”Uh - friends?”, Karter grabs a length of metal scrap as make shift weapon, ”Sure, I guess I'll come”.
You open the doors of the ship and for the first time look out on this strange world you've found yourselves on. The Millenium Yak has been holed on the edges of a coral reef surrounding a small tropical island. A huge ridge towers over the island’s western portion. A single raised tor glowers across the isle at the imposing ridge, with miles of jungle lying between the two.
Sh'yl go out of the ship, looking around then asked
I have no training in following tracks. But I'm good at seeing things.
Who among us could follow tracks ?
I am by no means an experienced tracker, but I have notions. I will try to find clues of their whereabouts.
Francis fetches Pudding and the pair waddles out into the bright, sunny island. Francis grimaces while Pudding goes and gnaws on some seaweed. "Ugh... it's so bright." Burn the sun!
Francis sees two of his compatriots searching for signs of the missing crew members and he follows them around. Pudding generally stays near Francis unless he finds a particularly appealing bunch of floating flotsam.
You wade through the shallow water towards the island.
A glowering fist of rough granite rises from the jungle on the eastern end of the island. The Fist is approximately 50 feet high and is fairly easy to climb . The summit of the Fist commands not only a fine view of the sea and the Millenium Yak , but also of the fields that form a break in the jungle , as well as the castaway’s stockade on the ridge to the west .
An old beacon fire also sits atop the summit, but it is unlit at the moment. You find no tracks on the island but you do find a store of six torches and a pair of tindertwigs in undergrowth nearby. You also spot an abandoned fishing village to the east .
”Okay, no nobody here! Let's head back and follow these tracks back to the ship”, Karter thumbs towards the Millennium,”...no?”. :sigh::
It looks like that island isn't very large. Maybe we should explore that castaway stockade over there? Or start by that fishing village, since it is closer. Xerxes suggests.
The fishing village is only a little over a mile away so you can travel there quickly by following the shore and avoiding lengthy travel through the jungle.
You find a small gathering of collapsed mud huts sitting next to the beach. A quick investigation reveals the village has not been inhabited for decades, perhaps even a century. A path leads away from the shore into the nearby swamp.
After a few hundred feet, the pathway slips suddenly into a large green bog. Remnants of an old wooden bridge cross the bog, but only short timber platforms on either side remain, leaving just the pilings jutting from the mud.
"Through the bog!" Francis exclaims!
Pudding moos in agreement. They will tentatively test the mud to see if they can cross it without sinking in. Francis will use a stick.
Agreed, Professor. The bog it is. Follow me, and don't step out of the path I'm walking if you don't want to be swallowed by the marsh itself.
Xerxes attempts to find the path crossing the bog to get to the foot of the hill where the castaway hut lies.
”What?! The bog?!”, Karter points at it, ”That's a horrible idea. No offense to our mascot. ...but I guess there's no other choice”. With running start, karter takes three skips across the pond.
Sh'yl having lived all his youth in a desert planet had no idea what a bog could be so he followed his comrades in it, trying to follow their steps.
Francis finds that the ground is very soft and before Pudding steps out, Xerxes stops him and warns that there is quicksand ahead.
I know a mere human like you cannot be accustomed to the many dangers these alien worlds have for us, but you should heed my warning. Do not stray out of the path.
As the party is contemplating how to cross this quicksand, Francis and Karter suddenly notice a movement in the trees above you: two large six-legged creatures with glossy green skin are poised to attack!
"Watch out!", Karter shouts and hurls his metal rod at the creature.
>>
Karter hits the space frog with his rod as they unleash curling black tongues on the party!
red: 2 dmg
Xerxes takes a couple steps in one of the frogs' directions and strikes with his psyblade.
Karter grabs the nearest fist-sized rock and throws it at the same frogger.
>>
Xerxes leaps up and just barely hits one of the space frogs with his psyblade! Meanwhile, Karter hits the other with a rock! The six-legged space frogs seem unhappy about this and leap from their trees to try to eat you whole!
red: 7 dmg
blue: 10 dmg
Xerxes fights back with painfully, apparently not fully focused.
Sh'yl draw his lightsaber and retaliate against the alien frog.
May the Force be with me !
But his zealous believes made him miss his target.
Xerxes and Sh'yl are distracted by the strange creatures and miss!
red: 7 dmg
blue: 10 dmg
Dinner is roasted frog legs!
Carlyle erupts in a gale of mirthful, unnerving laughter. The strange voice returns as he begins to chant, but as he is about to complete his spell, a shockwave seems to move through is body. Flames engulf the frog, but Francis falls to one knee.
Karter picks up his metal rod and takes a swing.
>>
Francis decides that a frog with six legs will cook up more economically than the standard four-legged frogs and so stops to make everyone dinner for tonight.
Karter then moves across the path and takes out the other space frog!
Well done comrades ! said Sh'yl who add Do you think these creature are eatable ? It could be cool to have them for dinner if they are. I took my kitchen tools with me.
Xerxes ignores Sh'yl's question as eating is beneath him (and he doesn't need to eat). The Protoss takes some time to look around to see if the fight hasn't attracted the attention of a larger beast.
Xerxes sees no larger beasts but the quicksand does still halt your progress further through the mire.
Xerxes will try to find his way around the quicksand.
Francis turns to Shy'l and answers. "میں نے ان مخلوقات کو کھانے کے لئے محبت کرے گا." He nods at the man and ties off the seared frog beast to Pudding's back.
Shortly after, the Professor and Pudding follow the Protossian as he searches for a way around the bog.
The jungle around the quicksand seems dense and difficult to navigate. Trying to cut your way around would require hours of work and put you dreadfully behind schedule. You could, however, climb in the trees for a bit to get across or try to skip across some of the remaining poles and planks.
I don't mind either solution. What's your take on this?
”What?! The bog?!”, Karter points at it, ”That's a horrible idea. No offense to our mascot. ...but I guess there's no other choice”. With running start, karter takes three skips across the pond.
Acro: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
Acro: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
Acro: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
Francis' voice seems to come back to him after a minute as he examines the quicksand. "Seems to be caused by water, perhaps if I blast it with fire, then I can harden the surface long enough for us to cross..."
Francis will have everyone stand back and unleash two Burning Hands at the surface of the bog, tie a rope between Pudding and himself and test the surface.
What did he said ?! Sh'yl looked confused at Francis but said nothing.
He let his comrades tried something as it was the first time in his life he was confronted to so much water !
Karter quickly leaps across the logs but for everyone else to pass, Feancis uses a pair of fire spells to harden the ground and the party is able to walk across old sinking up to their ankles and shins rather than your whole bodies. You head further into the swampy jungle.
A terrible stench fills the swamp here, a fetid odor of cheap perfume and rotting flesh. A huge tree stands in the middle of a clearing in the swamp, draped with some sort of huge tent. Lurid, painted faces cover both the tree trunk and tent, and both are decorated with rotting humanoid body parts and carpets of squirming insects.
Both of Xerxes's psyblades humm to life as he approaches the trunk to have a closer look.
We should exercise caution. There may be a predator nearby.
"This is a warning if I've ever seen one", Karter follows behind Xerxes, and makes ready with his metal rod.
Three rotting remains of what must have once been beautiful women exit the tent as you near it. They are dressed in decaying silks and vermin-infested dresses. "Oh, some customers." one of them croons as you near. Her eye-less sockets star back at you as her long red tongue slithers from her mouth!
Xerxes moves towards one of the creatures and tries to stab it with his psyblade.
"Come here hunnie!", Karter steps up and swings at the woman head with his trusty metal bat.
>>
Xerxes moves up and hits one of the women of the night, finding that she is quite strong and withstands his blade! Karter moves in to help but misses his target.
Two of them close in on Karter and Xerxes while the third makes for Sh'yl. "Oh, you look delicious!" it moans while stumbling towards Sh'yl.
red: 9 dmg
Sh'yl recognize the creatures as ghoul. Undead creature able to paralize and infect other people.
Be careful ! They are nasty creature ! Once taking care of, we must look for sign of disease for those hit by them.
Sh'yl know they was no time to be defensive, so he call for the Force
Then he strike the creature with his lightsaber
May the force be with me !
Dodging all the attacks coming at him, Xerxes takes a step around the creature then strikes with both blades. However, he's far too hasty and misses his oppoenent completely.