They woke up alone. Away from their villages and the ones they loved. They woke up together, three monumentally different characters. They woke up with nothing but the items they brought when they re-embarked. Re-embarkation was supposed to be a monumental and happy occasion, but here they were, a distance away from home with nothing but strangers to call their allies.
However, they were Hearthlngs, they were always hopeful for the future, and they knew that the only way through this, was together.
There was Zaryn Fell. He wasnât terribly good at much, but he had a heart of gold and could relate to those around him, helping them carry through whatever was burdening them, and celebrating with them through their successes. His time in his previous village had taught him that, if they were going to make it, however, sometimes a blade had to replace emotion.
Manna Thorngloss was a warrior at heart. Upon waking, she held he sword close to her chest and threatened the other two until she realized they were not here to harm her or her village. Her time as a soldier in her village had made her slightly paranoid and defensive. With this new endeavor having risen, she knew it was time to take up arms once more and hold close to the three she had found herself with.
Out of the three, Amelia Winset was the silent and withdrawn one. She felt that, while violence may be necessary in some cases, it would not come from her hand. She took a vow ages ago to never harm and instead create. To this day, she is a craftsman and a tutor, Holding her chisel to her chest and building the minds of those she encountered.
Once they had gotten their bearings and calmed down, Zaryn instantly ran off to find something to sustain them. With no food, they would need to find an alternate source. Having been an Herbalist in his village, he knew well the way to take berries and turn them into seeds, so berry bushes would be their best bet.
Manna remained behind with Amelia as she began working on beds. The hearth and their stockpile, regardless of its size, could still be victim to thieving goblins⌠She would keep these two protected and keep them alive, they were her only ticket out of here. Amelia knew that they would need something other than the ground for the first few days. If they were to stay light on their feet and get through things, even the small things needed to be sweated. Every moment counted, and she knew that.
Hello! Welcome to this Topic. Distant Shores! I wanted to a small Stonehearth challenge where I had very few Hearthlings and couldnât get any more. However, one hearthling glitched out my game (I actually made a post on this topic) and upon realizing I needed at least two, I came to the conclusion that I would do three. One who follows in the steps of Knut, one of Firn, and one of Siv. These are my three little characters and I will keep this post updated as these little guys go along and build something great⌠Or fall in battle. Weâll have to see!
Whenever I update this thread, I will update this main post aand state as a reply that it has been updated. 
So its all in one place. I just hope there isnât a word limit or count one these posts. Anyways. See you guys soon!
The Month of Deepmun, Year 1000
As it worked, the first month was difficult, but it was peaceful. No attacks from goblins, no starvation or fights, just the chirping of birds and the lapping and sloshing of the nearby river. They gathered together and came to a conclusion that, for their safety, mining out a home in the mountain would be a good first step. While they ll wanted homes, that would take far too long and they needed shelter now. So Zaryn began to dig in the wall while Manna and Amelia picked their first harvest of berries.
It was long, slow work to get into the moutain, it took days to mine out a sizable home for themselves and all of their items. However, they persevered, they kept their spirits up, and they worked to mine some semblance of a home from the dirt and stone. Finally, after three hard days of work, it was done.
The area was mined out and the three took the time to relax and celebrate their accomplishment before moving forward to put up walls in their new bedroom and make it look more home-like. This was under the suggestion of Amelia, who stated that- in order to keep their hopes and spirits high, they needed someplace nice to come back to every night. A place they could officially call a home and not a hovel. So with another day of work, they cleared out the room and put in the floors and walls, using the stone they had gathered from the mountain and the wood of nearby trees.
Once that was done, they moved in the beds, Amelia made some candles and furniture, which was placed by Zaryn, and Manna began to work on hauling everything to the newfound stockpile. After two more days of work, they had a home.
They took the final day to relax an share stories of their old homes, the places thy had left for a new beginningâŚ
"I lived in a place that focused on happiness and the lifestyle of others. Everyone was an individual and every day was a new adventure to be had. We werenât a very big village, but that didnât matter, we had each other and that was enough. However. There came a day when the orcs visited and challenged our town, telling us to raise up arms in order to see who was more deserving of the land we lived on. We werenât warriors. We were peacemakers. We were happy people and we made sure we made no dent in the land. We replanted trees and cared for the animals⌠We deserved the land because we cared for it. However, that is not what these orcs stood for. To them, the land belonged to those who could fight for it, protect it⌠In battle, we didnât stand a chanceâŚ
The man let out a small huff of air as he thought back. His eyes shimmering in the firelight. When Manna asked about his re-embarkation, a wry smile formed and he stated:
Sorry. While there is more to the tale of my village, Iâd-⌠uhm. Iâd rather not continue, for now.
Manna was not particularly sure how to start her story, she thought and began to speak several times before, finally, nodding to herself and awkwardly saying:
âI am Manna. I was one of the highest ranking officers in the city that I protected. Our home was a direct descendant of the Pheonix Empire and has had years to grow to its size. I had watched many re-embarkation parties wander off into the wilderness, each with a member of the guard to protect them in their future endeavors, and I never thought that I would be selected for such a task. However, I was. My shoulder was tapped and I was sent off with another woman and three men into the wilderness, just as many had before. They were good people and did not deserver their fate-âŚâ
She trailed off, her voice wavering despite her ever-strong face. After a few moments, she straightened, and concluded with:
âI will not make the same mistake with you.â
Unlike the other two, who seemed almost eager to share their stories, Amelia sat in silence for a long time. The expectant stares of her allies eventually began to get to her and she let out a sigh.
âThere is not much to say. My story is not tragic or heartbreaking. I was a simple merchant in a simple town of simple people. We never fought against orcs or re-embarked. Actually, I was part of our first re-embarkation parties after years upon years of growing. We did not want to conquer the darkness in the land or make people happy, we wanted to expand our trade and acquire foreign resources so we could continue to flourish. Our party were set out to travel until we found a resource of profit. There we would settle, build a new township and become a working town under the Geleas Kingdom name. That simple. Nothing special.â
She sounded angry, upset. The venom in her words seemed to sap the warmth from the air. After a few moments, though, it seemed to return as her face softened.
âMy story is not special, nor do I want it to be. I want to leave this place and go home and forget that this ever happened. I do not want to fight, my vow prevents it. I do not want to struggle, Iâm not accustomed to it. I simply want to go back home. I cannot do that without you two.â
As the final day of Deepmun came to a close, these three hearthlings laid down and dreamed of home. They dreamed of their people and their own beds. They dreamed that, someday soon, they may return.
The Month of Dewmun, Year 1000
The day that followed their celebrations and relaxation was filled with work. Amelia and Manni woke before Zaryn had and came to a swift agreement that they really needed to put up some form of defense around themselves. That way, if they found themselves under attack, they could prepare before the enemies broke through the fortifications and be ready for them. Once Zaryn woke, they set to work.
The first day was productive. They made their way through the first half of the construction before bed. However. They were awoken the next day by thunder and lightning. As Zaryn remained in bed, another agreement was struck to pause construction and relax for the day. As the storm wore on, Manna and Amelia realize that Zaryn was still in bed despite his relatively strict schedule. Amelia investigated to find that Zaryn was awake, but quivering beneath the shavings that made his bed. It took a moment, but Amelia managed to get him up and out and talking.
âIâm sorry⌠This is not like me. Iâm just-⌠having difficulty. The crashing is a bit too similar to me and I still havenât quite gotten past it. It-⌠uhhh⌠reminds me of the gongs the orcs used to ring before battle. Itâs nothing. It will pass and things will calm. I just donât feel steady right now.â
It took a bit of convincing, but Amelia convinced the man to come out and rest by the Hearth, hoping its warmth and light could bring comfort to the man. He hesitantly followed them and spent the last of their day relaxing.
As the sun rose the next day and the three hearthlings rose with it, they found that the clouds had parted and today was wholly clear. the occasional puffy cloud and the chirping of birds put them all in a good mood as they moved forward to finish off the construction. The next day was just as peaceful and as the fourth day came to a close, they placed the final door and all of the barricades were set. They were now, if only a bit, safer.
The fifth sun rose. Another perfect day, and our three friends were at a loss of what steps to take next. Amelia had already made some basic swords and shields for defensive measures and they had plenty of berries to get them by, as repetitive as the food source was. There was not much of a next step to take. So. They spent the day relaxing and enjoying the sunlight as they rearranged their small berry and silkweed farm. Wanting to return to his herbalist roots, Zaryn wandered off to find some healing herbs to bring home. Other than these minor chores, they spent time on the barricades, looking out into the distance and dreaming of their homes that were ever so far offâŚ
Day six rolled around and they continued to enjoy their time here, trying to keep their spirits up. Amelia, wanting a workshop began to work on window and doors for a building she had planned. It was just going to be aa simple hut, but she was tired of sleeping in a room of snoring hearthlings and wanted her own space. Zaryn, however, began dissecting his gathered herbs in order to make tonics and pultaces for them if they ever found themselves in a tight situation. Manna, set out to patrol the area in search of any possible goblin camps or threats. But returned with nothing new to show. They were still alone.
As he and Amelia worked side-by-side, Zaryn eventually began to talk about his roots an herbalist, teaching Amelia a thing or two about the trade.
âThere are plenty of herbs and ingredients you can use for healing bits. These tonics are particularly simple since they are simply the herbs mixed in with a bit of water. You wonât see any instantaneous effects, but its good for cleaning wounds and nullifying pain. I could make bandages and the like, but we donât yet have the things I need for such items and, as long as we have one anothersâ backs, we should not need to use these often. However-âŚâ
He turned to Amelia and forced her attention.
âYou have made a vow to never harm. Never maim. This means that Manna and I will be the main fighters if a situation arises. You need to know how to apply these in case I am too gravely wounded to do it myself. Maybe- If I can get you deep enough, you can even become a cleric, who are far, more useful. However. That requires a lot of training and time. I never got into it as I could never get the hang of the magics required.â
Manna returned not long after and reported that there was nothing new, grumbling as she sat down beside the three.
âI know its brash and reckless to want to fight in the situation that we are in⌠But Iâm really itching for one. I donât like this silence. It makes me paranoid. Nothing ever remains this calm for long without eventually blowing up into something monumentally tragic.â
She snatched on of Zarynâs flowers and began fidgeting with it, continuing her talk.
âI remember this one time, in my home city, some goblins managed to sneak past the wall guards and get in. They were discovered eventually, but by one of our half-goblin guards. Mornic took pity on them and allowed them their own little place in the sewers of the city, where they began to live. However, these goblins eventually made their way back out and gathered more goblins to stay in their newfound home. During this time, we had no goblin raids. No thieves. Nothing. It was the most peaceful year in our cityâs existence. However, as the year came to a close, the goblins beneath our nose were discovered and the whole situation blew up. There were a lot of them, enough to make a decent sized village. So when the situation exploded, its no surprise we lost a lot of people before we manage to actually contain the problem.â
She huffs and shakes her head again.
âMy point in all of this⌠Calm moments are only calm because chaos is gathering elsewhere⌠Its a balance, if you must say so. For every good moment, there is a bad one of equal caliber⌠So this peace weâve been experiencing. This calm⌠The longer it lasts, the more danger we are in.â
Manna stood and shrugged, leaving for her room before the others could respond. After another hour or two, they followed suit as the sun began to set.
The seventh and final day of Dewmun came into play and Amelia woke before the others, digging out the foundation for her new hut. After an hour or two, the other hearthlings emerged from the mountain and began to help her with the new building. It took a large portion of the day, but under the lead of Amelia and a bit of hard work, they finished it as the sun began to set. It had no decorations. Nothing special, yet, but it was still something to be proud of⌠Their first official home.
The Month of Rainmun, Year 1000
The third month became the most productive month while also being when goblins are first sighted. As the month opened, the three hearthlings began to work on personal projects. Amelia began to work on furniture as Manna tried heer hand at weaving, taking the occasional tip from the main crafter fo the group. Zaryn spent most of the day hauling and organizing the area to a better state.
The second day came to arise and the three began to work on a new building, which would soon be Mannaâs home. Since they had plenty of stone, they decided to make a small, cobbled building. Zaryn and Manna began to dig out the foundation as Amelia began working on the windows and doors⌠As usual.
By the next day, the building was complete and the furniture began to be made for the building itself.
The fourth day rolls around and Manna, during her daily scouting, notices the first goblin camp off in the distance. She rushed back home and warns the others, telling to get wht they need prepared in case of an attack, which they all do. The fourth day is spent creafting armor and crafting basic weapons and shields. Zaryn makes a few more tonics and Manna sets off the next day to find that the goblins were gone, only a single hearth tender left behind to clean up camp.
With the threat seemingly having passed, they watched and waited for a day. On the sixth day, they began working on their third building. A building for Zaryn. Despite Mannaâs and Ameliaâs insistence to build it within the walls, Zaryn stated that he would like his home built outside, closer to his herbs. After a small argument and venomous words from Amelia, they finally came to the agreement and began to dig out a new foundation outside the barricades.
The build took two days. As the month closed, the last door was placed and the build finished⌠Goblins had begun to appear and Amelia was beginning preparations to upgrade their hearth into something more required of a settlement, which they were quickly becoming despite only having three people. The occasional trader began to pass by, drawn by their little fire, and things seemed to be looking higher and higher. However, with the presence of goblins, one could only wonder when they would decide to finally attackâŚ
