Ekote tries to answer the tiefling's questions regarding the creatures.
"He had no instruments among his gear, though some, such as our captain, are bards that rely on their voices or movements alone. Perhaps he was some sort of investigator, trap finder, tomb raider? His armor was light, sensible enough a precaution on a ship admittedly." The dusky-skinned mage wonders.
"It is a good thought, to look for wreckage as we set out. I can function underwater easily enough if we need to explore the waters. Who knows? Perhaps that giant octopus wrecked the ship he arrived on...assuming he wasn't marooned for crimes against his captain, as you say."
"Take his gear with him." The Besmaran muses. "He's less of a threat without his spellbook if he's a mage. Or his gear."
Knowing the fortress is not a safe place for shelter, Sal packs a good amount of canvas, mosquito netting, wandermeal (aka hardtack), and some other basic supplies in her handy haversack in case they need to camp away from the ship.
She also retrieves the 10 foot length of spider-silk rope she used to tie up Ed once they are able to deposit him in the infirmary.
For her own part, Thren restocks her arrows before hitting the ship's stores to get basic camping gear that she doesn't already have, namely rations and finding a solid quarterstaff to put into her quiver. "We're due to run into some undead and I might as well have something useful in case of boney ones," she tells herself brightly.
To Threnody's question, Sal digs into her experience as a monster hunter to think of any creature that might consume someone's wits, who also could be found on an island like this.
[dice=Knowledge Dungeoneering, relevant creatures, oozes and aberrations]1d20+10
[dice=Knowledge Nature, relevant creatures: animals, fey, monstrous humanoids, plants, vermin]1d20+10
[dice=Knowledge Arcana, Untrained but can use unhindered for magical beasts only, magical beasts bonus]1d20+1+2To Ekote, she nods along and replies, "He was tough enough to take a decent hit from me. Maybe he don't know a lot of magic, but, no offense, most young wizards I've met couldn't have survived that. Wore armor, too, which I don't see most mages do. Magically enhanced too, so he's been a man of enough fortune to equip himself nice. Ain't a bard, as I've never seen a bard with a spellbook, but something like, dabbling in fightin' as well as magic. Makes sense he might have decided to pick up some spellwork while sailing, maybe? I mean, he had to have got here somehow." Sal pauses.
"We should look for the wreckage of his ship while we walk along the shore tomorrow. For other survivors too, but I doubt there's any. But there might be something of value or of information if we find it."
She grows thoughtful. "I know what it's like firsthand, to be the only survivor on a ship, and due to the Eye no less, which as we're not far from the Eye, could be what blew him off course here. Part of me don't like that I got close to killin' him. Part of me worries I was right the first time. Just 'cause he's alone and addled doesn't make him a good man automatically. Could be he got here by his own makin'... or was marooned here out of punishment. Be careful, Quinn, as you tend to him."
The phase spiders are certainly no explanation. Their poison would make him sick and could explain some of his physical symptoms, but not the psychological damage.
There is a ray-like creature called a Plizeazoth the could be a candidate. Church Grims and Psyche Serpents are possibilities.
She focuses on the following questions as she assembles her chart:
Did or does Ed have nefarious intent toward us or any previous allies?
Yes.
Will Ed seriously endanger the crew if we keep him on the ship?
No.
Are we going to be able to get anything useful out of Ned by talking to him?
Yes.
Is Ed's way of getting here, like a ship, still here at the island, even if it is destroyed?
Yes.
Is Ed the cause of the strange effect that knocked Sandara out?
No
-- If the answer is no, she will ask, "Is a living creature the cause?"
No.
-- If the answer is no, she will ask, "Is an undead creature the cause?"
Yes.
Riori shares the results of her chart. "There are suggestions Ed is some kind of betrayer, whether of us or those he was with before--but he poses no current danger to us. He is not responsible for whatever happened to Sandara back in the fortress, and given Eox's position in the chart, my best guess is that something undead caused that." She looks up at the group. "I wonder if, if Sandara as a proper priest, can attempt to consecrate the place when we have the time and materials to do so."
She adds with a half-smile. "Ed's way of getting here, like a ship, is also here on the island so that might be useful to find. Although if the lad had any sense he already looted it himself, but then, if anything sank, he may not have been able to swim under water. Ekote and Sal can breathe water and I can cast air bubble on the rest of us to explore that, should it look fruitful."
"That's useful to know. Consecration is a good idea when the time comes. Thanks Riori."
Is the Fortress more dangerous than the rest of the Island?
Does Ed have any living compatriots on the Island?
In the morning, Sal watches the sky to be sure they're in for fair weather as they explore the island.
She also makes sure her haversack has the camping supplies they need.
Is the Fortress more dangerous than the rest of the Island?
No
Does Ed have any living compatriots on the Island?
No
In the morning, Sal watches the sky to be sure they're in for fair weather as they explore the island.
She also makes sure her haversack has the camping supplies they need.
Weather for the day looks to be warm and windy. 85 degrees and gusts of wind strong enough to extinguish candles or torches. This close to the Eye you could always have a shower pop up.
Sal points to a map to show where she suggests landing.
Ekote casts false life on himself as the team disembarks and begins to trek towards the southeast.
You come ashore just to the east of a waterfall that crashes down from the plateau above. Massive palms fill the inland parts of the island to your east. They grow taller and taller up the hill (toward M), starting at 20 feet near the beach but reaching 70 feet tall higher up.
The beach is wide here, 200 feet or more.
The beach near (N) is freckled with large stones that have tumbled from the hills above, ancient weathered volcanic boulders. Sal sees that the sand ahead is disturbed and as she draws closer she realizes that the sand is pocked with human sized footprints leading back and forth from the trees to the rocks at the shore.
Sal observes the increasing size of palm trees as they grow uphill. "Mmm. Old volcano here, probably. Makes the soil rich."
As they walk down the beach, she lifts a hand as she spots the footprints.
"Somethin' human-shaped walkin' to and fro from shore..."
After Sal points out the tracks, Riori leans over, squinting alternately over and through her spectacles to see if she can figure out what kind of humanoid or once-human is the source of the tracks.
Ekote adds his eyes to the examination of footprints.
"Let's follow the trail. Might be another castaway. Might be a threat. Either way we need to know."
Sal finds that the tracks are likely those of a woman, as they are vey light and slender. In fact, they are too light for a creature of this size, and show signs of water that she would not expect from a humanoid trap, as though water were being squeezed from the foot like a sponge with each step.
At a guess, she would say they are from some sort of water fey, and that the most recent tracks go toward the water, with older tracks leading up to the trees.
Following the trail toward the water across a wide beach, you find that the waves split around a sort of natural breakwater about 50 feet out, and that there is a deep pool here. The water is clear, and you can see that there is a hole where the ceiling of a lava tube must have collapsed, leaving a sort of underwater grotto about 80 feet deep.
"Mmm, a girl? Mmmm... no, fey. Nymph or something. We can go say hi, Cap, but let's be careful. I wonder why she's been goin' back and forth from here..."
As they follow the trail, Riori gasps at the natural beauty of the grotto, at least to the limits that her vision allows her to see.
She asks her compatriots, "Should we perhaps announce ourselves? Say hello? Or if no one is here, should we leave well enough alone?"
"We're here, she'll know we're here sooner or later, might as well find out if she's going to try to kill us or be neighborly." Thren comments firmly.
"Hello?" She calls in Common, trying again in Polyglot.
As you watch the water expectantly, something rises out of the water about 20 feet offshore. First there is an elfin head with long flowing brown hair, then the torso of a voluptuous woman emerges to the navel.
Strangely, you can't see any of her below the water.
"Oh, hello, friends. Welcome to the island! I'm Sefina."
Sal just goes slackjawed and stares like an idiot.
The taller of the two half-elves notices the nymph is very pretty in the same way that she noticed the beauty of the grotto itself, which is to say not that she isn't moved by such beauty, but not moved in such a way that she is distracted.
"Hello, Sefina, I am Riori, a servant of the goddess Desna. We are travelers asked to clear out the dangers on this island. Don't mean to be intruding on your home. Don't suppose we might be able to help each other out?"
Now that she has put here eyes on this magnificent female form, Sal recalls tales of Nereids, water fey with shimmering skin and dark hair. She vaguely remembers that they have shawls that have some power over them, not unlike selkies.
"Intruding? No, far from it. Feel free to intrude as far as you would like. I'd love for you to come on in. This island can be tricky to navigate, all of the angry one-eyes, both statues and those of flesh and blood. But I don't see any reason we can't be friends."
"D-d-do you like fish?"
Riori gives a sharp glance over to Sal, and turns back to Sefina. "Cyclopes? Oh dear. Have you ever had any trouble with them? Also..." She points westward. "Do you know the fortress on the other side of the cove? There is some sort of undead creature that can make people fall asleep. Don't suppose you know anything about that?"
Thren's a bit stunned at the appearance of the strange woman.
Hel...lo...?"
Seeing Thren and Sal are at best stupefied, Ekote shakes his head.
"Large one-eyed giants you say? How unfortunate. We have yet to see them. The fort on the bay has had phase spiders, and something attacked us from nowhere, but we have admittedly not been here long."
"Oh, yes, I know some things about the fort. Many mortals have settled there and died there. The most recent some sort of pirate wizard. Maybe he and his crew aren't resting well. They were fighting some of the cyclopes."
"And yes, I do like fish, very much. Some of my best friends are fish."She says with a wink and a smile.
"I don't suppose you can describe this wizard? We may have seen him there." Ekote says coaxingly.
Sal blushes deep red as the nereid talks to her and doesn't seem to know what to do with her hands, steepling her fingers one moment, putting them in her pockets the next before immediately taking them out again. "Oh! Uh, I mean. Gosh I hope that octopus... I mean... I have gills, y'know...."
Riori cocks another eyebrow at Sal, but does her best to focus on the conversation.
"Sounds like both you and the cyclopes have lived here a long time. Don't suppose you have any advice on evading them? Or should we have a confrontation, is any fighting on the island going to be a problem for you?" She asks Sefina after she has answered Ekote's question.
Thren just listens, enraptured. She knows there've been other women she found attractive, but none come to mind for some reason. And just standing there seems like a fine use of her time just then.
She bites her index finger in contemplation, "The wizard...he was one of you. His name was Kendi? Bikendi? something like that. He was one of those fellows with a big booming voice. He tried to order me around a few time, but I told him to shove off."
She sways slightly closer to Sal, water rippling gently around her hips. "Don't worry dear, that octopus was a jerk. Not my friend at all. If anything happened to him I'd be delighted to have the cove to myself.
Turning to Rior, "As for the one-eyes, it is easy enough to avoid them. They stay mostly to the interior or the northern part of the island. I stay mostly in the water and on the beaches. They did come down to fight Kendi and his men, but I think he stole something from them."
"Interesting. I wonder if Ed knows this Bikendi fellow? Or anything about him." Ekote muses.
"Also thinking...Riori, you said Ed has no living compatriots earlier? So either Bikendi is not connected to Ed in any way or he's not alive anymore."
"If I interpreted the stars correctly, yes. But Bikendi, if he is an undead wizard, might be able to cause some of the phenomena we experienced, and might explain why Ed was not in accord with his shipmates, or whoever they were." She nodded with a smile toward Sefina. "Don't mean to be barraging you like an interrogation, but do you remember when you last saw this Bikendi?"
Sal flushes, totally not paying attention to the rest of the conversation. "Oh. Well. That was me. I took care of that. That octopus." She felt quite dizzy. "I'm a monster hunter, y'know."
"No, I don't think Bikendi is alive anymore. He had a bad time with the cyclopes. They came down to the fort very angry about something. Broke in the door, smashed lots of pirates. And don't worry about the questions. This island is a lonely place most of the time. It's nice to have company."
Her gaze sweeps across those of Thren and Sal, emphasizing "company."