This was a Group 2 Thread


In the last harbor you saw across the ocean, a man in a feathered hat handed out documents, each one entitling the bearer to a month of food and lodging (drinks not included) at a place called the Guesthouse at Deluzion Break.

As good a place as any to make a new start in a new land.  Where was that, exactly?

“Montebon” the man with the feathered hat said.

Montebon. A small, up and coming kingdom, known for a few things- rugged terrain, an ambitious and forward looking queen who wants progress for her kingdom, Dwarves, and something called “Chaos Farming”.  It gets mentioned in letters and reports now and then, whatever it is, it sounds lucrative because people talk about how they get more crops than they did back in the old world… or maybe that’s just propaganda.

And Llamas.  Animals as fearless, hard working and durable and often as irascible as the Dwarves.  Montebon has Llamas, you've heard.

You accepted the certificate… which, you later learned, wasn’t handed out to just anyone.  The Man in The Feathered Hat seemed to be selecting.

And now you are on a ship, one of the nimble double hulled Honoan vessels, having spent six weeks crossing the ocean.  Your ship isn't far from its destination... another day, perhaps.  But the crew is looking worriedly at the sky.

They talk among themselves.  And turn around.

One of the Honoan sailors explains:  "The sky looks like it does before the chaos storm.  It comes out of Momokawehe, which is to the southeast.  Deluzion Break is south, and there are miles and miles of cliff.  It is very dangerous to be caught in the chaos storm between the cliffs and Momokawehe.  Even if we tied the boat to the dock at Deluzion Break it could be destroyed.  So we are turning around and going to Rapatua, the nearest place of our people. The chaos storms reach that far sometimes, but lightly.  We'll be safe."
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:56, Sat 22 Aug 2020.

Leysa frowned at the dark horizon and felt a strong curiosity about these chaos storms as well as the presence of chaos energies. She knew some harnessed or were harnessed by such energies, but she had never yet experienced them. She had a distinct feeling that they would at some point. More concerning was the redirection.

"Alas, our commission is out of Deluzion Break. Will we be able to make it there after the storm or does the ship have no plans to press on after making port at Rapatua?" The alien words tasted strange on her tongue. But perhaps that was her. Most words tasted strange on her tongue these days. Years of seclusion in study would accomplish that. Still, the thrill of being here, among others, on the verge of adventure excited her in a few ways she knew to be dangerous.

She rocked on her toes a few times and her tail thrashed behind her as she eyes the strange new continent eagerly. Only time would tell what new experiences and knowledge awaited them there. She looked around at the other adventurers gathered aboard the ship and wondered what connections awaited her there.

Tamara listened as the sailors spoke.  She had never heard of chaos storms before so she called upon Silvanus to determine if she could tell if a storm was in the near future.

OOC: Tamara casts Druidcraft to predict the weather for the next 24 hrs.

Mary was busy practicing her guitar play while the sailor spoke and then looks toward the emerald colored dragonborn as she spoke,"Hey now, don't be so gloom." she says, strumming her instrument for a more cherry tune,"Even if we can't go to Rapatua right away, we can do an entire adventure heading their, it's gonna be great. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, the names Mary Strawburn, up and coming holy knight of doom and retribution and a wandering minstrel. Got a song in mind, I can try and play it. Got a monster to slay, I'll do my best taking it down." she says that last part as if she's been practicing it for sometime,"Eh, I'm still working on a motto."

Being a sailing ship with a few experienced navigators, the party has something most people really don't:  a good sense of where they are.  The map below shows the great island the sailors call Momokawehe, the origin of "chaos storms."  No one lives there, they say.  Too dangerous.    Nearby is Delusion Break, where you thought you were headed.

Where the sailors say they will go, soon, but not now, too dangerous.

North is Rapatua.  It's the southernmost settlement of the Honoa confederacy- a broad alliance of smaller semi-independent groups, not a single kingdom.  Rapatua is a small, recent settlement.  It's normally skipped by voyagers as not worth the bother.  But it's the closest place they can rest, and it seem wrong to the sailors to flee the storm any further than they have to.

The Honoan boat you are on is fast, a light double hulled sailing ship.  With the wind coming from the southeast it makes good time.  But the wind and waves pick up, it is soon bouncing over the wave crests.

Sailors voice their hope that the people of Rapatua have left lights on.  They're supposed to, every one of their coastal communities is supposed to have lights at night, even if it is torches burning on the beach.  It will be dark when they get there.  Normally they have no fear about sailing at night.  In fact, navigation becomes easier with the stars out.  But with the sky clouded, and a storm on the way, they much prefer a place to rest.  Another reason not to go beyond Rapatua.

 
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:14, Mon 19 Oct 2020.

With a cheerful smile Gunnar wanders over to the group. "Sailor say storm coming. Chaos storm from Monawahooie. What chaos storm?"

Carefully lowering himself he sits by Mary. "Know March of Cambreadth? Me play drum. Not now, ship not good place for drum, too wet."

"Not like ship jumping around." He says the grin fading from his face as he turns pale.

Tamara watched as a tiny illusion of a the sky played out in front of her.  First it was warm and breezy.  Then in quickly turned to windy with periods of heavy rain.  When the tiny mud balls and howling frogs showed up, her eyes grew real large and her jaw dropped in amazement.

When the spell ended, Tamara shook her head to try and dislodge the shock of it all.  "Yeah... I don't think I like chaos storms."

Mary looks at Gunnar up and down,"Wow, your as tall as this dragon lady, but as for your song request I can definitely do it as long as you can keep up. Maybe we can do a duet at Rapatua's tavern, if only we have someone with bagpipes though, that song is not the same without those." she says, giving a thumbs up to Gunnar and notices the worry in everyone's faces,"Huh, this chaos storm everyone keeps mentioning sounds like one wild ride. But let's not worry about that, if we get shipwrecked we can just make a raft out of coconuts and sail off to unexplored territory." Mary says, her overconfident inexperience showing.

A strange experience existed and Leysa was grinning as she looked Gunnar in the eyes. "Wow, not many humans so tall." Grinning, she looked back at the dark horizon, "Some experiences are not worth having... I think." She scratched at her scaled chin and shrugs. She would take what comes her way as it came, "But a tavern and a song do sound nice. I am Leysa. Well met. You are quite cheerful for a knight of doom and gloom." She extends her hand to each of the adventurers one after the other.

“Oh, my first storm onboard a ship.” Came a voice from the back. “How very exciting! And this one is a Chaos Storm? That must be what they say makes the crops grow so big. I wonder what else it does? Any magickers or sages onboard come to study this phenomenon?

Robyn reached into his bag and pulled out a nice shiny apple that he proceeded to crunch into enthusiastically. As usual, he had found a safe place to watch the biggies do what biggies normally do and waited to explore this new land. Robyn had already explored the ship. It wasn’t very exciting. Good thing that he wasn’t training to be a sailor. Although grog did sound good.

Mary gives Leysa a firm grip with a surprising amount of strength for someone of her stature,"That's what most people say back in Northlands, but don't worry. I'll bring doom to any enemy that picks on me and gloom to my archenemies." she says cheerfully and let's go of her handshake. She then glances at the back as the halfling spoke and crushed an apple,"Ugh, that short guy gives me the creeps. Like a 'don't take candy from a stranger' vibe kind of creep."

"I did not come to study these chaos storms, no.  And as to whether I am a magicker or not depends on your view of that topic.  I am however a druid of Silvanus.  Tamara Duskbloom is my name.  And you are?" Tamara asked of the halfling.

“Robyn Lovejoy, at your service.” He performed a slight bow. “Not a half of anything, but a whole Halfling. Light of foot and nimble of finger. I make a decent scout, a fair trap-finder, an earnest negotiator, a well palated food taster, and a general lifter of spirits.” Here Robyn leaned a little forward and stage whispered, “Not the best, however, at providing candy for bright and cheery doom and gloom knights. Might be something about the holy retribution. Talk about a killer toothache.”
This message was last edited by the player at 15:37, Fri 31 July 2020.

She was just opening her mouth to reply to Mary when others joined the chorus. Frowning, she tried to follow that small one's words but found herself just shaking her head. She turned to Mary and looked her over once, "I am sorry, did I miss something? Did you ask for candy?" She glanced at the druid and smiled happily, distracting herself, "I've met a druid before. Grendel Shortsnouth, He's a black dragonborn. Do you know him?"

Tamara shook her head.  "I do not.  I can not recall a single dragonborn druid of the Twilight Enclave.  Perhaps he belongs to a different enclave?" she said to Leysa.

Turning back to the halfling she said, "Well met, friend Robyn."

Mary looked at Leysa with a raised eyebrow but then suddenly understands,"Oh, you don't understand figures of speeches, I only meant that his a bit strange is all. But I shouldn't just judge him base on the first interaction."


Mary grumbles at the halflings loud whispering,"Though I'd appreciate it if he didn't call me a toothache, especially if his saying that right in front of me."

Gunnar has a puzzled look on his face as he tries to follow the multi-sided conversation. But at least it distracts him from his seasickness. "Gunnar glad to meet all. We have fun travel together. Gunnar is warrior. Green lady who tall like Gunnar what you do? Mary is little lady with axe bigger than Gunnars, you also warrior. Elf lady in between other ladies make pretty pictures. And littlest one is scout.. and other things Gunnar not get."

Gunnar is careful as he shakes every ones hand.

The main sails are taken down, the small storm sails raise in their place.

As the characters talk, the sailors are working hard to keep the boat on as northerly a course as possible, with the wind steadily picking up and the waves getting higher.

There is a jolt every time the catamaran slaps into a big wave crest.

The sailors want no help, unless a character is a sailor too- in times like this an untrained person might only cause harm.  They aren't afraid at all, all of them have faced rough weather at sea.

Okay, when night falls, they do sound a little worried.  Night at sea in rough weather is always worse.

One of the sailors explains, "If you fall over, you are gone in seconds, we will never see you or hear you.  Don't fall over."

Still, they try to keep everyone's spirits up.  "In this bad weather, a sea monster will not find us. And don't call this a storm.  This is only rough ocean.  We are running from the storm, which is good for speed."

It is the custom of the Honoa people to leave lights on the beach, where they can be seen at sea.  The larger towns have genuine signal towers, the villages just make do with torches.  If they are fortunate, possibly even Continual Flame spells.

It's well into night when the lights of Rapatua are visible, one of those "Just a Row of Torches" villages.  But the sailors are very happy.  They steer straight for it.

As the catamaran approaches the shore, there is a response from the village.  A conch horn blasts.  A sailor uses a conch horn to respond.  The catamaran heads for the shore as alerted villagers arrive on the beach.

The waves seem to die down very suddenly.

"Magic from the village," a sailor says, "to help us.  They are making a safe channel of water, across the reef.  It is our custom to always help travelers in bad weather if we can."

The catamaran gets close enough for the sailors to jump into the surf to help guide it in, and people from the village join to bring the Catamaran ashore.  There are about fifty people present, and a couple of dogs.  Some of the people are holding weapons, but from the look of it things seem friendly.

"It's good to see that the locals practice such helpful magics like this." Tamara commented as the ship was brought in.  She made sure to stay out of the sailors way and well away from the edge of the ship until it was safely brought to shore.

Mary pulls out her guitar and stands beside Tamara,"You got that right, I was sure that we were about to be shipwrecked. But I can't wait to play March of Cambreadth on their tavern, maybe I can give you all free rooms with the rousing success of me and Gunnars performance."

The experience had been interesting. While Leysa had not totally enjoyed being tossed about like a squirrel caught by a dog, she could now say she understood the feeling. Thus, she was grinning ear to ear as she caught sight of the magics to guide them into the village. She clapped giddily and bounced on her heels, "I wonder what I will experience next? Oh! A song? I do not know the words, but I can sing. Maybe not well; I don't know yet. If you taught me, I am sure I would be happy to join you."

Mary gives a smile to Leysa's offer,"Sure, I'll teach you the lyrics once we head to the tavern, we'll sing together if your having too much trouble. I'm sure you'll do well." she says, giving some confidences to Leysa and hoping she's not jinxing herself before even starting.

In the dark and the wind the catamaran is dragged ashore and unloaded.  The locals engage themselves enthusiastically, as helping people escape a storm appears to have priority over everything else, including introductions.

You can see only part of the line of houses facing the beach.  They look similar, and from what everyone knows of Honoa from past travels, very normal.  They are built on low stone platforms, and they have tall peaked thatched roofs.  The roofs are supported by heavy posts and beams and kept together with more rope than nails.  The walls are mostly large woven mats that can be rolled up when the weather is nice, which from what everyone has already learned about Honoa, is almost all the time.

If there’s a tavern here, no one says a word about it.  Instead, an old woman who was simply holding back and observing points out one of the nearly identical looking houses and says it is the visitor’s house.

One of the sailors explains that it is the custom, especially in smaller, more “traditional” villages that places be built and set aside for the use of visitors, because as island sailors the Honoans do a lot of visiting.

“If they knew us and liked us we would be invited into homes,” the sailor says, “but they do not know us.  Villages provide for visitors, though.  It is not like you would find in a port city like in Montebon or Pomera but it will do.”

As everyone is shuffled towards the visitor house to ride out the weather, the group notices that one of the villagers is not like the others.  All of them are Human, and dressed in simple skirts.  One of them is a a Halfling man.  Half the height of the others, also dressed in a skirt, and wearing a very tall pointed hat adorned with many odd symbols.  The others call him “Little Kahuna”.

“Little Kahuna” helps you move into the visitor’s house.  The walls are being hastily rolled down and secured, and torches are being lit.  Two women deliver piles of woven sleeping mats.

“Nasty night to be out at sea,” the Halfling says.  “You’re lucky to be here, the storms never hit us very hard, they mostly stay south.  Still we get a taste of it all the same.  I’m Pemberil Berrytread.  Pemberil, of course, or Little Kahuna, if you wish.  Welcome to our little bit of paradise.  It’s normally much nicer, this is just a transient thing, really.”

Pembroke looks at Leysa.  "Goodness me, it's a lucky thing the Honoans are a lot more exposed to the world than they used to be.  Still, you're going to get a lot of looks and a lot of questions, you know.  The people here have never seen anything like a Dragonbon, before, which is ironic since they have stories about great noble families being descended from their Dragon God."

Tamara followed along with the sailors and the others as they made their way off the ship and the shore.  She nodded her thanks when the matron pointed out the visitor's house and softly thanked the women who brought in the sleeping mats.  She took one and laid it out near "wall" farthest from the shore then rolled out her bedroll and rolled her cloak into a pillow.

She sat on her bedroll listening to the halfling native speak as she removed her boots and set them aside for the night.

"Master Pemberil, is there much concern about different races?" she asked.

Gunnar watches with interest as the sailors and the villagers get the ship secured. The grin slowly returning to his face as the ships motion settles and he steps on land. He sways a bit at first, so used to the ships motion that he still automatically adjusts for it. "Good to be out of storm. Not like jumpy ship in storm."

He gathers up his gear, and anything else that needs to be carried, and follows the crowd to the visitors hut. "Is like home, Gunnars clan has visitors house too. Clan house is all stone, not like this."

Gunnar, with a slight bow, thanks the women for the mats. Taking one he rolls it out near the door so that he is in between Tamara's (and Mary and Leysa's?) and the door.

Mary was a bit bummed that their wasn't a tavern but was amazed at the houses and the Honoan traditions she's unaccustomed of but willing to learn. She also gives a slight bow to the woman and lays her bedroll next to Leysa, then she stares at where Gunnar's bedroll is layed,"Uhm, Gunnar maybe you should place your bedroll near that halfling who I can't seem to remember his name right now. We don't need you on this side of our sleeping position, maybe you can go over their near our halfling companion, he seems like he could use your company and it looks way better then this side of the room." she says, then turns toward the Little Kahuna,"Mr. Kahuna, is it okay if we were to play a song from some foreign land to the villagers. Maybe it could be a small festival though if it's against your traditions then that's fine."

“Little Kahuna” Pemberil Berrytread looks a little surprised that Tamara would ask such a thing.
The Halfling tries to explain.  “Races, well, you see, they’re a pretty friendly folk, here, certainly welcoming to me, and Elves, you know they visit sometimes from their harbor at Lighttree.  I suppose I even have a position of honor here.  As long as I stay within their system, you see.  The way of life here isn’t exactly what you’d see down in Montabon or the other colonies.  It gets complicated at times.  Always friendly, but complicated.  Feel free to ask me.  Now, sure, they’d have a different reaction if a band of Kuo-Toa swarmed out of the ocean, those aren’t exactly welcome.

     "But then there’s your friend here”… he gestures towards Leysa… “the likes of whom they haven’t seen before.  I’m from the Northlands myself, only six years in the Southlands, so I know what a Dragonborn is.  But they don’t.  Like I said, the irony is that some of the high families of the Honoans claim to have Dragon ancestors, but those Dragons could shape shift, according to the stories, so that resolves a lot of the obvious issues.  So a Dragonborn visiting here can expect questions and curiosity.

    “Maybe not everywhere in the Honoan Islands, because some places are more, let’s say, exposed than others.  But Rapatua is just a little old fashioned settlement.“

When the question of music comes up, that's a little easier.

    "The Honoans certainly love music," Pemberil says, "I’m sure they’d want to hear it… but in the morning and after the storm.  Right now, everyone’s huddled in their houses.  Tomorrow will be busy here, repairs, inspections, trying to figure out what the chaos farm is doing... we have the only one north of Montabon, you know!...  but they always make time for visitors, and music.   So for the moment, make yourselves at home... do you need food or drink?  It shouldn't hit us too hard, it never does, and tomorrow you can see what Rapatua is really like!  And play some music."
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 15:11, Mon 03 Aug 2020.

Leysa had watched Gunnar gathered up many things that did not belong to him. Looking around the village, she surmised he was not thief. Still, she was unsure why he would do that. Shrugging, she followed along to the hut and tried her best to ignore any looks. Once there, she watched silently again and took in information. Her long sequestering had taught her the benefits of observance.

She understood that Gunnar was acting out of some inefficient sense of protectiveness. She understood that human females were generally smaller than the males and perhaps less bulky. It was not so for her kind. In fact, Leysa was one of the largest to be born in her village and easily was bigger than Gunnar. Still, she was generally unopposed to how others liked to live their lives as long as it did not interfere with her choices.

At the talk of races, she let her scaled eyebrow arch, "I don't appreciate being ogled, Friend Kahuna. Questions and curiosity, if it is honest, are fine though. I dealt with a lot more sinister types of interest during my journey from my home to the ports."

At the mention of the halfling, Leysa ignored it. But at the mention of the song, she grew excited. She hummed a few bars and sang a nursery rhyme from her village about a drunken gnome as a test. Her voice was raw and untrained but had charm. "Mary, can you teach me that song now?"
This message was last edited by the player at 23:44, Mon 03 Aug 2020.

Mary was overjoyed at the acceptance of music,"Oohh, you won't regret it, we may not know each other well but I bet we'll play great. And it's a good way to further strengthen our bonds through music, as for your question on drinks. I'll take some juice or milk, whichever you've got that's nonalcoholic." she says, and takes notice of Leysa excitement and her voice,"Hmm, you've got some potential as a singer, it might even fit the song we're about to play. Sure, let's go to a corner and I'll teach you the lyrics from what I can remember, and since we've got a lot of time we can do some practice songs." she says and moves toward the farthest wall near Tamara. She takes a seat on the floor and pats the empty space beside her, signifying Leysa to take a seat as well,"Alrighty then, let's begin..."

With the human and the dragonborn intent on playing some music, Tamara settles into her trance for the evening while lying on top of her bedroll.  As is her wont while in trance, her eyes occasionally open before softly closing again.

“Sure, come on over to this side of the room, Big Gunnar.” Robyn said in a friendly tone. “The ladies like to have a bit of privacy when they turn in for the night.”

Robyn didn’t press the issue, just found a nice spot on the far side of the room and settled down. He understood that Gunnar was bring protective of the women, but they could likely take care of themselves. Especially with Leysa there. She was a tower of a being in Robyn’s eyes and even though she seemed to have a warm heart, Robyn suspected that she could be a fierce warrior when the need arose.

GM's note:  We have our last starting player now, Lysander.  As we haven't gone too far, just assume he's been there since the beginning, simply busy.  Maybe not enjoying the weather.


The Honoan sailors see things like Tamara does:  it's been a long day, it's well after dark, we might as well try to sleep.  What's with the midnight music?

Fortunately, they know a few things about how these houses work: they grew up living in them.  The same mats that are laid out flat for sleeping can be hung from beams to make instant partitions!

And so you get a long, windy, dark night.  It is what they called the Chaos Storm.  Perhaps that was overly dramatic, it certainly doesn't sound that different.  But it goes through the night and into the late morning, when it dies down to a respectable breeze.

The locals do not venture out until it does.

In the morning, Pemberil Berrytread is back, with a few of the local children, bringing food, and water.  It's a simple meal, with cakes baked of coconut meal, eggs, and little pieces of... is that cornbread?  Not a feast, but filling.

"Well it wasn't so bad, really," the Halfling explains.  "The Chaos Farm's wiped clean again, but that's normal, it'll be back soon enough.  That's the one upside of these storms.  Sure, we get some damage, but it's worth it.  So!  I must say in daylight, you're an unusual group of travelers.  Forgive me for speculating, but may I guess, not a family group?  And none of the usual stuff a settler brings.   You must share your story, and I'll give you the two copper tour!"

Lysander has remained quiet throughout the journey, knowing that if he opened his mouth at sea, it would most likely be to take food in, or vomit it out.  It wasn't his favorite way of travel.  Having kept mostly away from everyone, it probably wasn't noticed that he carried a lute, and while he relished the thought of playing, the sea was not going to hear him.  Now, on dry land, and a settled stomach, and some food in it, he decided to play a tune that even the lovely, very young, Mary had never heard.  It has a haunting melody, and, as his fingers moved over the strings of the lute, the almost hypnotic song gave a feeling of joy to all that heard.

Mary was shocked at the sudden appearance of a haunting melody and looked toward Lysander,"Oh, you were at the ship with us as well, and your a musician too, hmm." she says, and listened to the song well. She pulls out her guitar and tries to brighten this little home by playing a more relaxed melody then Lysander.

She then looks toward Pemberil,"So you want to know more of our tale, well we our merely strangers so I wouldn't know everyone's story. But I'll tell you mine, even though it's not really that exciting." she says, still playing her guitar and her melody grows tenser as she speaks,"I hail from the Northlands, in those lands their lived a priestess of Hoar and a bardic knight of legendary renown. These two are my parents and my father was known far and wide as a womanizer and often cheated on my mother and would run away from any familial, financial, and therapy problems that often arises in our daily lives. So I made a knightly vow to avenge my mother, by challenging my father into a duel and also signing some divorce papers. But I'm too weak to face him, so I decided to travel to the Southlands, in the hopes of learning new experiences and honing my skills with a blade." she says with fiery determination and she abruptly stops playing her guitar as she finish telling her story. She was silent for a bit, and then turns to the rest of the group,"So that's my story, not that great or exciting. But if any of you happen to know of a great swordsmen nearby or around here, that would be a big help. Anyways, can't wait to here what all your stories are." she says with a wide grin and cheery mood.

As Mary's song and story dies out, Lysander takes his lute and starts playing a rhythmic little song and starts singing:

In days gone by I'd sing and play
as those around me worked all day,
My village, though was quite the pity,
So off I took to find the city.

The city offered many places
to sing and put a smile on faces
of people from all walks of life
to help them ease their strife.

But years of this brought naught but pain,
so I went on the road again.
to find a path that where things are clear,
and that is what hath brought me here.

"Gunnar not skald, not tell story. Gunnar's clan lives in mountains in small valley. Gunnar not want chop trees or watch sheep. Gunnar choose travel."

"I am Tamara Duskbloom, Druid of the Twilight Enclave.  Daughter of Virfaren and Wynfira.  I come to the Southlands to learn what wonders Sylvanus has wrought here." Tamara said with a soft but firm voice.

Mary looks at Tamara with frustration,"Huh, is that it? I can understand why Gunnar isn't use to telling stories but it doesn't have to be a song or ballad like me or that lute playing guy. At least provide some context on who your parents are instead of their names, unless it's too personal for a stranger to know then I can understand your privacy."

"There's no need to be contrary, Mary,
It's her story to tell
If she want to leave out the details
I think that is swell."

Leysa blinked at all the singing and stories and yawned. She'd stayed up practicing the song for a few hours the night before and again in the morning as she was not used to sleeping past the rising of the sun. Once most of the others had shared she smiled, "My parents are of no repute in the north. They, along with my clan, made a living hunting and raiding. I parted ways with them for a better path. The Hart of the Woods showed it to me. Now, I come south seeking answers to certain questions." That was the most she would say about that.

“I came from a bit east.” Robyn said quietly, perhaps to everyone’s surprise. “My parents run an inn there, Short Respite. I grew up hearing so many wonderful stories from travelers that I decided to do a little traveling too.”

Robyn continued just as quietly.“Been traveling for awhile now. Thought it might be nice to work on a place to call my own. Then I met a man by the docks with an interesting offer.” No doubt the same offer that brought the others along as well.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:11, Wed 05 Aug 2020.

In reply to Lysander (msg # 39):

Mary nods in agreement to Lysander and replies,"You make a good point lute playing person that's speaking in poems, I shouldn't be so judgemental in everyone's stories."

She then listened to the last pair of strangers with interest,"Hmm, I guess everyone's not as open as me in regards to the past, though,",she says, a mischievous grin begins to appear,"I'll just use this as an opportunity to get to know you all better. But I gotta say, we make a pretty odd group to be around with, huh."

Lysander gives a nod towards Mary.

Tamara had an amused look on her face when Mary ranted about her lack of context about her parents.  She nodded in appreciation for Lysander's poetic understanding.  As for herself all she would add was, "My parents' story is not my story.  Why should it?  I haven't seen my father for well over 50 years, nor my mother since joining the Twilight Enclave."

“How about that breakfast?” Robyn said, venturing to change the subject. “I have never had cooked coconut like that before. I liked the mild sweetness. And who would have suspected cornbread here? I thought that was mainly in the hills regions.”

There might not be any need for a change of subject to make sure that no one was offended, but it couldn’t hurt. Whatever their impressions of him so far, Robyn liked this group of people that he now found himself journeying with to and through this new land. He hoped that they might be able to support each other in common goals. Whatever your path, no one ever succeeded alone.

"That is a very good point about the cornbread, sir," Pemberil Berrytread says.  "Takes a Halfling to notice something like that, right?"

Pemberil winks.

"It's like this.  I came to the Southlands six years ago, because I was the seventh child and home was getting a little crowded for my taste.  I was planning to travel on to Ziflunde or Fenwyck like most Halflings do, but I thought I'd do one big tour first, see what all my options are.  Well, I stumbled across this place just as they were dealing with a fine crop of onions.  But these people had never seen onions growing before, they were waiting for something to sprout on top when, of course, the important part's down below.  I gave them some advice, and that, along with my being something of a wizard... well, a very minor hedge wizard, I know a few tricks... and decided I was their farming expert, so I became Little Kahuna and lived here ever since.

"But that doesn't answer the question, does it?  Here's how that goes.  There's something about the big island of Momokawahe that's.. well some say touched by Chaos but that's only correct if you'd say touched by rain when you're really soaking wet. When the winds blow in from that island, you get a Chaos Storm- it's a storm with some strange magic effects.  One of those effects is what they call Chaos Farming.  They figured it out in Montebon a long time ago, this is the only one in all the Honoan islands.

"They figured out that when the chaos storm blows across a farm that is ready and prepared and tilled for it, somehow the storm knows that this piece of ground should be a farm, and it makes one.  Only, you don't know what it's going to grow.  Could be anything. We had cactus, once.  There's a lot of details, but that's the summary.  Now, if you do it right, and you're lucky, you can be very successful with this, because people want to buy unusual things.  Coconuts are everywhere in the islands, we had the only corn!  Well, what we could get of it, anyway.  So now, everyone is eager to find out, what's next."

The Halfling looks directly at Tamara.  "You said you were looking for wonders?  This should count, I think.  There may be a few people here happy to have a Druid here.  We don't have one, sadly.  There's less than a hundred people on the island, I'm the only wizard, the chief's mother is a healers, and his wife is a Water Mage.  There are things here it would be nice to have a Druid look into.  Not to impose, of course.  But as you're looking for wonders, well, there we are, aren't we?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:11, Wed 05 Aug 2020.

"Indeed, these Chaos Storms are most perplexing.  As for any of this island's wonders or things needing a druid's touch, that will depend on when the ship I arrived on is leaving here." Tamara answered diplomatically.  She had the impression that Pemberil was looking to recruit people to become permanent islanders.

I would find it hard to stay and entertain the masses,
but will agree to go along with these fine lads and lasses.

Mary rubs her chin in thought at the explanation of the Chaos Storms,"Hmm, so this storm creates random effects and you use it as a farming system to create random plants and vegetables...But by some chance, what would happen if this storm starts creating a terrible effect like a field filled with dangerous plant-life and vegetation. Surely you would have a more defensive measure for such things."

Leysa listened raptly to both stories, one about the halfling and the other about chaos farming. "So, it's supplementary? I mean, you can't depend on the chaos farming for sustenance, that would be foolishness. Also, depending upon the size of the farm, you have a very limited supply of the exotic material. You sell most of it? Some of it?" Leysa was no druid but she understood nature to some limited extent.

It seemed that some were gearing up to aid the village. Getting to their final destination was important for Leysa's studies, but it was good to help people. "If there are some small tasks to complete, I think I can accommodate. I am not much of an arcanist yet, but I know a few tricks."

"Breakfast good, Gunnar not have cornbread, like." He says as he rapidly demolishes everything put in front of him. Then he carefully checks over his armor and weapons."Metal rust really fast on ship."

Ignoring the discussion of Chaos storms flying right over his head he asks: "When ship leave? Gunnar can help until ship leaves. Tell him where."

When Mary mentions the problems of dangerous plants, perhaps brought about by the random effects of Chaos, both of Pemberil's eyebrows raise.

"Funny story there," he says with a slightly worried voice.  "The Elves at Lighttree said the very same thing.  That's why they don't settle the area where the Chaos storms hit.  And there is a... well.. plant related issue here.  I can't say the Chaos storms caused it, there's no solid connection, but there's something out there that kills plants and makes them go bad and it seems to like our chaos farm best of all.  Sure, we have other farms, but the chaos farm is special, you see, the resource we hoped we'd tame and.. hmm... I think I'd better explain the whole mana thing, before the questions come up.

The Halfling adjusts himself to get more comfortable, obviously settling in for a longer story, and helps himself to some of the remaining breakfast.

"Honoans do some things that other people don't, and you might think they're crazy or silly.. but then, some of the magical traditions from back home might seem silly to them.  In their way, it works.  For them, certainly.  They believe in a magical energy called Mana.  The things you do determine the mana you get, and what kind it is.  There can be good mana, and bad mana.

"But this pretty much happens only for the upper classes, like our chief's family.  On the other hand, they're supposed to use the mana they get for everyone's good.  Kind of like public mana managers.  As strange as it might sound, good management and proper manners is a big part of gaining mana.  Being generous, for example, is good mana.  So the chief will provide food for visitors, like you.  There's no need for a tavern here!  Well, maybe for some good drink, but that's another story.  Taking care of your people, good mana.  Tending your land well, good mana.

"The Chief is only chief of this island, and there aren't many people here.  There are higher chiefs.  Our chief's chief, the Tribal Chief, is in Panua.  Not far.  So you might think, if the Chief has a problem, he can go to the Tribal Chief, right?  Not exactly.  You see, if we faced some outside threat, pirates, sea monsters, yes, of course.  But if it looks, as we might say, home grown, then it is the Chief's mana.  He must deal with it.  If he cannot, then the Tribal Chief and the old women in Panua will say, he is a bad chief with bad mana, and his settlement is a failure, and they must leave.

"But I am just a simple Hedge Wizard.  There's nothing I can do.  And this is not the kind of thing someone faces without magical aid.  All the villagers known that.  They will face down Kuo Toa, but not things that feel supernatural.  And so, we have seen our crops ravaged and turned bad, and a village that should be prosperous is struggling.  It is our shame that we could offer such a meager breakfast."

Pemberil thinks, and then looks at Mary, and adds, "You don't look like you weigh any more than I do, how can you haul around weapons and armor like you do?  There must be magic to you, and therefore, perhaps it was the Chief's good mana that brought you here."

Lysander says,
"Could it be that someone out there is ruining your chaos field,
whether for some perceived slight, or to prevent the yield?"

Mary chuckles at the mention of her stature and her oversized(compared to her atleast) equipment,"Heh, well I would be lying if I said the stuff I carry is heavy. But their's really no magic involve, I'm proud to say that the stuff I carry is no problem for me." she says, and starts swinging her greatsword in the air and mostly avoiding everyone,"Though I doubt your chief's mana is the one that brought me here, it was probably my God but you believe you, I'm not one to judge on your beliefs." she says, thenk takes a look at Leysa and adds,"Hey, maybe we can raise some good mana by playing that song to the rest of the villagers. Leysa has been practicing all night, and Gunnar will help out too."

Leysa was lost in thought about the problem when Mary mentioned the song, "What? Oh yes!! Let's do that..." Her chin dipped again as she considered the problem of the chaos farm again. The source of the problem could be so many different things. Her master had warned her about certain things after all. She drummed her fingers along her thigh a few times and then shrugged, "First things are first though. A song and some good will. I am unsure what part we play in your beliefs or what part you will play in mine. But, who doesn't love a song?"

Lysander says,
"Would you like me to accompany on the Lute,
Or perhaps I could play the flute?"

Mary replies to Lysander,"I would prefer if you played the bagpipe, but lute is fine if you don't got one. We'll just have to make do with string and percussion instruments for now." she sighs and turns to Leysa,"I like your enthusiasm, your going to do great in our performance, just remember the lyrics and what we practiced."

"I tried the 'pipes, I was not keen, the sound they make's a mess,
But the biggest problem that I had was I had to wear a dress!"

Leysa looked at Lysander askew, "What's wrong with dresses? Well, as long as they are not too big or too tight, they move quite well." She shrugged and looked at her own pants. Leysa always wore what was most practical and easiest obtained.

"I would not want to sound like a churl,
But dresses look nicer on a girl."

Tamara smiled and shook her head as the musically inclined debated musical instruments and dresses of all things.  She however turned to one of the sailors and asked, "When do you think the ship will be leaving to head to Deluzion Break?  I would not wish to miss my ride."

“Yes, if it doesn’t conflict with our departing passage to Delusion Break, perhaps we could investigate this strange occurrence.” Robyn suggested. “It may provide us with beneficial knowledge about chaos farming that we might need in the future. And based on the information already provided, I have a working theory.”

One of the extraordinary things about Honoan technology is the very limited amount of metal used.  Instead of nails and bolts, things are held together with ropes.  Lots and lots of rope.  The beams of the houses are lashed together, the roof thatch is lashed into bundles and the bundles lashed to the beams... and the boat is largely made of wood lashed together.

This is very helpful for them:  wherever they are in their part of the world, they have the resources to make what they need.  If you have coconuts, you have coconut husk fiber, which can make fine ropes.

But the ropes take a beating in rough weather.  They loosen, the fibers break.  With their own hands and a few tools the sailors can make the catamaran as good as new, but it will take some work.

They inspect their boat, and break the news to the passengers.

"Two days to reweave and retie all the damaged ropes," the lead sailor says.  "The sail is not damaged, the wood is not damaged.  We were fortunate.  At least the people here are generous, if you sing for them, they will probably be more generous.  Honoans are music and dance lovers."

Leysa clapped her hands excitedly, "Plenty of time to sing and dance as well as see what we can discover about this farming problem!" The large, green dragonborn seemed equally excited about both prospects. She grinned at Mary then turned smaller smiles upon the rest as well. Experiencing new things was a rush after all.

Mary chuckles at Leysa's excitement, then pulls out her guitar,"Alright, then let's head to the center of the village. We'll attract a lot of them if we sing their."

Lysander takes his lute and joins on harmony.

Tamara thanked the sailor then turned to Pemberil.  "I believe you promised a tour?  And perhaps you can elaborate more on what's causing trouble for you chief while we see the sights?"

Robyn waited for everyone to prepare to leave for the tour so that he could fall in behind them. Yes, he had told them he was a scout, but if true danger came, Robyn fought best from a position of stealth. Something was causing damage to the crops and whatever or whoever it was, Robyn didn’t expect them to be overly friendly once discovered.

Pemberil is not in a great rush to leave, as there is music to listen to, and it reminds him of the homeland over the sea.  But he promised a tour.  Many of the Honoans, meanwhile, are gathering around.  Music is important enough to justify a break in the daily routine, and even the cleanup from the storm.

They walk along the beach.  Up ahead, a trio of giant sea urchins is stranded, and trying to return to the sea- slow going for them.  They are a lot like normal sea urchins, but the size of a beachball.

"If they don't hurry they'll be on the menu tonight," Pemberil says.  "I don't like them, but many people here do.  And the spines have a hundred uses.  They must have been washed ashore.  Ah, let's not bother them, much to see.  Unless you're in the mood for sea urchin, of course."

There are 16 houses along the beach, all of very similar design, although one is larger than the rest.  There are many smaller structures, most of which are just roofs over platforms.

"Most of life is outdoors, or at least, not inside walls," the Halfling says.  "I sent a letter once, noting the number of Gazebos on the island.  Several adventurers arrived to battle them.  Anyway, the larger house belongs to the chief, of course.  They need it for Official Business, though I'm not sure how much official business we have.

Next up, the strange carved figures, most about the size of Pemberil but a few much taller, placed at the ends of the row of homes, and various strategic places.  They all look like very stylized abstract representations of... well, of something with faces.  The taller ones are made from a stack of short ones.

"Tikis," Pemberil says.  "Magic protective wards.  They honor the spirits of ancestors, so that even though the people may have traveled very far, the spirits know where to find their descendants and protect them.  Powered by the Mana.  So they tell me.  Maybe they work, maybe not... but the Honoans believe in them, and the... well, our plant killing problem hasn't gotten into the village itself, or the coconut grove, and those are protected by the Tikis."

There are coconut trees in the village itself, and many more in a strip along the beach north of the town.

"These are the southernmost growing coconut trees in the world," Pemberil says.  "Our chief said that this was a sign that Honoans must settle this place, to mark the natural boundary.  Coconuts only grow along beaches, so its a good thing we have plenty.  North of here are a few other settlements, but all very small and considered outliers of this one.  The chief is the chief of all of the settlements on the island.  Still, that's less than a hundred souls."

The front side of the village, the beach side, is where life generally happens.  Food is prepared, clothing, weapons and boats and made.  Most of the activity of life is there.  On the back side, where Pemberil leads you next, are farms and animal pens, storage huts, and a sort of lumber mill where trees are cut down into planks.  The messy work happens on the back side.  In the farms they grow yams, millet, and a variety of fruit and vegetables. The pens have chickens and pigs.  There are quite a few chickens that have decided they have no need of pens and are patrolling the back of the village, picking off tiny bugs, seeds, and other scraps of food.

And then, a little distance from the main village, is the chaos farm itself.  Right now it is just a flat, newly tilled roughly oval shaped area of ground, intensively weeded so that nothing green is left.  It is surrounded by native woods and meadow vegetation.

Unlike a regular farm, there are no straight furrows anywhere.  Everything looks curved.  One might say, randomized.

Pemberil points to a large discolored area on the far side of the chaos farm, and then, another and another.  "There are more of these in the woods, nearby.  It is the effect of... well... the thing that comes and kills plants."

Each of these areas seems to be a roughly 40' semicircle centered on the edge of the chaos farm, as if it might have been a full circle extending into the farm prior to the tilling.  The plants in it are withered and sickly.  Towards the center, the plants are gray and dead.

"Some bad magic out there," Pemberil says.  "Give the people here a fair fight and they'll be all over it, but something like this... this has got them worried."

Lysander pulls out a pan flute, playing a lively melody and challenges to add her guitar.  One day, he will have to teach Leysa the words, but for now, it should be pleasing.

Tamara took in the halfling's tour with delight until the end when the reached the chaos farm and the blights.  She carefully approached one of the semicircles and with her sprig of mistletoe in hand called out, "Tíra saew a ihaew".  She made sure to stay outside of the blighted areas but as close to the edges as she dared as she moved around them.

OOC: Casting Detect Poison and Disease.

Gunnar gets out his bodhran and drums along.

"We should help. Village give us food, place to sleep, help fix ship."

Gunnar follows along on the tour, looking around with a delighted smile and waving to the villagers.

On reaching the chaos farm his smile fades. "Plants sick, bad magic?"

Mary pulls out her guitar and follows the beats and melodies of everyone's instrument.

When they reach to the chaos farm, Mary replies to Gunnar,"Hmm, well their is a plant killing problem appearing out of nowhere. But we do got a druid on our side, so maybe we could help out and slay whatever it is that's killing your plants."

Leysa quietly hums the melody of the song, quickly learning the pattern, "Slay it? What says that is the required solution? Keep an open mind, friend. Perhaps it just needs to be understood?" She then starts to vocalize the melody a bit.

Robyn had no magic spells or specific skills suited to investigate the rotten vegetation, but as most halflings, he was fairly perceptive. So when the opportunity presented itself, Robyn was certain to have a look at the despoiled areas to see if he could find any tracks or any other clues.

After a good look, Robyn scratched the back of his head. “As I suspected, dead plants.”


OOC :
17:15, Today: Robyn Lovejoy rolled 3 using 1d20.  Perception.

"If one could simply slay it then I suspect slaying would have been done," Pemberil says. "The bad plants... oh, yes... I should have been more clear... when I said the plants go bad, I didn't mean they all died like this.  I meant... went bad.  As in, bad plants, roaming around the forest, looking to hurt people.  Those can be slain, because the warriors here have destroyed a few. But the thing that does this is dark and shapeless, and the one warrior who fought it said his weapon did nothing.  Nothing at all to it.  But, this all goes back before my time here.  Not that far back, the whole settlement is only eight years old, but I haven't been here nearly that long!  If you want those stories, those aren't my stories to tell, but I imagine more of that music might put the chief and his wife at ease.  Perhaps they'd share it."

Pemberil turns his attention back to the chaos farm.

"One of the great things about this is the amount of energy the plants get from the Chaos.  We'll have seedlings by tomorrow morning.  It's that fast.  I hope we get a good crop and get to harvest before that thing comes back."

Tamara listened to Pemberil after she had examined the dying plants.  "Indeed these plants were dying even before the fungus laid waste to what remained inside these circles.  But I would still recommend they pull and burn these plants well away from here to prevent the rest of the plants from getting sick."

She walked back to where the others stood and thought about the problem at hand.  "You say these circles appear in the woods as well.  Is there any place that sees more of them than the others?  If this black and shapeless thing is behind this blight, then we must concentrate our search."

"The path to take, if I may be so bold,
isn't always to look at what is old,
but to look at what's new might help us more
in finding what we are looking for.

The foulness that causes this nasty blight,
whether by day, or even by night,
has a purpose in mind that we needs know
if we are to stop it and let plants grow."

Mary listened to the conversation and starts thinking about it,"Hmm, evil plants, a dark and shapeless being, this sounds like something right up my alley. Maybe us musical folk should speak with the chief to gain some intel while you and that halfling over their could investigate this blight problem." she says to Tamara.

Leysa looked over the patch of blighted plants curiously and concurred with Robyn, "Mmm, you sure they are dead... or plants?" She nodded sagely and wondered at just how blank a distracted mind could be.

She tried her best to contribute to the conversation as well, "Oh, splitting up? Well, be careful if you run into anything." She frowned again and tapped at her lips with a single claw. Shrugging she started to hum the tune she had bene practicing the night before.

---

Today: Leysa the Emerald rolled 3 using 1d20+2.  Nature.

Lysander says to Leysa,

"It is a joy to play a dance
and watch the people up an prance,
I think we should also play a tune
that would bring tears unto the moon. "

By this time Pemberil is wondering just how long Lysander can rhyme.

"I'd take everyone through the citrus grove," the Halfling says, but then he might hunger for an orange, and be in trouble.

He turns to Tamara.  "I know there are more but I don't venture out that far, and when I do it's along the beach.  It's pretty easy to get lost in the forests.  Some of the people here go out there, for hunting and other things.  And, it's not my place to lead you out of the village.  If anything happens... oh, I'll have a lot to answer for!  Little Kahuna, WHAT did you do with our guests?  Out THERE?  With CROCODILES and BANDICOOTS and... well to be honest a Bandicoot's not that much of a threat, but they look a lot larger when you're a lot smaller."

He looks back towards the village.  "Yes, that's for other people.  We should go back, I think.  There was all that music going on, we left before the Chief and his wife showed up to listen.

He leads the little troop back to the village.

"Oh, a few cultural things I should mention," he says.  "Our Chief is Teleki.  If the Chief gives you something, it's not a payment, no reciprocity is expected.  It's the mana thing, generosity is power and all, he's expected to make a public show of it.  The more you give, the greater you are, it's Honoan culture.  Shell strings are money.  Not a lot of money, I think the going trade is a string is about a copper piece. But then, considering you can just pick the shells off any good beach you can't expect much currency value out of them, can you?   Also, the real person with power here is the Chief's wife.  The Honoans believe that woman carry the bloodline, not the men, which I guess makes sense since women can be a lot more certain about who their children are.  She is a magic user, and the one who helped your boat in.  They call her a Wave Tamer, most of her magic is water related.  Her mother is our healer, so maybe there's truth to the bloodline thing.  It's like a troupe of musicians back home, the guy in front may be doing all the talking and smiling but he's not the one really doing the thinking."

"A citrus grove would be mighty fine, if you think we have the time,
We could maybe get and orange, or a grapefruit, or a lime."

Lysander gives a wry grin.

Mary tries to keep notes of these cultural things in her mind,"Wait, so the chief would give us a reward even if we singed horribly. Maybe if we do our best we could be rewarded with all the shells we could want, or maybe they could give us a giant fish, mmh."

Here, we skip a little bit of time.

By late afternoon, the party has toured, talked, and gotten a pretty good idea of what life is like in this little village.

It's not that isolated a place.  It's part of the Honoan Federation, so named because it has no "supreme chief", just eight (or nine, depending on how they count) major chiefdoms that settle things out in slow and awkward meetings.  It's only a 12 hour sail to the nearest significant town, Palau, which means the people here travel back and forth frequently- for socializing and trading, generally.  It's also two days to the Elven port of Lighttree, and sometimes they travel their as well.

They travel over the sea with far greater confidence and speed than over land.  In fact, they don't even bother going into the forest interior of their island.  The prime real estate for settling and living has always been the waterfront.  They know every inch of beach, but there are broad gaps in the knowledge of inland.

Partly because the party is here, the Chief, Kaleke, has announced a "festive dinner" for them.  This is a lot like a normal dinner, but with more food, better food, and music- the Chief has expressed a desire to hear the music of the visitors.  This small village frequently has group meals, as its just easier that way, and much more efficient.  But this has an air of specialness about it, and it even draws in people from the smaller settlement along the beach a few miles to the north.

It's not nearly so bland as breakfast.  There is fish, more fish, fruit of many kinds, rice, and of course, coconut in several forms, including dessert.

The party has been warned to expect a show of generosity.  In addition to seeing that the guests have lots to eat, the chief has the younger members of his family present the guests with shell necklaces and flower garlands.  Everyone gets a rope as well- except the ropes are not just ropes, they apparently serve a decorative function, as they have bright shell beads strung through them.

Between the end of the tour and the beginning of the festival, Lysander will take some time to teach Leysa a couple of songs, inviting Gunnar to join on the drums on the faster one.  He writes out the words to a slower song, about love and loss and asks Mary to try singing them.  There is magic in the words that will cause anyone who listens to work hard not to shed a tear.  This is why you follow up with an uptune.  Play the emotions, and you can control the reaction.

Mary appreciates Lysander's help in everyone's performance. Even though she's not used to the more romantic songs, she memorized them well and does enough practice to match the rhythm of it. When their performance is up, she matches everyone's beats and even helps out those that are having problems in their role.

10:09, Today: Mary Strawburn rolled 24 using 1d20+5+6.  Performance Check.
Editor's Note: Lysander gave me inspiration, so my check has been increased.

This message was last edited by the player at 03:00, Thu 13 Aug 2020.

Leysa shows little interest in the romance of the song or manipulating the emotions attached to the feeling, but she does pay rapt attention to the harmonics and tone. Still, she seems unable to align herself with a tone of romanticism. Simply put, she doesn't connect to the song. The more energetic tunes fit her temperament much better and she bounces and sings them easily.

Still, she cries with glee and hugs Mary when the other woman sings the slower tune.

10:18, Today: Leysa the Emerald rolled 21 using 1d20+3.  performance.

Lysander is glad for the others being there, as he didn't have his best day, but the tune will not suffer for his less appealing performance.


12:44, Today: Lysander rolled 13 using 1d20+5.  Performance.

In reply to Leysa the Emerald (msg # 88):

Mary returns the hug to Leysa,"Hey, not bad for your first performance. And you had fun so that's a good job in my book." she says and gives her a thumbs up, then turns toward the chief,"Oh great chieftain, we ask in your generosity to generously regale us a tale of a dark and shapeless beast that you all know well enough."

Sorry that I'm sort of skipping you Gunnar but in my defense you haven't log in for a few days

The people of Rapatua are an "easy crowd" for musicians- they aren't critics, and they like listening to music from other places.  It's a rare opportunity for them, as they don't get many visitors aside from their fellow Honoans.

They applaud their visitors wildly, and answer with their own music, and dance, because for them the two arts are linked.

And then, at last, Mary asks about... that.

Chief Kaleke looks at "Little Kahuna" Pemberil.  The Halfling shrugs and says "I may have given them a few tidbits, they were very curious."

Then the chief sighs, and takes his place in the middle of the group.

"It is not a pleasant thing to speak of," he says.  "There is no happy ending to this tale, yet.  It begins a few years ago.  Before the arrival of Little Kahuna, after the departure of the Elf Druid Rathal from Lighttree.  We had some good seasons with the Chaos farm, we had hoped to tame ours the way the people of Montebon tamed theirs.  It brought us wealth in trade, and good times.  Rathal said it was dangerous, that we might bring plants that upset the balance here, plants that would spread across the island as invaders.  We promised him we would be alert for such things.  If the people of Montebon could manage, so would we.

"And then, something brought sickness to our crops.  All the signs of magical attack, you can see it today, the circles of death in the forest.  I searched with parties of warriors for the evil magician doing this with our best warriors but we were not able to find them.

"Every time a crop came in, it happened... yet, it was not what Rathal had warned.  It was not of the chaos farm, it was something else, coming from the deep forest, past the bamboo thickets, to attack it.  Several times we saw the shadows moving through the forest.

"It must have feared us because it used its evil conjurings to make plant-things to attack us, made out of our own crops.  These are made with magic but they are not magic, they are mortal.  We have fought them, and ordinary weapons can kill them.  But several times we have been close to the plant killing magic being.  It appears as a mass of gray, shapeless as a jellyfish on the beach, but more deadly.  If it touches you, you will weaken and tire.  It takes the life from you.  Not as fast as it does from plants, but some.  We have hit it with arrows and spears and a harpoon.  Our weapons do not harm it.  My wife has been trying to make some magic that might help, but she is a water shaper, and water magic is not strong for fighting creatures on land.

"It is a shapeless thing, but it does have substance.  When it moves, it bends and pushes the plants like a man passing through the forest, though it leaves no tracks.  Weapons can hit it, they just do not hurt it.  One day, the gods will let us have the magic we need to slay the thing, and we will hunt it down and kill it.  Until then, it kills our crops, and our village struggles even though it could be prosperous.  But I can tell you, it is not what the Elf Druid warned us of, it is not created by the Chaos Farm.  This we know!"

Leysa listened carefully. The story she heard made sense to her in many ways; it was confusing in many others. Frowning, she stroked her chin and withdrew a bit to ponder the situation.

Eventually, she looks at the chief and smiles. It's a fangy thing. "I am sure we have plenty of magic. Perhaps we can help?" Leysa did fancy herself a guardian of the natural world.

Mary chuckles quietly to herself as she listen to the chief's tale and nods toward Leysa as she spoke,"Yep, our party has a lot of magic users but if that sort won't work, you can always count on pure strength. But such a foe makes me want to prove my mettle even more, so today is your lucky day chieftain, cause the gods have sent us to handle your plant problem." she says with a lot of confidence.

Lysander looks wistfully and says,
"Though you look to solve this thing, your life is focused the seas,
But it seems this problem needs someone to look among the trees."

Mary has achieved the Honoan "Mic Drop" and suddenly has the full attention of all of them.

"Can't back out or even talk about it now," Pemberil says very quietly.  "Once you've gone and pointed to the gods, you're in it, or you'll be neck deep in bad mana for life!"

It's a point well understood by the Honoans.  A wiry looking older woman stands up- her skin is the same deep bronze as most of the others, but her hair has gone to silver, and her arms sport a variety of tattoos.  She walks towards Mary.

"I am Tiakowene," she says, "mother to the wife of the chief, I am the healer to this village.  Your taking of this burden is brave and generous, may it be granted with success.  But you do not know the land here.  No one knows it well, as we have not been here for a long time.  Chief Kaleke knows the land near the village, and though you have stated that you must do this, so too he must go as well.  For guidance, and for the fact that it is not for him to pass on this burden completely to guests."

The chief nods.

Tiakowene continues.  "I am a healer, I have magic, but I am too old for exploring through forests.  If you are hurt you must return to me here."

One of the younger men of the village raises a question:  "Where do you even begin?  The island is wilderness, the forests are deep, trackless..."

"Not trackless," Chief Kaleke says.  "We know, where this enemy passes, even when it does not use its magic, the plants are hurt by it.  One who knows the health of plants can see where it has been."

"Well that's lucky," Pemberil whispers, looking at the Druid.

"Tonight, eat and rest and make ready," the Chief says.  "Bring more food! There is no need to hold back now! Tomorrow we shall track and kill this enemy of our crops."

“Hurray!” Robyn called out trying to do his part to lift everyone’s spirits. “Feast then kill the beast! Feast then kill the beast!” Although he suspected that he would be all but useless on this quest. Weapons without magic were said to be useless, and Robyn carried no magic at all. Well, perhaps the opportunity would arise that he could help in some other way.

Tamara smiled and shook her head at the others' antics over tying them all up in a quest to kill this unknown threat to the island.  Still it was doing things to the natural life here that shouldn't be allowed to continue.  So she would go along with their plan.

"Innas lend a dag i um."

Mary was quite proud of her declaration and triumphantly eats the food. She has absolutely no magic other then her minor healing and divination abilities(Divine Senses), but her confidence is undaunted by the task at hand,"I've got your back everyone, this shapeless beast won't know what him. Hey, maybe this is a good time for me to practice on my smiting skills, I'm still working on that." she says hopefully, taking a long sip of her coconut milk.

They have a pre-quest feast with the inhabitants of Rapatua, with fish, coconut, more coconut (in pudding form), fruit, and various tropical island delicacies.

Rum begins making the rounds, and after helping himself, Pemberil offers some to "Fellow Halfling" Robyn.

"One Halfling to another," he says, "a few things... one, the rum is very good here.  If more people visited here I'd open up a little beachfront pub, combine the best of Rapatua and the Halfling life.  It'd be very popular with Halfling travelers I think.  I'd have those candlenut torches and tikis all around and open bar under a thatch roof.

"The other thing... beware of the tall folk getting us in over our heads.  Which is very easy considering the altitude of our heads.  We were never meant to be dragon slayers.   If you need some torches and things for the hunt, I've got them.  Also, it's a fair bet they're going to make you do the scouting, because we get around in some of those thick plant area better than they do.  Especially if you get into bamboo.  It's thick and strong and the big folk get exhausted pushing through it when its thick.   Still, carry a good chopper, like the kind they use to cut sugar cane and open coconuts. "

The chief makes plans to send some scouts and hunters on a "perimeter check" in the morning, to see if there are any fresh afflicted areas.  That would be a good way to start the hunt, he says.

But for the rest of the evening, it's eat and drink and listen to music and watch the dancing.

In the morning, the hunt will begin.

Robyn thanked Pembril for his advice. Fire might come in handy against the creature if only to keep it corralled so that they could find a way to bring it down. And the advice about the bamboo was welcome as well. Robyn was familiar with scouting, but one of those chopping blades could be very useful.

“Maybe you should start on that beachfront pub project.” Robyn suggested. “If we have success with chaos farming for this queen in Monteban, it could mean more people there. Which could mean more visitors here as well. And I will need a few ventures to keep me busy. Learning to make this rum sounds like a good one to start. And if I learn to do it well, I might be able to help keep your pub supplied.”

Mary strums her guitar, enjoying herself in the festivities, but when it's time to sleep she goes in deep prayer. Once morning arises, she's brimming with enthusiasm and starts singing merrily to herself,"We're going to hunt a monster down. Lob his head and throw it in a soup. That sounded pretty dark when I said it out loud."

"To hunt a monster is our goal
and it's just for heads to roll,
But putting it into the soup,
you might as well just add his poop."

Tamara makes sure to stick to the non-alcoholic drinks for the most part, but does enjoy taking part in the various foods and even dances with the locals.

Leysa tries some of the more adventurous drinks but finds them unsatisfying. She politely declines more. When pressed, she is rather insistent on it. She eats plenty of food though, enjoying the coconut immensely, and talks happily all night. In moments of silence, she feels apprehension for the coming days' adventure.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 14:00, Fri 21 Aug 2020.

Lysander will play one more song as things seem to start slowing down.  Knowing it will be an early morning, he plays a song intended to make people melancholy.

A few of the other warriors of the village offer to join in this quest, but the chief tells them not to.

"I must go.  If this fails, you will be needed here, for whatever must be done next.  You know as well as I do that the enemy is magical, a few more spears will not decide this battle."

There is protest, but Pemberil quietly explains this is a social formality at this point.  They must protest or be seen as cowardly.  And of course, they know that Chief Kaleke must deny them.

The warriors give their regrets about not accompanying the Chief on the hunt, and agree to his instructions.

The evening festivities wind down, and people drift off to their homes to go to sleep.  Almost everyone here lives right on the beach, so it's a simple thing.  A few visitors from farther north along the shore hop in their canoe and paddle away- quicker and easier than walking!

The characters spend their second night on the island.

At this point we move to a new thread, The Hunt.  I'm going to make the old threads public as we move along to the new ones, so everyone can read each other's past adventures!