Malothor takes the midnight watch. He watches fascinated by Aki’s transformation.
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Malothor nods as Echo describes her plan, ”I am ready for a hike. We need to get away from here right away.”
Malothor seems very agitated and wants to try an escape attempt right away. However he realizes that the odds of a frontal attack being successful are low. So he stops when Phari shouts out and waits. ”We need to sneak in and free our friends.”
Malothor will gather his two companions and head back carefully towards the village. He will explain to Phari and Celebeth what occurred and will keep an eye out for Nathan and the cannibals that were right behind him.
Malothor will run at full speed towards the camp, making sure he is not being followed.
As soon as he gets to the camp will start yelling for Phari and Celebeth to grab any weapons they can and follow him, panting he says, ”The... others... have... been... captured... by... cannibals... we must rescue!”
Malothor continues to flee from the village, pushing his way through the dense jungle and taking advantage of invisible trails that cut through the foliage. He plans to head towards camp as soon as he escapes pursuit, and get the rest of the team. He does try and look back every so often to see if Nathan is following behind him.
Malothor looks for a way to navigate through the jungle and escape.
Just got back from family vacation and travels. Happy New Year!
Malothor will take off running into the jungle. He does not leave a trail (Druid ability).
Same here. Holiday Season means posting will get erratic. Happy Holidays to ALL!
Malothor reacts to the sudden change from friendly tribesmen to violent cannibals, and follows Nathan’s cold blast with an Obscuring Mist. He then runs past the warrior hit by Nathan.
Malothor stayed back a bit not wanting to scare the child off, so he follows the rest of the group from a short distance (100 feet of so). He is alert and looking for trouble.
Malothor looks at the tracks with curiosity. This is strange. He tries to follow the tracks, and says to his friends, "Yes they look like the tracks a human child would make. But what is a chid doing here? And alone? I do not remember any children on the ship, so maybe these are tracks of a local..."
On day 2 of searching the beach hex:
He is looking for the spellbooks and his statuette.
”Let’s finish exploring the beach area. I will summon shelter tonight and we head inland tomorrow. Will also have shelter magics ready for tomorrow but hopefully we’ll find better natural refuge tomorrow.”
Malothor spends a miserable night and in the morning consults with his new friends, ”I can create the shelter for 3 hours and possibly 6 hours every night. The only issue is that means consuming my most powerful magic every day on that, instead of on other spells that could help in our defense. I have not been preparing those anymore because I felt we had a solid shelter. I think we should look for a cave or more substantial natural protection today, and I will have the web shelter as back-up if we do not find anything useful.”
”Should we spend one more day combing the beaches tomorrow? Maybe inland the day after.”
I got craft (leatherworking). Maybe can make a backpack from sails and such.
Malothor shares in the group's joy at finding a crate of food. He receives the bow from Celebeth saying, "Thank you Celebeth. This is a good bow, strong yet flexible. The first hunt I complete with this fine weapon will be in your honor." He will then help make arrows. To Echo, "Now that I have a bow, I suggest you keep the dagger. I also have the club, so have sufficient weapons to defend myself." He will help comb the beach hexes on either side of the camp, looking for more items they can recover. He is also looking for a partcular statuette in case it made its way ashore somehow.
”Very well let’s clear the area around the camp tomorrow then.”
Malothor eats a hearty meal that night, and accepts the commemorative necklace with great pride in his eyes. "Thank you Pharithstilis. This is the first present I have ever received from someone. It is now my greatest treasure." He puts it around his neck and beams with happiness. The feelings of companionship with his new friends turn into melancholy and regret as the hobgoblin remembers his only other friend: Smoke. That night he is restless, anxious about what may happen, and thinking about the dangers of the island and possibly losing some of his fellow survivors. "We need to take the initiative now. We are rested, grown strong. We cannot be victims to the dangers of this land. I suggest we start investigating our surroundings, maybe climb up to that mountain so we can observe the lay of the land."
”Thank you Pharithstilis, you saved my life,” Malothor expresses with sincere gratitude. He looks terribly wounded by the crab with deep cuts all over his body. ”I will be alright. Thank you Echo. I will heal Celebeth and then myself, and see how much of the Deadeye’s power that drains from me.” He nods at Celebeth, ”We fought well together.” He then walks over whispering a few words in Druidic and lays a calloused hand on Celebeth’s Wounds:
He then casts two on himself:
”We got enough food here for the day at least, won’t need to go hunting,” he says smiling and waving at the dead crab.
He will then aid Celebeth in making the bow during the day to speed it’s completion:
Malothor will attack the crab again with his club on his turn if it is still alive.
The hobgoblin yells for his companions to wake up and then steps forward and attacks the crab with his club. ”Wake up!! Wake up!! We are under attack!!”
Malothor will do third watch like he did the night before. He suggests they double up as now there are locals who know they are here.
Malothor heads towards the area Echo and Celebeth saw the grippli. He first checks for any signs of the frogmen, then will hide and search for tracks.
He returns to the group after a few minutes, ”The frogmen are good at hiding their tracks. I was not able to follow their trail.”
Malothor is concentrating deeply on the concept of a swarm vs. some other type of creature when the darts come flying from the distance. Jumping back he exclaims, ”What was that?!?” Then listens to Echo’s shouts into the jungle, he makes a few hand gestures trying to convey a message to the group: I am going to try and track the grippli, see where they go
"Yes let's return to camp." He will look for any skins left from some of the animal corpses.
Malothor will look for anything that may resemble a horn and sinews, which is traditionally used in the crafting of composite bows.
Malothor appears unnerved by the encounter.
"I do not know what can cause such devastation. I agree with you Aki, we should steer clear of this place. Do you think a black night is a new moon?" I wonder if last night was a new moon?, Malothor thinks to himself as he tries to recall the stars and moon of the night before.
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.
Yes a short bow would be better. Thank you!
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
The crafting rules in Pathfinder are not very practical. D20PFSRD has Alternative Rules (3rd party) for crafting that make a lot more sense: Changes are mainly related to timing. They have time of crafting based on the complexity of items. So simple items can take a few hours to craft, while complex may take months. Scroll half way down the page for the Rules.
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.
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."
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."
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."
Malothor chews on the crab and fish with gusto, licking his fingers and make-shift plate. He finds himself strangely at ease for the first time in a long time, and even jokes with his new companions occasionally. He has a childish sense of humor and laughs at any crude or silly thing people say. "Yes I can go hunting again tomorrow. And tonight before I sleep let me show you something I can do speaking to Earth Mother. Maybe it helps with building shelter." He walks to one of the sides of the shelter and murmurs a few words... Suddenly a low wall of packed earth and loose stone measuring 3 feet thick, 3 feet tall, and 10 feet long appears along the side. "I can do that again each night. So in four nights we can have a square low wall as the foundation of the shelter, on top of which you can build the rest." He then seems completely exhausted from a long day of work, and goes to sleep. Just before his low snores break the silent night he whispers, "I can take early dawn watch, I need to sleep fully tonight. Thank you for cooking dinner Echo, it was delicious. May the Old Father watch over all of you tonight."
The next morning Malothor wakes up refreshed after a good nights sleep. The shelter quickly disappears with the morning sun. The hobgoblin distributes the last of his nuts and berries enchanted from the night before. --- Malothor seems more at ease in the morning, encouraged by the comraderie and good nature demonstrated by his fellow survivors the day before. He walks a little straighter, and looks at people when he talks instead of at their feet, but is still unwilling to look at folks in the eye. "M-maybe we work in pairs to stay safe until we are more familiar with the island. Priorities for today are food, and building more permanent shelter." He looks at the elf Celebeth and the gnome Parithstilis, "You did well yesterday scavenging the shipwreck. Please continue that today. Look for any weapons we can use for hunting and fishing - spears, harpoons, nets..." He looks around the camp at the wood stockpiled the day before, "Echo and Nathan, you know how to build ships, right? Could you build a shelter with these materials?" Turning to Aki, "That leaves you and me to hunt for food and gather more nuts and berries." He looks around waiting to see if anyone has other suggestions or ideas. --- Will spend two actions gathering food and hunting:
--- Malothor will show Aki the signs of animal trails, which berries are good for eating, which are poisonous, and how to set simple snares using vines and tree limbs. They return in the evening with a number of small game dressed and cleaned.
Malothor follows along with the rest of the survivors, and assists with finding shelter amongst the trees. He seems aloof and does not engage much in the conversation, only adding comments once the details of organizing the camp begins in earnest. "We are all t-tired, d-dehydr-r-rated and h-h-hungry after spending d-days in the ocean. Let's f-f-focus to-n-n-night on r-recovering our s-strength. Sleep and eat." He takes some of the berries and nuts gathered during the day and whispers some strange words over them... Druidic:
Father Deadeye, shower your blessings over the food and make us strong for the days ahead. He then passes out one berry or nut to each person, "Eat it. You will f-feel f-full." After that he murmurs more words between two trees and a strange cocoon woven from spider webs appears between them. A small door allows entry into the shelter, "Sleep".
@GM Fuzzfoot: I have reviewed the Action Rules detailed in the Campaign Info tab and have a few questions on how some of Malothor's Druidic spells may help/enhance the checks: 0. Day 1 on the beach: everyone already has the fatigue condition? The only way to recover from that is to rest in a proper shelter? Would a Web Shelter spell allow the group to rest the first night and recover from fatigue? I can cast the spell twice which would allow for 6 hours of good rest. 1. Shelter: Malothor does not have any Craft/Knowledge/Profession skills to help with the construction of the shelter. However would Expeditious Construction count as assisting / aiding someone who does? 2. Food: My preference will be to use Survival (2 actions) to feed the group. However there are a few spells that could be used to enhance nutrition: The first would provide for a full day of food and the second one meal, so will be looking for berries and nuts during Malothor's foraging for food checks, to supplement the food he is hunting/gathering.
These people are very different to the normal crew members. They are helpful and aid each other... why? Malothor watches the crew playing with water and the gnome prisoner drying everyone up and is completely confused. His expression would be comical if their situation were not so dire. Stepping back and away from the crowd he scans the tree line looking for shelter...
I will be traveling tonight (10 hour flight - groan) and then at work meetings most of next week. Will try and post daily (evenings) but may not be able to every day. @GM: not sure if Malothor has his dagger and/or scimitar. Please confirm. Thanks!
Malothor sees other figures approaching along the beach, and answers the deckhands questions... he tries to remember her name but just recalls she was a newer crew member. He stands up and responds, "I-i can f-find water and sh-shelter. F-food too!" As he finishes another woman and a gnome approach, followed closely by a man. He recognizes the gnome, as Malothor was part of the team that captured and carried him tied and blindfolded to the ship. The other two were also crew members. He immediately feels very nervous surrounded by 3 crew members. "Y-y-yes Ma-ma-ma'am! F-food, water and sh-shelter f-f-f-f-first", he continues looking around terrified if Captain Blackburn or his First Officer survived the wreck. He timidly asks, "Have y-y-you found other s-survivors?"
Malothor is startled by the sudden appearance of the woman. He glances up and recognizes the deckhand from the ship. He subconsciously assumes his servile manner, keeping his head down low and stutters hoarsely, "Y-y-yes s-s-sorry mistress-s-s", his body tenses and he seems coiled and ready to spring away if his haggard and dehydrated body would let him. He nervously glances around like a frightened animal, not looking at the woman's face, searching to see if she is alone or is with other crew members.
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