Iolana whispers "Don't go alone Gatherine,i'm with you"
and readies her scimitar while slwly walking side by side with the dwarven maid.
She tries to get any hint of activities from the giant vermin.
I'm sure it is dead
As Gatherine and Iolana creep closer, it remains unmoving. From 50 feet away, you can barely make out it's little legs still holding its body up a few inches off the sand. It's massive claws lie lifeless on either side of it.
The legs don't look right. They look like little logs ... short stilts. And you think you can see a rope attached to it's clawed appendage near the "shoulder" where it disappears under the shell.
-------
Those who remained where you first entered the beach notice quite a distance of the path you just came from is visible from where you currently are. There is, however, plenty of cover available with the semi-collapsed abandoned huts should the savages come this way looking for you.
Tol dismounts and draws his axe before hurrying after Gatherine and Iolana. "Miss Gatherine, what do you think you're doing!", he hisses.
"Maybe me and mr.Cherthand could go ahead and Gatherine can stay behind ready to shoot the crab if we are attacked?"
Suddenly the large pincered arm on the near side rises then slams down. Two of it's legs lift then drop down again. It then it starts making loud noises "Grrrr Raawrrr Screeee! Screeee!!" The arm raises and slams down again.
Iolana raises her blade and waits in a defensive stance.
"Gatherine, stay behind us"
Why ya have to go and wake it? Get away. Here come to da huts. the tribesman says trying to make his friends hide from possible pursuit.
Gatherine lowered her bow to stare at the crab's supposed 'movements'.It moved jerkily like a heavy marionette--the rope tied to its pincers pulled taut with each threatening wave.
What the f--Oi!! I'm no fool!That thing's a nape!A puppet!
She stamped a foot and pointed accussingly.I've caught and eaten plenty of crabs--crabs don't growl!
"Seemed weird,well, let's go check who really is behind that overgrown puppet"
Iolana puts away her blade and shouts,both in Taldan and in Polyglot:
"Stop making fake noises and show yourself,we are not enemies"
An odd voice comes from within the crab - speaking common. "Oh yeah? Not enemiesh? Burrawk-awk prove it!"
"Well i don't know how to prove it, we are simply fleeing from hungry locals,and i mean they want to eat our flesh,and we stumbled onto this....place ?"
Then whispering to mugambi "If this doesn't work better you try with your...how you call it? mask of simpaty?"
A spyglass pokes through the back of the crab, pointing inland. "Heard the drums, yes. See them now, Bukaaw! Food you have food? Kaw!"
We got hard tack...
Diplomacy:
"I'll take it. Come around to the front." You hear a clank clank from inside, and then a head pops out the front. A bird head... a tengu. He steps out toward you in a jerky but small stride. The frightfully scrawny birdman is holding what looks like a rake or a two-handed fan made with fat leaves. "Come come buurrip come. I will cover your trash... trash... trrraaack-sshhh. Room for horse too, if can keep her shteady.. kek buurrip."
Deal.
Gatherine waddled her way into the 'crab',which was some type of improvise hut.Similar to building a house out of a hollowed out tree.
Syndlara gawks from her position a short distance away, clearly not expecting the absurdity of a bird-man crawling out of a giant crab's shell. Moving to rejoin the others by the strange contraption, she says with a hint of awe, "What in the Spheres is that?"
The tengu props up a section of the shell in front which is hinged on top, and serves as a front door. Behind that is a "beaded" curtain made from shells and lumpy flawed pearls. He starts to walk past all of you, and gets to work on the tracks.
"Thanks,uh,mister..."
A bit skeptical, Iolana begins entering the shell.
I guess this won't be the weirdest place i've been
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Tol shakes his head in amazement as he leads Gorra toward the crab shell. "Aye, that's right girl. We've fought two kinds of zombies, cannibals, a flying lizard ate our Mr. Grey, we're following some sort of elf dancer we just met, and now a talking bird invited us inside its giant crab. This is what comes from getting on boats." He makes the sign of Torag's hammer and enters.
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The tengu turns back toward Iolana.. "Kekkaw.... name ish Kekkaw"
Kekkaw appears to have a problem with nervous tics, and the occasional "whistling shh" with his sibilant sounds.
Through the beaded curtain, inside the body of the shell... you step down into a room a little more than 20 feet in diameter. A floor has been carved into the beach, and covered with an assortment of fairly flat rock - a primitive cobblestone. The ceiling about 12 feet high around the edge; it's highest is about 15 feet. Hanging in the center of the ceiling is a tarp of some sort, with several bamboo "pipes" dangling from it... several waterskins and a large hollowed gourd (which sits in the center of the room) are jury-rigged to attach to the bottoms of the tubes.
A short weathered wooden ladder leans against the back wall. A small rut which appears to serve as a track for the ladder runs along most of the perimeter of the room. Small old crates are arranged as a chair and table. On the improvised table are a few bowls and a cup.
Dozens of strange items are hung like knick-knacks on the walls... the function of less then half of them are easily determined. The spyglass, serrated red-hilted sword, and blunderbuss catch your eye immediately.
"Thanks for the hospitality Kekkaw,i'm Iolana."
The girl looks around and immediately notes the serrated sword.
"Nice blade Kekkaw,don't worry,we aren't here to rob you, i just like it.How did you happen to live here? Very original home by the way"
Gatherine let out an impressed whistle at the design of the hollowed out crab's interior in wonder.I know people who'd pay for you to design the insides of their houses like this.
Her eyes landed on the blunderbuss.Oi,where'd you happen upon that lovely?
"Thank you, too kind. That? You know what that ish young lady?" His eyes dart to the Sneezy Dragon. "Mmm buurrip... s'pose you do. aye. I'm being the last shurvivor of the Crow's Tooth... a fine ship, fine ship. The blunderbuss belonged to the first mate. And thish, thish blade was a gift from poor Captain Zoventai." He shakes his drooping head and pats the sawtooth sabre.
"I can understand you,i'm a shipwrecked sailor and lost the ship that i was a crewmember of.How much time since you have been here? What happened to the rest of the crew,or to Captain Zoventai? Cannibals took them?"
Tol eyes the room suspiciously, keeping a calming hand on Gorra. "Hmmph. How many sole survivors of a wrecked ship are there on this island? It seems to be going around."
Syndlara snickers quietly at Tol's words, eyes roaming the interior of the crab-contraption. "Quite an impressive piece of work you have here, uh, Kekkaw. Where'd you get it?"
Scare out of his mind Mugambi follows the rest of the party inside the giant crab. After realising its a house he calms down and starts to pay more attention to Kekkaw. If he has been on this island for as long as it looks he must have good information about its dangers!
He wispers to Gatherine.
Da ya want da blanderbas? We could try trade...
After talking to da dwarfess he comes close to the Tengu and enters the conversation.
Its lovely home indeed.
How long ya been in dis island Chief Kekkaw?
"I can guess human cannibals aren't interested in eating you, but don't they bother you at all? And i would like to have a closer look to that sword if you don't mind."
While passing nearby Mugambi Iolana whispers to him "Remember me to try and trade for that blade too."
Although I've only ever used pistols I'll take whatever firearm I can get until I can forge me own.Are you willing to trade for it,Mr.Kekkaw?
Her eyes,shining with a longing light,reflected the blunderbuss propped against the wall.
I bet I can drop those cannibal bastards like scarecrows on a windy day with that...
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"Stopped counting after four years... shtopped caring. My home now. Others eaten by cannibals maybe eight years ago. Last two left helped me clean out this crab. Got idea after bad clams, meep buurrip then thought maybe it not so bad idea."
Kekkaw looks a little uncomfortable... he answers Iolana "Close look fine. " then Gatherine - his twitches increasing .... "Heh buurrip, no shh saw sorry no. Can't trade. Was gift from the Captain! Heh No... no one uses! No one touch! Bukkaw!" He moves in between the two and his hanging weapons.
"Wait..." his beady eyes narrow even more as he looks at Gatherine. "Can you fix? Can you make blunderbussh work again? Maybe I... buurrip.. trade you broken flintlock for fixing broken blunderbuss, aaaand hard tack ... have urchins for tack. Ke ke could see what else you have I want, before I tell you what else I have to trade, eh? Hmm?"
"So there were others;and you never saw anyone else passing by like us in these years? Apart from cannibals."
Iolana takes a closer look without taking the serrated sabre,then again talks to Kekkaw "If it is ok for you i would like to cast a simple spell to examine the blade,i won't take it or ruin it."
Gatherine frowned thoughtfully.She specialized exclusively in pistols ever since her father allowed her access to his firearms--with ample enough time she could learn to use the blunderbuss effectively without fumbling with it.
But time to practice wasn't what she had--especially with a tribe of depraved cannibals hunting them. Perhaps she could find the resources to forge either another gun or improve upon her own somewhere within Kekkaw's crab-hut....
When she heard the crow-man mention a broken flintlock,her face split into a pleased grin.
Oi,I can fix it alright ...
Are there any friendly natives Chief? We only meet cannibals... Mugambi asks keeping a good distance from the tengo's belongins.
Kekkaw relaxes, and answers Iolana's first question ..."Mmm hmm. Yes, just recently two others, yes. Before that, years ago there was a group of twenty or so... near wiped out by cannibals in the valley between the bluffs"
After Iolana continues, he responds coolly "To weigh it's worth vershus mine? Why should I mind?"
It looks like he is about to have another fit, until he hears Gatherine. "Fix yesh?!" He does a little nervous speechless dance. He slides the ladder over a couple feet, climbs it, pulls back part of the ceiling tarp, which exposes a small shelf above. He takes a small sack from the shelf, drops down, and empties the contents on the floor. You see pieces that you can see might be part of a gun, but the random bits of intricate metal pieces looks more like the bottom of a gnome's toolbox than a weapon.
After beaming, apparently pleased with what he has presented to you... Kekkaw turns to Mugambi. "No no, buurrip... nothing friendly here."
Among random bits of metal, there is... what was at one point a double barreled pistol. One barrel sits on top of the other, and it was made to swing open to the right for reloading. It looks like that someone completely torqued the hinge mechanism, and completely disassembled the pistol. It is difficult to tell if you will be able to get it to function by just looking at the pieces... but it does not look impossible
It'll take me some time...but I can definitely fix the blunderbuss.It'll be good as gold....And use these bits to make another gun.You've got yourself a deal.
Iolana turns to Kekkaw slightly surprised by the tengu's statement "A couple ? Recently? What did they look like?"
During the tengu's speech,the varisian girl casts Detect magic on the sawtooth sabre.
The sabre emits a faint magic aura.
"Looked human... man and woman, carrying a crate... buurrip, this morning... Late mornin, I believe yes. Went south .... Probably dead and eaten by now."
At least a couple hours. You can repair, but designing and building a new gun is currently beyond your ability.
Tol has been gazing idly around at the bric-a-brac in the wall nooks, and the makeshift rainwater harvesting system. Good work of engineering, that, given the materials available. The whole thing, really. Kept him alive this long. As Iolana is prying about the sawtooth saber, he steps in, "Now don't you worry, Mr... Cuckoo. You invited us in, showing us hospitality and rescuing us from those savages. We'll not repay our host with robbery or worse, on my honor as a Cherthand. Miss Zerengo is just... curious." He looks pointedly at Iolana. A little too curious, maybe...
Tol gives a decisive nod and looks to the others. "Aye, that sounds like them alright. Headed south, you say? Hmm, what's to the south, Mr. Cuckoo?"
Gatherine eased herself down onto the floor with a thump,stretching out her legs and pulling out her gunkit.Taking off her tricornered hat and setting it aside,she cracked her stubby fingers and settled into work on the blunderbuss and the heap of metal bits that had once been a gun.
"I'm done, thanks a lot for your patience,Mr.Cherthand here is right,i'm very curious and love blades"
Iolana was thinking she loves blades,especially magical ones,but she refrained from completing the phrase.
"Yeah,Mr.Cherthand,looks like we are heading South"
The cracks of light that reach you dim, as the sun goes down. It is quite steamy in the shell, and smells less than fresh. Shortly before it gets unbearable, you start feeling cool sea breeze whistling in under the main carapace - creating a noticeable difference in temperature.
Kekkaw climbs the ladder again - grabbing the spyglass on his way up, and squeezes between the tarp and the wall. You hear a "slide and click" sound as he slides the little portal in the shell to look outside.
He bends down at the waist, holding the tarp up with his free arm... "When I say south, I mean where I saw the twenty able-bodied folk get ambushed and shlaughtered. The dry riverbed that runs between the bluffs. Wouldn't rishk it myself. Buh buh buurrip, happy to help all you folk hollow out some giant crabs for yourselves... Don't think you'll make it to the lighthouse if that's whats on your minds. Mmmm."
He shimmies back between the tarp and wall with the spyglass... "Mmm. Torches... none near.... but they are on the hunt."
"What it is this about a lighthouse? Is there one? Where it is?"
Syndlara mutters, "Not a very effective lighthouse, considering how many shipwrecks end up here."
She looks up at where Kekkaw went and asks, "Can you tell how many torches?"
Engrossed in her tinkering,Gatherine cocked her head as a thought struck her.
Uh-oh...guys,I just realized something...How well are the others holding up?Unless they're just hunting us,what if the cannibals found the camp and attacked the others? Poor Jask!
"The lighthouse is at their main camp... southwest tip of the "Shiv". Aye, the Shiv itself summons hungry storms that pulls wayward ships onto it's jagged shores...
Just see a few torches... Two on the eashtern bluff, buurrip, and one halfway between here and there."
"Thanks for the help Kekkaw,but i really need to ask why you don't use that sabre the way it should be intended to.I guess captain Zoventai would like to know you used his?her? blade to kill some of those savages.Especially if you hold a grudge against them for killing your friend.And believe me, that is a blade"
We actually killed about half a dozen of em already...
Since da cannibals follow us now Jask must be alright.
Any odar interesting buildings on dis island chief Kukkaw? Or other tribes of folk?...
"Haven't traveled the whole island, but I've seen the plant people. I've seen goblins with tentacles for legs Mhmm, buurrip. Don't know if they count ash folk.... No other buildings though... The cannibals jusht use the lighthouse in their primitive rituals... it is not lit."
"Goblins with tentacle-legs?" Syndlara echoes incredulously. "Where did you see those?"