CHAPTER ONEEarly in to your journey back, Judeth falls and cuts her shin on a sharp rock outcropping. You examine the wound – it is deep, approximately two inches long. You determine that there will no lasting damage, though it will need to be dressed to avoid further blood loss/complications before you resume your march. What do you do to dress the wound? Removing a leather strap from your armor, you fashion a tourniquet and tie it tightly around Judeth’s leg. You give her strict instructions to loosen it every 15-20 minutes to ensure there will be no lasting damage to her leg. You wrap Judeth’s scarf around her leg as a bandage to hopefully stem the bleeding. Using some small branches and leather straps, you also place her leg in a splint to avoid any further injury. The splint will severely limit your group’s travel speed but you are confident that Judeth’s injury is well attended. Judeth failed to loosen the tourniquet as you instructed, and it did its job too well. The local healer examined her injury after you return to Holden’s Roost and determined that your emergency technique caused nerve damage. For the rest of her life, Judeth will have a limited range of motion in her lower left leg. It takes all evening and night to reach Holden’s Roost. The children are hungry and suffering from exposure to the elements. Due to your strong constitution, you are relatively unharmed. You take them immediately to the local healer, who attends to them for the next few days. The healer informs you on the third day that they both will make a full recovery and Judeth’s cut is healing nicely, thanks to your emergency field medicine.CHAPTER TWOYour route to Holden’s Roost forces you to cross a large river – recent flooding has destroyed the primitive bridge locals used for hunting and light travel. The next closest bridge is 30 miles away. You take stock of your current provisions and know you don’t have enough food to safely make the journey. How do you choose to proceed? You take a closer look at the river. It is approximately 150 feet to the other side and the current is very strong. But it is only four feet deep. You feel that if you doff your armor and carry the children one at a time, you should be able to cross the river under your own power. Crossing the river six times (one extra to bring your armor) will be one of the most physically difficult tasks you’ve undertaken. As you think about what to do, Aren says, “Just because you don’t have enough food doesn’t mean we can’t find more.” Though an adventurer, you aren’t a ranger. Your survivalist’s training is limited to one word – survive. Yet, you recognize that finding additional resources is much easier and less dangerous than fording the river. Hoping you encounter recognizable and edible vegetation, your set fourth toward the bridge 30 miles north. The current is stronger than you imagined. You take your armor across first to keep the children safe if you should fail. You reach the other side, taxed but strangely confident. You’ve done it once – now it’s just a matter of determination. Five more times you cross the river, first retrieving Judeth, then Aren. And five more times you succeed. 15 miles in, your confidence is waning. But just 100 yards off the trail Aren finds a tree with bright, succulent pears. All three of you partake in the fruit and pick more to eat on the way. With the added sustenance, you are able to make it back to Holden’s Roost. It isn’t till you return to the village that you discover the fruit’s name – The Nocturnal Torment. For the next three weeks, your barely sleep as the fruit's poison fills your mind with terrible nightmares and psychological pain every time you try to rest. Though there are no long term effects, the images you see while under the fruit’s influence haunt your psyche for years.CHAPTER THREEYou are only three hours from Holden’s Roost when you hear it – the unmistakable howl of a wolf pack. They have picked up your scent and are closing in. What do you do? You guide the children to a nearby mud patch and instruct them to lie down and cover themselves in the thick brown substance. You do the same. With your scent hidden, you hope to hide there until the wolves give up and retreat to their den. You instruct the children to climb onto a large rock outcropping while you string your bow and ready your sword. Those wolves are going to wish they never crossed you. Your rouse fails to deceive the wolves. They quickly descend on your position and you are slow to react as the mud weighs you down. You unsheathe your sword and manage to hit the first wolf in the throat, but two others tear at your armor and bring you down. Their teeth find purchase in your leg as you draw a dagger and stab once, twice, three times. You’ve taken down the pack, but they have wounded you in return. Your journey home becomes more strenuous in your weakened state and it takes much longer to recover. You face the wolves as they stalk toward you. With your bow drawn, you release the first arrow and quickly nock another. The arrow sinks into the first wolf’s flank and it falls. The second projectile strikes true, in another wolf’s eye. Seeing his compatriots defeated, the last wolf snarls angrily before it retreats to safety. You gather the children and make haste toward town. Chapter One: From the Advisor's Perspective Often, the “set it and forget it” approach doesn’t work in real life. I see this most working with individuals regarding their life, long-term care, and disability insurance coverages or essential estate documents they should have in place. Field medicine, like good financial planning, isn’t accomplished in one easy step. It takes time, patience, and professional guidance to get the best results.Chapter One: From the Advisor's Perspective Kudos to you! You recognized there was a problem, one which you had very limited knowledge to resolve, and you did your best by making haste to a professional in that field. You will be a good father figure for the children of one lucky female elven priestess bride one day, Valendir. This problem wasn’t resolved immediately, and it slowed you down. But just like this scenario, good financial planning is an ongoing process. And, it most certainly is not a DIY process, so don’t be afraid to seek help when you know you are getting in over your head!Chapter Two: From the Advisor's Perspective As a fighter, Valendir, you are a known protector of many, and a brave and gallant individual. Knowing your strengths and your weaknesses is key in this part of the adventure, and your bold decision to personally get the children across the raging river paid off nicely. Sometimes, you don’t need the help of an expert, because you are the expert! Don’t doubt your own abilities when it comes to protecting your family or business interests if you have a fighter’s spirit within you. Congratulations on role playing your selected character in this adventure scenario perfectly!Chapter Two: From the Advisor's Perspective Sometimes, fear of the unknown creates self-doubt that causes us to make the wrong decision. As a fighter, you knew you could cross that river six times. But to play it safe, you decided not to be the hero you were meant to be this particular day. What a shame. It would have been a Bard’s Tale for the ages, “Valendir the Brave and the Raging Rapids of Certain Death!”, had you trusted in your own abilities on this occasion. Don’t let self-doubt cost you. We’re all good at certain things in life, and while we at Witten Financial have a team of professionals to assist you in many things, we most certainly will be the first to say that you’ve “got it."Chapter Three: From the Advisor's Perspective Did you fail out of the Ranger’s Academy and just want to be a Ranger anyway? (Also, are you SURE that was mud you were using to disguise yourself?) What are you doing, you’re a FIGHTER! Use those skills you’ve practiced to acquire and take home some nice wolf pelts to update your home décor. In the real world, I see this a lot working with entrepreneurs and individuals on protecting their assets. Unexpected things happen to everyone, often when you least expect it. It’s not a matter of if, but when. Preparing today by establishing ample savings helps you to face those bad situations with confidence.Chapter Three: From the Advisor's Perspective Feeling your oats, you take the challenge head-on, knowing that you had saved your strength and prepared for a day like this. And, while challenging, you best the beasts without too much of an effort. Most certainly, you OWN the area of protection, and know when it’s best to run or when to stand and fight. Well done, brave Valendir! Protection of your assets is all about preparation and anticipation of the unforeseen. Your life situation may not be standing toe-to-snout with a pack of wolves, but it may have similar consequences if you go in unprepared. An emergency fund, low debt, life, long-term care, and disability insurances along with proper estate planning all come together to help create a strong shield of protection around you and your family assets. Because it’s not a matter of if life happens, it’s truly a matter of when.Protecting oneself from the dangers of the world is difficult. It’s nigh on impossible to predict when misfortune will fall. At Witten Financial, we help our clients identify potential dangers in their financial lives and seek to negate those dangers wherever possible through prudent investment practice and insurance solutions. Contact Aaron TodayName Email Message Choose Your Character About Services Blog Contact
