Merdin listens to Douena's explanation, his expression changing back and forth between amusement and confusion. "I...um...see," he says after she's finished.
He listens to Lorenz and nods. "Yes, I suppose being stuck in the jungle so long would be hard to bear."
"No worries, my good man," Gelik says, coming up to the second mate. "Lorenz and I have been working on a transcription of everything that's happened to us here. I'd be happy to fill you in on the details that Douena has left out."
"No worries, my good man," Gelik says, coming up to the second mate. "Lorenz and I have been working on a transcription of everything that's happened to us here. I'd be happy to fill you in on the details that Douena has left out."
"The boring details," Douena mutters under her breath, scowling at Gelik.
"Don't forget the exciting details when we fought off those strange grey fungus mushroom people," Mahjik smirks at Douena. "This place is nothing if not an idyll for the work-weary traveler. If you don't mind taking on undead, jungle disease, poisonous snakes, cannibals and of course strange flappy creatures and crabs that can grow to ridiculously huge proportions."
"And the procession of tiny bears," Sasha says. "Don't forget that."
Merdin and his men look around the village a bit and listen to the stories you have to tell them. They relax a great deal as they do so, clearly more and more convinced that the cannibals are gone and that the island is relatively safe.
Eventually Merdin says, "We've seen and heard all we need to see. I need to make a report to the captain. It's up to him whether you can come with us to Eleder. However, I'm going to recommend that we let you on board. I see no reason to believe your story is anything but the truth. I shouldn't be gone long. While I'm gone, you should start preparing your things to go. I know the captain doesn't want to sit by here long. I'm not sure how we'll get the horse on board yet, so I hope you have some ideas. Like I said, the captain will only wait so long."
He calls his men over and they begin the walk back down the path to their longboat.
Lorenz smiles eagerly at the first mate's words. "Aye aye! I don't have much, I'll be ready to go by the time you get back."
"How did Soulwind get on the island from the Jenivere in the first place?" Douena wonders.
"How did Soulwind get on the island from the Jenivere in the first place?" Douena wonders.
"I'm pretty certain she swam," Aakif says, patting the horse's neck affectionately. "I'm also pretty sure there was quite a bit of luck involved keeping her off the rocks. This bay here isn't as rocky, but she'll have farther to swim. I'm not sure how she'll like that, but if we can get her to swim out to the ship, hopefully they'll have the equipment to haul her on board."
"Well, I can provide the luck this time, if that's what she needs," Douena promises. "It's the least I can do after she carried me across the rivers before I got to be such a good swimmer."
"Might want to make sure they got the equipment first." Makoa suggests. "I'll help if you want it."
You begin gathering what supplies and belongings you have. Jask suggests leaving behind the makeshift camping gear you've been lugging around the island. None of the NPCs object.
A little over an hour later, second mate Merdin and his men return to the village. "Good news," he says. "Captain Tegerten has agreed to take you off the island and transport you to Eleder. As I predicted though, he doesn't want to wait long, so we need to get moving right away."
Sasha lets out a squeal of joy. She grabs Lorenz's arms and begins to spin him around. "We did it! We're free!" She then plants a kiss on him.
"Ah, to be at sea again," Pezock says. He pats his sword. "It's been a long time, hasn't it my dear?"
With everything in had, you begin the trek along the trail to the longboat.
Lorenz shares Sasha's enthusiasm but her kiss catches him quite by surprise. He walks beside her to the rowboat, grinning foolishly the entire time.
Douena follows behind Lorenz and Sasha, grinning at both of them. "He should have done that weeks ago," she whispers to Makoa and Mahjik.
"You think so?" Makoa whispers back.
"Pssh. I used to overhear them on watch when I was listening to Desna. 'Ooh, let's go away together to the jungle and have adventures when we get off this island.' Please. She was begging for it."
"Ah, I thought I might have been going mad and hearing things." He jokes.
You reach the longboat just as a second launch from the ship arrives at the shore. Between the two boats, there is enough space for all the humanoids to get in. There remains the problem of Soulwind. Second mate Merdin says that they do have hauling equipment on board, so they can haul her up if she can get out to the ship.
Aakif sits at the back of the boat he's in and holds Soulwind's leads to guide her. The rowers are not too happy about this; they're afraid the horse could unbalance the boat, especially if she gets pulled away by a sudden current. So Aakif gets out of the boat again and chooses to swim.
"It's a long swim, my friend," Jask says. "Are you sure you're up for it? Perhaps it would be better for the strongest swimmer amongst us to do this."
"Would this work?" Mahjik points to a set of coconuts.
Nodding in agreement with Jask, Lorenz begins to pull off his armor. "I'll do it. I've gotten lots of practice swimming since we got shipwrecked here. Wasn't there a ring that helps with that too?"
Once he's got the ring on, he moves into the water beside Soulwind. "Wish me luck!"
"Would this work?" Mahjik points to a set of coconuts.
Aakif looks at the coconuts and then back at Mahjik, a quizzical look in his eyes. "In what way?" he asks slowly.
Lorenz comes to the rescue and moves into the water, taking Soulwind's reins. At first, the horse is reluctant to go any further into the water than where she can still stand. Although she's swum across rivers quite willingly before, the fact that she can't see an opposite shore is probably what's making her nervous this time. It takes a bit of coaxing from Aakif to get her to start swimming. Merdin orders the boat taking Aakif to stay near Lorenz and the horse so that Aakif can continue to call out reassurances to the horse.
The journey itself is not too difficult, and takes close to three and a half minutes and then there's another couple of minutes wait, swimming in place while the crew of the Red Gull gets the hauling equipment ready. A couple of the sailors dive into the water to attach the ropes and harnesses to Soulwind. At last, they begin to raise Soulwind up and onto the deck.
While this is happening, the rest of the party reaches the ship and climbs on board.
Just before getting in the boat, Douena suddenly dashes back to solid ground and kneels down with her cheek to the sand. "Aycenia! Aycenia! Can you hear me? We're leaving now. We'll miss you. You can have my swing." Then she climbs into the boat.
Before leaving the island, Mahjik, gives it a private farewell. "I can't say 'wise island', but there's much I've learned on you," he addresses the island, "I hope those I leave behind will remember me, us, fondly, especially Aycenia."
Once Soulwind is finally secure aboard the ship, Lorenz pulls himself out of the water and onto the deck, breathing hard from the exertion. "That was a lot of work but the water is much more pleasant than the steamy air."
He finally gets to his feet again and moves to stand beside Sasha.
Douena leans sadly against the railing, gazing between the lower bars at the Shiv. "Goodbye, island! You were the best island ever. Goodbye, flappybites! Goodbye, little Captain! Goodbye, giant scarecrab! Are you going to miss your crabshell house, Pezock?"
Pezock takes a deep breath and gazes out over the water and back at the island. He seems momentarily startled by Douena's question. "What? What crabshell? Oh! My crab! Yes, I will miss it, but only a little while. There are new adventures ahead. I am at sea again!"
Makoa gives the island one last, long look before he asks the captain(or first mate) if there is anything he can do on the ship.
Urza also lets it be known that he is an able seaman.
Urza also lets it be known that he is an able seaman.
Captain Tegerten graciously accepts Makoa's and Urza's offers to help with the crew and has Merdin draw up a work schedule for them. You don't see much of Tegerten during the trip. He spends most of his time in his cabin, but when you do see him, he seems a somewhat gruff man, but otherwise friendly.
The journey to Eleder is not a long one. The ship sails straight through the night and by noon, the docks of Eleder come in sight.
Captain Tegerten graciously accepts Makoa's and Urza's offers to help with the crew and has Merdin draw up a work schedule for them. You don't see much of Tegerten during the trip. He spends most of his time in his cabin, but when you do see him, he seems a somewhat gruff man, but otherwise friendly.
Lorenz's first few minutes aboard the ship were happy ones. He enjoyed the sunshine off the water, the sea wind in his hair and the presence of Sasha beside him.
Then the ship pulled up anchor and set sail and half a minute later he was clinging to the rail and heaving the last remnants of Smuggler's Shiv overboard.
He's still there, weak with exhaustion and pale as death when the docks of Eleder come in sight.
"Land ho!" he cries before retching again. "What a beautiful sight! Buildings! - retch - People! Civilization! - cough cough - "
The effort exhausts him and he sinks to his knees, forcing him to view the city from a Douena perspective.
Sasha leans over Lorenz and pats his back affectionately. "You just weren't made for sea travel, were you?" she says with a laugh. "Well, it's nearly over."
From a perch up in the rigging, Alton squawks, startling the sailors yet again (it's happened several times during the trip).
Lorenz shakes his head. "Not, erm, particularly. Looking forward, urp, to walking or, ug, riding through...jungle."
He rests his head against the rail.
It takes awhile before the Red Gull is able to pass into the harbour. A smaller ship approaches first and a Chelaxian man comes aboard to handle some paperwork with the captain and first mate. Then the ship is allowed the sail through the large stone jetties that limit entrance into the harbour.
There are two main sections to the harbour, separated by a curved sandy shoal. The Red Gull turns towards one of the many quays along the north side of the harbour and finally into dock.
From what you can see from here, the city itself is a mixture of architectural styles, some of it in traditional Chelish styles, other parts in native styles, and yet other parts a mixture of the two. Most of the buildings are wide and low and many are surrounded by low stone walls. A much larger stone wall surrounds the city.
"Now, see, this is what I mean," Douena complains rather greenly during the paperwork delay. While she hasn't been as seasick as Lorenz, she is still gazing rather longingly at the frustratingly-close yet unattainable shore. "No paperwork on the Shiv. We shipwrecked and got thrown onto a sandy beach with big scorpion things. None of this delay and waiting around."
"We had to wait to wake up, didn't we?" Makoa points out. "Then there was waiting for the waters to rise and fall so will could get into the temple, waiting while fishing, waiting for Alton to hatch..."
"And waiting for tiny bears," Sasha says. "That was a long wait. Worth it in the end though. I particularly liked the blue one." She grins.
The Red Gull pulls into its designated spot, and the crew go to work quickly, securing it into place. The captain is on deck at this point, although the first and second mates take care of most of the directing of the crew.
Captain Tegerten comes over to the party. "Welcome back to civilization," he says. "Not many shipwrecked on the Shiv ever escape. You should count yourselves lucky. Or blessed. Or both. If you're looking for a place to stay, you might want to try the Sargava Club. It's not well liked by the aristocracy here, but I understand it's a friendly place with reasonable prices. There are a number of other inns as well. I'm sure you can find a place with vacancies. Best of luck to you all." He tips his hat to you and goes back to watching the crew at work.
After a short wait, the gangplank is lowered allowing you access to the pier.
Lorenz pours a waterskin over his face and scrubs away at his mouth and chin with an unshaky hand before tottering over to the gangplank and painstakingly making his way down to the dock, where he has to resist the urge to kiss the unmoving ground. He'd have liked to have offered a better farewell to the kind captain but he hadn't trusted his voice just then.
Once the others have joined him, he looks around at each of them. "As much as I'd like to go straight for a tavern and order you all a round to celebrate our escape, I think we'd be better off finding an inn with some tubs and then buy some fresh clothes. We all look like we've been wrecked upon an island. Except for you, of course, Gelik." He smiles at the gnome.
"And Sasha," Douena prompts Lorenz with a glare, not wanting him to mess up so quickly what he's just managed to stumble into. "And me," she amends. "I'm lovely."
Sasha looks at herself and frowns. "Well, I suppose I am a mess," she says. "Still, kind of uncouth to go pointing it out there, Lorenz." She winks at him, then offers a hand to Douena. "Shall we go find a place to stay and clean up so as not to offend Lorenz's sensibilities? Perhaps this Sargava Club? Although personally, I've always found places with 'club' in the name to be a bit pretentious."
"Well, take solace in the fact that I probably look much worse than you, Sasha. Gelik would probably be more than willing to tell you that, if he weren't so respectfully clean." Makoa says with a smile.
"There is nothing wrong with being neat and tidy," Gelik says. "It lends you credibility. And if you don't believe me," he says, eyeing Douena, "you'll find out the truth of that here in Eleder. Now, given the situation we've been through, I certainly don't hold anything against any of you for looking like you do. However, people here don't know what we've been through, so Lorenz is absolutely right. We need to get cleaned up, even me. There's only so much my spells can do. The sooner we do that, the sooner I can report to the local Pathfinder Lodge and restore my good name!" He straightens his hat.
Lorenz flushes as he realizes what he's said. "Er, well but you always look good, Sasha. Terrific even. I just thought -- well...I thought you'd want..."
He stops himself. "The Sargava club, right. I hope they let us in."
"Do you think they'll let in Alton?" Douena wonders, with a glance at the growing flappybite. "I only have four silver pieces. I gave the other one to Pezock." She falls back in the group until she's next to Lorenz. "You never forget to kiss up to Gelik," she hisses at him. "You want to end up with him instead of Sasha?"
Lorenz looks doubtfully at the razorbeak. "I don't know...I hope so. I've got plenty of coin if that helps. Does anyone even know where we're going?"
As Douena whispers harshly to him, Lorenz jumps a little and turns to her with wide eyes. "He's the only one of us whose clothes aren't torn or bloodstained! I was just telling the truth!" He realizes he hasn't modulated his voice any and smiles uneasily as he drops to a whisper. "Besides, don't women like shopping for new clothes? And taking baths?"