With this Adornis enters the jungle, stopping only when he finds a pretty good spot for camping. "See? We could definitely be better but on the other hand we could be in far direr situations... I'm not a schooled man but I've learnt that you lose nothing by seeing the bright side of things. You can see this as an exile, or extended vacations."
Seeing the creature approach St. John advances and attacks it, "Looks like we found the source of that sound. Lunch is served, we just have to prepare it!"
"Surround it!, yells Amboy as he moves to flank the creature.
It doesn't take long for Adornis to find an excellent spot for the camp. It's not too far from the beach, has plenty of shade, and it appears to be close to some game trails. His discovery came just in time too, as a few hours of relentless rainfall pour down just after the group manages to construct a rude lean-to.
While you work, the other castaways pitch in, but most seem fairly useless. The shackles prevent the Garundi man from doing much. Aerys has finally woken from her unconsciousness and works in sullen silence. Gelik pouts and complains while finding ways to do as little work as possible. Only Sasha seems to be in high spirits, but her help is hampered by Ishirou who berates her for any small mistake she makes.
Narrowing her red eyes, Karathiel sends a bullet flying at the creature. In the confines of the ship, the sound of the pistol is magnified. She jumps slightly at the noise, making her shot less accurate than she'd like. A muttered Elven follows swiftly: firing into melee is not her strength.
Cethel hurls one of his stones at the creature, and although it lands, it is a glancing blow at best.
Imhara carefully maneuvers around to the side of the overgrown sea scorpion when she sees that its attention is focused on Amboy. Once she's confident that she won't put the others in harm's way from her new position, the young witch reaches out to find the thrum of magic hidden deep beneath the island. A brief pulse answers her call, and faint tremors can be felt as Imhara draws from the ley line to fuel her spell. "Kuharibu kwa moto." A gout of flame erupts from Imhara's outstretched palm to scorch the creature's carapace.
Karathiel's shot flies wide, but Cethel and Imhara strike home. The euryptid's carapaces singes and cracks and the the creature collapses dead with a shriek.
Whatever the creature was trying to accomplish remains below deck. No sounds besides the crash of waves and the creaking of the deck can be heard.
On a third shelter he gathers a couple small rocks and dry twigs to make it easier to light a fire when the others return. He knew that, with time, they would probably be able to make a better shelter by weaving coconut leaves but that could wait.
Adornis was quite pleased with Sasha's spirits and made sure to compliment her efforts every time Ishirou makes a mean comment. When everything is done, Adornis grabs a coconut, opens it with his trident, sits on a rock besides Sasha, and invites the others to come closer. "Hey guys, don't be so negative... yes, we are lost in a possibly abandoned island but we are alive! Do you remember how many were aboard the ship? They are probably dead now but not we! We are kind of the lucky ones! In my opinion, if you can't avoid a situation, at least try to turn it into a pleasurable experience..." he then winks at Sasha.
"Hey, Ishirou, I bet you know some wise proverb about a situation like this... I've always been eager to visit the Dragon Empires... why don't you tell us about your land? Since I hope we don't get eaten this night, it would be great for us to know each other better!" he winks once more for Sasha, hoping that she would understand the double meaning of his last phrase.
St. John cleans the gore off of his sword and says to the group, "Let's head down and see what it was trying to do." He then walks over and heads down the way it came up.
Karathiel follows, keeping a wary eye out for more trouble.
Amboy limbs across the deck, "We need to hurry before this wreck falls apart. Imhara and I will check out the captain's quarters and see if there is anything useful there while you head below."
Imhara takes note of Amboy's limp as the two make their way to the captain's quarters. Once out of earshot of the rest of the group, the witch nods at the man's leg and asks, "Do you need that tended to?" That she can use magic had been made clear after their most recent encounter with the island's wildlife, but, for whatever reason, Imhara feels obligated to explain the nature of her gifts to Amboy before he decides. "I was a mganga, or a healer to my people back in the colony, but, to your people, I am a witch." Her eyes scan the cabin for the keys to Jask's shackles as she admits this, seeming nonchalant.
"If you choose not to accept healing from one such as me, I will understand. But, if you do, I should warn you that the ancestors don't intervene on a person's behalf twice in the same day. If something were to happen to you later, I wouldn't be able to help you until the sun rises on us again."
Now that the work is over, you get a chance to really look at your fellow castaways. Aerys sits quietly, her arms wrapped around her knees, which are pulled up to her chest. The half-elf is a rare beauty, trim and athletic, with tanned skin, short brown hair, and fierce blue eyes. She is dressed in tightly-fitted leather armor and wears a black tricorn hat. She stares at the fire and you notice that she looks notably pale.
The chained Garundi man introduced himself as Jask. Plain-featured with graying hair and watery brown eyes, his clothing is tattered and his wrists and ankles have been rubbed raw by his shackles.
Gelik is the only person around with clean clothes. After the work (where he barely helped at all), he used a liberal amount of minor magic to remove all traces of salt and sweat from his foppish attire. With blonde hair and a neat goatee, only his ink-stained fingers break the illusion of a proper gnomish gentleman. When Adornis begins to lay out the silver-linings of this predicament, he speaks up. "Death might be preferable to our current situation."
Sasha, with her tousled red hair and mischievous green eyes, can barely sit down In the firelight, you can tell through her tattered shirt that she is covered in the lean muscle of a dancer. You also notice that she bears a rather large tattoo on her back: a pair of mantis pincers, interlocked to form something resembling an "N" shape. She is missing the pinky finger on her left hand. "Oh, calm down, little lord. It's not all bad" She winks back to Adornis.
Ishirou sits still, changing between watching the fire and sneaking glances at Aerys. When addressed, his dark eyes shift to Adornis. You are used to the rugged Tian man not saying much. He appears old, with grey hair worn in a ponytail and a scruffy beard, but his clothing and armor have been kept in excellent shape, despite their obviously poor quality. Only his blade, a beautiful katana, seems to have any value. The moment stretches and before it seems like Ishirou might remain silent, he speaks.
"My father had a saying. 'When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills. My father was also a fool." The rogue looks back to the fire.
Gelik chuckles darkly.
It might not have been impressive, but the fact that you got Ishirou to speak at all could be considered a victory.
Looking down at his injured leg Amboy says, "Not sure when I will need it next so I would like to have it healed now."
After the healing he will examine the desk and the footlocker to see if they are locked and/or trapped.
"Now let's see what the captain had hidden from the crew. In my previous career I was pretty good at getting into things"
Karathiel looks at the blood coming from under the stuck door. Drawing her scimitar, she strikes at the wood, to no effect. "Brute force isn't really my thing."
Seeing Karathiel's blow just scratches the door St. John speaks up, "Let me try." He then grabs his sword with two hands and hacks at the door.
Inside the locked drawer is a bottle of fine brandy, a darkwood model of the Jenivere inside a glass bottle, a small wooden coffer holding 350 gold pieces, and a long leather satchel that holds a dozen labeled potions: four potions of cure light wounds, a potion of cure moderate wounds, four potions of lesser restoration, a potion of remove disease, a potion of water breathing, and a potion of water walking.
One upper drawer contains several iron keys. Another contains several sea charts and maps, as well as what appears to be Captain Kovack's log.
The footlocker holds a masterwork dagger, a suit of leather armor, a spell component pouch, a pair of unlabeled potions, and a holy symbol of Nethys.
Besides the unfortunate Alton, there are a number of supplies in this room.
Cethel follows Karathiel and St. John.
When they get past the door, Cethel looks closer at Alton's body, trying to figure out what killed him, or any other clues.
"Strange. Why would he be dressed for a fight?
Regardless, We've got a good number of supplies here."
Cethel tries to figure out about how many day's worth of supplies are there.
Imhara smiles warmly at Amboy at his easy acceptance of her gifts. "Of course." Moving next to him, she begins to hum a soothing melody reminiscent of a lullaby as she places her palm on his chest. A few notes into the song, a warm light spills from her hand and Amboy's pain fades as his skin stitches back together. Backing out of his personal space, Imhara glances down at his leg and nods her approval. "The ancestors have been kind. It looks like your wounds have healed completely."
Imhara stands nearby as the rogue works on unlocking the desk drawer. When the drawer pops open, the first thing to catch the witch's eye is the wooden coffer full of gold--I've never seen so many coins at once in my life! It's a shame gold will do us little good here, but the second thing is that satchel full of potions. "You are truly gifted, Amboy. These will go a long way toward keeping everyone alive out here," she says, swinging the satchel over her shoulder. After securing the ring of keys to her belt, she offers to carry what she can back to camp.
Karathiel shrugs at Cethel's question. "One more mystery to add to the pile."
Leaving the gnome to look at the body, she starts collecting any supplies that look especially useful.
"I hope those are the keys we need."
Amboy pulls out his waterproof bag and starts putting the gear that Imhara does not take into the bag. He then grabs the bag and the suit of leather armor and takes one last look around the room before heading out.
This is what I will put into the bag.
bottle of fine brandy
a darkwood model of the Jenivere inside a glass bottle
several sea charts and maps
Captain Kovack's log.
masterwork dagger
a spell component pouch
a pair of unlabeled potions
a holy symbol of Nethys.
Karathiel's red eyes flicker as she gazes across the room. "This stuff would be useful, if we can carry it all. Strength is not my... strength," she finishes lamely.
In the pause that follows, she ducks away. "I'll go check out the larder."
Wonder what the others are up Amboy decides to investigate and heads for the larder.
Turning to Imhara he asks, "Do you want to keep an eye out here on deck while I go below or do you want to follow me?
"You know I am a poor liar by now," Imhara says as they make their way to the deck. "If they find out I didn't tell them what is in the coffer, they will think I am a thief twice over." Not to mention it would foolish to put so much value in gold while we're stranded here... Still, if Amboy thought telling the others presently was a poor idea, she would trust his judgement. After all, he was the one who had spent time amongst them during the journey, while she had been hiding out in the cargo hold.
"I'll join you. They might need the extra hands," the witch answers as she descends the ladder. "And I have no desire to face another of those sea scorpions on my own."
"Yes, this all looks useful. Let's see how much of it we can carry out of here." He then pulls out a couple of sacks and starts putting items into them.
Before going below deck Amboy wave cheerfully to Adornis back on the beach.
"It appears alton was first stabbed by a blade, probably somthing along the lines of a rapier, and later stung by the sea scorpion. It's likely that the posion from the sting is what killed him."
Once Amboy and Imhara go below deck, they easily find the others.
Inside the larder, you find enough rations to last a single person with food for 24 days.
The body of Rambar, the Jenivere's cook, lies dead on the floor. A series of puncture wounds on his throat and shoulders seem to be the cause.
Seeing the others Amboy says, "We found potions, weapons, armor, and maps in the captains cabin. What did you guys find?"
He stops at the body to check it out. "Nasty way to go Rambar. I always thought it would be your cooking that killed you."
Then he will move over to look at the meager rations, "This isn't going to last long. Let's hope we can find something on the island to eat."
He loads as much as he can carry and heads back out.
Karathiel raises an eyebrow. "Good haul. We found basic supplies, tools, that sort of thing. And Alton. Dead twice over, looks like: sword and sting."
Imhara's lips twist into a frown, though whether it's from the strange wounds the crew member had sustained - wounds that the healer is unable to discern the cause of - or the seeming callousness in talking of the dead crewman is anyone's guess. Regardless, she carefully steps around the body and helps pack away some of the rations. "Clearly there is no shortage of sea scorpions on this island. So long as we can carefully the poison glands, the rest of the ...meat should be edible," the witch mentions, her features momentarily overcome with disgust at the thought of eating any part of the creatures.
At the elf's mention of another crew member who had been killed, Imhara turns to Karathiel, her dark brows furrowed in consternation. "Does this trouble no one else? For all we know, his killer could be any of our number."
Karathiel's red eyes briefly flick over Imhara, considering her words. "Such as a stowaway, you mean?"
"Anyway, no, I don't. Remember the tracks - there were only Alton's. One of us would have had to come back here, stab him, then return and pretend to wake with us - all while hiding their tracks. If any of us can do that, why not cut our throats, too?"
She shakes her head. "Don't overcomplicate things. Gets people killed for no good reason."
Amboy strips the weapon and armor off of Alton.
Good luck in the afterlife buddy.
Back on the beach Amboy lays out the gear he collected from the ship.
bottle of fine brandy
a darkwood model of the Jenivere inside a glass bottle
a small wooden coffer holding 350 gold pieces
a long leather satchel that holds a dozen labeled potions: four potions of cure light wounds, a potion of cure moderate wounds, four potions of lesser restoration, a potion of remove disease, a potion of water breathing, and a potion of water walking
several sea charts and maps
Captain Kovack's log.
a suit of leather armor
a spell component pouch
a pair of unlabeled potions
a holy symbol of Nethys.
a masterwork shortsword
a masterwork dagger
a suit of masterwork studded leather armor
As the group gathers around he says, "This is all of the gear that Imhara and I found in the captains cabin and on the body of Alton. What should we do with it? I would like the weapons and armor. We don't know what is on this island and I would like to be able to protect myself better if we need to fight."
Turning to Imhara he quietly says, "Try those keys on the manacles and see if they fit."
The sight of the gear seems to wake Jask out of his funk. He rises to his knees and begins to shuffle towards the equipment, his motions stifled by the manacles. "My things! Praise Nethys they were not lost to the sea."
Karathiel regards Jask carefully, before speaking up - 'speaking up' in her case being a relative term: her voice is never very loud. "Life here is dangerous enough without releasing a known prisoner - but we have to work together, or die. Let's take a vote on whether to unlock him; I'll go with the majority decision."
Amboy looks at Karathiel, "What crime has he committed? What makes him dangerous? Have you any knowledge of the man's past? Have you discussed it with him or the others?"
Turning his attention to Jask he steps between him and the gear, "Come Jask, tell us how you came to be held captive against your will? Why would make the captain feel the need to chain you in the hold of his ship? What did they have to fear from you?"
Karathiel shrugs. "Don't know, don't care. He's in chains and we're not; that's all that matters right now. Just think we should all get a say on whether to free him."
"He was in those chains and the brig for a reason. While we may not know it, he should stay chained up until we can deliver him to the local law to judge him."
"I have done nothing," Jask protests. "Ten years ago, I worked as a scribe in the Sargavan government. I accidentally uncovered corruption implicating the Baron with illicit dealings with the Free Captains of the Shackles. I went to my superior with what I found and he had me arrested! I fled to Correntyn, and I thought they had forgotten about me. I suppose I got complacent, because a Sargavan agent found me and clapped me in these." He holds out his arms, displaying the shackles.
"I suspect the Sargavan told the captain to leave me in irons because I already ran once. But I didn't do anything! Wouldn't you try to run if you were framed?" He directs the question to everybody.
Adornis is delighted to see all of them back in one piece and with so much gear, even if the lack of survival stuff was a bit disappointing. Even so, he decided to bring such subject after this matter with Jask is solved.
"Come on, guys, who of us has never been locked with manacles?" He raises his hand, expecting for everyone to also raise theirs... when no one does and he is eyed with suspicion, he puts his hands in a protective way before justifying himself, "Well, in my case I was locked by a Calistrian half-elf... the manacles were much more delicate and her intentions were completely different than what happened with Jask... but I digress... I vote for letting him free."
He then jumps atop a large rock and uses the end of his trident to knock it a couple times, clearly impersonating a judge. "Very well, gentlemen, lets be civilized! We are here gathered in this beautiful beach to judge Mr. Jask's freedom. There are eleven of us present in this sandy court, counting Mr. Jask who can't vote for himself, being the one to be judged, leaving us with ten votes. I, Judge Adornis Vrastoyllar, representing the local law of this abandoned island shall help and guide you in this process."
Enjoying himself, he continues, pointing to Amboy. "Mr. Amboy and me..." he bows slightly with a flourish, "...vote for his release, while Mr. St. John votes against it. Ms Karathiel has decided to vote in blank, so her vote will pertain to the winning side of this contend. We still have 6 votes to be proffered... Ms. Aerys, Mr. Gelik, Mr. Ishirou, Ms Sasha, Mr. Cethel, and Ms. Imhara, what are your opinions?"
Karathiel gives Adornis a half-scowl, uncertain as to how seriously he's taking this. "If you're judge, you don't get a vote," she reminds him. "Need to be impartial and all that. Anyway, permission to address the court?"
The scarlet-eyed elf clears her throat, unused to speaking in public. Her voice is quiet. "I've been a bounty hunter most of my life. Everyone says they're innocent, and they'll say anything to be released. Just so you know."
We`re all trying to survive now. that:s our number one goal, all our other goals a meaningless if we can`t survive. We need all the help we can get, at least for now. I say we set him free.
"I agree with handsome," Sasha says, standing next to Adornis. "We should give him a chance."
Aerys shakes her head. "No. He could be dangerous."
Gelik sides with the half-elf. "Quite. As Mustache put it, he was locked up for a reason."
Ishirou stays quiet for a time before looking up from the fire. The Tian man shrugs. "I say unlock him. If you're so scared of him, don't give him a weapon. We're on an island. It's not as if he can run."