Five of Diamonds

Keywords - Upright: fully provisioned, weight as tax  ·  Inverted: the load at the worst moment, supplies against speed

Upright

You have what you need. It's heavy, it costs, and it slows you down. The pack is both resource and burden.

Everything the road demands is on your back, and your back knows it. Provision is a success that costs by the mile: slower fords, shorter days, a body spent on carrying that cannot be spent on covering ground. You will eat tonight because of this weight. Both facts stay true the whole way.

Inverted

The mathematics of the load come due all at once. Somewhere the trail narrows, tilts, or floods, and the pack that has fed you becomes the thing deciding whether you cross. Drop it, cache it, or carry it through - each answer is a different journey from here, and the next draw is which one this is.

In Play

Upright. Doral shoulders a fortnight's provisions out of the trade post; the camp eats well, and his boots wear through a week early.

Inverted. At the scree crossing, the pack's swing pulls him a half-step wide - now it is the load or the ledge, and choosing is the draw.