Aaron too joins the others in getting off the road. In the brush he asks. "Do you think it could be more of those cannibals we killed earlier?"
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"Might be, might not be," Sasha states, leading the way through the bush. "If so, they'll probably try to kill us then eat us. If not, they'll probably try to kill us, then dump is in a shallow hole. Survivors who know there's no way off an island might just not have any interest in adding to the number of mouths to feed." with that grim thought, she continues pressing forward.
Given the seriousness of the situation, Aaron draws his sword and follows close behind Sasha.
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Sasha leads you quietly through the trees, and it takes much, much longer to approach this way, more than an hour of careful, quiet picking through the trees. It is getting to be nearly dark, and your party grows tired, for you have covered nearly 16 miles today, thanks to the beaten path.
You draw close enough to be able to see the dim outline of the lighthouse through the trees. Sasha holds up a hand, to point to the right. There, lying tethered to the base of a tree, is an enormous lizard - apparently as over-sized as all other animals on the island - acting almost as a guard dog would in a more civilized land.
Sasha steps forward to within ten feet of the treeline, beckoning you closer with her, while motioning the less stealthy Aerys and Jask to remain a bit further back.
You look to the right, and see that Sasha's caution is not unrewarded: a guard hut, on stilts ten feet high, overlooks the path leading up to the camp. If you were not behind your blind of trees and leaves, you are certain the two figures standing there would have no trouble seeing you. However, even in twilight, you can see that their appearance is quite similar to the three men you encountered on the path near the snare. There is what appears to be a signal horn dangling from the roof.
To your left - south - you see what can only be described as a pen, yet containing no livestock. Here stand four human skeletons, on their feet and each grasping a rusted, pitted scimitar. They sway gently, as though rocked by some un-felt breeze, but make no sign that they have detected you. Another building nearby appears to have no windows, but - of course - you cannot see the far side.
Similarly, the building in front of you has no visible windows or doors, but is a bit larger than the hut to your left.
It is, however, the central area that draws most of your attention. In the central clearing in front of the lighthouse a roaring bonfire gives light and heat, primarily heating a great iron cauldron in the center of the fire. One figure tends to this, while three others sit, leaning against various huts, as they put stone to metal, attempting to sharpen long-dulled scimitars, or crafting a new javelin from a stout stick. They, too, appear to have taken no notice of you, and actually appear to be quite tired, as their day draws to a close.
Sasha gives you a grim look, then motions back towards the others. The four of you creep a hundred feet away from the camp, then look at each other quietly. "Well, I don't like it. How do we know your captain isn't food at this point?" Sasha asks.
Jask shakes his head. "What these men and women do is an abomination, but I'll not risk my life like this to stop them. However, that lighthouse may be the only way we can signal a rescue boat out of here. And I'd like to get out of here!" he whispers fiercely.
Aerys thinks a moment, then shrugs. "They have to sleep sometime. We go in quiet at night, only fight those we need, and come out once we find what we've come looking for. You said those four in the 'town square' are looking pretty tired? They might rest soon. Come to think of it," she says with a yawn, "I'm getting pretty tired, too. Could we go in first thing in the morning?
Aaron looks in the direction of the cannibals camp and lets out a groan. "Well at least Kovack got what he deserved though I wish it had been me who put him out of his misery. I'd have been more humane about it. Well more or less. I wouldn't have eaten him at anyrate. Jask is right though. That lighthouse may be the best way to get of this island. Surely better than building a boat. Though to use it, we'd have to clear out the cannibals. Now I have an idea of sorts. We could sneak up to that long house there and set it on fire. Looks to be mostly made of wood any ways. I don't want to have to fight them face to face if we can help it. Anyone else have any input or ideas?
Sasha nods. "Good thought. Which one of the huts, again?"
Aerys cuffs you on the shoulder. "Come on, we have to at least make sure Kovack is dead. And what about the Varisian, Iaena? No sign of her, either."
I would say that it is the largest building in the area. I'm really not sure which number it is. The map has errors so I cannot view it. So the largest one that looks like the living house. So long as it is not too close to the light house. Aaron has flasks of oil and he wants to set fire to it during the night. How close is the ocean and what is the lighthouse made of?
The lighthouse appears to be crafted primarily from quarried stone - at least the first two stories, and then a little more. The very top ten feet - including the roof - appear to be made of wood. If you set the building in the middle on fire, you do not think that it would flame up high enough to cause damage to the lighthouse's wooden portions.
"I like it," Sasha says with a grin. "We rest here until the last watch of the night. They won't be expecting it at all, then bam! Before they know it, we've cooked their last meal!" Jask and Aerys each give her looks of disgust at this, but Sasha is smiling and nodding her head in approval at the plan.
You set watch for the night, and try to take up position in the lower branches of some of the larger trees, so that you are not simply a meal for any jungle beast to walk by. There is no light or time for hunting, and you each must share a meal of trail rations.
Aaron looks at Sasha just a tad disturbed but shrugs and looks at the other two. "Its either this or we fight them head on. Also in addition to needing the lighthouse, we don't want to be their next meal should they ever find us. It's us or them." Aaron takes first watch. As soon as they are ready Aaron will rally the others and they find the safest most secret way to get into position to start the fire.
Your watch passes uneventfully, though you do see the four cannibals in the open space go inside the building you are prepared to set on fire.
You wake Sasha to take your place, and are in turn woken by Jask. [b]"I have prepared a spell for today that will permit me to ignite your oil at distance, so that we might misdirect the sentries. What other tactics do you have in mind?"
Once the team is ready for action Aaron puts forth one more tactical decision. ”Okay, once the fire is going we are going to try and sneak to the light house. Hopefully the chaos, light, and noise the fire will cause will provide us with the cover we need to get there. I do not expect us to clear out the cannibals with just a fire. So we get into the lighthouse. I don’t see an opening outside but there may be a way in through the building connected to it. Once we get to the top of it, we will watch what happens. If it looks as though the cannibals may control the fire, we will attack them with whatever ranged weapons we have. There are a couple of Javelins here so we should start with these. Hopefully this will provoke them to come after us and then we can funnel them into the lighthouse. This method should make them easier to pick off. Then we can repair the lighthouse. Though I have to say, I am strangely not in a hurry to get of this island just yet. I still think there is more exploring that can be done here. I want to see what all this island has to offer. At the very least, we should go and recover the others once we have secured the cannibal camp. Is everyone ready? Then let’s do this.” Aaron will start the plan.
You are woken in the pre-dawn darkness by Aerys. She whispers, "Jask is preparing his prayers for the day, and should be done in a matter of some minutes. I'll wake Sasha, then we'll get along with the plan."
She moves aside, and your eyes eventually adjust to the darkness. You hear Jask finish mumbling his prayers, and whisper for you. "Can't see a damn thing in the darkness. You ready?"
You move toward the clearing, and see the final ten feet between you and the building. Up in the watchtower, you can hear two of the cannibals stamping their feet, apparently unaware of your presence. You stealthily cross the gap, and begin emptying the contents of your oil flasks on the wood slats of the building.
The guards appear not to notice you. It does not take long to cover most of that corner of the hut in oil, and you return to the others, then give Jask the signal. He takes but a moment to ready himself, then speaks out a single word of power that causes a small spark to appear at the base of the oil-soaked wall. It takes a moment, but soon the wall is engulfed in flames. The guards at their post cry out when they see the sudden light, and you hear their feet tramp down the steps of the watchtower and into the hut. Taking you cue, the four of you dash across the opening as quietly as possible, crouching underneath the tower and around the north side of the hut to each the base of the lighthouse.
There is a narrow gap between the two buildings, and you head down it to reach the corner of the hut. There is a balcony coming out of the lighthouse, and you hear heavy steps come out onto it and a booming voice order instructions in an unrecognizable tongue. In addition to those from the hut who are attempting to beat out and smoker the fire, two more rush forth from the lighthouse to assist them.
As you are in the lead, you easily see the concealed pit at the base of the tower, and are able to point a way around it to the others. While the cannibals attempt to swat out the fire, the four of you enter the room at the base of the lighthouse. Inside, you shut the door, and see in the dim light that there are two doors, one to the north, leading into the lighthouse, and one to the south, leading to the other external buildings.
You take the door to the north, heading into the lower floor of the lighthouse. It would be quite dark, but there is light from the fire coming through a narrow window to the southeast. The room itself is empty. There are doors to the north and west, and stairs leading up. The bellowing voice continues to thunder from the balcony outside and overhead, and if you peek out the window, it would appear that while the cannibals have managed to put out a bit of the fire, the rushes and palm branches that make up the roof are beginning to smolder. Though damp from the afternoon rains, they dry quickly and appear ready to burst into flame. Sasha examines the door of the lighthouse, which swings inward, but shakes her head, uncertain that she could bar it against entry. Aerys points in turn to each door and the stairs, then hold up her hands as if to ask Which way?
Aaron whispers "I here someone barking orders from up top. Lets head up and deal with him. That should give us an advantage if we took out their leader with a surprise attack. Hopefully that is who I am hearing." Aaron draws his blade and makes his way up hoping to find the source of this "bellowing voice"
Do what you need man. I'll check back on 31. Hope everything is okay.
Wow, that was a crazy couple months.
Ok, I'm a little more flexible now, and am still in and interested if you are. Just say the word and we'll get going again.
Looking ahead, I'll be out of town from Christmas to New Year, so those may be down/away times for me, depending on Internet connections.
The four of you creep up the stairs quietly, and when you reach the top, the flickering light of the dying fires outside reveal a bedroom of sorts. The furniture looks more along the lines of that which a ships captain might have in his cabin. Four savage looking women huddle against the back wall, away from the opening out to the balcony. They do not yet see you, but neither can you see who it is they cower from out on the balcony. You hear whoever it is bellow in a series of unrecognizable chatters, then the last of the fire appears to die out, or be put out, when the light coming through the window dies down.
A few heavy footsteps later and you see the outline of a very large human man against the backdrop of stars that are coming through the window. He appears to be carrying a large shield, and you can see a sword of some type glint at his waist.
Unfortunately, Jask's body picks this exact moment to give a particularly loud sneeze. The large form grunts curiously, then barks out a few words in an angry tone. They are repeated again, and this time, the large figure draws out his sword!
Aerys snorts in anger at Jask, then hops the railing and sets her shield between herself and the large form.
The enemy howls, then charges toward the top of the stairs, drawing his gleaming sword as he does so, and - even in the darkness - swipes hard across the open space.
You hear a tremendous whoosh as the sword swings just shy of your armor.
I dodge the attack from the....boss guy thingy. I then dive forward to try and roll past the opponent : "Sasha! Let's take him out together! Come on I'll flank with you!" I ready my attack waiting for Sasha to move in and flank.
When Sasha is flanking I take my readied attack.
Attack: For:
Your tumble isn't as graceful as you might have hoped, and the hulking man strikes out against you, trumpeting out, "Klorak ninkal knoruvitum! Klorek! Klorek!" as he raises high and brings down his blade.
The sharp blade and heavy blow cut easily through your armor, as the enemy draws first blood.
Sasha bellows, "Jask, light!" she holds in place for a bit as Jask spits out a quick word, and the top of the stairs are flooded in light. The man is huge, with a shock of bright red hair topping a face of wide, wild eyes. Human skulls make up his pauldrons, and fingerbones his necklace. The image on his shield is that of an enormous snake, and he wields a wicked - and surprisingly well kept - scimitar as his main blade.
As he has turned to face you when you passed, Sasha has no trouble stepping up and stabbing forward with her rapier.
Though Sasha's stab fails to connect, your pinpoint slash cuts to the quick, returning the blow against the enemy.
Aerys, not to be left out of the fight, hops forward and launches a powerful punch directly at the unarmored opponent.
Aerys lands a very solid punch, and though the enemy - Klorak - reels back a bit from the blow, he follows up with a very curious tactic. He sheathes his sword, and reaches out as though to grab at where he landed the cut on you.
He grabs at the wound, rubs his hand around to collect blood, and proceeds to smear it across his chest and face, rolling his eyes and howling maniacally.
This assault to the senses leaves him quite open, and the three of you closest to him launch attacks again as he howls.
Each of your attacks of opportunity connect, and Klorak howls in pain.
Aaron snarls in pain at the attack. Then in disgust at the action. "Die Freak!" I attack again with a little more fury than before.
Attack: For:
You land a solid blow on the very bloodied Klorak, and a simmering fire burns in his eyes.
Sasha stabs out again with her rapier,
...and the blade bites deep into Klorak's side.
Jask attempts to get over the railing and to your side in aid,
...but age appears to prevent the man from moving as well as he might like, and he is stuck on the stairs.
Aerys throws another heavy punch at Klorak,
...and it solidly connects.
Klorak draws out his sword in a quick flash and launches a strike at Aaron,
...and the blade cuts past your armor, into your side, and you reel in such pain that you lose consciousness...
You come to what seems but a moment later, as Jask draws weary and concerned from your side. There are a series of loud poundings happening at the doors below, and a chorus of wails from further overhead. Slightly more startling are the wild but vacant eyes of Klorak, staring at you as blood seeps from his mouth but a few meters away.
"It would appear that the town has learned more clearly of our presence," Jask intones. "Lie still a moment, you received grievous wounds. Aerys and Sasha are holding back the rest of the... tribe, I suppose. The door is solid, but they are doing all they can to keep it closed. We'll need a new course of action soon."
Jask chants again for a moment...
...and you feel yet better.
"AARON!" you hear Aerys bellow over the thuds and muffled cries. "We need a plan here! What have you got?!"
I take a moment to collect myself from the staggering blow. "Oof where am I?" A moment and I hear Aerys shouting. "Right uh give me a sec." I think quick. Okay where in trouble now. We have a bit of an advantage though, we can funnel our enemy. That should work. I straighten up and head to the door. I turn and take the Scimitar from the dead chief and join the others.
I call out to Jask. "Help me move some of this junk and wall off a spot so we can contain our enemy." When we finish moving stuff I then position myself to the left side of the door against the wall. "Jask get on the other side and get ready." I toss him the scimitar I took from the boss. "Use this if it is any good." I look to the ladies. Position yourselves so we can funnel our enemy in one at a time. This should make their numbers meaningless and we can take em out."
The scimitar is in surprisingly excellent condition, and cuts through the air with ease. You think it would make an excellent addition to any arsenal. When you proffer it to Jask, he shakes his head. "I have no such training. Let me simply help stack against our offenders, then support from further back."
"If it'll help, I'll use it," Aerys offers. "Hells, I've handled plenty of those in the past, Besmara knows. When you're ready, I'll take up post here next to the door. Sasha, you there and Jask, you there," as she gestures them to their appropriate locations. "Now get that junk in the way!"
You look at the pile of straw, flimsy mattresses, and battered furniture that lies about the room, and quickly begin piling it in front of the door. It makes a decent sized pile, and one battered and heavy footlocker makes a chorus of clinking sounds as you haul it into place. Sasha grins maniacally. "Well, at least there's a reward there for our efforts! Last one out takes it back to the others, or at least finds a way to sail to Sargava!"
As you thunk the last bit of junk into place, you take up your positions. Sasha sprints around the pile of junk, and stops up short. You look over at the balcony as you hear a thunk, and see a piece of wood at the end of a rope wrap its way around the railing of the balcony. Sasha gives you a crazed wink, then dashes off toward the rope, drawing her kukri on the way, just as Aerys steps away from holding back the door and it crashes open, a crazed cannibal leering in at you in the unnatural light from Jask's spell.
Aerys
Cannibals
As the door bursts open, you see a cannibal in the doorway, and at least a couple more behind him, but with the shouts and cries, you assume there are more unseen.
Sasha sprints to the railing of the balcony, and with a quick and heavy cut of her kukri deftly slashes away the rope. "Four of them here, and they're trying to climb up!" She stands at the ready for more to approach this way.
Aaron readies and attacks as soon as the first foe is between him and Aerys. "Now!" Attack: For:
The first cannibal jumps into the room, and he is startled to see Aerys brandishing the sword of their leader, as she, too, is ready to strike out upon his entry.
He bellows in rage, a bellow quickly mitigated by your slice into his side as he collapses to the ground under your blows. The next cannibal behind him also steps up and lashes out at Aerys.
It cuts past the shield she is wielding and manages to slice into her arm. Another steps into the doorway behind him, and tries to somehow get at you with through the cover of the doorway.
His old and poorly kept scimitar cant take the strain of having hit the solid door jamb, and shatters in his grip.
You hear what you assume are curses as the cannibals at the base of the tower attempt to figure out another way to get a rope up to the balcony, or to climb the side of the tower itself. A pair of javelins lance up toward Sasha...
The second javelin glances off Sasha's armor with a fair bit of force, but doesn't penetrate the chain shirt.
Jask holds high his holy symbol to Nethys, chanting a few words, then holds forth his dagger, which flies out across the pile of junk to attack the nearest cannibal before returning to his hand.
It flies wide, but certainly draws the attention of the enraged cannibal.
Sasha returns the favor in kind, launching a javelin back down in the direction of the cannibals on the ground.
From the cry of pain emerging below, it has clearly found a sticking point, and Aerys laughs gleefully at its pain.
Attack the fresh cannibal…I am presuming a flank. For:
Is eight cannibals all there is? Is there anyway to know for sure?
Aerys also attacks, swinging harder this time:
However this strike just misses on its connection.
You listen to the sounds of those in the hallway, and decide that there are at least a half dozen, if not more, cannibals out in the hallway. This will be a protracted battle!
The cannibal in front of you swings at you this time, trying to trade back the blow you dealt him.
He lands a minor cut, and the cannibal in the doorway attempts to get at Aerys by punching at her around the corner of the door. .
The combined swings each of you Delia's first cuts deeply into his arm, then Aerys' enchanted blade cuts clean through the remaining flesh. The Cannibal goes down screaming in pain, quickly falling unconscious. A comrade from behind pulls him back out into the hall, then steps up to take his place.
Jask steps around the edge of the junk pile, chanting, then lays a hand on your shoulder.
Sasha calls out, "They're trying to climb he wall itself here!" She launches another javelin down at them.
You hear a faint st ranged cry and a thud, in what you can only assume is a cannibal falling off the wall with a javelin stuck in his chest.
"We're doing good! Keep it up!
I attack again. For:
You cut into the cannibal's back as it faces Aery's shining scimitar, and he goes down, screaming, adding to the small pile of bodies at the entrance to the room.
Aerys attacks the next cannibal, who appears to be preparing to muscle his way into the room:
...the excellent blade cuts deeply into the cannibal's side, bypassing his shield.
The cannibal roars in pain, then attempts to strike back out at Aerys in reply:
...the blade passes slightly over Aery's head, scratching across the wall.
The cannibal behind him similarly attacks in your direction, trying also to get around the corner of the door:
...and his similarly clanks against the door post.
A javelin comes flying up toward Sasha:
...it lances into her shoulder, piercing through her armor, and she cries out in pain as she jerks it out again.
Jask moves to your side, attempting to aid your next strike against the cannibal: .
"Two others climbing the wall!" Sasha calls out, "One on each side of the balcony! One side isn't doing too well, the other, making progress!"
She launches a javelin back down at the climbers.
...and her retaliation causes another cry of pain to come up from below.