Chapter 2: Landfall

Through the day the small crew guided the longboat toward an ever-nearer shore. By mid-day the inhospitable shore could be discerned. Sharp cliffs with verdant crowns jutted out of the ocean, the storm-churned spray washing high on the cliffs. There was definitely wildlife on the island, shorebirds and seabirds mingled in the sky. Onward sailed the little craft as Tempest altered course to see if there existed a less death-defying landing. By late afternoon the large island was tantalizingly close and a gentler shore did indeed present itself.

Tempest recognized the tell-tale signs of a barrier reef and skillfully navigated the boat around the lurking hazard, picking a circuitous route to the beckoning black sand beach. It was a glorious sight. Trees lined the crescent beach, a dark wall of green rising from the sand. A river cascaded down the final leg of it's journey to the sea on right side. The volcano loomed in the near distance on the left, towering high above the jungle canopy.

Dusk was rapidly approaching by the time Tempest was able to guide the boat into the sheltered bay. A fitful breeze blew off the shore, catching the sail and hindering progress at times. At one point there was a sickening crunch as the boat was blown off course and struck a sharp underwater outcropping of volcanic rock. Spurred by the leak that sprung from the impact, Rollo grabbed the rope, leaving the sail to flap in the wind, and after tying it to the bow dove into the water. The ranger towed the boat into shore, hauling on the line once he found some solid footing.

Weary from the long day, the crew finally finds themselves on solid ground.

Griselda
The excitement and effort of getting the boat to shore keeps Griselda's mind occupied with far too much to do to worry about other things. The beauty of the island, the lovely beach and the river with its promise of both sweet water and fish are a goal to strive for making the effort of reaching it much more pleasant than it otherwise would have been.

As the boat is finally dragged ashore, Griselda's carpenter's soul groaning at the sound of the boats bottom crunching against the rocks, Griselda clambers joyfully ashore, resisting the urge to immediately examine the boat for damage.

Then she is hit by a strange wistfulness, one that she generally tried to avoid by going ashore as little as possible. On the boat she was one of many sailors. But everyone else had come to the boat from a previous life onshore. Griselda had no memory of one and was reminded of this fact every time the crew was given shore leave, usually choosing to stay about for her leave or at most visiting the nearest market to buy treats and spend her money and then returning.

But it seemed this time she would be on shore for an extended period and the haunting dreams and fleeting memories would come back of the race through the burning city.

Shaking her head she put those thoughts aside and turned after all to help drag the boat further up the beach so she could help unload it and examine the damage to the hull.

But first, she did as promissed and made sure everyone was armed with a wooden weapon of their choice, even if only for an hour. Bows were an option though would likely need practice to be much good since it was hardly what she normally made. Still, a bad bow was better than none at all and they would be valuable for hunting.

The journey towards the promise of land had been difficult and taken every ounce of concentration from her, to have made it through the reef only to be knocked onto one of the jagged rocks yards from the beach galled her a little. But she was so glad to have made it alive to shore that it soon wore off. There were timbers on the island and they had a very resourceful carpenter so she did not let it worry her too much.

As the boat inched onto the black sands under the tug of Rollo and the pushing of the waves, she finally loosened her grip of the tiller and looked at their new surroundings. It looked promising for fresh water, food and shelter...but at what cost she wondered.

She moved forward to the bow of the boat and gracefully leapt out onto the sands, sinking slightly into their giving embrace as the seawater pooled about her boots. She helped the others pull the boat up to the high water mark, her eyes regularly

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scanning the tree line and her ears listening out for sounds of trouble. She tried to hazard a guess as to what may be lurking

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animal and plant wise from her glances.

Once the boat was now hauled she obtained a spear from Griselda, she would have loved to have had her old crossbow right now but guessed it would be to difficult to recreate and did not want to tax Griselda. Looking about the beach from their landing spot she tried to determine a good

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spot to camp and defend themselves from, she then turned to the others in the fading light.

The light is going fast, we should not venture far. We need some basic shelter for the night, some fresh water and if we can find some good wood for making basic spears and staffs all the better, they'll last through the night and not tire out Griselda.

Given what we fear maybe on this island I don't thing we should split up too much, or wander too far from the beach today. In the light of morning we can explore the islands and look for more resources. We have some food left from the boat, if we use that tonight and worry about hunting tomorrow. She suggests looking to each of them in case they wished to add something.

"Sound suggestions, lass." Garnett nods approvingly after helping secure the boat. The tide is ebbing now, but Tempest easily spots the high tide mark, roughly halfway to the treeline. Come high tide much of the beach will be under water. The foliage is tropical and the sounds of birds and monkeys can be heard from the canopy. As to what might be silently lurking in those depths, however, is anyone's guess. Islands are funny that way. On a mainland you would definitely have large cats, boars, and the odd humanoid to worry about. One can never be quite sure what has made it's home on a volcanic rock in the middle of the sea, though.

Too small to help secure the damaged boat, Avedis and Cricket begin gathering wood for a fire, always remaining within sight of each other and the boat. At Tempest's direction, and with a spark of magic from the sorceress, a fine fire is soon burning about a stone's throw away from the river. The supplies are hauled near the temporary camp and a quick inventory shows a couple days food and a days worth of water in the stock.

The sun is just beginning to set on the castaways, marooned on an idyllic beach somewhere in the middle of the ocean. In the darkening jungle behind you lurks the unknown.

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Decide on your evening plans, or even your extended plans. Once you've more or less decided a course of action we can see what the night brings.

With a fire lit and crackling away to itself with the odd pop punctuating the gentle roar, Tempest allowed herself a small smile. The warmth it brought for a moment pushed aside the worries of demons and supplies. they had enough for the next two days, surely in that time they could find something edible.

She sat still in silent contemplation a moment longer her eyes mesmerised by the dancing flames all most as much as when she sat watching the clouds of a gathering storm. The sound of a loud pop from the fire sending orange and red sparks into the air revived her and she sighed once to herself.

We'll need a good watch, in pairs at least, before it gets full dark maybe we should find some strong shafts of wood. If Griselda's creations last only an hour they won't be much good for a watch she shot the woman an apologetic look But they would be of more use in the day for hunting or just now as we look for nearby alternatives. Some stones maybe good too. she suggested looking to the others to see what they thought.

Rollo

Quickly Rollo

I'm a poet and I know it

followed Tempest's lead,

Perception:
Dice Roll: 1d20+5
d20 Results: 20 (Total = 25)

scanning the foliage and hidden areas, trying to

Knowledge (nature):
Dice Roll: 1d20+4
d20 Results: 4 (Total = 8)

suss out what might be found. He set about these

Survival:
Dice Roll: 1d20+5
d20 Results: 6 (Total = 11)

tasks wordlessly, helping increase the general physical comfort of the group, while hoping to find a piece of wood he might

Craft (Weapon):
Dice Roll: 1d20
d20 Results: 12

craft into a spear...

Once he had a chance to rest by the fire, he wondered about the nightmares: "If those dreams were supposed to be a warning, then about what? Mine told me You shouldn't have done that... done what? Refused to die at sea? Try to survive?" I'm as irked as I am scared, I tell you."

Griselda
Griselda smiled at Tempest's look to convey that no appology was needed. She was well aware of the limitations of her creations. They were good for emergencies but as a carpenter she valued good, solid, permanent work far more.

'Some are better at seeing in the dark than others. Probably a good idea to have at least one of each pair being one of those. I cannot see in the dark. But I only need four hours rest. I suggest I be with the dawn watch since I wont need the sleep and will then be able to see.'

Raphaela
Tsk "If were going ta be take'n shifts, I'll do tha first." Raphaela groans as some ready for sleep and others try and figure out who is going on watch. "I've good night vision." she says reassuringly, which is true, but truthfully she just did not want to be woken up in the middle of the night for a watch. "I'll be over here..."

Raphaela then moves a good distance away from the party and the warmth of the fire. She just experinced what cold was, in those nights at sea with no covers... a little while longer would not hurt her none. She figured if something or someone was on the island noticed their fire at night, they would not notice her off to the side of the group... then she could decide how dangerous it would be for her to help them. She spots a sutable tree on the edge of their camp and makes her way up it. It is by no means the tallest tree, but far enough from the others that anyone looking at the camp would not look up at the tree, especially with a sentry sitting at the camp. She sits herself on a branch that probably wouldn't support most people, but Raphaela is a feather weight. She takes her belt off and straps herself to the bramch at her waist, resigning that tommorow night she will diffinately sleep night to the fire... but not tonight.

ClimbTake 20, since I don't think there is any reason to fail?
Perception
Stealth
Acrobatics To sleep in tree once her watch is over. Do i get a bonus for tying myself in?

Edit: Well, at least I should not fall out the tree when sleeping... I would just wake up and repostion myself. lol. Curse a bit...
Here is the roll she makes after going upside down in the tree. lol. wakey wakey

Garnett looks about the beach. "Precious little by way of weapons, but maybe there's something around that can be used to make a sling. If you find any rocks, they'll definitely do in a pinch." The old half-elf spends the little remaining light gathering stones from the area, forming a decent pile of throwing-sized rocks near the fire.

Cricket, after helping Avedis gather the firewood, gathers up additional wood and palm fronds. "Might be better to sleep on than sand, I think," comments the gnome.

Rollo discovers a small stand of tall, woody grass that will be suitable for making a crude spear, and a more suitable place to set up a fire and shelter once it is light. Harvesting the stalks is a bit of a trick, however, and he ends up using a couple rocks to separate the stalk from the roots. His find in hand, Rollo returns to the fire. Using the flames and the rocks he begins to shape the crude spear.

Garnett sits by the fire and attempts to make some cord using various materials he collected. "I'll take second watch, lass," he informs Tempest with a smile.

"The nightmares are strange creations. From what I know, which is not much, the magic encourages the dreams, causing them to form and guiding their initial shape. It is your own mind that finishes their form," Avedis responds to Rollo's question. He stares into the crackling fire for a while before continuing, "There are legends that speak of communication and even travel through dreams, and of assassins slaying their victim's dream form and leaving the body mindless, but none of that has truly happened that I know of." He looks to Tempest, "I will take a middle watch, I have fair sight in the dim light. If you trust me, that is."

She nodded gratefully to Garnett as he offers to take second watch, I'll take the dawn shift with Griselda, I have no sight for the dark to be of a use in the mid of night.. She offered, truth was she was tired and would be glad of some sleep and hopefully with no dreams, but if dreams were to come again at least she would get some sleep before they arrived. At least she hoped she would.

She met the healer's eyes as he talked and then offered the watch. Avedis, you have done nothing to cause me to not trust you. Midwatch will be fine, thank you. she replied with a half smile. She spoke the truth, unless he openly betrayed them she would give him the benefit of the doubt, despite the recent betrayals by those she would not have thought possible. But if she began to suspect everyone she would not have many allies. They needed to stick together to survive what ever was coming their way.

She took her share of rations and then settle near to the fire and once the sun set and her food eaten she settled down to sleep.