Vexas provides input into "community planning" when decisions come up. He finds the whole process fascinating.
Right, it is expensive to extend the Palisade now. Let's start with the current one as an "inner wall", and then after all other primary concerns are addressed, slowly start on an "outer" wall.
He proceeds to help the new colonists think about such things as: emergency planning, keeping a store of food in the Palisade for such situations, and identifying positions that might be important to elect, such as a trade czar to manage goods flow with occasional shipments. He dips his toe into division of residences, land and general management of resources.
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On the side, Vexas sidles up to Brannart, Fenna, Malakar and others to discuss lodging. It seems that, given we'll be off again once the settlement is stable, maybe it makes more sense for the lot of us to make a small residence together as a sort of "team home base." What do you think? I promise to not eat others' food!
Brannart spends a couple of days trying to repair the wrecked canoe. He spends at least some time in the afternoons fishing (bringing along a small cask of ale). He just fishes from the shore, rather than going out on a boat, so he is close by if an alarm is raised.
That had been his intention in coming to the island. Be of use to the community, while also getting a chance to enjoy life. The need for his sword has turned out to be greater than he thought, and the mystery of the missing colonists bears investigation. But for a couple of days at least it is best that he stay close by to see if any other dangers rear their heads.
He will take part in drills with the militia, but lacks the right skills for providing instruction. So he isn't leading the drills.
"That could work, Vexas, if there is a house large enough for the six of us. It looks like the house at the western end of the main street is somewhat bigger than the others. The Levin Farm is also a good option, but it's a bit separated from the rest of the homes. If no one house is big enough, two adjacent cottages could also work. As you say, we will be setting out again soon. Once we find the missing colonists and are staying put for a longer time, we may want our own spaces, but for now that should work."
With her almost complete lack of practical skills in anything, Fenna mostly floats from among different tasks where an extra set of hands could be of use.
One day she treks out with Sho and tries her hand at making a map of the area around the colony. But the results are clearly poor since the distances between locations marked or features included make no real sense. (Average 9)
On another day she helps with the work on the palisade. She can at least help tote and hold poles and such so the day goes better than the previous one. At least it's not embarrassing and the people she's helping seem to appreciate her efforts. (Average 12)
The heavy work on the palisade leaves Fenna exhausted at the end of the day, and sore muscled the next. During the next couple of days she gives in to temptation and angles to get a spot working on whatever the hottie horse guy happens to be doing. Hopefully he'll even talk to her and give her an opening. Fenna's desire to make a good impression causes her to push hard on the first day, and if hard work and productivity matters to the hottie horse guy, maybe she's getting somewhere (Day 1 average 15). By the second day Fenna is feeling the accumulated effects of several day's work in a row and it slows her down a bit. (Day 2 average 13).
During this time Fenna talks up her one-eyed Elf acquaintance to the people she's working with as a good candidate for some position if a government will be formed. Fenna's thinking is that his politics and her align well enough that she would like someone like him involved in decisions to make sure the regular colonists aren't getting screwed.
Fenna also checks the colony records they have found against the names in the letter found by the tree to see if she can make any extra sense of what happened among the previous wave of colonists and their apparent schism. Afterward, she makes an evening appointment with Ramona to fill her in on their newer findings.
Fenna is wary of Vexas's proposal. It makes some sense but "do I get my own room? I want my own room."
Thanks to the foundation inherited from the previous colonists, structures like the palisade, buildings, and homes have been built, finished, and fortified in a matter of days. Vexas realizes that his discussions on resource management are fruitful. Colonists started selecting homes based on need and now that everyone has a place to call home, colony morale is increasing and a sense of community is taking form.
Consideration of food storage and management is another important topic. The people seem to be listening to Vexas and his ideas on the subject. One colonist even nominated the Halfling to be Trade Czar, and many others chimed-in in agreement.
Sho adds to the food supply and locates several patches of medicinal herbs and water sources with her hunting and gathering skills, and she finally gets to bond and have some girl time with Fenna as they attempt to map the nearby features of the island. For this task, they team up with another colonist who introduces herself as Lyra. Lyra is tall for a human, but her pointed ears give away some elven heritage. She is pretty with a slender build, strawberry blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, and blue-green eyes . Lyra seems to have a good amount of knowledge of tracking and flora and fauna in the area. She carries a backpack bulging with ledgers, measuring tools, and map-making equipment leading to professional looking maps.
With the palisade constructed, Brannart finally gets a moment to breathe and do some fishing. He had moderate success repairing the canoe using any left-over palisade-building scraps he could find. It is not perfect, but he did get it to float, although it lists slightly to the portside.
When Fenna seeks out Harcourt Carrolby, the hot horse guy, she finds him hard at work near the ankheg meadow. It appears that he first filled in the holes, turned the soil, and added some seed. By the time Fenna shows up, he has a large corral built around some pasture land and is tending his horses. Unfortunately for the Bard, he never really takes notice of her wayward glances and playful smile.
A few days later Fenna finds Frel to discuss politics and government. He laughs at such a thought, ”I came here to be rid of all that nonsense.” Shaking his head and offering a cynical grin, ”I’d rather piss off Calistria and face her vengeance than run for government.”
Fenna eventually makes her way to the Government House and finds the torn pages of the colony charter that were originally found folded together and hidden on top of the cross beams of the Governor’s House. Setting the charter and the note side-by-side, Fenna is able to match up the names. Each name in the note, like almost all of the other names in the charter, have a check mark next to them.
A few more days pass and routine life starts to settle in. There have been no attacks or troubles of any kind.
Anya Sandstrider approaches while the companions are all together. ”Want to hunt some boar? Our cured meat supply is dwindling as are our stored rations, and it will be a few more weeks before the gardens yield enough food to sustain us. The nasty beasts are plentiful on the island. Tasty too.”
Embarrassingly, after suggesting that the group keep a base of operations together, the halfling ends up staying periods of time with Kalcora. He's like the teenager who returns home when he needs something, or they've had a fight. Otherwise he sort of disappears for several days at a time.
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After several days, Vexas has gotten his fill of city planning. It started out with lots of refreshing surveys outside, and imagining what could be as they build out a new, hopeful community. However, it came time to implement ideas and keep accurate record of plans and resources distributions... their activities started to turn indoors for far too long.
So when Anya happens by while he's relaxing with the adventuring crew, Vexas is primed and ready to venture out.
"Yes... please. I don't know that I'll be a lot of help in hunting, but at least I can be quiet enough to not spoil it."
"A boar hunt! Excellent! I would be glad to join you."
Malakar is used to a busy life but he takes the opportunity to get a bit of rest. It isn't long however that he sees the community is in need of help and sets back to work.
No one can work while hungry so Malakar grabs his spear and sets out into the coastal waters to explore and hunt with Razor, driving any fish to small to spear towards the fishing nets.
After a day of fishing Malakar will help with gardening and agriculture in the hopes that they will create a more sustainable food source so this community doesn't have to over tax the land.
"A boar hunt? Boars aren't to be trifled with on a whim. Whomever is coming along must be prepared for trouble and injury. I shall come along to help make sure this is a less risky endeavor."
Fenna decides she will have to find a way to keep an eye on Lyra. Stripping the lumber from the island is something she's already predicted the company would do if they could. Fenna schemes.
Fenna doesn't push Frel but does ask him to think about people he knows or meets that might be a good fit for representing the colonists if and when a representative body is formed.
"We want someone championing our interests in at the very beginning, before rules are set that could lock competing views out the government. Much harder to wait and react to the oppression than it is to be there at the beginning and make sure it never starts."
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Coming off a couple of days that were something of a bummer, Fenna is glad to take the option of a hunt. She doesn't expect she'll actually succeed at hunting anything, though surprises do happen and she might learn something.
Besides it would be nice to see more of the island if they wander that far away from the colony.
Brannart greets his companions as they return from their work of the past few days.
"Enjoyed the break? The canoe needs more work and better materials. And for the fishing, I think I need to get off the shore a bit.
But things seem to be okay here. No more clues, and no sign of the strange creature. So after this boar hunt I might suggest we get back on the search for clues about the missing."
Anya nods her head and adds a smile. ”The extra meat will go a long way in sustaining our food supply, although this one here,” she nods her chin toward Malakar, ”has helped tremendously with his fishing and gardening skills. The use of your shark companion with catching fish and your idea to aerate the gardens by using soil amendments to quicken growth has been truly remarkable. Almost makes this hunt non-essential. But either we get the boars or those monkey goblins will.”
She pauses for a moment and looks to the sky. Then reaches for her canteen and takes a swig, ”I have located two areas that seem to be away from monkey goblin territory, but where the boars like to feed. Don’t want to compete with those feisty creatures and bring the whole village down on us if we don’t have to. Also,they could be useful for trade at some point. Anyways, these two areas, I will lead a group to one area and provide you a map to find the other location.” She reaches into her pocket and produces a folded piece of parchment then looks up to the sky again. With a squinting set of eyes looking toward the sun, she continues ”It is just about midday. Here take this,” handing the parchment to Sho. ”This will get you to the grove where the boars like to feed. It is a grove of fruit trees. Every day the fruit grows big in the afternoon sun, and every evening as the sun wanes the fruit drops to the ground. These boars are what we call crepuscular animals. They like to feed at dawn and dusk. If you leave soon, it should take no more than a few hours in this terrain. This will give you time to plan before dusk. Set traps, find good positions and let them come to you, or if you would rather, track them back to their den. Either way, a successful hunt should yield at least two boar.”
After answering any questions, the Ranger makes her way to her team and gets ready for the hunt.
"We should take care to remain at range from biars they have a nasty charge. I prepared magic which will hopefully keep that at bay. If you have any other mundane way to keep them away I would recommend it. Caltrops, tanglefoot bags or magic. I suggest we hide around the grove and when they are all gathered I unleash my magic and we begin a ranged assault. If they close distance we should concave to take them out before they can cause injury. Brannart and I are the most hearty and should be in front everyone else should take up rear positions. If you are nimble enough maybe take a place up in the trees."
Malakar will wait to hear if anyone else wishes to add to the strategy or has a better one before setting up a camouflaged position.
If we agree on this and have the drop on the boars I would like to be prepared to cast entangle on the boars when and if they converge within a 40ft. Radius circle in the clearing.
"I will have my ranseur in hand - it is not quite a boar spear, but should work well enough."
Brannart will trust Malakar and Sho to find a good place for the party to set up.
Vexas nods, cupping his crossbow in his hands.
Yes, I think I can manage shooting from the trees.
He slings it over his back and carefully, quietly climbs up the nearest tree to find a safe perch before reloading his crossbow.
I await the signal.
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Sho tries to points everyone some strategical positions
Remember that boars have a good sense of smell, so try not to get betrayed by a gust of wind
If she find some squashed fruit on the ground , and they don't seem toxic, the ranger will rubs some of the fruit on her clothes to try to mask her scent, talking to Malakar
Do you know a spell that could mask, suppress or change someone smell? It could be very helpful in hunting parties.
"I do not, I believe such magic is called Prestidigitation and is prefomed by those who study magic."
Fenna is open to suggestions.
"Should I climb a tree with my bow, or stay on the ground with my spear?"
As Malakar discusses strategy, Sho points out advantageous spots to set the ambush.
Malakar wants to be within about 60ft of the center of the grove where the boars are expected to go. Obviously still within a good hiding spot as po8nted out by Sho however.
Since nobody seems to care what Fenna does she decides to try her luck from a tree with her bow. She climbs up one and finds a branch stable enough to shoot from.
Sho’s roll - 22 + 3 = 25
Vexas’s roll - 27 + 3 = 30
Average Stealth rounding up = 21
Entangle Spell DC 13
Initiative Rolls:
Preparations are made and dusk settles in. It feels like hours crouching behind bushes and balancing on tree branches as the night sky takes shape. Clouds block out the moon and cover the stars this night, darkening the already murky jungle. It appears a storm might be moving in as the wind picks up, thrashing the tops of trees back and forth.
Brannart, eyes trained to quickly adjust to darkness, notices the boars approach quietly from the East. They seem to pause as they sniff the air and take stock of the area. The veteran looks over at Malakar expecting the Druid to drop his spell, but the Undine appears to be searching North instead of East. The warrior senses that the boars are about to charge before he can warn his companion and feels compelled to take action.
Brannart moves into the boar's path and readies to attack with his ranseur.
He should get a readied attack against the first boar to come within 10', and AOOs against all three boars if they leave a threatened square (so if they go from 10' away to 5' away).
His AC will be 18 against the boars.
Brannart moves forward, but allows the boars to come at him. The first boar charges and gets stuck with two quick and powerful jabs. Never reaching the veteran, the beast falls quickly in a spray of blood. Releasing the weapon from the rough hide of the fallen boar, Brannart braces and allows the next boar to run itself right into the ranseur’s point. With a grunting squeal, the boar keeps charging and Brannart is unable to release the weapon for a strike at the third charging beast. Finally freeing his weapon, Brannart forms a defensive stance and avoids the vicious tusks of the hungry boars.
Yeah! Great Brannart, hold them right there!
The halfing calls lazily as he fires his crossbow from the comfortable perch.
Fenna turns out to not be well positioned once the boars arrive. She steadies herself on the branch and looses her arrow at the boar which will give her the cleanest shot.
Vexas, perched in his tree, fires a bolt past Brannart. It lodges into the boar and the swine gives a grunting squeal. Fenna has a better shot at the other boar and nails an arrow into its hide. It still manages to grunt and swing its head back and forth, attempting to gore Brannart. Following right behind Fenna, Sho’s arrow pierces the top of the beast’s skull and lodges into its brain. After a painful, ear-shattering sound, the boar’s head crashes to the ground and its body follows.
"So much for careful planning and dangerous boars!"
Malakar will charge the last boar drawing his Scimitar during the charge and attack.
Brannart will step back and attempt to finish off the boar.
He misses.
Malakar slices his blade across the boar, drawing a line of crimson in its rough hide. Then the boar charges at Brannart. The veteran is taken by surprise at the burst of speed and is unable to deflect the tusks of the beast. At first, Brannart feels Torag's boon protect him, but then the shield is gone and the boar rips through his breastplate and digs deep into his chest.
Fenna draws a shoots another arrow at the remaining boar.
Vexas frowns at how quickly they've brought down most of the boards.
I, uh... don't think this was a fair fight. Do they come in larger groups? he asks Malakar.
"Groups like this have killed kings and cocky hunters, give credit to the veteran Brannart. But don't count it out yet. Like rats they are most dangerous when cornered and desperate."
The boar takes several more strikes from bow and blade, but it is relentless in its attack on the veteran. As it is seemingly bleeding out, it continues to thrust and charge at Brannart.
Brannart steps back and tries to finish the boar with a powerful thrust through the neck.
Brannart's ranseur penetrates deep into the beasts neck, almost severing the head from its body. After a few futile grunts and thrusts, the boar's leg slow, then stop moving all together. Finally the beast slumps to the ground, allowing Brannart a moment to breathe.
Night falls upon the grove but luckily the storm never came. Clouds give way to the shining moon and stars, enlightening the grove through the canopy above. The boars lay on the ground covered in leaves, dirt, and their own gore.
Reguardless of whether we are gonna camp or not Malakar will field dress and drain the boars before travle as well as cast purify food and water upon them.