Urza gets out of bed only to take care of necessary functions and barely eats anything.
Makoa, not wanting to get out of the habit, takes his watch at the normal time. Safe as it is near Aycenia though, he spends most of it watching the phantom wolf pack that seems to follow him everywhere.
"If you don't feel up to it Jask... I could at least get them started so you would have less work to do when you are fully recovered.."
When Urza wakes up all spotty and weak, Douena scolds him mildly for bringing sickness up onto her healthy hilltop. Nevertheless, she still bathes his face with freshly-created water and gets him settled comfortably under a tree where he will be fanned by the breeze during the hottest part of the day.
"If you don't feel up to it Jask... I could at least get them started so you would have less work to do when you are fully recovered.."
"I'm actually feeling quite a lot better," Jask replies. "Not a hundred percent, but pretty close." He does indeed look better. The red rashes are fading considerably, and he doesn't look fatigued doing something as simple as standing. "I think I feel up to some teaching today, but I'd definitely welcome any help you'd like to offer."
"I thought it might be nice if we could finish Aerys' cantos and maybe Jask could begin showing us what he knows, assuming you feel better, Jask."
Gelik frowns a little at the mention of finishing the cantos. He adjusts his hat. "Yes, yes," he says, his frown switching quickly to a smile. "I would be happy to finish reading it today." He turns to Aycenia, but points at Aerys. "It was written by Aerys here, you know. She's our resident poet. Any problems you have with it should be taken up with her."
Both Aycenia and Aerys look confusedly at the gnome.
"Anyway," Gelik continues. "The remainder should only take about two more hours to read. I could perform them this morning or this evening. I'd rather not do so during the middle of the day, though, as the heat is just too much."
"Aerys is a very inspiring writer," Lorenz adds in. "And Gelik is a most talented performer. It's been a sensational experience to have it performed for us. I'm quite eager to hear the rest of it."
Mahjik looks eager, in spite of the new onset of illness. "Wise man rejoices at the opportunity to break ahead. I think this is the first time in a long while that we have the jump on the cannibals. I think we should not use it quite too idly. Aycenia here might know of a shipwreck for us to explore - or point us to the captain's hut. Either will keep us busy for a day, surely."
Mahjik looks eager, in spite of the new onset of illness. "Wise man rejoices at the opportunity to break ahead. I think this is the first time in a long while that we have the jump on the cannibals. I think we should not use it quite too idly. Aycenia here might know of a shipwreck for us to explore - or point us to the captain's hut. Either will keep us busy for a day, surely."
Lorenz frowns. "How do we have a 'jump' on the cannibals? They know we're on the island, that there are several of us, and that we are dangerous. If anything, they're going to be more alert and watchful for us than usual. I think it makes sense for us to keep quiet for a day or two so that when we do move in on them, they're more likely to be surprised."
"I'm actually feeling quite a lot better," Jask replies. "Not a hundred percent, but pretty close." He does indeed look better. The red rashes are fading considerably, and he doesn't look fatigued doing something as simple as standing. "I think I feel up to some teaching today, but I'd definitely welcome any help you'd like to offer."
"It's a good thing you took that potion," Douena tells him. "I thought you weren't ever going to get better."
"It's a good thing you took that potion," Douena tells him. "I thought you weren't ever going to get better."
"The potion was definitely a lifesaver," Jask says with a smile.
Lorenz frowns. "How do we have a 'jump' on the cannibals? They know we're on the island, that there are several of us, and that we are dangerous. If anything, they're going to be more alert and watchful for us than usual. I think it makes sense for us to keep quiet for a day or two so that when we do move in on them, they're more likely to be surprised."
"I think he means that they don't know where we are or that we're so far into their territory," Aerys says. "In that sense, we have the jump on them. Maybe we should send a small group to scout and find out the layout round the village while the rest stay here and rest. Since there's nothing really to guard here, I wouldn't mind going with the scouting group. Sitting around doing nothing might...well...without something else to focus on, like guarding the camp, I'm worried I might start aching for a drink again."
"I cannot imagine how our host, Aycenia, feels about it - but it might even help us to set up an ambush for the cannibals where Aycenia can aid us. Or even get them to chase us into Aycenia's territory," Mahjik theorizes. "Though I really would prefer laying the groundwork first. The captain's hut cannot be that far away, if Aycenia went to visit him several times. That would be a good way to start, wouldn't it?"
Aycenia shakes her head. "I never went to visit him. I can go no more than a few hundred yards from my tree without taking ill. No, the times I spoke to him were times that he wandered here. His hut is about 4 miles northeast of here on a plateau. The cannibals have a trail that leads directly to it. As for leading the cannibals here into an ambush, I would rather you didn't. I cannot risk my tree."
"Four miles?" Douena responds perkily. "That's not far, especially with a trail ... although I suppose there's always a chance of running into cannibals on it, or more of their traps." She turns back to Aycenia. "Do you know if the cannibals put traps on that trail? Makoa ran into a few back in the jungle."
Aycenia shrugs. "I do know that the cannibals place traps along their trails, but I cannot say for sure where."
"You can come with us this time, Aerys," Douena proclaims welcomingly, running over and taking the poet's hand. The unexpected hospitality they have found on the hilltop has filled her with goodwill toward everyone. "Sasha has a baby to take care of now, and you haven't gotten to come out and have fun with us yet."
"I certainly wouldn't mind finding out what it is you guys do out there all day long each day," Aerys says with a grin.
"We meet people!" Douena tells her. "Or, well, mostly things. And they mostly try to kill us. But it's very interesting!" She smiles up at Aerys happily.
"So where do we go? No time like the present!"
"The hut?" Aerys says.
"The hut sounds like a great place -- well, horrid place. At the very least it should give us more insight into the mind of our foe."
Lorenz stays behind at the camp, preferring to continue (and complete) as much of the training as he can manage.
"I really don't think it's a good idea for the two of you to go off right now with the cannibals looking for us. If they track you back here..."
Lorenz stays behind at the camp, preferring to continue (and complete) as much of the training as he can manage.
"I really don't think it's a good idea for the two of you to go off right now with the cannibals looking for us. If they track you back here..."
"...the scary spirit-lady in the tree will say ooga-booga at them and make them run away," Douena replies promptly. "They've known she's here all the time, and she says they're scared of her. Besides, if the cannibals are looking for us, they'll be looking on the beach. That's where they saw us last. It ought to take them a little while to figure out where we've gone. Wait," she says with a puzzled look. "Shouldn't you be more worried about what they might do to us if we meet them than whether we'll lead them back here?"
Sasha comes up beside Lorenz and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, Lorenz, shouldn't you be more worried about Douena, Mahjik, and Aerys? Would you really let them go all by themselves and not go with them to protect them?"
Lorenz sighs. "You're right, Sasha. I should go with them."
He looks to Douena. "I'm not worried about the cannibals coming here. I'm more concerned that they'll discover where we are and lay an ambush for us somewhere. Right now, they're alert and aware that we're on the island and we've been killing them. With those paths, and their knowledge of the island, they surely can travel much faster and more efficiently than we can. I think we do have an advantage now, but by going out and leaving tracks for them to follow, or by accidentally running into them...well, that advantage will be lost."
He shrugs. "But if we're leaving, we might as well go." He gathers up his equipment and readies himself for the trip, making sure that he has rope.
Sasha smiles at him. "You do have a point, Lorenz. There is a risk being taken by going out. They could discover your tracks or even bump into you, and our advantage would be lost. But we have to take a risk sometime. Eventually we have to leave this hilltop to attack them. That hut could have information that will make that attack easier. Sending a small group to retrieve that information seems a justifiable risk. Plus, it will probably be fun. If I didn't have Alton to take care of, I'd be going with you."
She frowns momentarily. "You know, I think I may have just said something almost wise." She shudders exaggeratedly and laughs. "Don't worry. Won't happen again!"
Aerys suggests bringing out your map of the Shiv so that Aycenia can provide direction. Aycenia looks it over and quickly begins making additions to the map, drawing on rivers and trails. "Your map is a bit off on scale," she says, "but it will do. You need to go almost directly northeast from here. The first trail you encounter will not lead you directly to the hut. Keep going past it until you reach the second trail. Then look for the branch off that trail that goes northeast. That is the one that will take you to the captain's hut. If you come out of the jungle at the top of a narrow canyon overlooking the trail, you have gone too far north and will need to backtrack south a bit. Hopefully, these changes to your map will help you." She finishes her additions to the map and hands it back.
Lorenz laughs with Sasha. "I guess our time here has been a learning experience whether we like it or not!"
After the map has been updated, Lorenz nods. "I think that makes sense. As long as we're heading in the right direction, it shouldn't be too tricky to find this place."
She frowns momentarily. "You know, I think I may have just said something almost wise." She shudders exaggeratedly and laughs. "Don't worry. Won't happen again!"
"You'd better watch out, Sasha, or Mahjik will start quoting you," Douena laughs with Sasha. She looks at the updated map and plops her finger down where two of Aycenia's lines cross. "Do we have to cross a river here? I'm not very good at swimming."
"The cannibals chose the spots where their trails cross a river carefully," Aycenia says. "The rivers are at their easiest to cross at those points."
Douena continues poring over the map. "The cannibal trails only go this far north," she observes, putting her finger on the ruined camp where they'd found the yellow musk zombie, "and all the trails up here go to poor shipwrecked people's camps that they attacked. But why are they trails? If they'd just gone there once, the jungle should have grown back over. Do they keep going back and back again to the sites of their wickedness, like a holiday? Are they all 'holy sites' to them? You said they made the place they killed their own captain a shrine, and they had that awful pentagram over here," she says, pointing to the abandoned camp on the east.
"And look," she goes on. "This trail goes to the oyster spot, and these others go to the camps they attacked. What about these trails down here?" she asks, pointing to the squiggly 'Y' in the southeast section of the Shiv. "Where do they lead? This one," she says, pointing to the western arm of the Y, "goes to the shore; I bet it's another camp where they boiled out of the jungle. What about this one?" she goes on, sliding her finger over to the trail that seems to end near the source of a river.
Aycenia frowns. "They do go back to those sites frequently," she says sadly. "I cannot say for sure why, but I believe it is because they go in search of new castaways. The abandoned camps tend to draw the interest of those who have shipwrecked here. They see them as either convenient places to rest themselves or as places to be investigated. The cannibals take advantage of that. At least, that is what it seems like to me. I do not know precisely what the cannibals' reasoning is."
"As for the other places..." She looks at where Douena is pointing. "That one by the shore is the location of a strange rock formation. Four monoliths surround a pyramid-shaped rock. It is one of the things here even older than I. I think the cannibals view it as a shrine of some sort. The other trail leads to the top of the mountain. That is where the cannibals perform their sacrifices to the winged chupacabra."
"A strange shriney place older than you?" Douena asks excitedly. Her finger plops down at the site on the map. "That's where we'll find the snake cave in my dream. I'm sure of it."
Urza rouses himself from his pallet and joins the group's discussion. He feels a bit weak, but won't remain here while the others go out. No one wants off this island more than he does. "Let us stay focused on the cannibals. Then you can explore without threat of harm from them."
"Are you sure you feel up to it, Urza?" Aerys asks. "I'm sure no one will mind if you want to rest a bit to recover. Still, it would be nice to have you along."
"Have fun!" Sasha calls as you set out, heading back down the hill and into the jungle.
The six of you (Aakif elects to stay behind and tend to Soulwind) begin trudging northeast through the jungle. "I marvel that you manage to do this every day," Aerys comments, batting a vine away from her face. The going is slow as always, and the bugs are ever-present.
As noon approaches, you still haven't reached the first trail, never mind the second, and you begin to wonder whether you can make it there and back in a day. You estimate that you've traveled about 3 miles so far.
"I marvel that you manage to do this every day," Aerys comments, batting a vine away from her face. The going is slow as always, and the bugs are ever-present.
"It's better than sitting back in camp listening to Gelik," Douena replies. "I don't know how you manage that." She takes a few more steps before turning to Aerys guiltily and adding, "Don't tell him I said that."
As noon approaches, you still haven't reached the first trail, never mind the second, and you begin to wonder whether you can make it there and back in a day. You estimate that you've traveled about 3 miles so far.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Douena grumps. "I thought Aycenia said it was only 4 miles."
"I marvel that you manage to do this every day," Aerys comments, batting a vine away from her face. The going is slow as always, and the bugs are ever-present.
At the same time as Douena is speaking, Lorenz says, "This is why I wanted a break. It gets a little tiring, slapping insects and tree limbs out of your face all day. And I would have liked to have more time to listen to Gelik's stories."
He looks at Douena as he finishes speaking and shrugs, grinning sheepishly. "I like Gelik."
"I don't know why you're all complaining, I like the jungle. It's the jungle's humanoid occupants I can't stand. Except for Aycenia, they don't seem to care for the land at all." He says before he grins toothily. "Not much different from 'civilized' folk in that regard."
"Wise man once said to not miss the jungle for the trees. I think there is much profoundness in that," Mahjik mentions as he brushes through some undergrowth.
"Wise man once said to not miss the jungle for the trees. I think there is much profoundness in that," Mahjik mentions as he brushes through some undergrowth.
Spitting out a few insects, Lorenz mutters under his breath, "Which makes about as much sense as everything else you say."
He pauses and looks up ahead. "Are we there yet? This is what we get for taking directions from a woman who never actually goes anywhere."
"That's actually a good point," Aerys says. "She says she talks to the land or something like that, but what exactly does that mean? How can she be sure of distances if she never travels them? How does she even know what a mile is? How does she know our language?"
"That's actually a good point," Aerys says. "She says she talks to the land or something like that, but what exactly does that mean? How can she be sure of distances if she never travels them? How does she even know what a mile is? How does she know our language?"
"Ooh!" Douena says enthusiastically. "Do you think she's really in league with the cannibals and was just pretending to be nice so she could split the party and send us off on a wild goose chase so she could attack the ones left behind on the hill? Because that would be an unexpected twist."
Urza remains quiet most of the time, responding with little more than grunt and a nod whenever possible. He does manage a smile when Aerys says it is good to have him along.
"Thank you, Douena" He says most sincerely.
"Ooh!" Douena says enthusiastically. "Do you think she's really in league with the cannibals and was just pretending to be nice so she could split the party and send us off on a wild goose chase so she could attack the ones left behind on the hill? Because that would be an unexpected twist."
"That's pretty morbid, Douena," Aerys says. "Maybe we were a bit too quick to trust her. Do you think we should go back?"
"No. We have to be able to trust her at this point or we're already doomed. Besides Aakif and the rest of them can take care of themselves very well. Plus Sasha's a mother now and mothers are well known for how fiercely they protect their young."
Lorenz nods. "I don't suspect Aycenia of betrayal. I just wonder if she really knows the way as well as she thinks, given that she's never travelled it."
As the heat continues to press down, the swordsman begins to wilt. "I think I'm going to need to take a break, unfortunately, or I'll be no good in a fight."
Douena stops reluctantly, shaking her head. "We won't have much time to look around when we get there if we stop too long. How will we ever find our way back through the jungle in the dark? And I don't really want to spend the night at an evil cannibal shrine, either."
Lorenz opens his mouth to offer a retort but shuts it again with a snap. He glances back the way they'd come and looks up at the sun through the trees. "Cayden's breath, the things I do for these people," he mutters under his breath before grunting and tugging at his armor.
"Well then, at least wait for me to get this stuff off."
Lorenz pulls off his armor, rolls it up and stuffs it into his pack before continuing on.