"Faith, you planning on taking that one alive?" Zaine calls as Tulip shakes the dead man like a chew toy.
In response to Zaine's directions, Tulip wheels around to charge at the bushwhacker fighting . Zaine's musket barks as the t-rex slams into the attacker.
Zaine's shot
Tulip's bite.
"Really bad choice guys." Áine says, methodically turning to the next of their attackers and dropping him(them) as well.
"They answer questions better that way," Faith calls back.
Faith casts a spell.
Faith stabs again at the man with Charity, a clean slice.
Sasha sword slices off the head of the hunter she attacked previously, she whirls to the other man, but the machete misses him by just a hair.
"Really bad choice guys." Áine says, methodically turning to the attacker near Faith (but not the one he stabbed) and dropping him as well.
In response to Zaine's directions, Tulip wheels around to charge at the bushwhacker fighting Sasha, depending. Zaine's musket barks as the t-rex slams into the attacker. And he very quickly becomes dino chow.
The final enemy, damaged by Faith but still standing, drops his bow and pulls a handaxe swiping at Faith but Faith's armor deflects the deadly blow.
Fully out of the tent, Pakshee chews on some herbs before rubbing it on her side - where a arrow hit Faith.
Faith casts a spell healing himself leaving only the barest of wounds. Faith stabs again at the man with Charity, a clean slice. The man drops, blood trickling from a wound that does not exist.
"They answer questions better that way," Faith calls back.
Zaine reloads. "How do you want to handle it? You gonna be nice, or would you rather hang him up over a hungry animal?" The reloaded weapon vanishes into Zaine's bandolier, and he leans down in the saddle to pat Tulip's neck.
"Start nice," Faith says. "Gives us somewhere to go that isn't immediately feeding them to Tulip."
Faith gives them a once-over to ensure they aren't going to die, then ties them up.
"Start nice," Faith says. "Gives us somewhere to go that isn't immediately feeding them to Tulip."
Faith gives them a once-over to ensure they aren't going to die, then ties them up.
Zaine nods. "I'll follow your lead, then. When it comes time to get mean, just give me a nod."
Faith prays for Share Language.
The man stays unconscious for a few hours - or until someone applies light magical healing. For her part, Pakshee looks where the arrow wounds were in Faith, "Bad person deserve to die."
All of the men in the hunting party have the same gear - leather armor, handaxes, shortbows, and arrows. Pakshee points to the few green feathered arrows spread out amid the quivers, "Those have bad juju." Additionally each man wears a stylized necklace of a face under a sun symbol.
Nor surprisingly Pakshee's animal and monster lore is limited to what was on the Shiv, meaning most of the monster are shiny and brand new to her.
She looks torn, eyeing the new book with curiosity but little line of concern on her face, "Is it OK to use something that you are going to give as a present?"
She takes the oilcloth with interest in her green eyes, carefully supporting the surprisingly heavy package with one hand as her other pulls back the protective cloth. A little gasp as the pepperbox is revealed and her hand moves over the newly constructed gun, then she pauses.
Carefully she checks the cock of the gun, and the pauses, looks at Zaine, "She's gorgeous, how do I check to see if she's loaded?"
The man stays unconscious for a few hours - or until someone applies light magical healing. For her part, Pakshee looks where the arrow wounds were in Faith, "Bad person deserve to die."
All of the men in the hunting party have the same gear - leather armor, handaxes, shortbows, and arrows. Pakshee points to the few green feathered arrows spread out amid the quivers, "Those have bad juju." Additionally each man wears a stylized necklace of a face under a sun symbol.
Local
"I'm a lucky man," he murmurs. Then, he parts from her, lifting her chin up so they can look at each other. She sees in his eyes a smoky, ravenous desire. As he speaks, she can feel him stirring against her chest and neck, still slick from her hungry mouth. "Now, I want to know what you want. Be as specific as you like."
"It's not loaded now. I was going to let you practice loading. Unfortunately, there's no real way to know without looking in the barrel, which is pretty dangerous. Generally, your gun is loaded because you loaded it. And don't hand a loaded gun to anyone unless you trust them."
Are you keeping the rest of the party from seeing your underwater dino ride?
No. If they see it , they see it.
Áine breaks off the shaft of the arrow inside her. She winces and grunts as she pushes it through then pulls it out the other side. "Ow." Then begins to bandage the wound.
Once he is ready (also praying for Zone of Truth just in case), Faith gives the man a little magical healing to wake him up. Then he shares Common.
”Who are you and why did you ambush us?”
Faith sticks with the basics.
The man may understand common and be able to speak it due to Faith's spell, but he chooses to answer in Polygot, the dialect different from what you are used to.
And he spits at Faith.
”We are passing through,” Faith answers in Common. ”I do not wish to fight you, but if you fight us, we will destroy you. You are the only one of your hunting party left alive. “
Faith sighs. ”Do we have to hunt them down to clear the way for those who follow?”
”I would rather not.”
Faith turns to Áine.
Áine shrugs, "Me neither, but I would assume so unless we can come to an understanding.
Shall we see how easy it is to follow their trail?" she glances at Tulip before walking around to where one of the ambushers had come from.
”yes,” Faith says.
Back to the captive. ”If you have anything to say to keep us from doing this to your people, now is the time.”
Áine tries to backtrack the bushmen.
Zaine makes a clicking sound, and Tulip comes over, bobbing her head. While she has been growing the whole time, she is appreciably bigger than she was at the shipwreck. She's a big beast, now wearing a saddle and bridle.
She turns her head to the side, momentarily inspecting the prisoner. Zaine makes another, slightly different noise. The t-rex makes a birdlike cooing back to him. He looks at the prisoner. Tulip purrs, then leans in. She sucks in the scent from the prisoner, her nostrils flaring, her powerful lungs huffing.
"She's got his scent now," Zaine says. "She could track him right back to his house. Probably pretty eager about it, considering how hungry she is."
Back to the captive. ”If you have anything to say to keep us from doing this to your people, now is the time.”
The man smiles blackly. Bitingly, in common, "Go. The priests of Walkena will burn you."
Once you get about 100-ft from your campsite, their trails become much easier to follow. About a mile from your campsite, as darkness steal the last bits of sun in the west, you find what was likely your attackers campsite tucked into a cave. While the site itself has a well used feel, Áine estimates that the current group has only been camping here for about a week. You see a few personal items, a number of religious items (with the same face/sun symbol that they men had been wearing).
"It is acceptable to read a book first," Faith says. "There are some things that would not be acceptable." He thinks for a moment. "Also, we shouldn't tear the pages or write in it -- except as a dedication. Writing as a dedication would be okay."
Faith is distracted by a passing thought. "Can you write you name in letters or would you sign with a sketch of your name bird?"
"The priests of Walkena probably will literally burn us," Faith says.
"We should be ready for them," he says.
He lays a hand on Áine, healing , and another on Zaine, healing .
"The priests of Walkena probably will literally burn us," Faith says.
"We should be ready for them," he says.
He lays a hand on Áine, healing 1d8+5, and another on Zaine, healing 1d8+5.
"Thank you, Faith. That feels better." she pauses, "Um, regarding fire...if it takes us more then a day to get there, I can protect three of us for about an hour."
Faith thinks for a moment. ”If we sleep on it, I could protect the rest.”
”If not, I can maybe do ten minutes.”
"My guess is we have the time to wait until morning before counterattacking. This camp implies that the bushwhackers weren't expected back before dark."
"My guess is we have the time to wait until morning before counterattacking. This camp implies that the bushwhackers weren't expected back before dark."
Áine nods to Zaine, "Good catch."
Faith thinks for a moment. ”If we sleep on it, I could protect the rest.”
”If not, I can maybe do ten minutes.”
"How important do you think the fire thing is?" Áine asks, "I'd rather keep a little versatility myself, unless it's a pretty much sure thing." she glances at Faith, "Sorry, didn't know there was another option. I think 10 minutes for the main battle is likely to be fine, an' if we have prep time, we have that wand of mirror images thing that might be of use."
You return to your camp, Pakshee happily handing over the guard of the hunter that she seemed very willing to stab while you were gone. You are able to set a careful watch just in case any more bands of Mzali hunter have crossed the river.
The next morning, you follow the river for a half day and then it splits. The expeditions plan had been to follow the northern river up into the depths of the Screaming Jungle. The southern river would lead to the plains on the edge of a fierce desert - and Mzali.
Just after you finish dragging gold out of the ruined ship (and Zaine is trying on his new belt), Áine goes back into the water, teasing the large spawn back with offers of fish. After a bit you see the pair streak through the water, Áine carefully holding a junction near the base of the creature's neck.
She bites her bottom lip, taps the book. "We read?" A smile.
"I want to feel every nerve in my body scream."
She kisses his stomach, "Then when I'm about to explode, I want you in me." She leans down, kisses the tip of him.
She smiles, "My teacher was very carefull in me learning that a gun is always loaded, even when it is not." She glances over at him, her face going into a even sunnier smile. Her hands move over the weapon, "Gorgeous."
Then her forhead wrinkles, "I can see you'd have to tap down a load in each barrel...." Looks at Zaine with question, "Talk me through it?" And assuming that he goes slow, Sasha flows his instructions. Her ease with the exotic weapon in comparison to the first lesson in Eleder apparent.
He gently pushes her back against the bed, and for a moment, just stands above her. He devours her with his eyes, as excited by her nude body as he was the first time.
"Oh, Sasha," he says. "Let's see what your limits are, shall we?"
He lies down over her, propped up on his elbows and knees, keeping sweet distance. She can feel him, lightly, against her leg. A straining need that she knows is taking all of his willpower not to plunge into her. Take her like both of them desperately want. Instead, he moves his attention to her neck, kissing, licking. Teasing. His lips and teeth feeling like sparks against her flesh. Then, be begins to work his way down. She feels like she's being consumed, being savored. He wants to know every bit of her. He pauses at her breasts, each nipple finding a way into his mouth.
Something insistent moves between her legs. After a moment, she realizes it's his thigh, the big muscle flexing as it comes to rest against her. Pushing, receding, caressing. Something for her, at least for now, to move against.
Zaine shows her the loading process. "It's fairly simple. The idea of course is that you won't have to do it in combat, so you can take your time with it.
Faith grins and watches Áine fly through the water on top of the serpent.
"I can protect seven of us for ten minutes," Faith says. "Hopefully that will be enough."
He thinks. "I will pray for the spell twice over. Just in case. Your versatility is a strength here."
"The prisoner," Faith says. "Do we have a reasonable alternative to killing him? I would rather not, but if he's just going to attack us again, I'm not sure I see a choice."
"Does anyone know how big this Mzali is? If it's fifty people or one hundred or one thousand?" Faith shrugs. "I am clueless on that point."
"Although there are many small villages in the Mwangi Expanse where the band could have come from on the other side of the river, if they are from Walkena's base then they would be from the metropolis city of Mzali." Áine says, "Change of plans. Mzali has a population of about 35-40,000. 100% Mwangi. It's about 3-5 days travel. I think we'd better just hope that they don't get wind of our expedition until it's over." she pauses, then continues, "I assume none of you have dreams of going out in blaze of glory?"
Zaine thinks it over. "Yeah, I don't carry that many bullets." He thinks a little bit longer.
"As for the prisoner, we have three choices. One, we execute him. I'm not crazy about that idea, but I can at least make it quick. Two, we leave him here, tied up. He'll get out of it, but it'll take him some time. Give us some lead. Third, we let the guy go. I mean, I suppose we could make him think he escaped, but I don't like that. It makes us look weak, and I want to keep the impression we're these terrifying unstoppable warbeasts. So we let him go, tell him we don't even care what he does. He walks home, which takes three to five days, probably closer to three because you have to figure he knows the shortcuts. He's a fanatic, so he raises another war party and comes back and attack us."
Zaine pauses. "I think another war party comes regardless, once it's obvious that these people are overdue. So we do lose a little bit if I don't put a bullet in him, but we don't lose a whole lot. So, my vote is we let him go."
"It's only one more group that wants us dead." Sasha says, leaning against Zaine, throwing her support behind him.
"Is better to kill bad man now." Pakshee says, but she shrugs, "Would be better if we had a way to track him for when he comes back."
Faith laughs. ”I was thinking maybe seven-to-one odds at best. Five-thousand-to-one is beyond me at this time.”
He listens to Zaine, Sasha, and Pakshee’s arguments. ”I also wish we had a way to track his return other than hoping Tulip catches his scent. Letting him go is probably the right thing to do — and we will need to leave word to those who follow that war bands may be around. “
Áine smirks at Faith's comment, nods to the apparent general consensus, not thrilled with the idea but apparently lacking a better one at the moment.
When he joins you the next morning, hearing Nkechi agrees that the others should be warned that the Mzali are being more aggressive again. He whistles and a after a moment a one of the many jungle parrots swoops down. The old man talks to the bird in a language that seems only partially verbal, then send it off to find Athyra with his warning.
After taking the path of the northern river, your first day of travel goes well until, headed up a switchback in an incline, the path is blocked by a human-sized frilled lizard. The creature hisses, Tulip roars in response and the creature quickly decides that it isn't the biggest badass in the forest. A moment later, Zephyr lands on Sasha to investigate the roaring and she comments, "It did have a very nice purple on it's frill."
The remainder of the travel allows for more glimpses of the wildlife of the Screaming Jungle, but nothing that dares come close to the humans - or the large carnivore.
His teasing is meant with a low purr in her throat, the sound revving up to a delighted gasp when his teases her hard nipples. She moves against the hard thing instinctively when she feels it, a small groan when it isn't quite what her body is already singing for, but it does stop her from moving against it, leaving wetness on his thigh.
Her hands move to brush fingertips through his hair, down his neck, touch the muscles on his shoulders. No force of direction, but connection.
She carefully loads the gun, then makes sure she knows the feel of turning the barrel, keeping her finger well clear of the trigger. After playing carefully examining the weapon, she smiles up at Zaine, then kisses him (the gun pointed down and away). "Now I'm looking forward to something trying to kill us that I can't just run up to."
"What's with all the spiders?" Zaine says,
Then, farther down, he spreads her legs. She's splayed, lewdly before him, utterly exposed to his ravenous gaze and inquisitive touch. He runs his fingers over the soft fleece over her graceful cleft, a gentle touch, wondering and pleased. Then he leans in, placing a soft kiss just above her center.
She feels his teeth on her thighs, nibbling, followed by kisses and licks. Sparks of pain like lightning, immediately salved by his gentleness. Then, suddenly, he stops. He settles in front of her, and she can feel his hot breath tickling her most sensitive places. He looks up, meeting her eyes, hooded with desire.
He leans in and begins to explore her.
"Well, not too far. This thing is still pretty short-ranged. You'll want to be within twenty feet for full effectiveness. Any farther out and you lose a lot of its hitting power." He wraps an arm around her and gives her a squeeze.
Faith looks at the webbing. "Probably giant spider lair. Several, I would guess. This may not be the best campsite choice."
Faith reaches around her so that the book is arranged in front of both of them.
"Part One, Shipwrecked Upon Her Shores," he reads. As an aside, to Pakshee, "When I saw this performed, there was a long introduction describing the things that are illustrated here."
He begins the tale proper. A tale of adventure and derring-do in the Shackles, happening to and around primarily (as illustrated) young attractive people wearing very little clothing.
"Do we need to let the others know about this or should we clear them out?" Áine asks.
"Do we need to let the others know about this or should we clear them out?" Áine asks.
"Yeah, why wait and hope they know all the signs? Let's go hunting."
Faith nods. "I concur."
"Give me a moment to pray for..." Pause. "Huh. I don't think I know any specific anti-animal or anti-spider spells."
"Fire that can cover a lot of ground," comments Sasha, "in case there are enough to swarm us."
With a quiet command Sasha tosses Zephyr into the air, once he is free of the thick canopy he circles in the late afternoon air. Sasha blinks, one hand reaching for Tulip's saddles. After a moment she leans against the big dinosaur. She pats the dinosaur, reminding the large beast of how amazing she is.
"The poor forest...
After about five minutes, she blinks again, her eyes clearing and she pats Tulip and walks without relying of the dinosaur for direction.
The group moves together and the jungle quickly turns black around them. Above the webbing cotton candys between the trunks of the trees, up ahead you can see where the off-white spirals to the ground.
From up on his saddle, Zaine squints into the distance, his musket held across his lap.
"I ... guess I can summon a fire elemental. That's probably the closest I can come to an alchemist's fire spell," Faith says.
"There are 4 giant venomous web-spinning spiders and 2 swarms of venomous spiders." Áine says pointing them out. "Yeah, that elemental is probably going to be real useful, unless someone's got something else?" she asks, fingering her reserve of alchemists fire and liquid ice.
"I remembered firebelly," Faith says. "So I can breathe a little fire."
"Is spider edible?" Zaine wonders aloud.
Initiative Zaine
Initiative Tulip
Zaine brings up the musket and fires, while Tulip roars a challenge at one of the spiders.
”If you’re hungry enough.”
"Is spider edible?" Zaine wonders aloud.
"Yup." Áine says, "All a matter of preperation. ...and depending on what else happens to be available." then adds. "Maybe crispy on the outside gooey in the middle? Legs tend to be crunchy with only a bit of meat. Heads tend to taste kind of like chicken and cod...or maybe kind of shrimpy. All depends." she shrugs, "Fangs can be used as pretty good tooth picks too, if they're the right size." she eyes the 4 giant specimens "yup, definitely depending on size."
Áine targets the spiders that are as big as she is first, then takes a step away from both the swarms of smaller arachnids and the rest of the group. Her arrows skewer one to the trunk of a tree, another sinks through an eye, destroying whatever brain matter it once had.
Faith casts a spell. A four-foot-tall fire elemental appears. "Attack the small spiders," Faith says, pointing.
The elemental pushes into the nearest swarm.