Corin nods, "I am also trained in the art of stealth, would you like some company?"
Karia grins. "Yes please."
"Let me know when you need me to charge the enemy. That way the enemy will focus on me giving you two the element of surprise," the elven warrior woman suggested as she prepared to move the moment her comrades gave the signal.
Corin and Karia creep forward,peering down the hatch to see whatever is making noise. At the foot of the steps, a creature like the ones they fought on the beach, only much larger, is hammering dementedly with its claws on the door to the ships storeroom. A thin sheen of blood runs from under the door. The creature is about as long as a man is tall, and it is waving its sharp-stinged tail over its back in an agitated manner.
As the pair approach, one of the damanged boards of the deck creaks under their weight, and the creature instantly whips around, its antennae stroking the wooden boards in front of it.
Karia tells Corliss and Sizara. "It's a really big one of those beach thingies. Hit it when it reaches the top of the stairs!"
She takes a step back to get out of the way.
"That was quite a clever analogy Corliss. You must be blessed with the humor of a lemur or monkey with such a wit like that."
The elf woman's hearty, genuine laugh brought a wry smile to Corliss's face. "I believe I've been told I've the looks of a monkey before," he replies, wondering who said that to him and when. That seemed like a very distant memory, perhaps from when he'd been a child.
He accompanies the statuesque elf to the top of the stairs, ready to follow her into battle if the need arose. Realizing that one needed a weapon to actually join battle, he quietly draws his rapier.
Corin nods his approval of Karia's strategy and backs up a bit as well, calling out to the creature in an attempt to draw it up the stairs.
"Try your hand at us, beast!"
His longsword at the ready, he waits for the creature to approach.
Corin nods his approval of Karia's strategy and backs up a bit as well, calling out to the creature in an attempt to draw it up the stairs.
"Try your hand at us, beast!"
His longsword at the ready, he waits for the creature to approach.
The creature seems to respond to Corin's challenge - it scuttles forward on its many legs to the foot of the steps, and its mighty tail swings up and over its back like a whip, the barbed tip thunking into the wood inches from Corin's feed, a clear liquid leaking from the long stinger.
The creature chitters angrily and retracts its tail, waiving it over its back, ready to try again.
"Let's see if I can get the beastie's attention.... Taste Besmara's stormy vengeance!"
for plus additional effect (see spoiler below).
for plus additional effect (see spoiler below).
Storm Burst (Sp): As a standard action, you can create a storm burst targeting any foe within 30 feet as a ranged touch attack. The storm burst deals 1d6 points of nonlethal damage + 1 point for every two cleric levels you possess. In addition, the target is buffeted by winds and rain, causing it to take a –2 penalty on attack rolls for 1 round. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
Note that the creature on a lower deck. The hatch is 5' wide with a 5' set of steps going steeply down.
The creature looks like it may not be able to climb the stairs easilly, but it tail has a long reach - Corin and Karia are currently threatened.
Sorry, I missed Karia's question earlier about missile weapons - I don't think anyone brought one, and there's not much around that you could throw at it.
OK, Karia seeing no missiles able to attack at range, and only having her dagger will withdraw carefully from it's reach. Thinking that having it struggling on the stairs is a better time to attack.
She suggests this to Corin, "Draw back and trap it on the stairs."
Her first round action is her withdrawal and using Inspire courage. +1 to hit and damage for everyone. +1 to saves vs fear and charm effects.
Second round she will support. Ready to assist the others, and cast Grease or Cure Light Wounds if needed.
Round 1
Karia moves backwards, calling on Corin to lure the beast up the steps. As she does so, the creature's tail whistles through the air again, and its long sharp stinger strikes her deeply in her flank.
Karia begins to chant, the swirl of her words lifting the heart and bolstering resolve
Corliss moves up to behind Corin (F2). He can barely see the creature down the steps, but it is enough. Invoking Besmara's power, he causes a miniature storm cloud to manifests above the hatch. Powerful winds and icy blasts of rain howl from it, buffetting the creature.
Corin takes the opportunity to close with the creature, advancing carefully down the steps, his sword held defensively in front of him.
The creature, furious at the intrusion and the sudden windstorm buffetting it vents its fury on the man in front of it. There is a flurry of razor-sharp claws, most of which Corin fends off, although one grab does draw blood and he also avoids the deadly whipping tail.
Sizara moves, the better to offer assistance. (F3)
Round 2
Karia lets her voice falter a moment before she picks up a different cadence, clutching her side and chanting low. The glow of healingmagic spreads through her fingers. hp healed.
Corliss again invokes his thundercloud, but this time the creature twists, allowing its thick carapace to take the brunt of the blast, and seems unaffected by it.
Corin having reached the foot of the stairs relatively unscathed, brings his longsword to bear. Spotting a gap in the creature's thick armour, he thrusts with precision, sinking his blade deep. The creature gives off a strange wailing cry, thrashes briefly, and then lies still.
Drat!
Karia breathes a sigh of relief.
"Nice work!" She compliments the others.
Corin does his best to bind Karia's wounds.
"Karia, you should rest here. You don't look so good. I'll head down to search for supplies. Once I make sure its safe I'll call for you."
He looks at Corliss and Sizara. "If either of you want to come, lets go. I want to be off this wreck before sundown."
He descends the steps cautiously, his sword drawn in case something else jumps out at him. He attempts to open the door from under which blood is seeping.
I hope I can save whoever that is.
Below deck
Most of the middle deck is gone, but the four compartments at the very stern of the ship remain, with doors leading to them from the main area - the Captain's cabin, the galley, the larder and the ship's stores. The doors to all of them are closed, and it is under the door to the stores that there is a thin trickle of blood. The door appears to be stuck, but it is in bad shape, with the strange sea creature having inflicted quite a lot of damage on it. With a suitable implement, or a good hard shove, it may be possible to open it.
Corin repeatedly attempts to break the door down, succeeding after about half a minute.
Ship's Stores
While most of the ship's spare material was held in the cargo hold, specialist or delicate material, or things that had to be kept dry, were stored in this small, cramped room. The material has been thrown around in the wreck, and is now scattered all over the floor. Lying on top of a mess of rope and canvas is the body of the First Mate, Denvers. He wears a set of fine leather armour and clutches a rapier, but has several large wounds on his body. The blood washing under the door is his. His face is somewhat puffy and swollen.
Corin moves over to the man and makes sure Denvers is, in fact, dead.
Corin closes the man's eyes and says a quick prayer for his soul, then calls to his companions. "It looks safe! Come down and see what you can find that might be useful, then move it up to the deck. I'll keep searching for danger."
Corin then moves on to the next closest area.
Sizara felt bad as she hadn't contributed much to the group's battle with the monster. Following Corin to make sure he was safe, she was about to aid him in opening the door, but Corin had already opening, making her feel bad once again.
She saw the dead body of the first mate.
"By the animal spirits and Shelyn," Sizara said with a shocked gasp.
She studied the body, hoping to see what had happened to the poor man.
After that she followed Corin, her sword at the ready. But first, she said a quick prayer to the spirit of the cheetah and her deities to aid Denvers's soul's passage into the spirit world.
"I don't like this Corin," she told the man, "Denvers was a good man. I feel bad about him."
Corin nods but does not look directly at Sizara. "I do too, but there isn't much to be done about it right now. If we have room in the boat we can take his body back to the beach and bury it, but right now our first priority is supplies."
She studied the body, hoping to see what had happened to the poor man.[dice=Heal]1d20
[dice=Perception]1d20+6
There are two sets of wounds on the body. The older set (maybe 12 hours old) were inflicted by a rapier or similar weapon. The more recent are from the claws of the sea creature, and it is a poisoned sting to the chest that appears to have finished him off.
Sizara also notices that the first mate wears boots that matched the mysterious set of prints on the beach, and that the boots have traces of sand on them.
Apart from his armour and rapier which are of fine quality, the man has nothing else on him.
The Larder
This room was usually kept locked, although the door is unlocked now. As the ship was only a few days from port, not much is left, although there are various preserved foodstuffs kept in small kegs scattered around in disorder. Stuffed into The one corner, behind a now tipped-over barrel, is the body of the ship's cook - a look of horror frozen on his face.
The Galley
There appears to be little of interest here, beyond a few sharp knives, some ladles, and a large iron cooking pot. The box stove is solidly attached to the wall.
The Captain's Cabin
There is a large jagged hole in the wall of this room, and most of the contents appear to have been washed out by the pounding waves. However, a large writing desk with several drawers, too big to fit through the hole, has lodged across the gap, and a small footlocker is caught against it.
"Sizara, can you help me get that footlocker? I'm worried about it going through the hole. Once we have that safely on deck we can search the desk."
Corin calls back up to Karia and Corliss. "Everything seems safe down here, at least for the moment. Can you come down and help us search for supplies and move them up to the deck?"
Sizara informed the others of what she found by examining the Denvers's body.
"It seems that are very was the one who saved our lives. His boots match the footprints we saw on the beach. It seems he was killed by the beast we...I mean you since I didn't contribute...just fought. However, he had another wound: one that was made much earlier and was made a...rapier I think that's what the slender pointed sword is called right?...although it was the beast's poison that killed him. It was good that he was able to lock himself in the store room before the monster could eat the poor man. I have both his sword and armor. They should come in handy...and I think he would want us to have them so we can survive on this island. And I think we should also take all the supplies from this ship to aid us in surviving as well."
Upon finding the dead body of the cook, Sizara examines it while also looking at the supplies in the room as well.
She advised the group to gather the food as they'll need it.
"Hold up Corin," she said stretching her muscles a bit.
The footlocker is easy to carry, and contains a man's personal effects -some leather armour, a rather ornate Mwangi dagger, some potion bottles and a pouch full of strange herbs, twigs and other detritus. There is also a pendant, of a stylized black and white mask of a man's face, which is easily recognisable as a holy symbol of Nethys, god of magic. Jesk, the manacled man on the beach, has a similar tattoo.
Examining the body of the cook, Sizara notices two large puncture wounds, swollen purple with poison, on his neck. They seem familiar, but it is a moment or two before she recognizes them - the deep, curving puncture wounds are almost exactly like those of a snakebite, although in this case the snake would have to be huge, with its head equal in size to that of a man's head.
Corin searches the desk while Sizara carries the footlocker up to the deck.
Corin searches the desk while Sizara carries the footlocker up to the deck.
A ring of keys, some charts, and the ship's log in one drawer. In the other, a bottle of fine Galtan brandy, a wooden model of the Jenivere in a bottle, small coffer full of gold coins, and a satchel containing a number of potion bottles in little pockets.
Once she has her breath back Karia goes down to help recovering anything we can bring up.
Making perception checks to she if she can find anything hidden in each room.
Stores.
Larder
Galley
Captains cabin
As she doesn't have Healing she takes the word of the others regarding Denvers. Taking a moment to pray for the brave man, and thank him for saving them.
She does have Cooking skill, so takes care in the galley to look for any equipment she can use.
After searching the footlocker and placing all the items in her backpack, Sizara quickly realizes that she forgot to tell Corin what she had discovered examining the cook's body!
Racing down there, she finds Corin searching the desk.
She is mesmerized by the ship in the bottle, having never seen one. She almost forgets again what she came down here for.
"Ah! Sorry it's just that I've never seen something like that before," she says pointing at the ship in the bottle. To her the ship in the bottle is simply amazing.
"If I may, could I have that please? And...oh!"
She quickly tells Corin of what she found...
"The cook...well I'm not sure how to say this but he was killed by a snake...There's one problem: the bite marks do not match that of a normal snake. The only way the snake could have left such wounds would be for its head to be the size of adult man's head! Truly something is bad here...I pray that the animal spirits guard us against evil."
Corin will also go over the various rooms to see if he can find any food, or tools which might be useful.
A thorough search of the rest of the wreck reveals nothing more of note. The galley and the larder between them contain a small amount of preserved food - enough for one person for 24 days. The stores contain a variety of equipment and materials - three 50' coils of hemp rope, two large canvas sheets, a block and tackle, two lanterns and 12 flasks of oil. In addition, there is a hewing axe, two shovels, two fishing nets and a grappling hook.
Also, I forgot to mention that the cook had clearly been dead a few days, which is odd as you saw him preparing the stew yesterday.
Sizara also informs the group that she just realized that while examining the dead cook, she noticed that he had been dead for a few days.
"We saw him yesterday serving us that drugged stew, so I'm not sure what to make of this. But I believe this is a bad omen. I pray that the spirits and the gods will protect us. And I believe that we should also give the ship's cook a proper burial as well. It is the right thing to do. How do your people honor their dead? Among the Ekujae we cremate our dead so that their remains can return to the nature and life spirits."
The elven barbarian went to fetch the cook's body.
Corliss had heard the cook utter oaths to Besmara occasionally, and his tattoos suggested that he was a pirate in his earlier years. A burial at sea would be appropriate.
What was found in the desk?
Karia has been carrying the goods from below back to the boat. rope, canvas etc.
What was found in the desk?
Karia has been carrying the goods from below back to the boat. rope, canvas etc.
Posted above:
A ring of keys, some charts, and the ship's log in one drawer. In the other, a bottle of fine Galtan brandy, a wooden model of the Jenivere in a bottle, small coffer full of gold coins, and a satchel containing a number of potion bottles in little pockets.
Right, my bad memory.
Once we get ashore, Corin takes a moment to identify the various potions.
Back of the Beach
The group finally makes it back to the beach. It seems that in your ansence some of the other castaways have made rudimentary attempts to set up camp. Jesk has planted a number of washed-up planks vertically in the sand, and he and Aerys are sheltering from the sun in their shadows, having dragged ishirou there too. Gelik has started a small, smokey fire from driftwood, and is hunched close to it, while Sasha is filling water bottles at the little stream. There is no sign of Pamela.
IDing the Potions
The potions in the satchel all have little labels next to them. Four are marked 'light heal', one 'moderate heal', four 'minor restore', one 'remove disease', one 'water breathing' and the last 'water walking'. Should Corin wish to double check, he can confirm that they do exactly what the labels might suggest.
Corin is just about to attempt to identify the two potions found in the footlooker, when Jesk wanders over. "If ye be wantin' to know what my things be, mon, ye can just ask." He chuckles and holds up his manacles. "An' I be thinkin' that one of dem keys opens these. If ye'd be so kind. After all, where is I goin' ta run to?"
Corin regards Jesk skeptically.
"It isn't a matter of running, its a matter of justice. What was your crime, Jesk?"
Corin regards Jesk skeptically.
"It isn't a matter of running, its a matter of justice. What was your crime, Jesk?"
Jask, but he has an accent. :-)
"My crime? Trustin' the wrong people, mon. I was workin' as a scribe in Eleder ten year ago. Found evidence that someone was skimmin' off the books, workin' with the Free Captains. Took the document to me superior. Only problem bein', it was him as was doin' the skimmin'. He frames me for it all, an' I run. Been livin' in Corentyn these ten year, thinkin' they all forget about me. Then one day this Sargavan bounty hunter hit on on the head, drag me down to the ship, and give me to the Captain sayin' to take me back for trial."
"I believe you, Jask, but it isn't just my decision."
Corin turns to address the group. "This man did the right thing and is being punished for it. We also need every hand to help us survive here. Who thinks we should free him, and who thinks we should keep him chained?"
He pauses for a moment.
"I believe him, and I vote to free him."
Karia also studies Jask, but is more inclined to believe him.
He at least had reason for being unable to help us.
"I agree with Corin." She states.
Looking around she does ask those who stayed behind. "Where is Pamela?"
She keeps her hand near her dagger, feeling worried by Pamela's absence.
Looking around she does ask those who stayed behind. "Where is Pamela?"
Gelik looks up from his fire. She climbed up to the top to f the cliff there to have a look around. She said she'd only be a few minutes. His face falls as he realizes the implications of his words. "Umm, that was some time ago actually..."
Gelik, Aerys and Sasha are indifferent about freeing Jask. "We're all dead anyway, makes not difference." says Aerys, who looks much more interested in the bottle of brandy that the group recovered.
"We're all dead anyway, makes not difference." says Aerys, who looks much more interested in the bottle of brandy that the group recovered.
"Aerys, thinking like that is the surest way to make it happen. The first step to surviving is believing that you will survive."
While Corin waits for everybody to weigh in about Jask, he makes sure that Karia gets the masterwork rapier and that Sizara gets the ship in the bottle. "That ship is most likely valuable, but what good will it do us out here?" He shrugs as he hands it to her.
Corin makes sure to pack the brandy away safely in his pack and says to Aerys, "This is for medicinal use, only."