Sunny skips over the sand and looks aroun.
"Geeeeee.... They done payed us a vist, hey?" She looks around at the devastation before bouncing over to the captive fellow
Eventually she turns to her companions and crew.
"Well... I follered them folks in'a canoes up river a ways till they comes ta they's village. So.... we can be gettin' tha' jolly boats t'gether an' be sortin' things out, hey?" She asks/suggests brightly. (^_^)
The bodies of the warriors wear little to no armor (enviable in this muggy heat). They have clubs studded with obsidian blade/spikes and a mix of bone knives and rusty daggers. They also have pouches of odd, almost random insignificant items; like buttons, seashells, knucklebones, catseye agates, civilized coins (pierced through and strung like necklaces), jade oblongs with wierd glyphs, etc.
Sunny does her best to at least make the prisoner comfortable.
Upon the natives pouches/pockets being divested, Sunny's comment is,
"Oh! Pretty!" And she eagerly/enthusiastically/inquisitivly sorts through the items. (^_^)
And she proudly holds up a trinket that catches her eye. (^_^)
"It would be good to discover from the prisoner what will be done with their captives, but we should plan to move quickly...."
Burian allows his arcane sight to manifest while he watches Sunny go through the savage's trappings.
He gestures to the captive... "The tribal tattoos... a primitive form of magic."
Heal him? Bryson doesn't understand why we aren't cutting him into small bits and using him as chum. "Ah say we skin'im an take his magic away."
"Ah say we skin'im an take his magic away."
Sunny's large blue eyes seem t grow a little wider at Bryson's words.
"Skin 'im? But we's only jus' met 'im" She looks to the bound fellow and back to Brysons and the others.
"How's we s'posed ta know why people do things less we be askin' 'em?" Sunny gently reaches out and pokes the fellow hoping he'll awaken.
"I mean, rilly? Knowin' things about why peoples be doin' tha' things they's doin' be tha bestest reason there is ta' be meetin' peoples." She explains, even as she continues to gently poke at the native.
"I agree with Sunny and Burian. It is best if we interrogate the prisoner whilst we prepare to go to the enemy village."
"Agreed, we heal him to the point where he can talk, and we question him....quickly." Ghirrak says, golden eyes glaring at the barbarian intently.
"No. Ah don't need to know what drives this one and his folk. Ah just know he needs killin."
Sunny blinks and looks at Bryson, her head tilting in puzzlement.
*Poke, poke*
"While you indulge your homicidal tendencies, there are people out there we need to find, and anything he can tell us will help." Ghirrak replies.
Bryson eventually relents and leaves to pace the deck.
Spinnaker Jon takes the pipe from his mouth, gazing at the prisoner dispassionately.
Frankly, I think we oughta just dump him over the side fer the crocs. But if'n ye want, I can give 'im a cure light an bring him out of it enough fer ya ta talk ta."
He cocked an eyebrow at the rest of the remaining ships company.
"Or, we can just go in the boats right now. Its dark out, an if Sunny here can steer us right, won't be any better time ta hit 'em. An their casters probably outa power till dawn too."
Sunny looks confused and a little worried about all the talk of feeding peoples to critters, but she bounces to attention at the mention of heading off to get peoples back.
"Aye! I can take ye back ta' where I followed 'em right good!" She affirms enthusiastically. "I even looked around fer things bein' hid about in'a bushes an' stuffs, which I din't see none of." She continues to elaborate on what she saw during her journey to the native's camp. (^_^)
"Though, I be likein' ta' talk ta' feller... Jus' ta' maybe get a idea fer any one who din't join with 'em when they come a callin' to us on'a beach." She explains her reasons for wanting to talk to the bound fellow.
"Maybe they's head man din't come ta call on'a beach an' we's still ta meet 'em? Would be right naffy ta' know who stayed behind at they's village an' stuffs..."
Marius nodded, "Those were some large, impressive spells at play. I daresay it's much better to hit them before they get a chance to replenish their magics. Though I wouldn't count on the casters being entirely defenseless."
"So we do him in then go git our folks? Ah like that plan.
Burian fingercombs gore from his locks, and gives the savage one last disdainful look...
"I'll not vote for sparing his life."
He tightens his own straps, and checks his gear - preparing for the raid.
"Sorry Sunny.. I can't let your heart skew the scales. This savage is only evil wearing the skin of a man."
... then nods. "Welt and I are ready."
"We should strike now."
"I am not fond of executing prisoners, I would prefer we wait until we find out the exact circumstances of this raid." Finnian says with a scowl of distaste.
"We can always kill him later if your view of their evil proves to be true, but if we kill him now we cannot take it back."
Spinnaker Jon leveled a stare at Devon and then glanced at the overcast night sky.
"Right then. Seems ta me a good questionin' takes time we don't have, and the night ain't gonna last forever. Jimbo! Clap this feller in irons and secure him below."
He nodded at the companions.
"I'll anchor the ship midstream here, out of easy reach from the shore and darkened. You boys with magic and darkvision go rescue the rest of the passengers and crew. Better take the longboat too, you'll have way more people on the way back."
Sunny bounces to a salute to the orders to break out the long-boat.
Before scampering off to gather some of her things and get herself ready for the coming trip up river to get folks back from the natives.
Once people are ready and in the ship's boats, she slips over the side and moves to lead them up stream towards the native's camp/village/place.
She keeps her swimming speed to that which the rowers can best handle as well as keeping most of her blond mop above the waters. (^_^)
Bryson, in his air elemental form, follows along in the air.
With his darkvision Ghirrak takes to the front of the boat when they launch, keeping Sunny in sight as they progress.
After rowing for what seems like weeks, but was probably only a couple of hours, Sunny stops at what looks like every other vegetation covered jungle river bank you've seen.
You see narrow trails leading further into the jungle. Are those drums you hear?
You realize some of those treetrunks are actually totem poles, covered with ferocious faces carved into the wood.
You sense magic; an Alarm spell to be precise, anchored to the totem poles. You feel that the magic has been... depleted somehow. It cannot operate as it was designed, at least for now.
"Canoes.Under those green mats" Ghirrak says quietly pointing toward the wet hulls. "Look at the tree trunks. Totems. They probably took those trails deeper in the jungle."
Bryson-aeromental follows the trail.
Sunny nods and bounces happily, pleased that everything is both as she left it and that she's actually found the right place a second time (^_^)
She quickly begins to drag half the canoes back into the river (About half way in) and place all the paddles into them. The remaining half she also drags into the river... though this time she doesn't stop and adds a few loads of stones in them to help keep them on the bottom of the river.
"This way, we can be usin' them folks paddles agin 'em. All'a folks we need ta' rescue? Some of 'em can help paddle them own ways back down'a stream, like" She whispers happily as she works.
"Then, when tha' other people come chasin' us? They's gon'a has ta' be runnin' after us an such." She pauses.
"There were a feller... He come ta' home once... He taught us this sayin' when he were teachin' us some of his ways of fightin'."
"*Ye can walk a mile in t'other man's shoes..... Then, when he's realisin' ye nicked his shoes... ye be a mile away!*" She giggles at her remembered words of wisdom.
Once her work with the native's canoes is done she'll begin to work her way towards the native's camp with every one else. She brings one of the paddles with her.
She also keeps her eyes peeled for anything since she didn't really approach the main village last time she was here abouts.
Being well aware that he wasn't the best scout among the group, Marius crept along towards the rear. When Ghirrak pointed out the totems however, he checked them over for magic.
"There's an alarm spell anchored on the totems," he said, "Depleted and non-functional for now, probably due to all the magic they were throwing about earlier. Still,that could change. Something to be aware of."
Sunny's eyes grow a little wider at Marius' comment about the carved poles.
"Be there a way ta' make 'em not magic fer a time?" She asks. "So's we can be gettin' folks past 'em with out nuffin' nasty happenin'? Be right bad luck we get folks out'a they's village only ta be stuck up by them poles..." Sunny frowns,
"They's right nasty lookin' things too. Wish I be havin' some 'wood' shapin' magic about. I be fixin' they's faces right enough, sure'n I would..." She mutters.
Burian invokes his own arcane sight, and takes a quick look at the totems in question to address Sunny's concern.
"Nothing more than an alarm from what I can see."
He gestures and intones to conjure up a protective layer of force.
Bryson-aeromental continues to scan the scout. "That's some good thinkin' with the boats, Sunny." At Marius and Burian's assurance that the totems will not raise an alarm, he goes forward to rescue the hostages or to avenge them.
(^_^)
Sunny beams happily with Bryson's comment as she slips through the jungle foliage towards the native's camp/village.
As the group gets closer and closer to thier objective Suny begins to skip, shimmy, twist, twirl and shake to the rythmic beat of the jungle drums.
All the while slipping silently through the foliage.
In the darkness it should be impossible for anyone without Darkvision to see anything; but you realize that there is firelight in the distance and the throbbing of drums. You can just barely see trails through the thorny undergrowth between the trees.
As Ghirrak moves forward, he slips some of the poisoned shuriken he carries into his hand.
Bryson-aeromental moves like a slight breeze.
After pausing briefly to cast mage armour on himself, Marius followed along in the others' wake. He probably wasn't the sneakiest person in the group, but he had faith that, if need be, the others would pull him up if he looked like giving them away. If they were going to make a habit of sneaking through dark jungles though, he might have to think about what magical aid he could apply to the task in future.
Sunny continues to sinuously wend her way between the plant fronds. The jungle's natural sounds mixing with those of the primordial drummers. Her own tanned, lithe form twisting and swaying to the thumping beats.
(^_^)
Burian made his best attempt to be silent, but found it difficult to keep up without losing sight of those more skilled at sneaking through the dark jungle. More used to the open seas, he felt a slight claustrophobic panic... along with the fear he'd foul the maneuver.
Devon, being practically blind, moves as carefully as possible. Finding it impossible to keep up with Suny, he will try to use one of the others as a guide.