My post got eaten from yesterday on my cell phone. (That or it didn't post.) Lovely!
The night passes and still no orange haired little alchemist wandering into your camp. The group is curious about the disappearance and Alphonse finds the tracks readily enough and follows. The tracks go about 15 minutes from where you set up your temporary camp, is all, near the banks of the river on the other side, where it looks like he was collecting some river bank samples from a couple of different locations.
There is a spot where his gear is kind of strewn about, as if he got interrupted, and there is no sign of him anywhere, the tracks end here.
Do you - head back to camp?
or
Keep looking?
And are you going to set up camp here on a more permanent basis or go out looking?
"Damn. I've lost the tracks." Alphonse says, trying to remain stoic, for the moment.
Alphonse begins scouring the area in the hopes of finding SOMETHING.
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Regardless of what he finds, after a while he chimes in about the campsite.
"I think this may be our best bet so far. It's the only semi fresh water we've found up to now, and water is something we desperately need."
"I don't want to stop looking until we find out exactly what happened, but we also need to think about our survival."
You don't see any other tracks, because there are none. It's not that you lose them, they end here where he was. You look closer and notice that there is some slight dragging in the middle of these walking patterns, as if some sort of a scuffle. You do not see any other tracks as far as what could have been the source of struggle.
You can't read his samples, but fortunately he has taken notes as well and it seems that this water does need to be boiled, but once done it serves as fully irrigated water.
His samples are thrown about as if caught by surprise. Some way off about 50 yards you find one of his potion bottles in the middle of the sand, with no tracks leading up to or going away from.
Wren looks around, disgruntled.
"Where did he go!?"
Wren paces back and forth, occasionally scratching into the ground/sand, looking to dig up some treasure that would point to the gnome's location.
"SQUAWK!!!" Wren yells, hoping Ozm would find his way back to the home nest.
* * *
Finally, Wren gives up, looking at Alfonse in despair.
"Alfonse, it is so sad when chicks leave the nest too soon." Wren looks for a shoulder to cry upon, eventually settling on Shilyn's.
"Oh halfbreed, I'll miss him so...he was a good egg."
Wren, though sad, is ready to move on...pressing forth with the exploration of the island.
I just need one more to confirm either staying and building mega-camp or going further.
"I'm good with making a base camp here near a good water supply and ranging out from here with our scouting... unless you'd all rather not have a base camp at all... Either way..."
You spend the day making and fortifying a base camp.
Go ahead and plot some actions.
Everything with a green circle has been explored. Each hex is about an hours worth of exploration, so you can cover 6-8 per day.
So you leave for the morning to explore, and you see something ... shocking.
Lying in the middle of your camp is a lifeless, once plump little figure, bent at odd angles with orange hair.
You recognize the lump as Os.
Travis walks over to the lump and nudges it gently with one foot to see if there's any life in it... "Something got to him... someone or something that wanted to send us a message..."
"Poor Os. I guess we should be careful to always travel in groups from now on, no one going off on their own anymore."
Wren screams when she wakes to Osm's body in the camp.
"Why is that here!? Who would do such a thing!? Wren screeches, her hands clenching her dagger.
When nothing shows itself, she will calm herself. Again, she will seek sanctuary with Plume.
"He was a good egg. A bird too beautiful for his feathers. That's probably why he was taken. We should be careful, Plumie. We are likely next for we are so colorful and pretty."
Wren will help bury the body.
* * *
Alphonse clenches and unclenches his fists.
"Os didn't deserve this."
"Can anyone tell how he died? If we know, maybe we can track whatever it was down and make sure it never hurts anyone again."
Travis shrugs after examining the body. "I'm not sure.. anyone have any healer training?"
Puncture wound in his jugular, and he looks significantly drained of fluids, just like the monkeys from before.
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Looking over at the others, she lets out a deep sigh. "Well.. Let's just say.. he's dead Travis." Raising to her feet she pauses a moment to push a strand of hair back from her eyes before elaborating. "Just like the monkeys.. twin punctures on the neck, and judging by how pale he is.. I'd wager there's no blood in him either."
Dusting her hands off on her thighs she turns to walk away a few paces to let her mind go over what she's learned.
Alphonse sighs and settles back on his heels for a moment, turned away from Os.
"We should bury him, it's the least we can do I think."
"Does anyone have a shovel?"
Wren will help bury the body, digging in the sand with her claws as necessary.
So sad...
After a short time discussing what each member of the group is going to do (fortifying the camp is very much on the mind of the NPCs) you set out exploring leaving the aforementioned partial party members to set up and defend the camp while you strike out ahead, in search of more fun and adventure, but hopefully not too much.
After a few hours of adventuring to the southwest of your soon to be mega camp you find a few interesting things. The first thing that you find is what looks to be an abandoned campsite. With just a cursory glance around you notice that the campsite has been attacked (faded signs of battle and blood on some of the more permanent fixtures). This particular campsite consists of several small shelters made from driftwood-all have mostly collapsed. A single yellow musk zombie stands forlornly in the middle of the camp, staring vacantly out to sea.
It doesn't seem to notice your presence, and if zombies could be sad, you would think that this one was sad. But, not being very familiar with zombies, you don't know if it is sad, or just - you know - wanting to eat anything that moves.
At the campsite you also see the beginnings of what looks to be a substantial path. (marked in map as a straight line in red. Going to mark rivers in map as blue straight lines).
Travis draws his kama and readies to attack the zombie if it makes a hostile move... but he's curious as to why it hasn't yet so he holds off starting the hostilities himself.
Alphonse pulls out his sword and shield, and tries to stealthily move around the edge of the clearing to see if there is some other threat nearby.
Alphonse makes it to the edge of the clearing, and is unaware of any other presences.
Wren stares at the zombie, her mind furiously trying to remember what she knows of them.
Knowledge (Religion/Nature)
"Oh dearies, what happened here?" Wren keeps back from the main of the camp, trying to remain out of an attack range.
If Wren knows something of musk zombies, she will share it with others.
Wren knows:
A yellow musk zombie is linked to the yellow musk creeper that created it and can never move more than 200 feet from it.
After about 2 months of service to a yellow musk creeper, the yellow musk zombie wanders up to 1 mile away from its creator (the link to creator is broken) and dies. Where it falls, new yellow musk seedlings sprout from its head and the corpse, take root, and within one hour, a new fully grown yellow musk creeper blossoms.
It would be fairly easy to kill should you engage with it.
Just say the word and I'll waive my hand.
You journey for a full day, and rather than retreat to mega-camp, you brave it out in the wild.
Nothing happens throughout the night, and you journey on. Nearing dusk on the next day near the very most eastern coast you see a ninety foot long shipwreck leaning against the cliff side and several jagged reefs, encrusted with salt and moss. It's masts remain intact, but the salts have long since rotted away the insignia. At the bow, a leering demonic figurehead of green, tarnished brass greets you intimidatingly.
"Hmmm... maybe one of the wrecks we're looking for.. Getting to it might be tough."
"Quite a pleasant looking figurehead, we should take it to liven up the place." Alphonse says drily.
"Hrm. Maybe there's some way around?"
Alphonse walks around it and up the coast a bit to see if he can find something that would let them more easily find a way over, if only an easy place to swim.
Wren looks over at the wreck, wondering how best to get aboard.
'We should go check that out. I got these wonderful feathers from an old ship just like that," Wren says, showing off her newly added feathers to her 'armor'.
Wren begins to chitter as she thinks about the ship.
"I remember this one time when I was camping with my friends, and WHHOOP! we just fell through the floor into the ship! There were some nasty little skeletons down there, I recall."
"Wren, that was us. A few days ago."
Lol. You dont see any easily accessible areas. The best way to do it seems like to make some climb checks using a rope pulley method.
I am guessing that Shilyn will tie the knots and that Shorga and Alphonse will do the Majority of the yanking. I'll need 5 checks from anyone that doesn't have a positive climbing bonus. Alphonse and Shorga will give you a +2 aid. If you roll less than a 12 I'll need a reflex.
"Oh good for us, dearie! I guess we lived, did we?" Wren answers to Alfonse.
With Shorga and Alfonse's help, Wren is able to struggle over to the boat (but just barely).
"Thank you to both of you! Falling into the water does *so* much damage to my feathers! I'm not yet a seabird," Wren chirps.
Travis climbs down using the aid provided, and joins Wren at the bottom, ready to check out the wrecked ship.
When everyone else is up and over, Alphonse will climb up after them.
"Wonder what this ship was called? Didn't one of the ships we were looking for have something to do with a demon?"
Wren ponders, remembering.
"Was it The Brine Demon and the Nightvoice? Yes, I think that was them."
Wren waits for the rest of party so that they may continue.
"Yeah, those are the right names Wren... let's check out this here ship and see if it bears one of those names. The figurehead sure could be a brine demon. It's ugly enough."
You'll have a map tonight. I need to set up an encounter, and will be back at the hotel later. :)
Clothes shopping with my wife for her birthday, like a good husband should :)
A search of the ship reveals a few things. It is the Brine Demon. The vast majority of its fabled booty has long since either rotted away or been lost to the sea. Much of the ship's hull is missing, wedged tightly amid the jagged rocks. Yet, further investigation of the captain's cabin reveals a skeleton slumped on the floor, its bony hands clutching at a well-made, watertight darkwood coffer sitting in an opened secret compartment in a rotting desk.
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Walking carefully over to the skeleton and sheathing her rapier, Shilyn carefully takes the box in hand. Holding it up to get a better look, she examines the box. "Hrm.. this thing is pretty well made," she says quietly. "Wonder what's in it that could have been so important that they died trying to get."
Travis, just learning the trade so to speak, watches Shilyn carefully as she deals with the box and it's possible secrets.
Wren looks on at Shilyn as well, but then gets bored and re-searches some of the areas in the ship.
Perception
Inside the coffer are three objects: a gold locket, a very nice looking dagger (magical), and several fat ledgers and journals.
The locket contains a tiny, incredibly detailed portrait of a beautiful , red-haired half-elf woman, identified along the bottom edge of the portrait as "Aeshamara." The ledgers and journals contain irrefutable proof of collusion between Captain Kinkarian and half a dozen Sargavan and Bloodcove government officials, who were skimming off the tithes and taxes offered to the Free Captains of the Shackles. These documents, among other things, provide proof of Jask Derindi's innocence.
"Good news, Jask! We have found proof of your innocence! Now we just have to get these to the proper authorities. Until then, you are of course a free man anyway, as long as you are with us. Would you like to carry these yourself? or would you prefer someone else carry the documents?"
After addressing Jask, Travis turns his attention to the picture of the woman. "Aside from her name, which we DO know... does anyone know anything about this elven woman?"