Vallen shrugs his shoulders, rubbing his tired arms in circles to try and relieve the pain. "I'm fine either way, but I have a suspicion they are going to find us tonight, and they may want to speak to us. I suppose we don't have to go out of our way to attract their attention though."
He sighs, nodding at Cueta. "Aye, I'm ready to get back to Newspring and have a hot meal for the first time in a week. Some rabbit and boiled tubers would liven my pallet about now. Ah, and then I can get to work on the forge, what a glorious sight that will be!"
"Aye, indeed! The secret to any tuber, as Deeshka has told me, is not to boil them though - you roast them in a covered pan, with a little Katapeshi palm oil and seasoning, slow and low, and it brings out the carmelization of the sugars in the tubers, turning them into lovely sweet little things... which, I suppose, given what I know about the dwarven palate probably sounds horrible to you actually. Still, the point stands. A hot meal sounds like the greatest thing in this world right now - I've had my fill of eel jerky and groundnuts."
Day 18
It seems that there is little point to the debate, as the night passes on Bugbear Beach quietly, with no signs of any activity.
In Newspring, the foraging parties range further than before, and bring back less. Walton and Sai go out fishing, and while they do not come back entirely empty-handed, they are determined that there are better spots out there somewhere.
Kal'Tos wakes stiff from two days of rowing and constantly getting sentry shifts in the middle of the night.
Fort check
Vallen is slightly surprised they were not contacted in the night by the bugbears- either they didn't notice the group, or they simply have some kind of tenuous pact at the moment.
He prepares himself for another day of long rowing, his muscles aching from the previous day. Conducting his morning prayers, he passes out blessed nuts and wonders if there is even any food left in Newspring. The dwarf sighs and stuffs another handful of blessed nuts in his mouth.
Cueta wakes and while morning prayers and meditations are going on, the Mwangi woman goes into the treeline, and finding a Bird's Wing Tree, she gathers some of the seeds in their casings, which vaguely resemble feathered bird's wings, down to the joint. Then, taking her stone axe, Cueta removes a small branch, and taking the seeds and the branch back to the camp, sits down next to the Lady Kralish and Melilla.
Smiling faintly at her repeating of the womens' words from yesterday, the Ijo says, "It is obvious that you two have some sort of... bond. If you are going survive here, you'll need to stick together."
Holding out the Bird's Wing seed casings, and branch, Cueta begins her lesson. "This is a branch off a Bird's Wing Tree. Notice the three-tipped pointed leaf, and the patterns that run down the bark. These are its seed casings. We had these trees in the northern reaches of the Shackles, but they were always stunted, wilted things - I think they do better in moderate climates like where we are now. At any rate, they grow by water - salt or fresh - the trees don't seem to care. Every spring, the Bird's Wing Tree drops these casings, by the hundreds, because inside the casing is a baby Bird's Wing tree, a small seed, about the size of my thumbnail."
Running her fingers along the casing, Cueta snaps off the "wing" and then uses her fingernail to split the "joint" showing a small green seed underneath. Removing the seed from the husk, she pops it in her mouth, chews for a bit, and swallows.
"It is a lot of work to get a handful of these seeds, but do not be put off." Cueta nods towards her companions. "Like some of our friends here, small packages can contain a lot of energy. Despite their modest appearance, these seeds pack a lot of energy. A handful will sustain you well into the afternoon. In the fall, you can tap the Bird's Wing Tree as well, and it will produce a thick sap, which when mixed with cane sugar, produces a delightfully sweet syrup. I'll show you how to do that when the weather turns, if it turns, as I suspect."
Standing, Cueta leaves the seed casings with the women, taking a few for herself and unconsciously beginning the process of removing the casings. "Practice with these Bird's Wings casings. There are some trees around Newspring that you can use to supplement your diet. And next spring, when the wings drop from the trees, you'll be happy you know this."
------
Cueta spends the rest of the day throwing herself into her rowing, and keeping her ears and eyes on her sister whenever possible.
The trip back is rough on Ben. He struggles to help run the big canoe and is exhausted at the end of each day. It takes Ben sometime to get use to the stearing the big canoe. He struggles with it the first day and needs help to keep the big canoe on course. The second day goes better and he is able to stear the canoe where they want it to go. It is hard work and he colapses into an exhausted slumber at the end of each day.
As the day goes on Kal'Tos feels his muscles loosen, and he is afraid that he is getting turned into a sailor by all this boat nonsense that this new land has brought him. He looks forward to seeing the progress Horn'Tos has made on the forge. He really needs to find some raw metal for his brother to work on. Of course a good dwarven still is also needed eventually but unfortunately will have to wait while more pressing matters are dealt with.
Gair pushes hard throughout the day, despite the growing ache deep in his muscles. He knows they are growing nearer to Newspring and is anxious to finally get off the water and back to dry land. At least now that they are in the bay he is less worried about horrors rising from the deep to claim them.
Hassan eyes the plate offered by Ingwe cautiously. He is unwilling to tie himself up the shaman's strange religion, largely because he still does not trust the large man but tries to avoid outright hostility, "I try to avoid the notice of the spirits wherever possible. Not today Ingwe..."
Nodding, Hassan takes his leave and finds himself some supper, doing his best to eat sparingly.
[yesterday]
Ingwe smiles broadly at Hassan's refusual, and pops a sliver of the root in his own mouth.
"The spirits notice you, whether you wish it or no," he says, grinning. "I will still ask them to aid you."
[/yesterday]
----------
Cueta listens to her sister and her former owner's conversation, but nothing new is said.
----------
Late in the afternoon, a cry goes up in Newspring that a boat is approaching. Kyle, who had been hovering around the beach, worrying about the fate of his companions, identifies it as a kuru canoe, but bigger than any he'd seen. Edmund and Eli, and a few of the others, pick up weapons and go to meet them. A short while later, though, they are able to see the rowers, and the cry goes up that it is the exploring party returning.
The sun is low in the western sky as the canoe finally scrapes to a halt at Lillend Beach (I think that's what it was named) and by that time, nearly half the population is gathered waiting for friends and loved ones, and news of their discoveries so far.
Vallen watches from the canoe as the beach of Newspring approaches, barely able to see the small dots of people running around the beach. "Ah, I'd say they've spotted us. Are those the longships out in the bay fishing? That means the rest made it back fine, eh? Heh, I bet they're tossing their pans right now thinking a kuru warship is about to land on the beach!"
When the canoe makes landfall, Vallen stands up and stretches, happy to be back somewhere familiar. He helps the exhausted Ben out of the canoe, telling him in a doctorly manner to take it easy for a day or two. The dwarf navigates the crowd in a typical dwarf fashion, must walking through and slowly pushing to the back. He finds Jarla, and gives her a tired, but wide smile. "I've certainly had my share of adventure these past few days. Ah, the things we saw... Jarla, there are other dwarves here! And elves! We didn't see them, but they left behind plenty for us to see. A whole harbor town! Don't get too excited, though, there's... something... wrong... with these dwarves, as far as I can tell. The Elves, I don't know, their sense of aesthetics certainly haven't changed."
As he makes his way back to camp with his sister, he gives her a brief overview of the dangers they faced and sights they saw, taking it as practice for the inevitable moot that was going to take place tonight. After relieving his shoulders of their load, Vallen makes a bee-line for the forge sight, inspecting the progress, praising Horn'tos and Gaross for the stonework, and retrieving his much missed holy book from the smith.
Istiel is about to go check her traps for the evening when an alarm is raised on the beach. She runs full-tilt to the gathering of warriors, the elf ready to face these kuru in open combat. She listens to Hassan and the others, taking up position where needed- she was no beach fighter, and there was a sad lack of trees to climb.
All of the pre-battle adrenaline drains away though as the rowers are identified as the Newspring explorers, and she is suddenly animated at the prospect of Manari returning.
When the canoe makes landfall, Istiel is among the crowd- her height allowing her to see easily and not have to jostle for position with all the humans. Her eyes widen at the sight of Thaliel- she had thought the woman was a victim of the Harpy disaster.
As the party removes itself from the boats, she is there to touch Manari's arm, grabbing her attention before briefly embracing her with a smile.
আমি বাতাস দ্রুতগতিতে, বোন ফিরে আমাদের কাছে আপনি বাহিত খুশি. আমরা এখানে আপনার যা প্রয়োজন. Thaliel-ফেরার তারিখগুলি একটি আশীর্বাদ., অন্যদের পাশাপাশি আপনি দেখতে গর্বিত করা হবে! Istiel reaches out to touch Thaliel's arm, and she will be surprised if the woman winces away from her. Quickly noticing exhaustion on Thaliel's face and posture, Istiel does not comment, instead turning back to Manari. "ভগিনী, আমি পরে, আপনি বলতে অনেক কিছু আছে."
"Sister, I have much to tell you, let us go.
Istiel assists in moving supplies and equipment from the canoe, though she notices there is scant in the way of food.
Later, when she is able to speak to Manari, the other elves most likely present. They converse in Elven, Istiel's face marked with a concern. "Sister. Laohon and Araliniel both volunteered for a scouting mission a few days ago- they did not return. The day after they left, the pseudodragons found me and led me to the body of a halfling that had also volunteered. He had been speared through the chest, and seemed to have been washed into the ravine by the rain, or thrown. We searched for the others, but did not find them. I fear for them, and will leave this instant to search for them again if you wish it."
Upon his return Kal'Tos seeks out other members of council telling them that they need to meet this evening to discuss many things including food and exploration.
As the canoe scrapes the shore, Cueta jumps out, leaving her pack and weapons and ignoring everyone, looking for Deeshka, sure the elderly halfling will have shouldered and elbowed her way to the waterline.
Cueta kneels down and embraces her friend and mother figure in a fierce hug. "Deeshka, friend, mother, I have a heavy heart, for the gods are cruel. I have found my sister, but she is much changed in the time we saw her last, basically a Chel in Mwangi armor. She is -bonded- somehow, with our former captor, the Lady Kralish, and I am afraid that she fears me. I need your help - you'll have to take it slowly, as will I, but we must watch over her and provide for her and keep her alive - and even that damned Chelishwoman, for the time being, I'm afraid. Make your way to Melilla and get her safely back to Newspring, and help her set up. She'll probably want to be near the other people from the Harpy - we must let her be. We shall talk later of the other details of our journeys since we last were together."
The Mwangi mariner next makes her way to Eli, and grins as she gives him a hug. "I see from your weapons that you were ready to meet a large force of sharkteethed bastards just a few minutes ago - what a relief it must be to see my pretty face!" Joking with the young man a few minutes more, Cueta then adopts a more serious tone. "Your boss is not my biggest fan. I'm afraid we almost came to blows over his wounded pride. Please do not let his opinion of me color your own."
Cueta then walks back to Newspring with Eli, happy to take any questions from curious Newspringers, and talking about her adventures, but making sure to ask him how things have been in Newspring. Her attentions begin to wander though, as she looks out for Bird's Wing Trees to point out to her sister later, and then notes with alarm that they've all been stripped of seed casings. Then Cueta notes the lack of birdlife, even the lack of the sounds of bugs, and a shiver goes up her spine. They've pulled everything they can of this land. Surely they've they've gone farther afield for food? Someone here must have addressed this?
Cutting Eli off from his musings about training, Cueta asks, "How are the food stores? The land looks barren here. Surely everyone has been ranging further afield!"
Sorala makes her way with Garrack and her club down to the shore, ready to split a kuru skull if she has to, and dreading the thought all the same. Relief washes over her as she sees it is the explorers in the king's canoe, and Sorala figures that the group all has people they'd rather talk to than her, so the young half-elf holds Garrack close and heads back to Newspring, dropping her club off at her sleeping area and getting her parchment and pens. As the explorers arrive back in Newspring, she goes to each one by one, and asks for their recollections of their journey, taking down their observations and feelings.
When Sorala approaches Cueta, the Mwangi woman fills in the details of their journey, careful to praise her companions in terms of their combat strength, ingenuity, bravery, and kindness. She downplays her own abilities and contributions, as well as the disagreements on whether or not the group should have approached the island at all, not wanting the four women from the Harpy to have to know that detail. Cueta also talks much of the flora and fauna that they witnessed on the journey, and especially of the raising of the boats up the cliff-face by the dwarves, an event that the Ijo speaks of with much wonder.
When she gets to the part of the women from the Harpy, Cueta brushes over the details almost entirely, simply saying, "And there were four brave souls from the Harpy, including, wondrously, my long-lost sister, and I couldn't be happier to be reunited with the kindest person I have ever known."
Cueta then clears her throat and brushes aside any additional questions from Sorala, and says, "Sorala, I'm glad you approached me, because I have a favor to ask you. Can I have a pen and parchment, and can you tell me everything you know of Taldor?"
Sorala, thankfully, knows much of the history of Taldor, and is happy to carry on ad nauseam , not having the opportunity to lecture anyone much these days...
Ben thanks Vallen for his help and makes his way up the beach to where his family is waiting. He embraces his wife and daughter and assures them all that he is only tired. He relates to the other halflings the basics of what happened during the trip. He is shocked and saddened to hear about Valentinians death and promises that they will find out what happened as soon as possible. He asks Walton and Hobie to speak for the halflings at the meeting that night and then goes to sleep.
Sorala will find Vallen involved in the forge construction project, already trying to make minor changes and getting into small, highly technical debates with Horn'tos that always seem to end in some kind of idea that both of them like better than the original two ideas.
He shrugs at request to tell him of the journey, asking her to follow him- he busies himself mixing some mortar while speaking. "You're going to hear this from all of us tonight most likely- people are going to want know all the details, and I wouldn't put it past Gair to gather everyone up in a moot or whatever he calls it. But you can hear my side, of course."
Vallen prattles on and on, describing every day by the hour, spurred on by the fact Sorala seems to listen no matter what. He tells the half-elf of the journey to the wreck of the Harpy, the bugbear statue, and especially the Kuru ambush that was thwarted by Cueta because she tied herself to a tree in the pelting rain. The dwarf mentions the Kuru captives, but simply says they were able to divulge no useful information from them. Cueta and himself teamed up and crafted a statue to send the bugbears a message- some kuru heads, as an offering of a common enemy. He describes the tragedy of the of dead at the Harpy wreck site, and the discovery of the wretched undead that were gathering corpses in a pile- their source unknown.
After they loaded up goods and food that were leftover, Vallen set the pile of undead alight and they started along the cliffs. The cliffs are described in intricate detail, and he seems quite entranced by them, even stopping his work for a moment to draw Sorala a picture of them on his chalkboard, followed by a picture of Dwarf Island.
After their second battle with the kuru that saw their signal, he speaks of the foray into dwarf island with all the trappings of an adventure. Their heroic stand against the charging kuru and their king was described blow by blow. "The kuru king survived a blow from Gair's axe.. not once... but THRICE. We were all surprised- I'd never seen anything live after that Northman's axe comes down." He does not mention the children, but says the women they rescued had been kept captive,starved, and beaten by the kuru.
The next hour or so is filled with Vallen describing and drawing the architecture of dwarf island, the magic/engineered gate, the elf tower and a vivid, emotional rant on the failings of the native dwarves to the whispers of demons. He refuses to reproduce the reliefs on his chalkboard however, saying they are blasphemous and better forgotten.
The people of Newspring, for the most part, are relieved that everyone is back safely. They are pleased with the news that the sharkteeth have apparently been eliminated, and even more relieved to discover that the prisoners were rescued.
Sandra Thayer immediately offers to share her tent with them, and Edmund nods. "I will find somewhere to shelter myself until they are recovered."
------
When Cueta approaches Eli, he simply shakes his head and looks disappointed. "If you offended him, he hasn't said anything about it."
Deeshka looks at her sympathetically and goes to help Melilla and the other women find a safe place.
------
When Manari hears of the explorers, she sighs and shakes her head. She looks back at the players and shrugs.
"I suppose it was necessary to expand our foothold here, but we should not throw lives away so carelessly. We know these lands are deadly. Can they not see that we must move in strength?"
"তার মধ্যে সতর্ক থাকুন. তিনি কি কেউ উচিত সহ্য করেনি." She says and nods to Thaliel. Then she looks around at the people gathered around, and whispers. "তারা একে অপরের চালু হলে, আমরা আমাদের শক্তি নষ্ট হবে. আমাদের উদ্দেশ্য আমাদের মানুষের জন্য একটি জায়গা খুঁজতে হয়, এবং আমরা পরী এই দেশে আছে শিখেছি."
When they turn on each other, we must not waste our strength. Our purpose is to find a place for our people, and we have learned there are elves in this land.
Istiel frowns lightly at the mention of being careful around Thaliel, but asks no further questions. When she is whispered to, the elf nods tersely before looking slightly surprised. "কি? সত্যিই? আমরা তাদের মধ্যে বাস করতে পারে. তারা Golarian সাথে সংযোগকারী একটি aiudara থাকতে পারে! এই চমৎকার খবর. ভগিনী, আমি যতটা সম্ভব খাদ্য পাতলা বৃদ্ধি হিসাবে আপনার পার্শ্ব হতে হবে. তারা গত স্ক্র্যাপ উপর যুদ্ধ শুরু যখন আপনি যান, যেখানে আমি যেতে হইবে."
Manari smiles at Istiel, nodding that she agrees but is unwilling to say so yet. "একটি জাহাজ আসে, অথবা আমরা আমাদের মিশন ব্যর্থ হয়েছে যখন আমরা নতুন বসন্ত সময়ে হতে হবে, কিন্তু আমরা ভাল একটি নেটিভ মিত্র থাকতে পারে."
Then she turns to speak to the people of Newspring.
"We have discovered much in the days since we left. I understand many things have happened here as well, and our losses weigh heavily. I would beg the people's patience for a short time. I would ask for the council chosen before we left to meet and determine a course of action. Once we are agreed, we will present the settlement with our plans, and of course, our news. Whatever part of that news you haven't already heard by then." She gives a knowing smile and glances at Bern, who grins broadly, suddenly realizing he's about to be very popular tonight, as the only member of the exploring party not involved in the council meeting.
Manari takes a torch, and invites the other councilors to the smoke-filled room, or at least a clearing where they all can sit in relative comfort and privacy. The light is growing dim, and Bern seems to step into the role of story-teller with enough enthusiasm to balance the absence of actual eloquence.
The elven woman takes up a post outside of the tent the meeting is taking place in, assuming the role of door guard. What or whom she is guarding against she could not answer, as she does not actually deny anyone entry. In fact, she appears to assume the role of a herald, announcing the presence of anyone who wishes entry unless otherwise told not to- she would gladly keep the riff-raff out.
Cueta takes a seat next to Bern as he begins telling the story of the explorers' journey. The Mwangi doesn't chime in unless asked a specific question - she's really just interested to see how the Newspringers react to the tale.
Vallen and Jarla enter the tent together, the dwarf immediately taking stock of the smokey tent. "Reminds me of a forge in here, just without the clatter."
He takes a seat on the floor, sitting cross-legged, the priest momentarily closing his eyes in prayer, muttering holy words under his breath. Grundinnar, bless this meeting- may we find civil answers to our problems, and may you guide my speech over its rocky outcrops.
He clears his throat, speaking to all those present. "I know I was nominated for a position in the council, but in truth I would rather take on a related role- one of a chairperson. A tie-breaker, consultant, and moderator, vote counter, whatever is useful. I can serve the active members by conducting the meeting in an orderly fashion using Grundinnar's Rules of Order, so everyone gets a fair hammer at whatever we end up debating."
"My friend may not be eloquent but there is much wisdom within him. I support his wish."
Aid vallen's diplomacy
This young man's attention to detail is amazing - he should be the historian, not I. She grows very interested as Vallen sketches Dwarf Island, making notes and notations of notes, and asking, to no avail, the young priest to draw the runes that were encountered. Terrifying, but promising. Could this be a home for everyone here? Sorala's mind begins to work feverishly, trying to recall any information she may have learned about Dagon, demons and their worship.
Taking her leave of Vallen, she shakes his hand and thanks him profusely for his tale. "And good dwarf, if there is anything that you ever need recorded, please come find me - there is much that we need to capture about this new world."
As Kal'Tos approaches with the call to council, Sorala makes her way to the Thayers' tent and passing Istiel, gives the inscrutable elf a nod, mentally steeling herself for what she imagines will be a contentious meeting. Placing Garrack by her side, the historian sits and casting a quick glance to the statue, thinks, Garrack, give me the strength and wisdom to give some meaningful guidance to our community in these dark times.
Surprised to see Vallen at the meeting, Sorala cocks and eyebrow and smiles to herself as the priest yammers his way through his request.
"I second Kal'Tos in this support. I've found Vallen to be kind and wise - he would be a welcome chair to our council."
Once back, Gair takes some time to speak with Hassan about the situation, begging leave of Sorala to speak to her about his own journey at a later time. They talk for some time, with Hassan taking Gair on a walk for his rounds, stopping by the collected food stores kept within the newly finished pallisade.
As the evening settles in, Gair takes a moment to watch his son begin telling the tale of his exploits before joining the other council members in the clearing for the meeting. Settling himself onto a fallen log, he listens as Vallen makes his request, "Having backed your nomination in the first place, I would welcome you to serve as moderator Vallen. It is often that a spiritual leader will be chosen for such a position."
Manari looks from one to the other of the speakers and smiles a curious little smile.
"I see no need for a chairperson on our council," she says. "If you would like to sit in at the meetings, have your voice heard and cast a vote when you wish to, and call it chairman instead of council member, I see no harm in that."
"We all welcomed you as a member of the council," Sandra says. "I welcome you as moderator."
"It seems to be unanimous." Edmund leans back, lazily. "So what is the agenda for this meeting, Lord Chairdwarf?"
Vallen clears his throat, not used to such attention on himself outside of religious ceremonies or prayer. Priests of Torag are supposed to be leaders in their community, however, and Vallen sees this as a step in the right direction. "Right. Oh. Ben isn't here because I told him to get some rest- he was utterly exhausted from rowing three days." The dwarf pulls out his chalkboard, and begins staining his fingers with another layer of white chalkdust. "Firstly, our journey around and outside of the bay, the kuru, bugbears, and undead we encountered, and the island stronghold we discovered. Secondly, the council members that have not been in Newspring should be updated on important events in the town. Thirdly, the future of Newspring and its people should be discussed- food, shelter, exploration, construction, and any other matters concerning our welfare."
The dwarf looks around, and nods. "The floor is open for motions to add other matters to tonight's agenda. If no motions are made, the floor is open for discussion concerning the journey to the wreck of the Harpy and the subsequent scouting afterwards." Vallen stops speaking, giving the floor to whomever wants to speak of their journey.
As the tale of the explorers is told, Sorala jots down notes, making sure to take in any details she's not already aware of. Looking up, she addresses the group. "So we have Vallen's group, who camp on... this Bugbear Beach? And find five kuru heads and a burnt boat - I think it is logical to say that these were the last five kuru that headed west from Harpy Beach. Edmund, on your way back, did you leave the heads that you all won with the statue? If so, obviously they are communicating with us. Did you see any signs of goblins when you, Edmund, made camp? I think we need to discuss these goblins in more detail."
Sorala continues...
"I'm not saying that the goblins are our highest priority, but I would suggest something to think about in the future. If we make peaceful contact and can come to some sort of non-aggression pact with the bugbears, we should think about some sort of cultural exchange. We ask for a volunteer or two to go live with the goblins for awhile and learn their language, and to teach them our languages, as well as some other skill that they could get use out of. This volunteer should also be, eh, accommodating to the ways of other cultures and able to navigate social situations."
"Likewise, we take in a bugbear or two of promising intellect, and we learn from that or those goblins the ways of their people. This could go a long way towards providing us with knowledge to make a real go of it here - the locals I'm sure know better than we do how to hunt, farm, fish and forage in a manner that will not impact the land, as they have probably been doing such things for a long time. In addition, they'll know local dangers and opportunities better than we."
Sorala then starts flipping through her notes looking at various details as the others talk. Coming to the description of the elven tower and its structure, she puzzles over it a bit, trying to figure out if there is any sort of religious significance to the observatory.
Vallen takes the floor after Sorala finishes speaking. "Sorala, I know how to speak goblin, but that doesn't guarantee they'll even want to talk to us. In my experience you can't make deals with goblinids and expect them to keep their word. Things might be different in this land... sure as the heat of the father's forge-fire I've seen examples of that... but generations of dwarven teachings have said if you show any weakness in the face of a goblinoid, they will pounce on the opportunity. I've been taught that bugbears just want to scare you to the edge of death then push you over the edge themselves. We don't know enough at this point to make any kind of plan."
"Back home the only good goblinoid is a dead goblinoid, here I am not so sure but I don't think it would be wise at this stage to let bugbears live in Newspring. We should make contact yes, but not go in blind to how "normal" bugbears act. Just because we both hate the Kuru doesn't automatically make us best friends, especially now that the Kuru are dealt with"
"If I have the story right," Edmund says, "These bugbears took out a canoe full of kuru, apparently to send us a message. Someone also left Valentinian's body in the stream. We don't know if the bugbears suffered any casualties. I realize the second exploring party was sent with the best intentions, but we need strength of arms to back up those intentions."
Sorala sighs and looks to the dwarfs. "And what have your generations of teachings said of Dagon-worshipping dwarves? What you talk of is tradition, not teaching. Tradition is a fine thing, don't get me wrong, but it bounds one's mind into preconceptions and prejudices just as sure as it binds a culture together. Teaching, true teaching, meaning education - it frees the mind to look beyond preconceptions."
"I married a man that many saw as a monster, so I may be a bit more likely to look beyond tradition than some at this meeting, but let me clear - my intent is not that we march some of our people over to the goblins and hand them over sight unseen - hence my conditional "if". What I am asking this council to do is to consider the idea, if the goblins prove to be non-aggressive and amenable to an treaty, that we learn from them, as blasphemous as the thought might be, and that in good conscience, if the goblins are amenable to taking some of us in, we do the same. Surely, if there is room for friendship, our great dwarves would have good things to teach the goblins, would they not?"
We have more pressing needs at the moment, so I don't believe that any decision will need to be made soon. I am just asking everyone here to entertain the idea that we may have things to learn from goblins. I'll be blunt - we need friends more than we need traditions!"
"All I am saying is that we should go into a meeting with goblinoids with both eyes open. Normally showing weakness to such creatures is dangerous. We should start with things like hunting trips with some of us and some of them. If a few such simpler co-operations work well we can look at forming longer lasting agreements."
Sorala nods to Kal'Tos. "I agree with your suggestion - we certainly don't want to show weakness and small cooperations to start would be wise, if their intentions look to be peaceful."
Gair nods sighs deeply, shaking himself out of his own little world and joining the conversation, "As I understand it, the scouting party was sent away from the present danger of the Kuru and by chance the bugbears as well. If there have been no other disappearances or signs of contact with the goblins I think we have to assume that Valentinian's death is the herald of yet another threat to those in our care. The fact of the matter is, these lands have proven as dangerous as any I have known save the worldwound itself. Those sent out must be protected I agree but we cannot let ourselves be paralyzed to inaction by the simple presence of danger. With most of our forces away, I think an armed five man group with as much caution as we can allow ourselves. We will do all we can to learn what befell the others but each of you here must come to terms with the fact that more of us will die as we carve out a home for ourselves. All we can do is ensure those deaths benefit those still living and that we remember their sacrifice."
The kellid warrior looks around the group, meeting each pair of eyes before continuing, "As mentioned, the bugbears are the least of our problems presently. I have spoken to Hassan since returning, from what he has told me our greatest danger is that of starvation. Those of us achieved much at the island fortress but there was no windfall of food this time. Nor are there likely to be any more in the future."
"The boats and a few extra hands will help but by Hassan's count our stores will be depleted in as few as four or five days. Our situation is dire and we will need to make some tough decisions. Firstly, we need to work on surveying new areas for our foragers to search. I understand they have near picked the area around Newspring clean. We can accomplish two things if a number of us set out tomorrow to explore the area Valentinian and the others were sent to. It should only take us a few days to search and clear the area as best we can. If we find what attacked the others party we will deal with them as we did the Kuru. Then the foragers can be sent in. We also need to move as many of our number as we can from the other projects onto those foraging teams, as well as the boats. Walls will mean nothing if we starve to death behind them."
"Secondly, we have to accept that this will not be enough to stave off disaster, at least not in the short term. I would now like to pass on Hassan's recommendation that we cut everyone's food consumption to half of what we currently eat, starting in the morning. The decision will not be a popular one but hungry men, women and even children will be preferable to the starvation that will hit us all if we do not stretch the supplies we currently have."
He glances around the group again, "What say you?"
Sorala meets Gair's gaze. "This news about our food stores being so low is distressing. I've been making things for the people of Newspring, with the idea that I will get help building a garden. I was going to use it to grow herbs and plants useful for alchemy rather than food, but I would happily turn over the garden for food production, for the time being. I think I have the labor lined up that I need, but I still need supplies. Could Newspring supply the materials to get us started? If so, I could get started in perhaps three or four days, once I line up a few more people to help."
"I would like to reserve the right, once our food crisis is averted, to use the garden to grow materials for alchemy purposes, as was my original design. For the good of Newspring, of course."
"Would it be amenable to the council to supply the materials for the creation of the garden, if I can wrangle the labor? In turn I manage the garden for the people of Newspring, until our food shortage is solved."
The northman nods, "I see no reason why not, without proper game to hunt, growing our own food is the only solution to us. The garden you suggest is likely to produce more quickly than the farmland the others are breaking. This will suite out needs well. I imagine Hassan might be able to put some of his people to the heavy lifting as well."
[ooc]I have a fair collection of capital at this point, we can cut the start up time in half or more if I have Hassan also work on providing some labor. What do you think?"[/b]
Vallen looks about and clears his throat. "From what I gather, we have two motions on the floor that need a vote. Firstly the subject of half-rations, and secondly the construction of gardens."
Sighing lightly and putting a hand to his stomach, the dwarf nods. "While I love food as much as anyone else, it seems we're between a rockslide and a canyon right now. Might as well try to climb down the canyon slowly, and go to half-rations. Torag and Abadar can bless us with some nuts or berries that can sustain even Ingwe for a day, but I only have the strength to feed up to three individuals this way."
The dwarf draws in some breath. "Is there any further discussion on the motion to request the community move to half-rations? Any further discussion?" Vallen waits a beat to see if Edmund, Sandra, Manari, or Jarla has an opinion on the matter. "If not, let us take a majority vote. All those in favor- say Aye." A beat passes. "All opposed- same sign."
Vallen momentarily wishes he had a gavel and a nice podium so he could properly conduct the meeting, but such luxuries are far in the future at this stage. "The second matter that requires a vote is the construction of smaller gardens for families instead of the larger farms we have been working on. "Is there any further discussion on this matter? If not, let us take a majority vote. All those in favor- say Aye." A beat. "All opposed- same sign."
Vallen relaxes a bit after the vote is taken, glad to see some progress is being made to turn their frontier home into civilization. "This exploration party... who's all going, and where are they going?"