"I gotta say you lads are definitely bringing on the pain" - Reknar presses on, still spitting water, and somehow staying afloat while wearing his breastplate - "No need to give me any sidelong glances Rata. Just put your money where your friend's mouth is, show me what you can do, and I'll just shut up" - he adds.
"Lightning then?!" - he shouts at Oren - "Best of moves, I gotta admit!"
"I'll be fighting rag dolls if they ever reach us" - he chuckles.
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Aikane engages via crossbow
Reknar readies his weapon for the approach of the remaining beast-man, but fortunately his efforts are not needed as Both Jacinth and Aikane are able to put down the final beast-man. As the final beast slumps to the ocean floor, the shrieks of the beast-men fade to silence but the vague sense of unease does not fade. If anything, it seems to be getting stronger...
Ke', who had been waiting with a bomb, still stood stiffly in the boat.
"Doesn't feel like it's over..."
Reknar peers around for a few moments in silence, even allowing himself to sink so he can get a better view from underwater, and at the same time experience the amazing water breathing spell - Magic is a darned amazing thing - he ponders.
Back on the surface, he climbs onto the longboat - "Hah! You made short work of them in a heartbeat" - he smiles to those around them - "If the rest of them are as daft as these, and learned nothing, they're gonna get mauled" - the man adds, looking towards the beach - "Well done all!" - he finishes, showing a thumbs up to Nefertiti, as she soars up high.
He then moves to retrieve an oar - "Lets get moving"
Fight over, Nef feels a little shaky, the adrenaline still coursing through her veins. She nestles into Wedjat's warm feathery back a moment, drawing courage from her eagle's presence. Feeling the wind in her face, she closes her eyes a moment or two to center herself. For a moment, all she senses is the rhythmic flapping of Wedjat's powerful wings, and the steady beat of his heart.
When she opens her eyes, she nods her approval as Reknar starts rowing again.
"Let's get to shore before anymore beast men arrive. Here, they have the advantage." Then she pauses, thinking. "Those things... can one of you get a better look at the bodies and tell us what they are?"
Or what's been done to them?
Nef feels uneasy as she remembers the whale's thoughts in her head. Something had been compelling him. The moment the boat flipped, the welcoming committee had arrived...
"Guys, the sequence of events here... it's Jacinth's story, repeating itself, iteration for iteration. Doesn't that seem odd to you?" She peers out at the white sands of the beach ahead of them.
She doesn't trust it. What more may be lurking there? "After we've secured the beach... remind me to talk to you about that whale."
Oren tries to help the others load at least one of the bodies in the boat. With his weakened condition, that was difficult. "Are these Tulita? Could these be the ones who turned away from Whale?"
You manage to wrestle the longboat ashore with some difficulty as the beach is a very shallow one. Despite your worries nothing else accosts you which gives Oren a chance to examine the dead bodies.
He can immediately tell these were definitely human at some point in their lives before. A closer examination shows these three were middle aged humans and all of them were male, as evidenced by the fact they are not wearing any clothing. With a start he realizes these are hawanis! Hawanis are actually little more than beastmen, able to fly into a blind rage where they become terrifying combatants. Also their bite causes the recipient to fall into a deep comatose sleep. Perhaps the most troubling rumor the Kamu wizard has heard is they are not born, but created...warped by some dark force best not dwelled on.
Oren fills the others in on what he recalled and recognized about these beast men. "These are created by dark forces...much like the rumors we've heard. Maybe they were more than just rumor and there may be more of these waiting for us. This might be why Whale is so angry....his followers turned to a dark force from his righteous path. That'd probably make me mad," he says with a smile.
Reknar looks upon the humanoids that attacked them - "Created by Dark Forces" - he whistles at Oren's explanation - "Doesn't sound good. And yep, I'd be wrecking ships also" - he chuckles - "Though... In my head I think the whale is simply under control from something, or mad? Without offense but, it being a manifestation of an angered God seems... Just a tad too much" - he offers with a shrug.
When they reach the beach, he jumps onto the sand, pulling the longboat ashore - "Time for some scouting, I guess?" - he comments, looking directly at Aikane, then begins looking around for tracks.
Nef pulls up on the sandy beach to listen to Oren's explanation. "Ha-wa-nis," she says, sounding out the new word. The word actually sounded pretty, if you didn't know the ugliness that it represented. She kneels down in the hot sand as she looks at the bodies.
Turning to Jacinth, she says, "I understand now why you hadn't been able to tell if they were Tulitan or not. These men hardly look human. Still, there may be other clues..."
"Given that these hawanis are middle-aged, we know one thing for certain about them. They're not from the crew of the Dulcimer, thank Horus." Nef searches the bodies carefully, looking for tattoos. "One of the first things Opu taught me was how important tattoos are to both colonial sailors and Tulita."
She gets up, pacing. "If they're not from the Dulcimer they're either native to here or from the Lashed Harpoon. Captain Delano Ambrose had a terrible reputation among the People. No tulita would have been likely to hire out with him." She rolls the body over, still searching. "The tattoos a person wears are often tied to their culture. If we can find a tattoo... maybe Oren can identify its type, and we can have some idea where these men came from."
She listens to both Oren and Reknar, raising an eyebrow at Reknar's comments on Whale. "Why is it always easier to believe in a dark spirit than in Tohoraha, the chief protector of these islands?"
"However, the whale we met was not Toharaha, but one of his lost children." She says this with absolute certainty. "He... spoke to me. In my head. I could feel him fighting the compulsion he was under. I think..." she frowns, looking out at the sea, "I think that he was supposed to smash the long boat so that we couldn't get away. He didn't want to do it." She looks at Oren, the only member of the crew whom Nef knows for certain will believe her when she is speaking of intangible things. "He asked me to save him."
She looks at the body at her feet and says, "The compelled whale and the hawanis... my guess is that they're being controlled by the same dark spirit. To capture people and bring them back."
She nods to Reknar and says, "Yes, if you and Aikane can track where our welcoming committee came from, I'll bet that's where we'll find Jacinth's friends."
As the others discuss the ramifications of the discovery of the hiwanis, Reknar being ever the practical one looks for signs where the tracks of the hiwanis originated.
This proves to be easier than the mercenary anticipated as a crudely hacked path opens up in the south side of the beach leading deeper into the jungle. The simian tracks are easy to detect as they are basically the only track he can pick out. A quick look around the trail shows straying from the trail will prove to be an extremely slow and tiring path.
Even along the trail Reknar can determine because of the lush tree canopy, the trail, along with most of the jungle will be dimly lit at best even during daylight hours.
As for the hiwani bodies themselves, whatever twisted mutations they went through have obliterated any traces of their former tattoos, if they even had any to begin with.
"The path lies directly ahead of us" - Reknar returns with the intel to the others - "Unless we wanna be slowly plodding through the wild overgrowth"
He looks back to the path - "I don't like it a bit - visibility is crap, we'll be funneled, and I don't know how much Nefertiti will be able to scout from above, with such a dense vegetation" - the man adds - "We definitely need some decent scouting up ahead, which means not me - heck, I can move silently enough, but still, this armor is too clunky for that, anyone paying minimum attention will notice me coming from mile away, unless I'm on a lucky day" - he finishes with a grumble.
"I could take the plate off - not really inclined to do that at this time though. I am getting the feeling they will try to ambush us, and plates are good against shots from hiding" - he smiles at Captain Jacinth.
"Unless we look for an alternate route"
Nef looks at the path Reknar indicated. "You're right, I don't like it one bit. If I take to the air, I won't be able to see you guys at all."
She peers at the path. "Do you think it's wide enough for two abreast, or are we stuck going single file?"
She looks up at the canopy, studying it for a moment.
"I could do a flyover of the island with one other person -- maybe Jacinth? -- to see where the breaks in the canopy are." She pauses. "Otherwise, it looks like Wedjat and I will be grounded. What do you guys want us to do?"
"I do think taking an aerial view of the island would be wise before we start plodding through all that vegetation. Nef might spot a shortcut, or she might find something that looks important for us to head straight for."
Oren didn't comment on Nef's mention that Whale's servant communicated with her, asking her for help. That was a discussion for when they made camp this evening. It sounds strange, but no stranger than men turning into monsters. Whale might work in mysterious ways.
The decision made to do some scouting from the air, Nefertiti helps Jacinth climb on top of Wedjat and soon the two ladies are airborne. The eagle struggles briefly to gain alititude but eventually he is able to fly above the treeline.
As expected the jungle canopy is an effective shield from your prying eyes, however there are several locations where the jungle does not obscure the floor. Almost due southwest as the crow (or in this case, the eagle) flies, there is a small clearing where you spot what looks to be the wreckage of a ship, or a part of one anyway. An odd sight as it is several hundred yards from shore. Further southwest, you spot the small cove at the western side of the island where you saw several signs of recent wreckage earlier. Flying onward, you spot another small isolated clearing where the vegetation appears to be different than the usual jungle variety.
Finally, as you turn back east you spot a badly damaged stone statue of a squid-like creature at the center of a clearing atop the highest point of Dolentla Island. There does appear to be some activity around there too. No other places of interest catch your attention so you return to the northern beach to rejoin your comrades.
"Screeee!"
Can I do the pigeon thing on the giant Squid statue? Oh please, Nef, please?
As they pass the first clearing, Nef says to Jacinth, "Can you map this? Or estimate distances? I'm thinking that all these locations are ones that we'll want to check out with the rest of the..."
Nef breaks off as she hears Wedjat's scree as they fly near the squid statue.
"Oh no, you don't!"
With her firm tone, Nef expertly diverts Wedjat from dive bombing the squid statue. "A statue... at the high point of the island... with activity around it," she sighs. "Does that sound like our dark spirit to you?"
"Kaiku, I think that getting much closer would be a big mistake... but we could do one more circle around the clearing with all the activity if you wish. Do you want to do that?"
Nef circles them around the area with the Squid statue, and takes a good long look at what is happening below.
When they return to the beach, Nef is uncharacteristically quiet. She allows Jacinth to point out the highlights on the map of the island she's created. Meanwhile, Nef attempts to draw from memory a picture of the disturbing squid statue in the notebook that she always carries in her Pathfinder Pouch.
The image of the statue, what she believes may be the dark spirit haunting the island, is seared into her memory. As Nef sketches in the shadows and lines, her drawing comes sharply into focus, and she shudders as she looks at it. Turning to Opu, Reknar and the others, she says, "This is what we saw. Do any of you know what it is?"
Oren tries to figure out anything about the statue that he could from the description given. "You say it looked like a squid?"
Oren takes the drawings of the squid statue (which are surprising well-rendered) and determines this could very well be a qlippoth, who are found only in the deepest pits of the Abyssal plane. All qlippoth possess within their minds a burning hatred of mortal life, particularly humanoids, whom they know to be the primary seeds of sin. When a qlippoth is conjured to the Material Plane, it seeks any way to escape control in order to maul and destroy humans, especially children and pregnant women.
"By the Three, that's signs of a demon! A particularly nasty one called a qlippoth. Hates humanity with a burning passion. That demon'd be enough to anger Whale, I'd wager. Maybe it does need our help, meager as it is," he advises the others.
"I certainly hadn't planned on finding a demon out here..."
Nef looks at the drawing again, then back at Oren. "If it hates humanity... I think we found our dark spirit steeped in the blood of human sacrifice. So what can we do to protect ourselves from it other than staying far, far away?"
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"Human sacrifice eh? I'll wager that statue had some help with that."
He grinned wolfishly.
"Let's eliminate the helpers."
"I think lani might be right here. I think we are going to have to kill a lot of these beastmen, unfortunately. I don't know if there is a way to bring them back from the evil path they've went down. Death might be the easiest and most painless way to take care of them. It's sad. But if they chose this path, they made our decision for us."
Nef pauses, looking once again at the body on the beach. "Are you sure the hawanis chose? The whale that overturned our boat didn't. Opu, this demon... I think it plays with people's heads."
"Jacinth?" Nefertiti takes the elf's hand. "This is going to be rough. There's no gentle way to say this, Kaiku. If the hawanis have your friends still, they took them for one of two reasons: either as slaves or to fill the demon's larder." She keeps her voice calm, gently squeezing Jacinth's hand. "I don't know what shape they'll be in when we find them."
Or if they'll even be alive.
"But find them we will."
She turns to Oren and the others. "I have one spell of Magic Circle Against Evil prepared. I don't know much about demons, but I know they're evil. I'm thinking I should take 15 minutes to prep another to give us more protection. Is there anything else I should prep? Do we know if this squid demon has any weaknesses?"
She pauses. "Once we've done that, we should get going. Jacinth and I saw hardly any breaks in the tree cover, so Wedjat and I are grounded." She sighs, looking at the looming forest.
"So a nice long walk in a steaming humid forest," Oren shook his head. He had gotten accustomed to creature comforts at the Port, like a large block of ice in his room when it was too warm outside. "Yeah, I think that spell would be effective against a demon...especially if it is capable on mind control."
Nef nods. She pulls an eagle feather out of her pouch. She kisses it, and kneels in the sand holding the feather above her head as she prays.
Horus, whose eye neither blinks nor sleeps, watch over us now.
When she gets up, she brushes the sand from her knees and stands. "I'm ready," she says, softly. "Shall we go?"
Ke' snorted with disgust.
"Well, if you don't want to harm the horrible monsters chipping in with mass human sacrifice, you can try to throw that Magic Circle against Evil around the statue itself.
"If the statue is controlling them, they'll probably be set free, if your spell is strong enough to cut the controlling enchantment."
He scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"Nah, they're probably just like minded critters attracted evil to evil. Never mind."
"I think lani might be right here. I think we are going to have to kill a lot of these beastmen, unfortunately. I don't know if there is a way to bring them back from the evil path they've went down. Death might be the easiest and most painless way to take care of them. It's sad. But if they chose this path, they made our decision for us."
"Kill them all, and let the Gods sort out the rest" - Reknar chuckles - "I like your style Oren"
"I would rather not have to kill except as a last resort or in self-defense, but keep in mind that it may very well come down to that in the end. Just like Filthy Jack."
"Just from the name, it seems like a pleasant enough chap - Filthy Jack" - the man ponders - "Who was he?"
"We should get ready to move. Though I am not as skilled as Aikane, I am capable of moving quietly when I have to and my eyes are sharp. I am willing to act as scout as well, which might be wise since we will not have the advantage of having eyes in the sky."
Reknar nods approvingly - "Very well then captain - lead on. How much of a berth do you want us to give you?"
Nef raises an eyebrow at both Lani's words and tone. "Oren and I killed two of the beastmen already, Lani. I was the loudest voice arguing the necessity of Filthy Jack's execution. I don't shy from killing irredeemable monsters!"
Eyes flashing, she glares defiantly at the group before turning to answer Reknar's question. "Filthy Jack was a drug dealer, a gang leader, and a bully. He was a monster before he stowed away on our ship, turned into a wareshark, and tried to eat us! My arguing that it was wiser to slay him led... it led to Zem leaving us. Leaving me!"
She takes a deep breath, angrily wiping away a tear. "The hawanis may not have had a choice... but that won't stop me from taking them out."
Turning from Ke'ahilani, she nods as Jacinth goes ahead to scout. "Be careful, Kaiku. Oren, can you cast message on her, so we can stay in touch with her movements?"
Nef raises an eyebrow at both Lani's words and tone. "Oren and I killed two of the beastmen already, Lani. I was the loudest voice arguing the necessity of Filthy Jack's execution. I don't shy from killing irredeemable monsters!"
"I always thought monsters were, by definition, irredeemable" - Reknar offer in a jocose tone - "Unless at the tip of a blade that is. But hey, maybe there's an ogre or a giant out there which are actually good guys deep inside"
Eyes flashing, she glares defiantly at the group before turning to answer Reknar's question. "Filthy Jack was a drug dealer, a gang leader, and a bully. He was a monster before he stowed away on our ship, turned into a wareshark, and tried to eat us! My arguing that it was wiser to slay him led... it led to Zem leaving us. Leaving me!"
"Dunno who Zem is, but it sounds to me that Jack deserved a cleave to the head" - he chuckles, adding as they move away - "Hope you all did just that"
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Oren doesn't say anything to the group, not wanting to set Nef off into an ocean of sad thoughts about Zem. He quickly changed the tune of the conversation, talking about the message spell.
"Of course, I can cast the spell on Jacinth. Just whisper what you see Jacinth, and I'll let the others know. Be careful up there."
"Dunno who Zem is, but it sounds to me that Jack deserved a cleave to the head" - he chuckles, adding as they move away - "Hope you all did just that"
"No," Nef says softly, meeting Reknar's gaze. "I let him go."
She visibly straightens, pulling herself together. "Where would you like Wedjat in the marching order?"
He follows in the above-stated marching order.
As she prepares to head off down the trail, she eyes Wedjat for a moment and considers Nef's question regarding a marching order. "Perhaps somewhere in the middle with you, Nef? I know that he needs room to charge should we encounter trouble, but being centrally located should mean that he can reach the front or the back of the group quickly." Jacinth pauses a moment and then smiles. "Besides, I suspect that he would prefer to not be too far from you anyway, especially while grounded."
"Makes sense" - Reknar nods - "Even if she cannot fly on high, she should be able to take off a few yards up and charge from there if needed?" - he adds.
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Nef and Wedjat follow in the marching order. The dark moist air of the jungle, misting on Nef's skin, is a welcome sensation. If she didn't know that more hawanis and a demon lay ahead of them, she'd enjoy the trek through this strange and beautiful jungle with her friends by her side.
Oddly, though she still misses Zem, she for once is glad that the big man is not here.
An island full of humans that we must kill, whether they chose this path or not. A demon that feeds upon blood. And the children we must rescue either corpses or irrevocably scarred by what they experienced here. This would have broken Zem, and I could never have borne to see that. Better that he be the triumphant hero of our people, bringing the escaped slaves back home.
She smiles thinking of it, and this surprises her. That she can smile and think of Zem is an unforeseen bounty of this dark place, and she's grateful for it.
Take care, Malama, wherever you are. Though we walk separate paths now, I will always be grateful for the part you played in my life.
The decision on your matching order decided, you all set off along the trail leading away from the beach.
As the elf woman takes the lead, she sees the meandering trail is the only unobstructed path through a maze of trees, undergrowth, and
tangled vines. The jungle beyond is dimly lit with the exception of an occasional beam of light piercing the canopy and illuminating the jungle floor. In the distance, the occasional sounds of snapping branches and bloodcurdling screams echo through the untamed vegetation.
As Jacinth proceeds along ever alert for ambush here, she sees the trail branch off in two directions. one heads off in a southeastern direction, while the 'main' trails continues along to the southwest.