, was not something he wanted to do. At least he was pretty sure they weren’t going camping. He remembered something about a house. They pulled into a small clearing and Rasmus inwardly cursed. There was a house if such a building could even be called that. It was more a small rough cabin in the middle of nowhere. The roughly hew logs had been surrounded by chinking to form what he hoped was an airtight wall and he could see smoke coming from the chimney. Was this truly where they were staying?
“All right, everyone out!” He heard Oliver call from the front seat. His teammates groaned and he barely registered their complaints as he stared out the window.
“Who’s idea was this?” Marcin’s loud voice broke into his thoughts.
“Honestly, can Carlos fire them?” He heard Luka ask as he opened up the door. The cold air was shocking and he regretted not dressing more warmly.
“Maybe it’s not so bad on the inside?” Ever the optimist Miky was.
“Guys, come here.” They all went over to Oliver hoping that it was just a practical joke. “I know none of you were paying attention this morning so I’m going over it again. Welcome to a Jägerhütte. We’re going to spend a day, just 24 hours, living in the past.” There was a collective groan at this. “This cabin was built by historians and is accurate to the late 18th/early 19th centuries and they also furnished it accurately too. I have instructions here on everything from on how to cook your meals to using the outhouse. You can do it, it’s just 24 hours.”
“24 hours of torture,” Martin muttered. Oliver passed out little booklets to them and Rasmus was impressed. The little book was bound in leather and embossed with a logo with the pages stitched in like old books were.
“Good luck!” Oliver gave them all a cheery wave. Before they could process what was happening he was back in the car starting it. Luka was the first to move and he cursed as he found the doors locked.
“Oliver, let us in!” He pounded on the window and Martin joined him. Instead Oliver gave them all a cheeky grin and carefully drove around them. As soon as he wasn’t in danger of hitting any of them he sped up and just like that the car was gone.
Marcin’s string of curses expressed how they all felt. Sure they were all adults but none of them were prepared for this.
“Well..” Miky trailed off. Rasmus glanced at the others. Marcin was pacing back and forth, Martin refused to meet anyone’s eyes, Luka and Miky were looking at each other helplessly, a wordless conversation happening. They stood there in shock for a few moments before Rasmus spoke up.
“I don’t know about you guys but I’m cold.” He shivered just a bit. “Let’s check out this cabin.”
Truly it was cold, at least ten degrees colder than normal, and Rasmus cursed the weather. The gray overcast sky foretold some snow this evening. A pang of fear struck him as he remembered that people died of exposure. Lots of people every winter. He doubted it would get that cold but he was attached to all his fingers and toes. Fingers more so than the toes.
Rasmus carefully opened the door made of wood slats nailed together and stepped inside the cabin. It was cramped to say the least with a small long table and bench taking up most of the space to the right and a bed taking up most of the space on the left. The fireplace was in the back and there were coals there left over from an earlier fire. He moved toward the table where he saw a basket had been left with stuff inside.
Marcin was the last person inside and he closed the door behind him. They all stared at the faint lines of light coming through it. Luka sighed and brought the basket closer to the coals. Miky carefully took some logs that were by the fireplace and placed them into the fire, beginning to build it up again.
“Dear G2 esports lol team,” Luka read, “we hope you enjoy your stay here at Jägerhütte. Modeled after temporary homestead cabins popular in the late 18th century we aim to give modern people a taste of life back then. As you can see on the mantle, around the fireplace, and on the table you have everything you need to cook like they did in the past. In this basket you will find woolen gloves and hats for everyone as well as a few blankets. Not to mention one bar of soap, candles, some salt, some butter wrapped in paper, 10 eggs, and iodine droplets for the well water if you wish. We’ve had it tested so the water is safe but if these are here for your discretionary use. The well is located about 20 meters southeast of the cabin and the outhouse is about 25 meters north east. Seasonally accurate food is located in a container under the table. May you enjoy your wanderings through the past! Sincerely, Dr. Andresen, director of The Jägerhütte Experience .”
“I wonder what we have to eat,” Rasmus said moving so he was sitting by Luka. The bench was rough, everything about this cabin was rough from the dirt floor to the bark shingles. He reached down to the old style wooden chest and dragged it out. He carefully lifted the lid and was disappointed in its contents. Potatoes, potatoes, and more potatoes took up half of it. A sack of flour was on top of the other half and underneath they found a small satchel of sugar, some tea leaves, and parsnips and turnips for their vegetables. There was a small piece of paper stuck to the top of the trunk. Rasmus pulled on it and it came free.
“There is a rabbit in the dutch oven,” he read. “What’s a dutch oven?”
“Who fucking knows?” Marcin ground out. Miky went to him and gently laid a hand on his arm.
“We can do this. It’s just for a day.”
Luka stood up. “Miky’s right. I know you all are smart and hard workers. We can do this.” He passed out a hat and the fingerless gloves to everyone and Rasmus quickly put his on. Sure the wool was scratchy but he had come to value warmth a lot recently.
His teammates spread out as much as they could in the small cabin. Marcin went over to the bed and complained about how the mattress must be made of straw or something. At least they wouldn’t be sleeping on the dirt floor even though the bed was about as big as the queen he had back home. Sharing that with four other guys was not going to be fun.
Miky had gone back to the fire and was tending to it. Rasmus was grateful for it’s warmth. “We might need more firewood,” he heard Miky mutter to himself. Martin was getting a feel for all the various objects in the cabin. Some might find a tall, buff dane holding a hatchet scary. Miky instead smiled and took it from him. “I’m going to chop some more firewood,” he said. Rasmus burst out laughing as he watched Miky walk out the door. He looked ridiculous in his fingerless gloves and hat and his g2 sweats.
Luka glanced up at him from reading the small booklet they had been given. “Are you okay Rasmus?”
“It’s all just so ridiculous,” he got out between giggles.
“I know right,” Marcin started, “we’ve been left here in the middle of nowhere with no cell service, no electricity, and no running water! WHO’S FUCKING IDEA WAS THIS?”
Before they could continue further Martin called out. “Guys, I found the rabbit!” Rasmus walked over to where Martin was holding a thick cast iron lid. Sure enough a prepared rabbit lay curled up in the thick cast iron pot claiming most of the space. He felt Luka put a hand on his back as he peered over his shoulder.
“I guess we’re having rabbit stew tonight,” Luka said. Martin shrugged in response and put the lid back on the pot. Well oven, if the paper was to be believed.
“Rabbit stew, yum.”
“Can you cut it out Marcin?” Luka was stern. “Your attitude isn’t helping us. We’re all frustrated. We all would rather be anywhere else than here. But this is what we have to deal with until Oliver comes back with the car. I know soloq hasn’t been going well for you and you just want to play but we all do.”
“He’s right,” Martin’s deep voice stopped Marcin from talking. “We’re a team and we need to work together to get through this next day. It’s how people survived back then and it’s how we’ll survive now.”
Rasmus broke out into a grin. He knew how he could make Marcin feel better. “You know what’s a rabbit’s favorite type of music?” He paused for effect and didn’t notice that his teammates stared at him like he had grown another head. “Hip hop!” He was a bit worried when his teammates didn’t return his smile. “Luka, wasn’t that a good joke?” he nudged his team captain with his arm.
“Rasmus, that was something.”
“He’s lost it,” Marcin groaned as he laid back on the bed. “Less than two hours in and my adc has lost it.” Miky unfortunately chose that time to walk back in, his arms full with split logs.
“What did I miss?” He asked, reading the room.
“I found the rabbit.” Martin offered during the awkward pause.
“Ah.” Miky put down the hatchet by the split logs. “At least we aren’t just eating potatoes for the next three meals.”
They passed the next few hours together in relative harmony. Martin and Marcin talked in low voices on the bed. Rasmus glanced through the booklet but he was too wound up to focus on it. Luka read his booklet cover to cover at least three times, frowning often. Miky saw that he was restless and came to him with a small knife. He taught Rasmus how to carve something out of a small block of wood. It kept his hands busy and his mind occupied. By the end what was supposed to be Baron Nashor was more of a deformed block of wood than the fearsome beast. He looked over at Miky’s carving of a dragon and was embarrassed. The Slovenian wasn’t half bad at carving.
“It’s not the easiest thing,” he heard Miky softly say. “You’ll get a lot better with a bit of practice.”
“Guys, I think it’s time we get started on dinner,” Luka interrupted. “We have instructions on how to roast the rabbit in the book and also on how to cook the potatoes. One person needs to cut up the potatoes and vegetables, someone needs to get some water from the well, and someone needs to start roasting the rabbit.”
“Rasmus, how do you feel about getting the water with me?” Miky asked him.
“Sounds good.” Together they got up and Miky grabbed the ceramic pot off the table.
“I guess I can cut the potatoes up,” Marcin groaned. “I don’t want to deal with that rabbit.”
“Fine,” Luka said. “Martin and I will figure out how this roasting spit is supposed to work.”
Rasmus followed Miky to the door, dreading the cold air that would be outside. He saw the basket on the table where Luka had left it and grabbed a blanket. He wrapped it around his shoulders like he had seen in old pictures though he felt a bit ridiculous.
“Nice jacket,” Miky commented as they left the cabin.
“You wish you had something as stylish as this.” The cold air nipped at his exposed nose and cheeks as they walked towards the well. He was grateful for the blanket that he could wrap his fingers in whereas Miky’s were exposed. The sun was setting and the trees around them cast long shadows. They rounded a corner on the thin trail that they were following and saw the well. It was out of a story book: a wooden bucket was attached to a rope with a wooden crank. Stones formed the base of the well and there was a wooden covering to make sure nothing got into the well. They took that off first and then Miky set the pot down on the stones and looked into the bucket.
“Well, here goes nothing,” he said as he threw the bucket down. They heard it splash into the water below and Rasmus grabbed the crank to bring it back up. It wasn’t that hard but Rasmus knew it would get annoying if he had to do this every time he needed water. Miky was the one to grab the rope when the bucket was high enough and they both looked down into the bucket. The water seemed clear enough and they locked eyes and shrugged. It took one bucket to almost fill up the pot and they decided that was good enough. Rasmus put the wooden well cover back on and left the bucket resting on it. Together they walked back to the cabin with the precious water.
Inside the cabin was a scene Rasmus was not sure he would ever see again. Marcin was at the table chopping their food while offering commentary on Luka and Martin’s adventure with the spit. They had managed to get the rabbit onto the iron rod but were debating just how it was meant to be hung in the fireplace. Luka had the booklet open and was pointing to a diagram while Martin stood there holding the rabbit on a spit.
“I see things are going well,” Miky said as he set down the pot.
“There is a place to hook both ends of the spit into the walls somewhere but I can’t see it,” Luka complained. “Also bring the dutch oven over here onto this bed of coals.” Rasmus picked up the oven and brought it over. They filled it with some of the water they had collected and then added the vegetables Marcin had cut. It seemed like boiling then mashing them together was a standard practice. When the last of the vegetables were in the oven they placed the lid on and carefully added some coals to the top with a small shovel. It would take ages to cook but they would have food.
“I found it!” Martin said. He carefully hooked the spit into the fireplace and then stepped back to admire his handiwork. “Roast rabbit over and open fire, at your service.” Luka made sure to put a ceramic plate under part of the rabbit to catch some drippings. Just like that the boys had managed to start dinner.
“Now I want to wash my hands.” Martin said looking down at them. “I don’t know what rabbits carry but I do not want to get sick.”
“I’ll help you.” Miky grabbed the soap and the pot of water and they went outside the cabin. No need to get the floor wet and muddy.
The next hour was more relaxed. They joked with each other and took turns rotating the rabbit around on the spit. Rasmus found it more fun than he expected to sit there in front of the fire with his friends. None of them had any idea on how to tell if the rabbit was done even after Luka had read to them some information about cooking meat over an open fire. Instead they took turns poking the rabbit with a knife to see what color of liquid came out.
The vegetables cooked quickly in the oven. Rasmus knew that coals were hot but he hadn’t realized just how hot. They transferred a little of the water and vegetables to a big bowl with a pat of butter at the bottom. Truthfully no one knew how much butter they would need, or salt, so as Martin mashed everything together with the one fork they had each of them took turns tasting it and adding commentary. Rasmus had hoped they could add some black pepper but Miky was against that. Pepper was too spicy for him somehow.
When it was satisfactory to pretty much everyone’s tastes They put the bowl on a log that Miky had brought in from outside. It was supposed to be for firewood but it made a great table the size of the bowl. Each of them had a spoon and a small ceramic mug of water. Marcin had gone and refilled their jug of water so they had enough for dinner.
They had slowly been eating their mash for a bit when Martin decided that the rabbit was done. Parts of it were blackened and Rasmus had to admit it smelled good. Carefully using tools Rasmus didn’t know the names of Martin and Luka got the rabbit onto a large plate. Luka then wrapped his hand in a thick cloth and grabbed the small plate with some drippings. They had tried their best to baste the rabbit while it cooked and now he poured the rest over the rabbit. Though Rasmus had heard somewhere you were supposed to let the meat rest before cutting into it no one was patient enough. Instead Martin brutally carved off steaming chunks onto the plate that they could take.
Overall Rasmus thought that the rabbit wasn’t bad. It was smokey from the fire and salt and pepper Martin had rubbed on it added more flavor. Still it didn’t beat the food he could get in Berlin. He was sure when he woke up this morning he hadn’t expected to be eating dinner like this with Miky, him and Luka on the bench and Marcin and Martin on logs of their own.
Truthfully there wasn’t much to do. Washing the dishes had required a few trips to the well to get enough water but after that chore was done there was nothing. They spent a few hours talking among themselves before some started to get ready for bed. Miky made sure to build up the fire so they had warmth for more of the night. Rasmus made a trip to the outhouse and was grateful he had a phone. The flashlight setting on that was a lot better than trying to keep a candle from blowing out.
It was late and he looked up at the stars as he walked back to the cabin, blanket wrapped tightly around him. There were so many of them dotting the sky out here in the wilderness. It was a pretty sight. His breath came in clouds and he smiled as he watched them drift away. Truthfully this hadn’t been nearly as bad as he had expected.
Inside the cabin Luka was taking up almost half the bed, sprawled out with a smug grin on his face.
“You are a greedy bastard,” Marcin told him as he poked him in the side.
Luka laughed his deep laugh, “I mean, yeah, it’s true.” He didn’t move.
“Move over.” Marcin had to push Luka to the edge of the bed and he maybe took a bit of pleasure in cramming his mid-laner against the wall. Martin joined them and honestly Rasmus didn’t see how they could get two more people on that bed.
“How is this supposed to work?” he asked.
“I think we have to alternate,” Miky stated, “three people with their heads on one side of the bed and two people with their heads on the other.”
“I am not sleeping with my face next to Marcin’s stinky feet!” Luka yelled.
“Like yours are any better!” Marcin grabbed the pillow he was using and tried to hit Luka with it. The two of them wrestled for a bit while flinging insults at the other. Rasmus decided to join in and he jumped over Martin to land beside his teammates.
“Both of your feet stink!” He yelled as he dove between them. Unfortunately his interruption not only got their attention but made them work together.
“Rasmus, your feet stink the worst.” Luka had managed to pin him to his chest. He sometimes forgot just how strong his mid-laner was. “Get him Marcin.” Marcin proceeded to hit him with the pillow.
“Guys, this is unfair!” he protested. Luka, Marcin, and Martin were all laughing.
“You should have thought of that before you joined them,” Martin teased.
Rasmus looked at Miky with pleading eyes but he knew his support wasn’t going to help. “Let go of me Luka!” Sure enough Luka did let go of him for a moment before wrapping his arms around him in a hug. He felt his hot breath by his ear.
“Rasmus,” he crooned, “wasn’t that fun?”
“Get off!” He pushed Luka away and moved to the other side of the bed. Miky sat down beside him and yawned.
“I think we should try to get some sleep. Heaven knows it won’t be easy.”
“Good idea. Miky, Rasmus, you take that side,” Martin stated. It took them a few moments to get situated and threats were passed back and forth about what would happen if one kicked the other. The bed was lumpy and not all that soft but Rasmus thought that things could be worse.
“Goodnight everyone,” Luka whispered.
“Goodnight,” the rest murmured.
Truthfully no one slept well that night. Between the close quarters, the scratchy wool blankets and clothing, and the lumpy mattress it was hard to sleep more than an hour at a time. At least with them so close together no one got cold as the temperature plummeted.
Rasmus’s nose was running as he woke up early the next morning. The fire had gone out sometime during the night and the air was cold. He tried to bury his face in the blanket and go back to sleep but that wasn’t happening. Judging from the snores around him some of his teammates were still sleeping. He watched Miky get up with a yawn, his hair all askew. The support shuffled over to his glasses using the faint light that came through the slats in the door and put them on before working on building a fire.
“Do you need help?” Rasmus whispered.
“Nah.” He was glad that Miky knew how to build fires. Even better was that he had taken on that job without a word. It gave the rest of them one less thing to worry about. Miky climbed back into bed complaining of the cold after he had started a new fire. He didn’t want to talk so Rasmus just lay there, thinking. He longed for his own bed at home most of all and hot water. What a marvel that was to get hot water whenever he wanted instead. He would never take a hot shower for granted again.
Rasmus sighed as his stomach grumbled loudly. He was hungry and needed to use the restroom but he didn’t want to leave the warm bed. Unfortunately his bodily functions became too strong to ignore. Quietly he moved out of bed and put on his sneakers. It was cold but luckily the fire Miky had made would quickly warm him when he was back.
Outside the ground was dusted in a thin layer of snow. He stuffed his hands into the pockets in his sweats and jogged to the outhouse. It was below freezing and he didn’t want to spend a moment out here longer than he had to.
Surprisingly his teammates were stirring when he got back. Luka had wandered over to the fire and Miky was sitting on the bed talking to Marcin.
“Can you guys shut up?” Martin groaned. He glared at them all before putting his pillow on top of his head.
“Did anyone sleep well?” he asked.
“No.” Luka especially looked rough with dark circles under his eyes.
Rasmus’s stomach decided then and there to growl loudly. He felt all his teammates look at him except for Martin.
“Come here,” Luka called to him. “Let’s figure out how to make these pancakes.”
Rasmus was in charge of mixing everything together as Luka read the instructions to him. Cracking the eggs into a bowl was the easiest part. He was thoroughly unimpressed with the tied bundle of sticks that Luka gave him to whisk it together. Dutifully he broke the yokes and mixed the eggs with some water before adding spoonfuls of flour. He figured it wouldn’t be so bad if he knew what the batter was supposed to look like. Not to mention salt was literally to taste. How can you know if it was enough? He added a few good pinches and hoped that was enough.
Miky had gathered a few coals from the fire and put them under an iron pan on stilts. They melted some butter to grease the pan and poured in the pancake batter. Watching the pancakes cook gave the tired boys something to do. Martin’s snores filled the tiny cabin along with the crackle of the fire. Their first few pancakes could barely be called that. Rasmus had tried to flip them too early and they had come apart into a mess. Luckily he was hungry enough to not care what they looked like. With some sugar sprinkled on top it wasn’t the worst. He had over salted the batter but it wasn’t that bad.
Marcin joined them and warmed his hands by the fire. “Don’t we have tea leaves?”
“Yes, they’re in the trunk,” Rasmus said with a smile. The blonde Pole rummaged in the trunk until he found what he was looking for. He sighed as he saw they didn’t have water left in the jug.
“I’ll go and get some water then make some tea. We need something halfway decent to wash down those pancakes you made.”
Soon enough Rasmus had a steaming mug of tea in his hands and he relished the warmth. It wasn’t so bad eating breakfast with his teammates and quietly talking about what they would do when they got back to civilization. Even Martin joined them eventually roused by the smell of cooking food.
After cleaning their dishes the boys had no idea what to do. It was mid-morning at best and a few more hours until Oliver got there. Marcin was the one who came up with the idea of telling tale tales from their home countries. Rasmus told the story of Hans, the Mermaid’s Son who was super strong and could eat a whole pot of porridge in one sitting. He made sure to act out Hans carrying his thick iron walking stick though he used the thin iron hook from by the fire. The trees Hans carried were instead bits of firewood and the gold tribute from purgatory was the rest of the potatoes in the chest. He was happy that his teammates were laughing and smiling at his story, even if they were laughing at him.
Marcin told an equally ridiculous tale about a prince who married a frog. The frog turned out to be a magical princess who turned herself into a duck and flew away. The poor prince had to track her down. Honestly, he thought, all the old tales were crazy.
Luka had just begun his tale when they all heard the rumbling of a car engine. They raced out of the cabin not caring for the cold and were created by the sight of Oliver and a van. Marcin threw his arms around Oliver as he was half out of the car.
“You’re that happy to see me, huh?” he said in his familiar Scottish accent.
“You have no idea. How could you leave us to fend for ourselves here!” Marcin cried.
“You all agreed to it. Maybe you need to pay more attention during our meetings.”
“Nah,” came Miky’s reply.
“Like that will happen,” Luka agreed.
They made sure the fire was out in the cabin before piling into the car. They were going home and nothing could be better.