On with it, then...I'd like to be on our way back to camp. Tonight, we'll come back this way and scout an area by the river, if everyone is still OK with that plan.
"Yep, sound good."
James finishes up here and prepares to head back.
Tun'ada silently leaves the shipwreck and prepares to scout out around the river.
The wine is an extremely fine bottle of red, imported from Taldor.
Chi-
Flute-
Ambroze-
Tun'ada- (+6 when tracking)
James-
Gwyneth-
Aware that the temperature is rising to unbearable levels, the group manage to quickly find an ideal area for a new campsite near the area where the river begins to flow underground- a small clearing, raised slightly above the ground level of most of the island, with good visibility and wind shelter from the cliffs to the west. Racing back to the camp, the group arrive back and quickly usher themselves into shelter.
Did you have a good trip out? Sasha asks the group with a shy smile, seemingly having arrived back from hunting shortly before you.
Petting her already somewhat tame (but still leashed) Dimorphodon she coos and cuddles the deadly beast to her, much to the clear horror of Aerys and Ishorou, sat nearby.
Gelik is sat nearby, attempting to amuse a stone-faced Aerys with a tale of a kleptomaniac Halfling thief that went one heist too far when he and his companion slew a baby gold dragon in order to claim the treasure it guarded.
The twist and the crux of the tragic comedy within the tale is that the Halfling ended up a hunted man throughout the lands, and the cost of the daily divination spells to keep himself hidden from the ancient dragon that was the babys father almost ruined him, costing many more gold pieces than the theft earnt him. He finally escaped notice via a clever reincarnation that had the amusing side effect of also changing hid gender to female. Aerys looks utterly unimpressed as she keeps an eye out for trouble. Seeing the group approach, Aerys sniffs suspiciously for a moment but doesn't detect any alcohol on you this time.
Ah... Our noble explorers are back from the daily Smugglers Shiv Fauna Purge I see... Gelik quips playfully. I do believe you weren't nearly efficient enough- theres a beast right in our camp!
Chi busies herself playing with and inspecting the tools she found in the thieves toolkit. Holding the instruments in front of her eyes and screwing them round in patterns trying to work out how they might work. A ginger cat lays down stretched out beside her. She in engrossed in the shapes and lines of the instruments.
James settles down with a big sigh at the base of a tree, and leaning back against it's trunk proceeds to go about sharpening his sword. He spends a long time doing this, his hand sliding up and down the edges of the blade in a sweeping rhythmic motion, his eyes seemingly lost in something a long way away.
Actually, Gelik, we left the fauna alone this morning. Kind of you to be concerned, though, as always, Gwen quips, beelining for Jask. As she nears the older man, she lowers her voice. Unless you count the restless dead as fauna, she mutters, gesturing to a stubborn gash on her arm that has as yet refused to heal.. Is there anything you can do about this, my friend?
Jask nods.
Of course, Gwyneth. Get into trouble with some of the locals? Channeling positive energy is something of an area of expertise of mine in fact.
So... What are your plans once the island is safe to travel again young one?
Ah... Our noble explorers are back from the daily Smugglers Shiv Fauna Purge I see... Gelik quips playfully. I do believe you weren't nearly efficient enough- theres a beast right in our camp!
"Yeah, but we like having you here in camp, Gelik!" Ambroze quips back, giving the other gnome a friendly grin to let him know that his statement is meant only in jest.
"What was that tale you were telling?" Ambroze asks. "I don't think I've heard that one before. It sounds interesting!
Ah... Our noble explorers are back from the daily Smugglers Shiv Fauna Purge I see... Gelik quips playfully. I do believe you weren't nearly efficient enough- theres a beast right in our camp!"Yeah, but we like having you here in camp, Gelik!" Ambroze quips back, giving the other gnome a friendly grin to let him know that his statement is meant only in jest.
"What was that tale you were telling?" Ambroze asks. "I don't think I've heard that one before. It sounds interesting!
Its called 'The Tale of Keyrelin', usually told in Taldor. Its a comic tragedy, with the protagonist suffering a series of unfortunate events, culminating in a gender change...
"Well, here's a tale of sorts, though it's not very comedic. I had a rather disturbing dream last night. In it I was sitting in the galley aboard the Jenivere, getting ready for the evening meal. Master Rambar gave me a steaming blow of soup, but I dropped my spoon. I looked down and saw that the deck below was covered with seawater up to my ankles, and the spoon I dropped had sunk into the water and washed out to see through a hole. So I was forced to lift my - and here's where it gets REALLy strange - DELICIOUS bowl of soup to my lips and drink. I mean, come on, Master Rambar's watery gruel can be called lots of things, but delicious isn't one of them. Am I right?" Ambroze looks around at the others, his eyes wide with incredulity.
"Now here's where it gets even weirder," the gnome scholar continues. "As I drank the soup, something big slid into my mouth - James, why are you laughing? - and I felt a sharp bite on my tongue. I dropped the bowl, only to discover a serpent had hidden in my soup and now dangled from my tongue as it chewed furiously. I started awake, biting my own tongue in an attempt to bite through the snake's body." Ambroze concludes his tale, looking around at the others for any reaction.
"I think maybe the heat is starting to get to you Ambroze," James chokes through his chuckles from his seat by the base of the tree. "Maybe you should see Jask to make sure you're not delirious?" The man is obviously teasing the Gnome, something that seems to be catching.
Jask looks up, deadly serious.
It is possible that your subconcious mind is remembering events that you cannot conciously remember when we were poisoned... he muses.
"What do you mean Jask?" James asks with concern.
"What do you mean Jask?" James asks with concern.
Perhaps these dreams are our poisoned subconciousnesses, trying to tell us something. The poison that we were fed... I do not believe it rendered us unconcious for quite some time. I too have had hazy memories and strange dreams. On some level, perhaps we remember the events of the shipwreck.
Ishorou pauses from setting up a simple stake trap to weigh in on the discussion.
I had a dream last night of this nature, if you would hear it... he says tentatively.
I was in a rowboat upon the ocean. Sitting across from me was First Mate Alton- he was obviously dead, with rapier wounds and stings on his body; but nevertheless... He rowed me ashore. We reached an island covered in snakes, and Alton waited until I had left the boat.
Ishorou is clearly more than a little shaken by this dream, but he continues.
He took the boat back out to sea... To look for more survivors I can only imagine. I waited for his return but he never came, and the snakes... the snakes drew closer and closer, until they surrounded me.
The snakes crawled up to me and all over me, and I could see myself, like I was floating above, watching it all... Just when I was completely covered, like a writhing mass of reptiles... I awoke.
"Snakes... Ambroze dreamt of snakes too, Flute as well. Maybe you are right Jask, and it must be more than just a coincidence that so many of us have had such similar dreams, but what can snakes have to do with the wrecking of the Jennivere?"
I suspect Ieana and Captain Kovack are the only people...and in Ieana's case I am starting to wonder if I use the term "person" loosely...who will ever be able to answer the question of what happened to us. It is odd, though. I have always believed that dreams must by nature come from the Gods. I wonder what God is choosing to speak to us in this...eccentric way.
Time passes with the group in shelter from the baking hot sun, some saton the new folding chairs salaged from the pirate vessel.
"So after the midday heat let's up, shall we break camp and head out to find a new campsite at that river we saw?" Ambroze asks his fellow castaways.
"Definitely," James agrees, "from what we've seen so far we're out on a peninsula, I'd like to see what the main body of this island holds."
The other castaways are a little reluctant to move camp, but concede. Within half an hour or so, camp is efficiently broken up and the group head towards the clearing. As the group are moving through the last section of jungle before the clearing they spotted, a vicious looking, large snake with dull green scales with dirty brown stripes suddenly lands on Ambroze's shoulder- and bites the surprised Gnome in the neck. Before he can react, the snake also wraps itself tightly around Ambroze, and squuezes the Gnome brutally.
Initiative-
James-23
Ambroze- 22
Aerys- 17
Ishorou- 16
Flute- 15
Tun'ada- 14
Jask- 11
Gwyneth- 12
Chi- 10
Snake- 8
Gelik- 6
Sasha- 5
Tun'ada slashes at the snake with his terbutje, trying to not cut too deep and wound Ambroze further in the process.
Attack:
Damage:
Leaping into action with lightning speed as he sees his friend beset by the scaly beast, James flies into a rage swinging at the snake in an attempt to slice the creature in two.
James swings at the constrictor snake in a fury, but has to pull back his blade before it hits Ambroze.
Having obviously partaken in some of her remaining alcohol today, Aerys nevertheless quickly reacts and slams her fist into the snake brutally.
Ishorou quickly gains a flank with Aerys, drawing his Katana with blinding speed and slashing at the snake, taking its head off in a single blow.
Ishorou takes a bow after executing the strike, cleaning his Katana and sheathing it in a single quick motion.
Arriving at the site for the new camp, the group quickly sets about creating a new campsite.
Chi-
Flute-
Ambroze-
Tun'ada- (+6 when tracking)
James-
Gwyneth-
With efficiency the group quickly sets up a new camp, and within a single hour it has been setup to almost a military standard. The group have set up their camp just north of the river.
Gwen approaches Ambroze as the snake is dead.
It seems I get to return the favor, my friend!
She touches Ambroze where the snake bit him, and raises her other hand to the sky.
Gods above, hear thy servant's cry and mend these wounds!
"Ahh! Thank you, Gwenyth!" Ambroze says sincerely as the oracle's healing energies wash away all of the staggered gnome's injuries caused by the giant snake.
"And thank you all!" he says to his companions with heartfelt gratitude. "If it hadn't been for your quick reactions, I surely would have wound up just another lump of meat digesting in that snake's belly!" He bows to the castaways, in respectful imitation of Ishorou's bow.
"Oh, but I fear I'll suffer even worse nightmares about snakes tonight!" he adds.
"Glad to see you're alright Ambroze," James adds quietly once he's calmed down, "I swear if it weren't for Gwen and Jask we'd all be food to these beasts by now."
That's kind of you to say, James, but my abilities hardly lend themselves to killing the foul things, which, as best as I can tell, is the only reason we're still alive. By which I mean to say, we're working well as a team! Gwen smiles warmly.
Let's explore around this area a bit, shall we?
Chi returns with cat from her stroll into the jungle, to find Gwen helping Ambrose. "Gosh snakes, its seems to be the bane of our journey."
I would vote to explore out in a circle around our camp until we hit both shores, if possible. That way, at least we know the camp is secure within a certain area. After that, we can head South.
"That makes sense," James agrees, "I get so restless in camp, I'd like to make use of the rest of the light this evening."
I couldn't agree more, James.
The group spend an hour doing a general sweep in a circular radius of about a mile around the camp- no obvious threats are detected but on the eastern shoreline in the small natural harbour the group notice something...
The remnants of a quickly rigged shelter and evidence of a recently used small campfire sit well above the high-tide line on this narrow, sandy beach.
"Well, I guess we should check it out?" James shrugs. "Do you think anybody might still be around? We could try and sneak closer, or just go and have a look."
The whole beach has little to no cover to hide in, and is clearly deserted. Moving closer, the group confirm that the site was used recently, in the last few days.
Chi-
Flute-
Ambroze-
Tun'ada-
James-
Gwyneth-
Searching the area, Tun'ada comes across Captain Kovack's tricorn hat, and Gwyneth stumbles across a soaking wet scarf recognisable as belonging to the scholar Ieana.
Chi suggests that stealth and knowledge would stand them in better stead should the recent or current inhabitants of the campsite be hostile. "We do not want to show our strengths and weaknesses to any who might be there, either we should use stealth or deception to discover more."