"I can take midwatch on the schedule. No need for all my sleep in a row. "
As the hobgoblin goes from slave to master, Celebeth chimes in.
"Ah-ah," she says. "We still need to prioritize finding a fresh water source here. What if he gets sick?" she says, pointing a thumb at the hydrokinetic. "We can't hinge everyone's survival on one person."
"You're very welcome, Malothor. I'm glad you like it." At his demonstration of earth magic, Echo smiles brightly. "That will be helpful, indeed."
"Oh, wonderful, Celebeth! Your sword is beautiful."
"I can also create fresh water," Echo points out. "Once I get some barrels or jugs made everyone can use it at their leisure throughout the day. "
"I can take the first or the last shift," Aki states. "My eyes are good in the twilight. As for what to do, I'll go with the exploring group. We've got magic enough to survive for now, but we need backups, as you say," she nods at Celebeth, "And I at least don't intend to live here forever, which means figuring out where we are."
"We should eventually work toward that mountain," says Celebeth. "Best vantage point to look for any landmarks, ruins, lighthouses, clearings in the jungle, whatever."
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Pharithstilis listens wide-eyed to the conversation between his fellow castaways. He chimes in, "I think I can help us find water, and maybe some more fruit trees or whatever! All I need is to find an animal friendly enough to talk to. Which shouldn't be a problem, as most animals are nice, just not the hungry ones."
What an eclectic collection of skills we have," Echo muses aloud. "We're going to get through this." She nods. "I know we will."
"Well I still think we need to get started exploring. Best we start tomorrow. I think we need two teams, one to explore and one to watch the camp. The mountain seems like a fair goal. "
"The problem will be just how far from camp we'll have to go," Aki states. "Without any kind of portable shelter, we're right back where we started as soon as we leave the area. Any ideas on what we can do about that?"
"I feel like maybe we need to find a way to lay in some supplies - smoke some fish or something. Then we can make another camp ten miles from here and we can set up... I dunno, waypoints or something," suggests Celebeth.
Echo nods at Celebeth's suggestion.
"As tempting as it is to run off right away, we need to get prepared before that. We need tools, we need weapons, and we need enough food to allow for travel. Lets check out the surrounding area--hunt, explore and scavenge close to our shelter--while stockpiling and collecting what we need. Then we'll be prepared enough to head out further and set up another camp deeper into the jungle. Resupply, make sure we're ready, and proceed further."
She nods at Celebeth. "Like waypoints. And eventually we'll get there," Echo points at the mountain.
Malothor nods as Echo speaks.
"I too want to explore the island, but we need weapons and strength before we go too far from shelter."
"Right, so we need more before we travel. We can probably find materials here, but who knows how to make tools? I can work ropes but I'm not much of a whittler." Aki sighs, frustrated at just how out of her capabilities she was here. "I'll look around the area for anything else that's washed up, unless someone needs me to look for something in particular."
"I can make a boat, but weapons are beyond me. I mean, I guess I could cut a staff or club from a chunk of wood, but that's about it. I don't really use weapons myself. "
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Pharithstilis continues to listen to the conversation, giggling and laughing whenever Echo says something, but mostly stays quiet. At a point, his wide-eyed smile changes into a frown of consternation as he seems to be mulling something over. Suddenly he looks up and around the group gathered around the beachside campfire.
"I don't get it..." he begins, "You are all so nice! How come you all were on that ship. I mean it was full of slaves, and if you weren't slaves... How come you're workin' for slavers then? And you..." he points to Malothor, "You were there when the raided my home, you helped them tie me up! How could you do something like that?"
He doesn't seem to be angry, but confused, and, well, kinda hurt.
Echo smiles sadly at Pharithstilis, offering him a pat on the back.
"Not everyone was there to do harm. Some of us were there to try to help. To find someone, or to save someone. Maybe even to save everyone..." She trails off there, allowing each person to share whatever they're willing to.
"I was there to find someone who was taken a long time ago." she tells those who don't know. "I almost succeeded... but..." she shrugs. "I didn't. And here we are."
"Actually we were going to stage a revolt on the ship, but so much for that. Likely would have worked, as I've done it before. "
Aki hesitates, then chuckles with a slight shake of her head. "All I can say is, the gods must have been smiling on us for mostly just us abolitionists to wash up here."
She relaxes slightly, and her voice picks up a slight Tien accent as she stops bothering so hard with keeping up appearances. "I wasn't sure about everyone, but I knew most of us who washed up here weren't actually slavers. Now I'm sure of all of us. Even Malothor."
She looks at the hobgoblin. "You were the next worst thing to a slave yourself, weren't you? That's why you were cringing so much when we first washed up, wasn't it?"
Malothor hides his head when Pharithstilis questions his role in his abduction, seeming to fade away and disavow himself from his actions. He just stands there staring at the sand, and finally responds,
"You speak the truth. I am a Bloodhound... That is what I am trained to do. I am not proud of my deeds...", he pauses, reflecting on his words, "I am not being honest. I am good at what I do, and that kept me alive, fed and valuable. I am... no, WAS... a slave and did what I had to do to stay alive. Your question implies I had a choice. Maybe I did, but I chose to stay alive vs. letting you live free."
He looks at the 'abolitionists', "You chose to try and free one, two or maybe all of us. That is a noble cause. That is a cause I can rally around and pledge myself to. With allies like you it is not a dream nor a wish. It can be REAL."
"Well the two of you are free, but if anyone's to thank for that it's Gozreh, not us," Aki points out, ruefully. "And we're going to have to get back to do anything about any other slaves... which brings us back to what we were discussing. Malothor, you seem to have the most experience with living out in the wild like this. What do you think our priorities should be for preparing to travel?"
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Pharithstilis listens thoughtfully to his newfound companions, especially to Malothor, for whom he forms a sense of compassion and understanding. He falls silent again as he struggles to navigate all the confusing emotional content. He is well aware of how strong emotions can cause him to act strangely, and indeed, a random anxious giggle escapes him now and then. He returns to arranging seashells as a means of sorting himself out and calming down.
He at least knows now that all of his companions are trustworthy and he can feel safe knowing that they are all looking out for each other. When he's calm again, he continues to think of ways to help out the group.
Malothor feels a strange sense of pride at being asked for his opinion. He ponders Aki's question then says, "As Echo mentioned we need a base from which we can explore. Let's complete the shelter, build a few weapons for hunting and protection, complete salvaging any useful items from the wreck, and build our stockpiles of food and water. Then we explore beyond this beach area."
He speaks with confidence and determination, which you had not seen before.
"I can go hunting everyday for food, but then will have no time for a few other things I would like to do. I need a bow and arrows. I know how to make these, but need to dedicate time. Anyone else want to take up hunting/gathering duties, so I can spend a few hours each day on a bow."
Aki laughs. "I don't think you'd want to count on me hunting!"
She pauses just a moment as it occurs to her that the killing part of her former occupation could be called hunting people. She pushes the thought aside and continues, "If you can tell me what to look for I can try to find some things, though. There's nothing special about my eyes by they work well enough."
"If no one else can hunt, I can. Malothor and I can switch off half-way through the day." She turns to the Nathan and Celebeth to see if either of them can hunt.
"Only thing I've ever hunted was slavers, and that's really not the same thing. I have no idea how to track things or even what I'm supposed to eat, unless it is on a plate or in a bowl. "
"I know a bit about foraging in the wild. I also know how to make bows and arrows." Celebeth shrugs noncommittally.
Echo lets that thread of conversation go for now, deciding that Celebeth needs time to think on it.
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As it begins to get late Echo sings for a while, as mentioned above, and then turns in for the night.
She tosses and turns in her sleep, calling out for someone called Sara. She wakes easily when wakes her, but her face is damp and her eyes are red. It's obvious she's been crying in her sleep.
As Celebeth can make bows and arrows,
"Celebeth, it is probably best then that I continue hunting. Please make me a longbow and some arrows. I will look for a young sapling to make the bow, and pieces of horn and sinew to give it flexibility. Maybe the crab shells can be used in place of horn..."
He seems to get pretty excited designing and brainstorming ideas to make a composite longbow. He will be on the lookout for crafting materials while he hunts the next day.
"I'll help out. Another pair of eyes can't hurt," Aki volunteers.
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Day 3 activities: Pharithstilis will join the hunting crew and aid as best he can. He will use his ability to speak with animals to ask any friendly enough wildlife (birds, monkeys?) where the best fruit trees are, and his knowledge of plants to find others that are palatable or otherwise useful (herbs, nuts, root vegetables, etc.) He tries to stick close to the others but occasionally becomes fascinated by a bright flower or strange bug.
If they come across a tall fruit tree, he can use mage hand to help pluck the fruit.
"All right, I can make a longbow, though it will take a while."
The second night passes mostly uneventfully, except in the early morning while Malothor is on watch, the jungle comes alive with sound. Birds squawking, monkeys howling, something barking. It is unbelievably loud, and carries on for about 10 minutes. Suddenly, it just goes quiet.
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Echo wakes the next day quiet and serious. She heads over to the pile of debris and materials that they have collected so far, and begins picking through it for any usable containers--bowls, cup, barrels, buckets, plates. She also collects any objects that could easily be converted for such purposes. Finally, if she sees any objects that could serve as clubs (a broken chair leg, solid tree branch, etc.) she collects them as well. Once she has a pile of stuff to work on, Echo gets to work on the easiest things to repair/modify first.
When the hunters come back with food around lunchtime, Echo takes a break to cook the food up.
After lunch, Echo uses the afternoon for proper crafting, making a wooden canteen.
When all the noise from the jungle erupts, Malothor tries to pinpoint the area of the disruption by tracing the flight of some of the squawking birds. He also grabs a club from the wooden debris and readies himself if anything comes out of the jungle.
In the morning he will tell the group, "I want to explore the source of the noise from last night. I think it was a predator hunting pretty close to us, and I want to search the location for tracks or animal blood, to confirm my suspicions and try and determine what type of creature is lurking here. I think we need to focus on crafting weapons, probably simpler weapons than a bow for now just to have something to defend ourselves.". He lifts the club that he picked up last night, "Echo could you please make a few of these?"
He will then ask for 1 or 2 team members to join him.
Will cast Deadeye's Lore
"I agree with Mal here. Best to take the initiative and see what that was. "
Nathan isn't worth anything making weapons, and will mostly stand guard during the day or create water as needed.
"Agreed," Echo replies. "I'll see what I can find."
Aki wakes swiftly when the noise starts, a wakizashi in her hand almost before she is conscious. She listens tensely until the sound stops, then waits for a while. When nothing further happens she goes back to sleep.
****
"I do have a couple of spare daggers if someone needs to borrow them," Aki offers in the morning when discussion of weapons comes around. "I'll come along with you, Malothor. It sounds like you might need backup."
You rather easily find the location of the ruckus in the light of day, with so many of the group knowledgeable on topics of nature and tracking.
You find a clearing, and scattered around the ground are hundreds of skeletons of birds, small mammals, and even a human. Many look freshly cleaned, other appear old and brittle, like they have been there a long time.
Parithstilis finds a nearby monkey who he manages to convince to talk to him.
"Who you? Why in my trees?"
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Always excited when this spell works, Pharithstilis speaks quickly to the agreeable monkey, "My name is Pharithstilis, and they are my new friends Malothor and Aki. I apologize if these are your trees, but we came to this island by accident, and we were tryin' to find out what all the noise was last night." He gestures to the clearing and all the bones, "What happened here?"
"Black cloud... always hungry when it comes... no creatures safe. None who get touched survive black cloud."
Malothor listens with increasing fear to the description of 'Black Cloud' and wonders what type of creature can cause such devastation.
He continues to listen to the translated conversation between the gnome and monkey, while he looks for more clues to the nature of the beast: tracks, odors, bite marks on bones, etc.