"And thine crew most silent and steadfast.But what bringeth thee to this mote of rock upon the vast bosom of the sea? Hasteth thou heard of the Princess' plight and vowed pledge thine loyalty. Beware, this will not play well with ye old lords of Taldor."
"Oh look, the Princess weepeth. Bestill thine heart fair one. The courtly tide dotheth turn and thee honors yet shall be restored."
Kaul looks to the turtle to see if indeed tears are being shed...
Content to let the Taldans talk among themselves Dibbs gives a small nod to Kaul "Aye matey... mebbe its tha sunbakin on 'is noggin"
Indeed, Kaul finds that the great turtle's eyes are brimming with tears. She gazes solefully back at the thug as she silently sobs.
Jim glances around at the other Freebooters. "True, they are. But none better in a pinch, none better. Now, what's the story with the princess, Sir Kelizar? She's been enchanted?"
"Aye, Admiral. She hath suffered outrageous fortune and treachery mosteth foule. Green rivals tossed her from a boat into thine angry sea at tender age. She was spared only by kind nerieds that suckled her at their salty bosoms and transformed her to hideth her well."
Drawing some of Jimmer's attention his way Dibbs adds "Hey Jimmer, tell yer new frend 'ere that Princess has a clutch o' wee ones somewhere eh? Thass why she's leakin teary bits."
Standing with his mouth agape at the scene before him, Dingus lowers his arms from where he was preparing to unleash something particularly nasty upon his foe, and strains to understand the archaic gibberish being spoken by the armored knight.
He then turns his attention to the giant turtle, looking back and forth between the princess and the knight.
"Princess heh"?
"This lot of brutes call me Dingus, so you might do so as well".
The knight looks alarmed upon overhearing Dibbets' hypothesis. "Wee ones? What doth thee dram maneth suggest? The Princess hath had no congress with man. She be pureth as fresh fallen snow."
Just then the great turtle begins scooping sand away with her great rear flippers causing Sir Kelizar to flush and begin pushing hopelessly at the bulk. "Oh fie. 'tis too late. She hath lost her wits all and fully succumeth to the transformation!"
Scoffing "She be layin some eggs man... I'd keep ye distance unless ye dinnae want yer head still on yer body aye?" Dibbs then turns and gives Anatoly and Zossy a 'steady there' gesture before settling in to watch the big turtle do her work.
It is a long process for the turtle to scoop clear a nest, squeeze out the eggs one by one and then backfill it. Sir Kelizar watches silently with great sorrow. The oarsmen hang near the boat and look on with fascination and a bit of amusement.
Once the egg deposition process is well along, Jim wipes the seacat blood from his sword on their fur. "Sir Kelizar, we're also here on a small errand. Your pardon." He turns to the halfling. "Now that the 'cats are done, I think you're the best among us to get what we came after, hey?"
The thug continues to listen to the interplay and behaviours with bemusement.
As the turtle lays its clutch, Kaul whispers another aside to the crew's wee oracle;
"Eaten gull eggs afore... n'er turtle tho. Good eatin' or not matey?"
"Depends matey... as to whether ye reckons tha big ol stumpy's goan let ye jus take em." pausing for a few moments before adding "Iffin ye goan try... do it onna ways out aye?"
Jim turns to find two of his companions conspiratorially whispering. His question flies over the short nappy head it was aiming for. The armored man catches it, however. He pulls his eyes from the egg laying spectacle to the sailor. "Errand, Admiral?"
"Retrieving something from the wreck in the lagoon...a relic of its captain, as I understand it."
"Retrieving something from the wreck in the lagoon...a relic of its captain, as I understand it."
The knight shrugs. "Forthsoothe, the lagoon soundeth a full fathom five. Naught within, but the dragon's bones and old ship's flooded wood."
Jim shakes his head. "I've heard that the captain himself went down with his ship, as it were. If you've heard something else, why, I'd be most glad to hear it."
The great turtle finishes and begins draghinf its immense bulk back over the sand to the sea. Sir Kelizar pauses to salute the ancient reptile. "Do not worry Princess, though thou havest forgot thine station. I will hold thine memory always and guard this solitary pale beach and thine progeny!"
"Yeah yeah see ye laters Princess... thou shedeth a forsoothy tear like" turning back to the nutter "Now... whass this bout dragon bones eh? an ken ye points us at where tha ship went underlike?"
Something just didn't seem right to Dingus about the situation.
Neither 'princess' nor nest display any magical auras. The erratic knight indicates the center of the lagoon with a look of annoyance at the less than diplomatic halfling. In fact, the wooden wreckage was clearly seen beneath the clear water on the trip over to the beach.
He nods to Jim. "Indeed thee pirate captain accompanieth his vessel to watery rest, but he remaineth there no longer. When first meself arriveth on this lonely isle, I found thine remains unburieth and exposeth in heathen manner. I tooketh them all to inter in yon high abbey in goodly fashion."
"Indeed, herein is thee pirate captain's own blade, which I now maketh use to defendest thee princess. Though it doth seem unseamly to hold a dishonorable weapon to sucheth high purpose..." His hand rests on the lavishly golden basket hilt of his own rapier as he gazes with undisguised interest at Jim's own properly naval weapon.
"It's the hand that ennobles the blade, I would say. Redeem the steel with your own purpose. Now, what's this abbey you speak of, Sir Kelizar?" Jim turns to look where the eccentric fellow indicated; once he's facing away from Kelizar he rolls his eyes hard enough to hurt.
"Thee olde abbey was buildeth long, long ago by thine first Taldan missionaries to entereth this realm. They didst not surviveth thee wily savages that haunst yon darkened jungle. Only ruins yet lie upon thee highest apex, but a holy light remaineth still to wardest the earthly coil therein."
"Good Admiral, if I mayst be so bold... I am of course in thine debt for protectingst the Princess from yon deadest cats, but I might impresseth an exchange of blades upon thee that I mightest defendeth this lonely strand with a rapier worthy of the Empire of Taldor. It doth weaken my resolve to wield thiseth steel of ignoble origin. Surely thou canst find another blade as worthy of thine own should this pirate steel not suiteth?"
Kaul lumbers alongside the group taking in the surroundings with a beady eye;
:
As talk turns to blades, the thug's battered ears perk up;
"Hur... Might be tough findin' a blade tae replace yours Jimmer... Hur-hur..."
Kaul notes that the stone path from beach, past the falls, and up the cliffs into the dense jungle likely leads to the high ruins spotted earlier, but he sees nothing untoward as all await Jim's response.
"Mind if I take a look at that blade of yours? I've had this one for a fair long time, and it's served me well." Jim glances over at Dingus and raises an eyebrow, then turns back to Kelizar with his hand out.
The odd knight bows with a flourish and presents the sword hilt first. Storm-eyes' blade is an ornate rapier with a large quartz crystal in the pommel, the grip is wrapped in eel skin and the guard is a golden basket style with a design reminiscent of entwined anchors.
Dingus gives it a look over while his spell is still active.
Jim takes the proffered weapon with a bow, examines it carefully, and then steps a little bit away from the others and goes through a couple of basic rapier forms. "Hm. Nice balance, a little gaudy, but Storm Eyes was a pirate--goes with the territory, hey?"
No sooner has Jim invoked the name of the rapier's former owner than a spark appears within the chunk of quartz and the blade is sheathed in crackling lightning.
"Forsoothe!" Kelizar exclaims. 'Methought 'twas only mine own touch hath made it sparketh so. Looketh there. It claimeth thee as its own."
Kaul grins and nods;
"Nice blade Jimmer... We need's tae find summit to use it on hur-hur...:
The brutal thug nods toward the trail leading up to the ruins;
"We 'eadin' up there then lads? Want me tae scout ahead like?"
Dibbs squints slightly and regards the knight's gifted blade...
...before confirming "Aye Jimmer, she's a decent wee vixen. Do ye well tae gets some spark tae yer stabbin" scoffing at his thinly disguised and not particularly good joke.
To Kaul he nods "Aye... I'll come wi... assumin Jimmer an Dingy are straight wi' his nibs 'ere."
Jim starts as the blade charges up and nearly drops it. "Holy feckin'--I mean, that was unexpected, hey? Tell me--how d'you make it stop?" After getting the sword calmed down, he resheathes it. "Sir Kelizar, I would be happy to trade with you. I hope this sword serves you as well as it has me." He presents his old rapier, hilt first, to the eccentric knight.
Now that it's familiar with him, Jim has merely to will the lightning on or off. Sir Kelizar smiles broadly and view twice before ceremoniously accepting Jim's blade.
"Sirrah. Tis a great honor. I will cherish it and maketh certain it seeth continued honorable use." He stated in wonder at the naval emblem before sheathing it at his side.
Seeing Kaul and his hairy knee-high companion ready to go, Sir Kelizar gives you a final blessing and warning. "Thank ye again, bold sailors, but bewareth thee jungle. Within dwelleth creatures not so foul as thee cannibbals that dotteth the shores of thesein isles not unliketh fleas upon a hairy cur's arse, but wily and treacherous nonetheless. They seem midway between man and ape and lurk most cannily to springeth out and attack. I haveth run them off from these fair beaches, but leavest them to thine skulking in yon woode."
In deadpan seriousness Dibbets scoffs back at him "Son, we've dealt wi' a raft made o' feckin corpses... few cannybals ain't goan bother us none."
The errant knight ignores the insolent tone and nods enthusiastically. "Indubitably, small sirrah. Nothing to botherest such doughty sailors." Anatoly and Zossrov wave you on with assurances that they will keep a close eye on the jolly boat until your return.
Dibbs leaves the two sailors with a "An if any o' those cat thingys show up agin... jus let 'em be iffin ye can aye?" not wanting them to get into trouble unless needed.
With a wave to the other sailors and the eccentric, Jim heads up the trail. "Thanks for the warning, sir."
-Posted with Wayfinder
When he hears the description of the belligerent jungle denizens, the brute thug pauses with a scowl;
"Hur... Ain't so sure lads... the cannibapes sound like... like... Ol' Tum's types..."
Kaul looks a little hesitant in moving out;
"...Hopin' they ain't got no sway on my noggin no more..."
Jim claps the half-orc on the shoulder. "No worries, mate. They come around here, I'm going to shock the monkeys, hey?"
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Dingus slowly watches the princess make her way to sea, then turns his gaze to the weapon being offered to Jim.
Spellcraft
Knowledge: Arcana
"I don't know Jimmer. It's magic for sure, but I'm thinking it could be cursed. Looky at how it's made this guy a madcap. I don't believe I'd make the deal".
"I'll take my chances, mate. Just tell me if I start getting more, ah, eccentric than usual, hey?"
"Just tell me if I start getting more, ah, eccentric than usual, hey?"
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Kaul breaks a bit of a sweat at the mention of man-apes though Jim seems to be looking forward to testing his new blade. The narrow cliff trail doesn't provide any particular hazards with a slow and careful ascent and it's in a fair bit better shape than the path up the high cliffs of the Aerie of Bloodletting Song. It doesn't take too long before you climb the last pitch on the exposed cliff side and stand beneath the verdant arbor of tall mossy trees covered in epiphytes and curtains of lianas.
Dibbs shakes his head to give Kaul a mite of hope "Tha coconutter took yer short n curlies coz ye kept takin his nut tae bed an strokin it... long as ye dinnae shack up wi' an island ape-whore ye should be golden."
Perception:
Dibbs keeps at the front of the group as they make up the cliff... but he can't see too much of interest.
Buoyed by his shipmates endorsements Kaul lumbers forth eyeing the vegetation and vistas with a hardened eye;
:
But notices naught to catch his beadies...
Jim keeps an eye out for unusual tracks.
Perception (Dingus)
Perception (Richard)
Dingus walks along with the group, using his Anchoring rod like the railing of a stairway, turning it on and off to keep his balance as he goes. Richard, looks about a bit, but seems more concerned with the drop than the surroundings.