Vexas is okay to spend the night in the forest and sets out to start a fire in the same opening, where they can keep camp.
He pointedly avoids helping with the boards, as it's not his expertise... and they are icky.
Malakar does an excellent job dressing the boars while Vexas makes a fire for the night. After some fire spitted boar garnished with herbs and mushrooms Sho gathered from the forest, the companions settle in for the night. Even with regular guard shifts and some healing placed on Brannart, the companions sleep well in the forested grove. When dawn breaks, they break camp and do their best to leave no trace of their presence. Once finished, they make the long trek back to the colony.
Arriving mid-morning, Anya greets them in the forested perimeter just outside the colony grounds. ”Three boars!,” the Ranger exclaims in a low, soft voice, seeming very impressed. ”Your hunt was very successful. We should celebrate tonight with the extra meat and have a great roast at the community firepit. I believe this will really aid morale during this time of very hard work and an unknowing future.” Reaching for a boar carcass, she finishes, ” Here, you must be tired. Let me help you with the boars.”
Despite not being solely responsible for the hunt Malakar blushes, not used to compliments.
I know it has only been a night but was there any activity? I would hope not, but we must be vigilant until we know what happened to the first expedition.
"You missed out, Anya," Brannart replies. "Next time you'll have to come with us. Although I think Malakar has the right of it - we have other tasks to attend to in the near term. Can't say how long it will take, but we should leave tomorrow morning. After a community boar roast tonight."
”Luckily, the colony has been quiet, but most are still on edge,” the Ranger admits to Malakar. Turning to Brannart, ”I admire your dedication to the colony. Enjoy tonight though. You and your companions truly deserve a feast and some respite.”
Vexas frowns at this reality, asking Hmm, so if we depart are they going to be more on edge? Or, is there some way we can reassure them tonight before our departure?
The succulent smell of herb roasted boar invites colonists out to enjoy an evening of community camaraderie. Ramona nods and smiles as she raises a mug in salute as you walk past. It is nice, even if it is only for a night, to rest and enjoy this place you are all building together.
Eventually, the boar is picked clean and the keg and wine bottles are empty. Many colonists are singing songs of the main-land as they grasp each other arms-over-shoulders and stumble back to their homes.
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With the last boar down, Fenna scambles down from her tree.
"This turned out way better than I figured it would!"
She leaves the butchering to others, knowing just enough about it to know doing it wrong can spoil the meat. Instead she takes care for getting Brannart back to good as new with some magic.
"Thanks for taking it on the nose to make this work Brannart. We might not have gotten them all if you hadn't been down amongst them."
Sleeping rough isn't as restful as a bed, but Fenna's satisfied considering the alternative would have been a long, tired walk back in the dark.
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Fenna brings her rebec along to the pig roast. As people finish eating and the good feelings and relaxation spread through the gathered colonists, She helps it along by sawing out some tunes. Mostly she plays stuff everyone knows, and can easily dance to, well. She does throw in a couple of her own songs though.
One of them she wrote quite a while back, when she was still a student living in the cheap neighborhoods of Almas. It's about the people she met so often in those neighborhoods. Many were new to the city and it is a composite of their stories about their pasts and their new lives. Fenna doubted anyone there would see the connection between the song and themselves, but she did. They had all the courage and youthfulness of the people in her song, whatever their ages. They had to to take the chances that they have to be here, hoping for something more than there had been back home. She was just so damn proud of them all.
Miron left his home with two sails in his pocket and a head full of dreams.
He said somehow, some way, it's gotta get better than this.
Kizzy packed her bags, left a note for her momma, she was just seventeen.
There were tears in her eyes when she kissed her little sister goodbye.
They held each other tight as they rode on through the night they were so excited.
We got just one shot of life, let's take it while we're still not afraid.
Because life is so brief and time is a thief when you're undecided.
And like a fistful of sand, it can slip right through your hands.
Young hearts be free tonight.
Time is on your side.
Don't let them put you down, don't let 'em push you around.
Don't let 'em ever change your point of view.
Paradise was closed so they headed for the coast in a blissful manner.
They took a two room apartment that was jumping ev'ry night of the week.
Happiness was found in each other's arms as expected.
Miron took up smithing, rang that hammer like a lunatic.
Young hearts be free tonight.
Time is on your side.
Don't let them put you down, don't let 'em push you around.
Don't let 'em ever change your point of view.
Miron wrote a letter back home to Kizzy's parents tryin' to explain.
He said we're both real sorry that it had to turn out this way.
But there ain't no point in talking when there's nobody list'ning so we just ran away.
Kizzy gave birth to a ten pound baby boy, ooh ooh!
Young hearts gotta run free, be free, live free tonight.
Time is on your side, is on your side, is on your side!
The second song is one she's still tweaking. It's specifically about the island. She saves it until last, when most everyone has had more to drink and they are easier to satisfy with something she's testing out.
When you're on a holiday
You can't find the words to say
All the things that come to you
And I want to feel it too
On an island in the sun
We'll be playin' and havin' fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can't control my brain
When you're on a golden sea
You don't need no memory
Just a place to call your own
As we drift along the foam
On an island in the sun
We'll be playin' and havin' fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can't control my brain
We'll run away together
We'll spend some time forever
We'll never feel bad anymore
On an island in the sun
We'll be playin' and havin' fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can't control my brain
We'll run away together
We'll spend some time forever
We'll never feel bad anymore
We'll never feel bad anymore
Fenna doesn't have too much to drink, and doesn't stay as long as the more determined revelers. When she takes her leave, she passes by Brannart to let him know she's going.
"That all for me tonight, I'm off to bed."
Fenna leans in a little closer and adds "and I have space for you, if you like."
She doesn't wait for an answer, but turns with a wave and starts toward the house. After a couple of steps she looks back and lets him know "the offer expires at sunrise" before going on her way.
Malakar overfull on boar and praise continues to sleep.
Vexas had a lot of wine. How soon would it be before he could party like that again? Surely they could have a late start in the morning...
Brannart applauds Fenna's songs - the first one in particular seems to speak to him.
He is a bit taken by surprise by the bard's comment, and tries awkwardly to hide it. Looking into his drink and blushing a bit.
"Never you mind," he replies jovially to any who ask.
He sips his ale, sings for another half-hour or so, and then heads off to bed.
"I liked the song," he says. "Time is a thief when you're undecided."
Fenna goes bolt upright in bed, straight from asleep to alert in no time at all. She shakes Brannart hard to wake him up and scrambles out of bed, throwing on an oversized cotton shirt she usually sleeps in.
"Brannart quick! Get up! I heard screaming!"
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Brannart wakes up with a start, his veteran reflexes kicking in.
With no time to don his armor, he puts on some pants and grabs his ranseur.
If turns out to be nothing, then no sense scaring the villagers more than normal by running around naked.
He moves outside, in front of Fenna.
Fenna grabs her spear and follows Brannart to investigate.
When Fenna and Brannart make it outside, they see several torch-bearing colonists gathered at the main intersection. Two of the colonists, a man and woman, are waving their arms and causing a scene. On approach, the facial features become clearer in the torch light. The man is Daib Joiner, a carpenter by trade, and the woman is his wife Myra, who has a frying pan in her right hand.
”.. choking me, it was,” you catch Daib shrieking in a somewhat slurred speech. ”If it wasn’t for good’ol Myra here always sleeping with her frying pan close at hand, it would have got me in me’ sleep. She hit it good, she did, and chased it out of the house and part-ways down the street toward the old Levin Farm.” He stops briefly to look at Myra, offer her a smile, and a one-armed hug. ”Scary beast it was. Had these crazy-long arms intent on choking me. Myra and her frying pan scared it good though.”
Fenna grabs Brannart's arm. "Towards the Levin farm! Remember those tracks? Go get Sho or Malakar to look for tracks here to see if they match!"
Brannart runs to wake Sho and Malakar.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Snort Zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Brannart wakes Malakar and Sho from their sleep. The trackers follow the warrior to the intersection where the crowd continues to gather and Daib and Myra repeat their story.
The Druid and Ranger examine the ground for several minutes. Finally, they find a few tracks hidden in the wind-blown sand. Like previous findings, they are starfish in shape. They lead toward the Levin Farm and stop near the farm's well.
Brannart will approach, ranseur in hand, and look down into the well.
From his current vantage point, Brannart is unable to discern anything out of the ordinary when he peers into the well.
Fenna looks up into the night sky and views the positioning of the moon as well as the constellations. It is a bit cloudy tonight, but she believes dawn is two to four hours away.
Fenna weeps inside for the sleep she is losing. Why tonight of all nights?!
Feeling a wee bit underdressed once the initial excitement has ebbed, Fenna excuses herself back to the house.
"It's a while yet before morning. What say we get our things in order and take a look down there once we have the light? We'll need to rig some ropes for getting down in there I guess."
I would love to go back to bed. But duty calls...
"While I think that a great idea, and would love to get some more sleep, we can't let that thing get away again and attack anybody else. Can we sleep here, taking turns guarding the well in pairs?"
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Finally awake, Sho looks around and listens, trying to find some tracks, hoping to identify the foe
So whatever attacked ran away after getting smacked with a frying pan? It sound too strange not to be true. I do have a far fetched theory about that, but I might be totally wrong. While I agree the surprise of being hit could have scared an animal, there wasn't too much pain involved, and most probably an animal would have fight instead of fleeing. I am thinking more about a fey creature... which would have been repulsed by the iron of a frying pan. Then I have drunk more than usual, and haven't slept enough.
After finding out the immediate danger is gone Malaker will get his gear before proceeding.
"If we are going in the water one of you may want this. I found it in the Grindylow cave and had Miss Swain Identify it before leaving. It allows you to take breaths of air from it. I can breath water so I don't need it. Also given thatbI can breath water and see in the dark I guess I am going in first.
When everyone is ready Malakar will make his way down the well with the rope and once at the bottom arm himself with his spear.
When the group is ready to proceed he will activate his totem Transformation to gain Scent.
Sho considers the tracks discovered, the potential habitat of the creature, and the story of how the creature attacked the carpenter. Putting this information together, the Ranger concludes that the beast they are dealing with is probably a Choker, a monster of darkness and the underground. She knows that they move quick and have long arms that strike out to strangle their prey.
Malakar climbs down the rope, noting uneven wall sides. There are several cracks and crevices offering foot and handholds. Before reaching the waterline, the Druid notices a narrow break in the wall leading north. The break is big enough to allow himself or any of his companions to squeeze through.
"There is a tunnel just before the waterline. Come on down and I can pull you in. I looks like the creature probably came through it." Malakar shouts up.
While waiting for his comrades he will look around.
Or Survival if there is a trail.
Malakar peers through the darkness, taking note of a tunnel with rough and uneven walls. Stalactites hang from the stone ceiling while stalagmites and mounds of rubble cover the floor. The Undine can feel a coolness to the air, a stark contrast to the warmth of the island's surface. The natural tunnel meanders in a northerly direction far beyond what Malakar's vision will allow.
"I think Malakar has the right idea - follow this while the trail is still warm - but perhaps we should go wake Vexas if we are to pursue this creature. He would not want to be left out."
Fenna gets dressed, runs a comb through her hair quickly, and gathers her gear. Brannart might be right and blah, blah, blah, but it doesn't improve her mood about the lost sleep. Nobody should mess with Fenna's sleep time.
She considers a minor, private revolt by making some coffee before returning to the well, but doesn't act on it. It will take some work not to begrudge Brannart for the dark circles under her eyes and the minor headache that could mushroom into worse without a nap in the near future.
When she gets back to the well she starts knotting her rope at intervals to make the climb down easier.
Sleepily, Vexas follows along at the back of the group, still disoriented at what they've told him and what they're following.
*Yawn* What... what is this thing? Did anybody see it? He rubs his eyes.
Climbing down the well and squeezing through the break in the wall leads into a pitch-black natural tunnel.
Malakar can see in darkness but will cast light on something for the darkvision impared.
Brannart’s ranseur lights up the cave at Malakar’s request. Then the veteran leads the way through the rock strewn tunnel. Eventually the passage splits into two. The faint dripping of water into small pools echoes softly down the cave tunnels.
Fenna follows immediately behind Brannart. When he slows down she asks him "do you see something?"
"See the crystalline rock there? I don't know if it is valuable or not, but if it is then it could be quite a resource for the Colony to have."
Vexas, starting to wake up more fully, pauses to take in the crystalline splendor.
In a brand new economy, I suspect it will definitely be valuable.
The halfling points forward.
Maybe straight?
Malakar will activate his totem Transformation to gain scent. He will then use scent to see if he can pick up the scent of the creature to determine the best path.
If he picks up a scent than he will use survival to track it.
"For the record I don't get the point of hoarding gems as wealth and I see no point in defacing the earth to find them."
Fenna merely comments on how sparkly and pretty the crystal deposits are.
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I guess it's all about balance. Getting a few of them, while taking care of natural tunnels and without breaking totally the rock, won't deface the earth more than picking up potatoes, don't you think? Beside we don't know if theses crystal would work on the surface, so there is no point in endangering the ring formation for nothing or worse, for greed.
Brannart sighs. "We are here because we were chosen for this wave of colonists by the Bountiful Venture Company. Now if they prove to be corrupt or evil then I will oppose them, of course. But we knew that profit was a goal when we signed up.
Gemstones could be a source of income. They are valued not only as trade goods but also, in some cases, as spell components."
Malakar moves back and forth between the beginnings of each tunnel. He extends his head in each several times, sniffing the areas.
The Undine is bombarded with a multitude of smells. Going straight, there is a distinct musty, animal odor. There is also a very faint, degraded smell of death and decay.
Moving left, there is a different and more current smell of something else passing through. Deep within this section of cavern, almost missed, is another distinct smell that can only be described as earthy. As if someone was planting a new garden and soil was being disturbed and moved around.
Brannart will trust Malakar's judgment.