As the sun sets, the sky grows orange to the west and the heat dies down a bit. A strong wind blows in dark clouds from the east, and by the time the sky is red a downpour starts, roaring among the trees. Luckily, the castaways' shelter has a small, protected campfire, that gives off a feeble heat--but it's better than nothing. The late-waking passengers have been mostly quiet, but toward the evening they seem more or less back to their normal selves, if all a bit more anxious than before.
They all offer to be of help at the camp except Ishirou, who remains in his lean-to sharpening his katana on a whetstone, eyeing the others suspiciously. With Sil going off for food and Sticky guarding the camp, the others take up other positions.
Aerys has memorized quite a lot of epic poetry, and will recite some for the camp in order to keep spirits high.
Role: Entertainer
Diplomacy DC 16
Gelik takes up the mantle of the camp medic.
Role: Medic
Diplomacy DC 18
Ishirou is not comfortable enough with the camp to help out much.
Role: None
Diplomacy DC 20
Jask Derindi seems eager to help, and friendly, but he can't really do anything with his manacles on. He sits on his makeshift bed of tree leaves, looking as though he wants to talk to some of the other passengers, but waiting patiently for them to not be too busy first.
Role: None
Diplomacy DC 17
Sasha decides to set traps against any midnight ambushes, should they get past Sticky.
Role: Defender
Diplomacy DC 16
"So...Red Mantis huh?" He said in a low tone, his voice only audible for a few feet. "Whats a mantis doin' on this voyage then? A spot of vacation? Seein' the sights?" He chuckled to himself, trying to catch her gaze and weigh her reaction. "Somehow I doubt that." He gave her a conspiratory smile, looking left and right before leaning closer. "So, who is it, be gettin' the blade?"
Where at first she avoided the prisoner, seeing Jask alone sparks a small ember of empathy in the student. Kayle will walk over to him.
"Hey..you know, I don't think I ever did hear what you were convicted of." She stands well out of range of him jumping up and rushing her, her fingers tapping against the hilt of her dagger. "Us being stranded on an island and all...and we're not exactly prison guards. It makes sense for us to stick together and..well, maybe talk about taking those off." She'll motion to the manacles. "We can't exactly trust you though."
Seeing Kayle heading over to talk to the man still in chains, Gathien instead heads over to the gnome. "Well, if nothing else, I suppose this'll be another story to tell," he chuckles.
Sil leaves Sticky in charge of patrolling the camp perimeter while he goes out to find food for everyone before it gets dark. He comes back with a few small animals but mostly roots and herbs which is distributes fairly. He uses a simple orison (purify food and drink) to make sure everything is safe and another orison (create water) to ensure that everyone has enough water to stay hydrated. He will fill up whatever vessels the group has available.
Sil eats quietly and watches the others to make everyone has enough to eat. After the meal he pulls Gelik aside for a bit, "I think Aerys still seems sick. Everyone else is over their nausea by now but Aerys used to drink quite a bit back on the ship. I think she might be going through withdrawals. If we have any alcohol, perhaps we can wean her off slowly. If not, perhaps you can think of something else to help her along. If you think it will help I will prepare a spell tomorrow to help her feel better."
She pulls her thumb out of her mouth and looks at it. The cut was mostly cosmetic, and has stopped bleeding, and she spits some blood on the ground. She snorts out a breath, which seems to release her anger, and the usual manic smile returns to her lips. The fire in her eyes is replaced by mischief. "Now that we've established that, why don't you help me put some traps out? You won't talk about anything you don't know about, and I won't talk about anything I don't know about. I won't, for instance, ask why the "Wolverine" is missing his "Fox," she finishes, eyes glittering as she emphatically runs her kukri down the length of the stake.
The bound man smiles brightly at Kayle. Even as she stands back to avoid coming close to the man's potential assaults, it seems like such a plan on his part would be foolish. His limbs are rather skinny, and in his middle age he's acquired a small pot belly that pokes out from under the torn rags that pass for his clothing. "Well, I haven't been convicted of anything yet!" he says, grinning. "I know it's hard to trust a man in chains, but I have been wrongly arrested. I used to work in a government office in Sargava, cataloging and such. I'm a cleric of Nethys, actually, and I was always looking for more knowledge! I'm very glad they trusted me there. In any case, I picked up on a little too much knowledge," Jask says with a wink. "When I discovered some illegal deals that someone had made with the Free Captains of the Shackles, I dutifully informed my superior, who turned around to betray me, and accuse me of his crime! So I ran away to Corentyn. I was there for ten years, and I guess it was silly to think they had forgotten, because a Sargavan agent tracked me down and arrested me. I was on my way to be tried before the ship wrecked."
"You know," Jask starts, rubbing his beard thoughtfully with one hand, which rattles his manacles. "Maybe it's a good thing we landed here. I mean, anything is better than being in a brig, right? Anyway, I heard that the pirate captain that was making deals with my superior supposedly crashed on Smuggler's Shiv. Avret Kinkarian, captain of the Brine Demon. I know it's a long shot, but if you somehow found his ship, or what's left of it, there might be records that would prove my innocence! And if you could release my bonds and find my things, I would be glad to lend the power of Nethys to keeping us all alive and healthy!" Jask smiles at Kayle with a look of bright hope in his watery, cow-like brown eyes.
Exhaling loudly, he bent down and picked up a piece of driftwood. "But I guess it dont matter nothin'. Even that prisoner will likely be free to do his part soon enough. When shipwrecked, cant be picky about yer company now can you?" He said, drawing his dagger, and starting to cut the wood into a stake.
At Sashas next remark, he stopped cutting for a second, looking at the wood with a long hard stare before continuing to cut. "You wont ask, yet you just did." He said after a moment of silent cutting. He stopped cutting again, this time looking her in the eye. "The Fox is clever. It knows when to cut its losses and run, when to get out. Cant say the same for the Wolverine, pigheaded and unwilling to yield." He looked into the woods, an almost forlorn stare. "Cant rightly say I hadn't thought the day would come where that difference would see us on different paths."
Gelik smirks at the halfling. "Assuming I ever find anyone else to tell this story, too. 'Gathien, have I ever told you about the time I was shipwrecked on Smuggler's Shiv? It's a real hoot!' Not that I don't think you all would get tired of hearing me talk, but a raconteur like myself can't very well be satisfied with just this lot forever!" he jokes. "Actually, that reminds me of this one time..." Gelik continues, railing off another story of his heroics with the Pathfinder Society, occasionally breaking off to scribble down a joke he's just made, muttering things like, "Yes, that's a good one, have to remember that..."
"Actually...you seem like an all right sort," he says to Gathien. "To be completely honest, although I've done a lot for the Society, I'm not exactly in the best standing with them at the moment. I may have done some business in Magnimar that may have involved some, uh, let's called them replicas of Thassilonian relics. Anyway, the merchant I sold them to figured out that they were, uh, replicas, and there was this big misunderstanding, and when they called the Magnimar guards, I thought it was getting a bit out of hand, so I jumped on the Jenivere. But, I've thought of a way to get back in the Society's good graces!" the gnome says somewhat conspiratorially.
"I know an old story about a Pathfinder ship called the Nightvoice. It went missing around these waters, and some think that it crashed into the Shiv. If you could find out what happened to it for me while I tend to people at camp here, I bet I could end my probation! What do you say?"
-----
Silmayre pulls Gelik aside to chat with him about Aerys. The gnome looks less concerned. "I suppose we could try. But I suspect our chances of finding any booze here is about the same as the chance that your treant friend sprouts big flowery wings and flies away. I doubt I can do anything for Aerys that would help her on that particular front. Besides, finding some hair of the dog for what she's going through would require something more like hair of the dire wolf," the gnome teases.
Looking around, Kayle debates what to do silently to herself. No one had been elected leader. Would the others agree with her decision? Would they reprimand her for freeing a wanted fugitive? It didn't matter..she was no student asking for a professor's permissions here.
"Sure." Kayle will see what she can do about unlocking Jask's manacles or breaking them open. "You sound..innocent. And you don't look much like a criminal. Not that I'd really know, and not that we can likely trust you... Maybe we can find this ship for you. Although how likely that is on an uncharted island that we'll likely never live to get off of is well..but on the bright side we can prove your freedom! And we'll probably get off. Somehow. There's that lighthouse after all."
Gathien chuckles at the Gnome's statement, then smiles and says, "That's one way to look at it, but on the other hand, you've got a captive audience so you can perfect the stories."
He listens as Gelik shares his information, pleased to have made a friend, ...especially one who understands what it is to join the expedition because we had to leave in a hurry... When the gnome is done, Gathien nods in agreement, "To be honest, I think that's a good plan.... finding more supplies is an excellent goal, and if it helps you restore your standing, then so much the better.... As long as it wasn't carrying anything too dangerous, of course. I'll definitely bring this up with the others."
After hearing Gelik's diagnosis, Sil sits down next to Aerys. "I am sorry that you are not feeling well, my friend. I'm afraid there is little we can do except provide fresh water and shelter and help you wait it out. Perhaps it is best if you stay safe at the camp until you are well and we will see what we can uncover about this island and find a means off of it."
Sasha shakes her head. "I'm not asking anything, Lionel, just pointing out that we both have some things we might not want to be spread around." She continues sharpening a stake as her fellow sailor continues.
"There's lots of different paths. You gotta find your own. In my experience," Sasha says, driving a finished stake into the ground and starting on another one, "family mostly goes one of two ways. Either you get on their path, or you run like hell away from it." She smiles mischievously at Lionel. "So, I don't know if I ever heard why you were headed to Sargava. Don't suppose it was just for the thrill of it, like me, huh?"
Jask and Gelik thank Kayle and Gathien, respectively, for agreeing to help them. Jask lies back in his lean-to, and tries to fall asleep. Gelik proceeds to test some prestidigitation on various herbs and roots that he's collected, to see if he can make what small amount of medicinal aid he's found taste less bitter.
Aerys sits by small campfire, writing something in a journal. She puts it away when she sees Sil approaching, though. "Uh, yeah, thanks. Must've caught wind of some sickness or other. Or maybe I got more poison in the soup. I've got a coupla things to say to that cook if I ever see 'im again," holding up her fists to indicate that they are the "coupla things" Aerys would like to say.
Sil only manages to insult Aerys and her condition.
After another moment of silence, broken only by their cutting of wood, he put down his tools. "As for Sargava, it was the easiest way out of the Shackles that didn't involve local captains. So I took it." He shrugged as he picked up his work again. "Thats about all there be to it."
The temperamental Aerys seems to have caught on to what Sil means by "not feeling well." Or perhaps she misinterprets the tone with which the elf suggests that she "stay safe," and narrows her eyes in annoyance. "Anyway," she says, "I'm gonna see how much more of Arvak Derindel's The Long Journey I can remember. So leave."
Camp status:
Defenders: 2 (Sasha, Lionel)
Entertainers: 1 (Aerys)
Guards: 1 (Sticky)
Hunters: 1 (Sil)
Medics: 2 (Gelik, Kayle)
Camp status:
Defenders: 2 (Sasha, Lionel)
Entertainers: 1 (Aerys)
Guards: 2 (Sticky, Gathien)
Hunters: 1 (Sil)
Medics: 2 (Gelik, Kayle)
Food and Water: Silmayre gathers enough food for 12 people, and creates water as needed. Food consumed: 9 (Gelik and Gathien count as .5 people for food supplies). Food surplus: 3
Camp Defense:
Disease: With the smoke from the campfire and Gelik and Kayle diligently trying to prevent and treat bug bites, the chance of disease is negligible.
Morale: Aerys, despite shooting Sil disapproving looks throughout the evening, gives a rousing recitation of parts of the epic The Long Journey.
-----
The next morning, the sun rises and the cold, wet night quickly turns to a muggy, hot day. A few minutes in the sun is enough to dry most anything soggy from last night. Luckily, the night passed without disturbances thank to Sticky and Gathien's vigilant watch. The other castaways wake up. Each one seems more ragged than yesterday, as they grow desperate with the realization that they may never get off this island. Only Gelik seems to be back to his old self, scribbling in his journal when there's enough light and humming a little tune. They resume their duties at the camp, unwilling to travel beyond this new safe haven, leaving the exploration to others.
Rousing himself, Lionel strode into the middle of their makeshift camp, clenched fists on his hips as he addressed everyone.
"Ok listen up everyone." He looked around, making sure he had garnered their attention. Rescue aint likely to just come waltzin' by any time soon, so we best be thinkin' about makin' this work for the long haul. Now I dont know about the rest of you, but for me, that means finding a good place, and buildin' somethin' to live in." He smiled, a vicious looking grin full of jagged teeth punctuated by empty voids where their companions had once resided. "Of course, you are all welcome to stay here and get wet every night, but if anyone feels like havin' a proper place to wait this out, feel free to join me."
He turned to look inland, motioning towards the forest. "First things first would be to head inland, look for high ground and try to get the lay of the land. Then we think about other stuff."
He turned back, looking around. "So, who wants to make themselves useful and come with?"
Gathien shrugs, "Wilderland exploration wasn't really my strong suit, so if the people who know what they're doing thing that's the best course of action, I'll certainly go along with them.... Though I think there's something to be said for exploring the wreckage... and trying to find some of these other things we've learned about."
In the morning Sil wakes up early and spends an hour in quiet meditation in front of a nearby tree. He gets up and pats Sticky on the branch.
At Lionel's suggestion, Sil says, "I think you've laid out a fine plan. Sticky and I are quite familiar with outdoor living and if we come across a better camping spot I can help with setting that up."
Hearing Gathien's thoughts, Sil responds, "Gathien does have a good point though. There may be more to be found on the Jenivere. This camp seems to be working fine now and we may find supplies on the ship that will bolster our camp and make conditions more tolerable. I vote on exploring the wreckage first. If nothing else it should answer some questions."
"Before we go traipsing through untold miles upon miles of jungle, we should figure more about what happened. Why were we poisoned? What happened to the crew? What happened to the Captain? Gathien is right, we have to investigate the ruins of the Jeneviere first."
After saying her piece, Kayle will head to where Sasha is. She's pinned Sasha as the most level-headed of the others to wash up. "Sasha, could you and the others settle the camp a bit better here while we investigate the ship ruins? We promise to tell all of you everything we find. It'll be easier if we have some place to return to."
The party of castaways leaves their camp just after dawn and makes their way toward the Jenivere's wreck. The Jenivere is only about a third of a mile away, but it is wedged between the black spires of rock and a cliff that rises a hundred feet from the surf. Luckily, it is currently low tide, and a sort of path formed by exposed rocks leads toward the Jenivere. They are slippery and difficult to navigate, but it is possible to do so with patience, and the rocks lead to a ledge just above the deck of the ship.
Even a cursory glance is enough to confirm that the Jenivere will never sail again. Only the fortuitous presence of a sharp ridge of rock near the cliff has prevented the wreck from sinking completely into the sea, for only the ship's stern has survived. It is wedged between the cliff and rocks, and the rough waves shake the hull alarmingly. It won't be long before the sea claims the rest of this once-fine ship.
As the scouting party moves from the cliff ledge to the deck, it lurches and groans, but does not break or escape from the rocks it's wedged between. From the deck, the smashed remains of the rowboat can be seen. Most of its bow remains, tied off to the splintered side of the larger ship with a thick rope, as if someone moored it there.
On the top deck, there are stairs that lead down to the upper decks, and it appears that most of the captain's cabin has survived.
"Looks like you lot were right, seems like this bucket might not be here in another day or two." Lionel said, grabbing hold of the railing and testing its sturdiness, before leaning over the side to look down the ships hull. "Hmmm, or maybe less than that." He added, motioning down towards the missing decks. "We best hurry, I aint no boatswain, but looks like we got hours, not days." He walked toward the captains cabin, pausing midway and cocking his head. "Anyone hear that? Sounds like scratching. You reckon someone is still here?"
He shrugged and continued towards the cabin. "Well, either way, lets get to it."
Kayle is careful going over the rocks, gripping a scroll of Touch of the Sea tightly in one hand. After they get on deck, she looks around grimly. "You're probably right, Lionel. Let's take a look at the captain's room, yeah? Wait--you said you hear scratching? From where? If it was a person, they'd be calling out for help--not scratching at the ship like a giant crab or something."
(Sticky)
"I hear it too," whispers Sil. "And I think Kayle is right. A person wouldn't be scratching like that. Keep an eye and an ear out, everyone."
Sil will make sure his leather armor and shield are secured properly and then fit his brass knuckles over his other hand. Sticky follows along at Sil's side.
"Of course..it could just be a piece of the ship scraping against rocks with the waves.."
Lionel opens the door to the captain's cabin, and the door swings open before falling off splintered hinges and clattering on the floor of the cabin. There is a hole in the back of the cabin, presumably smashed by the coastal rocks. Everything has apparently fallen out of the hole, except for a large desk, upside down and too large to fit through the back.
Suddenly, the scratching sound below stops, and is replaced by a rhythmic clacking. The sound reveals itself at the bottom of the stairs to be something like one of the sea scorpions that woke up the castaways on the beach, only this one is bigger than a man. It chitters aggressively, snapping its claws.
-----
The creature moves forward, attacking the sapling treant.
"Another one!?" Lionel almost roared as he stepped towards it and clawed at its shell. "At this rate there might be nothin' but us and these damned crustaceans on this island!"
Gathien says, "Do we know if they're edible at least? Saves us some hunting time?", and steps forward, drawing his blade and slashing at the thing.
The scorpion hits sticky once. "Get it back, Sticky!"
If it's still not dead, Sil also punches it with his brass knuckles.
Despite the wooden railing separating Lionel from the sea scorpion, he lands two huge gashes in its shell, coming away with his hands covered in periwinkle blood. Sticky finishes it off with his branches coming down and crushing in the rest of the carapace. The long body slumps and slides down the stairwell, making it slick with blood, and rocking with each shudder of the Jenivere.
That done, the desk in the captain's cabin is free to search. The drawers in the desk are upside-down, so pulling them out without taking care to catch the contents ends up spilling everything on the floor. Nothing breaks from this though. One drawer contains a ring of keys--one of which may open Jask's manacles. Another drawer contains sea charts and maps, as well as the captain's log. There is a map of the west coast of Garund that plots Jenivere's course, and a map of Desperation Bay.
One of the drawers is locked:
A wooden footlocker against the desk contains a masterwork dagger, a suit of leather armor sized for a medium humanoid, two potion vials with clear liquid in them, a holy symbol of Nethys (a half-black and half-white mask), and a spell component pouch.
Below deck, there are two closed doors. The one to the north looks normal, but has a sickly smell coming from behind it. The one to the south is badly scratched, as if something were trying to claw its way in. A small trickle of blood, dried by the air and rewetted by the surf, leaks out from under the door.
Kayle will stab at it with her dagger before moving away, not wanting to stay close to the thing and ducking behind Gathien.
for
"We're too close to it for me to get any spells off that will help!"
Gathien suggests in a whisper, "Those scratchmarks look to be dangerous.... I can sneak ahead and listen at the doors, if you'd like."
Sil will keep the spell component pouch as a spare in case he or anyone else needs it.
"That is if the giant scorpion thing didn't cause them, Gathien. I think its a good idea to scout ahead though..Oh he, Sil, let me take a look at those?"
Know: Nature on what the scorpions are/was
Spellcraft/Detect Magic on the potions:
Gathien says, "Possible, though I think we'd be happier knowing for sure...." He takes a breath and prepares himself, then looks at the others, "Ok, so, if I scream, come get me, otherwise I'll sneak back to make my report."
He then turns and presses himself into the shadows, creeping forward along the wall quietly, to first look at the scratches and then listen at the door.
Finding the drawer locked, Lionel scowled, then grunted as he tried to unstuck it. Growing steadily angrier, he continued to pull and tear on the offending object until it finally gave in.
Looking through its contents, he held up the ship replica, looked at it a moment, before tossing it unceremoniously on the floor. "At this point, keepin' that would be bad luck I'm guessin'." He snorted, before pulling the rest of the content out.
Tossing the satchel of potions to Kayle, he simply said "Check these as well." then held up the brandy and coin purse. "Gold ain't nothin' but dead weight to us now..." He looked at the bag before stuffing it in a pocket. "...But ya never know."
He then held up the brandy. "Didn't whats-her-face need somethin' to calm the shakes?"
"Ah, yes, good thinking Lionel! We should take that back to Aerys."
Kayle will step forward, catching the boat before it can hit the deck. "Please, don't go throwing things around before you take a look at them, Lionel. Especially items that may be delicate."
Appraise:
She'll arch an eyebrow at him shaking the bag toward her, hands full with the ship. "I'll look at it in a moment. I don't recall electing a leader for this expedition. 'Would you please look at these as well, Kayle,' is more likely to get you a positive response in the future." The aasimar's sun-chapped lips curl upwards and she lets out a low laugh.
"Of course if you go shouting at me to duck or get down, I won't go asking you to be polite about that."
"On the matter of the booze..I'm no doctor, but is it the best idea to give Aerys more of it when there's no promise of more in the near future? Isn't that like placing a band aid over a hemorrhaging artery?"
"Why say please when we both know yer gonna do it? Maybe if I wanted somethin' you would need sweet talkin' to hand over, you'd get some honey...Honey." His eyes took a tour of her features as they had done days prior, before he snorted a laugh at her follow up reply. "Yer feisty at least. I like that. Might be you turn out to be worthy of that pirate costume you've been prancing around in."
He eyed her rear with a wolfish stare, his hands flexing as he considered patting her posterior. "Nah, not worth raisin' hell for a little feel." He finally decided, cracking his knuckles to occupy his hands as he stalked around the cabin, looking for any secret cubby the captain might have kept his secrets in.
"On the matter of the booze..I'm no doctor, but is it the best idea to give Aerys more of it when there's no promise of more in the near future? Isn't that like placing a band aid over a hemorrhaging artery?"
"Well, it might ease the pain to wean her off of it rather than making a clean break."
Gathien listens the scratched door, but the only thing he can hear is the crash of waves against the ship as it rocks back and forth. The door is swelled with seawater, and jammed in the door frame, but it's also damaged from the scratches. A good shove should open the door, and a bit of hacking at it could simply remove the door entirely.
Kayle recognizes the creature as a Common Eurypterid, often called a sea scorpion. She can't seem to identify these potions at the moment; perhaps she'll figure it out some other day. Catching the bottle that Lionel casually throws, she looks it over and determines that it's worth 100 gold.
Lionel scours the captain's cabin, but it yields no secrets to him.