[IC] A Stolen Land

[Eran]

- IMHO we should mix the two options: settle here and start to discover the nearby areas.

Ooc- Was this out of character?

[ OoC - IMHO this was IC, see below. ]

Walking back over to the others.

"So what shall be our next move.  Do we settle in and prepare to defend, or do we go hunt the dragon in its den, as the saying goes?"

The brothers were in the stables, but Valdi has already left the stables and walked back out to the group. 
I think Vidar was speaking in Skaldic when he suggested the hunt to Valdi, which Valdi ignored as his brother being foolish (I did not suggest the hunt, I came out and asked teh group what next)]

[OoC - If most of the PCs don't understand or hear your conversation then please use the spoiler bbcode. It makes much more easier to follow things.]

[Vidar the Red]

With no other choice other than to concede to the group's will, Vidar looks his brother in the eyes and nods. "Shall I collect the bodies and feed them to the dragon's breath or to the world serpent? (He means burn them or bury them.) "There are some fine bows they gave us. Mayhaps we should test them on a hunt to help fill our host's stores? It will give us the opportunity to scout the land."

After speaking with Valdi, Vidar will attend to the bodies, either burying them or burning them, but maybe after the breakfast that Svetlana is cooking.  Then he will take a suitable bow and quiver of arrows and see if anyone else is interested in going on a hunt later today.

Ooc - Vidar suggested the hunt to the group. I'll use spoilers in the future, good suggestion. It was early morning when we fought the gang. If we buried/burned the bodies then it would have been sometime in the afternoon. Someone with an eye for engineering could have assessed the fort for repairs. If we went scouting, maybe 1 mile out from the fort on horses, then that could bring us to evening. The idea behind the scouting/hunting trip was to see what was to our immediate East, South, and West. (we came from the North)

[DM Dougfan]

I'm glad you mentioned scouting the hexes, because that's going to be a fairly major part of the first part of this campaign (at least until the Kingdom Building Turns).  It takes a whole 5 hours walking at 30-foot speed just to travel across one plains hex and a full day to completely explore it.  Other kinds of hexes obviously take longer, as does traveling or exploring at slower speeds.  Scouting a mile outside the fort  won't show you very much as the land changes rapidly after you scout given its wild nature.  I've even provided a bit of an outline (granted by the AP ) for you here:

Traveling (Time to cross 1 hex) 
Party Speed    Plains    All Other Terrains
15 feet         11 hours     16 hours
20 feet         8 hours       12 hours
30 feet         5 hours       8 hours
40 feet         4 hours       6 hours
50 feet         3 hours       5 hours

Exploring (Time to fully explore 1 hex)
Party Speed           Plains           Forest or Hill              Mountain or Swamp
15 feet                  3 days           4 days                           5 days
20 feet                  2 days           3 days                           4 days
30 feet                  1 day            2 days                            3 days
40 feet                  1 day            1 day                             2 days
50 feet                  1 day            1 day                             1 day

[Vidar the Red]

Ooc- Sounds like these are huge tracks of lands! I guess I was just looking to see what was out there. Forests to the left, sand to the right, mountains to the south kind of info. Usually my curiosity gets the best of me but I'm rather enjoying the mystery of what could be out there...

[DM Dougfan]

[[Plains as far as the eye can see to the south. To the East and West are the South Rostland Road that you took to get here.]]

[Nexendia]

"Well, it seems we will need to set up a shift rotation for watches.  How many do you think should be on watch at one time?"

[OoC: I think we can only typically exert ourselves for 8 hours a day and we need at least 8 hours of rest or more if we get interrupted while sleeping.  There are 5 of us, plus 1 familiar, plus 2 owners, and 1 shifty bandit.  What do you think of 2 people on watch at opposite corners so each person can watch in two directions?]

[Valdi]

[OoC Valdi would have rememoriuized spells right after the battle. since we are jumping ahead teh timeline to evening and he memorizes in the mnorning (bandit attack was dawn, before he momorized)]

[DM Dougfan]

There is a seeming calm to the air at Oleg's Trading Post that had not been there when you arrived. Svetlana seems...calmer. As does Oleg, even when he is near Happs. Perhaps the certainty and finality of your defense of the rickety, old fort has left them with renewed hope of survival in this blasted place.

[Nexendia]

Nex waited for a few minutes to hear suggestions.  When everyone is silent she adds, "Don't everyone jump in at once."

[Andra Petrescu]

Andra finally speaks up. "Three. Two on the walls, one below. If the watchers see something interesting, they can signal the one below, who can then wake up everyone else."