Perfectly fine with me, on counts

I'm good with it! If the party is gonna be sending letters (or drafting constitutions) I'm happy to write them (more the former than the latter for Iphigenia but still). Despite a healthy dose of cynicism, she's not against it!

Just FYI, hoping to have the next mini(?) chapter up Friday morning. So a little bit of time to play things out, but just to kinda give an idea of a timeline (as Friday is the earliest I'll have to sit down with the map and things)

Brother Koji Understanding the scepticism of his comrades, Koji chose his words carefully to emphasize the practical and strategic benefits of formal agreements. He addressed them with a tone of earnest persuasion: "Friends, I understand your doubts, and indeed, in a perfect world, a person's word would be as binding as any written contract. However, we do not live in such a world. Written agreements serve not just as a testament to one's intentions but also as a safeguard, a means to hold each party accountable to their promises. It is not merely a matter of trust, but of creating a framework within which trust can flourish under the rule of law." He continued, emphasizing the strategic advantages: "Consider this: when we have trade agreements and constitutions in place, we create a system of mutual obligations. These documents are not just pieces of paper but bindings that hold each party to a standard. If they break these, it's not just a breach of trust, but a breach of a legal agreement, providing us clear recourse to seek remediation or justice. This structure doesn't just protect us; it provides clarity and stability for all parties involved." Koji paused, letting his words resonate with his listeners. "Moreover, having these documents allows us to set precedents for future dealings, not only with our current counterparts but with others who will see how seriously we take our commitments and the rule of law. It lays a foundation not only for accountability but also for the kind of society we aspire to build—one based on order, respect, and mutual benefit." Brother Koji aimed to show that written agreements were not merely a formality but a critical step towards establishing a reliable and enduring society, providing a clear path for resolving disputes and building trust among various factions.

Karadoon "Iphigenia is right. People who do not honor their spoken word will not honor their written word. As for my people I would counsel a cautious approach. The brotherhood of my people has been sorely tested of late." Weapon - Combat statsBAB +1 Extra +1 (Brother Koji spell effect) Cutter: +2War Axe D6/D8 (1h/2h)

"The Houses of Southland will come running if they smell a chance for profit..." said Iphigenia, and-turning to the Brother-she continued: "...I doubt any sort of document would prevent business as usual, no matter what your sentiments on the matter." She sighed. "Still, it's better to find our heads dealing with the headaches of homeland politics than mounted on Maliente pikes. I'll write to my father; maybe House Ines will want to invest a little more here, for a price." She turned to Stavard. "But I agree about the canons: let's go before winter closes us in completely."

Brother Koji "We could send word to Aweholm, and get them to approach on Free Haven's behalf, they do not have the history that the colonists here have. Also, the powers that be might not know of the history of some of these individuals, but people can be motivated by greed, and there is a whole lot of knowledge and resources out here that they would want back home. " thinking about this for a moment, he adds. "Whatever we do, we should write up a charter, a bill of rights, a constitution for the people settling here, so that we don't get taxed by the powers back home, and any resources we ship back, are paid for properly, and these people are not swindled or cheated out of their due." He pauses and thinks for a while," I'll draft something up, and then we can amend it until it works for all of us"

If we want allies Southland and Lon seem like our best and least morally compromised bets. Both are naval powers that stand to make a fortune from trade and they seem least likely to act with genuine depravity. We could send a ship with a delegation from this place and Aweholme to Southland and then Lon to do some diplomacy but that is something I have little tongue for. I like these new frontiers and I think I shall stay here awhile. But enough about that. Stavard cut himself off. Let's get those cannons. If we were to engage in river raiding they would prove a decisive advantage.

Karadoon "Perhaps our best use of the remaining teavel time would be best spent bringing back the cannons we salvaged from the old pirate ship. That area would not be so far from the forest where the dog faced people are. If a working party dropped us off they could retrieve the cannons while we looped around to scout the dog faces more thoroughly and then made our own way home. When we entered their forest last time they appeared to have a large encampment set up. It was dozens if not hundreds of camp fires large. Could have been a permanent dwelling for them." Weapon - Combat statsBAB +1 Extra +1 (Brother Koji spell effect) Cutter: +2War Axe D6/D8 (1h/2h)

Late Summer - Day 84, Noon - Free Harbor It's not so much that Free Harbor has secrets and rumors - instead it is just the common talk of the town: At any given time, the flying lizards could go overhead and kill them all. Thus far, it seems that roofing over the entire town has been sufficient for the purpose, and out in the open simply laying down and not moving when one appears on the horizon has also minimized the risk. While they lacked the term "dragun" - they quickly found a liking for it and the term is adopted more broadly. There are also concerns about the dog-faced creatures. Lumber for construction is harvested from their domain, and it is unclear if there is a centralized government that will lead them to send a unified force against Free Harbor at any time in the future. Thus far, sniping from the Order of the Dragon seems to have been enough to keep them at bay, allowing the trees to be taken. The last major point of discussion is Kelmar itself. This group was largely part of the first sent out - exiled for various sins real or imagined to explore, but presumably die. The Glowing Expanse was not known to exist, so that they are alive today at all remains somewhat remarkable. But questions about if anyone from Kelmar knows they survive are quickly shifted when it is found out that Drokvian refugees were brought north by Lily Stoddert: Clearly, word of this land's existence is starting to spread. And so, the arrival of the group to Free Harbor brings a different question into sharper focus: Should Free Harbor reach out to Kelmar for additional supplies of powder, shot, guns, and the various implements of war which will clearly be needed, or will Kelmar view Free Harbor as a den of outlaws, having survived past their expiration date?

The repair of the Philadelphia-and the making of a copy-seems a promising one-one that Iphigenia is loathe to refuse. They will still need to find cannons to outfit the second gunboat with, she notes, but in general having more boats seems like the prudent thing to do. She quickly sets out to collecting what rumors and information she can from the locals; knowledge is power, after all, and if there's anything to be learned about their enemies here, then she had better make note of it.

kinda like the idea of getting a bit of campaigning in now while the weather is good and then wintering here which will be plenty of time to do the fortifying stuff.

Misc. roll.

There are. We took them from the ghost pirate ship and buried them ashore. I think we got two of them off before things started breaking.

if it was a gunship, I hope it would have some cannons on it as well.

One potential "quick" adventure - I would *swear* there were some cannon hidden away east of the Havenwood Union, but cannot immediately find that thread.

Late Summer - Day 84, Noon - Free Harbor Quickly, everyone finds that the food situation is on sure-footing due to the works of Iahalae, supported by the sure guidance and leadership of comrades past - not least of which Aephren and Elladra. While the promise of Drokvian refugee mouths to feed might have raised an issue, it is quickly recalled that they were sent to the Fortune, which in turn is likely to sail for Aweholme. As such, the only new mouths are your own. How they will be assimilated into Aweholme may need to be a question for the spring. The offer of repairing the Philadelphia is one that falls on welcome ears - but there is a question of if you repair and take it - what will Free Harbour have for itself? A compromise offer is made instead: The Order of the Dragon will harvest materials from the not-too-far distant forest to build a second hull, laborers will be provided, and in the end there could be two vessels - the Gunboat Philadelphia and a different hull. Which would go to who could be a matter of some discussion. Greta Starling, herself a bit of a polyglot, quickly finds herself offering to teach any who would desire to learn over the course of the winter, and, concerned about the rigors of campaigning, anticipates also remaining here in the spring.

Karadoon "Us and a few extras might be all we can muster for the winter. The dwarves are somewhat divided internally at the moment. Some of the humans are outright at war. The descriptions from the refugees make me think the Drakvians might side with the Maliente. Scouting the terrain, locating their encampments, outposts, and settlements is all good. And I'm definitely willing to burn a few tents after what I saw at the outpost. We could start over here where we labeled this are dog face people. These are a short race. Have kind of dog like features. They attacked us on sight. But I don't recall seeing them use magic. They are, so far as we can tell, very cruel. We found one of them we think the others buried alive in some sort of torture device...." Karadoon pointed to an area on their charts that was just north and slightly to the west of Free Harbor. Weapon - Combat statsBAB +1 Extra +1 (Brother Koji spell effect) Cutter: +2War Axe D6/D8 (1h/2h)

Stavards nods with Koji's description. The goal isn't to fortify long term. It's to first get a sense of the area, maps and all that more or less. Then, to ensure that use of the areas are denied to the enemy by destroying any of their outposts or scouting parties present. And lastly, to aid our use of these areas by preparing caches and hideouts for our use in future campaigning. In terms of order of battle it would be just us and a few auxiliaries. If we find a major encampment we could raise some militia and storm their lines with an augmented force. But it could be simpler to assail their lines of supply instead. Repairing that ship sounds like a very sound idea indeed.

This is where I believe the Drakvian refugees could be a source of lore for us. We just need one or two advanced apprentices who finally decided to run away to make themselves known. If they are unwilling to stray from the camp, that's fine as long as they are willing to tutor us. And, if we did have a mage character join, we have a ready made reason for how the mage showed up here.

Brother Koji "This is a remarkable location, have you done this all yourselves, how long have you been here?" Koji admires the workmanship and ingenuity of the location, running his hands over the walls and earthen roof "We had a similar idea, but using camouflaged cargo nets, to hide us from the Dragan, and make us less likely to be seen, even routing the campfire smoke out to other locations" He wanders around, smiling and introducing himself to the people who look up to him, it seems that this is very natural to him, he stops and looks out at the harbour "Is that a gunboat out there? it looks damaged, has anyone looked at repairing it, for that is something I am well skilled to do, if it is desirable?" Later as the others talk of ranging and commitments Koji remarks, "Initial forays into the territories around here and close to the enemy as to cause disruptions, scout out locations, sabotage, and steal supplies from enemy encampments, and get out before they can rise a muster. Is that the right gist Mr Stavard? Small team engagements and not massed unit warfare? more like a naval battle than cavalry, heavy and light infantry and archer units?" "talking of the Navy, I saw an abandoned Gunship laying in the harbour, it looked very dilapidated, but I think with some effort we could repair it and make it shipshape and Bristol fashion. Then perhaps map out the coastline, and see if we can find other settlements or ruins around the coast line?"

I'm happy to retrofit and repair the dilapidated gunboat Philadelphia perhaps renaming it to Pheonix I can make that the focus of my winter's work. I think getting a better understanding of the coastline, mapping out the area, seeing if we can't find other settlements near the sea or rivers (prime real estate) , and starting diplomacy with them. Koji isn't against unliving, as the Faith hasn't had to deal with them en masse, so there may be avenues to pursue there. Exception for the hostile ones we've fought. Also, I didn't know the spell ligneous dissolution existed, and doubt we do, so when they use it on us for the first time, will be interesting, and we'll then have to find a way to counter it. Perhaps a quest in itself. I'm happy to brainstorm ideas and see what we agree on to pursue.

This would also be a problem for wooden palisades, abatis, some shields, formations of bowmen.... Many potential applications here. I also wonder just how far we could ask our new friend in the forest to go for the cause. Magically derived plant matter would survive. If she could sacrifice a few limbs we might really be onto something. On an unrelated note, we once found a small trinket (an articulated toy metal horse, like a child's toy) stuck in a pouch in the river. It almost had the feel of a totem or charm put there as a good luck charm or something. Now that we have met our tree friend, I wonder if the river holds such a creature.

All I can say is that I'm stoked that people are thinking of the world as a living thing where things are happening regardless of what you're doing. As to where theory meets practice, that seems like something that, if desired, could be pursued after winter encampment :)

shameless metagaming but the ligneous dissolution spell at lvl 1 throws a wrench shall we say into naval combat....