Beyond the Ragnarök

Halp notes the goat-related discontent from Veldir and others. If they're dissatisfied, let them say so, or,  better yet, keep their own council. Either way he'll not start a war on Alaric's behalf without better knowledge of their foe's strength. 

Resting aboard ship seems fine to him. Certainly not the first time Halp has done so, and the same holds, surely, for most of them.

He'll take first watch, asking the rest of his - what he now thinks of as - 'comrades' to take also turn through the night. 

In case they're needed, here's a perception and a survival check for Halp's watch: 
Perception (and will burn heroic Inspiration for a reroll just in case): d20 + 5 = 13
Survival: d20 + 3 = 14

”Staying onboard is more defensible than spreading out on shore.” Leif affirms.

Leif offers the services of Hjálpar for overnight guard duty. A fey spirit that doesn’t need sleep with 120’ of darkvision that will not disappear until the end of a long rest can be quite handy.

(DMs discretion if Hjálpar can initiate our telepathic bond to invade Leif’s unconscious sleep/dreams and to share its senses to awaken/alert to any sign of trouble. Maybe just lighting on Leif’s chest and beating him with its wings is sufficient.)

OOC: Sounds like a plan to me, What is the passive perception for Hjálpar?

Quote from Godster1 >>

He'll take first watch, asking the rest of his - what he now thinks of as - 'comrades' to take also turn through the night.  

Sólmyrkvi will take 2nd watch, presumably with Hjálpar and one of the Leopard crew members.  Even if Leif's owl can alert him of intruders, it seems like a good idea to have one of the "comrades" already awake in case of an attack on the ship.
Perception: 2 (in game log, apparently Sólmyrkvi promptly dozed off)

Before Halp's watch, Sólmyrkvi will perform a ritual casting of Alarm, making the spell only trigger if someone other than the PCs, Veldir, or the Leopard crew members enters the warded area.  He's not sure where to target the spell since it cannot cover the whole ship.  Assuming that the ship is actually pulled up / beached on the south bank, he could target the bow of the ship so that the alarm sounds if anything tries to climb aboard the ship there.  Alternatively, if we're focused on watching any approach from land, he can instead target the stern of the ship with his spell to give us some protection from anything that might approach from the water.  What do the others think is best?

Quote from Dreamhobbit >>

OOC: Sounds like a plan to me, What is the passive perception for Hjálpar?

 (15 passive perception)

Quote from Ben_Evolent >>

Quote from Godster1 >>

He'll take first watch, asking the rest of his - what he now thinks of as - 'comrades' to take also turn through the night.  

Sólmyrkvi will take 2nd watch, presumably with Hjálpar and one of the Leopard crew members.  Even if Leif's owl can alert him of intruders, it seems like a good idea to have one of the "comrades" already awake in case of an attack on the ship.
Perception: 2 (in game log, apparently Sólmyrkvi promptly dozed off)

Before Halp's watch, Sólmyrkvi will perform a ritual casting of Alarm, making the spell only trigger if someone other than the PCs, Veldir, or the Leopard crew members enters the warded area.  He's not sure where to target the spell since it cannot cover the whole ship.  Assuming that the ship is actually pulled up / beached on the south bank, he could target the bow of the ship so that the alarm sounds if anything tries to climb aboard the ship there.  Alternatively, if we're focused on watching any approach from land, he can instead target the stern of the ship with his spell to give us some protection from anything that might approach from the water.  What do the others think is best?

 “Since we have eyes above water, the stern would make a better choice. And I don’t mind taking the final watch, I’ve always enjoyed sunrises.”

Perception: 8 (in game log, his eyes were heavier than expected)

The longboat drifts in a gentle circle, secured to a sturdy willow root by a thick hemp rope, while the crew huddle beneath a makeshift canvas canopy, lashed over the oars to shield themselves from the spring chill.

The captain shares a merge meal of cold rations with you all as the rhythmic lap of the river against the hull lulls most of you into a deep slumber.  Hjálpar keeps a silent vigil, keeping each of you company in turn. Around midnight, the ambient grassland sounds give way to a sudden, eerie silence, replaced shortly by the soft flicker of bat wings as the creatures emerge to feast on the nocturnal insects that flit above the waters. 

Kora give me a wisdom saving throw as you drift off to sleep.

WIS save 23

Kora grumbles as the group decides to stay on the ship.  Sure, it's more defensible, but here on dry land?  Much better for sleeping and just the body as a whole.  She sighs but doesn't argue.  At least it is docked and not going down the river.  She takes the third watch, enjoying watching Hjalpar as he flies overhead.  She keeps her eyes peeled though and hopes to actually see something.  The goats were nice, but she hopes this trip garners a lot more than that.

Kora your sleep is a peaceful one and what dreams you have are mundane and the memory of them flee as you wake.

You are all roused by the Captain who shares out some merger rations before ordering the crew to pull away. Luckily the evening passed by without trouble.

A couple of the crew drop lines overboard to make the attempt to catch fish as you travel. It is several minutes into the journey before you all realise that Miri is missing from the crew.

Leif is shaken awake. What? What happened? The light in the sky is brighter than his last recollection. He remembers the start of his watch and the frequent reports from Hjálpar. He remembers the ship bobbing against its moorings and the creaking of ropes. The buzzing of nighttime insects and the silent chaotic swooping of bats silhouetted against a starry backdrop. Had he fallen asleep? He must have. Hjálpar is gone. The crew is stirring and the morning chill hasn’t yet begun to relent with the rising of the sun.

All appears secure upon a cursory glance around the ship and environs. Good, his failure to remain on watch had no repercussions. He rises and stretches to a few popping joints in his back and shoulders. His feet feel cold causing him to stomp on the wooden planks of the deck trying to force blood down to his toes. Finding this insufficient and the stomping beginning to draw attention, Leif ceases and places his feet close together. He casts Prestidigitation to warm his boots until they are nice and toasty.

He gratefully accepts the cold rations and finishes them as the crew pushes off and the bow is pointed upstream. He sits near the prow and resummons Hjálpar who immediately and silently flys to a perch upon the yard. As Leif telepathically welcomes Hjálpar back, the snowy white feathered scout pivots his head in all directions in quick jerky motions. Before Leif has finished the repeated instructions from the day before, Hjálpar interrupts, One of your clan is missing. Did you send them away?

What? Leif incredulously scans the deck and Miri is nowhere to be found. “CAPTAIN! We need to go back! Miri is missing!”

Quote from Ben_Evolent >>

Sólmyrkvi will take 2nd watch, presumably with Hjálpar and one of the Leopard crew members.  Even if Leif's owl can alert him of intruders, it seems like a good idea to have one of the "comrades" already awake in case of an attack on the ship.
Perception: 2 (in game log, apparently Sólmyrkvi promptly dozed off)

The excitement of yesterday took a lot out of Sólmyrkvi: the bear attack, the king's request, preparing for their expedition, and the run up the hill to deal with the goats.  He's pretty sure that he dozed off during his watch.  In any case, when he wakes up during his watch shift, it's nearly time to rouse Kora for her shift.  But since his Alarm never sounded, and Leif's owl never made any noise, he considers it a win-win.  Nothing happened, and he got extra sleep!  Sólmyrkvi doesn't mention it when the activity of the crew wakes him up in the morning.  He shares in the cold breakfast and gets ready for another day of the ship crawling slowly upstream.

Quote from PlotArmored >>

Leif incredulously scans the deck and Miri is nowhere to be found. “CAPTAIN! We need to go back! Miri is missing!”

Sólmyrkvi is just silently wishing that they would find something more interesting than goats today when Leif alerts everyone to Miri's absence.  He waits for the captain to confirm that Miri wasn't sent off to scout by land or something.  (Assuming that Miri really is missing, he silently wonders how neither Captain Vane nor her boatswain noticed their missing crewmate before setting off this morning.)

Assuming that the ship backtracks to their mooring spot from last night, Sólmyrkvi spends the time checking that no one and nothing else is missing.  Since he's never been responsible for anything important, Sólmyrkvi realizes that he hasn't even taken a simple headcount of the crew.  He runs through his memory from yesterday and then walks the ship from bow to aft to check that all of the other members of the expedition are still present:

• Father Halp
• Leif
• Kora
• Eldon (if he is also with us)
• Veldir
• Captain Vane
• Kaelen, the boatswain
• 6 oarsmen

Wary of this strange land, Sólmyrkvi also verifies that there are no extra people aboard.  Finally, he checks their supplies to ensure that none of his personal items, none of their food, and no other gear vanished along with Miri.

(OoC:  I am a bit confused. Some entries read as if we have already set off sailing after breakfast - or had been sailing through the night. But others as if we stayed put through the night and have only just roused for breakfast. @DM, please let us know which it is. I'll post after that's clarified. Thanks.) 

OOC: Eldon has not currently been reinserted into reality so leave him off the rosta :) The HW is away for a while more so he can probably re-join when you all get back if he wants to. And yes Halp the boat is moving upstream about quarter of a mile now from where you stopped last night.

The Captain raises her hand open palmed. "It is well. Miri sought permission to scout ahead and re-join us midmorning. It would seem that she found some interesting tracks along the bank last night."

You may all question the captain further as the morning journey continues, but either way please all make me a survival roll for the first leg of todays journey.

Halp nods at the captain's explanation of Miri's absence. Makes sense. 

Just as it would also have made sense to keep the sortie party in the loop. As they'd be the ones who'd likely have to go after Miri if something went wrong... 

No fuss called for, it seems. 

That said, he aims to have a word with Miri when they bring her back aboard. 

Leif sighs in relief that someone knows what became of Miri. Then his brows furrow. He looks to the sky to see if Hjálpar is within sight. Not instantly seeing them, he uses back to back Magic actions to temporarily dismiss, then recall Hjálpar to a perch upon his shield.

I am sorry to disturb your patrol but did you see Miri leave the party overnight? Regardless of the reply, Leif sends Hjálpar back out with an addendum to keep their eyes open for Miri.

As his feathered companion soundlessly flaps away to gain altitude, Leif waves Halp, Sólmyrkvi, and Kora over as subtly as possible. In conspiratorial volume, Leif confesses his failure during his assigned watch. “My friends, I failed you all. Not just you but the entire crew. At some point before dawn I fell asleep and did not see Miri leave the ship. Hjálpar is now on the lookout for her as well.” Leif faces Halp more directly and adds a concern. “This is bad business having people go off with possible cross purposes. Captain Vane is in charge of the ship and in the means that the Leopard sails, but we are in charge of the expedition. At the very least, she should have alerted one of us before granting permission to ‘split’ the party.” Leif just lets that thought hang out there as he is unsure how or if anything should be done about it.

1st Survival check for Day 2: 9 (in game log)