Pezock peers at Douena. "I like it here," he says. "I have everything. A nice home." He motions round the interior of the crab. "Food to eat." He points to the fish on the blanket. "Sure, there are a few cannibals, but once you kill them, they won't be a problem anymore. So why would I want to leave? Besides, have you ever actually tried flying? Do you have any idea how tiring it would be to reach the mainland from here? No? Neither do I, because I can't fly. It's harder than it looks, you know."
"I did actually try to fly once when I was little. If I'd had as many feathers as you, I think I would have made it." She gives the bird-man a severe look, as if she's certain he could do it if he just put some effort into it. "Anyway, don't you want to go back to where you came from? Where did you come from?"
Pezock moves over to the blanket, looking at each of the party members in turn. Then he carefully sits down. He repositions his sword so that it's lying across his lap, and strokes it gently, whispering softly to it. Then he picks up a sea urchin. "Well, if no one else is going to eat." He pops it in his mouth and looks at Douena. "I was a passenger on the Crow's Tooth, a Mediogaltan ship under the command of my dear friend, Captain Eraka Zoventai. We were shipwrecked here a couple of years ago. We survived for a short while, but then the others were killed by the cannibals. I found this giant crab--it was only recently dead then--cleaned it out, and moved in. And that's my story. There's nothing more to tell." He wipes a tear from his eye and then eats another sea urchin. "What's your story?"
"Lorenz is the story-teller. Well, as long as Gelik's not around anyway. But he'll probably make it sound worse than it actually is." She sits down next to the crow man. "Look! here's the dagger we found. Do you recognize it?"
Pezock takes the dagger and peers at it with widened eyes. With a finger, he traces the Red Mantis symbol etched in it. "This was Eraka's," he says, awed. "Oh my dear friend." He places the dagger down on his lap beside his sword and then seems to speak to the two weapons. "Soon you will bathe in the blood of cannibals, I promise you." He pauses a moment, then says, "Yes, that's right. You shall have your revenge."
Douena watches him with wide eyes. "Does that mean you're going to come out of your shell?"
Pezock looks up suddenly, seemingly surprised. "Shell? What shell? Oh, you mean the crab shell. I come out of it often. You don't think this nice meal of sea urchins and sculpin just flops across the beach into the shell all by itself, do you? Then again, considering how eager you are to eat it, maybe you do. Oh well, more for me." He takes a piece of sculpin of tosses it in his mouth.
"So, your story. Tell."
Glaring at Douena for insulting his stories on top of everything else, Lorenz shrugs.
"We were on a ship. The captain went nuts or was seduced by an evil woman or something, and the ship crashed. Someone -- we think it might have been the first mate -- saved us and we've been stuck here ever since."
Pezock glares at Lorenz. "That's it? I thought you were supposed to be a storyteller. Oh well, no matter. Sounds like your story is pretty much the same as everyone else's here. Well, except maybe the seductress and the rescue by an unknown benefactor. What were you, unconscious or just blind when he rescued you?" Pezock laughs and shoves more fish in his mouth.
"So, an evil woman seduced your captain, eh? This evil woman wouldn't be a Varisian woman who orders around a man in a tattered Chelaxian officer's uniform, would it?"
"So, an evil woman seduced your captain, eh? This evil woman wouldn't be a Varisian woman who orders around a man in a tattered Chelaxian officer's uniform, would it?"
Lorenz briefly felt ashamed at not embellishing his story, but Pezock's mention of the Varisian woman made him forget all about that.
"You've seen them? They're here? That's her, that's the evil woman! Where did they go?"
"That does sound like Iena and Captain Kovack. Have you seen them?" Urza's excitement is evident.
Pezock nods and stuffs the last bit of fish into his mouth. "A few days ago," he says. "Might have been a week. I was out hunting and saw them. They didn't see me and I didn't approach. They were following the jungle trail south, straight into cannibal territory. They're probably cannibal food now."
He chuckles a little, then looks down at his sabre and strokes the blade. "Yes, that's right. Soon they'll be your food. Patience, patience."
"Which trail?" Douena asks. "The one that leads between the two ransacked campsites on either side of the island? We were just there," she wails.
"No, no! Pezock says exasperatedly. "The south one! The one you're referring to has a branch in it that goes to the west. If you follow that, you'll reach the south trail. Or you can reach it by going along the trail that leads from the Crow's Tooth camp just down the beach from here."
Douena regards him quizzically for a moment. "I'm not very good with maps," she finally confesses. "'The Crow's Tooth camp': Was that one yours? Were you all bird people?"
Pezock sighs. "No, of course not! We're not bird people. We're tengu! Eraka had bright red plumage. Absolutely stunning, he was. The rest were human though."
He pulls the blanket out of the way and starts sketching a very rough map in the sand. "See the trails go like this... I haven't been further south than this branch here as there are just too many cannibals down there. There's another trail over on the west coast though, but I've only gone so far along there, too, as it also leads into cannibal territory. A really good place for oyster fishing at the beach there, though."
Douena frowns as she leans over Pezock's map. "But why would they walk right into cannibal territory? Unless they didn't know where they were going ... but Ieana certainly seems to have known a lot about the island -- enough to let a lot of people die in order for her to get here, anyway." She looks up at the tengu. "What about the cannibals? Do they have anything valuable? Jewels or gold, some kind of mine in their territory, maybe? Why would she want to go there?"
"Probably didn't know where they were going," Pezock says. "Then again, you said she was evil. Maybe she's gone to join the cannibals. Heh. They'll still probably eat her.
"As for valuables, I doubt it, but I don't really know for sure. There's an old lighthouse down that way. It doesn't work, but the cannibals have set up their village around it. They worship the Red Mountain Devil, a big winged lizard that lives on the big mountain to the southeast. Well, I suspect it's not so much worship as it is an appeasement offering so that it doesn't eat them." He chuckles. "Bit ironic, isn't it? They go around eating people, and then they get eaten by something bigger. Maybe instead of eating that evil woman and your captain, they'll sacrifice them to the mountain devil."
"The Red Mountain Devil?" Douena perks up. "That must be Big Flappy! See?" she says, turning to the rest of the group, "I told you we could make him like us by giving him things! I bet we'd be way nicer to him than the cannibals are."
Returning her attention to the tengu, she asks, "So if the cannibals destroyed your camp and killed everyone, how did you survive?"
Pezock's eyes narrow and he glares at Douena. "Are you suggesting I betrayed them? I would never do such a thing! How dare you suggest otherwise." He grabs his sabre and leaps to his feet. "I fought as hard as everyone else, but I was knocked unconscious and when I came to, everyone else was gone. They're cannibals. They don't feed on tengu. Only humans. So they left me behind to rot. They must not have realized I was still alive. Don't ever suggest that I betrayed them!" He points the blade at Douena, but doesn't actually make a move to attack.
"I just asked!" she protests. "I thought maybe you were out hunting. Or flying." She gives another envious look to the creature's feathers. "If you were working with the cannibals, why would you be here, hiding in a crab shell?" She takes another look at the intricate mechanisms controlling the shell. "Before you let us in, I thought you might be a gnome. My Uncle Dimble would love to see what you've done here. If I ever go back to Whistledown, I'll tell him about it. I'll bet he could make a fortune on moving scarecrows."
Pezock lowers the sword. "That's all right then."
"A lighthouse! YES! All we have to do is get to the lighthouse, kill or run off the cannibals, and flag a passing ship. We're saved." Urza does a little dance. "We have to get back and tell Aerys. Can you lead us there?"
"A lighthouse! YES! All we have to do is get to the lighthouse, kill or run off the cannibals, and flag a passing ship. We're saved." Urza does a little dance. "We have to get back and tell Aerys. Can you lead us there?"
Pezock considers for a moment. "Well, I suppose. As long as you promise to kill all the cannibals when we get there. Yes, yes, that will be acceptable. But the lighthouse doesn't actually work, you know. Although I suppose you might be able to fix it."
"I bet we can. I bet you could," she says, leaning toward Pezock. "Look at all you did with a crab shell. I'll bet you could figure out how to fix a light, especially with all our help."
Pezock's eyes narrow as he looks at Douena. "Perhaps," he says. "We'll see."
Pezock considers for a moment. "Well, I suppose. As long as you promise to kill all the cannibals when we get there. Yes, yes, that will be acceptable. But the lighthouse doesn't actually work, you know. Although I suppose you might be able to fix it."
"Don't worry. Any who stand in the way of me and freedom from this island will feel my full fury."
"Don't worry. Any who stand in the way of me and freedom from this island will feel my full fury."
"Hmmm," Pezock mumbles. "While I don't share your desire for freedom from this island, I can appreciate your determination. Then we have a deal. I will help you repair the lighthouse in return for you helping me kill the cannibals."
"There are more of us as well. With your permission, we'll go retrieve them and bring them here. We can then plan our next course of action."
"We have to take care of the fungus island, too," Douena reminds Urza, "if we can figure out what to do about it." She turns back to the tengu, now that he's being more forthcoming. "Do you know anything about the pygmies and all the fungus up there? You'll have to do something about that too if you want to live here, won't you? Else it'll just keep spreading."
Pezock scratches his head for a moment. "Fungus? Well, I suppose there is a lot more fungus on that island than there used to be, but it's isolated to that one little island. Nothing to worry about."
"However," he continues, "the fungus people are definitely a threat. They'll try to turn you into one of them if they catch you. They've never managed to catch ol' Pezock yet though. We've always outwitted them." He pats his sabre lovingly.
Douena shakes her head firmly, unconvinced. "Desna sent us there to stop it, and Nethys did too," she insists. "When two gods send you the same message, you'd better pay attention. You said you've been here a while: Were the pygmies and their ship already crashed on that island when you got here?"
"I think so," Pezock replies. "I admit I didn't run into them myself for quite some time. They only occasionally come off their fungal island. So it's possible they weren't there when the Crow's Tooth was shipwrecked here, but I don't think so."
He raises his sabre and slices it through the air. "This blade hungers for cannibal blood. We don't want to go after the fungus people. However, we will wait if you insist on going there first."
"Would you care to come with us to gather the rest of our group or should we return with them?"
Lorenz bites at his lower lip as he thinks. "I really want to figure out what's happening on that little island with all that mold. But I can't help but worry what might happen when Ieana gets to the cannibals. Is it possible she knows that the lighthouse is there? What if it's part of her plan to get off the island once she does...whatever it is she's doing? Or worse, what if she intends to sabatoge it?"
He glances furtively at Douena and then looks away. "But then, the dreams all point toward the mold, not a lighthouse. Maybe the mold is more important right now."
Pezock sits down on the floor again and places his sabre across his lap. "I will wait here until you gather your friends and return.
He glances furtively at Douena and then looks away. "But then, the dreams all point toward the mold, not a lighthouse. Maybe the mold is more important right now."
"If Desna sent us here for a reason, it was to stop the mold," Douena says decidedly. "We won't be free to leave until we've done what she sent us for. If we tried to sneak off and be rescued without doing it, we'd be plagued with bad luck until we came back and did what she wanted." She eyes Lorenz appraisingly. "Maybe that's what happened to you at some point in your life without your realizing it. This could be your chance to get back on Desna's good side," she suggests encouragingly.
You leave Pezock sitting in his giant crab shell and set out along the beach again. It's not long before you pass the abandoned nests with the trail heading south. You continue along the beach as it curves to the northeast for a while.
The hot hours of the day are starting, so you settle down along the water's edge to wait them out.
The heat finally breaks three hours later as rain begins to pour down. You gather up your things again and continue along the coast. The beach curves to the east again, and about an hour or so later, you pass the abandoned huts where you fought the yellow musk zombie. You continue northeast along the beach and a couple hours later reach your campsite.
You see Aerys on guard and waving. "It's them!" she cries back to the camp. "They're still alive!" She then runs up to you. "Where have you been? We thought maybe the natives got you."
Urza runs up to meet her as well. He is obviously about to gather her up into a hug when he catches himself and pulls up short. "No. No. We're good. It was just a long walk is all. Lorenz and Douena can tell you all about it." He says turning more red than normal. "How's everyone here?"
Lorenz walks slowly into camp and makes for the space that he normally sleeps, shrugging off his backpack and sitting down with a sigh.
"It was...a long trip. I'm sorry, I don't really want to talk about it. The others can tell you all about it."
He looks down to stare gloomily at his hands.
Lorenz walks slowly into camp and makes for the space that he normally sleeps, shrugging off his backpack and sitting down with a sigh.
"It was...a long trip. I'm sorry, I don't really want to talk about it. The others can tell you all about it."
He looks down to stare gloomily at his hands.
He's barely sat down when Sasha practically lands on top of him. She grabs his shoulders. "Where the hell have you been? We've been worried sick! Especially after the natives attacked!"
She lets go of Lorenz and sits back, gathering her composure. "Sorry. We've just been worried, that's all."
Lorenz forgets his worries for a moment as Sasha expresses her concern with such fervor.
He looks over to her. "I--I'm sorry. The journey to the land Douena dreamt of was further than we'd anticipated. And on our return we encountered some of those natives we feared. We had little choice but to camp after we'd dispatched them, and there was...more to delay us. Actually, it's quite a long story. But I...we are sorry to have alarmed you. All is well."
Then the rest of what she said sank in. "Wait, what? The natives attacked here? Are you okay?"
Urza runs up to meet her as well. He is obviously about to gather her up into a hug when he catches himself and pulls up short. "No. No. We're good. It was just a long walk is all. Lorenz and Douena can tell you all about it." He says turning more red than normal. "How's everyone here?"
"Alive," Aerys answers as she walks with the group into the camp.
She watches Lorenz move off gloomily. "What's gotten into him?"
She shrugs and lets Sasha deal with him. She turns back to the others. "A group of natives discovered the camp yesterday. We think they were a scouting party deliberately looking for us. They probably noticed those traps Makoa sprung. There weren't many of them, so we were able to fight them off. Unfortunately, a couple of them got away, which means they know where we are now and can return in greater numbers. When you didn't return yesterday, we were worried that you ran into them. We decided we'd wait one day to see if you make it back, and then move the camp and start looking for you."
Makoa strides into camp picking at his teeth with a small, sharp twig.
"If everyone is up for it, I suggest moving before nightfall. We meet strange fellow who has offered to help us as long as we help him with the natives."
"It's good that you had made the decision to move. Now that they know we're here, making camps that can be moved quickly is a good idea."
"Well, let's get everything together. We probably won't be ready to leave in time to make it to the new site before night, but Makoa and I could guide you us if we want to leave today or we could stop along the way for the night. Otherwise we should be ready to leave first thing in the morning."
Mahjik fades into the foreground, as if returning from a long spell of solitude. "Wise man would heed the wisdom of others. Leaving this place and finding a new location would serve us well. Perhaps we need to deliberate whether a mobile camp, or a highly defensible one, is better."
"But where my friend Lorenz is amiss, allow me to elaborate our exploits a bit: we pushed very far into the island, all the to those far islands on the other side " - Mahjik points over to the west - "and fought through an entire crew of fungus men. We recovered a logbook, but it is heavily damaged. Maybe Gelik can gleen something of value from it?"
"Unfortunately the fungus threat isn't over yet. The second island is completely overrun by this grey fungus matter and we haven't had a chance to find what is at the bottom of it all."
"We did find some cannibals too though - and none of them survived. I guess it would be too much to hope for that the scouts were among them."
"We also made a new friend, a bird man by the name of Pezock, who lives in a giant crab shell" - noting the looks, Mahjik insists - "I'm serious! I wouldn't make this up! He's on our side. At least as long as we do not make friends with the cannibals."
"No fear of that," Douena insists, as she shrugs up her shoulders as if a chill has just run through them. "Those cannibals are evil. Oh!" she cries, rushing over to Sasha, "but they're the ones who feed Big Flappy! I know we could treat him nicer than they do, and then maybe he'll fly us off the island! How is Little Flappy? Still an egg?"
"But most importantly, according to Pezock, the cannibals live in a lighthouse. He said it's in disrepair, but once we take it, we can fix it and get rescued."
"No fear of that," Douena insists, as she shrugs up her shoulders as if a chill has just run through them. "Those cannibals are evil. Oh!" she cries, rushing over to Sasha, "but they're the ones who feed Big Flappy! I know we could treat him nicer than they do, and then maybe he'll fly us off the island! How is Little Flappy? Still an egg?"
Sasha nods and stands up. "Still an egg. I'm getting really anxious about the hatching. I'm sure it's got to happen soon."
When Urza mentions the lighthouse, she says, "That's amazing! A lighthouse! How in the world did a lighthouse get here?"
Gelik pushes past Sasha and Douena. He straightens his hat. "This is definitely good news. We should deal with these savages as quickly as possible and then see what we can do about this lighthouse. While I'm sure how it got here is an interesting story, Sasha, we can worry about that later." He looks to Mahjik. "I would be happy to look at this logbook to see if there's anything useful in it."
Then with a sigh, he sits down beside Lorenz. "Now then, lad, with all this exciting news, what's got you so down?"
When Urza mentions the lighthouse, she says, "That's amazing! A lighthouse! How in the world did a lighthouse get here?"
Ignoring Gelik's interruption, Douena goes on talking to Sasha. "There must have been some kind of civilized people living here, once upon a time -- someone who wanted to keep all the ships from wrecking. Maybe it was the cannibals themselves, or their great-great-grandparents, before they turned all evil. If we make it down to that end of the island, maybe we'll find out." She hesitates and draws closer to Sasha, lowering her voice. "That Pezock, he was shipwrecked here too, he said. He had a friend whose dagger we found. It had insect arms on it, kind of like your tattoo on your back." She looks up at the woman, unsure what her reaction will be but feeling she ought to be forewarned before meeting someone possibly connected to her past.