Salt spray leaps up on the sides of the ship, providing a refreshing mist under the still-hot setting sun and clear skies. The Jenivere is right on schedule to arrive in Sargava, having miraculously encountered no resistance or unmanageable weather in over one hundred days of travel since it left Magnimar. The crew swarms the ship, managing ropes and sails, cleaning the deck, securing and re-securing cargo.
Captain Alizandru Covack has taken on several passengers, all of them at least familiar with each other’s names unless they have worked especially hard to hide it.
Aerys Mavato is a severe half-elf woman who boarded in Port Peril, where she immediately got into a fight with one of sailors and left him with a sizable black eye. Since then she’s spent most of her time in her bunk, emerging only to arrive late to meals and leave them early.
Gelik Aberwhinge, a sharply dressed gnome man from Magnimar with inky fingers, spends most of his time writing in the ship’s common areas. However, he often interrupts his chronicling to share long-winded stories or make sarcastic quips to whoever will listen.
Ieana is a bookish Varisian woman who mostly keeps to herself. She says she’s traveling to Sargava to investigate ancient ruins, but rumors among the crew suggest that she’s secretly the Jenivere’s owner, a Chelish agent, or even Captain Kovack’s secret lover. She has grown more reclusive and involved in her studies as the ship approaches Eleder.
Ishirou is a scruffy Tien man who boarded in Bloodcove. He is quiet, and aloof but polite. He keeps his conversations with the other passengers short, and spends a lot of time stonily frowning at the ocean at the ship’s bow.
Jask Derindi was brought aboard at Corentyn in chains. This soft-eyed, middle aged human man resides in the brig. The captain has insisted that he be left alone.
Sasha Nevah is a young, red-haired human woman who boarded in Ilizmagorti. Initially sullen and bad-tempered, she has grown boisterous and optimistic since leaving that port, talking with the crew and other passengers and enjoying the fair weather. No one has yet asked her about her missing left pinky finger.
The pre-dinner bell has rung, and several passengers have gathered below deck to await their food. At the long dinner bench, Sasha and Gelik idly chat together, with Sasha occasionally laughing at Gelik’s jokes. Ishirou maintains his usual silence, sitting politely and looking thoughtfully down at his napkin. Aerys Mavato unhappily stands to the side against a wall, arms crossed, her eyes red and her head occasionally drooping with sleepy nods. Indistinct sounds of an argument can be heard overhead, before the first mate Alton Devers stomps down into the lower deck. Although he’s usually very friendly with the passengers, he only spares them a forced half-smile and a nod before heading lower down into the ship. The captain comes down after him, and seeing the passengers gathered, his angry face turns placating. “Good evening, folks. Dinner will be ready in just a moment. I’m sorry for the delay, but I’ll provide an extra alcohol ration tonight, on me, to make up for it. Now, if you’ll kindly excuse me, I must have a word with my first mate.” With that, the Chelish captain scratches his beard and heads down after the first mate.
About a couple days after the Jenivere left port at Corentyn, a new face appeared among the crew. The half-elven woman was fairly featured, her dark brown hair tucked back behind her pointed ears. Her manner of dress and physique on the other hand spoke of a woman who'd spent a great deal of time in the wilds, roughly tanned leathers and a strong but flexible body. It was plainly obviously she'd never spent time on the sea before now though, for as much time as she spent hauling lines and moving cargo, she spent an equal amount crouched over the railing, dry heaving and gagging.
Today is one of her better days - the woman is able to get down some food. Perhaps she's finally getting used to the rocking of the boat. Or perhaps that the end of this trip is getting closer has helped steel her constitution. Either way, she's down in the mess hall for once, waiting on food and looking around at the others somewhat curiously. She had more or less kept to herself during the trip, and certain advances by the crew turned down with the loosening of the curved blade carried on her back.
Seeing the first mate and the captain coming down after their argument makes Siri curious about what it might have been about. She says nothing however, not very excited by the promise of an extra alcohol ration - she doesn't particular like alcohol. But others did, so perhaps she could broker some kind of trade.
"...Does anyone want my alcohol rations?" She asks after the captain leaves.
Paulinus boarded the Jenivere at Corentyn. He is a few inches taller than an average human man, with a lean muscled build. He was immediately striking in that he is not a human or any of the more common races. In fact he more resembles a werewolf, with his lupine snout and shiny black fur. Whatever his race might be, he is well groomed and lacks a tail, claws or the reverse knees of a quadruped. He wears the clothing of an upper class Sargavan merchant. He was clad in well cared for scale mail armor the day he boarded. There were a wooden shield, and three short spears strapped to his back along with a backpack full of gear when he boarded. While aboard the ship, he had only put on his armor on days they planned to make landfall. He wears a gold-painted, wooden key hanging prominently from a chain around his neck, indicating his service to Abadar.
He's open and friendly with anyone who talks to him. He'll gladly tell how he's a native Sargavan on his way home after seeing to some pineapple shipping business in Cheliax.
While sitting and waiting for the dinner to arrive, Paulinus's stomach starts rumbling. When the captain promises an extra alcohol ration, Paulinus is less than thrilled. After Siri speaks up, he adds, "Or mine? I can't drink on the water without getting sick it seems. Wonder what's going on with the captain and first mate? Hopefully there isn't anything wrong." Paulinus's voice is deep and extremely gravelly. It sounds more like a punctuated growl than normal speech. Once you get used to it, he's easy enough to understand, but at first his voice is jarring.
The captain's interruption brings a rare moment of silence between Gelik and Sasha, but it doesn't last long once Paulinus growls out his question.
"I don't know if anything is wrong," says Sasha in a sort of loud stage-whisper, "but have you noticed how he's so polite with us passengers, but a real tyrant with his crew?"
"I don't know about a tyrant," Gelik chimes in, "but he certainly can change his mood quicker than a Chelish prostitute can--"
"I think he's hiding something!" Sasha interrupts with a grin. "I noticed him talking to that Ieana woman a couple days ago. She's been hiding in her room forever, but they were whispering together about something. Like lovers," she suggests playfully.
Ieana, it seems, has once again skipped dinner. Shy throughout the trip, for the past few weeks she has been confining herself to her room even more than the reclusive Aerys Mavato. At least the dour half-elf woman attends meals, and has even been seen to crack a smile when Siri threatens her would-be romancers. She leaves her place at the wall and takes a seat at the wooden bench before the table.
"I'll take 'em if you don't want 'em," she says to Siri and Paulinus, her breath already strong with alcohol.
"You would!" Gelik quickly responds. "You better watch out, Paul," he jokes, looking at the well-groomed merchant. "Aerys' hair of the dog might be more fur than you've got!" Sasha giggles a little, but Aerys growls at him.
"I've half a mind to punt ya off the boat, Gelik. Hope you can swim as good as you can lie, ya little braggart."
"All right, all right, calm down, it was just a joke," the gnome replies, rolling his eyes.
Siri nodded to the other half elven woman, staring at her perhaps a little intensely. "You may have mine then. It tastes bad and makes me more nauseous," She tells her. Her eyes glance at the others as well, flitting from Sasha to Gelik to Paul. The last one is a curiosity due to his rather odd looks.
"If you need help with putting him off the boat, I will assist," She offers Aerys. "Though I do not think that he would last very long in the waters." It's not entirely apparent if she's joking or not.
The man named Kenton had boarded the Jenivere on a brief stop at a small port near the Mwangi expanse. If approached during the voyage, he'd talk of his days as a guide in the expanse and the dangers of the jungles of Sargava. While friendly and willing to share stories, it feels like he skirts around tougher questions and worms his way into more tales of adventure in the jungle.
Tonight, he sits across from Siri, a wine glass raised to his lips. After setting the wine down, the man growls in his signature gravelly voice, "Count me out on the alcohol. Never touch the stuff."
No smile touches his lips, but his eyes soften and light up after the comment.
After a moment, Kenton takes another drink of wine and looks at the door where the captain and first mate disappeared to.
"It's probably not good, but we're in the middle of the sea. Not like we can ask to get off," he huffs dryly.
"I just can't wait to get back to Eleder. The north is so cold and colorless." Paulinus comments. "That, and these legs were never meant for the high seas. Give me a river barge any day."
Aerys smiles at Siri's offer, and Gelik apparently takes the half-elves' threat seriously enough to keep quiet. For now. Sasha giggles at him. Ishirou nods at Kenton and in a rare moment of talkativeness says, "True enough," with a respectful nod.
Just then a voice from below shouts, "Dinner!" The dirty-aproned, brown-toothed cook emerges from below, impressively balancing a soup turreen under one skinny arm and a stack of wooden bowls in the opposite hand. He unceremoniously deposits a bowl in front of each passenger with a clatter of wood, then fills each bowl with his infamously watery soup. It smells a lot better than it has all voyage, though. "Sorry about the delay, folks. Enjoy!" he says with a small bow. Gelik is quick to whine about the meal, as usual, and rudely re-flavors his soup with a bit of prestidigitation, as usual. The soup does taste unusual tonight, though, a little more oily. The gnome is just starting to launch into another of his far-fetched tales when he blinks several times and falls over backwards off the bench. The other passengers follow shortly after, each one slumping off the bench or onto the table, splashing soup and flinging bowls and spoons across the table. Everything is dark.
First, there is only a dark void. Eventually, though, feeling seeps back in and Paulinus feels warm sand. Something wet laps against his shoes, and there is the sound of ocean waves nearby. A heavy pressure on his legs. Then a sharp, searing pain in one foot.
Paulinus' eyes snap open to find that he is on a sandy white beach, and a bruise-colored, dog-sized crustacean has pierced his boot with one sharp, scorpion-like claw. Paulinus' mind reel with disorientation, and a wave of nausea washes over him, but he can still register that several of the other passengers are also on the beach, unconscious. All the passengers' gear is stacked in a pile nearby; some of it is wet but none of it is damaged. The first crustacean is joined by two others, chittering in the surf.
"Gah! What the f&+#!?" Paulinus says kicking at the crab. "Get offa me you overgrown sea bug!" he growls, standing up. He steps back from the crustacean trying to get his bearings. "Hey, wake up everyone!" he shouts at the others, reaching to grab his shield and a spear.
_____________________________
The creature in front of Paulinus tries to nip him with a claw as he woozily stands.
Paulinus' growls don't seem to be enough to wake the unconscious people n the beach. They do, however, seem to spook the bugs a little bit. They don't look quite ready to give up on so much food, though, and each one skitters off to a different immobile body, giving them little test pinches to see how easy the pickings will be. The recipients yelp in pain, and wake up.
-----------------
Paulinus picks up his spear, and then steps up to the crab pinching Aleris and tries to stab it. "RAAAAR!" he shouts, still hoping to wake the others and to scare the crabs away more.
___________________________________
The half-elven woman jerks awake when something bites into her heel. She feels physically ill, like she was seasick again, only without the nausea. She looks at the oversized bug, snarling and standing up as fast as she can. It doesn't take her long to realize the familiar weight of her sword isn't on her back. She spots it on the pile, going for it in haste.
Still undeterred from the smell of blood and the prospect of a large meal, the creature in front of Paulinus scuttles past him, making a beeline for the still body of Aerys Mavato. The growling man jabs it with his spear, however, puncturing the creature's chitin. The pain in his stomach and head keep him from putting his normal amount of force into the blow, though, and it yet lives. It hisses vilely as it bleeds dark blue ichor. Whipping around, it lashes out with its finned, stinger-tipped tail.
The other two skitter off toward other unconscious passengers, one pinching a manacled Garundi man, presumably the prisoner Jask Derindi. He howls in pain as the creature pincers his bare foot.
EDIT:
-----
Kenton, awake from the pain from the bite, shakes his head to clear the cobwebs and nearly throws up in the process. Noticing the melee around him, Kenton clears his head enough to stand up and rush over to the pile of belongings.
As the sylph jumps up, the creature before her takes swipe with a claw, hoping that she'll go down easy--
--but Aleris easily jumps out of the way. As she focuses her ill will into the crustacean, though, it simply clicks its claws and chitters. It seems that the creature is too stupid, driven almost purely by instinct, to be affected by the unsettling look.
Jask, the prisoner, seeing that others are awake starts calling out, "Help me! Please!"
-----
Siri draws her curved blade from the pile of equipment, before heading over to Jask's side, skirting the crustaceans and actually crossing over Aerys' prone form to get to the shackled man.
"Thank the gods you're not all dead!" Paulinus growls, twitching as the poison courses through his veins. His body is tough and resists the vemon. He follows the wounded crab and stabs down at it again, hoping to finish the crustacean. His spear scrapes harmlessly off its chitinous shell, but he leans forward and grabs its scorpion like tail savagely with his canine mouth.
_______________________________
miss?
hit?
Paulinus just barely manages to catch the stinger in his mouth after the glancing blow with his spear, crunching it so that the shell cracks. Before he can bite through it, though, nausea sweeps through him, and he releases the tail, suppressing the urge to vomit.
The creatures returns the aggression, lashing out again with its tail, but less fervently.
It sinks the tip of its finned tail into Paulinus' thigh, but the previous cracks from the bite split and bleed. Combined with the blood lost from the earlier puncture, the little creature loses energy and collapses, twitching and dying in the sand.
The other two scuttle toward the other still-unconscious passengers. One away from Paulinus and toward Sasha, and the other abandons the now-guarded Jask to head toward Aerys.
The creature turns and lashes out with its stinger!
But it hits only metal.
The creature turns and unleashes the full fury of its blows!
One claw slashes at Siri's leg, and the stinger nicks her hand.
-----
Siri isn't one to let these things sting and eat other people, so when the one thing tried to move away, she slashed it with her blade - even sickened, the blow was true.
Siri's blade falls on the scuttling creature, slicing through its exoskeleton. The cut is deep, and the thing shudders once before it stops moving.
Siri brushes past Jask and flanks the bug that turned on Paulinus , but the bug is too quick and dodges the sword.
Kenton struggles through the pile until he finds one of his gladii. He then moves forward to the remaining scorpion creature, preparing to take a stab at it if it attempts to move towards easier prey.
Miss
As the crab moves away from him Paulinus attempts to stab it, but misses. He follows it and tries to stab and bite at it again.
The waves of nausea rolling over him make fighting very difficult, and the oracle misses badly with both blows.
________________________________
Miss
Miss
The little crustacean's mouth parts click and froth, dodging Paulinus' attacks. It retaliates in kind, striking out with claws and stinger. Fortunately for the beast-headed oracle, its thrashing only clinks against his armor and shield.
-----
Kenton, despite his physical unease, attempts to finally do away with the last critter with a swing of his gladius.
Siri snarls as she slashes with her curve blade again, only to hit sand this time. Still, it seemed the bald and bearded man has his chance to show his stuff, leaving the half-elf to gag and try to swallow properly. "Are we drunk?"
Paulinus leans over and throws up on the body to the dead crab. "Being drunk never felt this f#+&ed before...I would guess we were all poisoned on the ship, and then marooned here for some reason. Is anyone seriously injured?"
Paulinus stands up shakily, straightening out his brine-encrusted clothing. He reels slightly as he tries to get his bearings and force down the nauseated feeling. He moves to the other unconscious crew members to check their status.
Single-mindedly focused on Paulinus, the crustacean doesn't notice Kenton's sword flashing in the sun toward it. The gladius slices through a seam in the creature's exoskeleton, which pours out light blue blood. It slumps to the ground and makes no further noise or motion.
With the threat of becoming dinner dealt with, there is time to take stock of what has happened. The passengers' last memories are of sitting down to dinner aboard the Jenivere. After that, only a confusing jumble of images as if from a dream, and feelings of nausea, panic, fear, and drowning. Despite the fact that everyone is on the beach, no one is particularly wet, nor is the pile of gear that someone must have left there.
Looking around, a dense green jungle rises to the south. The beach stretches east and west for a little while, then the arms of sand turn north, becoming jagged with rocks that form a cove around the sea. To the north, choppy waves slosh and crash against black, razor-sharp rocks at the cove's mouth where it meets the ocean's expanse.
On the beach, it seems most of the passengers survived. There is no sign of crew, captain, first mate, or Ieana. Paulinus wakes the remaining unconscious passengers. The stir groggily, squinting against the sun's light, standing slowly. They thank the oracle before retrieving their equipment from the pile. Gelik cleans himself off with a quick bit of magic. Ishirou is taciturn, as usual. Aerys staggers to the treeline and vomits several times before she claims a few items from the pile as well. Jask Derindi, the ship's prisoner, sits wincing at the wound on his foot, applying pressure to it with his manacled hands.
Sasha decides that, unlike the Jenivere, this strange new locale warrants wearing armor. Before she turns away to pull a chain shirt over her head, though, you can catch a glimpse of her back. Her shirt, apparently torn sometime between the dinner on the ship and waking up here, no longer conceals a large tattoo on her back that shows a pair of red, clasped praying mantis forearms.
After a few minutes, everyone feels significantly less sick. The position of the sun indicates that it is a few hours after noon. Birds call and insects buzz from the jungle behind them, and waves crash before them. The newly awoken passengers say nothing for a while as their stomachaches fade, and are replaced with a different, more ominous feeling of dread: they are stranded.
Kenton barely had time to celebrate his victory over the creature before emptying his stomach over his now defeated foe.
"Bloody hell. That stew must have been so bad it knocked out the whole crew," he grumbles.
That's when Kenton notices the footprints.
"Or, maybe not. Looks like someone dragged us here. I guess we did ask to be let off after all."
The scout then points out the footprints to the rest of the group.
After steadying himself, Kenton then walks back over to the pile of equipment and gathers the rest of his items.
Siri takes a looks around the beach now that the imminent threat is gone, casting her eyes to the sands and the distance.
She has no idea how they got here, but she does notice the ship close by - or rather what was left of it. She frowns and looks to the other passengers, especially Aerys getting sick in the bushes. Approaching the half-elf, whom she feels some manner of kinship towards, she speaks to her quietly.
"Are you going to be all right? You seem to be more ill than the rest of us," She asks. "Do you need something for your stomach? It looks like the ship is over there...maybe there's still medicine and supplies there."
She looks over at the others, pausing to look at the strange marking on Sasha's back briefly before speaking up. "The ship is there. We should see if there are more survivors and supplies. Who will come with me?"
She goes to gather her gear, fitting her knives on her belt and strapping her pack on, ready to hustle out to the wreck.
After a few minutes of examining the surrounding beach and jungle, some of the passengers realize where they are:
Most likely, they are shipwrecked on a small island off the coast of Sargava called Smuggler's Shiv.
Aerys turns to Siri after wiping her mouth on her sleeve. "I'm...okay. I'll live. Checking out what's left of the ship's supplies is a good idea. I...I'd appreciate it if you could find anything that might help." Aerys meets Siri's eyes for a moment, with a nervous, thoughtful look. "Listen, when you get back from the ship...I want to talk to you about something. For now, I think I'm just gonna sit this one out." Aerys nods slightly, then meanders off to sit in the shade of a jungle tree, pulling her tricorn hat over a pained face.
The other passengers seem a bit too sick still to go check out the ship, but they feebly raise their weapons and keep a look out toward the beach and the jungle.
Jask winces at his foot, but smiles brightly at Aleris. "I would love to be of whatever help I can!" he exclaims, surprisingly happy for a castaway. "Your friends look hurt. I'm actually a cleric of Nethys, and I could definitely provide some healing for all of us. Unfortunately," he says, rattling his manacles, "the captain had the only key for these. Hopefully it's on the ship, or what's left of it. I believe the key and my equipment, including my holy symbol and spell component pouch, should be in the captain's cabin. I just hope it hasn't floated away yet," he finishes, his last sentence sounding almost like a joke.
The barbarian woman nods, standing up and smiling at Aerys. "Rest then. We shall return shortly," She encourages her as she turns to look at the others. The hunter looks at those well enough to travel, and frowns at Jask briefly.
"Let's go," She declares, leading the way to the wreck - her steps are quite swift, and it takes her a while to realize just how faster she is than the others, slowing her pace to match their own.
Kenton eyes the man in manacles with suspicion. It's obvious that the scout is trying to come up with a reason why a cleric of Nethys would be bound and chained.
Either way, he turns to follow Siri to the wreck.
"Anyone know where we might be? I've been in Sargava for the past three years and this beach doesn't look familiar. But, then, I spent most of my time in the jungles."
Paulinus is busy grabbing the rest of his gear while the others talk. He finishes just as they head off towards the ship.
"Wait for me!" Paulins growls, shuffling off after the others. "If it makes you feel any better, Kenton, I've lived in Eleder and on the rivers my whole life, and I have no idea where we are either." The oracle holds a short spear in his right hand, and two more in his shield hand. He scans the foliage nervously, waiting for something to attack them out of the jungle. "If someone dragged us ashore, we can't be the only survivors."
Kenton sees Jask Derindi talking with Aleris, laughing and smiling despite his wound, his manacles, and the shipwreck. He seems trustworthy enough, if oddly happy for a man in his position.
As the party of castaways makes their way toward the Jenivere's wreck, the sky is just starting to grow an orange tinge as the late afternoon arrives. 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 stays steady. From the deck, the smashed remains of the rowboat can be seen. Most of its bow remains though, 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.
Siri steps carefully along the deck, tilting her head to the side and listening below. "Something is down there," She tells the others, heading carefully below deck. "I will see what it is."
Making his way carefully to the Jenivere's wreck, Kenton looks around with the rest of the group gingerly.
"Be careful. Sounds like something might still be alive down there. Dead men don't scratch and skitter."
Just in case, the scout draws his weapons and makes his way behind Siri.
"I'm going to keep watch out here. I'm not the most nimble sort, and I don't fancy a swim in heavy armor. If you need my help, scream," Paulinus says to the others as they begin to make their way into the wreck. He keeps his eyes peeled on the surroundings to make sure nothing creeps up on them from inland, or into the ship from the water.
The door to the captain's cabin opens easily. Inside, the room is almost empty, probably due to a large hole in the back of the stern. The captain's desk remains, though, somehow turned upside down. Luckily, it was too big to fall through the hole, and all of its drawers are intact and present.
Paulinus hears the scratching below stop, replaced by a loud, familiar chitter...
As Siri and Kenton descend the stairs, the half-elf sees a larger version of one of the sea creatures they fought when they woke up. It was scratching at a door to the south, a trickle of old blood apparently coming from the room beyond, but it turns around as more accessible prey draws near. It chitters, more loudly and deeper than the others, its mouth parts moving hungrily.
It moves up north through the hallway between the stairs and remaining wall toward fresh meat. It stops in front of Siri, and quickly jabs its stinger at her. It hits her shoulder before she has time to react, but the point just barely fails to puncture the leather armor.
-----
Round 1
Siri wasn't too surprised to see the stinging water bug there, coming after her. It was still only the benefit of her leather armor she avoided a sting, but she gripped her blade tightly, letting the red creep in her vision. She let out a howl as she struck at the bug, letting her fury guide her.
Siri cleaves the bug in half, and light blue blood soaks into the wet floorboards, running down into the sea.
The half-elven woman breaths heavily after her burst of anger, calming quickly and taking a few moments to steady herself. She flicks the blood from her blade and glances up at Kenton, as if she's surprised to see the man. She points downwards towards the two doors to the south, sheathing the large but flexible blade.
"Just a bigger creature like the ones on the beach. I killed it," Siri states, making room for Kenton. "It tried to get in there," She pointed to the door, checking to see if it could be opened. If it was locked, she steps back to think for a moment of a solution.