Rain rests in the afternoon heat, with some benefit of her makeshift palm shelter. She listens to the sound of insects. It reminds her of the crickets on hot summer evenings at home. They have a plan, a good plan she believes, for their first delivery. She hates the anxiety of anticipation and wishes they could hit the road now. Where is their employer? When will they get a chance to show their abilities? She has enjoyed meeting this random group of strangers, getting to know their strengths and interests a little bit. She believes they will do a good job for the boss man.

Marcel ask Pod for a spear, a Chultan Shield and alters the armor for something relatable to the Chultan Studded Leather (so he can use is Unarmored Defense).

He keeps training with the spear so he get's used to it. He hopes for good weather for the day of the run... He's used to the waiting but this time with a new crew make's it a new feeling. He just hopes everything goes finein the end.

The daily routine in the campground has evolved. The morning campfire is burning hot before the crack of dawn with pot of water kept hot for making infusions, that seem to wake everyone up and get people excited about training (advantage on initiative for the next hour after the first drink).  

Everyone gets ready for work (security escort training), which includes wearing a very lightweight bright green blanket with a hole in the middle as something like hood-less poncho, covering your clothing, but leaving hands and legs free.  Bright green and yellow appear to be the uniform colors you will be wearing on your escort trips.  Bongo also presents each person with a wide brimmed straw hat which has been woven to fit each person’s head very comfortably.  With the hat and poncho, you are able to move through the daily downpour without too much difficulty.  Without this rain gear, you have to make a DC 10 Constitution check for every 10 minutes of walking through a hard rain, or suffer 1 level of exhaustion.  Bongo explains that exhaustion is the main killer of adventurers in the jungle.

Daily training includes jogging or riding around the perimeter of the farm in small groups or all together.  You now have two lizard-horses with you as you move from different training exercises, Stella and her sister lizard Ingrid.  Bongo is teaching you all how to care for these lizards, which he calls “Hadro-lizards”.  He tells you there are lots of different kinds of giant lizards in the jungle, and some like Stella and Ingrid are considered the children of the God Ubtao, and you must learn to how be respectful of them and care for them.  He warns you to watch out for snakes though, because they are almost as dangerous as the Undead, who are the real enemy of everyone who lives around the jungle.

The campground is on the north outside the fenced farm, centered on a cooking fire, with cleared and prepared campsites spread out in a large circle around the central cooking site.  The campground is located inside a coconut palm orchard, which rings the entire farm, and creating a large grassy perimeter relatively free from shrubs or encroaching jungle vegetation.  On the north side of the farm, the campground sits on the west side the road leading back to Port Nyanzaru.  Following the farm fence west, the perimeter is cleared right up to a series of steep cliffs and ledges continue to climb up to a high ridge line leading into the southern jungle.  The southern perimeter of the farm borders the jungle and the eastern edge of the farm faces the bay, bordering the road from to Port Nyanzaru.

One evening Bongo shows up with all his skin painted white.  He says something is wrong with the magical wards around the campground, and now we all have to wear protection from insects, or else we might get one of the jungle diseases.  He points out some incense he has burning to protect everyone around the campfire, and offers up a tray of cups filled with what looks like grease to smear on your exposed skin.  Bongo says he uses white grease to protect himself, but the grease he offers to the party is clear.  Bongo is clearly worried about the wards against the insects failing.  He says that he is going to get in touch with the Bossman, but from now on, Bongo tells you that two people have to be on guard at all times during the night.

Bongo doesn’t play drums this night.  With a grim voice.  He tells you how any body that dies and is left to rot in the jungle rises as undead.  He tells you how the Bossman is not afraid of the undead and blasts them to ashes whenever he is around, but Bongo and his friends usually just hide from the undead, because they are so stupid, but also very hard to kill.  He tells you that the farm has very strong magic protecting it from undead, and the Bongo and his friends talk to all the beasts of the jungle around the farm, and coordinate to create as much of a safe zone in the jungle as they can.  He tells you that his big lizard friends can stomp the walking dead flat, but sometimes the dead still get back up and keep attacking.  He tells you that you have to burn the bodies of the undead when they go down, or they might get back up again.  On that note..he says good night, and walks away into the night.

The night is dry and the sky is clear.  A land breeze from the jungle is drawn out to sea, and as the breeze passes the campground, you notice the sweet stench of decay on the air.  The jungle is unusually silent tonight.  

Rain accepts the rain gear, understanding the value of its function, even if it doesn't meet her normal fashion standards. She alternates jogging around the perimeter of the camp and working with Stella and Ingrid. (Athletics: 18; Animal Handling: 21)

As night approaches, she volunteers to take first watch and asks, "Who will join me?"

Perception: 13

Marcel uses the protection against the insects, and accepts the rain gear. "Do the dead smell our scent or just use sound to detect us?" , he asks Rain and Maynard.
And he responds to Rain:" I'll join you for tonight 1st watch."

Perception:21

Rain answers, "I don't know, Marcel. I never thought about it. I would have assumed they would see or hear people before attacking. Maybe it depends on what they were before they became undead? If they were a species that uses scent, maybe they would continue to do so once undead. What say you, Brother Maynard? Do you know more of the habits of undead?"

Maynard cannot recall off the top of his head what he might have learned over the years about undead. He excuses himself from the group to meditate, pray and try to bring to mind all that he had learned years ago.

He returns to his personal campsite and begins to eliminate the distractions from his mind. When he is sufficiently focused he makes an entreaty to Lathander to help unlock his memories.

History/Religion check (both are +3): 6  Plus guidance: 3

Once done, he will thank Lathander for the opportunity to serve him and will return to the group with whatever he can recall.

Maynard asks if the infused morning drink can be “bottled” and consumed later in the day to receive its benefits anytime. If not, can Maynard be trained on how to brew it himself?

Jiali is unsettled by the thought of dieing oit her due to some desease and uses Prestidigitation to spread the insect repellent over her whole body and makes sure everything is coverd.

She spend as much time as possible training with Stella and Ingrid since she is one of the designated riders. 

She turns to Rain and Marcel when they volunteered for first watch.

"Alright, I'll be happy to take second watch. Nolla, will you join me?"

Perception  22 (if nescessary)

As they keep watch, Rain asks Marcel, "You spoke of your unit of marines. If you don't mind me asking, why are you not with them now? How did you end up here?"

"Hmm... Well my company was the Cormyrean Freesails. We worked on the inner sea doing patrols on coastal villages and forts. We where there to prevent sahagin attacks, piracy and do escort for merchants.I has the youngest on the team, so usually I had to do watch part on the topsail basket, ad I don't miss that part. Ah! But on that night, that was what saved me." 

He looks down as he tells the story. "Not my finest hour. They sliped me vision, as my brother would say, the sahagin came from down under, and swiftly started attacking my sleeping companions." 

He looks now at the sky. "I rang the bell when I was alerted by the attack but they came fast, too fast... I only had time to go down, kill the bastards that where attacking Rin, wounded by a spear, grab her and dive to the sea. I swan with her on my back to the shore, with the boat burning on the background."

He closes his eyes. "There where only 4 survivors. No boat to get back, discharged for abandoning ship, but I saved Rin. At least that... No job , and I need a new fresh start somewhere else."

He looks at Rain. "And what about you, Sister?"

Nolla shrugs and takes the bug repellent with her usual good cheer.  She agrees to help take a watch of the grounds if needed as well.

Rain responds to Marcel, "That sounds terrible. I'm sorry you lost your comrades. I spent some time on the sea, traveling here from Waterdeep. I was just a passenger, but we did have an attack by some merfolk. Fortunately, we saw them coming. I don't even know why they attacked. We finished them off pretty easily. Although, one of the sailors maybe would have died if I wasn't there to do a little healing. I guess we were fortunate that there weren't more of them and they didn't seem to use good strategies. But your...friend...Rin? Did she live? Again, I understand if you don't want to talk about it."

"Rin is... alive, but she lost her eye. She is the reason that I came to this land, we came together at her request, since she had connections here. She found a job on the city first than I, but she was the one that got me notice on this job. She's doing also bodyguard for some merchant prince..."

He looks at Rain, with the need to change the subject for a more fun talk: " Rain, so what god do you serve, if you don't mind the indescretion? I tell you right now, I was never growing up put to follow "a" god, but I did keep praying to Selûne or Umberlee."

Rain nods as she listens quietly to Marcel. Then she answers, "I was raised to give Lathander reverence. And really, what's not to like? A deity of creativity and renewal, art and culture? But, if I can tell you the truth, I'm here because I'm leaving my past behind. So I'm not sure how Lathander fits into my new life. I feel a certain wildness in me that doesn't care about art and culture." She looks up to the sky and mutters, "No disrespect intended..."

After a few minutes of silence, she stifles a yawn and says, "I think it's time we woke up Jiali and Nolla for their shift."

"None sister, let me tell I liked this conversation, let's have more like this." He smiles at Rain.

Hey guys, I am going to step away from this game.  I am trying to concentrate on the games I am running a bit more and  have not been too involved in this one up to this point.  I hope you all enjoy, as it seems to be a new and interesting game idea here.

OOC I am also probably going to step away, Some things came up and I probably won't have spare time for this dnd game anymore. Have fun.

The night was creepy but uneventful, except for an occasional blood curdling scream from far the to south in the jungle.  The morning cook fire is lit at the usual time by Bongo, but this morning two of his tribesman join him for the gathering.  All three dwarfs look very similar at first sight, skin covered by some sort of white mud with some orange lines here and there, along with bald heads and orange beards.  Bongo has long beard compared to Pod, and the newest dwarf to visit the campground has one long orange braid hanging from his chin.

Bongo explains that he and his brethren ran scouting patrols last night and found a zombie horde deep in the jungle feasting on a dead thunder lizard.  Some of the zombies would occasionally scream loudly into the sky, and more and more zombies kept gathering for the feast.  Bongo explains that magic protects the farm and campground from undead, so they should be safe, but the magic should also be working against insects, and it’s not, so there is some cause for concern.

Bongo introduces the new dwarf with the braided red beard as Fred, and tells you that Fred can use magic to talk to the Bossman whenever is necessary, and that the Bossman is doing his best to conclude business and return to the farm as soon as possible.  The Bossman is worried about the zombie horde though, and wants everyone to stay alert.  He has also requested analysis and repairs to the magic protecting this part of the jungle, and the Gnomes are usually pretty quick with repairs, so we should be fully functional again within a couple days.  Until then, remember to wear your insect repellent.

Bongo notes that a few campers have returned to Port Nyanzaru, and notes that the jungle is not for everyone, and it is probably a good decision for them.

While Bongo is talking to you, his attention is not focused on what is going on behind him (his back is facing the direction of the road), and he doesn’t see some humanoids walking towards the cooking fire.  The four humanoids suddenly break into a run towards Bongo’s back.  The dwarfs all turn to face this threat, as they are all tackled to the ground by the humanoid zombies.

OOC: Let’s try some combat!  Roll for initiative, describe you want to do during your turn.  You have a movement.  An action.  Possibly a bonus action.  And you can say something.  You can move and talk, both before and after your action, but only if you have movement left.  Roll for any attacks.  Roll for any Athletics or Acrobatics you want to try.  This will probably go very slowly unless we describe as much as possible in each post, since it will be at least 1 day in between posts for me.  

4 zombie are focused on attacking and eating the dwarfs.  They don’t seem to notice you yet.  You are all about 20 feet away from the carnage.

OOC: I tried my first used of the tool tips here for the zombie.  Hopefully that gives you access to the zombie stats.  Pleases make a history, religion or arcana check to determine how much of that info your character actually knows.

Brother Maynard’s Initiative: 17

Round 1:

Three dwarves on the ground. Brother Maynard will use his movement to try and find some cover that is within 30’ of the tackled dwarves.  If cover exists he will peek out from behind it. If it doesn’t exist, he will stop and stand 29’ from the dwarves.

Action: Brother Maynard will cast Bless on the three dwarves, giving them 1d4 in addition to any attacks or saving throws they make for the next 10 rounds or until his concentration is broken.

OOC: Thanks for the tip Karmoli!

"Hey, lay off our dwarves!" yells Rain, and she runs up and attacks zombie #1 with her battleaxe.

• Initiative: 6
• Battleaxe attack: Attack: 15 Damage: 4
• Knowledge of zombies using History: 6

(Edited to add History roll)