The rumor of the soft and bittersweet sound of a flute made out of a hollowed bone slowly crept along the camp, coming from the guards' tent as Lita knelt on the cloth pile that had been her bed and played her prayers to the Wandering One, one of the few and rare solemn moments in the mercenary's day. It is tradition for the first prayer to come in forms of festivity and celebration, and Lita had decided long ago that a flute sang better than she did. The song finished, she stepped out of the tent and headed down the river to bathe herself, for later she had to be ready to patrol.
The graceless warrior, wielder of the edgeless blade, prophet of the old religions, writer of fluent nonsense, saviour of soul and song."... And finally our food supplies on hand will last four days if we maintain the level of consumption that we have been." Bathsheba Severa said, finishing her the report to Nehrun Lowen that should have been done last night. With all the hustle and bustle that everyone made after landing, it had taken too long to finish accounting for everything before sleep beckoned to her though. A certain rooster had taken it upon himself to wake her up, however, allowing for the speedy finish of her work.
"That is assuming we don't increase our stock with local edibles." Sheba added with a final flourish of her quill as she added that note in the margin of her record paper.
Noise from the direction of the camp distracted her before the final word was written. Two men chasing a stray hen were shouting to each other while the runaway foul clucked up a storm. Many who saw the wild chicken chase just laughed at the situation, most making no effort to help. The chicken half-ran half-flew away from her pursuers, past tents and bedrolls, past fire pits, past the barge.
"Our food supply can be extended to a week if we include the chickens." Sheba noted as the chicken ran past her and Nehrun. All the while she kept eyeing the river, watching as more of her shipmates shouting with glee as they found gold.
Save some for me. Save some for me. She thought desperately.
edited 26th Aug '13 10:03:23 PM by Parable
That night saw the best sleep Fihelis had in weeks. Unlike the cramped ship and the stuffy, confined air (not to mention constant complains from his traveling companions about being "slimed in their sleep"), the open air was very refreshing. He'd chosen a spot beside a large rock at a comfortable distance from the riverbank, not so close that his bedroll would get splashed on, but not so far away from the river either.
He was awakened by the cacophony created by what sounded like a chicken running loose. It seemed he was far from the first one awake, though, as there were other people splashing about down at the river's edge. It might not be a bad idea, he thought, to take a dip himself to start the day off.
Gold was the word on everyone's lips. They were grabbing the sand of the riverbed and picking out chunks of the shiny yellow metal. Fihelis bent down into the water to examine it with his own eyes. "That's one reagent out of the way," he said to himself. "Assuming this is the real thing."
Before doing anything else, though, he'd decided to relax in the shallow water. Just for a little bit.
This "faculty lot" you speak of sounds like a place of great power...Volkmarr, also called Volk by some of the crew, had the best night's sleep he'd had in recent memory. While his kind were just as noted for their wandering predilections and had been sailors, he felt that he was not one of the latter in that regard. The goliath, whose tough light blue hide was still clad in its engineer armor, rose and stretched from his sandy dugout and stretched to find that many of the compliment of workers were already beginning to lollygag and put bits of gold in their pockets. A couple more were chasing a stray chicken while Volk thought he could hear flute music.
His jaw jutting, Volk stomped over to a crowd of workers who were comparing the nuggets they'd picked up. "Less of that, less of that," he rumbled. "There'll be plenty of time for prospecting later. As soon as breakfast is done, I expect you lot to report to me so we can get camp set up in a hurry." His deepset eyes scanned the surrounding treeline before grunting.
"But to start things off, we're gonna get everything off the ship and squared away. So that means some of you are gonna be digging while others are gonna be helping haul stuff out of the hold." Volk grinned at their groans. "Won't that be fun? For the meantime, take what rest you can? Day'll be long and hard. And that's just for this day."
edited 27th Aug '13 9:25:29 AM by mantlemask
The hits keep rollin'!On the riverbank, Erna was stretching, trying to work the last kinks out of her back and limbs. The crowded ship had forced her to sleep in some bad positions. The Elselands were warmer than what she was used to, so she had left her furry hide armour on the ship and stood in her simple rough work-clothes. After stretching, the logger braided her unruly hair so that it would not get in the way while she worked.
"Now then," she mumbled softly and reached for her sharp axe. "Time to get to work."
The way she saw things, she could either help setting up camp with her strength, or go straight to gathering wood so they could start setting up shelters and buildings as soon as possible. The choice wasn't hers to make, however. She headed over to the Overseer, who was talking to his personal assistant, waiting her turn.
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!Standing alone near the center of the crude camp, one short figure went fairly unnoticed as he stared at something in his hands. Not being noticed was the point of his cloak, and just standing there in thought, it was doing its job in wonders.
Ixen had actually been one of the first awake. He'd already taken care of his morning business, including getting a good drink. He had also already found the nuggets of gold hidden just under the surface of the mud, waiting for someone to pluck like some kind of shiny, inedible turnip. Being a thief, Ixen had of course started eagerly picking up nugget after nugget, pocketing them greedily with a wide smile on his face. As he picked up the biggest he'd found yet, he thought to himself, and with this one, I could buy a nice house-
His trail of thought immediately stopped, as his expression fell. What house? Everyone else here could keep whatever they got, and would likely get medals and titles and land when they returned. But what for Ixen? For the criminal that they had to attach a killer collar to to ensure his loyalty? I'll be lucky if I just go back to prison Ixen thought, still staring at the large gold nugget as others awoke and wandered about camp around him, as if he was just a piece of terrain.
He was only finally shaken out of his concentration by the sound of an indignant chicken clucking wildly as it evaded a couple of people. Because of his cloak, the chicken had moved right around Ixen to use him as cover, his cloak preventing it from realizing what Ixen was. Ixen glanced down at the chicken, then at the nugget in his hands. With a sigh, he dropped the nugget back into the mud by his side, then leaned down and picked up the chicken with both hands. "Having some trouble?" Ixen asked sarcastically, holding the chicken out to the two men who had been chasing it. Now that he had moved and spoken up, they should notice him.
Meanwhile, yet another figure had arrived where the Overseer was. The tall, skinny, robed figure of Abathur, today in his green robes, approached, having just been inspecting some of the treeline. "Uh, excuse me, sorry" Abathur said, slipping past the large woman who'd arrived just before him. "The trees of this place are incredible. I suspect they may hold some kind of innate magic" he reported to the Overseer, folding his hands together.
"I'd like to go out and collect some saplings of these trees and maybe some of the other native plants. It would be amazing if we could grow these trees back home, and the sooner I can get to experimenting, the better" Abathur continued with a nod towards the wilderness. "I'd also like to take one or two of the workers with me, to expedite the process" he added.
You are reading this.George was indeed glad to finally sleep on the ground. While it had been nice to see all of the stars at sea, George still preferred the land - just like most of his fellow Stegosauruses. Still, he was proud that he'd only gotten sick twice on the journey. Stegosauruses weren't known for their seafaring ability. He, too, had been fascinated by the gold and joined a group of workers admiring the nuggets. This could make his tribe rich if he managed to get it to them. They could buy a new tent for Pushpa or a ceremonial sword for Chief Brady or...
Or he could be told to get back to work by Volk. George humbly apologized to the big troll like creature. Apart from being his superior, Volk was big - even larger than George.
"I'll help with the unloading sir." he told the troll folk
edited 27th Aug '13 11:25:49 AM by FantasyLiver
Standing not that far away from the river, staring down at the excited men and women filling their pockets, hands and minds with gold, stood a lone knight. A big lone knight. It was impossible to deny that this knight was a particularly imposing figure. Seven foot tall- or maybe more- with a size that made it look more like a walking wall than a person. Of course, it was impossible to figure out who was under the armor too, thanks to the shining metal that covered just about any physical characteristics a person might have.
The helmet slowly shifted to the side, glaring down at the men counting their nuggets. One gloved hand on a sheathed sword stuck to its belt and one hand patting the shield on its back, this one proudly displaying the sign of the King- a majestic winged creature made of gold, its wings covering a shining city, celebrating the prosperity of the Kingdom- the knight started marching down towards the river.
Pushing aside one of the men with ease, it grabbed a few nuggets from the hands of another man, bringing it up to his helmet to inspect it. "There is not much reason for all of you to stuff these in your pockets." A deep, yet distinctly female voice spoke, dropping the nuggets back on the man's hands. "Right now, all you have is this camp and the people in it. So I suggest that all of you promptly deliver those gold nuggets to the Overseer."
Szena Vizern, a Royal Knight, now tasked with protecting this camp, the future of the Kingdom, glared down at the men, who would be able to see her red eyes in the darkness behind the helmet. "I hope I have made myself clear." She said, before marching back to the Overseer's side.
"Careful with that!" A grunt and the clank of wood on metal, followed by the sounds of heavy foosteps clomping along the deck. "And that one, too!" squeaked the high-pitched voice, a combination of worry and proprietorial pride underlying its commands. "That's my latest prototype for-" Whatever the prototype was, its explanation as suddenly cut off by what sounded like a dozen heavy wooden boxes falling over and the squawk of a flock of irate chickens from inside the boat.,
"Uh-oh. Sorry, boss." came another voice, this oen far deeper and more brutish-sounding.
"You- oh, never mind," muttered the high-pitched one, and after a few minutes Garver and his ogre mount emerged, blinking as he took his first look at the coastline ahead of them, and the various people * getting their bearings. In his ham-sized hands, the ogre clutched a series of heavy boxes, trotting up and down the ship as he continued unloading the various provisions and necessities from the ship. From his small saddle perched atop the ogre's hunched neck, the bearded gnome surveyed the coast in front of them. "So this is it, eh? A new frontier, an unexplored vista, full of... well... I'm not quite sure, but it's bound to be enlightening, isn't it?"
"Uh, yeah, boss."
"Oh, never mind, just keep on unloading those boxes, alright? I'm going to scout out our campsite." With that, Garver Burmrod, royal gnome engineer for hire, scrambled down off of his ally and headed towards the other crew members currently scattered around the beach.
edited 27th Aug '13 6:55:59 AM by Locoman
"Miss Severa," A monkey girl dressed like a hard laborer bowed to the secretary and held out a scroll to her, "Here are the reports you needed." Joe was chief assistant. To whom was not stated, the implication meant to be she was assistant to everyone. The 'chief' part was just to make her sound more important, although perhaps as a nod to her use as a jack-of-all-trades.
Quite specifically, these were the reports Bathsheba Severa needed, but she hadn't asked Jozar to make them. These weren't particularly complex reports, they were simply one of the more tedious and unpleasant ones to gather, and as it was Jozar's job to anticipate the needs of others, so she had in this case.
Lita had been watching from afar her bath finished and now clothed properly, though her armor and blade still rested within the tent. That was the boss... well, the security chief in any case, and, while working on the same damn section, she hadn't seen her much or spoke more than a few words with her. She was bored anyways and she figured it was a good idea to get acquaintanced with the knight lady for know. "Oh don't be hard on them Chief, they were following their ambitions, as we all are" Said the bandit as she caught up with Szena.
edited 27th Aug '13 10:54:55 AM by Sanojutsu
The graceless warrior, wielder of the edgeless blade, prophet of the old religions, writer of fluent nonsense, saviour of soul and song.Over near the edge of the woods was Corbin, who peered into the faint light escaping through the trees. He scrawled furiously at a peice of paper, trying to make a drawing of some kind. He finished his drawing, rolled up the paper, and stuffed it into a bag at his hip. He turned around, and immediately headed for the boat. If he were to get any exploration done today, he'd need a lantern or two. The angel then walked over to the overseer, and asked him a question. "Do we have any people out scouting currently? We need to see how much land we can acquire in this clear space."
Uh"Oh stop complaining," Orghuz said to the four men putting up the medical tent. "You'll be happy to have it and me when one of you. Which I guarantee you one of you will be."
Once he was sure the tent wouldn't collapse on itself, the orc started bringing his medical supplies in and setting them up around the tent, which he didn't trust anyone else to do.
Trump delenda est"Excellent work, Miss Severa," replied the overseer, "Not the ideal situation, but certainly not the worst." He noticed the angel's eyes shifting towards the river. "Don't be so nervous, it's perfectly natural to want to take a closer look, everyone feels that way." Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out his hand and opened it to reveal a few small flakes of gold, then put them back in his pocket. "Everyone."
Jeffrey, standing behind the overseer with his arms crossed and a straight face, opened up his palm for a second to reveal a golden pebble, and winked at the angel with his good eye as the rest of his face remained motionless.
"I'll look the other way if you wish to go to the river for a few minutes to work it out of your system, until you realize you can't very well eat gold, nor use it to defend yourself from wolves. Now if it was silver.... Well, there's more pressing concerns at the moment. Such as this."
He looked up at Abathur. "Now then, what's this about saplings? We've trees all around us, boy, you wish to grow your own? Good to see you've got the spirit, but will that be the best use of our manpower today? Have you even set up a workspace?"
"No, I don't think anyone's run off yet," he added to Corbin. "Most of these men, at least, won't work until their bellies are full, though I can't say about the others brought along."
He looked up at Erna. Despite her being four times his height and probably able to crush him with her thumb, he was quite calm as he asked, "What's the problem, girl? Need something."
Finally, he added to George, "Anything that's still on the ship that ought to be taken out, that's what. Though it seems right now most of that's being taken care of. You're tall, though, you might be able to set up the few remaining tents that weren't put up last night. I swear, these people are far too fond of sleeping in the dirt."
"Y-y-y-yes sir," a frightened head replied to Volk from the water. It belonged to a halfling laborer whose body for the most part was concealed by the river. A small hand popped out, which he inspected, then scurried off towards camp.
"Oy, we gots all days to work," added an orc, who towered over the halfling, so she was not so intimidated by the goliath, "Right now we's just stretchin' our legs before breakfast, cool yer horses."
"Crystal clear."
"Like a diamond."
"Like two diamonds!"
Those in the river nodded their heads and agreed as they waited for Szena to leave.
Then they discreetly put what gold they had in their pockets before shoving their hands into the water to obtain some new gold for the camp.
"Lil' bastard didn't want to stay put," the man said, taking the chicken Ixen handed to him, and heading back towards the ship.
Erna simply nodded.
"Where do I start?"
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!"Yessir Mr. Overseer sir." George said. It was ingrained in the Stegosaurus culture to be excessively polite to everyone. That and working hard. Which George resolved to do. Though as he was walking, he noticed a belligerent orc trying to argue with that troll fellow. George simply hurried along keeping his head down. He did not like confrontation. He tapped a halfling worker who was lazying about and asked him if he could help him set up the tents. George was tall, it was true but setting up the tents was at least a two man job and he needed someone small to get the stakes in.
"We're still assessing the situation," the overseer replied to Erna, "But no doubt your talents will be needed soon enough. Why don't you see if anyone around camp needs help until breakfast, then you'll all be able to start working?"
"Oh sweet Maker have mercy," the halfling muttered under his breath. Out of the frying pan, into the fire, as they said. Now instead of the goliath lumbering over him, it was the plant eater.
"C-c-certainly," he quickly said, ready to assist.
"Well, there's not many tents to set up..." said George awkwardly, trying to start up a conversation with the diminutive halfling and not realizing that the poor thing was scared half to death of him.
"Now I just need you to hold the stakes like that while I hammer them in. Once that's done, we can do this..." George said, instructing the halfling. He also made a mental note to talk to that engineer about something that was bugging him.
"Understood, boss."
With that, Erna wandered off, looking for somewhere she was needed.
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!"I'll be taking my leave then." Sheba said as the overseer turned to talk to the others. With that subtle hint that she could take a quick dive for gold, Sheba certainly wasn't going to waste time.
"Miss Severa. here are the reports you needed."
Sheba looked behind her to see the monkey person, Joe, holding a small stack of papers in front of her. "Oh, thank you." she said as she took them off her hands and began skimming through them. "So all the tools minus one hammer are accounted for, the weapons are all in order, we still have 18 chickens left once that one gets put back."
A flurry of feathers and clucking went past Sheba and Joe.
"Correction, we still have 15 chickens." Sheba said with annoyance edging into her voice. "Just what is going on over there? Did they break the cage? Joe, would you please go and see what they are doing with those birds?"
Just then, a large beast emerged from the shadows, tendrils of darkness extending from its back and flailing through the air. Having gone mostly unnoticed before, the beast left his sleeping spot, opening his mouth full of sharp teeth in an enormous yawn. He looked around at the workers, those that were working as well as those still in the river, biding his time before he had to do anything. Rhavyn wondered if they had any gold left for him.
Changing into his humanoid form, he went to the riverbed, hoping to get some of the precious stones before he was called on for anything. He hovered over the river, causing small ripples across its surface, before sinking down into the shallow water. Reaching down and picking up some dirt from the riverbed, he found it to be littered with the small gold nuggets.
"There's loads of this stuff," he muttered, "Enough to make myself a good living once we get back..." At the thought of that, he immediately began scooping up more dirt, sifting the gold out, and stuffing it in his multiple pockets. Once he had a comfortable amount, he got up and looked around. Some people were already working, but many were still getting gold from the river. Rhavyn wondered what the Overseer had in mind for him, if anything yet. "I wonder when breakfast is?" he couldn't help asking himself.
edited 27th Aug '13 5:14:28 PM by Brahian1
i think i mostly want to see what happens when this whole place breaks apartJoe gave a short bow and did just that, scampering off. Monkey-folk often look like they were scampering, just short of running on all fours, although they could if motivated.
It would take her fifteen minutes to assist in catching all the chickens, confirming one had already been caught by a cloaked man and then helping herd the rest toward their chasers. After that, she would see to the poultry's domicile and discover the break in chicken security. Seeing that it was nothing she could help with, someone left the gate open while going in to fetch a chicken, she would report back to Sheba.
Volk turned towards the armored lizard. "Wha's that? Good, many hands make light work." When the lizard (George, he remembered. His name is George.) hurried off to help unload the ship, the big trollkin called back, "Start with tools! We're gonna need those!"
To the rc, he merely gave her a calm look and held out his palms. "I ain't sayin' to go an' do it already. I'm just lettin' y'all know what you're in for. As for me," the big man hefted his tools. "I'm gonna go measure out the camp, see where to set up the walls and things. And see where we can start cutting. An' those of you not so busy, help out with the tents."
He grinned at them before trudging off to the outer limits of their clearing.
edited 27th Aug '13 8:49:20 PM by mantlemask
The hits keep rollin'!

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Dawn in the Elselands came much like it would have anywhere in Rylaan, with the sun rising in a normal fashion. Or so it was hoped, as the tall trees meant that it would be a few hours before it could be seen directly. So far, save for an overabundance of ebony along the tree line, the area looked much like it could belong anywhere back home. Some would dare to say this alien terrain felt rather comfortable.
Most of the men and women brought along to work on the expedition woke up feeling better than they had in weeks, for it had been the first night in recent memory where they had slept unrestricted on solid ground, as opposed to the tight, rocking confines of the ship. Most were sleeping outside of the ship, unwilling to spend another night inside it. Soon they would all demand breakfast and be given their tasks for the day. For now, though, they were not so concerned with their stomachs or their duties. The majority had wandered from the ship towards the river to take care of their morning business, which also marked the first time since the voyage began where someone voluntarily submerged themselves in river water. Soon enough there was quick conversation between those in the water, with some gleeful shouting and slapping. One man who had just arrived bent over to pick up a fistful of sand, shook it to clear out the dirt, and smiled from ear to ear when he held his hands up to reveal small rocks of gold. Others were hurrying to fill their pockets with as many of the small rocks as they could before they would inevitably be called away. Some groups in the water were comparing their prizes, to see whose was largest.
As all this went on, one of the chickens had managed to break free from her cage, and was frantically clucking about the camp.