Lorenz jumps at the crack of thunder as well, but relaxes when nothing more obvious occurs.
"Darkwood, huh? Well, that's good for whatever is inside of it. Is there anything else in that desk?"
He walks carefully over to the remains of the desk and starts sifting through the debris.
Douena approaches the skeleton and squats down to look it straight in the eyeholes. "I wonder if this was the captain or one of the mutineers. Either way, we ought to do something for him, shouldn't we? Pull him out and throw him in the water for a burial at sea? Or, wait, if it's the captain, maybe he should always go down with his ship." She gives her more maritime-experienced party members a puzzled glance, seeking their guidance.
"I believe he was the captain. Just before Mahjik picked up the coffer, I heard a sorrowful voice say 'My Aeshamara' before fading. I don't think a crew member would have such a nice box anyway."
"What's an Aeshemara? A box, or a person?"
"Aeshamara sounds like a person. Was she the first mate or something, maybe?" Lorenz shrugged. "Anyway, the captain already went down with his ship. But he was reaching for the desk. Could he have wanted the box? Or something else in the desk?"
He walks carefully over to the remains of the desk and starts sifting through the debris.
1d20 + 1
"Maybe there are clues in the box," Sasha suggests. "Should we open it now or wait till we get back? For that matter, does anyone know how to open it?"
"Maybe there are clues in the box," Sasha suggests. "Should we open it now or wait till we get back? For that matter, does anyone know how to open it?"
Douena walks over to Mahjik and takes a close look at the state of the lock.
"I seem to remember someone unlocking Jask's manacles, but the name escapes for now."
"I vote we take it back and open it at camp. Hopefully any spirits still on the ship won't follow us there."
Douena walks over to Mahjik and takes a close look at the state of the lock. 1d20+9
It is possible to pick the lock. While the rust has stiffened the mechanism, it has also damaged it, so it may even be easier to pick it now than it originally was.
"I can open this," Douena says confidently. "It wasn't a tricky little Chelish lock even when it was new. Have we looked everywhere on the ship? Are we sure this is what we came for?"
Douena would like to give the skeleton a proper blessing and drop the bones into the sea before the group leaves.
"I'd rather know what's in it before we leave the ship. It'd be unfortunate if we opened it back at the camp, only to find something stupid like a key or half of a treasure map." Lorenz says, looking curiously at the box.
"We could take it out on the beach," Douena suggests as a compromise. "That way we wouldn't be in the creepy ship, but we could still come back if it's not what we're looking for."
You make your way back to the rope down.
Once you're all down, you take a bit of time to dislodge the grapple and get it back down, then head back out to the beach.
Once well away from the ship, Douena plops down in the sand with the box in front of her. Removing her tools from her backpack, she arranges them in front of her, along with her duck-shaped root, her battered tableknife, her beetle shell, and, as an afterthought, the model Jenivere.
With some quick work, Douena deals with the lock and opens the coffer. Inside, she finds a gold locket, a very fine dagger, and several ledgers and journals.
The locket contains a tiny, incredibly detailed portrait of a beautiful, red-haired half-elf woman, identified along the bottom edge of the portrait as "Aeshamara".
The ledgers will take a while to go through in detail, but a quick glance shows details of agreements between one Captain Kinkarian and numerous Sargavan and Bloodcove officials. If anything is likely to have the proof Jask needs of his innocence, this is probably it.
Douena shows very little interest in the rest of the contents of the box apart from the locket. "So that's Aeshamara. I wonder if Jask knew her. She's very beautiful." She looks up at the rest of the party. "Should we take it back and ask Jask about her, or should we bury the locket at sea with the skeleton? I hate to keep them separated. Maybe it would quiet the restless spirits on that ship if he reached his locket at last."
"If it was the captain whose voice Makoa heard, I'd assume he'd want the locket, if his spirit is truly restless." Lorenz says. "I don't know anything about spirits, but it looks like he really wanted something before he died, and the box was right there. I doubt he'd want to die with a bunch of papers in his hand."
He leaned closer to look at the documents. "Hopefully these will be what Jask needs. I think we ought to put them back in the coffer for safe keeping, and bring them back with us. The locket can stay with ol' hookman."
"I agree with Lorenz. We should let the man have his locket."
"Whatever we do, we should do it soon," Sasha says. "We're already late heading back."
"Then let us get to it now; I don't think there is anything else holding us up."
"Someone should go up and gather all the bones so we can put them in the sea." Douena looks around expectantly.
Lorenz looks around. "Well, I'll take the locket to him and leave it with the bones, but I don't want to gather him up. He's a captain, he went down with his ship. Taking his body away from the ship might just make him angrier."
He reaches for the locket.
Douena hands the locket over grudgingly. Being unfamiliar with maritime ways, she's really not sure what "a proper burial" constitutes in this situation, but she has heard that a captain always goes down with his ship. "I'm going, too," she announces, hopping up. "He at least needs a blessing to guide him to his rest."
Mahjik grins, "Wise man suggests: not without me you don't. I trust Lorenz to keep sharp if something goes wrong, but you little one are sometimes too brave for your own good."
Lorenz takes the locket and returns to the ship, carefully climbing back up the deck. He waits there for the others who are coming along before heading toward the captain's cabin.
As she steps back through the gaping hole in the ship into the dark hold, Douena calls out to any spirits that might be listening, "We're bringing her back. We're bringing your Aeshamara."
Once Lorenz has sunk the grappling hook in the deck above again and climbed up, the gnome hops onto the rope ... and immediately slides down again.
Very crossly, she shouts, "I told you, we're bringing your Aeshamara, but I have to get up this rope first!"
Finally arriving at the top, she smiles down at Mahjik. "See? Now the spirits are helping me instead of hampering me."
Mahjik smiles, "The poor souls, you probably just reminded them of their mothers."
You make it back to the captain's cabin. There's a coldness in the air here and a strange sense of longing, but also anticipation. When Lorenz places the locket in the skeleton's outstretched hand, a shape suddenly materializes right beside him. It's a nearly skeletal form wearing an officer's coat and a tricorn hat, both dripping wet. His left hand is a gleaming metal hook. The whole form is insubstantial. You can make out the shape of the broken desk through the form.
The figure bends down low. "My Aeshamara," he says. "Is that you? Have ye come fer me at last?" He reaches for the locket, but his hand just passes through it. "Let me see ye one last time, me love. Show yerself to me." He claws at the locket like he's trying to open it, but his hand keeps passing through.
At first, Lorenz jumps with terror as the spirit forms, but at the creature's words, his fear turns to sorrow.
"Oh. Er, sorry about that." He bends down and carefully opens the locket so that the spirit can see the picture within.
"There she is. A beautiful woman indeed."
The spirit closes its skeletal hand around the locket and lets out a long, melancholy sigh. It fades away. The locket remains in the outstretched hand of the skeleton. The cold in the cabin lifts and the feeling of longing and anticipation vanishes.
"Even in death he loved her - I hope she is worthy of his love." Mahjik looks away, something got in his eye.
After the spirit fades away, Lorenz finds himself staring at the hook. "But..he was a pirate, right? With a hook for a hand and bad men for crew. They mutinied against him, for Cayden's sake. And if he had proof that Jask was innocent then it kind of suggests he was a bad man too. Why would such a beautiful woman have loved him?"
He shakes his head. "Women always go after the scoundrels," he mutters with disgust. He sighs and then shakes the gloomy thoughts away. "But at least he's free from his suffering! I guess we ought to go back to camp. Jask will be happy at least. I hope. Shall we go?"
You make your way back to the hold and down the rope.
Unfortunately, part way down, Douena loses her grip on the rope and crashes to the floor below. Also unfortunately, the shallow water is not deep enough to cushion the fall. After helping her up, you return to the beach where the others are waiting.
There doesn't seem to be much to say after the skeletal ghost fades away, but Douena says it anyway. "May Desna guide you on your final journey, and may your souls find reunion in the realms beyond. You went down with your ship ... or aground with your ship, anyway; now rest peacefully."
After the spirit fades away, Lorenz finds himself staring at the hook. "But..he was a pirate, right? With a hook for a hand and bad men for crew. They mutinied against him, for Cayden's sake. And if he had proof that Jask was innocent then it kind of suggests he was a bad man too. Why would such a beautiful woman have loved him?"
He shakes his head. "Women always go after the scoundrels," he mutters with disgust. He sighs and then shakes the gloomy thoughts away. "But at least he's free from his suffering! I guess we ought to go back to camp. Jask will be happy at least. I hope. Shall we go?"
"Just because she's beautiful doesn't mean she's not evil, too," Douena cautions him as they stroll back toward the rope. "Men always think that if a woman's pretty, she's pure of heart as well. There was a pretty woman came through Whistledown several years ago and got a job in the general store. She caught the eye of every man in town, but she was only interested in the richest one. The day after he took her back to his house, he didn't show up to open his shop. The magistrate went to his house to check on him and found it ransacked and him all tied up on his bed only wearing his --" Douena's story ends with a loud thump as she loses her hold on the rope and lands unceremoniously on the wooden planks below.
"It doesn't end there, it's not entirely uncommon for good-hearted pirates to sail the seas. Or to put it another way, if you had met Sasha a year ago, she would for all practical purposes be a Red Mantis; but look at her now."
"It doesn't end there, it's not entirely uncommon for good-hearted pirates to sail the seas."
Once everyone has regrouped together, you again cross the river and make your way back towards camp. The journey this time is uphill almost the entire way. It's a relatively gentle slope, but after a few hours of it, it starts to take its toll. The sun is already setting by the time you make it to the fork in the river.
From there, you cross the calmer fork of the river and continue back through the jungle. Finally you reach the cliff top overlooking the camp. As you approach, you set off a tripwire that causes several large pieces of wood to clatter together loudly--Ishirou's work for the day?
Looking over the edge, you can see the light of the campfire below and can see the forms of the other castaways moving about. They appear to be gazing up towards you. You can see that Ishirou has drawn his sword.
"Hello!" Jask calls up to you.
Once you've returned a response, you see Ishirou put his sword away. You begin your descent down the rope and back into the camp.
"We were getting worried," Jask says. "This is the latest you've been back."
"Lorenz has quite the story to tell," Sasha says as she heads directly to Gelik in search of her egg.
Once you are all down, Ishirou starts climbing up. "Resetting the warning system," he explains.
"I fell," Douena announces to everyone. "I don't think Lorenz tied the rope very properly."
Lorenz rolled his eyes, though his customary grin was also in place. "The rope worked just fine for Mahjik and I! I think it was because you were too busy talking to pay attention to what you were doing."
Mahjik produces his bag of viper berries, calling over Jask and Aerys he tells them. "Jask, I imagine you're familiar with these. I remember a wise healer lecturing me on the use of these to cure illness and addictions. I think Aerys might benefit from these significantly." He grimaces at Aerys - "they don't really taste very nice, and you need to take them for about a week, but you'll find that the need for alcohol will quickly pass from you." Turning back to Jask, "Also, there should be more than half left afterward, they can help with others that take ill."
Noting Jask's questioning look, Mahjik grins and holds up his hands, shaking his head, "No no, I feel great, I don't need any. I'll be just fine in the morning." When he notices how both Aerys and Jask stare at his swollen wrist that has thick patterns of dark color Mahjik self-consciously hides it behind his back, "Don't worry, just a little forget-me-not from those berries. As I said, I'll be fine in the morning."
This time he didn't take the time for rest, instead striding into the center of the camp and holding his hands up. "It was a very interesting day, and rather successful. As we'd planned, we climbed the cliff and made our way to a river, though we were rather surprised to find that there were two of them!"
He held up two fingers, and then moved his hands to demonstrate the difference between the rush of the current as he described them.
"That was also where we found the berries that Mahjik has presented. He bravely sacrificed himself to pluck the berries from the bush so that we can aid Aerys in her suffering."
"We were initially uncertain which way to go, but after giving some thought we decided to follow the easier path, out of deference for our shorter friend here." He gestured to Douena and explained how she rode across on Aakif's horse.
The journey along the river was not difficult, but it was long and it took us longer to reach the ship than we might have hoped. Nevertheless, we were lucky -- or Desna actually favored us -- for we had chosen the correct one and when the river reached the sea we found ourselves looking at the ship."
Lorenz drew a half-circle in the air with one hand to mark their discovery.
"Our luck wasn't complete, however, in that we were on the wrong side of the river, which had grown quite rough as it reached the water. It was also deeper and so the swim across was considerably more difficult than we'd antcipated. I myself was almost swept away until Makoa bravely leapt into the water and pulled me to shore."
He turned to smile at Sasha. "Our lizardwing Mother, however, easily swam across and had the bright idea -- she certainly has a lot of those -- of using a rope to help guide the others across. In that manner we managed to bring Douena and Soulwind across, though even Soulwind balked at the journey due to the terrible strength of the waters."
Taking a strong pull from his waterskin, Lorenz mimed exhaustion from the struggle to cross. "We sat on the shore there for a time, waiting for the tide to go out so that it would be easier to reach the ship. From there we could already see a part of the name and our hopes were buoyed. Those same hopes were proven correct when we reached the ship at last and found that it was the Brine Demon." He smiled in Jask's direction.
"The ship itself was a wreck and at first we despaired of finding anything of any use. Of even greater concern was the sense that we were not alone..." he let his voice trail off for emphasis. "I myself was not sensitive enough to pick up on the details of those presences but Douena, Makoa and even Sasha picked up traces of their presence. What they heard and felt told us that there had been a great battle aboard the ship. Mutiny! it was, and in such foul dealings the ship was dealt it's fate on the shores of the 'Shiv. The anguish of the spirits of those long dead crew and her captain was evident, especially when we made our way up to the deck, where their entrapment revealed itself in a distinct chill in the air."
He went on to describe, in great detail, the conditions of the deck and especially the captain's quarters, describing the forlorn nature of the murdered captain where he'd reached with his last breath for something stowed away within his desk. He also dwelt in some detail on the man's hook, his eyes shining with his pleasure at the detail.
"The presence was even stronger there, and Makoa was able to pick out one word, heavy with sorrow and longing: 'Aeshamara.'"
He described the thunderclap as Mahjik reached for the coffer, and their concern about opening it so near the spirits of the men who'd died on the Brine Demon.
"At last, safely away on the beach -- we hope -- we opened the coffer and found a great prize: Documents that, we believe, will exonerate our friend and companion, Jask. Also within was a prized locket, containing a drawing of a woman that was inscribed with the name, 'Aeshamara.' Believing that the locket may be the key to releasing the spirit of the captain bound with his ship, I resolved to return to the ship and leave it with the poor forsaken man. Douena and Mahjik accompanied me for safety and when I placed the locket in his hand the spirit of the captain showed itself to us, looking with such longing at the locket that it tore at our hearts." Lorenz's earnest face showed both sympathy and a light touch of longing.
"I opened the locket so that he could see his beloved's face one more time, and with a sigh of relief, the spirit dissipated in the air, his heart and spirit at rest at last."
Lorenz placed his hands over his heart that that. "It was on our return, while Douena was illuminating me on the nature of evil women and the wrongs they might do that she fell from the rope. But obviously, she was not greatly harmed and after a long and difficult journey we return to you, flushed with our success and hopeful that these documents will be what Jask needs for his own freedom."
Lorenz smiles and bows, turning the scene over to Jask now that he has the documents in his possession.
Aerys takes the berries from Mahjik with a wide-eyed look of surprise. "I...um...I don't know what to say. They'll really work? Thank you. Thank you!" She takes a handful of them and raises them to her mouth. "Better now than never, right?"
She takes a bite, then another, then gulps down the whole handful. "They're not that bad," she says. "They're actually kind of good."
Jask takes the papers from Lorenz. He stands there unmoving and silent for several seconds. Finally, he flips open the first ledger and flips quickly through the pages. After a moment, he sits down, stunned. "This is it," he says. He flips through the second ledger. "These are the full records of the deals between Kinkarian and the Sargavan officials. They were skimming off the taxes and tithes offered to the Free Captains of the Shackles. This is exactly the proof I need. I...I don't know what to say. How can I ever repay you?"
He sits there for a short while longer, flipping through the ledgers. Finally, he looks up. "I know. In the spirit of education that Sasha started earlier, I can offer you some secrets of my order. I can teach you several mantras and focusing chants that will help to improve your concentration. It is not much, I know, but I have nothing else with which to repay you."
Aerys steps forward. "I, too, would like to offer a token of appreciation, but I don't have much to give either. I can announce though that I've finished my epic poem, the Abendego Cantos, and anyone who wants to read it is welcome to. I already promised Makoa the first look, and then Urza is second, but after that, you're all welcome. Maybe you'll find it inspiring in some way. I wish I could offer more."
Douena looks askance at the hefty sheaf of pages. "I don't suppose there are any pictures in there?" she whispers to Sasha and Mahjik.
"Well Aerys, like I told you before, I doubt I'd understand parts of it. But I will read it. I'm sure something will stick in my mind!" He grins. "Not tonight though, it's too dark and I'd not dare risk your work trying to read by firelight."
He turns to Jask and considers him for a moment before his gaze is drawn away away by one of his phantom wolves.
"The mantras. They help concentration? If no one else minds, I will take watch with you tonight so I may learn one. I have.. found myself distracted during watches at times."
"It is nothing serious." He reassures everyone as he sees their worried expressions. "Just some.. old memories coming back."
"Here's an idea. We could take a few days off from exploring. We could take some time to enjoy a little of this island. And at night I can read some of Aeryth's poem out loud to everyone."
"Not to tread on your toes Urza, but don't you think that a recital is the perfect opportunity for Gelik to shine? It may seem obvious and minor that his banter has lifted the mood in the camp - but Gelik is a performer extraordinaire, I imagine that he'd want to go all out and really give us a show with something as grand as this." Mahjik turns to Aerys, "Thank you! For all we know, we'll be the first to hear what might become a renowned ode across all of Golarion."
"Dragons above! You're right ,Mahjik. Gelik, would you do us the unabashed honor of reciting the Abendego Cantos, the epic poem penned by our very own lovely Aerys Mavato? I am sure your performance will become the benchmark by which all other art on the island is measured by."
Lorenz smiles at the offers, trying not to show his eagerness too openly. "I, for one, would welcome the opportunity to study your matras, Jask. I've been told frequently enough that my ability to, erm, focus is severely lacking. No reward is necessary; an innocent man should not be falsely punished but nonetheless I will happily accept whatever training you are willing to offer."
He is more hesitant to Aerys, well aware that the woman has a low opinion of him. "I'd be honored to read your epic, Aerys. Or listen to it, as the case may be. I had no idea that you are a poet! How wonderful." He smiles uncertainly.