Reijo looks at Suny skeptically. "Bah!" he exclaims, drawing his cutlass and proceeding to hack away at the jungle foliage in his way. "See how long ye can keep up climin' like a monkey. I be clearin' a path on tha ground, round them briars, fer anyone who ain't be a monkey."
Reijo also takes out his compass, and a board with a grid etched into it. He uses colored chalk and paper on the grid board to keep track of the group's location as he moves along...
Suny just shrugs at Reijo's comment and begins her work.
"Sounds like we's goin' ta do it the hard way Reijo boy! HEE he he!" Grinned Bellamy as he drew his cutlass and thrashed away at the greenery in front of them.
"Hope I'm aimin' the right way!" He wondered aloud, turning he eyepatched face to and fro, listening for the others.
Suny smiles and sighs as Bellamy begins to thrash away along with Reijo.
With all the flailing metal down below she's quite happy to no be any where near the slashed greenery.
Nhati looks at what Reijo and Bellamy are doing, and then at what Suny is doing, and decides that she likes the latter better. She casts a quick spell, and slowly climbs up the tree behind Suny.
"Stay close above, ye saucies," the angry sailor grunts at Suny and Nhati as they take to the trees above. "'Sides gettin' a view o' yer bum sides as ye climb, I don't be wantin' ta run far when ye gets lost er in trouble er whatnot."
Glaring at Bellamy, Reijo is sure to keep one eye on the blind man's cutlass as they go. He reminisces with gruff humor on the time Bellamy was chosen as the ship's "Fine bloody lookout, arightee."
"HEE he he!" Bellamy laughed at the reminder. "Oh aye, I be a fine lookout at night or fog, but that time we was in broad daylight!
"Oh, hey Reijo boy! 'Member when the Cap'n had us all drill fer boardin', an' made me throw the grapplin' hook? Still feel bad fer the poor bastards I hit accidental 'cause I can't see proper like!
"HEE he he!" He cackled again as he slashed his way further into the brush.
Ol' Salty lets the two jest, while keeping close. He occasionally casts Know Direction, to make sure they are headed the right way.
While roughly half the group opts to go up and over, Reijo leads the more grounded folks in heading around. Unfortunately, after a good ten minutes of heading the wrong way, the briar patch doesn't appear to be thinning out any. Suny keeps to the trees, keeping as close as she can, while Nhati sets down on the far side of the thick briars after her magic begins to wane. All the while rain comes down relentlessly, thankfully diverted somewhat by the jungle's thick canopy.
Finally, Reijo spots a passage that might provide a means through the briars without getting a faceful of thorns--only to find his footing drop out from beneath him as the soggy, muddy terrain gives way. He slides a half-dozen feet down into a ditch burrowed under the briar patch. Fortunately, nothing is damaged but his pride.
Though it's a bit of a squeeze, and certainly rather muddy, it looks like a game trail that was dug out underneath the briar patch. It runs forward about halfway through the briar patch before forking with one end appearing to continue off to the other side of the jungle and the other fork cutting somewhere into the base of the briars. The thick undergrowth makes it tough to see exactly what might lie in there, if anything... but without going another hour (or more!) out of the way, this might be the best way through.
Hearing the sudden thrashing, Bellamy called out.
"Reijo? Reijo boy talk ta me laddie! You still alive there?"
Once they're across, Nhati says, "Ah, the joys of jungle exploration. It looks like we have an obvious way forward; shall we proceed? Let's proceed with caution; you never know what's going to jump out at us next."
Being less armored than most, Nahti will proceed with the others, positioning herself towards the back.
"Lil Fisher, see if the path is safe, ifn ye please. Start with the one headed to the other side of the jungle like. Run back if ye see any danger, ye hear?"
Lil' Fisher nods and heads down the path sneakily.
"Bloody... Son... Ov'a... Dungbie!" Reijo curses in between trying to avoid smacking into tree trunks and thick roots as he slides down the muddy slope!
When he at last catches and steadies himself beneath the briars, and after taking a moment to look around, he scowls back at Bellamy, "No thanks ta me havin' ta keep me eyes on yer wild an' wide cutlass-swingin', ye mangy blind bat ov'a ole' man!"
Unless he sees danger, Reijo lets the Lil' Fisher slide past him to scout ahead. In the meantime, he grimaces at his muddied clothes, slapping off the dripping bulk of it from his backside, legs, and arms.
Coming down out of the tree besides Nhati and helping whom ever else took their way (As well as coiling/collecting the rope) Suny peers towards where Reijo is making a lot of noise.
"Here? Did ye fall down? Is ye all right?" She edges closer to where the sailor disappeared.
Seeing nothing immediately trying to murder him, Reijo lets Lil' Fisher pass by and examine the path. He scrambles down to the intersection, peeking up both ways.
The scent of something damp and rotting assaults his senses, followed by something squirming about deeper in the brambles. Something large and vaguely bug-like. Before getting spotted or eaten by the significantly larger critter, the little otter scrambles back to Ol' Salty.
Suny stands at the far end of the tunnel with Nhati, looking up the fifty-odd feet of twisted, cramped, thorn-riddled crawlspace... but sees nothing particularly interesting from their end. Just one muddy Reijo and a scrambling otter.
"Somethin's down there." Says Ol' Salty as he tries to console the frightened otter.
Suny blinks, "Wait? We don't got'a go down there...? Does we?" She points.
"I thought we wus goin' round all'a tha' pointy bits?"
Nhati looks at the parrot on her shoulder, who immediately responds to her in Polyglot, "What!? Trees! Can't see through 'em? If something's down in the brush, I'm not gonna see it."
Rolling her eyes, Nhati says, "It looks like whatever it is, our familiars may not quite be up to the task of rooting it out. Probably one of us is going to have to go in.... Let me see if I can rustle something up."
She briefly casts a spell (Mage Hand) and then uses it to pick up and toss aside sticks or small branches at various distances down the trail but within range.
Reijo glares back at Suny for reminding everyone of his embarrassing mud slide.
When he sees Lil' Fisher scrambling back, Reijo's keen attention hones in on movement up ahead. Squinty-eyed as he peers, the sailor decides, better to not be in slippery mud if a predator comes a lookin'.
So he backs away, and starts climbing back up, keeping an eye down the mud path.
"Blimey!" And as he climbs, Reijo glares at Nhati as she draws attention from whatever is there... with Reijo still trying to get out of his vulnerable position!
Nhati crouches down to get a better look into the muddy trail, but can't see much of anything from her side of the brambles. As she magically moves a few stones, the thicker undergrowth deep midway down the tunnel shakes a bit... but nothing emerges into the tunnel proper.
Smart enough to let whatever was down there keep to itself, Reijo scrambles back up the muddy slope he'd fallen down. Though it was only a five foot incline, the constant rain--even though relatively light--had made it an extraordinary hassle. He rejoins the others on solid ground, though Suny and Nhati are still safe and sound on the far side of the brambles. And the only way through the apparent wall of thorns was still through that muddy hole.
"Let's hack open the way we found here!" Shouted Bellamy down the hole as Reijo scrambled up.
Suny sighs at Bellamy's call and looks to Nhati,
"But.. we's done all'a work with tha' ropes an' stuff..." indicating the arboreal path she and the other woman have worked out.
"What ropes?" Asked Bellamy, turning his eyepatched face around exaggeratedly.
"D,oh!" (>_<) Suny exclaims before quickly, once again, scampering up into the trees and thence over and across to Bellamy.
"Bah!" the angry sailor grunts aloud, realizing Suny's got the right idea going forward. "Bloody beastie's pro'lly gots no coin werth takin' anyways. An' I be a barnacle's bloody brother b'fore ye catches me squirmin' an' squeezin' inta that slivery bitty tunnel with some measly beastie gnawin' at me bum."
He belts his cutlass after a clean swipe of the blade, and downs a sizeable gulp of rum from his jug. With a grumbling belch and a sleeve wipe of his dribbling mouth, Reijo then begins to test and then climb the rope up and over the brambles. Though the hardy man doesn't show signs of significant fatigue in this heat, sweat has darkened the front and back of his shirt. Beads of it drip from his face onto anyone below him as he climbs.
"I agree with Reijo here, gentlemen." Vik says, quickly sheathing hboth her rapier and pistol before following Reijo up the ropes, after grimacing at his uncleanliness first, of course.
"By the Gods, reminds me of my younger years like. These ol' bones still got strength in em yet!"
Unable to see where the ropes go, Bellamy said a little prayer as he carefully started climbing the ropes Suny and Nhati rigged to bypass the brambles.
One by one, those still on the wrong side of the brambles start the climb over the ropes. While Reijo sets the pace, the two older sailors prove that they're still just as capable of scaling up some rigging as any other. In the blink of an eye, the three men are up and over the brambles. Not wanting to be outdone, Viktorra tucks her pistol away and takes hold of the rope, pulling herself up into the canopy with ease.
Unfortunately, she only gets about halfway across before the rope suddenly drops her a good five feet towards the thorns. She glances towards where it was secured and see the knot keeping it tied up slipping. She makes a frantic scramble towards the far end of the rope as it gives way, dropping her down into the brambles!
She crashes through the thorns hard, taking a number of scrapes and bruises, even as the bushes mostly break her fall. The choking brambles make movement difficult, and each little cut is starting to go numb. Worse, you can hear something in the brambles moving about...
(O_o)
"NOOO!" Suny cries as her friend/comrade drops into the pointy stuff.
Quickly scrambling back up the remaining ropes to get over/above the fallen fighter.
Suny scrambles up the trees as quickly nearly as quickly as she had the first time, leaning out over the brambles on a sturdy-looking branch. The loose bit of rope hangs down into the tangle of briars, and even a cursory tug on the end still tied up seems to confirm it's caught on all the pointy bits.
Viktorra, to her credit, looks to be in one piece--though no less stuck than the rope in all the thorns.
"Lassie? I heard a crash! Are ye all right?" Bellamy called out, concerned.
Upon landing, Vik takes a quick look around, attempting to find whatever it was that was moving around down here.
"Well, that hurt a bit more than I expected." she called up, answering Bellamy. "That, and I think these thorns are bad news. Be careful not to fall!"
"Oi!" Reijo excitedly barks as the rope slips and Vik stumbles. He whips out his own hempen rope now, and climbs near to Suny, over the fallen holy duelist, but from an even sturdier branch. He lowers his own rope, letting Suny assist on account of her being nearby, and securing the attached grappling hook to the tree for extra measure.
"Grab me rope, Queenie. An don'tchye get distracted by Saucy's saucy arse this time!"
Suny looks down to where Viktorra lays amongst the brambles.
"Is ye stuck? Is ye snarled? Is ye broked?" She calls worriedly even as she tries to see where the bush dweller might be...
Viktorra's cuts and bruises continue to go numb as the toxin works its way through her system. She moves slowly--not just because of the poison's effects, but because another good cut or two would only make her predicament worse.
Reijo and Suny, perched high in the trees above, work to let the length of another rope down to Viktorra. It's not particularly hard to hit a target that isn't moving, but Suny spots something that is moving deeper in the brambles. The green-and-black carapace of a sizable insectoid creature, pulling its great length through the thorns with surprising dexterity and skill as its great gnashing mandibles inch steadily closer to Viktorra!
Suny first makes sure the ropes she and Reijo are hanging from are secure... joining brave Viktorra down in the spikey things is definitely not something Suny wants to do. Then the tanned Elf quickly forms a loop at the end of some free hanging material to lower down to Viktorra to help the woman back up.
Then Suny notes the critter crawling towards Viktorra.
"Oh.. nertz..." She exclaims and looks to Reijo,
"Does he think ye gon'a be able ta' help pull Viktorra up?" Even as she draws a small, wooden spike from some where amongst the plates of her armor.
Reijo grunts at Suny, in agreement apparently as he's already on it. Pulling the rope up, he apparently opts to go for the faster choice, come what may.
At first, the rope begins to slip. Enraged as if it were an intentional act of defiance on the part of the rope, the angry man's face reddens to the color of blood. Sweltering, his grunt becomes the deep bellow of a great beast. He gives it all he's got with the strength of a gorilla as his muscles seem to bulk up. He whips that rope up and Vik with it like it's nothing...
Reijo takes a tug at the rope, only to find that Viktorra is stuck pretty damn well. The huge bug below winds its way through the briars without any trouble, closing in dangerously fast on the stuck Viktorra.
Fortunately, Reijo wasn't one for failing to impress the ladyfolks in their company. It was sort of in the lecherous sailor's blood. With renewed strength and the fervor of a pirate trying to keep his hulk floating in a storm, he heaves Viktorra up through the briars with surprising speed. She scrapes past the thorns without any more incident, ending up in the creaking branches of the great tree Reijo's perched on.
The bug below writhes and circles, mandibles clicking just below the tree. Its antennae swipe at the air in search of its prey...
Suny helps Reijo get Viktorra up into the trees and away form the nasty, pointy stuff below... both bramble and bug.
"Okeys... lets get every one on'a ground an' back ta' tha' way we wus goin' afore..."
Reijo looks sternly at Vik as he winds his rope back up. "Now watch where ye be goin' now, ye hear?"
The angry man then begins to continue on ahead of the group. When the ground dwellers touch down on the ground once more, he steps up front to begin cutting branches with his cutlass again to clear the path.
With disaster averted and the wall of unpleasant brambles behind you, it should be a relatively straight shot through the jungle to the Besmaran temple at the middle of the Throne.
The rain keeps coming down, refusing to relent even in the slightest. Thankfully it seems to keep most of the most annoying insects at bay, and the jungle's thick canopy keeps you from drowning in it, at least. Being dry is certainly a thing of the past, however.
Less than an hour past the brambles, the leaves part and birds rush to flight as the noise of something falling from the canopy cuts through the pouring rain. Something else rushes through the canopy, leaves moving in waves as water pours through the gaps. Animals previously taking shelter from the rain bolt through the brush, fleeing away from the noise and giving your party a wide berth. Something ahead--hard to tell how far, or where, with all the rain--thrashes in a panic.
"Not like this!" a male voice shouts from somewhere ahead, worried and short of breath. "Oh gods... This accursed isle...!" His words are cut off, as though something halted his sentence mid-thought.
The rain keeps coming down, refusing to relent even in the slightest. Thankfully it seems to keep most of the most annoying insects at bay, and the jungle's thick canopy keeps you from drowning in it, at least. Being dry is certainly a thing of the past, however.
Suny skips along through the down pour as happy and cheerful as is her normal, usual self. The torrents of water sluicing off the laced together shells of armor that she wears effortlessly. Indeed, all of the lithe, tanned Elf's equipment seems quite at home in the downpour.
"Not like this!" a male voice shouts from somewhere ahead, worried and short of breath. "Oh gods... This accursed isle...!" His words are cut off, as though something halted his sentence mid-thought.
(O_o)
And, like a bolt, the tanned Elf darts off towards the cry for help.
Enjoying the warm rain, Bellamy briefly turned his gap toothed smile to the sky. Hearing the outcry, he turned towards the sound and growled.
"Jest how many people can they cram out in the middle o' nowhere now?" He said testily as he started to follow Suny.
"Oh bloody 'ells," Reijo sighs as the tan elf naively runs towards danger yet again. He decides to follow after her, cutlass and dagger in hand, cautiously keeping his eyes and ears peeled for the first signs of danger as he goes.
Oh sure, you guys get the good rolls.
It's apparently just one of those days.
Suny whisks away through the brush, her friends close on her heels. Even with the muddied terrain, you make fairly good time closing in on the source of the noise. In a matter of seconds you break through into a small sort of clearing beneath a great tree. Several bodies hang from the tree, all suspended by long ropes that bring them to within a half-dozen feet of the ground.
Most of them look torn to pieces, eaten by jungle scavengers and their remnants picked apart by insects. Only one looks to be in any decent shape, suspended by a rope to its midsection, connecting to the same bindings wrapped around arm and leg. The body flails, its apparently turned away from your group to face a pair of vaguely badger-faced creatures standing as tall as a man at the shoulder. They advance slowly on the thrashing meat pinata, licking their lips...
"By bloody Besmara's bosun, if anyone is out there, help!"
It's hard to see with the pouring rain coming down through the branches, but you're fairly certain you see something moving up in the canopy above the thrashing figure. It might just be him moving the leaves... or it might be something else entirely. Unfortunately, it's impossible to tell for sure one way or the other with the inclement conditions.
While looking upwards at the tree branches above the hanging man, Reijo carries on the hanging man's alliteration, "What in Besmara's bless'd bosom be them bloody badgery beasties?"
The salty sailor wonders if he was wise to sell his weather-friendly hand bow for a firearm that can't be used in inclement weather, seemingly a daily occurrence in these parts. He scratches his chin, thinking a moment about who these people are, or were, in most cases, and what the last survivor might be able to offer him. His imagination satisfied, Reijo rushes forward with weapons in hand, ready to toss his dagger at the first badger-man to try and take a bite of the meat pinata...