Natalyah stands unmoving watching the scene with stern eyes. She nods at Atzi but refrains from adding anything else. The girl and learned her lesson and would the next time hopefully consign such tasks to those better suited for them.
Survival check to aid Atzi: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 8 + 2 = 25
Setebo quietly takes his place at the rear of the group. He splits his time between watching their back-trail and wondering exactly what kind of world he is living in....
Arson shakes her head. "No, this is the first time we have caught any alive. They do not speak the common tongue, or the language of the mwangi. Next time I will leave it to you Caithan, perhaps you can loosen their tongue..." She thought they were like the Bekyar, once beaten they are easily plied but she had thought wrong.
Atzi nods to Helga. "Next time I will leave it to you two then, I don't know the language of tongues and now that I know who is better for the task I won't try again." Setebo's absence isn't lost on Atzi and she hoped the normally large hearted man would forgive her once they escaped this isle. After what she saw at the abandoned camps though, she knew that the cannibals wouldn't see reason and there was only one option for their small group. Survive. Because the latter was far worse in there situation.
At least the others are safe at the Nightvoice the Cannibals will not make it there without being seen and they will be easily brought down on the walkways... We will see the others soon enough once we see what lies along side this trail...
The path continues southwards then back to the west following the rivers course on it's eastern bank..you continue to move through the growth within sight of it.
Are you prepared to spend the night in the jungle?You have already reached a point where it will be dark before you get back to the causeway.
"What good would that do?" Natalyah says in a slightly irritated tone as she breaks her silence. "You don't need to speak their tongue to realize that the spits and hisses from the one we captured wasn't describing the location of their camp or their number. We can find their camp ourselves, we don't need their help", the ranger concludes speaking the last sentence with contempt.
"Yes, it is getting dark we should move deeper into the jungle while there is still some light to work by. Night comes quickly here."
Setebo will assist in covering our trail as we move into the forest
Equipment updating. It seems I am locked out of the spreadsheet? We need to add the scimitars and any javelins you lot want. Setebo is good with the 6 he carries. Also I noticed there is a Wand and a set of bracers that are still unidentified or at least not recorded. Can we fix?
"There is nothing lost from knowing your enemy." Caithan says matter of factly. "Do we really know how many there are? Who leads them? Who can use magic? In any case the old boy is right. We should find a place out of the way for the night."
"It's a waste of time", Natalyah insists irritably. "We find their camp and scout it, learning their numbers. The beasts haven't been willing to share anything up to this point, and they're not going to start if you try talking to them."
"Perhaps their language is the problem?" Helga suggests. "For all we know 'help, my ship has sunk' may sound like 'kill me swiftly and eat my heart, and I will not eat your babies'."
Natalyah gives Helga a scolding look. "Don't be stupid. They have proven themselves our enemies and should be treated that way", she says and continues preparing the camp.
"I'll laugh when we leave this island behind", Natalyah replies.
I was thinking about ways to portray her 7 cha. I had a more sarcastic response for Natalyah at first but decided to ditch it. Lacking a sense of humor seems like a good way to promote the 7 cha score :)
By the way, i've got most of this remaining weeked booked so i probably won't be able to post regulary until monday. Please DMPC Natalyah should the need arise.
"Do not fear Helga. Surely Natalyah is just explaining that she is an expert scout with an intimate knowledge of these islanders customs, language, and fighting prowess. No doubt when she sees the village she will instantly point out all spellcasting threats before us within a moment. Additionally she'll be able to determine patrol routes, weaknesses in defenses and leadership hierarchy's. It sounds like too much to put on the shoulders of a single survivor but I have full confidence that Natalyah will be able to deliver." Caithan grins broadly, his huge white teeth gleaming in the jungle gloom.
Dabbler(This IS the internet you know ... Alegedly human Expert (IT) 5/Ninja 3/Witch 7)
"Watches?" Helga asks softly, once camp is set up. "I'd offer to sing for us, to raise ourt spirits, but I think we'd not want everyone knowing where we are."
Setebo, still clearly sad about the ambush and his mood further brought down by the squabbling looks hopeful at the thought of Helga's singing but this hope is crushed by the reminder of the danger they all share.
"I will take the midnight watch. We pets must make ourselves useful."
Our Lord and Wellard: Any good trees about? It might be useful for the Captain's other pet to climb up and take a look aroun. Might see a cooking fire or something.
"Concentrate on keeping an eye out for danger instead. Being able to sleep through the night without getting our throats slit is enough of a morale boost", Natalyah says and sits down next to a tree. "I'll take the last watch."
Atzi didn't like Setebo being so sad but until the Cannibals were finished there would be no end to the sadness or the fighting. She took the first watch with Quetza and rose early in the morning to commune with the Great Mother like usual.
"I'll take first watch as well. I don't need to have my nose in a book unless I mean to." Caithan says having never stopped grinning since Natalyah's outburst.
Amisi greets the morning - she feels surprisingly refreshed and cheerful. With the sun up she feels like Shelyn is smiling upon her.
But she is careful not to show her good mood to Natalyah. Instead she settles down next to Setebo who seemed troubled last night.
Neat and efficient as usual Natalyah quickly finishes breaking up camp, then waits unpatiently for the stragglers. Once everyone is ready she lends her aid to Atzi to continue the exploration of the island, insisting that the group go back to where they ambushed the savages and try to backtrack the way to their camp.
Survival roll to assist Atzi: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 8 + 2 = 21
Atzi shakes her head and indicates how they have been ghosting the trail heading south this whole time. "i believe this will lead us to something fruitful, if it doesn't you can lead us for the next step of the journey, but I am afraid that following where they came from will only find more of them for us to fight. Today I hope to avoid fighting if possible." She hadn't slept well last night, and he way she had hacked the cannibal down yesterday was still burned into her mind. But it didn't stop her from pressing forward and finding where this trail eventually led them.
The track now tends in a more southwesterly direction following the gentle curves of the river. About two hours march from lastnights camp you come to a junction where a second major trail leads off towards the East
Southwesterly it is; got to love letting the dice decide. ;D Yay Randomness!
after a moment of consideration nods towards the river. "let us continue on our current path and see where this trail ends." With that she is up and making her way again slowly leading the group southwesterly along the meandering river.
Setebo blinks as the group emerges from the shadows.
"Though every prospect pleases, and only man is vile?"
"Such a pretty island... Captain, Atzi, shall I go aloft to see what I can see?"
Perception once I am high enough for a good view 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16. Taking 10's for the climb up and down giving me a total of 20 for the checks.
I will be on my way to Tactica in Hamburg tomorrow morning. I'm back Monday evening. There is a chance I might post from there, there is also a chance I might not post at all for 4 days.
I just thought I let you know.
Caithan nods to Setebo. "I don't like this. The farther we get from the jungle the easier we are to spot from it. And the harder it is to do likewise from here."
"Aye. While I don't mind having the range on a foe, I've no liking for this open country when there are many foes about - out there, their numbers will really count. Let's stick close to the jungle."
Thank you for the heads up Jens..have a good time in Hamburg
Setebo swarms up the nearest tree and peers out to the Southwest from the top..He can see that the land to the north of the river rises into a tall bluff which is heavily forested.
So the southern side of the river the path continues to wind a curved path the grassland area getting gradually wider.The river mouth is not far away to the North-West.The land to the southwest along the general route of the path rises more gently than the land to the north.
Setebo quickly makes his way down the tree (Taking 10s again).
"The path we are following keeps to grassland until it reaches those hills. There ia a river mouth not too far away. It might be a place too look for a village."
"Or maybe the bluff to the north? We could see half the island from there."
Atzi considers for a moment before nodding to Setebo as he suggests the northward bluff. "Best not to cross open territory, we'll try the bluff first and see what we can from there." Atzi begins heading towards the bluff with Setebo leading the way.
Natalyah keeps silent in the backgroup, paying more attention to the surroundings than to the conversation. The group seemed to be in the right direction, so there was no need to interfere.
