Our southerly bearing bore the proverbial fruit, as we quickly came upon another path that aided our travel immensely. As we progressed, I spotted several palm trees along the beaches, but unfortunately more of the strange skeletons lashed upon poles in the surf.
I saw little reason to risk unnecessary danger in light of our pressing need to find our friends, so I urged the group continue. "More of those unpleasant skeletons. Though there may be a slim chance that one or more will have some sort of clue, I think our best course will be to continue to follow this trail. What do you think?"
"Huh....I think someone's been hungry."
Rizz points out the shattered coconuts that litter the beach beneath the first three trees along the beach.
"Think the skeletons eat?"
Gall eyes the wide sea and the sunny beach with a small smile, simply enjoying the view for a moment. Once the moment ends, he casts a glance back to the beach and frowns thoughtfully at the coconuts as he moves to check on the trees. If nothing else, coconuts would make a great breakfast. "Doubt it, lass. I just hope it ain't nothin' else what's hungry. Reckon we ain't lucky enough for it to be them critters what took our friends, anyhow."
Cueta nods, thoughtful, as Rizz points out the coconuts. "Our friends maybe? Maybe they stopped here with their captors to eat before moving on?"
Kneeling, Cueta looks along the sandy beach, hoping to find bootprints.
Esmarelda picked up one of the shards from the coconuts and looked at the side that would have been eatable. "Maybe, hey Gall, could you take a look at this and see if a human ate on it?" She asked as she held the fruit out to the half-giant. "And I think Artevious is correct. We should follow the path... Oh and not touch the skeletons."
"Generally a good idea not to touch anything in the wilderness unless you know exactly what it is...yeah, I'm a little paranoid but I have some bad experiences with a jungle trip a few years back", Harmony says, and sits down on a small rock while watching Cueta's back as she's examining the sandy beach. "At a more relaxed time, this would be a lovely beach to just spend time on...bring a towel and a picnic basket, enjoy the sun and occasionally go dip in the water. But I can't say I'm in that sort of a mood right now." Her face frowns a little bit as she thinks. Or am I? Maybe it's just what I need? She puts a finger to her chin and looks thoughtful.
Gall pulls his attention away from the trees and the potential fruit they may bear to make his way over to Esmarelda. "A'course, lass. Let's see what ye got, shall we?" Taking the coconut shards from her, he turns it over in his hands and eyes the shell critically.
"Can't say as I can make heads or tails of it, I'm afraid. Mayhap Cueta'll have a better idear. Oi, lass! Come have a look at these things, will ye?"
Much as we had hoped to continue our search for our missing crewmates, there seemed a strange interest in a bunch of cast-off coconut shells and who had dined upon them. I for one didn't see the fascination.
"What does it matter?" I had to ask. "We've a pressing need here, and I would say that coconut shells aren't going to yield us the answers we seek. Shall we move onward?" I suggested, gesturing with my cutlass toward the trail.
Gall takes a look at the coconuts and is not quite sure how they were opened, cracked in half perfectly it would have required significant strength to...
Before the half-giant can finish his thought, assailants exit the sound around he and Esmarelda seeking out a meatier meal!
Gall gets snapped by two of the Crabs
Esmarelda is able to nimbly dodge the crabs.
Initiative
Esmarelda
Artevious
Cueta
Gall
Harmony
Rizz
Giant Crabs
"Learning healing magics after all those lashings by Scourge is turning out to be useful!" Harmony says as she moves behind Gall and if she can still act in the round after moving up to the half-giant, she casts Cure Light Wounds.
"There's something strange about these crabs! They smell... off!" Cueta screams, drawing an arrow.
Stilling her breath, Cueta notches the arrow and watches the crab that attacked Gall, before loosing an arrow at it.
Suddenly, we were set upon by a number of vicious crabs hidden in the sands. Thankfully, I had my cutlass out already, so I moved to one of the oversized crustaceans wounded by Cueta's arrow and slashed at it.
Having fortunately never actually put down his broadsword, Gall snarls in pain as massive crabs erupt from the beach. With Harmony's help though, he manages to stay in fighting shape. And so, he rounds on the crabs with weapons in hand and murder in his eyes.
Esmarelda jumped back, giving a gasp in surprise. "That's the biggest crab I've ever seen!" She said as she drew her rapier. "I'm starting to think they've been the ones eatin' on those."
"Food!" Rizz screams as she draws her Greatsword and charges to attack the crabs.
Beautiful Beach -
Cueta, Arty and Gall absolutely crush one of the Crabs which struck Gall. The smell as its guts squish out is horrific.
Esmarelda's rapier glances off of the protective shell of the one that struck out at her. Rizz steps next to the Varisian and lands a crushing blow, thoigh not fatal, that the crab does not even react to!
The two remaining crabs press the attack but with only one claw each.
Gall sidesteps the remaining crab threatening him while Esmarelda is struck and her leg pinched badly.
With one crab down, Gall calls a quick, "Thanks, lass," over his shoulder to both Harmony and Cueta for the aid. He turns to the other crab in reach and tries to slash its claws clean off!
Dropping her bow, Cueta draws her boarding pike and charges the crab nearest to Gall, stabbing at it from behind the safety of her hulking friend.
"Stop pinching my new friends!"
She attacks the same one, eager to see the shell break.
The cracked-open crustaceans let off a horrific stink. I know Rizz at first seemed excited about having crab for dinner, but I hoped she reassessed her appetite once she got a whiff.
My companions were doing an admirable job of dealing with the crabs, so I moved forward in the hopes of finishing one off before it caused further harm us.
Harmony moves to melee position and gives the most injured looking crab a swing of her club.
Beautiful Beach -
Gall cracks the Giant Crabs shell while Arty's Cutlass slices the exposed flesh beneath ending the threat of the poor creature.
Rizz's desire for dinner fully cracks the shell of her opponent as well.
Harmony's club smacks the CRrab that pinched Esmarelda for good measure.
It is clear that whatever foulness infected those ghouls may well have effected these creatures as well for the stench of the undead permeates from these two time corpses. This meat has rotted and even Rizz's growling stomach is unlikely to chance this meal.
Cueta picks up a crab, her nose wrinkling in disgust. "They're rotted, through and through. I'd not eat one."
Tossing the crab back to the beach, Cueta picks up her pike, looking down the beach to the south.
"Ugh. Living dead all over the place. What caused it? Is there some kind of unholy presence on this island that permeates everything? And does it have something to do with our missing people?"
"Blegh," Rizz moans as she finally realizes her hearty seafood buffet was a walking, rotting dump.
Rizz wipes off any slime on her weapon, and goes back to heading south, hoping for some fresh seafood along the way.
"This place... It's like everything on it is dead...." Esmarelda pointed out as she looked the crabs over. "I really hope we find our friends fast..." She commented.
"Them frogs weren't. Far as I could tell, anyhow..." Gall chimes in as he sets the flat of his blade against one shoulder, following along to the south. "Maybe it's just this half of the island?"
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I didn't quite know what to say about the general unhealth of the denizens of this island. Truly, I was hopeful that the giant frogs we ate yesterday were nourishing, as they were already digested my myself and my companions. I nodded at Gall's suggestion that it may have been just a different side of the island, and resolved to forge ahead.
"Good questions, and good points. There's quite the strange mysteries on this island. The sooner we've found our friends and have shoved off its shoals the better."
Day 6 - Late Afternoon - Bonewrack Isle -
As you push south along the road or dirt path depending on how you look at it, you sense that it is beginning to veer to the west.
Indeed it does and the path leads into jungle though the growth here is not as dense or as wet as what you faced to the north of the island.
As the sun begins to dip in the sky the crew comes upon a fork in the road.
One leads west up into the foothills of the mountain. The other leads south to what appears to be a clearing in the jungle containing overgrown fields of some sort of corn. The crops have gone wild, creating a high barrier wafting gently in the breeze.
"We don't got much daylight left," Rizz comments, as she watches the sky.
Rizz places her greatsword on the ground, balanced well, and then lets it fall.
"The mountains it is!." she smiles broadly and starts marching forward.
"I agree with the west idea." Esmarelda said as she moved to follow after Rizz. "Though I may not really agree on how she chose." She said with a small laugh.
"Quite so," I agreed with Esmarelda's assessment of Rizz's decision-making style. However, it did seem like the mountains were something we were going to have to climb eventually. Something about a wild corn field seemed rather... ominous. I couldn't help but be somewhat anxious.
"Let's bypass this bygone field," I chimed in. "The mountains will give us a better vantage, at the very least."
Day 6 - Early Evening - Bonewrack Isle -
As the crew heads west, they notice that the path gradually turns to the north but not too much backtracking is taking place. A single path ascends the cliff via simple steps carved at intervals that allow for passage albeit not easy passage. The vegetation has been cleared along the path so that at least is a plus for the weary travelers.
The sun begins to dip in the sky bring on the night as you all arrive near the stockade. It is a well-built timber stockade that appears, through the gaps, to surrounds a small lodge in a jungle clearing. Vines wrap and strangle a great tree that rises next to the lodge, blocking light from above. Beside it is a bubbling spring!
While it may be a long trek back to the dingy at least now you know where to come to in order to get the water the crew so desperately needs to continue their journey.
The stockade gate is ajar and the walls are made of sharpened wooden stakes 7 feet high. The tree inside appears to be one way to climb to the top of the stockade though there may be other easier ways to climb once you have explored the area further.
Cueta nods and points. "Oi. Spyglass fixed onto the stockade wall. Likely saw us coming already, but be careful none-the-less." Hoisting her pike and spitting, Cueta heads into the stockade.
"Aye, I see it. Maybe there ain't noone up there and we get to take us home a nice treat. Wouldn't that be a fine surprise?" Gall suggests with a quick smile Cueta's way. Nonetheless, he does heft his sword as he follows her up.
Rizz wonders if a bit more exploration would be better, but shrugs and follows suit.
"What do you think is inside guys?"
Day 6 - Early Evening - Bonewrack Isle -
Cueta, Gall, and Rizz step into the stockade leaving the rest of the crew at the front entrance. The stench of rot is overpowering and flies swarm aggressively within the room.
The source of the stench is obvious, the hooded corpse hanging from a chain beam off of the floor nearby here a stool lies kicked over.
Inside is a single chamber, crowded with a large amount of furniture seemingly out of place here on the island considering what you have seen of it thus far, including a comfortable bed, a small writing desk, cooking gear, and several barrels of rotting food.
The spyglass can be reached by climbing a rickety ladder within the stockade or by climbing the tree and walking along the top of the stockade to look through.
Backing out of the palisade, Cueta leans against the wooden walls, sweat beading on her forehead, her stomach in cramps. This time, she manages to avoid vomiting, but it takes all her willpower to do so.
Wiping her forehead, the deckhand takes a deep breath and ducks back into the makeshift fort. Climbing the ladder, Cueta places her eye up to the spyglass, hoping to see what the hanging man had been fixated on.
We had come upon a curious structure at the top of the ridge. A rather defensible stockade loomed tall before us, but no one hailed us from within. Cueta noticed a spyglass set into the wall, and astutely observed that our approach would likely have been spotted had there been anyone occupying the pallisade. But after a moment's discussion, it was deemed that nobody was home.
After a few of our number ventured inside, Cueta immediately backed out, retching. Outside of the frogs we first encountered in the ruins of the bridge, so far everything on this island was rotting and diseased.
Steeling myself for the worst, I stuck my head inside to take a look at whatever may be making that stench.
Though it was disgusting, I must have become rather inured to the stink of decay, because I did not need to fall back. Though of course I did not wish to tarry long, either. As Cueta bravely pushed back inside for a look at the spyglass, I decided to study the writing desk to see if the stockade's final occupant had left some sort of last missive.
Rizz turns a little green. Apparently, this is calling up bad memories about the delicious seafood she thought she was going to have earlier.
She follows as best she can, but eventually.
"Ugh, give me a minute....don't feel the best...."
Esmarelda stuck her head in along with he friends to see what the fuss was about only to quickly leave. She leaned against the building, doing her best not to let her stomach empty.
When the feeling finally left her and pointed inside and said "I don't know about any of you, but at this point I'm a little... weary of bodies... And really not liking that smell..." She told her friends
With a grimace at the sight within the stockade, Gall sets his jaw and steps inside so the rest of the group does not have to. Breathing from between clenched teeth, he quickly takes stock of the room and what lays within. "Wonder what got this poor sod so down in the dumps. Had near to everything he could need right here if he were wantin' to survive."
Shaking his head to take a break from his musings, he prods at the dead man to illustrate his next point. "No sense in cutting him down if we ain't stickin' around. The lot of ye yell if ye find something good." With that out of the way, he sets to frisking the corpse as quickly as he can.
Day 6 - Early Evening - Bonewrack Isle -
Most of the crew is sickened by the stench of the corpse and cannot even enter the last bastion of this doomed soul.
Artevious steps into the room to get a look at the desk while Gall steps over to the corpse for a closer look.
Suddenly without warning the body comes to life and grasps at Gall!
Simultaneously the flies buzzing around the corpse begin to bite the half giant!
Harmony Fortitude Save -
Esmarelda
Artevious
Cueta
Gall
Harmony
Foe + Swarm
Rizz
Cueta Nausea 1 Round
Artevious - GO!
Rizz Nausea 3 Rounds
Foe & Swarm
Gall
Harmony - can act {DM BOT]
Esmarelda - can act
As I'm nauseated, Rizz will just prepare a move action to get out of the way should something move closer to attack her. When its her turn.
Gall and myself were the only ones able to endure the stench, but while I decided to leave the unfortunate soul alone, Gall got too close to the hanged fellow. Worse, just as the crabs and ghoulish ladies we encountered seemed to be animated rotting corpses, so was he. It lashed out at the big man before I was able to voice a word of warning, and then a swarm of buzzing flies surrounded him as well.
Unfortunately, my trusty cutlass would be nigh useless against so many flies as it would take an interminable amount of time killing each of the hundreds with simple slashes. I disliked the thought of being trapped inside the stockade with both the corpse and the flies feeding upon it. Best to let them to each other, I decided.
"Fall back, Gall! Let's get out of here!" I shouted, darting past the hanged man and staying clear of the buzzing swarm.
Once outside, I ran around to the other side of the gate, ready to give it a shove once Gall vacated the premises.
"I told you!!! No more going around corpses!" The varisian woman cried out. "I agree! Gall fall back! Once you're out we can light this place on fire!" Esmarelda called out as she stood just outside the door. She held her rapier in one hand, and a spell readied in another.
Day 6 - Early Evening - Bonewrack Isle -
Gall attempts to fall back away from the creature but his muscles go rigid and he is stuck fast!
Harmony steps into the stockade and reaches for the foul creature.
Cure Light Wounds The positive energy arcing off of her causes the creature to howl in pain.
Esmarelda stepped in, following Harmony's lead, aiming to drive her rapier into the creature before them.
"I don't think Gall can move! We need to get him out of here" She called.