"And you should all know to be rather careful around our new ally. I don't know how long he's been shipwrecked here, but it seemed to me like he's been affected by his stay on this island." Urza taps his head to emphasize his point.
Mahjik grin broadens at Urza's point.
"Nonetheless, I agree with Lorenz - he suggested earlier to keep pushing against the fungal tide. I think this is the right thing to do too, before we look to the cannibals. If there are no objections, I suggest we pack camp and make for Pezack's place. At least if the cannibals attack us there, he'll be most willing to help as well - so we have an extra blade at our side. This would be particularly relevant if the attack comes when the exploration party is absent at the time."
Then with a sigh, he sits down beside Lorenz. "Now then, lad, with all this exciting news, what's got you so down?"
Lorenz looks to Gelik, not sure how to explain. "I...I thought that things are different here. That I was...part...of something. Usually when things go wrong, everyone blames me but for a while here it was different." He speaks softly, his face reddening with shame or embarrassment.
"It turns out that I was wrong. I thought I was doing the right thing but...it was all wrong. Douena looks at me the same way everyone else always has. 'Useless, good for nothing troublemaker' is bad enough but 'vicious killer' is even worse. I was just trying to help! But instead I ruined everything, as usual."
He sighed, sinking deeper into his gloom. "Nothing ever changes, I guess."
"Nothing's changed?" Makoa thinks. "How forgetful the morose are." He moves closer to Lorenz and waits a moment.
"Plenty has changed. Aerys is no longer depressed, we are no longer on a ship, and we are a group like we never were before." He whispers softly, but it's still gruff. "I'm not a wild child out in the forest attacking hunters with a pack, though that was the easier life."
"Things only change if they are made to, Lorenz."
"We have less than an hour of daylight left," Jask says. "It would probably be better to wait till morning to move, although we can make some of the preparations this evening. It will give us a chance to get caught up on the details of everything. Besides food will be ready soon, and I don't want it to go to waste."
At the mention of food, you all suddenly realize just how hungry you are. You've eaten very little in the last two days.
Jask heads over to his cooking equipment, and it's not long before the smell of cooking fish wafts over the camp.
Lorenz glanced at Makoa with sad eyes. "You did not hear what she said to me. You couldn't understand. She likes you."
Sasha's eyes narrow and she gives Douena a perplexed look. She then sits down beside Lorenz again. "Okay, Mister Gloomypants, I find it difficult to believe that Douena could ever do anything so terrible, but what exactly did she say to you that was so horrible that you've turned into old Aerys?"
At Lorenz: "Wise man would bide his time, to become the hero in a time of need. One setback shouldn't bother you so much. Besides, you were right, we need to still push through to the mushroom island and put an end to it. Probably."
Mahjik leaves the discussion afterwards, waiting a bit for attention to drift away from him. Then he quietly approaches Jask and in a subdued voice tells him: "Douena and I may have been infected by some manner of fungal growth - both of us ate a suspicious offering by the fungus people."
"So the reason you are sad is because she doesn't like you right now? What did I just say about things changing? Areys didn't like any of us at first, but we all worked to change that. Gelik certainly didn't like me back on the ship. Why should Douena be any different for you? You said she likes me, would you like my help?"
Douena had entirely forgotten about the altercation between her and Lorenz. Reminded of it, her face flushes, and her expression travels to somewhere between cross and sulky. "He never thinks I have good ideas," she says defensively to Sasha. "And he called me a meanie!"
"Oh, I'm take back everything I said then, because it's obvious namecalling is our worse problem right now." Makoa says sarcastically, if a little harshly. "You're both as frustrating as fishing!"
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"I was just trying to help. They went onto the ship, alone, with mold-men who had already tried to kill us. I thought that someone should be there, just in case everything went wrong and when I did she said...really horrible things about me. She made it quite clear what she thinks about me. She acted as though I'm some sort of...monster!"
He glanced at Makoa. "I said you wouldn't understand. I just...I thought I finally had friends, and yesterday I realized that I was wrong all along. I'm just in the way, like always."
He sighed and then shook his head. "Well now that we know how to get off the island, you won't have to be bothered by me much longer. We should eat and get ready to move the camp tomorrow. There's more important things to do. I'm sorry I caused so much fuss."
Lorenz gets up and begins packing up his belongings, determined to put an end to the discussion.
"I just thought, maybe, we didn't have to fight everything we run across on this island," she answers hotly. "If we could find some kind of ally, wouldn't we be better off? Look at Pezock: Think how much more we know now that we wouldn't have if we had just forced our way into his shell and killed him." She turns back to Sasha. "I don't actually remember what I said to him," she confesses. "I know I was mad, but I don't think it was that horrible. The worst thing I can think of to say to him now is that he never brings the rope."
"Can we table this discussion until tomorrow? We're all tired and on edge. Besides, right now I'd like to partake of the fine meal that Jask has prepared and perhaps listen to some of Aerys' masterpiece."
"Friends argue and get into fights. Friends say things they don't always mean when they fight. Friends will make up."
Makoa goes over to Jask and helps him with the food if help is needed.
Sasha watches Lorenz wander off and rolls her eyes. "Well that's mature," she mutters. "Come on, Douena, let's get something to eat."
You settle down for some freshly cooked fish. After a couple days of very little to eat (except mold), the fish tastes like the most heavenly food ever. While you eat, Gelik reviews Aerys's poem, muttering about how he was all prepared to do it yesterday, and now he has to prepare all over again.
After dinner, you do a bit of preliminary preparations to move the camp in the morning, packing up any gear that isn't needed overnight. Then you settle down to listen to Gelik perform.
The Abendego Cantos are very well written and contain compelling themes of the strength of personality against incalculable odds. Gelik's performance of the first section is quite good, although you can tell he's not at his best at the moment. By the end, he's getting noticeably a bit flustered. He stops at a convenient break after about an hour and you then settle down for the night.
Mahjik siddles up to Ishirou. "Wise man realizes that often the thoughts unspoken are the ones that need hearing most. Have you learned something from the fights with the natives that have escaped the rest of us?"
Mahjik siddles up to Ishirou. "Wise man realizes that often the thoughts unspoken are the ones that need hearing most. Have you learned something from the fights with the natives that have escaped the rest of us?"
Ishirou thinks for a moment. "They fight fiercely," he says, "but not tactically. For most fights, they probably rely on large numbers to overwhelm their enemies,so they will probably be easiest to deal with in small groups. However, now that they know of our presence, they will probably band together in larger numbers. Their leaders may also be smarter warriors than their scouts, so we shouldn't take anything for granted."
Lorenz approaches Gelik. "Masterfully told, as usual. It's got to be challenging to take on a different sort of story; More adventure and less comedy. I enjoyed it thoroughly."
"I'm sorry to see that your egg hasn't hatched yet. I'm sure it will quite soon." He smiles shyly before turning to look into the darkness overhead.
Mahjik leaves the discussion afterwards, waiting a bit for attention to drift away from him. Then he quietly approaches Jask and in a subdued voice tells him: "Douena and I may have been infected by some manner of fungal growth - both of us ate a suspicious offering by the fungus people."
Before Gelik's performance, Douena pulls out her playthings and sets up her boat and various items in the sand around her; however, while she half-heartedly moves the pieces about, she seems to be paying attention despite herself. When Gelik breaks for the evening, she puts her collection away and goes around the group blessing everyone against illness before heading down to the shoreline to commune with Desna as the stars are coming out.
Mahjik smiles serenely; if he wasn't on watch one might suspect him to be absent-minded. "Maybe the wise men would laugh at me if they heard this. Douena and I may have done something that we will pay dearly for. And Lorenz has found a personal hole that he must cross. But right now these are significant concerns for us: and these are problems that we made for ourselves. Not somebody else. Even if it is by taking a step backwards, we are taking hold of our own destiny. I think this is a good thing; it makes me glad."
Mahjik leaves the discussion afterwards, waiting a bit for attention to drift away from him. Then he quietly approaches Jask and in a subdued voice tells him: "Douena and I may have been infected by some manner of fungal growth - both of us ate a suspicious offering by the fungus people."
Jask looks concerned. "Have you been feeling ill since eating it?" After he learns that you haven't, he considers for a moment. "It may be harmless, I suppose. Or it could be that it takes awhile for the effects to show. How much did you eat? If it was a small amount, your bodies may have resisted any ill effects. If it was a lot, you may have more to worry about. Whatever the case, I'll keep an eye on both of you. Let me know instantly if you start to feel ill."
When shaken awake for her watch with Makoa, Douena wakes moodily and seems more subdued than usual. "I can't remember what I said to Lorenz to make him so mad," she confesses to the half-orc. "I keep trying to remember everything about what we did on the ship, but I was so nervous when Mahjik and I were up there by ourselves, I just can't remember a word I said. You don't know how close I came to refusing to eat their nasty mushroom. I was just about to tell them no and dump the bowl over the side of the boat, when I remembered how Desna healed that one pygmy and stopped us from fighting so I thought I'd give it one more chance, if she wanted us to get along. I remember I told them to stop pointing their spears at us, and they did. So then I thought, Well, they did what I asked so maybe I should do what they asked. So I closed my eyes and ate the mushroom. And then Mahjik did too, and just then was when Lorenz showed up and made them all mad again. After all I'd done to try to be friends!" She shakes her head. "But I don't know what I could have said to hurt his feelings so much. Then everyone started fighting, of course, and the captain scratched all down my arm with his spear...." She glances down at her arm where the wound was and stops, puzzled. "Desna didn't heal that," she mutters. "I was all out of her healing power because I helped that tattletale pygmy. We were down in that awful hold, and it was like someone licked me," she recalls. She turns to Makoa with a broadening smile. "Was it your wolf puppies?"
"I'm sorry to see that your egg hasn't hatched yet. I'm sure it will quite soon." He smiles shyly before turning to look into the darkness overhead.
"Yeah, probably," Sasha replies. She stares out into the darkness and doesn't say anything else.
Mahjik smiles serenely; if he wasn't on watch one might suspect him to be absent-minded. "Maybe the wise men would laugh at me if they heard this. Douena and I may have done something that we will pay dearly for. And Lorenz has found a personal hole that he must cross. But right now these are significant concerns for us: and these are problems that we made for ourselves. Not somebody else. Even if it is by taking a step backwards, we are taking hold of our own destiny. I think this is a good thing; it makes me glad."
Ishirou nods quietly. "A step in any direction is better than no step at all."
On watch with Aerys
"I suspect our time on this island will soon grow to be very exciting. Pharasma will be welcoming many to her realm. If we are fortunate, she won't call to us. I hope to show my faith by delivering as many of them to her as I can. Which god do you worship?"
"We had a small bowl full of the stuff. I didn't really have trouble with it - though you are a much better cook. But Douena looked ill at ease several times. A few times she looked ready to vomit."
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Disappointed but not surprised by Sasha's remoteness, Lorenz moves off a few paces and slumps to the ground, moodily looking off into the distance.
"I don't remember seeing any wolves there. I actually haven't seen as many since we left the ship."
On watch with Aerys
"I suspect our time on this island will soon grow to be very exciting. Pharasma will be welcoming many to her realm. If we are fortunate, she won't call to us. I hope to show my faith by delivering as many of them to her as I can. Which god do you worship?"
Aerys shrugs. "All of them, I guess," she says, then shrugs again. "I'm not really a devout worshiper of any of them. But I do acknowledge them and say the odd prayer now and then to whoever it makes the most sense to at the time. I suppose I pray to Gozreh most often since I'm at sea so much, and when you're at sea, you have to make certain you appease the god of the sea. So if I had to choose one god that I worshiped, I guess it would be Gozreh. But it's not like I regularly visit temples for worship services or anything like that."
"I don't remember seeing any wolves there. I actually haven't seen as many since we left the ship."
"Do you get lonely when they're gone?" she asks. "That night after the ship was the first time I've ever run through all the luck Desna gives me, and it felt awful. Like bad things could happen at any moment and there was nothing I could do about it," she shudders. "Perhaps that's how Lorenz feels all the time," she goes on a bit sympathetically, glancing at his huddled, sleeping form.
"On the ship.. it almost felt like something left me. I hope it wasn't anything I'm going to need soon. If I lose my control, my civility.. things would be bad."
"You need to talk to him." He says, trying to change the subject.
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"You need to talk to him." He says, trying to change the subject.
"He's so frustrating," she sighs. "Like a dog that's had rocks thrown at it, and then it seems all right, but if someone throws a stick for it to fetch, it assumes it's a rock and it slinks away with its tail between its legs. Like Gelik and all his sniffing about cleanliness. If he'd just fall in a huge mudpuddle sometime and realize nothing terrible happens just because he's dirty...." She shakes her head.
"You should push him and say you tripped, then he'd get dirty for sure. Of course, if we're all fighting the natives soon, he may get dirty anyway."
"We're lucky there were only a few of them," Douena replies somberly. "Even if I was out of luck, Desna was still looking out for us. Thinking of them attacking the camp while we were gone!" Douena shakes her head. "We shouldn't spend any more time split up than we absolutely have to until we can take the fight to them. Do you think we can get everyone to go with us back to the fungus island? We're actually safer at night, I think. They're only human and can't see in the dark so they're more likely to attack during the day. And now that they know we're here, they won't stop hunting us."
"That might not be true. We have no idea if they are all human. But you've given me an idea."
He pauses to think, occasionally glancing at his wolves.
"You have that spell that makes water, right? If they keep a fire lit at night like we do and a lot of them can't see at night.. Some of us might be able to attack at night after we put their fire out. If we could give Lorenz and the others a light source they could keep hidden until they needed light, we can do even more if the natives scatter."
Douena considers. "I don't know. I don't think I could put out a whole campfire all at once; it would take a while. I could practice on ours in the morning and see how much water it takes to douse it. Attacking at night is a good idea, though; even if we can't put their fire out, we can draw them away from it. You and Urza and Gelik and I are the only ones who can see in the dark at all, though, and Gelik and I still need moonlight or starlight. I don't know about Pezock. Birds can't usually see at night, can they, unless they're owls?"
"Can you teach me Tien?"
"Can you teach me Tien?"
Ishirou looks a bit surprised by the question, but he quickly recovers his stoicism and nods. "I would be happy to."
The morning arrives with rain. The wind picks up as well, as you eat breakfast and prepare to take down the rest of the camp. You realize you're in for a bit of a storm. The waves on the beach (the tides out at the moment, so they're some distance off) look the nastiest you've seen them in the nearly two weeks you've been on the island.
"What a fun day for traveling," Sasha remarks.
"Perhaps we should wait out the storm," Gelik suggests.
"We either get wet moving or we get wet staying still," Sasha replies. "What difference does it make? I say we move as planned."
Jask is looking unwell. He tries to hide it, but it's pretty obvious to all as he serves breakfast. His hands are trembling quite a bit as he picks things up and serves them.
Douena gives Jask a concerned look but changes it to a cheery one when he glances her way. "Look on the bright side," she tells Gelik. "If we're getting rained on, at least the sun won't be beating down on us. And if it storms, it will make it that much harder for anyone who comes back expecting to find this camp to follow our tracks."
"It seems the night has brought unexpected wisdom to you - I bet that is Desna herself speaking through you."
Mahjik takes time to look after Jask, "You, my friend, are in no position to work this hard. You have more than earned your place in this group - take time to recover; I will take over your tasks as best I can for now." "Do you want to take a portion of the berries of Irori?"
Mahjik takes time to look after Jask, "You, my friend, are in no position to work this hard. You have more than earned your place in this group - take time to recover; I will take over your tasks as best I can for now." 1d20 + 3 "Do you want to take a portion of the berries of Irori?"
Jask ponders for a moment, then nods. "Perhaps I should. I think I might have come down with something." He laughs. "And I was supposed to be looking after you!" He pauses a moment. "I will eat some of the berries. Thank you."
"We're all there for each other," Mahjik laughs back at Jask, "Now let us get some distance from this place."
Mahjik spends much of the remaining day with Jask, helping out when necessary - and receiving instructions from Jask when appropriate to help with his affliction.
Lorenz silently takes on his part of the load and trudges off into the jungle with the others, hoping that they can reach their destination without any trouble.
You pack up the camp as the storm continues to gather strength. Then you set off into the blowing wind and rain. The weather slows you down quite a bit, but you manage to press on. The storm lasts for most of the morning, but does finally die down to a gentle rain as noon approaches. The water in the bay remains choppy and, as the tide has come in, you continue to get periodically soaked from the spray of crashing waves.
On the plus side, the constant wetness helps keep the intense heat of the afternoon at bay. You are able to continue through the hot hours without worrying about overheating. Finally, you reach Pezock's giant crab in the mid-afternoon. At first, the claws raise up threateningly, but after it becomes clear who you are, they lower, and Pezock comes out. He looks at the remainder of your group. "So these are your other friends, are they? Yes, they will do well. We now have an army to fight the cannibals with!"
Makoa looks at the jungle when Pezock calls them an army.
"Better a pack, in this weather and terrain, than an army. Soldiers don't know when to be quiet."