"But the cook was killed by a vampire? Right?" Douena asks.
Jask shrugs. "We don't actually know that for sure. It was just a guess based on the bite marks on his neck. Perhaps those marks were made by some sort of snake instead."
Lorenz shook his head. "I don't think so. It seems rather unlikely. Ieana definitely wasn't a vampire and there was no one else on the ship. It was just an assumption because no one knew the difference between a vampire bite and...whatever other kind of bite the cook had on him."
"But the cook was killed by a vampire? Right?" Douena asks.Jask shrugs. "We don't actually know that for sure. It was just a guess based on the bite marks on his neck. Perhaps those marks were made by some sort of snake instead."
"Aha!" Douena eagerly grabs onto Jask's words. "See? See? A snake. Desna was trying to tell us something."
"Well, whatever it means," Jask says, "you should continue to search for signs of Ieana and Captain Kovack. It seems more and more certain that Ieana has the answers we all need."
"Wise man says: no time like the present. Shall we head off due south?" "Were there always this many vines around?"
Jask nods. "As that is the one direction left to go, that would seem a wise plan. However, as I am remaining here in camp to look after Sasha amongst other duties, it is not my decision to make."
Sasha comes forward. "I'm feeling much better today, actually." She does indeed look a lot better. Her face has some colour back in it again, and her eyes are not sunken. "You don't need to look after me anymore. I think I can even get back to hunting again today. Gotta keep the food supplies up."
Jask shakes his head. "The food supplies are not in danger of running out today. You may feel better, but you should rest for one more day at least. If you exert yourself, the affliction may be able to regain its hold on you."
Sasha looks crestfallen and lowers her head in defeat. "Fine," she says. "One boring day, coming up. A request to those of you getting to do stuff today: come back with something exciting to tell me!"
Douena gazes at Sasha sympathetically and digs into her pack. "Here, Sasha," she says, handing over the model of the Jenivere, "you can have my boat until we get back." As she prepares for another day of exploration, she approaches Aakif. "You should have told us beforehand about your special holy day; we wouldn't have minded if you'd stayed out on the cliff to listen for whispers. I have to commune with Desna every night, after all." She pauses to consider. "You might have gotten a little hot, though. And you'd have had to stay away from the flappybite nests."
"Something exciting to tell? Shouldn't be to hard, the way we attract dimorphodons." Makoa says, stoicly refusing to use anything but the proper name for them. He then leaves his shield and dagger next to Areys, "In case they are needed. Please do not lose the shield, it is very important to me." and draws his axes, ready to cut a way through the jungle when everyone is ready to leave.
Sasha takes the model from Douena with a smile. "I'll take good care of it," she says.
Aerys looks up from where she is sitting in surprise as Makoa places the dagger and shield beside her. She hurriedly stuffs a waterskin into her pack. "Uh, sure," she says. "I'll...um...look after them, I guess." She looks away for a moment, and then back at Makoa. "Did you by any chance..." She pauses, then continues, "That is, my water...did you..." She stops again and looks away. "No, never mind. It's not important."
"I can honestly say I have had nothing to do with your water. As far as I know, the only person other than you that would have anything to do with it is Douena, when she creates it."
"If it's important enough that you want to say something, it is important. Speak your mind at all times with me, as I would do the same to anyone, friend or foe."
After seeing Makoa leave his shield behind, Lorenz considered leaving some of his equipment but eventually decided not to. He did lighten his backpack some, however, so he was no longer quite as heavily burdened.
He looked a little worried about Aery's somewhat furtive actions but declined to speak of them.
To Sasha, he said, "I'm sure we'll have some good stories to tell. It's sure to be more interesting traveling through the jungle than along the outskirts of it. And if you're feeling better tomorrow, you'll be able to do as much hunting as you like. We appreciate your efforts just the same."
Looking to Gelik, he waved. "See you tonight, friend storyteller!"
Hitching his backpack, Lorenz looked expectantly toward the others. "Shall we be off?"
After seeing Makoa leave his shield behind, Lorenz considered leaving some of his equipment but eventually decided not to. He did lighten his backpack some, however, so he was no longer quite as heavily burdened.
Douena watches Lorenz taking things out of his backpack rather pointedly. "You're not leaving behind the rope again, are you?"
As she prepares for another day of exploration, she approaches Aakif. "You should have told us beforehand about your special holy day; we wouldn't have minded if you'd stayed out on the cliff to listen for whispers. I have to commune with Desna every night, after all." She pauses to consider. "You might have gotten a little hot, though. And you'd have had to stay away from the flappybite nests."
Aakif smiles down at the dauntless cleric. "I would have needed to stay there for the entire day, and I do not think it would have been a wise use of our resources or a wise thing for me to do in general. Besides, the conditions here just do not allow the winds to approach from every direction; ideally I would have a high place from which I could see for miles in every direction. I thank you for the consideration, but my choice was made out of practicality rather than concern over offending anyone."
Douena watches Lorenz taking things out of his backpack rather pointedly. "You're not leaving behind the rope again, are you?"
"Isn't everyone carrying rope around with them these days?" He grinned. "Don't worry. I've got my rope."
"I can honestly say I have had nothing to do with your water. As far as I know, the only person other than you that would have anything to do with it is Douena, when she creates it."
"If it's important enough that you want to say something, it is important. Speak your mind at all times with me, as I would do the same to anyone, friend or foe."
Aerys nods. "It's all right. I don't want to hold anybody up. I'll look after your stuff." She opens up her pack and pulls out some papers.
And so you start out once again, this time heading straight south into the jungle itself. It's a lot harder going than the last couple of days have been. The vegetation is thick and frequently impassable. Even with Makoa chopping away at vines and other obstructions, you frequently have to go around areas, sometimes even having to backtrack a bit before being able to proceed further.
The jungle is alive with sounds and smells. And bugs. And heat. You can hear the chittering of birds, and the screeching of monkeys. And the buzzing of the insects. Even though the canopy of trees blocks much of the sunlight, the heat and humidity are still oppressive.
After pushing your way through the undergrowth for a good two and a half hours, during which time you estimate you make it only about a mile or so, you spot more "flappybites" flying over top. Two of them pass over a gap in the trees, heading south. They are very high up and don't notice the party. Around the same time, Aakif is the first to hear the sounds of waves crashing against rocks, barely audible above the other jungle sounds. About five minutes later, you come out of the jungle, right at the edge of another cliff. The jungle goes so close to the edge that if it weren't for the sound of the water below, you would have never known the cliff was here. Indeed, your movement causes several small stones and dirt to dislodge from the top and topple into the sea below.
It's not as high here as to the north, only about 50 feet or so up, but there is still a breathtaking view. To the north, the cliff was always curving into the jungle, so you could never see very far along it. Here, however, the cliff curves out into the sea in both directions, affording a magnificent view. Where you are at the moment, the cliff runs northwest/southeast. To the northwest, it starts to curve out to the west. To the southeast, it curves south and then the coast curves westwards again, outlining the large northern bay shown on your map of Smuggler's Shiv, giving you the final confirmation (if anymore was needed) of where exactly you are on the island. To the south, the cliff eventually pulls away from the coast as the coast turns westwards. Along the southern side of the bay, you can just make out a long stretch of beach. On the western side of the bay, you can just make out two other island close together.
Numerous flappybites fly over the bay, sometimes diving down to catch fish. Just to the south of you, a large group of them flap about around another nest. They are not currently paying you any attention.
"Oh, how pretty!" Douena cries, clapping her hands in delight. "We should see if we can find a good campsite on this side of the jungle; just looking out at the view ought to keep everyone cheered up."
"While I agree the place looks nice, I think we should avoid letting our neighbors we're here for now. Wouldn't want anyone getting bit again..."
First there are still two potions to roll for.
Spellcraft
Spellcraft
Second, did we ever divide up the potions that are already identified?
Third, feel free to update the party loot section of the google sites for the AP.
Douena looks up and down the cliff. "Yes, there's no point in fighting them when we don't have to. They seem to be having such a good time. Should we go along the cliff a little way and see what we find? If we go that way," she points toward the south, "maybe we can find a way down to the beach."
Lorenz nods in agreement with Douena. "That sounds like a good plan to me. I'm glad we're making progress out here for a change."
You begin moving southeast by first retreating into the jungle a bit and making your way carefully around the flappybite nest so as not to disturb them.
After another hour and a half of cutting through undergrowth and being careful not to slip and fall off the cliff, the jungle pulls back from the edge a bit, providing an expanse of clearing for you to walk along more comfortably. The sun is getting high in the sky and the clouds are holding back so far today. The heat, naturally, is rising rapidly.
Lorenz pauses to wipe the sweat from his face and look out over the water. "It's really too bad that the others can't see this. Maybe if they were able to appreciate the beauty of this island they'd not be so quick to lose hope. I think we should take a break here during the heat of the day. Perhaps a breeze will be blown in."
He looks hopefully to the others for assent.
"Sure, I guess a short break would be good."
Mahjik folds his legs under, relaxing a bit and enjoying the view. Absentmindedly he's rolling two smooth round white stones between his fingers. "I think Douena and Lorenz are very much on the right track - to explore the island properly we need to either leave camp for many days; or the camp needs to travel with us. Personally I think it will do the others good to get more in touch with the island as well; and at the same time I don't want to leave some of us behind while others go exploring for days on end - maybe never to return. Perhaps later, or tomorrow we should look for a new campsite, yes?"
You settle down to wait out the heat. Over the bay, you watch birds and dimorphodons fly about. Occasionally, a dimorphodon grabs and eats one of the birds, sending the other birds flying away only to return a little while later. You even see a few much smaller dimorphodons, young ones presumably.
The sky clouds over in the next couple of hours and the heat ends a little earlier than on previous days as another downpour starts, this one complete with a thunder and lightning display.
With a bit of extra time available, you can probably explore a bit more if you'd like. You can also gain a bit of extra time if, when returning, you don't retrace the path you came along (since you changed directions), but take a direct route through the jungle. There is, however, a bit of a risk of getting back late depending on how difficult it is finding a decent route through the jungle .
"We told Sasha we'd bring back something interesting," Douena says, rising to her feet once the heat has dissipated, "and even though sitting here and watching the flappybites has been very interesting, it's not going to make a very exciting story to tell. Let's go on a bit farther and see if we can't find something else."
Lorenz lays down on his stomach and watches the dimorphodons fly about with slowly spreading smile of delight. "I think I'm starting to see why Sasha might want one of the lizardwings. They're rather interesting and those smaller ones look kind of cute."
Later, when the heat dies down and they start to consider their options, he says, "I think Mahjik might be right. A new place to camp may be good for the morale of the others and it'll give them a chance to do something different. Maybe tomorrow we could look for another campsite, though we'll definitely want to make sure there aren't any predators in the area. A place with a view like this, however, would be nice."
"Shall we travel on a little further?"
A different route on the way back would allow us to explore just that much more of our little island home.
"Wise man is not averse to seeking excitement - but is averse to excitement finding him." Mahjik found himself a flexible vine to each end of which he has tied a sizable rock and is swinging it about experimentally. "But it really would be a pity if we do not find something more this island has to offer. There's not even a wreck this time around."
"Makoa," Douena skips up next to the tusky half-orc, "we should look for a camp near a big tree so we can make our swing." She turns to address the rest of the group. "Makoa had a really good idea when we were on watch last night that we could make a swing, now that we have plenty of rope. Wouldn't that cheer everybody up? Think how much fun it would be if we could find a big tree along about here and " (she gestures emphatically with her hand) "way out over the edge of the cliff and look out at the water and the flappybites and everything." She smiles happily at the thought.
Makoa sighs, laughs once, and shakes his head.
"It was your idea, I just... helped."
With the rain pouring down, but the heat finally dissipating, you continue on southeast along the cliff side. It's not long before the jungle again extends to the edge and you're back to hacking your way through, but at least the canopy of leaves gives some shelter from the rain.
After about an hour and a half, it comes time to make the trek back to camp, so you turn north-northwest and make your way back through the jungle. The journey back is tiring and takes close to four hours, but you reach the camp in the evening around 7:30 or so.
You don't discover any shipwrecks or more flappybite nests this day, but you do discover a couple of possible locations for moving the campsite to. The one farthest south is by the large clearing where you rested during the hot hours. Unfortunately for Douena, there is nothing suitable right next to the edge for a swing to overlook the bay due to safety concerns.
Jask already has the leftover flappybite prepared for dinner when you arrive, and you eagerly sit down for good meal. Unfortunately, Jask himself is looking a little worn and under the weather, somewhat like Sasha looked just before she came down with her illness.
"I fear I may be coming down with the same affliction," he confesses. "I seem to have spent so much energy seeing to others' needs that I neglected my own."
"Makoa, while we're out maybe you could look for some fruits or vegetables. That will help us to stay healthier."
Lorenz walks into camp with a weary smile. He was tired after the long day of walking but glad to be back in a familiar place.
"Well, friends, I'm afraid our day was a little less interesting than those that have come previously. We found more of the lizardwings but they were content to leave us be for a change. Perhaps they've come to fear our battle prowess!" His smile broadens to show that he is joking.
"No ship wrecks today either, but we did find a spectacular viewpoint overlooking the bay. We also believe we've found what may ultimately be a more comfortable place for our camp. It's not far from that lookout point and will allow us to better explore the rest of the island without having to plan for longer trips away."
Lorenz goes into considerable detail describing the view from the cliff face and the clearing they had found, doing his best to make it sound like a much more pleasant haven than the group's current campsite.
"So what do you think? Feel like doing a little traveling?"
Then, seeing Jask looking so poorly he frowned a little. "Well, perhaps not. Sorry to learn you're feeling poorly, Jask. How are you this evening, Sasha?"
"Let's see how Sasha and I are in the morning," Jask says. "We can decide then whether we are fit for travelling to a new base camp. It does make sense that we move the camp so that you can explore further south, and the sooner we do that, the better."
Sasha shrugs at Lorenz's question. "I think I'm okay, but Jask keeps insisting that I take it easy, that I'm not out of the woods yet -- I'm sure he intends the pun, ha ha. We won't know for sure until tomorrow."
Lorenz smiles and bows a little. "Well you look much recovered. I'm sure Jask knows what he's talking about."
Douena looks at Jask with concern. "It's this campsite," she insists. "There's bad air here. It would be so much better on the other side of the jungle; you get a nice breeze off the sea. Oh, and, Sasha," she says, turning to the woman, "there's ever so many flappybites over there, and if you were careful not to disturb them, you could watch them flying and fishing and diving. They even caught birds out of the air, just like catching fish out of the water!" She turns back toward the rest of the group. "I know it's a bad time to think about moving, with everyone sick and all -- but everyone might just keep getting sick over here!"
Jask nods thoughtfully. "You could be right, little one. If everyone feels that we should move the campsite tomorrow, then I am willing to do so, even if I am ill."
"Same here!" Sasha says excitedly. "I can't wait to see those flappybites!" She claps her hands in glee and almost bounces where she's sitting.
"I will go where the group goes," Ishirou says.
Gelik sighs. "I'm not one for prancing through jungles and would prefer not to if we don't have to. However, it everyone's agreed that it's necessary, then I am willing."
Aerys doesn't give an opinion. She continues to sit aside from everyone else. She is also looking paler than usual.
Mahjik moves over to Aerys, trying to console her. "Mrs Mavato, don't you too feel it would be good to travel to a new site? You must be getting sick with the same trees around you all the time. Maybe if you too see the sight of the bay you'll find hope - it really is magnificent."
Noting the sunken eyes that he'd seen previously on Sasha, and now on Jask too; he pulls Aerys around holding her face straight at his - trying to make her not avoid his intent stare.
Motioning Jask and Douena to come have a look, concern covering his voice: "Jask, I think you're not the only one who's taken ill. Maybe there is reason to believe that this camp site is not entirely sanitary. What do you think little one?"
Aerys is quite startled by Mahjik grabbing her. She pulls away from him. "Don't touch me!" She relaxes a little, however, when she realizes he's just checking her health. She still resists him holding her face though.
"I'm feeling a little off," she admits. "But I've been feeling a little off ever since we got here. Maybe I have this disease. It wouldn't surprise me. I said this place would kill us all. This disease will take us slowly one by one. We'll all just waste away."
"Don't be silly," Douena tells Aerys. "Look how much better Sasha is already. As soon as we get out where you can feel the sea breeze, you'll see how quickly you get better."
Douena will insist that Jask and Aerys go lie down and rest while the others take care of the evening necessities. She bustles about them officiously, creating water to cool their brows.
Sadly, she gets distracted while tending to Jask and splashes him in the face with so much water that he nearly chokes. She will, however, bless everyone just before she settles in to commune with her goddess at bedtime ; the three already known to be sick will receive the extra attention of a prayer to Desna for a touch of luck in their recovery.
Makoa's eyes narrow as he sees Aerys react to Mahjik's touch like a cornered, scared animal.
"You told me you didn't like the way the sea and sailing treated you, though you loved it, and now you're going to let an island, nothing more than dirt and rock keep you from sailing again? If you want to be treated differently Aerys Mavato, perhaps you just need to fight a little bit harder."
"We all want off of the island to(though Douena may want to find a way to ride the dimorphodons first), so we're here to help."
"And thank you for watching my shield."
Aerys actually smiles briefly and hands Makoa the shield. "You're welcome," she says. "You have a point, I suppose. I'm just finding it so hard at the moment. I'll try harder though."
Navior
"On our next trip out let's look for some fruit or other plants we can use to supplement our food."
Lorenz spends the evening helping with the cooking and taking care of cleaning up so that those who are ill can get some rest.
"Since people need to rest, maybe we should change the watch schedule? I wouldn't mind doing a longer period on my watch so that we're still well covered. Maybe four hours each instead of two?"
Before the watch begins, he spends a little time chatting with Gelik. "I honestly don't know if I'm disappointed that it was such a peaceful day today or not. I'm glad no one got hurt but it sure doesn't make for much of a story. 'They traveled and watched killer birds eat some non-killer birds.'" Lorenz sighs.