Carpy DM runs Serpent's Skull!

Game Master Wellard

"I'm not a shipbuilder - there seems enough material - but doesn't it take more sometimes.

A wizard can't form a new magical item from many broken ones - unless maybe his skill is really high.
I rather prefer that the next ship doesn't end up as a wreck again."

Unperturbed by the weather she follows Uchendu.

"It may take years to complete, and 'oo knows by den we may not be want'n t'leave. Den it could be a fishing vessel, or a ship to patrol Kallakan's Isle! HAHAHAHA." The man never seems to be in a bad mood, always jovial, with a smile on his lips and mirth in his heart, what's not to like about him...

"So, maybe we find a good location on de leeward side of de island, high up, and make a permanent camp no?"

"We are not building a permanent camp. We are getting of this island", Natalyah grunts to Cutlass. The sailors jaunty mood does not seem to have any positive effect on the dour half elf. It does seemingly rather having an opposite effect.

Natalyah

Suddenly Natalyah's head shoots up as she fixes her gaze on a spot on the other side of the river. Quickly she grabs her longbow and knocks an arrow as she moves to the river bank.

@DM: How deep is the river? Is it possible to cross without swimming?

Its about 4 to 5 feet deep maybe 20 feet wide and flows pretty swiftly..you'd need to make an acrobatics roll to stay on your feet unless you were to move at half speed.

Natalyah slowly and crosses the river with her scanning the opposite river bank. Once she reaches the other side she hunches over as she's searching for tracks.

Perception check: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (4) + 12 = 16
Survival check to look for tracks on the other side: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10 (+1 if the bonus from the Track ability can be applied)

Natalyah is unable to find any significant tracks.

Natalyah curses loudly in elven at the inability to find any traces of what she saw. She heads back to the group.

"Be careful. We have been watched."

Uchendu frowns.

"In that case, it might be wise to not take a direct route back to camp. We do not want to lead whomever, or whatever, is watching us back to the others."

He then turns to Atzi.

"From now on, I think that it is more important than ever to cover our tracks. I will do what I can to assist you."

Survival - Assist: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11.

Atzi's eye narrow as she watches Natalyah suddenly dash off, as Natalyah returned Atzi turned to Uchendu and nodded in agreement. "I have been trying to destroy our tracks after each day that we returned to camp, I tried to be as through as I could. Perhaps we will have to use a couple thick branches and drag them lightly behind us as we go, while keeping a tight movement order through the jungle and perhaps we can walk along in the river to avoid tracks when we return to camp, it leaves us open... but if we move quickly it should be alright."

Survival +1 assist 1d20 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 11 + 2 = 22

I refer you to my above post regarding movement in this part of the river.

You remain wary during the remainder of your rest period but nothing disturbs you.

Moving on after the heat lessens from unbearable to merely very uncomfortable you make good progress and Atzi is certain your tracks are well covered.

About a mile up river the stream divides.In the softer earth that results around the junction of the two streams a profusion of plants grow.Including a large patch of the nettles that you are seeking for Aerys' cure.

Exactly how large a patch are we talking about?

Uopn spotting the nettles, Uchendu immediately turns to Atzi.

"What do you think? Will we be able to salvage enough from this patch to induce a cure for Aerys?"

"Is that what i think it is?", Natalyah asks and walks up to the patch. She kneels next to the plants and moves her hand over the nettles. (... and then the thing ate her ...)

Perception check just in case: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20

Amisi also has a closer look at the nettles.

Knowledge Nature 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19

Lol Natalyah = Famous Last Words xD, but that was funny I loled pretty good since I thought I missed something and read over what you had written again. Then the blue color of the OOC popped up and I realized it wasn't part of the sentence lol

DM Wellard, my bad I was meaning more like walking along the bank of the river, not through its center. But I forget that some rivers are deep like that all the way across lol, sorry for not being very clear >.<;.

Knowledge: Nature Assist 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

With Quetza circling lazily overhead Atzi approached the patch cautiously, picking her way over the soft earth and using her shortspear to find sinkholes. "Hopefully it will be enough... What do you think Amisi? Once she reached the patch she pulls out her empty sack and slowly began to pick some of the choice nettles off the plant as she tried not to to take too much. She didn't want to cause the plant to die of shock from being manipulated so.

The nettles grow in large numbers through this area and it's a few minutes work between you to gather a more than ample quantity for Aerys'needs.

The afternoon rains come as usual and you make your way back to the campsite without further incident although Natalyah does keep a watchful eye over your progress.

As the group returns to camp, Uchendu turns to Amisi.

"You seemed to have the greatest rapport with Jask; perhaps you should break the good news to him? I will have a word with Aerys..."

------

Uchendu approaches Aerys where she is sullenly brooding off by herself, her hands subtly shaking, and beads of cold sweat patently visible on her brow.

"Aerys, I know that you have been finding it difficult, and I admire your perseverance, but we have found some nettles that we think might be able to help you wrestle successfully with your internal devils. Hopefully, if you take them as a decoction, you should be able to win through before too long..."

To Natalyah:

"And 'ow do ye plan on get'n off dis spit o land? It be foolish NOT to build a permanent and defensible camp, even if only t'get off'n 'ere lass. De more time we be wasting build'n a new camp e'ery few days, puts us in more danger. We be leaving a trail o camps, more camps be more notice." Cutlass says in a very matter of fact manner, no flirtatiousness or joviality in his voice now.

After the getting noticed conversation:

"See, dangerous. We be need'n t'have permanent defenses. Fresh water is the most important."

Amisi looks out for Jask - and once she finds him she walks over to him. She seems to be smiling broadly.

"Jask - I told you that Shelyn is watching us and that all of this seems a test of the gods that will end well if we just believe.
We have found the Brine Demon - and we have been even more lucky. Albeit - as I said - luck doesn't play a role as long as we believe in the good.
On the Brine Demon we found a finely made dagger and a set of ledgers. I can show them to you - they describe that Captain Kinkarian of the Brine Demon was colluding with a number of Sargavian officials to skim of the tithes and taxes which were reserved for the Free Captains.You find references to their framing of you. This proves your innocence."

Amisi gives Jask a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"I told you - all will be good.

We also found a locket with a beautyful elven maid and the name Aeshamara is inscribed below the picture. Do you know anything about her?"

Jask takes a long look at the picture.."I didn't know the Lady but Kinkarian had long been rumopured to have an Elven paramour.The man was an unprincipled rogue in many ways but he did show excellent taste in some areas"

"The ledgers will be most useful....my former Masters will have to listen to me now and I think some heads will roll"

With Uchendu

"Aerys looks up at you and for the first time offers a hint of a smile.

"You found them...thank the gods.I'd rather die than go through this again..now..." she rises and moves to her pack fumbling with the buckles "...where did I put my notes on this stuff".

"Ah here they are...it seems that the berries need to be steeped in fresh water for a day then drained off and boiled the resulting brew should be cooled and allowed to stand for an hour and is then safe to drink..I swear the ways of sawbones are beyond me ..but if that is what must be done then, that is what must be done."

Uchendu nods at Aerys' revelation.

"Well, if that is what needs to be done for them to be effective, we should get started right away..."

Uchendu will immediately set about locating a suitable container, and then using Create Water to fill it with fresh water so that the steeping may commence.

As a result of your efforts today Jask and Aerys both offer some insights into certain te=chniques that will help you in many ways. Jask offers to teach you some exercises in concentration and meditation and Aerys offers up her long and unfinished poem for your peruasal should you wish.

There will be practical benefits from these, effectively you gain a trait from each NPC once you take up on their offer

Right. I thought a quick status-check might be appropriate.

In addition to generally exploring the island, and salvaging what we can from ship-wrecks, we had the following goals:

1)Finding Dimorphodon Egg (Sasha) ---> SUCCESS!
2)Finding Aerys a cure (Aerys) ---> SUCCESS!
3)Finding the Brine Demon (Jask) ---> SUCCESS!
4)Searching for buried treasure (Ishirou)
5)Locating the Nightvoice (Gelik)
6)Dealing with the Savages...?
7)Looking for the lighthouse.

Now, based on the map of the island that Carpy linked for us ages ago, we still have an enormous chunk of island left to explore. However, the discovery of the savages leaves me with a bit of a quandary: On the one hand, frequently moving means that we never fortify any one position particularly well, but if we 'dig in', that means that the exploration party will have to (in the not too distant future, in fact) start spending nights away from camp, which will leave them vulnerable to attack.

@DM Wellard: did we discover anywhere in the course of today's travels that looked like a suitable location to set-up camp?

That being said, I am perfectly happy to 'dig in' for a couple of days, and do the training to gain the extra 'traits' from the 'happy' NPCs. It would also give us a chance to talk to Ishirou about where exactly his 'treasure map' lines-up with the coast of the island we are on, and whether it is anywhere near where we currently are.

What are the thoughts of the rest of the party?

would be very interested to learn from Jask. I guess whatever he can teach her will be useful for a wizard.
DM-Wellard - my current assumption is, you learn once for your character and can't learn from everyone. Correct me if this is wrong. In this case - was there anything Sasha would have offered? I might be wrong but it looks to me what Jask offers looks good for spell casters - what Aerys offers rather for bards?
More fighter types might want to wait?
Yes - finding out about the map would be a good next step.
What was this about Gelik and the night voice - did I miss something?
Yes - at some stage me will have to move on. I would say a single night away is fine - but once we searched that far we will have to move south.

Atzi is definitely up for a few days of resting her feet to learn something new. Besides she can commune with nature more fully with a couple free days as well ;)

4) Yes, Atzi would LOVE to find some treasure =D especially to help Ishirou.
5) If we keep sailing our raft around I'm sure we will find the Nightvoice and well..... a LOT of troubles!
6) Atzi is sour on that subject, she will agree they need to be dealt with. Especially with how violent they are, as much as she believes in natural order. These 'people' are as unnatural as they come.
7) I forgot about this one... That one would be good too and a lighthouse would be a great way to get attention of a passing ship possibly. Although Atzi has been having a lot of fun with her new friends =) and it will be sad when it is over =(

To Cutlass
"I am not staying on this island. A permanent camp will root us down and hinder our search for a way out of here. If you are intent on digging yourself into this island and set up a home then let me know so i can stop wasting my time on you.", Natalyah snaps as a reply to Cutlass. The man might be right but the ranger is to proud to even entertain the thought.

Natalyah's oppinion on what should be done can be summed up as "Quit dicking around and get of this island already". She is most interested with locating the lighthouse and dealing with the savages, or crafting a boat sturdy enough to take us to the main land. The rest will be dismissed as a waste of time. She will however go with the group to perform any of the tasks since it is a chance to explore the island, abeit without much enthusiasm.

As a player i'm up for whatever. I'm really enjoying the game :)

Regarding the NPC boons Natalyah will not try to pick up either. She does not want to admit that she was wrong about Jask and will as a result avoid him as much as possible. She does feel some kind of kindship with Aerys (with her being a half-elf female, abit rugged and seeminly able to handle herself) but she has no interest in poetry. Natalyah will probably sit nearby as Aerys "teaches", but she will not participate.

*shrug* I certainly hope that we can each receive more than one award... I like the concept of little 'quest awards'; that is, mechanical awards other than treasure - this AP has been light on 'resources recovered' so far (which I think is entirely appropriate, given the context), so I am assuming that these bonuses are supposed to off-set being behind the gold curve.

@Amisi - I went digging through the archive to make sure that I had all of treasure/quests correct, and discovered a post about Gelik's quest. I do not remember the post number off the top of my head, but it was after we set-up camp the first time, and before we went exploring, time-line-wise.

As far as I can see you can all gain the benefits from each NPC. Maybe Natalyah would find something in common with Sasha as they are both Rangers? Also they are untyped bonuses so they stack with everything.I'll move ahead on the assumption that you are going to rest up for a day after all the last few have been pretty busy

There is good stuff in terms of loot to come you just haven't got to that yet. However we do have alittle incident to resolve first...evil Dm grin

You make your usual preparations for the night and set up guard.

Can I have a guard roster please

Maybe so. Although right now she's not on the best footing with Sasha as Natalyah precieves her as somewhat of a homicidal maniac. She's pretty much at odds with everyone but Uchendu, Atzi, Amisi and Aerys. The joys of a dour character with 7 charisma :)

Natalyah doesn't have anything to recover from so she can take any watch. It's only Atzi and Amisi that needs 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, right? Put Natalyah somewhere in the middle.

Looking at the d20pfs, technically, only Amisi requires 8 hours of uninterrupted rest, since divine casters simply need to 'prepare' their slots at the same time each day, regardless of the amount of rest they get.

The exact wording is: "A divine spellcaster chooses and prepares spells ahead of time, but unlike a wizard, does not require a period of rest to prepare spells. Instead, the character chooses a particular time of day to pray and receive spells. The time is usually associated with some daily event. If some event prevents a character from praying at the proper time, she must do so as soon as possible. If the character does not stop to pray for spells at the first opportunity, she must wait until the next day to prepare spells."

Uchendu will also take the middle watch with Natalyah, since the 'graveyard shift' is the one that would most benefit from people with Low-Light Vision.

EDIT: I am sure that there is interesting treasure kicking around, I was just commenting that I understood why we had no encountered any yet - zombies, snakes, and flying reptiles are not exactly known for their treasure hoards ;-)

That's all I needed to know.

Amisi takes the first guard along with Gellick and then Cutlass and Sasha who seem to be achieving some sort of rapport take the second Natalyah and Uchendu come on for the graveyard shift and the camp settles down..all is quiet the fires are banked and the night is full of the usual noises.

Suddenly the fire bursts back into full flame and a figure seems to step from the flames.Dressed in a well made coat and breeches with tricorn hat perched upon his head the skeleton from the Brine Demon strides into the camp.

"Asheemara..oh Ashemarra, Where are you my love" the apparition cries.

Natalyah jumps to her feet, with both weapons drawn. For a brief moment she seems almost surprised to see the dagger in her off hand, but quickly regains her senses.

"Halt! Who are you?", she hisses at the apperition.

Hopefully this is not a ghost that get's pissed to see his dagger stolen

"Aeshamara..is that you" the spirit asks with a tinge of sadness in his voice.."no,no you are not she...where is my beloved... bring her to me so I can see her sweet face"

Around the camp various faces look out from under covers as most of you awaken at the ghost's wails.

Gellick and Cutlass slumber on unheeding however.Natural 1's on perception checks tend to do that

Natalyah notes that one of the ghosts hands is a gleaming hook and that he drips water continuously

With her eye on the hook calls out over her shoulder: "Where is the portrait of the elven woman? Bring it here!"

I guess Amisi was the last who had it when she showed it to Jask. Unless anyone else claims other vice - assume Amisi has it.
I didn't spell it out - so unless I hear differently - Amisi will prepare to chat with the ghost. She will take a moment to wake up and understand the current situation - giving you real time opportunity to tell me other vice.
After all - diplomacy - isn't that her job ...
I just doubt that charming will work on the ghost

Stirring in her sleep - Amisi wakes up well ahead of the morning. What is going on. What is the commotion that is happening here.

2Atzi - just checked back. You mentioned you 'tucked it away' after the ship and I later showed it to Jask. Please indicate if you 'got it back' from Amisi. If I don't hear back I assume Amisi has it right now.

After scrutinizing the aura of the dagger carefully, Uchendu hands it over to Natalyah, then shuts and locks the coffer, before carefully packing it in his backpack.

@Amisi: Uchendu has the coffer and the items with it (minus the dagger), or else I was wrong in 'his' wording. Atzi merely watched as it was put away nothing more~. So far the only item Atzi has kept is the pen dagger from one of the first ships we searched.

@Atzi: That was more flavour to describe how we were getting it off the wreck. I am not claiming it per se; I imagine all of that stuff goes into 'general party loot' to be split once we get off this island.

Uchendu regards the ghost with no small amount of trepidation.

That spirit is definitely upset...

However, sensing what he thinks the ghost is after, Uchendu rushes over to the chest, rips it open, grabs the locket (which he clicks open to reveal the portrait), and forcefully brandishes it at the ghost.

"Here she is..."

Argument with Natalyah "Bah, when someone dies due to de lack of defense, t'will not be on my head." Cutlass says as he gives up on the argument.

Is she an urban ranger? why would a ranger have a problem with beign stuck on an island? heh.

Meanwhile back in the camp

Zzzzzzzz

@Atzi: That was more flavour to describe how we were getting it off the wreck. I am not claiming it per se; I imagine all of that stuff goes into 'general party loot' to be split once we get off this island.

I understand Uchendu I was just clarifying who, if anyone, had the item. Atzi tends to travel light due to being much weaker then you guys. But short distances with a lot of items she can do.

Atzi stares in awe at whats is happening around her, a mix of terror and wonder on her face. Quetza though moves between her and the ghostly apparition, he puffs up defensively, trying to appear larger and more menacing. A low warning hiss escapes his multi-toothed maw rising in volume the closer the apparition gets to Atzi...

The ghost peers at the locket and the picture and if a skelaton can smile you would think that it was doing so.

"Aeshamara..my love..my angel of mercy ...let me touch you.."

The Apparition reaches for the locket and, as its incorporeal fingers touch the gold he seems to fade away like a breath on the wind

"Peeeace" is the last whisper you hear

300XP each for laying the Captain to rest.

Amisi your nights rest is ruined.

Argument with Natalyah "Bah, when someone dies due to de lack of defense, t'will not be on my head." Cutlass says as he gives up on the argument.

Is she an urban ranger? why would a ranger have a problem with beign stuck on an island? heh.

:) The main reason for Natalyah's obsession with getting of the island is that she was forced here against her will. She didn't choose to travell to the smuggeler's shiv but was betrayed and left stranded on this island. That does not sit well with the young and angry ranger.

Natalyah remains in place watching the thin air for a moment, weapons still raised. Eventually she cautiously walks up to the spot where the spectre was last seen and kicks the dirt. Satisfied that the spirit is gone she sheathes she weapons.

"We are burying that thing somewhere far away from the camp", she says and points to the golden locket in Uchendu's hands.

@DM Wellard: My quip about zombies, snakes, and flying reptiles was not a criticism; there was no need to start tossing ghosts at us ;-)

Uchendu shivers slightly, and then breathes a sigh of relief when the apparition disperses.

Composing himself, he turns to Natalyah, and comments:

"We can discuss what to do with it later; personally, I would prefer to keep 'spirit deterrent' on hand, but if we do bury it, it would be better to do so during daylight, not in the middle of the night."

I did not hear any objections to the 'spend a couple of days acquiring boons, and discussing treasure maps with Ishirou' plan, so lets go ahead with that :-)

Ok we'll dash through the next couple off days..those who do not wish to partake of the boons can hunt for food.

For those who do..

Sasha

Jask

Aerys

There is no further appearance of the late Captain Kincorian,,Jask is fairly sure that you have sent him to whatever fate Pharasma has in store for him.

Thanks DM Wellard :-)

Over the course of the couple of days, Uchendu will make a point of doing what he can to assist Aerys, reasoning pragmatically that the sooner she gets back into top form, the better for the party as a whole.

I am eagerly awaiting the result of Amisi's 'chat' with Ishirou :-)

Natalyah will spend the time hunting and setting up the occational trap around the camp. She will keep an eye on Aerys progress "from the background". The +1 initiative bonus from Sasha would be nice to have but i can't see Natalyah picking it up in her current state of mood. Maybe if she spends some time hunting with Sasha, but that kind of depends on Sasha's behavior during the hunting trips.

Aerys' berry brew seems to be working.The shakes have stopped and she no longer craves Alchohol..indeed the smell of it makes her nauseous.It would appear she has been cured.

Sasha doesn't forsake her hunting duties whilst she is training the others and Natalyah finds the Redhead is a very different person on the trail. In fact if anything she's even more serious about it than the dour Half-Elf.

There is little change in Inkathru's condition her fevered condition sparking more nightmares which may or may not be prophetic.

Details of the nightmares to come when I have acess to my books

Sasha doesn't forsake her hunting duties whilst she is training the others and Natalyah finds the Redhead is a very different person on the trail. In fact if anything she's even more serious about it than the dour Half-Elf.

That sounds like something Natalyah can deal with :) Do we have to do anything special to recieve the training or can we add the bonus?

Cutlass will be hunting for food

1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

You can add the bonus..assume Sasha does your training under field conditions.

Cutlass brings in an additional 8 man days off food.Remember fresh meat doesn't last long in these weather conditions so I would say you feed the party for three days out off two days hunting.You still have about 30 man days of preserved foodstuffs in reserve .

Ishirou's Map makes more sense now. There is a bay marked on it that seems to tie up with the one in which you found the Brine Demon. If this is the case then the treasure is perhaps 4 or 5 miles from where you are camped. Ishirou is eager to accompany you on this little expodition indeed the Tian man is full of smiles and praise for your 'honorable efforts'

Uchendu

Atzi spends her time learning these traits an tricks from her comrades, she applies herself fully to learn from each of their friends. Quetza spends his time lazying about and hunting on his own to feed himself and general being very bored as Atzi is training. =)