Seeing red, the elven barbarian unleashes a bestial roar of rage as she swings her sword at the undead abomination aiming at cleaving the undead in half.
If that was Sizara's intention, she very nearly succeeds, cleaving the creature from shoulder to belly. It collapses on the sand, black, foul-smelling ichor spilling from its gaping wound.
"Mother will feast on you..." it gasps as the light fades from its eyes. "She knows...you are...here....."
It lies still.
"What in the hells was that?" shrieks Gelik, sitting up, covered in slime and sand. "And why couldn't I move? And what is this slimy... STUFF all over me?"
Sizara sighs in relief as the battle ends. She laughs a bit at her new wounds saying, "Seems I'll have some new scars soon."
The elf explains to Gelik, "You were about to hauled off by an undead monster. But we saved you. I may have been the one who dealt the death blow but it was Karia, Ishirou, and Archibald who spotted your would be ummm...captor before you could be taken away. So it is they who you should thank for if not for them...it is best left unsaid what would have happened to you."
"As for why you couldn't move and the slime...I don't know. My people didn't deal with such dark voodoo magics."
Karia takes a deep breath and tries to regain her calm. "You're greased because Mr Ghoulie was carrying you off to be a snack Gelik." She answers his question.
Looking around warily in case there are more unwelcome guests. "So I cast Grease on you and he dropped you because you were too hard to hold. Better having to bath than being eaten alive I'd say?"
She checks Sizara and calls Jask and Corliss over to heal her of her serious wounds.
She also makes sure to commend both Jask and Ishirou for their good work.
Jask is more than happy to give Sizara some healing.
"Be takin' it easy today, Red. You gets all scary when you gets worked up."
The sun is just beginning to rise in the eastern sky, showing another fine, clear day.
"Gellik, that was an undead abomination. I don't know what kind. Its words trouble me. If it spoke true then we can expect to see more of them. Did Jask's holy energy completely heal your wounds?"
He pats the gnome on the shoulder. "I was afraid for a moment that we had lost you. I'm glad I was wrong."
Corin thinks for a moment.
"Sizara, put on some gloves and help me move this thing some distance from the camp. We don't want it to befoul the place any more than it already has. Ishirou and Corliss, take the shovels and scoop up the sand where it fell. Take the sand and dump it where we put the body. The rest of us will pitch in to help move the sand after a bit."
"OK, lets get started with the day's plans. Sizara will take Sasha's place fishing. Karia will train with Sasha. Gellik, today is your rest day so you can train with Sasha if you like or do whatever else you wish though I'd advise against wandering off alone. Corliss and I will head over to the cliff and start working on the raft."
Sizara thanks Jask for healing her. She laughs at his words, telling him that she doesn't mind getting worked up, especially during battle. But she does appreciate his concern though.
She disagrees with Corin, saying, "I don't think burying it will do us any good. We should burn the dead undead to keep it from coming back just in case. We can then bury the burnt remains after that. Just my thoughts. But I will agree that we should move it away from the camp before disposing it. "
For her day plans, Sizara will train with Sasha after the dead undead is gotten rid of.
The rest of us rig the block and tackle up at the clifftop, then work on the raft for the day?
Corin nods at Sizara's words. "I wasn't saying that we should bury it, just that we should move the tainted sand where it fell away from camp. Sure, lets burn the body here where we won't have to worry about the fire spreading through the jungle, then shovel the ashes and tainted soil way from our camp."
Day 3 - All Work and No Play
Burning the body and the tainted sand takes a great deal of firewood - someone is going to have to work extra hard to gather driftwood and branches from the edge of the jungle to replenish your stock. Luckily, food won't be a problem today, as there is plenty of roast snake left over. The burning corpse sends a plume of acrid, greasy smoke into the sky.
Gelik seems subdued after his nasty experience, keeping his normally acerbic wit to himself, and even quietly thanking Karia and Sizara for his rescue when there isn't the slightest chance that someone might overhear.
With the morning well underway, the castaways split into two groups: one (Corin, Corliss and Karia) heads off towards the cliff to rig up the block and tackle, and construct the raft, while the other (everyone else) stays at camp, training or attending to various chores.
--------
Sasha takes a net and attempts some fishing, although she seems to spend more time feeding fish to Archibald than she does catching ones for the humans to eat. Gelik helps the obviously unwell Aerys to gather more firewood, while Jask and Ishirou begin digging a trench around the shelter as another line of protection. After a while, Sasha seems to get bored of her fishing, and offers to train with Sizara.
---------
Having made it to the cliff overlooking the island where the Grog Dog is wrecked without incident, Corin, Corliss and Karia begin construction of the raft. With planks from the Jenivere, fallen logs, and green jungle vines, they have the resources they need.
Corin, Corliss and Karia work hard through the morning, constructing the raft, and making good progress.
As noon approaches, Corin and Corliss get the strange sensation of being watched. Surreptitiously scanning their surroundings, the two notice slight movement in some undergrowth approximately 40' away, at the edge of the clearing where they are working.
Catching the movement in the brush, Corliss heads in that direction, pretending to be gathering some more rope, wood, or other supplies for building the raft. When he gets within 30 feet of whatever's lurking nearby, he uses storm burst to attempt to weaken whatever is creeping nearby.
for plus -2 penalty to attack rolls for 1 round.
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.
Corin puts his hand on his longsword and calls out.
"We mean you no harm, but we'll defend ourselves if necessary. Come out and talk."
"No lasting harm, anyways," Corliss chimes in as his storm burst goes awry.
Corliss's stormburst, although way off target, certainly startles whatever it is in the brush, and he hears a crashing as it flees into the jungle.
The priest catches sight of two humans, tanned-skinned and wearing only loincloths and clutching spears, fleeing into the jungle. Their bodies are extensively marked with tattoos, scarring or something similar.
After cursing his ineptitude, Corliss reports what he saw to Corin and Karia. With a sheepish grin he adds, "Maybe that display will scare 'em enough to make me their new God o' Thunder an' Lightnin'...or God o' Sprinkles an' Zephyrs, more likely. Eh--whatever, just so long as they don't eat me!"
Karia will make the Knowledge (Engineering) check then.
And shows that reading about it doesn't equal training at it!
When the intruders run away she remarks. "I think Sizara is right. It seems everyone knows we are here. Best to move camp soon."
"Indeed. We best reinforce our defenses. I have a feeling that we are will soon get some more uninvited guests. Remember that trap pit I have suggested? Might be best to speed it up. Or we could just litter the ground with broken glass, metal, wood, anything that we can use to harm our enemies with."
Apart from the discovery of the watching humans, nothing else happens during the day, and the day ends with a nearly complete raft. Some more work will finish it in the morning.
Meanwhile Sasha has been showing Sizara some tips on balance, foot positioning and stance that are taught in the Crimson Citadel.
Corliss checks in with Aerys to see how she's doing and report that the search for the curative berries hasn't been forgotten. He also warns her about the natives encountered, saying that her 'elf eyes' should stay sharp and on the watch for intruders.
Corin sits by the fire, chewing on the remains of the snake's meat. "I'll leave the camp's defenses to you Sizara. You seem capable. Let me know if I can lend a hand. We should be able to finish up the raft tomorrow. Who wants to train with Sasha?"
Karia talks with Gelik.
Not being confrontational, but pointing out we're all trapped on a dangerous island, and that we need to work together to escape.
She also points out as a Bard he is important to keep others spirits and morale up.
karia nods and suggests the Corin train with Sasha tomorrow. "You and Sizara are our strongest fighters. You being quicker helps us all."
Corin nods. "As you wish, though your powerful words aid us in combat as well. I'll train with Sasha."
Corin nods. "As you wish, though your powerful words aid us in combat as well. I'll train with Sasha."
Excellent question. I think I said on day 1 that it was low tide at mid-morning when you all swam out to the Jenivere, so it will still be around then. If you make an early start you can finish the raft in time for low tide.
Karia talks with Gelik.
Not being confrontational, but pointing out we're all trapped on a dangerous island, and that we need to work together to escape.
She also points out as a Bard he is important to keep others spirits and morale up.
[dice=Diplomacy] 1d20 + 6;
His (literal) brush with death seems to have chastened Gelik somewhat.
"There was time when I'd be excited to be here. Smuggler's Shiv! All the stories of cannibals, and ghosts, and dinosaurs, and that abandoned lighthouse. I would have been salivating - dreaming of my name in the Pathfinder Chronicles. But since I fell out with the Pathfinders..."
He sighs. "Maybe this will be my way back in. If the Nightvoice is here..."
Traps
If you devote someone to the job full time, then they can set traps, snares etc. around the camp. This means that if the camp is attacked, then the attackers will already automaticlly have taken damage, and you may get some warning. Of course, if someone is doing this role, they can't be doing anything else.
Alternatively, you can set a few specific pits etc. around the camp, but you'll have to hope than any attackers blunder into them, or make use of Combat Manoeuvres to force them into the traps. If you want to use this option, I'll put the camp map back up.
"Abandoned lighthouse, Gellik? What do you know about that? If it still stands it could be a good place to light a signal fire for passing ships."
"We should probably get the raft out to the Ghost Dog as soon as we can, so I'll skip my training with Sasha tomorrow. Lets all head out to the cliff, finish the raft by low tide, then launch her. We might need to spend the night there if we can't get back before the tide comes back in, so lets bring some provisions with us as well. Then we can move the raft off the cliff and back to camp, a difficult task which I hope we can accomplish."
Corliss checks in with Aerys to see how she's doing and report that the search for the curative berries hasn't been forgotten. He also warns her about the natives encountered, saying that her 'elf eyes' should stay sharp and on the watch for intruders.
[dice=Corliss Diplomacy]1d20+2
Aerys is obviously unwell and barely eating. She raises one sarcastic eyebrow at the request to 'stay sharp'.
Day 4
After the terrors of the previous night, and even with the exhaustions of the day, there is some difficulty getting to sleep that night. Gelik in particular seems jumpy, constantly twitching and touching the light scratch on his face where the creature wounded him. No-one takes watch duty lightly, constantly patrolling at the edge of the firelight, jumping at every cry of bird or beast from the jungle.
And yet nothing disturbs the night, and as the air cools, finally everyone gets enough sleep.
The next day dawns, but he usually clear sky is streaked with long, high bands of cirrus cloud, and a welcome breeze blows in off the ocean.
"Abandoned lighthouse, Gellik? What do you know about that? If it still stands it could be a good place to light a signal fire for passing ships."
"Just something I heard." says Gelik. "When Sargava was still a Chelaxian colony, the empire started building a lighthouse on the Shiv, to protect trade shipping. Supposedly it was almost finished, but then the workers abandoned it. The usual wild tales about unearthing Azlanti ruins or somesuch. More likely is that the mosquitoes got to them."
"Gellik, I don't like the look of that scratch. Lets have Corliss take a look at it to make sure that it hasn't become infected."
"Jask, would you mind using the power of your deity to heal us before we set off today? I'm still a bit wounded and I don't know how dangerous today might be. I never thanked you for helping defeat that monster who invaded our camp yesterday." Corin moves over and lays a hand on Jask's shoulder. "Thanks. For what its worth I at least believe in your innocence. If we ever get off this island I'll do my best to help you prove it."
Corliss examines Gelik's wound and then treats it if it's indeed infected.
It's just a scratch, and doesn't look infected. Gelik's reaction looks more like a nervous twitch, a reaction to the trauma, than anything else.
"Jask, would you mind using the power of your deity to heal us before we set off today? I'm still a bit wounded and I don't know how dangerous today might be. I never thanked you for helping defeat that monster who invaded our camp yesterday." Corin moves over and lays a hand on Jask's shoulder. "Thanks. For what its worth I at least believe in your innocence. If we ever get off this island I'll do my best to help you prove it."
Jask beams a broad smile. "Thanks, mon. All we needs now is for that damned pirate to testify, an' I'm off free!" He laughs. "But de All Seeing Eye guides me to what will come, so we shall see too. An' yer right - Destruction must be balanced wit' Creation. Gather round, peoples."
points healed.
The Grog Dog
It is late morning, and the sun is already high in the sky when, with much sweating and straining, the group manage to lower their homemade raft down the cliff and into the channel between the Shiv and the small island where the Grog Dog is wrecked. The waters of the channel are low and gentle, but in a few hours they will froth and boil as the tide rushes back in, and woe betide anyone caught in the channel then.
Balanced on their creaking craft, and using the oars from the Jenivere's rowboat, the four explorers quickly propel themselves across the channel.
As they get closer to the wreck of the Grog Dog it becomes clear that the wreck is extensively damaged, waterlogged and has been in place for some time. Sea moss grows all over the hull, and seaweed tossed up by some recent storm hangs from the remains of the mast and rigging like bunting.
As the raft nears the shore, footprints can clearly be seen in the wet sand. Somebody, or several somebodies, have been wandering, seemingly aimlessly, over the small beach around the wreck. But there is no campfire or other sign of habitation, and no movement is visible on the shore.
Karia will keep her crossbow ready and keep an eye out while those who can track examine the footprints.
Corin whispers, "Help me secure the raft, quietly."
On shore, after securing the raft he readies his shield as his eyes scan for danger and he kneels to examine the tracks.
[dice=Survival to track]1d20 + 6 + 1[/dice]
His cold iron longsword snakes from its sheath.
The tracks are strange - definitely human, some barefoot, some booted. But they seem strangely aimless, as though several people were wandering around with no purpose. One of them is dragging a wounded leg, and all of them have an unusual gait, like the slow, shuffling walk of a...
A revelation hits Corin.
Zombie.
As if on cue, a low, gutteral moan echoes from the cavernous hull of the ruined ship, joined moments later by several others.
Sizara readies her sword as the bestial rage begins to rise in her.
Karia.
Karia will use Inspire courage on her first turn. (+1 to hit and damage for everyone, and +1 to save vs fear and charm.)
On the second round, if there is time she will use Grease at where the Zombies have to exit the hull. Trying to have them slipping and slowed in a bottleneck.
If not she will use her crossbow on any Zombie not in melee.
Zombie. The word was familiar. He'd heard tales of such creatures while recuperating from his head wound in Port Peril. He was pretty sure he once knew how best to fight such creatures and was certain that Besmara gave him an additional weapon usable against the undead.
"Bash the bone, slash the flesh...," he mutters under his breath, dredging up an old adage for fighting skeletons and zombies. He reaches down and draws the dagger from his boot after helping Corin secure the raft.
"Besmara grants me some power against the undead," he whispers. "I can use the same positive energy I use to heal wounds to harm the walking dead."
As soon as his companions are ready, Corin motions for Sizara to follow as he stalks closer to sounds emanating from the Grog Dog.
And here they come - the rotting corpses of long-dead sailors, animated by fel magic or some sort of curse that lasts beyond the grave. Two emerge from a great rent in the hull of the Grog Dog, and at least two more can be seen behind them.
Sizara - can post
Corin - can post
Zombie 1&2
Karia
Corliss
Sizara, despite raging, shouts at her companions, "Let them come to us! But pepper them with arrows to soften them up for our blades!"
She lets out a great battle roar as she prepares for the first undead monster to come at her or try to get past her!
Corin holds steady waiting for the creatures to approach.