"Wait!" calls a voice from behind you. It is Aerys Mavato, the half-elf woman. She is standing and pointing at Jask and Mikail. "You aren't really going to let that...that...criminal...go are you? How do you know he's not a murderer or a raper? Why would you just free him?" she cries clearly frightened of the prospect.
[v]"Because whatever his crimes, to leave him bound this way, deserted as we are on an unfamiliar and probably hostile island, is likely a death sentence. I will not have that on my conscience. If we manage to escape this situation and return to civilisation alive, his status as a prisoner or criminal will become relevant once more."[/b]
"He has the right to a chance of living, and regardless of his crimes I hope he is wise enough to recognize that his best survival option is to collaborate with us.
Enlightened self interest is a strong motivating force."
Mikail continue to try to open the manacles.
Dragolan shakes his head. "All that is true, of course, but Aerys has a point. Jask, why have you been restrained, and how can you prove what you say?"
She sends icy glares at each of you. "If anything happens, I will hold each of you personally responsible. You may all end up in chains before we are through here." she then stomps off into the jungle beyond the beach, disappearing into the undergrowth.
"I am not sure my protestations of innocence can be proven in this setting," says Jask wearily. "However, should we really be on The Smuggler's Shiv, perhaps there is a longshot. Just perhaps the great god Nethys brought me here for a reason. I am happy to explain, once these shackles are off." He shakes his hands for good effect, watching the half-elf stomp off into the canopy.
Mikail fumbles through all the keys, and of course on the last one, the manacles slip free, falling to the ground with a dull clank.
"It is always the last one"
Wry smile.
"Mainly because you stop trying when you find the right one, so nothing follow it."
Rubbing his wrists where the manacles cinched him for so long, Jask sighs. "It is good to be free again. But it is rather ironic to be shipwrecked instead," he laughs the good-natured laugh you have heard from him before.
"My story is not a terribly exciting one, but I will tell it, since there seems to be nothing else to do on the beach today." he says with a wry smile.
"A long time ago, I worked in the Sargavian government in Eleder. The Governor-General there was afraid of the growing power of the pirates of The Shackles. Their piracy was choking off trade to Sargava, and the colony had little seapower to stop them. The Governor met secretly with the pirate captains and paid them off. I uncovered evidence of those illicit and corrupt deals, but instead of being hailed a hero, I was framed for the very crimes I had discovered."
"Faced with imprisonment, I fled to Corentyn where i lived a modest life as a scribe for nearly a decade. But recently, a Sargavan agent caught up with me and put me in irons. I was dragged aboard the Jenivere to be returned to my homeland to stand trial for crimes I did not commit. And here you find me, now doomed to die on this desert island instead."
He looks forlorn for a moment, his black eyes lustrous and brimming with tears. But he quickly blinks them away, "Unless of course you have other plans for us!"
"As I said, if we are indeed on the Shiv, then perhaps Fate has had on more final joke on me. You see, the pirate leader that was my superior's contacts --and took the bribes and Saragava's honor -- his ship was said to have foundered on the rocks of this very isle. The Brine Demon commanded by Avert Kinkarian. If we could find that ship, there may be evidence which exonerates me."
"Well, finding other wrecks and taking anything useful from them is surely worth doing, so I think we will have a chance to find the Brine Demon remains."
"We will certainly keep a weather eye out, as they say. Perhaps that will convince the recalcitrant Aerys." While he speaks, the oracle busies himself getting the salvaged equipment up above the tide line. "Now, we have a larger and more immediate problem. Survival is not too much at issue, once you discount the degenerate descendants of previously-wrecked sailors and whatever odd beasts are to be found here. What we need is a way to signal a passing ship."
Varya nods after hearing Jask's story.
"Then perhaps we have a destination to head towards while trying to find a way off the island. But we need to stick together, I am going to go try to calm Aerys down"
Varya heads into the undergrowth after Aerys.
Mikail gaze follow Aerys.
Maybe I should ... No, my actions have upset Aerys. It is not a good idea to be the one that try to calm her. I should leave that to Varya.
Mikhail has heard of the scandal in question, the Sargavan government paying "protection" to the pirate captains of the Shackles. He does not know enough of the details to confirm or deny Jask Derindi's story or account however.
From what you know about the map of Desperation Bay, and from the legends of Smuggler's Shiv, that some of you may have heard, you believe that most shipping passes far away from the hull-crunching rocks and reefs of this spit of land.
Such understanding also makes you wonder why the Jenivere was close enough to founder here.
If you are considering trying to signal a ship, then perhaps the highest ground you can find would be useful.
Mikail shares what little he know with the others.
After catching up with Aerys, Varya tries to calm her down a bit.
"We need to work together right now. We were all dumped here together, and the others that traveled to the wreckage believe that the captain may have been the cause.
Please, just come back to the camp and we can explain what we found, and hopefully find a way off this island together."
Dragolan contemplates the charts, shaking his head. "No one sane seems to come anywhere near this place, I fear. I don't recall any storms that might have blown us off course; if none of you do, either, I am forced to conclude that the captain brought the ship here for a reason. But that is not the most important thing.
"For the purpose of our survival, we must determine where we are, and what threats are present on the island. I suggest that we divide our group of castaways into two--a home base, if you will, and an exploration team. The explorers will, well, explore the immediate vicinity of the base; once that is done, everyone will cooperate on moving the base to another convenient place to explore from. We continue until we have completely explored the island, been rescued, or died. Then (assuming the first case, of course!) we find the best place to light a beacon and wait."
"We don't have much food. What we have will last about 5 days. I have brought 2 nets from the wreck, we should try to rig up a fish trap. some of you has experience with that?
And the people staying at the base camp should try to gather what they can while the explorers should forage along the way.
We need to find a source of potable water too. And move our equipment further inland."
Mikail try to organize a camp.
- * -
After the camp has been set up.
"Well, this is the best we can do, for now. I would like to be in the exploring group. We have other volunteers?"
In reply, Dragolan smiles. "Potable water is not a concern, my friend. I have magic to pull the salt out of sea water; as long as we are close to the shore and I am alive, I will be able to provide all the water we need."
"You really think the captain was the problem? He and that scholarly Varisian hussy? I do see that blaming the rest of you for our plight is a bit foolish. Do you think they'll take me back after I acted so awfully? I am afraid, and don't want to be alone, but I am not good with people either. Will you help smooth it over out there?"
As you start to head back to the beach with the others, she stops you, putting a hand on your arm. "Can I tell you something? A secret? I trust you for some reason."
As it is getting on to mid-afternoon, the relentless heat of the sun is starting to bear down on you all.
Mikail finds what he thinks is a suitable site for a base camp, and he begins work on clearing the rocks, leveling the sand, and rigging up shelters, using the big canvas sails foraged from the wrecked ship.
Jask Derindi pipes up at the mention of water. "Now that you have restored the Eye to me, and freed my hands, I to can create water enough for us to drink. With that, if we split up, both groups will have water. I propose to stay with the camp. I can hunt a bit, and also can act as medic if someone gets injured...or worse."
Jask has geared back up in his suit of leather armor, buckled on his dagger, and spell pouch, and brandishes his holy symbol plainly. The two potions of curing are at his belt. You can tell he is quite pleased to have his gear back.
"Guys, help me setting up a shelter. it will greatly enhance our chances of surviving.
Mikail try to convince the NPC to help too.
For each NPC
Taking food, day one:
Available ration at the start of the day 50
Consumption. 10
Foragers: ?
Water: unlimited
that's 2 NL for Mikail and fatigued condition.
As Mikhail looks for assistance with his project, he asks each of the castaways for a hand. Jask Derindi seems to be deep in prayer or meditation, perhaps preparing his spells, and does not respond. Aerys and Varya are still off in the jungle somewhere and cannot be asked just yet.
The gnome looks askance at the industrious Mikhail who is building the shelter. When asked to assist he quips:
"I am happy to live in the shelter, but I don't know a thing about building...If we were in Absalom, I'd be much more in my element, friend. If you need anything, I'll be right over here, taking a nap.
Sasha Nevah, finally back from the surf, eyes the bard curiously. "We aren't staying here long, are we? I mean, won't someone come and save us? I don't see the point in building anything."
Ishirou, who hasn;t spoken a word since the wreck, gets up from his squatting position when asked to help. He nods to Mikhail, and then begins to assist, showing the bard how to tie certain sailor's knots that will help secure the tent in wind. He grunts as he works, and makes a few hand motions, but does not speak.
"Ah, Sasha. We don't know how long it will take before we are rescued; the Shiv, I am told, has a bad reputation as a graveyard of ships, so wise captains steer well clear of it. Perhaps we will find a way off of the island quickly, but I fear we will be here for some time."
Dragolan will also assist with setting up camp, complaining loudly about the difficulty of the work, why it has to be done in the heat of the day, and generally being kind of a pain. However, despite his complaints he manages to work tirelessly for the first two hours, only flagging towards the end of the time.
and the fatigued condition...
As the shelter starts to take shape, and the relentless sun beats down on you, the complaining from the castaways starts to take shape.
"What is there to eat? I'm hungry."
"We need to collaborate to survive. Gelik, even if you know nothing about constructing a shelter you can help moving stuff.
If you want to eat now you can gather some wood to cook the food.
Sasha, look the rocks, see if there is some edible
mollusc.
Thanks for the help Dragolan, Ishirou."
** spoiler omitted **
Varya stops to listen to Aerys. "Of course, you have my word that it will stay between us unless you want to share with the others."
"We have very little food, I had overestimated it, I thought we had twice that. We need to do some foraging."
"Shelter...was the right thing...to start with." Dragolan fans himself with one hand as he pants in exhaustion. "We can forage...tomorrow morning, when...it's cooler."
If Varya and Aerys disappear for more than 15 minutes Mikail will go and search for them.
And he will wait so long only because he know that Varya can handle herself in a fight.
It would be different if you inform us that you will be away for a long time before leaving, but simply laving for hours without a word? He will fear for both of you.
"We need to collaborate to survive. Gelik, even if you know nothing about constructing a shelter you can help moving stuff.
If you want to eat now you can gather some wood to cook the food.
Sasha, look the rocks, see if there is some edible
mollusc.
Gelik looks askance at Mikail. "Really, manual labor? Who do you think you are talking to? I mean, perhaps Ishirou or Jask will gather wood for a fire, but me...? I can entertain, if you like."
"Stop me if you heard this one...A travelling bard looking to ply his trade walks up to a inn named "The Dragon and the Knight". He approaches the bar seeking the innkeeper, but before he could open his mouth, the shrewish innkeeper's wife snaps "What do you want here, you tramp?" The bard eyes her for a moment and glances at the inn's sign. "Is the knight in?"
The quirky gnome laughs hard at his own joke, clutching his sides and tears streaming down his face.
"I not get it," says Ishirou deadpan. The only words you have heard him speak all day.
She looks at you testing your reaction to her news, before continuing.
As Mikhail orders Sasha to begin looking for mollusks, she gets up and walks to the waters edge. "Yeah, sure, okay." she mutters but she doesn't seem to be making much of a show of doing anything in particular.
After the shelter is in place, Dragolan gathers the workers (and anyone else still injured) together for a pick-me-up.
"Though since we could be here for a while, you should try to be careful and wean yourself off. I'm here to help if there's anything I can do."
Her eyes are beseeching and her voice quavers as she hopes that you will help.
At about this time, Mikahil crashes into the undergrowth ahead of you, making sure nothing is amiss in the jungle.
"Remember," says Aerys with conviction, "It's a secret, between you and me."
She puts on a resolute smile and greets Mikail, "We are fine, just girl talk. What is the latest?"
After a trip to the Jenivere and building of the shelter, there is little time for else this first day of being shipwrecked on Smuggler's Shiv. The hardtack and preserved food from the ship becomes the evening meal and the freshly conjured water from the divine casters keeps everyone as cool and refreshed as possible.
Everyone is quite thankful for the shelter as the sun's setting brings on a sudden downpour of tropical rain. The grim mood only intensifies with this storm but soon enough it ends, and Ishirou begins making a fire out of dried driftwood gathered from along the beach.
By the time the rains cease, it's too late to send out hunting, scavenging, or exploring parties, but sitting around the fire, you are able to start hatching plans for tomorrow's activities.
"We should set up a watch for the night and then go to sleep.
Tomorrow we should wake early and start gathering food and exploring the nearest area.
Who is less tired after today work?"
Mikail give Gelik a cool look.
"With 10 people we can have 2 people on guard duty and divide the night into 5 turns.
I would suggest:
Okhsa and Ishirou
Morgrym and Gelik
Varya and Aerys
Dragolan and Jask
Mikail and Sasha
The two arcane spellcasters get the first and last turn as they need to recover their spells.
Tomorrow morning we divide into 2 groups, one will guard our equipment and gather what food they can find in the nearby area, the other will start exploring the interior of the island, both gathering food and searching for the island for everything that can help us getting away from here.
Volunteers for the groups?
I would like to go with the explorers."
Healing Nonlethal Damage: You heal nonlethal damage at the rate of 1 hit point per hour per character level. When a spell or ability cures hit point damage, it also removes an equal amount of nonlethal damage.
"I would also like to go with the exploring party." Dragolan chuckles. "After all, I fully intended to go out into the jungles of the Expanse...this is merely a little sooner than I'd intended!"
The oracle points to the map. "I would take exception to your proposed destination, Mikail...let us begin by following the coastline to the west. I suspect that we are on the north side of the island, but there may be useful items to be gleaned from wrecks...eh, Jask?"
Jask nods readily. "Since my primary role here is healer and conjurer of water, it is best if I stay back at camp. I can hunt and act as a medic if required. Besides, I am not as young as i used to be. If you see the Brine Demon along the coast, search it for me, eh friends?"
Gelik looks around at the others. "So you are asking do we want to traipse around the dangerous jungles looking for cannibals, carnivorous monsters, or who knows what, or just hang here and wait for survivors to return? I think you know where I am leaning..."