The snake hisses maniacally: "...kill! kill! kill! kill!..."
Skald's eyes grow big as it looks like you are abandoning him to the snake.
"Don't leave me!" He whispers.
Professor Forol looks confused.
"What are you talking about? Isn't this where we're supposed to go? That's Fort Greenrock!" He protested, pointing under the trees where you can just barely glimpse the remains of the Fort Greenrock walls through the twilight of the foliage.
Seeing that things have definitely gotten out of hand, Ghirrak vaults over the bough, dashing through the surf onto the beach to assist.
"No, professor. We got to git on from here. There's only death here." Bryson is mindful to keep a firm grip on Forol. His worry over the little academic keeps him from helping Skald.
Annie mutters a mild curse under her breath. "If something tries to eat them, I can't be out here, too far to help!" She looks at the men manning the ship. "I'll go see if I can get the Professor to come back here and wait. Don't wander!" She climbs out of the boat and moves a bit toward shore. "Professor!" she shouts, trying to reason with the man, "Come back here, please, I have something of critical importance you need to know in order to proceed!"
"The critical information that research is harder to do if you get your fool head torn off!" she thinks to herself.
Drawing his sword on the run, Phillip swipes at the snake attempting to draw it away from Skald long enough for the servant to escape.
Phillip cuts the constrictor in half.
Skald gasps in relief. "Oh, thank you sir."
"Wait! Wait! Isn't this what we're here for? To go to Fort Greenrock? It's just over there through those trees!" Protests Professor Forol as he is pulled back towards the Launch. "There is some kind of enchantment here! We should investigate!"
"Oh, for the love of Cayden!" Annie mutters as she climbs back into the boat. "Thank you, lads, for holding the launch steady." Annie looks distrustfully back at the island. When they get back to the launch, she admits "I don't have the ability to detect magic today. Might anyone else be able to look for magics here?"
"No. It ain't. What's through those trees are the ruins of Fort Greenrock and the villains that brought it to ruin. What's not through them trees is Lady Lavinia and the Blue Nixie." He makes sure that he has Ghirrak's attention for this next part. "It don't look like they ever was here. And whose idea was it to come ashore. Ah told you ah was scouting and not to do anything rash."
Skald, Professor Forol and the Launch's crew all look around at each other and mumble variations of not actually knowing.
After giving Skald an encouraging, gentle push back toward the boat, Phillip pauses for a few seconds to scan the jungle and tries to find the magical enchantment that caught the Professor's attention.
Bryson gives Phillip the stink-eye. He knows it was Phillip's idea. "Let's just get back to the ship so we can find our friends."
Phillip tries to get a better look at the sources of the enchantment. Unaware of Bryson's 'look', he points up into the trees his hand taking in the area of the magic. "The Professor was right. There is something in the trees about twenty feet up. There and there and there. Can you make out anything?"
"Ah can make us out leaving afore you get us stranded and killed."
"Oh for crying out loud!" Phillip exclaims as he rounds on Bryson before taking a deep breath and lowering his voice.
"The Blue Nixie was supposed to meet us here. Correct." He waves a hand out toward the empty sea. "Well she's not here. Which means either she's been here and left, which makes no sense at all. Or, she's still on her way."
He turns back toward the jungle examining the magic auras. "If she's still on her way and we leave, then they'll most likely come ashore looking for us or to investigate what happened at the fort. That means they'll run into whatever that magic is and whoever cast it without our help. If we stay and wait for them on the ship, we'll have what ever destroyed the fort at our back. An unknown power that destroyed a whole fortified township. I don't think that just hoping it leaves us alone while our lovely little ship sits in the bay is the best strategy."
He looks back at the launch and Ghirrak. Lowering his voice further he adds, "Finally, the Nixie could have been here and sunk by whatever attacked. Her crew could have been captured or escaped into the jungle. If that's the case, it's our duty to go after them."
Trying to get a better look, Phillip moves a few steps closer to the jungles edge saying, "By all means, send the Professor back with the crew. I don't really know how he got aboard in the first place. But the rest of us should stay and try to learn what happened."
"We investigate until we confirm that the Nixie hasn't been here." Ghirrak says, walking towards the jungle.
Phillip again gets the stink eye while Bryson follows Ghirrak.
Phillip catches up with Ghirrak and quickly points out the areas of magic. Adjusting his palm frond hat to get the sun out of his eyes, he tries once again to actually see what is generating the aetheric auras.
It is difficult to make your way under the trees, as the wildlife is far more aggressive than it should be. Even herbivores that should run from you attack. Numerous maggot-ridden carcasses of animals killed but not eaten are scattered about, aggressive swarms of flies discouraging approach.
But eventually you are far enough in that Phillip can point out one source of the area enchantment concealed up under the branches of a tree a couple dozen feet up.
Up ahead you see one of the pointed log walls of Fort Greenrock, fire scored and still covered with hundreds of black fletched arrows sprouting from it. You see a tree sprouting where the gates were set, said gates now thirty feet up in the branches. It's like it grew into a hundred year old tree in moments.
"See this land is already watched over by a World Guardian. We would do well to leave now. Now!"
"More like poisoned by some crazed bastard" Ghirrak mutters scanning the area.
"Well, whatever or whoever it was certainly didn't want the fort intact and didn't want anyone coming closer for a look." Phillip says as he futilely slaps at yet another swarm of flies. He continues to scan the trees for signs of human bodies or possible enemies beyond the crazed wildlife and insects. "Either way, we'll not find out what happened standing here."
Cautiously moving forward to the opening, Phillip scans the wall and nearby trees for any sign of human bodies, traps, or other potential enemies beyond the crazed wildlife and insects.
Ghirrak nods stalking around the fort.
"Ghirrak, Ah scouted. They ain't here. They ain't never here. And we ought not be here. Let's go." Bryson keeps on the lookout for anything sneaking up on them. He knows they're out there looking at them right now.
Perception
Annie reaches for one of Bryson's hands, if he's relaxed enough to let her grab it. If not, she'll just stay near him. She asks Phillip, without looking at him, "Are they ensorcelled, or permanently enchanted, can you tell? Curse my foolishness for not asking Cayden Cailean for the ability to see magics myself today! I might be able to dispel one."
There's a bit more light here, where some trees have been burned and are just now growing back. Flowering vines and bamboo grow everywhere inside the fort now.
When you pass the gate, you see several points interior to the wall have been splintered and breached. You see obvious evidence of great battle here. Dried blood stains the timbers of collapsed buildings here and there. Broken steel weapons, and even more obsidian, bone and tooth weapons.
Despite hope, no stores remain in Fort Greenrock, nor are there any sign of bodies or survivors of the approximately forty or so monks who had manned the fort here. The battle occurred months ago.
You realize that's the reason there are so few animals here, and the ones present are so aggressive. When the spell was first set, it would have been impossible for the monks to leave without being eaten. And after the battle, the animals under the influence killed each other. Their carcasses are everywhere.
There is also something odd about the tree blocking the gate.
Bryson Takes 10 on each of those
Knowledge Nature +10 Total 20
Spellcraft +5 Total 15
Druid Level +6 Total 16
Bryson looks intently at the tree and gasps. He then speaks words of power that causes the branches to move.
Phillip spends a moment to examine the magic in the trees more closely.
"It looks like the magic is a wide area Emotion spell that only affects animals and lower intelligence creatures."
He points out the source of the magic tucked under the tree branches. "If we remove those, it should weaken and eventually break the spell." He slaps at another swarm of flies. "And it would help get rid of these blasted bugs."
The tree limbs *creeek* as they unwind under Bryson's spell. A wax sealed bone scroll tube drops free into Bryson's hand.
There is a sheet of foolscap paper with Kaskus Kiel's bold hand inscribed.
Looking at the closest one, you can just barely see a crude manlike fetish made of sticks and twisted vine. You recall the design is much like the wild shamans of the lizard folk. You feel a palpable psychic pressure as you near it. Antipathy perhaps?
Bryson shows the letter to Annie and Ghirrak. "Ah told you they weren't never here. Now we ought to git away from here 'fore its too late."
Ghirrak nods quietly "At least now we know they made it safely through and where we need to go, that is far better than wandering aimlessly."
"Now we can go."
Annie nods. "It's a good job, everyone. This is exactly what we needed to know! Let's go find them!"
Phillip starts to point out the little fetishes as he struggles to overpower its magical defense, but notices everyone quickly heading back to the ship. "I guess we'll just leave this bit o' nasty magic here for later then." He mutters while running to catch up with the others.
Bryson looks to say something to Phillip, but a glance at Annie stops the thought before he can put it to words. Instead he mumbles "Should have listened to me in the first and we wouldn't have wasted this much time.
"We also wouldn't know for sure where to look Bryson."
"The next port is the obvious choice. Its where ah said we ought to go before Phillip just had to put us all in danger." Bryson shrinks from a glare from Annie.
The crew rows you back to the ship quietly, sensitive to the tension amongst the ships partners.
The ship weighs anchor and sets sail again, making way south along the coast.
The days pass peacefully as the crew works to repair the battle damage, then the thousand and one tasks a ship needs to stay clean and shipshape.
The colonists, restless and bored, pitch in as they can; several take to the sailing life with enthusiasm.
The weather, already warm, turns hot. Awnings are stretched overhead to bring relief from direct sunlight, and the afternoon tropical showers are as warm as blood.
At night and in clear weather you see strange new constellations rise above the southern horizon, the light hard and brilliant. A mysterious blue-green phosphorescence lights up the Savage Kraken's wake, tracing her sweep through the night.
Occasionally dolphins would play in the foaming bow wave, and once you could swear a mermaid poked her head above the surface to wave at you. Despite the crews demand they circle back, Spinnaker Jon refused; saying it was a very bad idea.
The coast was endless unrelieved jungle. There was no sign of even native barbarians. Only one thing marred the endless green; a giant burned out area, perhaps half a mile wide.
You can see that the surrounding jungle has had several decades of regrowth; but the burned area remains burned. Nothing grows there at all.
Eventually Spinnaker Jon calls the partners to the Captain's cabin.
"Alright now," Spinnaker Jon says without preamble.
"With the loss of Fort Greenrock, we weren't able to replenish like we planned. With another three weeks to get to Renkrue, we aren't gonna make it. Luckily, Lavinia's parents had a spot along the way they liked to water at."
He unrolls a chart of the Amedio coast.
"Here," He points to a place where a river intersects the coast.
"The Atikula River pours over a two hundred foot cliff. As pure as water gets along the jungle."
He nods at Annie.
"Thanks ta Annie's blessings here, we don't actually need ta water; but the place is said ta be protected on four sides, has a lot of game that can be hunted and edible plants that can be gathered as well."
He looks at you all.
"Any thoughts?" He inquired.
"That's most assured where Lady Lavinia gonna go for. Even though Kaskus can provide them with water from Gozreh's bounty, she's gonna go there. We should go there too."
Bryson will continue reporting the weather to Spinnaker Jon (Read Weather) and use his spells and abilities to help fix and maintain the ship and crew.
He'll spend time each day in prayer to Gozreh.
He keeps away from Phillip unless Annie is there.
"Sounds like the best plan we have available at this point" Ghirrak says. Over the past few days, the powerful monk has become increasingly silent.
With general acceptance, Spinnaker Jon nods and has the cabin boy, Tavey Nask, pass the order to Booker at the helm.
The next day the Kraken comes inshore again and searches for the river outflow. After a couple of hours, Bryson tastes freshwater and the ship turns into a well concealed inlet.
With the crew using poles, the ship slowly nosed her way through a shallow river alluvial fan (remarkably well concealed from the sea) before finally emerging into clear water again.
You see a great freshwater pool nearly a mile in diameter, the water a brilliant azure. To the north, south and east, the pool was bounded by low hills with open forests, long grass and flowering bushes. To the west, the continent lifts up more than a hundred feet of cliff. Over it pours the crystal clear waters of the Atikula River in a kaleidoscope of spray down into the pool below. This is a perfect place for a ship to water.
You see no sign of any buildings, or even any sign of people at all.
The ships drops anchor in the middle of the pool, and the colonists (and not a few crewmen) start clamoring to go ashore.
Knowledge: Nature (Take 10 for 20 total)
Bryson-Air Elemental will scout the area to make sure it's safe for the passengers and crew to go ashore and to find a good place for a picnic with Annie.
"How long are we going to stay here?"
Bryson-air elemental lifted off and cruised around overhead.
As the little tornado flew around scaring birds out of the trees, Spinnaker Jon shouted ”Pipe down!” at the commotion of passengers shouting and crewmen lowering the ships boats to the water.
He glared at the passengers and crew until they quieted and paid attention.
”Alright! I know you all want to go ashore, but we’re going to do it in an orderly fashion!
“Anyone going ashore will do so in a group of at least THREE!
“Only HALF of the crew will be ashore at one time! They’ll go by watches.
“Each group will be led by a ships’ officer or one of the partners!
“Now get yourself into a group!
“Mister Bonden will lead one! Mistress Venkali will lead the second!
“Ah..”
Spinnaker Jon looks towards Annie, Dgrim, Ghirrak, and Phillip, clearly wanting to know if you’ll take a group ashore.
You see this little five mile wide (north-south) and one mile deep section of coast is protected very well by the ocean to the east, the cliff to the west, and impassable swamps to north and south.
The area is lightly forested, with none of the triple canopy you would find deeper into the jungle.
With the light forest, the frequent shadow of the cliffs and the onshore breeze, the area is cooler than the tropical norm.
There are also fruited trees and berries available in the undergrowth as well.
You see no sign of large predators; which is kind of a shame as there is an overpopulation of northern wild pigs, probably escapees from a visiting ship. Left unchecked, they could wreck the whole ecosystem here.
The water is mostly clear, you can see a lot of fish, small sharks and gar, with sizable crab.
Ghirrak nods quietly to Jon.
"Aye, I'll take a group over." Phillip says to Jon and then strolls over to one of the boats. With a flourish of his palm frond hat he signals to those who would wish to join his group.