"Well, so much for my line of sight." Sighing, Lorenz attempted to steady his hand and fired another arrow at the critter, with a whispered prayer to Cayden that his arrow would be true.
With a sound of disgust, Lorenz gives up on the bow and moves closer to help more effectively.
Urza's first attack rips a section of the beast's claw open. The second attack misses. Lorenz's arrow flies wide of the mark.
Up Next: Sea Scorpion
Aakif hefts his falchion and delivers a mighty blow to the mama scorpion.
Aakif's falchion slices between right between the creature's eyes, cutting deeply. The beast topples over, no longer moving.
Urza continues on to the remains of the ship. He moves more cautiously than before, just in case. He wants to see if that rowboat is in any condition to sail at all.
Aakif follows Urza just as cautiously, keeping his falchion handy against any further threats.
"Well, that wasn't so bad after all. Urza? The rowboat is on the other side of the ship. It might be better to travel over there on the rocks."
Urza, Aakif, and Lorenz cautiously make their way over to the rowboat. A quick examination shows that it really is just the bow remaining. It must have been smashed against the rocks after being tied to the ship. The rope holding it to the ship is still usable, though, and it only takes a little bit of work to untie it from the boat and then the ship. It's not a lot of rope (just under 30 feet), but enough to help people climb the cliff's edge.
There is still some rope amongst the broken mast, but you suspect that removing any of that rope will result in the mast breaking free entirely, which could be dangerous to anyone (such as yourselves) on deck. Anything else that was on deck has been swept overboard. There may still be some rope and other supplies in what remains of the lower decks. From what you can see of the remains, the areas that still survive would include the captain's cabin, the larder, a supply room, the brig, and the galley.
----
Meanwhile, after Makoa makes his first unsuccessful attempt to climb the cliff , Douena sees what looks like another one of those scorpions come out onto the rocks as Urza and Aakif move up to face it. The battle is quite short.
----
Elsewhere, Mahjik has not quite made it back to the beach yet and remains blissfully unaware of what is happening at the ship. :)
"Excellent! We at last have accomplished our goal and obtained some rope. Now we can get to work on more important matters. But first...I'll be right back, my friends."
Moving as quickly as he can without risking falling off the rocks or cliffs, Lorenz takes the rope over to where the others are waiting, and drops one end down. Then he looks about for a place to secure it.
Lorenz finds a bit of rock protruding from the cliff face and can secure the rope to that. Makoa and Douena can now climb up without any difficulty.
"All right, everyone up. Hopefully when the 'Wise Man' gets back, having pilfered through my belongings, he'll figure out where we are from the rope."
"Are there more bugs? Any survivers?" Makoa says as climbs up.
Lorenz stared vacantly at Makoa for a moment. "Survivors? We all survived. Oh, you mean those things. We killed one but there's sure to be others around. Go on ahead and I'll wait for the little one to ascend before following."
He moves forward and kneels to help Douena up the cliffside.
"All right, everyone up. Hopefully when the 'Wise Man' gets back, having pilfered through my belongings, he'll figure out where we are from the rope."
Once Makoa and Douena are up on the ledge, they and Lorenz head along it back to Aakif and Urza. They'll need to take the rope with them for climbing down onto the rocks, so Mahjik will have to figure out where they've gone another way (unless they want to risk climbing down without the rope). It shouldn't be too difficult for him to figure out, though.
----
About the time that the other five all regroup at the ship, Mahjik reaches the beach where you all woke up. Sasha sees him approaching and hurries over to him, a look of worry on her face. "Is everything all right? Where are the others?" Once she learns that no one has been hurt, and he's just there to pick up some rope, she relaxes.
Gelik rolls his eyes upon learning that you forgot to take rope with you. "What a promising start," he says, his words dripping with sarcasm.
Mahjik easily finds the rope in Lorenz's pack.
Douena dithers at the top of the rope. "But ... Mahjik can't get up if we take the rope away. I mean, he went back for rope for all of us, but all the rope in the world won't do him any good if he's at the bottom of the cliff and can't climb it. Shouldn't we wait for him?"
captain's cabin, the larder, a supply room, the brig, and the galley.
"Since we don't know how much more time we have left before the tide comes in, I suggest we split up and search each area. Makoa and Lorenz, search the supply room and the brig and Aakif and I will look in the Captain's cabin and galley for supplies and survivors. With whatever time we have left we see what's in the larder and then get out of here before it goes under."
I don't know the layout of the ship, so if there's a more logical way to split up the search I'd want to suggest that instead. I do want to be there to search the Captain's cabin though.
"That sounds acceptable to me."
Douena dithers at the top of the rope. "But ... Mahjik can't get up if we take the rope away. I mean, he went back for rope for all of us, but all the rope in the world won't do him any good if he's at the bottom of the cliff and can't climb it. Shouldn't we wait for him?"
"Mahjik? This is the one who speaks of wise men? Time is precious. We don't know how long it'll take him and we've got to get the ship searched before the tide comes back in. He ran off without waiting for us; if you wish to wait for him, I would not stop you but I want to see to the business of the ship."
Lorenz looks to Urza. "Shouldn't you and Makoa search the supply room and the galley? This is your ship and you are more familiar with these rooms than I or Aakif. I suggest Aakif and I search the Captain's cabin, where we are all equal in knowledge and you and Makoa examine the rooms you know."
Then, he pauses. "On second thought, should we split up at all? We don't know what is happening here. Any of us could come upon a swarm of those critters or encounter the one who is driving events. I'm not sure we should separate at all."
Torn by indecision Lorenz looks briefly disgruntled. "Whatever we do, I agree we must act with haste."
"Mahjik? This is the one who speaks of wise men? Time is precious. We don't know how long it'll take him and we've got to get the ship searched before the tide comes back in. He ran off without waiting for us; if you wish to wait for him, I would not stop you but I want to see to the business of the ship."
Douena narrows her eyes angrily at Lorenz. "'Wise man brings rope instead of leaving it behind on the beach,'" she says emphatically.
"Well, I'm going to the Captain's cabin. It seems most likely to give us useful information. I'm sure I can handle any more of those sea scorpion things that are scuttling around."
----
Lorenz looks to Douena with a grin. "Wise man at least has rope to leave behind on beach. Wise man will also point out that he had no need for rope."
Inspired by Aakif's decisiveness, he raises a clenched fist. "Yes! To the Captain's cabin! I'll back Aakif up."
So everyone ends up going to the captain's cabin. It's easy to gain access to. The door is unlocked, but even if it were, the jagged hole in the side would have allowed access anyway. Unfortunately, that hole has allowed much of the room's contents to spill out into the surf and wash away. There are a few things left, though.
There is an overturned desk that is too big to fit through the hole. It has three drawers in it. There is also a large footlocker leaning against the desk.
Lorenz approaches the desk. "I'll wager 3 gold crowns that the footlocker is locked. The drawers, however..."
About the time that the other five all regroup at the ship, Mahjik reaches the beach where you all woke up. Sasha sees him approaching and hurries over to him, a look of worry on her face. "Is everything all right? Where are the others?" Once she learns that no one has been hurt, and he's just there to pick up some rope, she relaxes.
Gelik rolls his eyes upon learning that you forgot to take rope with you. "What a promising start," he says, his words dripping with sarcasm.
Mahjik easily finds the rope in Lorenz's pack.
Smiling at Gelik, in passing, "Wise man would seek to take advantage of time and daylight to find food, shelter and make fire."
At Sasha, "No need to fear, they are an enterprising lot. If trouble were to show itself, little Douena would pick it up and play with it."
Since there isn't much time, Mahjik only adds a short encouragement for Jask: "Wise man knows not to trust hope, but he embraces it none the same."
Then Mahjik makes haste to return to the wrack.
Douena hops back and forth impatiently on the ledge, keeping a sharp lookout for Mahjik. With a baleful glance at the wreck of the ship, she hopes that the rest aren't having too much fun without her.
Lorenz opens the first of the desk drawers. It's unlocked and contains a ring of keys.
"Locked or not, it'll be easier to open if it's not leaning against the desk like it is." Makoa says as he goes to move the footlocker.
The footlocker is heavy, but Makoa easily moves it. It is locked, but a search through the keyring finds the appropriate key. Inside, you find a masterwork dagger, a suit of leather armour, two vials of liquid, an amulet that would appear to be a holy symbol, and a pouch full of assorted small items.
Aakif quickly rifles through the remaining desk drawers, then begins to examine the interior and exterior dimensions of the desk and footlocker for mismatches. "Never saw a captain or caravan master that didn't have a secret compartment somewhere..." he mutters.
The middle drawer contains several sea charts and maps, as well as the ship's logbook. The maps include one of the west coast of Garund that plots the Jenivere's course to and from Sargava. Another is a map of Desperation Bay, showing the approach to Eleder. There is an island marked on this map that, while not along the ship's route, is not too far off the route. The island is labeled as "Smuggler's Shiv--Danger". The map does not show any details of the island, only an outline.
Aakif does not find a secret compartment in the middle drawer.
The bottom drawer is locked and none of the keys open it.
"Now taking bets that we're on Smuggler's Shiv, since it's labelled 'Danger'. I give 10-to-1 odds that we are." Aakif says drily.
"Anyone handy with a lockpick? I can always break the desk open, but that might break things in the desk, too."
"I don't know if we have the time to spend on it. Let's search the rest of the ship. If time allows, we can return."
"Odds are that Douena would be able to bypass the lock, if any can." Lorenz removes one of his sacks and begins dumping the maps and logbook into it. Once everything is secure, he looks up. "Very well. Shall we look at the galley next? Food is going to be pretty important for those of you who can't hunt."
He looks inquiringly at the others.
"Oh, and shall we bring the contents of the footchest? I expect those belong to our manacled companion on the beach. He did seem to think his belongings would be in here."
The group moves on next to the galley.
Unfortunately, there seems little to find here beyond broken plates and toppled tables.
From there you move on to the brig.
It, too, is empty of anything useful or interesting.
All that's left are the supply room and larder. As you approach those, you notice a trickle of blood extending under the door to the supply room. It hasn't fully dried so would seem to be quite recent.
----
Meanwhile, back at the ledge, Mahjik returns to see that the others are no longer waiting at the bottom. He does spy Douena at the top, however, and a rope hanging down waiting for him.
Douena starts to hop up and down excitedly, waving her arms as soon as she sees Mahjik approaching. "Hurry! Hurry!" she cries.
...a rope hanging down waiting for him.
Frustrated at not finding anything, Lorenz lights up for a moment at the sign of blood from under the door.
Then his excitement turned to a frown. "I think we better check the supply room first. Someone may be hurt." He hoped it wasn't an injured and very angry, sea monster.
A faint growl grows in Makoa's throat.
"Be ready..." He says as he prepares to open the door.
Douena starts to hop up and down excitedly, waving her arms as soon as she sees Mahjik approaching. "Hurry! Hurry!" she cries.
...a rope hanging down waiting for him.
A faint growl grows in Makoa's throat.
"Be ready..." He says as he prepares to open the door.
Makoa tries to open the door and finds it stuck.
His first attempt does not manage to open it.
Makoa braces himself, and, using both hands, attempts to pull the door open again with all his might...
With effort, Makoa feels the door slowly start to give. It seems to take forever , but eventually it gives way and breaks open. Huddled inside the supply room is the body of the first mate, Alton Devers. He's slumped against a wall, still clutching a short sword in his dead hand, and wearing masterwork studded leather armour.
There would appear to be a good supply of material for putting together a good, secure campsite in this room: a block and tackle, three large canvas sheets, two fishing nets, a grappling hook, a couple of bullseye lanterns, 12 flasks of lantern oil, 150 ft of hemp rope, and five shovels.
Back at the ledge, Douena secures the rope from Mahjik, and he climbs up. The two of them then make haste for the other end of the ledge, where they climb down and make for the ship. They arrive just as the others are examining the contents of the supply room.
Urza is more effected by the sight than he wants to let on. "Um... Let's gather this stuff. It will all come in handy." He begins to put deed to word, though Urza starts as far from Alton as he can.
Mahjik's usually quietly friendly face collapses when he sees Alton's body. He rushes to him and seeks vital signs - but his usual composure fails him entirely and he isn't able to do anything for his dead friend. Tears mark his grief.