Torque nods to Aoro and arranges a watch from the crew before getting his equipment. He will be wearing his armored coat instead of breastplate in case they need to swim.
Aoro looks the two over once he is down on the sand, Ro on his shoulder giving them the stink eye.
"Don't mind her, she is the type to feel sorry for murderers even when they have tried to kill her. If you would be so kind as to lead the way we can get underway."
Sunny laughs at Aoro's comment,
"I dun't have ta play that game with ye any more." She Says smiling.
"As fer me actions? I dun't have ta es'plain nuffin' to ya any more, neither." And she sets her sea-chest upon her shoulder as she waits/lets Pai and Tarchinis lead on towards their new goal.
"Miss," Tarchinis says to Sunny, "I find you very friendly and very confusing." He turns to face Aoro, waving a finger at the men and women from the ship. "you know that we are Tarchinis and Pai. How shall we address whom?".
Assuming introductions are forthcoming, and everyone seems ready, he'll turn toward the goal and start, slowly.
"Captain, we were serving aboard the Belated Lady when she was attacked by a Chelaxian vessel, the Infernus. Captain Kordana went down with her ship, but a fair number of us were captured. It seems that several of us doubted the fairness of any trial we'd see in Cheliax, so we took the opportunity to...well, dispute the management of the vessel. We were in the midst of seeing what kind of escape we could mount when the ship ran aground in the storm, and was swarmed by some little goblin-squid-sea devils. As that left the crew well-occupied, it suited us fine, and a small gang of us grabbed our gear and made a run for it. As we did, though, a gang of hissing, fanged walking dead came bursting out of the holds behind us - I can only guess we were holed, much as your own ship was."
"Only a handful of us made it away from the ship, and over the following couple of nights, Pai and I lost our colleagues - to the undead, I think: The goblinfish don't seem to come too far ashore, and the reamins of the Chelaxian crew are holed up on a hilltop further inland. We've been holed up in the ruins of a little fishing village up north, but we fled the beach when the storm kicked up. Good thing, too: The wave that surely brought your ship to the shoals flooded out our hiding place completely. While it did not look like we could help much last night, Pai and I thought it would be good to wait until morning to approach you lot. A night like that can make a fellow a bit jumpy, no?"
"Pai, have I left anything out so far?".
Torque nods to the two. Torque. Master at Arms.
Aoro ignores the elf. Ro is about to speak when his beak is kept shut by Aoro's fingers, the bird fights and claws but only when he is released does it puff up and stare daggers at Aoro.
"Captain Aoro Osris and Little Ro."
He jabs a thumb at the bird on his shoulder.
"Those goblin squids are called Grindylows, we had a run in with them during the storm. They proved to be an annoyance, but not a deadly one."
Gene nods at the two. "You may call me Gene." after witch Gene stays silent.
Having been told from Aoro's conversation with them, that they had lied to us once Gene will continue to watch the two new people as they travel to the downed? ship.
Torque will walk behind the two newcomers, making sure that they are kept under observation.
Sunny's cheerful disposition does darken slightly at Tarchini's words. She adjusts her step and walks with a close eye upon the undergrowth. She again, nervously, shifts the chest she carries.
"Well...I normally agree ta tha' appellation of 'Sunny'." She replies to Tarchini.
Sandara looks over the edge. "Good luck out there. I'll make sure the ship stays in one piece while your're gone." A thoughtful look crosses her face for a moment. "Relatively speakin', course!"
A quick inspection of the beach, led by Pai and Tark, reveals the washed out remnants of the small abandoned fishing village they were hiding in just to the west of the ship. There's little more left on the beach than bits of dry rotted wood now soaked in sea water and left to dry once again in the sun. The jungle spreads to the south, while to the west stands a mountain range, short by the survivors' words, and a thin spire of rock to the east. A path near the rear of the village leads into the jungle.
Pai jumps out ahead of the pack a bit, maintaining about a 30 foot lead on the rest of the party while scouting out ahead. She leads the party west, past the fishing village before hitting the trailhead going south towards the shore.
"This way, hurry!" She hollers back at them as quietly as possible.
The trip into the jungle quickly becomes stifling, as the heat of the day is let to simmer under the cover of the trees in the thick, humid air. Gnats and mosquitoes are thick here, thick the occasional fat black fly the size of someone's (not Pai's) thumb. They all seek blood and prove a constant, stinging nuisance.
After traveling for what feels like much longer than the half-an-hour that it takes to reach the old crossing. Here, the pathway slips suddenly into a large green bog. Remnants of an old wooden bridge cross the bog, but only short timber platforms on either side remain, leaving just the pilings jutting from the mud.
There is something watching us from that bog.
"SHH!!! TWO somethings are watchin' us. There and there!" Pai points where she sees the eyes. "'n I got a bad feelin bout somethin, we done did build a make shift bridge to help us over the bog last time out and it's gone now."
When people stop and then mention 'presences'...Sunny shifts her weight, but other wise us content to watch from her current position.
They have the advantage over us if we try to cross. We can go around or try sniping them.
Tarchinis pulls up short when Torque and Pai indicate that the party is not alone, scanning the bog and slowly drawing his cutlass.
"I see one...Do we have enough ranged weaponry to snipe them here, or should we try to draw them out?"
Aoro looks around and whispers something to Ro who takes flight away from everyone and the enemies. Then the little bird heads up and far above the area.
Gene stands there for a moment thinking to himself.
Then leaning over a bit to his side he whispers to Aoro, "Tarchinis is correct I could probably hit them from here. If I do however, I'm sure anything else on the island will know we are here. It's your call to make captain."
With that he shifts back to how he was standing originally his look that of one deep in thought.
Sunny looks up at the trees.
"Here? Any one got rope? We can simply climb over the problem." She suggests, even ass she kneels down and starts to open the chest she's carrying.
"I got some in here. Should do tha' trick..." She says quietly to herself.
I have rope as well, but am not particulary skilled at climbing. If we can injure them with missle fire, we might be able to drive them off or at leadt pull them onto dry land.
Rho. Did you hear that bird is the word?
Sunny continues to scrounge around on her sea-chest. Eventually pulling out a good length of fine rope.
Gene, would you shoot one in order to draw them out?
Sunny waves from the far side and throws her loose end of the rope back to every one else on the other side.
Little Ro lands on his shoulder and whispers in his ear.
"They are a pair of giant toads. They have the ability to grapple prey from a distance with their tongues. I doubt we could avoid them with their ability. Also we could always use the meat. But no firearms, I do not want to alert anything else on this island. Those with non firearm ranged weapons should prepare to attack while those without all charge on one. We have greater numbers and should make use of that. Unless anyone has a better idea?"
Unfortunately, I did not think to bring a crossbow. So perhaps you could strike at them with your magic and then we can fight them on dry land.
"I only gots th' one dagger I can throw at em, but I'll be happy to do jus' that." Pai says as she attempts to get up a nearby tree.
Tarchinis draws a dagger, reverses it for throwing, and glances over at Aoro waiting for the word.
I suddenly remembered that I do have a dagger, so I can participate.
*SPLASH!*
Torque sighs and pulls out his dagger. Looks like frog's legs on the menu.
Sunny makes an attempt at crossing over the bog, climbing across the branches that stick out over it. As she reaches the end of the branch she's climbing on, she grabs ahold of a spot covered in a slippery slime mold. Her grip fails her and she tumbles into the bog. The eyes immediately shift to her.
Gene
Sunny
Tark
Torque
Pai
Aoro
Frogs
________________________________
Bog Crossing
Gene pulls his sword. "you sure they are eatable?"
.
Tarchinis grimaces in frustration as his dagger splashes uselessly into the bog.
Aoro cast a spell sending a pair of silver fish at the nearest frog. (left one)
Torque hurls his dagger at the one Verance threw at.