It's Good To Bee Liam

[Bluehorse]

Liam


  Sorry, the internet has been wonky.  I posted to this at least 3 times now.  Here goes 4!  


Let's go have a look.  And don't beat yourself up over it.  This all would have happened whether I was here or not and we would still have the same task before us as before.  That said he goes through his belongings and takes the Bee Suit out of the Apiary Kit, donning it while explaining how it keeps the bees and other insects from stinging or biting him.  He then gets the small tin smokebox, lighting a small fire inside of it and explaining how the smoke in small quantities helps to calm the bees and keep them from swarming while still being completely safe.  He then walks over to where the hive is and gets a good look.

[OGRE MAGE]

Joe leads the way to the area where Jaxsen fixed up the bee hives a few days earlier. Though the improvements to this area are quite impressive, giving the impression that much thought and preparation was put into them, he still finds the damage done here is fairly extensive. The nets that were set up to keep the other insects out are badly damaged, looking like a few smaller creatures simply tore them down on their way to the golden treasure.

Liam is glad to see that there was already a bit of production being done in the hive, but he is concerned when he sees that many of his bees are gone. Smoking the insects to keep them docile as he investigates a little closer, the bee man finds something very strange. His special bees seem to have aquired some local friends, highly unusual for such creatures. When he looks a little closer, he actually finds some of his bees attempting to mate with some of these local insects.

“Like I said earlier, I ain’t had time to put these nets back up yet, but I can get on that right away now that yer back ta mind the critters. Ya getting any honey from yer bee boxes yet, Mr. Liam?”

[Bluehorse]

Liam


He is clearly worried about the damage and immediately begins assessing what repairs could be made as quickly as possible.  The nets, he sees, are an ingenious design, much better than he had hoped for before.  That will need to be fixed, but the hive itself will also need further protections against larger animals.  Shaking his head, Thought too much of a sting being a deterrent to larger animals.  Making assumptions again, Meadstaff. It does have honey, so that is good.  They finally caught enough of a break to start producing.  Seems there is a local species of bee here as well that is attempting to crossbreed with the.  That might not be a bad idea.  Usually, when you introduce a species like this and it crossed with a more localized version, they take on the best traits of both species.  This could make them hardier for the local environment.  What we need to do right now is gets this open side closed in.  God finds some scrap wood over there from when we put the pens and coops together and my carpenter's kit.  I think I can make some short work of this right now.  We will need to do something about the nets too, they are a good idea.  We will need to think of something else to do about closing the beehives in somehow to protect them from whatever critter is trying to get in and did this.  If it isn't one thing, it is a dozen others...  he grumbles but cannot hide the joy he has from his face that they are producing.  It won't be long, Meadstaff.  Be patient and work hard.  So close...

[OGRE MAGE]

After much work, Liam and Joe get the hive area back in working order as best they can considering the damage done. When the men stand back to appreciate their hard work, they find the trail of tiny 3-toed foot prints in the dirt at their feet. The trail heads off into the thick jungle where they lose it almost instantly once inside the thick nearby foliage.

"Now you get yerself off ta bed sir, afore I need ta carry yer ass in there. Ya aint no use ta anyone here dead tired like you is!"

[Bluehorse]

Liam

Nods. Yes, Dad. he jokes and makes his way back to the house where he will take off the bee suit and pack it away before going to lay down. Trusting Joe to watch the animals while he snoozes.

[OGRE MAGE]

Liam sleeps through the rest of the day and all through the night, finally being awoken by the now dead tired Joe the next morning.

"If'n ye've rested enough, I think I will catch some winks next," he says before nearly falling asleep as he walks away.

Gladly, the ex-nobleman finds no new damage or catastrophes when he checks over his farm and belongings the next morning.

[Bluehorse]

Liam

Feels guilty for sleeping much longer than he intended. He goes right away to check on his bees and see that his animals are fed and watered. Assuming nothing there is a foul, he will hurry to the town proper, checking for breakfast at the cook fire before seeking out Caleb or Marge.

[OGRE MAGE]

Liam spends the beginning of his day tending to his animals now that Joe has finally been given a break so he can sleep. At his hive, Liam is pleased that he doesn't find any new damage. When he watches his bees activity for a moment, the experienced beekeeper is still perplexed by their open mating right there on and near the hive. Knowing full well that the queen is the only egg layer for the hive, he wonders if the island bees are just that much more reproductively active than the bees he is used to watching.

He checks throughout town afterwards and finds things a little worse off than they were when he went on his adventure. The crops that were enhanced by Wes the druid are getting eaten up fast and people are starting to grumble about running out of food again. The fire cooks are roasting up the last bits of dead snake and any other meat scraps they can find, but it simply wont last. One of the fire tenders gives Liam a hardy good morning. "Did ye finally decide to offer us up some a that bacon ye brought here? This snake and ostrich meat is getting old fast."

Caleb and Marge can both be found outside doing their many daily chores.

[Bluehorse]

Liam


Puzzled indeed at the multiple breedings with what must be drones and not the queen herself, Liam leans in and takes a closer look to see what exactly is going on here.  His concern for the bees renewed as this simply didn't make sense now that he was looking on with fresh eyes.


Later when he is speaking to the Firekeepers, he shakes his head.  Not just yet, but I expect there has to be at least one with some piglets in her by now, hopefully, more.  Old Bruce is a mighty boar! he chuckles.   But I suspect there is another opportunity that has presented itself.  There is something breaking into the bee hive as well as trying to get into the chickens.  Something with three toes that comes out from the treeline, but then again I assume everything 'not us' would.  Still, if there are any skill trappers or hunters, maybe we can catch a beast or two.  Some nice fresh meat.  I will take a turn tonight keeping an eye on things and see what pops up.  If I get anything, your gentlemen will be the first to know. he offers a smile and a wink, turning down the food for now so it can go a little further.


Once he finds Caleb and Marge he ask for updates as well as offers whatever manuere he has for the ailing fields.  Shaking his head:   I was speaking with someone last night who had a good grasp of things here.  There is simply too much salt in the air and the soil this close to the sea.  I propose we try clearing some of the underbrush but not the trees themselves less we upset the phanatons.  We can try finding better conditions a bit further inland to see what kind of luck we can have with what will hopefully be more fertile soil.  Grow low light plants like Cabbages and the like.  What do you think?  


Also, what has happened since Yesterday?  I fear my intended short nap was more of a temporary coma.

[OGRE MAGE]

Liam studies his bees closely, wondering what is going on with their unusual mating practices and overall strange behavior. Other than the infiltration of the larger and nastier island bees, he doesn't find anything else amiss. At least he doesn't find any more bees lying around that were obviously killed and tossed from the hive.

The cooks at the fire pit don't seem very amused when there is nothing new added to their pots. They do listen up closely when Liam starts talking about food thieves, though. "Ya, I seen foot prints like you say round here too. Three toes, just like ya said. The prints is pretty small though, so whatever they belong to cant be much bigger than a child. Probably aint a lot of meat on such a critter, but I suppose we should keep an eye out fer um just the same."

Once Marge and Caleb are gathered, the three of them sit down on a log for a quick chat. Caleb seems to agree with the comments made so far.

"I told Nehru that the crops would be stunted growing this close to the sea. The soil here has been exposed to high levels of the salty air and rain, causing havoc on most things we try to plant. A few things will grow in it, but not very well. I definitely agree that we should stop trying to milk a pig here and try something new. Should a small group of us do a little exploring up the trail to see if there is better soil to farm inland? And what about those gaint flying squirrels? Didn't someone say that we shouldn't be clearing out any more of their land?"

Marge pipes up as well. "Lets not forget about those horrible dwarves either. What will they do if we start moving inland, where they have apparently claimed some of this island for themselves. Has anything been done about those intruders yet?"

They look at Liam strangely when he asks what happened yesterday."Well, I don't think anything special has happened since you slept. Besides, you are in town now. Don't you ever feel like time is a little.........off here? Almost like the days just all blend together with no real sense of actual....timing?"

[Bluehorse]

Liam studies his bees closely, wondering what is going on with their unusual mating practices and overall strange behavior. Other than the infiltration of the larger and nastier island bees, he doesn't find anything else amiss. At least he doesn't find any more bees lying around that were obviously killed and tossed from the hive.

Something else to ask the Druids to look into... he thinks shaking his head. Something about this unsettled him now. Hope you are just getting paranoid in your years, Meadstaff... I hope...

The cooks at the fire pit don't seem very amused when there is nothing new added to their pots. They do listen up closely when Liam starts talking about food thieves, though. "Ya, I seen foot prints like you say round here too. Three toes, just like ya said. The prints is pretty small though, so whatever they belong to cant be much bigger than a child. Probably aint a lot of meat on such a critter, but I suppose we should keep an eye out fer um just the same."

He takes in the information and nods. Alright, thank you, Gentlemen. Hopefully, I can get it or them quickly and keep us a supply of eggs coming and soon some porkers.

Once Marge and Caleb are gathered, the three of them sit down on a log for a quick chat. Caleb seems to agree with the comments made so far.

"I told Nehru that the crops would be stunted growing this close to the sea. The soil here has been exposed to high levels of the salty air and rain, causing havoc on most things we try to plant. A few things will grow in it, but not very well. I definitely agree that we should stop trying to milk a pig here and try something new. Should a small group of us do a little exploring up the trail to see if there is better soil to farm inland? And what about those gaint flying squirrels? Didn't someone say that we shouldn't be clearing out any more of their land?"

Marge pipes up as well. "Lets not forget about those horrible dwarves either. What will they do if we start moving inland, where they have apparently claimed some of this island for themselves. Has anything been done about those intruders yet?"

Liam acknowledges Caleb and Marge's concerns: I want to try to meet with the Phanatons first. Specifically the chief. I heard via rumor that the chief of their people has some kind of magic item that allows him to speak with us in some kind of limited way.I believe that if we are only clearing the underbrush to plant for food, we can work out something of a trade and not interfere with them. They live off the fruit in the trees and build their homes there. I think it was the clearing of trees specifically that they wanted stopped, which I can understand since we were literally encroaching on their homes. I think it would be nice to make some kind of trade with them of vegetables for treetop fruits. Once things are working out of coarse. Maybe they can direct us to good soil for this as well as places to harvest trees once that becomes a need. I would like us to be able to work together regardless.

They look at Liam strangely when he asks what happened yesterday."Well, I don't think anything special has happened since you slept. Besides, you are in town now. Don't you ever feel like time is a little.........off here? Almost like the days just all blend together with no real sense of actual....timing?"

Liam hadn't really thought about it since he always seemed busy. Yes, I do believe that would seem to be so. I am sure I will feel more of it once I have been here a bit longer. I suppose what I specifically meant to ask is what is the status of the council idea. It seemed things were getting organized when I left. Did anything come of it? Any ideas? What is the status of our water supply?

[OGRE MAGE]

Marge chuckles a little before she answers.

"Oh yes. Of course. The council."

"Well, Caleb and his farmers seem to be in agreement that the dirt here sucks."

"Glansandi went off into the jungle with a small group to ascertain how many pirates there are and how dangerous an all out attack on them would be. I hear he is asking around for any brave adventurers that might want to go up against them, but I don't know if he got any takers yet."

"Our water supply is dwindling fast now that there is nobody in town to replenish it magically. I fear that we will only be able to wait one more day before a trip to the river will be necessary."

"Reythan held a few meetings about building a small place for the community to pray and worship, but there seemed to be a stalemate as to which deity to devote the shrine to."

"I don't think anyone has tried to contact the tree people yet."

[Bluehorse]

Liam

Well, we have a loose plan about the soil situation, so we can at least have that on the table for the moment...

The water worries me as the most immediate matter. I guess we will call it on hold until the scouts are back and we will act accordingly. I am willing to hitch Jack to the cart with Barrels and any other containers we have available soon as there seems to be a chance, even if it means with an armed guard.

Far as which deity to worship, why would we limit it to one? Should the people not have the freedom to worship who and how they wish? What if we made a shrine that represented all faiths? Make it in honor of all gods of goodwill? Call me sympathetic, but I believe all faiths can exist with each other.

Now there is one other issue I will bring up... he fills them in on the mystery creature(s) trying to get into his chickens and bees. I'll certainly stay up tonight but if there is anyone skilled in hunting or trapping, I am all ears. I'll be setting up a trap of my own for sure by the chicken coop. I love my bees but gods, we cannot afford to lose the chickens when they are laying and feeding folks...

So. No one has talked to the Phanatons, that sounds like something we can do right now if either of you want to come with me. I hoped we would find a druid in town to help, but hopefully, we can make this work. I'll stick my neck out since it is my own hairbrained idea.

[OGRE MAGE]

Marge smiles at the good natured solutions from Liam.

"You should speak with Raythan if you want to talk with the tree folk. I think he is the only one around here that they attempt to communicate with."

"I think he has been up in their trees a few times too, er maybe that's just rumor."

"I'll tell everyone to watch out for these tiny chicken thieves too, but I haven't heard anything about them around here before."

"Good heavens! Just what we need is to worry about another threat after everything that has happened recently."

[Bluehorse]

Liam


He nods.  Raythan it is then.  We can hope to take care of two birds with one stone.

He follows her lead as they scower the town for the holy man.

[OGRE MAGE]

The oft skittish Raythan is found outside his single log home on the outskirts of town. He appears to be making improvements on his roof when the duo arrives.

“Marge. Liam? To what do I owe this surprise visit? Was another adventurer from town ripped in half by some horrible creature and left for dead?”

[Bluehorse]

Liam


He chuckles at the cleric. Raythan it is that positive attitude that keeps me coming to you for wisdom.  But joking aside... he pointedly climbs up and takes a position beside his friend to begin helping him patch the roof as they speak.   I have a few questions.  This church or shrine, that is to be constructed.  Rather than the people having disagreements about which single deity should be worshiped, what if we found a way to respectfully dedicate it in the names of many?  Each with their own place of respect?  That way no one feels disincluded and we can bring people together based on what we have in common rather than what could arbitrarily divide us?  It's just a though.  Before you say so, I will agree that I am just a fool trying to make sense of things.


Another item is I heard you were friends or had connections with the Phanatons.  I was seeking to make contact with them sometime today.  I want to formally extend agreements to begin working with them rather than us all competing for the same lands.  I have a theory about moving our farming efforts inland a little more to seek better air and soil for the harvests.  I am hoping they would agree to us clearing some underbrush in an area with their permission as long as we leave the trees themselves alone.  The theory is that vegetables that require less direct light could flourish in the shadier areas under the trees if the soil is good, as well as setting up an agreement of sharing our farming production in trade for some of their treetop fruits.  These are all working theories of course, a lot will hinge on what they are willing to do and whether we can communicate with them.  I would like to set up something mutually beneficial and begin friendly relations rather than having this... tension I have heard of where we are at right now.

[OGRE MAGE]

Raythan laughs at the tall human, but is genuinely glad for the help.

"You are indeed a fool, friend Liam. But only because you came to this island intentionally!"

"Yes I have been in contact with the phanaton before, but they aren't very happy with us groundlings at the moment, so I don't expect that they will be real open to new visitors. Especially us big ones. Luther the ranger has had some luck with them in the past, but I have no idea where he is at the moment."

"The treefolk are upset because of a man who used to live here, who now lives somewhere out in the jungle. This man enjoys killing them, you see. And he kills as many of them as he can. The phanaton are a simple folk, that prefer to be left alone, kinda like me." he says with a wide grin.

"I can attempt to contact them for you, if you'd like me to. But until this bastard out in the jungle is stopped, I don't foresee them being overly helpful to our cause."

"You know, the last time I spoke to them, they mentioned something about the land further away from the beach being much more fertile. I wonder if they were able to anticipate our problems here, or if they just want us all to go away."


"I would be open to any suggestions you may have about the construction of our new place of worship. I don't see a problem with it being multi denominational, as long as beliefs don't clash. Do you?"

[Bluehorse]

Liam


He chuckles and continues to work busily, making a sincere attempt to help him repair the room and looking for any flaws that might indicate future repairs that he can fix right away.  You know, they might be able to steer us in a direction where the land is better for us but we are more out of their way.  Maybe a nice place away from the dwarves that seem to be establishing a colony.  Sell it as our being able to move out of their way until more suitable agreements can be made in the future.  I am grasping at straws, I understand.  But there has to be a way to work this out.  

We also need to talk to them about uniting to attack the pirates in 2 days.  Let them know we are wanting to make a 3-way alliance, even if temporary, between us, the natives, and the Treefolk.  I think we have established a groundwork to keep the natives from eating the Phanatons, so this might be the last act in putting an end to that abuse altogether.  I really feel like, if given a chance, our peoples can work together with each other.  If anything, it is worth a shot in the dark.  I'd rather take a gamble on peace than a sure thing on conflict.

I suppose we should ad this Phanaton Killer to our list of to-dos.  What have they told you about him?

By chance do you know if they have another water source we do not know of other than the river? 

[OGRE MAGE]

Raythan laughs a bit sarcastically.

"The phanaton have their own water supply yes, but I don't think it is one that will work for us. You see, they have an advanced network of collection sites and storage areas up in the trees. These creatures have lived here for a long time, they aren't just a couple of families hiding up in the branches. You might not have noticed from the ground, but they have an entire civilization only a few feet above our heads. With separate lineage and varying clans that spread out across the jungle as far as I have traveled, and farther. They outnumber us 100 to 1 easily, maybe as many as 500 to 1."

"They say that their killer is a dark, foreboding human who has taken up residence in an old abandoned temple in the jungle. This man is extremely dangerous, a twisted soul who enjoys making a mockery out of human life. His favorite method of destruction is fire and flame. They say he has burned hundreds of their kind to death already and is always willing to kill more. If we could do something to stop such a man, I think it would go a long way to ensuring peace between our two peoples."