Zavien was smarter than he was lucky, and it was a good thing! If he'd relied on luck alone, he would have ended up as deep in the bog as Hawthorn had. Instead he only had to combat the insects that finally discovered the tasty new treat that had wandered into their territory, but his plan of seeking out trees to guide them to higher, drier ground paid off handsomely. Though they were slowed by the terrain, he was able to find a safe path through the worst of it with Hawthorn's help.
Hawthorn 's air magic might have been minor, but for battling insects it was more than sufficient. Though there was nothing to be done about the mud that still clung to him once he'd pulled himself out of it, at least he wasn't being eaten alive anymore? And without that distraction - and now that he knew what to look out for - his natural grace and lightness of step kept him from repeating his initial mistake. He was able to help Zavien find a path broad enough to support the road while setting up markers to prevent the crews behind them from suffering the same fate that he had initially.
Luckily the wetland area was long but not terribly wide. After a little more than half a mile the ground rose gradually back to the more usual dry grasslands of King's End and the trees fell away behind them. The plain stretched out ahead of them, featureless and flat except for the Barrows and the Draig behind them to the west.
Tal and the diggers, meanwhile, started in on the path marked by the scouts. They used oxen pulling troughs to loosen and dredge two broad, shallow trenches on either side of the road that the scouts had marked and used the dirt to pile onto the road bed, raising it a few inches above the surrounding ground. large rocks and rubble were mixed in at intervals to help firm the soil, and a team following behind used a combination of larger stones and long planks to shore up the road's edges and keep them from eroding back into the ditches. The work was a lot slower than the scouts, but the team was a lot larger, and made it halfway to the bog before the setting sun called a halt to the work for the day. The scouts were called back and the promised food was provided, and tents were set up for those who didn't have the means to leave and return swiftly.
The next day saw the digging team back at work bright and early after a hearty campfire breakfast. As the scouts returned to where they had left off - navigating the bog far more swiftly now that they'd marked a safe trail - they found the featureless meadow boring but far easier going. Low-lying clouds hid the mounds and peaks to the west and rain was visible far to the south, though none fell on the incipient road.
A storm didn't need to be directly overhead to cause problems, however.
After several hours of uneventful marking of the path, the smell of smoke would become evident on the rising wind out of the south, and the clouds that hung over the land in that direction had taken on a roiling blackness underlit with a strange reddish tinge. Hawthorn might recognize the signs of a grassland wildfire burning towards them, brief but fierce as it raced across the dry and eminently flammable grasses!
Zavien's cleverness offsets his unlucky roll and Hawthorn succeeds in freeing himself of the mud and ridding himself of the insects. On day one the scouting team successfully finds a safe route through the bog, and the digging team makes good progress in building a simple raised dirt-and-gravel road across the meadows!
Day two brings new dangers as the scouts are caught in an unprotected grassland with a lightning-struck wildfire racing towards them!
Hawthorn 's air magic might have been minor, but for battling insects it was more than sufficient. Though there was nothing to be done about the mud that still clung to him once he'd pulled himself out of it, at least he wasn't being eaten alive anymore? And without that distraction - and now that he knew what to look out for - his natural grace and lightness of step kept him from repeating his initial mistake. He was able to help Zavien find a path broad enough to support the road while setting up markers to prevent the crews behind them from suffering the same fate that he had initially.
Luckily the wetland area was long but not terribly wide. After a little more than half a mile the ground rose gradually back to the more usual dry grasslands of King's End and the trees fell away behind them. The plain stretched out ahead of them, featureless and flat except for the Barrows and the Draig behind them to the west.
Tal and the diggers, meanwhile, started in on the path marked by the scouts. They used oxen pulling troughs to loosen and dredge two broad, shallow trenches on either side of the road that the scouts had marked and used the dirt to pile onto the road bed, raising it a few inches above the surrounding ground. large rocks and rubble were mixed in at intervals to help firm the soil, and a team following behind used a combination of larger stones and long planks to shore up the road's edges and keep them from eroding back into the ditches. The work was a lot slower than the scouts, but the team was a lot larger, and made it halfway to the bog before the setting sun called a halt to the work for the day. The scouts were called back and the promised food was provided, and tents were set up for those who didn't have the means to leave and return swiftly.
The next day saw the digging team back at work bright and early after a hearty campfire breakfast. As the scouts returned to where they had left off - navigating the bog far more swiftly now that they'd marked a safe trail - they found the featureless meadow boring but far easier going. Low-lying clouds hid the mounds and peaks to the west and rain was visible far to the south, though none fell on the incipient road.
A storm didn't need to be directly overhead to cause problems, however.
After several hours of uneventful marking of the path, the smell of smoke would become evident on the rising wind out of the south, and the clouds that hung over the land in that direction had taken on a roiling blackness underlit with a strange reddish tinge. Hawthorn might recognize the signs of a grassland wildfire burning towards them, brief but fierce as it raced across the dry and eminently flammable grasses!
Zavien's cleverness offsets his unlucky roll and Hawthorn succeeds in freeing himself of the mud and ridding himself of the insects. On day one the scouting team successfully finds a safe route through the bog, and the digging team makes good progress in building a simple raised dirt-and-gravel road across the meadows!
Day two brings new dangers as the scouts are caught in an unprotected grassland with a lightning-struck wildfire racing towards them!
