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Luetin chuckles. "Feisty, girl! I like that!"
Anya mutters something in Shoanti that defies translation.
Simon is certain that Anya is capable of taking care of herself. However, the exchange is happening too soon after Simon compared Anya to his mother.
Memories of the jeers, comments, and worse that he was all too often a silent witness to surface and bubble over. A real snarl washes over his face as his color turns a disturbing shade of red. "No means no, Lutien. You'd best moderate your tone and direct your attentions where they are desired."
"Oh, yeah? And what if I don't?" Luetin squares his shoulders and steps up to Simon, getting in his face. The smith is a match for the half-orc's height. "Are you going to do something about it? This is a conversation between adults. Boys should stay out of it."
His breath smells like smoke, and his teeth are stained yellow.
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"I may be young, but I know how to treat others with respect.
Bullies can't be tolerated in a town this small. Surely I am not the only one to see that. Moderate your attitude or this town may soon be requisitioning a new smith."
Simon's instinct is screaming for him to back down. The weak must make way for the strong. For the benefit of the whole tribe. He can hear his mother's words, but is gripped by a different emotion now.
He only hopes that someone else will join in and show their support. Violence is not going to help, but he is prepared to defend himself.
Ema finished dressing and and walked backwards away from her companion as she said, "Oh I certainly will let you know." She brought one hand to her mouth, kissed it, and blew it at him, "Until next time teehee." She turned and made her way back towards town doing her best to clean any debris out of her long hair and straighten it down. Despite her best efforts she still looked thoroughly mussed as she passed the guards and gave them an impish smile as they looked at her in her freshly mussed state. "Hi boys, see anything interesting?"
The crowd gives Luetin and Simon a wide berth as they stare each other down. After several tense moments, Ramona steps forward. "What's all the commotion about? Luetin, is there a problem here?"
Luetin huffs and shifts his gaze to the bard. "No problem at all. Just having a friendly chat." He grins and looks back at Simon. "Hate to cut things short, but I've got work to do. We'll talk later." He turns his back and walks off towards the smithy.
Anya lays a hand on Simon's shoulder. "Thank you. In future, I can handle smelly man on my own."
----
The guards smirk at Ema but say nothing, though their eyes follow her swaying hips as she walks past them and into the palisade. She comes upon the scene as Luetin walks away, seeing Anya beside Simon and Ramona with a furrowed brow nearby.
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As the situation dissolves and Simon's anger cools, he finds that his legs are getting extremely wobbly.
When Anya touches his shoulder, it is all he can do to keep himself standing.
"What? Who? Take care of yourself? Of course, never crossed my mind that you couldn't."
Simon gives her a puzzled look as if he is not really sure what she is talking about.
"Yes, well, I think that.. need... sit..."
Simon quietly staggers off in the opposite direction until he finds a quiet section of town, then slumps against a wall and lets himself slide slowly to the ground, his head hanging between his knees.
Smiling at the guards in amusement, knowing they watched her move, Ema entered the palisade and saw...whatever had been happening. She Approached Ramona as she saw Simon walk away and asked, "What did I miss Ramona?" She stopped and cocked one hip, placing her hand on it, as she finished, "Anything interesting?"
"I think Luetin and Simon were having a bit of a tiff," Ramona says, looking after the half-orc with concern. "Luetin has a rather abrasive personality. Unfortunately, with the first colonists gone, he's the only blacksmith we've got right now, so we have to put up with him."
"He is all bark, no bite," Anya says dismissively. "He think he is big man, but he doesn't know how to talk to women."
The Shoanti looks across the courtyard, to where Harcourt Carrolby is carrying a bundle of laundry in his arms. "Now that is real man. He talks as pretty as he looks. The things I would do to him... I would break him like stallion."
"Anya!" Ramona cries, blushing. "I'm not sure if this is an appropriate conversation to be having."
Emalliandra smiled naughtily at Anya and said, "Teehee, now that could be fun." She moved up close behind Anya and leaned in to say quietly, "Let em know if you want some help." She looked at where Simon went and wondered if she should go follow him or not. Deciding that Simon might need some space she turned to look at Ramona said, "Such a pretty shade of red Ramona, surely you..." She thought she realized what the woman's blush was about and tittered again but said nothing more.
Ramona squares her shoulders. "I am the leader of this colony. It's my duty to ensure everybody gets along and works together. People look to me for guidance. It would be inappropriate to harbor feelings towards any of my charges." The slight blush remains.
Meanwhile, Lyra walks by Simon and sees him slumped against the wall. The half-elf leans over to peer at him. "Hey man, you okay?"
Ema found the thought interesting and moved over to Ramona then, "Ah, but how can you make sure they get along and work together if you don't harbor feelings for them." She reached out to lay a hand on Ramona's shoulder, "How can they look to you for guidance if you don't care for them." She leaned in closely and spoke very quietly, "How can you lead the colony but not help with the important task of making babies? Teehee."
"B-babies?!?" Ramona starts, quickly taking a step away from Ema. "Of course, that is a consideration for the future. A long time in the future. Perhaps we should focus on keeping everybody fed and safe before we start thinking about procreation."
"Teehee, you're cute when you're flustered Ramona." Ema sighed and said, "You're right though." She gestured around the place, "There is a lot to be done still." Deciding she'd teased the mayor enough Ema asked, "So, what else needs to be done to get things in order?"
Ramona clears her throat and regains her composure. "Well, we still need to increase our supplies of food. Anya's going to organize a hunt to help get more meat, and the farmers are making sure the crops are in order. Then we'll need to finish scouting the area around the colony for natural resources. Good sources of lumber and stone are essential to build more houses so that everybody has a comfortable living space. Plus, we have to be sure there aren't any more threats like the grindylows lurking nearby."
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Simon startles a bit when Lyra speaks to him.
"Sorry, I didn't hear you coming.
I'll be fine. Just some let down from the adrenaline. A bit of emotional baggage too, I guess.
Just needed to get off my feet for a minute.
You're welcome to sit with me, but maybe we could talk about other things for right now."
"Speaking of food," Kip called down from atop the massive turtle, "how about some of you help me carve this thing up so we can start cooking!"
"Sure," Lyra says, sitting down beside Simon. She is quiet for a while, then clears her throat. "So, uh, brew any good potions lately?"
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"Yes, frog man!" Anya calls. She prepares her butcher knives and hands one to Kip.
"It's just distilled wine. Shouldn't be too hard to make. I wish we'd brought a Caydenite cleric with us to teach us how to do it properly, but I bet we could figure it out." Lyra smiles.
As the turtle was being butchered, Kip started distributing it to volunteers. Some of it went to be preserved for later use, but a good amount went to volunteers for the night's festivities. Kip suggested a cooking competition, where contestants could compete for the best turtle-based recipe. Naturally, Kip set aside a bit of meat for his own recipe, Blacklake Bog Chili.
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"Is that all? That is simplicity itself.
Although it does require us to make our own wine. That takes months, I think.
Plus, it is probably not a good use of our fruit while the settlement is still starting out. We might be better off starting with whiskey once the harvest starts coming in.
I'll bet Alba or one of the farmers probably has a good recipe already."
Simon takes a deep breath and stands up.
"Thanks, Lyra. I feel better now, though the thought of going to Kip's party has no interest for me right now.
I think I am going to go stick my toes in the sand and watch the sun set. You are welcome to join me, but I'll take no offense if you'd rather join the celebrations."
"Thanks for the invitation, but I think I'll give you some time to work through things on your own. See you around!" Lyra smiles and leaves Simon to his thoughts.
The cooking contest is a big hit, with a dozen of the colonists submitting various turtle-themed entries. In the end, Kip's chili proves to be the favorite, and the grippli is declared the winner!
The rest of the night passes with light music and pleasant conversation, and in the morning, you wake ready to face the next day.
Victrix eventually passes out next to Antona, exhausted and happy...
------------------
Ema nodded in acceptance of the Mayor's words of what there was to do and said, "Alright, we'll figure out our next move in the morning." With that she headed off and joined in the festivities that rose up around the turtle recipes.
As the next morning rolled around Ema awoke with a stretch and retrieved her spellbook before sitting down to study. After an hour or so she rose, put her book away, and went out to greet the day. She knew they needed to chose a new task and she eventually rounded up the others and asked, "So, what are we going to do today?" She held up one hand and said, "On one side we have a boar hunt with Anya," she held up the other, "On the other we can go look for darkwood trees." She smiled in amusement as she finished, "Which will it be?"
"I reckon I'd be up fer a good boar hunt. Of course, yeh might need my strong back ta get some darkwood back 'ere, so I'm fine either way."
"Anyone think we oughta build a tavern 'ere once we've got the supplies?"
Deciding to spend the day searching for natural resources, you head north into the island's interior. You pass through some thick forest and climb in elevation a bit. Pines and moss-covered oaks share space with magnolias and pecan trees, and several mango and papaya trees bear fruit. You don't see any darkwood trees, though, so you keep on traveling.
After a few hours, the trees thin out around a field of shattered stones and fragments. Toppled marble columns jut haphazardly from the ground and are partially covered with moss. These rocks are the only evidence that buildings once stood here, but the passage of thousands of years has left little but their broken stone skeletons. One remnant remains incongruous with the ruins: a circular marble dais carved from a distinctly lustrous pinkish stone, perfectly preserved but surrounded by a crumbled stone rotunda that has not weathered the ages nearly as well.
The dais radiates strong auras of transmutation and illusion magic.
You carefully approach the dais, but are still caught by surprise when four monkey goblins emerge from their hiding spots behind piles of rubble! They screech and hurl daggers in your direction! Two sink into Simon's side, and a third sails harmlessly past Kip. The fourth though stabs Ema in the chest, a critical wound!
Kip was shocked by the sudden attack, but moved quickly at the sight of blood. He conjured a quick splash of healing waters for Simon, and retrieved his potion to hand to Ema.
Once the initial surprise has worn off, Victrix leaps into action and tries to ram her spear through the nearest goblin!
Ema was intrigued by the dais, and was about to examine it magically, when the attack occurred. She gave a cry of pain as the dagger stabbed deeply into her body leaving a jagged wound. Ema accepted the potion that was handed to her and quickly drank it before trying to move away from the attackers and into cover.
Kip heals Simon before handing a potion to Ema. The arcanist drinks it and runs for cover behind a nearby chunk of stone.
Victrix runs up to.a pair of goblins and tries to stab one, but it dodges her strike.
The goblins retaliate, drawing spears and stabbing at Victrix. The other two move in to try to take Simon down. Fortunately, none of them hit!
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Simon is so absorbed in examining the dais that he has been hit multiple times and healed before he even reacts to the new threat.
Belatedly, he yells a warning to the rest of the party to beware the monkey goblins. Then, realizing everyone else is already acting, tries to do something helpful himself.
Move: Draw Longsword
Try to 5-foot step into a non-threatened space
Drink Elixir of Shield (20 AC for 2 minutes)
Safely under some cover for now Ema focused and called up a gate behind the goblin Victrix tried to stab. With a snarl the celestial dog she has called so often charged out and bit at the goblin, it's teeth wreathed is divine light.
Kip remained by Ema's side, ready to stab any goblin that was foolish enough to try to attack the unarmored arcanist.
Victrix twirls her spear and stabs at another monkey goblin, hoping to land a hit!
Simon backs away from the goblins attacking him. He drinks one of his extracts, and a shield of force springs into existence in front of him.
Kip hops over to Ema and stands with rapier ready to defend her. The arcanist calls forth a celestial dog that chomps down on one of the goblins attacking Victrix.
As it screeches in pain, the barbarian takes advantage of the opening it, driving her spear through its chest and dropping the goblin!
The two goblins circle around to flank Simon, and while his shield deflects one spear, the other scores a devastating hit that leaves the half-orc crippled and bleeding! The other goblin hoots in rage as he glares daggers at his most hated foe--a dog! He stabs the dog with his spear.
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The goblin circles around Simon and stabs him right through the back. The other goblin, seeing the blade poke through Simon's front starts to laugh with glee, but Simon refuses to give in.
A surge of adrenaline steadies Simon's legs, and he lets out a ferocious yell at the laughing goblin.
Internally, Simon's orc heritage is having a battle with his human heritage. The orc wants to lash out with his final breath, spattering goblin blood all over the dais. Meanwhile, the human side wants to be healed. Pssst.. Orc side, if we heal up, we can keep fighting to kill ALL of the goblins..., With a terrible grin, Simon cracks the seal on one of his vials.
5-foot step out of flanking position and attempt to take an elixir of CLW.
If I survive the AoOs:
The goblin tries to stab Simon again as he drinks his elixir, but this time the shield holds firm, allowing the half-orc to heal some of his grievous injuries.
Ema gasped in fear when she saw Simon get so badly injured and nearly cheered when he survived. When she heard her dog yelp in pain though she became angry. "Hey you little green sack of s!*%! Leave my pooch alone!" She chanted a few words and reached out to dab a little shining ichor on her forehead causing her wounds to heal slightly.
At the same time the dog went after one of Simon's attackers, flanking the half-orc, and tearing at the goblin between them. For whatever reason the goblin was caught completely offguard by the attack, likely he was too focused and never knew a dread dog, let alone a celestial one, was nearby and left himself wide open to her attack letting her tear a huge chunk from his side.
With Ema apparently safe for now, Kip joined the battle and zipped in to flank a goblin.
Kip moves back to Simon's side to join the battle. He stabs at the goblin next to the half-orc, plunging his blade into the goblin's side.
Ema casts a spell to heal her wounds as she commands the dog to help Simon. The goblin attacking it tries to stab it as it runs away, but the dog dodges the attack and leaps upon the goblin Kip injured. The celestial hound's jaws tear out the goblin's throat, and it gurgles and falls!
Victrix tries to stab the goblin near her, but it dodges her thrust.
That goblin turns back to her and stabs out with its own spear, but misses as well. Meanwhile, the goblin near Simon attacks the dog. His spear stabs into the canine's side, and the animal vanishes with a puff of smoke.
Kip and Simon attacked the goblin in concert. As Simon's swing came in high to the goblin's head, Kip darted low at the goblin's knees.
,
Victrix stabs again!
Simon circles around behind the other goblin to flank with Kip. He attacks high, and the goblin ducks under his swing. However, Kip goes low and stabs the goblin's leg, leaving behind a light scratch.
Victrix stabs again, this time impaling the goblin and leaving it critically wounded! Ema hurls a glob of acid at it, the sizzling projectile burning it just enough to finish it off! It screams and falls to the ground.
The sole remaining goblin hoots angrily and turns to run away, withdrawing from the fight as it runs towards the safety of the forest, ducking behind some rubble for cover!