A Cartographer’s Journal - Part 1: The Arrival
November 19th, 2015
In just a few days, I’ll be headed for the infamous Great Bear Island. I first read about the tragedy that occurred there roughly a year ago in the news, and then in practically every article that followed. They called it The Great Collapse. It’s strange to think that what was once a thriving community is now a desolate wasteland…a kind of contained apocalypse.
Apparently, some people chose to stay behind and were never heard from again. Others tried to escape by traditional sailboats after the geomagnetic activity made aircraft and rescue vessels useless. Many of them never made it. Computers failed. Engines died. The island simply became unreachable.
It’s been over a year since the “Collapse”, and we’ve been informed that any signs of geomagnetic activity have gone silent. I have my doubts. Still, they’ve reassured us repeatedly that there’s nothing to worry about — and honestly, the pay is too good to pass up right now.
I was hired by Northern Resource Group, a multi-million-dollar corporation, that deals with government contracts regarding environmental assessments, decommissioning old sites, and remediation consulting. I don’t know all of the details of their inner dealings, but this is what I’m told.
The job I’ve been hired for is not necessarily in their wheelhouse but it’s a venture that could turn into a decent investment if all goes according to plan. There’s documentation of an abandoned gold mine in the Blackrock region that their shareholders want to claim and they need an experienced team to scout it out, confirm its existence, and prove it’s of value to establish a mining operation.
To set the record straight, they didn’t hire me for being a well renowned cartographer. I had just started interning with Meridian, a provincial survey office, which happens to be partnered with NRG. I was tasked with producing topographic maps based on outdated legacy versions which were riddled with incomplete satellite imagery and countless survey errors. It was definitely a challenge but I was doing quite well for myself in spite of all the constraints. Word must have spread and seeing that I was an intern they figured I’d be cheap. So after some minor negotiations, I’m their official navigator. :)
It should be simple. Find the location of the mine, get confirmation of any precious metals, and we’re out of there. Easy.
As I was about to pack my journal up, a letter from Emily slipped out from the back pocket. I probably wasn’t supposed to find this til my arrival on Great Bear. I’m so thankful for her.
Sean,
I’m so proud of you. Be safe. Be warm. And remember you’re loved every single step of the way. I’ll be right here waiting for you.
-Emily xoxo
Emily and I are so close to securing enough funds to get out of the apartment and finally be in a place to where we can start a family. So despite my reservations, this job is going to change our lives for the better. I’m doing this for us. I’m really going to miss not being with her for Thanksgiving this year but I should be in and out in a couple of weeks…three tops. Just in time for Christmas! I’m sure Rocky will keep her company. With the amount of ball he wants to play and walks he looks forward to, I’m sure she’ll barely have enough time to miss me.
I’m all packed up and ready to head out. Flight takes off in a couple hours. Here goes nothing.
November 21st, 2015
Spent the last couple of nights at the Jackrabbit Remote Transport hangar which is on the mainland adjacent to Great Bear. I’m sure at one point it was considered a haven back in its glory days, only to be forgotten like some relic in a museum. Thankfully there’s been coffee and blankets to keep us warm as well as some instant oatmeal and other snacks in the back pantry. The cots that were laid out are extremely stiff. If the floor weren’t so cold, it might be the more comfortable option. I knew this wasn’t going to be a vacation but I assumed we’d at least be staying at a motel or somewhere with better accommodations before we were forced to rough it out in the wilderness. Clearly, I was wrong. I’m sure I’ll consider this a luxury after spending some time on the island. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet the rest of the crew and after hearing about their backgrounds and experience I’m definitely feeling a bit more relieved knowing I’ll be in good hands. We’ve had a lot of time to just sit around with our own thoughts as it didn’t take long to go over the objectives and protocols. I went through the satellite images that were provided as well as made notes on the topographical maps for reference. Everyone seems to be up to speed. I hope they don’t mind that I spent a copious amount of time sketching them here in my journal.
I’d be lying if I wasn’t nervous and feeling a bit overwhelmed. Not only is it my job to point them in the right direction to acquire their resources, I must also ensure that they get there efficiently to keep costs down. It almost feels like I’m the key player to an extent and the other crew members are there to make sure I don’t get myself killed…which I’m certain I probably would without the proper support.
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We’ll be taking a Bell412EP chopper to the island. It definitely feels legitimate as it’s used for proper search and rescue. We were however told to keep our packs to around 65lbs each. Too much of a payload and the rig wouldn’t be able to get us there and back. I’m guessing we’re relying on Victor and the other military guys to hunt for most of our provisions. Hope I end up liking deer and rabbit. Never had it before.
I also hope the wildlife is still abundant. I imagine if we run out of resources, we’ll have to cut the mission short and return at a later date. I’m sure NRG would love that.
We’ll be landing at the airfield located in Lower Great Bear and then make our way to Blackrock on foot setting up camp along the way. Based on the satellite images we actually might be able to camp indoors for most of the trip which is a relief.
Time to get some rest. Big day tomorrow.
November 23rd, 2015
Sean,
Today is Thursday, Nov 23rd. Sun is about to come up so I’m heading back out to try and search for the others. I’ve left you a few things that I found around the area. Use the food sparingly. Boil snow for water if you need more. I wasn’t able to find the maps or our equipment. When you’re in better condition, we’ll head out and try to find the crash site. Stay put and rest. I’ll be back in a couple of days.
-Alan
November 25th, 2015
I don’t know how I got here and I’ m not even sure where I am exactly. All I remember is the chopper’s systems going haywire once we were over Great Bear and Casey lost complete control. We went from skyline to treeline within seconds and I was almost certain we were dead. Casey seemed to stay calm and silent the entire time. I think it was the only thing that kept me from losing my shit.
You hear people talk about their life flashing before their eyes but all I could think about was not dying. I barely had time to breathe let alone reminisce about the past. Once we hit the side of the mountain, I nearly blacked out. I could feel us spiraling out of control, someone grab me, and then my body free falling out of the sky. I don’t remember hitting the ground but I have some faint memories of seeing sky, crows flying overhead, and the feeling of being dragged…I could hear Alan’s voice calling for me to wake up but I was too weak to speak or open my eyes. I’m pretty sure I woke up later inside of a building, snuggled up in a sleeping bag. In the complete darkness, I could hear the echoes of cursing from Alan below me. Being sheltered and hearing Alan allowed my mind and body to fall back asleep and continue to rest.
I don’t know how many days I’ve been out but my best guess it’s been two days since I heard Alan leave. I haven’t heard him come back yet. That was the 23rd according to his note. He should be coming back today to check on me. Hopefully he returns with the others.
Shit. Please Alan. Please come back.
A Word From the Writer
If you’ve gotten this far, thank you for reading through the first entry of my narrative play-through of The Long Dark: A Cartographer’s Journal! I truly appreciate your time and I hope you enjoyed it. I have such a soft spot in my heart for this game and I adore the world that Hinterland has created. The Long Dark is, by far, my favorite survival game to this day.
For those of you who know nothing about The Long Dark, I’ll do my best to summarize it for you. The Long Dark is a single player, first person survival game set in the frozen Canadian wilderness after a geomagnetic disaster. In Survival mode, the player’s goal is to survive for as long as possible utilizing everything they can by crafting, foraging, scavenging, and hunting within the world of Great Bear Island. The player must also manage body temperature, calorie levels, hunger, inventory, and fatigue. If the player is unable to succeed in these tasks they will eventually die which is permanent. This not only ends the run entirely, but forces the player to start over from scratch on Day 1. Yes, I know…brutal.
Back in May of 2022, I created a Long Dark narrative series on YouTube that was very similar to the series you’re about to embark on with cartographer Sean Maguire. If you’re interested in checking it out, you can watch it here!
It’s been a long while since I’ve done something like this but my creative itch has become unbearable and I felt it was time to hop back on the saddle and give writing a try. Video creation isn’t in the cards for me right now as it takes a lot more energy and time which I don’t have much of these days with my family, work, and a house to maintain. I hope this will suffice!
With that said, the play-through itself will be completely unscripted as the story will write itself as my gaming sessions unfold. From there, I will do my best to piece together a story for you, the readers, to enjoy. So you will know as much as I do when it comes to where Sean’s adventure will eventually lead him.
I will be playing on Voyager settings (normal
Difficulty) as it will give me a better chance of seeing this story to the end. But even then nothing is for certain. This run is ideally going to be my “everything” run (if I can help it). It’s the reason why I chose my character to be a cartographer. Not only is there an in game achievement for mapping all of great bear but it will force me to learn every region in the game which I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time. I’ve decided to spawn my character in Broken Railroad as it’s close enough to the airfield where the team had planned on landing but also far enough away to have things start slowly.
I’m extremely excited to get this play-through underway and I’d love to hear your feedback on the adventure as we go along.
