Now that Anachain has the horses under control he takes a closer look at the wagon and the loose wheel.

"Anyone good with tools?" he asks the group. "Two wagons better."

He then drags the bodies, whether Drip is done with their pockets or not, out of the wagon and then starts gathering wood.

"Camp here?"

     Anachain is about to complain about the misogynistic horse that's only willing to listen to a male voice but then it starts snuffling up on her and all is instantly forgiven.  "Dibs," she states and settles the matter before it can even be one.  

     Bringing the horses back to the cart area she will watch as the others scramble about and try to put things back together again.  She's unsure if this cart could be fixed or not but she figures she will either have a horse to ride or a seat so she is happy either way.

     "Perhaps burn up a bit more daylight before camping down?" she suggests.  "I don't know if wolves seek revenge or not but this is obviously in their territory so I'd like to put some distance between us and them?"

Kulloda goes over to Elmer and sizes him up.

"You lift lots," Kulloda says as a statement and then indicates the wagon. "You, me, lift wagon. Others put wheel back on. Maybe fix."

Kulloda figures that with the wagon emptied, he and Elmer can lift enough to get the wagon up off the ground so the others can slip the wheel back into place.

Drip stands ready to mend the broken piece once the wheel is placed back on the axle by a burly dude or someone with a moderate level of motivation.

In the meantime, he starts to look bored and takes a seat in the shade, eventually returning to his typical prone position while he waits for these dudes to figure out the lifting and whatnot.

(Ready Action to cast Mending)

Elmer looks at the asparagus after Drip makes his comment, shrugs then keep eating.

He rears back a bit with an appeasing grin as Kulloda looks him over. When he suggests lifting the wagon, Elmer takes another bite asparagus and replies, with his mouth full. "Shure. I can do that."

“Righto Elmer, that would help!  Let me see if I can help you now…”

Togar waves his claws at the broccoli and asparagus, making a show of it.  He casts prestidigitation to first clean the veggies, then impart some seasoning and flavor on them.  “After you’ve finished.  The wagon wheel would be a great idea…”  

Afterward, he walks over to where Drip is relaxing, standing there with wings folded, watching.  

     While the boys are trying to show off with their little magics and feats of strength and repair, Anachain brings the newly acquired horses back to the caravan they are nominally working to protect and assures their employers that they're safe now.  

     "Dimia. Galadher.  The problem has been handled and we should be on our way soon.  Some wolves seemed to have taken down a prior caravan.  The people didn't survive, I'm afraid," she explains.  "We're taking the horses and the boys are looking to see if the caravan can be fixed easily enough.  It shouldn't be long..."

     While there she glances up to Myrth quickly, then hides it by scanning the general area.  The invisible familiar has been keeping watch and perhaps doing a bit of eavesdropping if the employers talked loud enough and said anything interesting...  He reports it to Anachain if so. (Telepathically.  No use being invisible if you have to talk out loud...)  Otherwise, for the moment, she ties the horses to the back of the working caravan and lets the others attempt to fix things.

Kulloda strains against the side of the wagon. He stops surprised by the lack of movement then he frowns at Elmer.

”Lift up not push down.”

Kulloda heaves upwards again (Athletics 20+7 = 27)

"Whoops! Ha. Sorry!" Says Elmer with a big toothy grin.

He points up and down at the same time and rolls his eyes. "I just... When I feel a lot of pressure I get tense, you know. And when I get tense, then... see... words become, you know... Ack! And I get all flustered and backwards..."

"Does that ever happen to you?" He finally asks, thoughtlessly leaning on the the wagon he's supposed to be lifting.

Once Kulloda gets Elmer to stop leaning on the wagon, he easily lifts it and holds it into place so that between Elmer getting the wheel on and Drip mending the contraption, they now have a working wagon.

Dimia smiles warmly at Mother Anachain, "See?  I knew you all would be a good group to have escort us.  And now you all have a wagon as well!  Oh good, we can move a little faster now."

Once you all get settled, you head down the road until it is about to get dusk; finding a nice copse of trees, you settle the horses and set up camp.  Galadher gets out of the caravan for the first time and stretches.  As you all gather around a campfire, he does pull out a large bottle of wine and shares it.  "We're glad to have you all accompany us, we're heading to Rivermark to find some family we haven't seen in years.  Sure is good to get out of Eldershore."  He seems nervous, can't look you in the eyes, but he is obviously trying to engage in conversation.  Dimia just smiles and enjoys the wine.

Kulloda looks at Elmer and then shakes his head, as much to shake the confusion away as to indicate no. 

Then with simple hand gestures he indicates “Front, back, up, down.“

Later at the campfire he eyes Galladher’s nervousness and looks at the wine suspiciously.

”Poison?” He asks out loud then shrugs, takes a sniff and decides to rely on his strong constitution if it is and takes a big swig.

Drip lounges back around the fire, just as relaxed as if he were chilling by a bonfire after a long day of surfing. The flickering light reflects off his moist skin as he takes a swig of wine, letting the warmth settle in. He grins, passing the bottle to whoever’s next, his vibe completely at ease.

“Not bad, dude,” he says, swirling the bottle as if savoring a fruity wave. “This kinda reminds me of kicking back with some hooch after catching the last set of the day, y’know? No worries, just the sound of the surf and the fire crackling.” He leans back, staring up at the darkening sky, clearly content with the night.

     "Why good to get out of Eldershore?" Anachain asks.  "Visiting family..."  She drifts off there for a moment, her thoughts on the family she once had.  But it only takes a moment before she breaks out of her own thoughts.  "I can understand that, of course.  But did you have troubles in Eldershore?"  Of course everyone has troubles.  It is the way of life.  But as Galadher brings it up she supposes he may want an excuse to expound on the issue...  And if they did have troubles that could be chasing them it would be worth knowing.

     And while resting by the fire she subtly casts a small spell by playing with a small wooden doll on strings for a moment that she pulled momentarily out of her bag.  It seems just a child's toy and if anyone asked she would just give a sad smile and dismiss it as such...  But an Unseen Servant takes form and quietly moves to the horses.  Specifically the one Anachain called dibs on.  While it is of course helping assist pull their newly acquired wagon, Anachain still thinks of that one as specifically hers and gives it special attention and affection... Such as now, while nobody is paying the horses attention, her Unseen Servant pets it and grooms it and finds it a couple snacks...

     Myrth, for their part, is sitting up high in the tree branches and catching a nap.  He knows he'll be expected to watch over the group when everyone sleeps, an extra silent and invisibly sentry watching over them above and beyond whatever watch they agree to set...

Galadher scowls as Kulloda asks if it is poison, but then relaxes as he watches the half-orc take a big swig.  "Of course not."  he retorts.  He looks to Drip but seems like he doesn't understand the water genasi's vernacular and just nods, then looks to his sister for help.

Dimia saves him and answers Mother Anachain, "Well, aren't you all trying to get out of that basically failing city?  The last storm, a tree hit our small abode, that was the last straw!  So yes, we are heading to visit family.. most likely a very long visit, we are hoping they don't mind."  She gives almost an uncomfortable smile to this, revealing their half-assed plan as they escape the city of Eldershore and try for something new.

     "We were looking to leave due to a bit of a... Well, I guess quest would be the right word.  So not fleeing the city as much as going elsewhere for a job and intending to return," Anachain explains.  

     "Do you know the story of the Pearl of Aeloria?" she then asks.  "We've more or less been tasked with trying to find it once again..."

Dimia looks at Galadher and they exchange confused looks, "There is a Pearl of Aeloria?  Can't say I have.  But good luck on your quest.  We're just glad it aligned with us heading to Rivermark."

Unless there is anything else that you all want to discuss, get to know each other better, the night passes quietly - though I would like a watch order for future evenings, unless you're all just planning on leaving it up to Myrth?

((Others don't even know about Myrth yet, far as I know, so they are just extra security...  With 5 of us watch doesn't split up all that evenly. Do any of us have that need only 4 hours rest thing?  I don't think so...  So I would suggest something like 2.5 or so hours shifts for 3 of us to go from start of rest to the end of it.  Say Togar, Kulloda and Elmer.  Drip and Anachain would do middle shifts - basically 2.5 hours that start like 1.5 hours after the others start.  So we would have two awake on watch all but the very begining and ending of the rest period?  That make sense?))

Insight Check to see if they're lying about never having heard of the Pearl of Aeloria - Nat 1 for a total of 3
Mother Anachain is convinced!

     Anachain is so convinced that they never heard of it that she doesn't even bringing up the big tent and the show or otherwise try explaining it to them.  She sees no point at all.  Instead she just makes small talk and such to pass the time until it is late enough to nod off...

Casting Goodberry, Drip holds out his hand, presenting a slimy handful of green spheres to his main dude Kulloda, before offering a few to the others, his grin as wide as ever. “Algae, dudes,” he says, trying to sound casual as the goo drips between his fingers. Then he pauses, adjusting, “Al-Gee. Hipsters call it spirulina. It’s all just pond scum dude.”

Without hesitation, Drip pops one of the balls into his mouth, his face scrunching up momentarily before he forces a look of zen calm, pretending to enjoy it. “Yeah, dude, good for the body, soul, whatever ails you. Tastes… righteous,” he says, barely keeping the grimace at bay as he chews slowly, offering a handful with a hopeful shrug.

(Cast Goodberry x3)

Anachain's watch plan seems workable (and Kulloda is fine with middle of the night watches).

Kulloda accepts the small green balls from Drip.

He turns them over and sniffs them, then looks at Drip skeptically.

"Why melting?" Kulloda asks before finally trying one.

He frowns and looks at Drip again. "Not good."

But despite that, he recognizes the magic in them and how just one removed all sign of hunger. He finds some leaves and wraps the other two in those to keep them from dripping everywhere.

Elmer will offer to Lay on Hands for anyone who needs it. He'll then find a nice cozy spot and kindly introduce himself to all of the plants in the immediate area.

He'll eventually settle in for the evening, dutifully taking his shift, sort of staying apart from the others.

Anyone who comes close or try to engage with Elmer will see that he seems a bit melancholy as the sun fades. The dumb smile on his face remains but it seems a bit more wistful. He's a bit more quiet and withdrawn.  Just before bed, he gets on his knees, clasps his hands and prays to, in his own words, "Whatever spirit up there gave me all these fancy powers." Asking that they look out for his mom, look out for his new friends, help them to finish their goal of... whatever it is that their goal is.

He wasn't paying much attention when they were explaining that.

In the end, he curls up on his bedroll, cuddles with the blanky he brought from his own bed at home, and loudly starts snoring.