Lorenz shrugs. "Given all the different types of shipwrecks here, and the different kinds of survivors, why wouldn't there be lots of different kinds of evil? I don't think everything automatically has to be connected to everything else."
"Or the snakes are undead too!"
Lorenz shrugs. "Given all the different types of shipwrecks here, and the different kinds of survivors, why wouldn't there be lots of different kinds of evil? I don't think everything automatically has to be connected to everything else."
"Well, then why aren't there more kinds of goodness on the island too, then?" Douena asks, aggrieved. "Do only bad things get wrecked here? The only nice person we've met on the island is Aycenia. I mean ... And you too, of course, Pezock!" She gives the others a Look. "Everything else has tried to kill us. Maybe Aerys was right and Aycenia's secretly evil, too," she grumps. "Maybe she's just fattening us up and getting us healthy because the cannibals don't like their food with little red dots."
"Some of that is most probably a result of the evil rather than the origin of it. The cannibals, for instance, probably are the result of the evil. This Nythali woman, or whatever her name is, could have started the shipwrecked crew to snake worship and became a lich as her route to immortality. Along the way the survivors became cannibals. The insects and undead are just a result of that evil. Or the evil could have been on the island and the castaways awoke it and were warped by it."
"That makes sense," Douena agrees with Urza. "If the snake temple in my dream is here, then it's older then Aycenia and was here way before the Thrune's Fang wrecked. If this Nylithati stumbled across it while she was on the island, it could have affected her and started this whole thing rolling. If she was an official Chelaxian cleric, she probably wasn't a very nice person in the first place, worshipping devils; from there, it's probably not a very big step to undead snake people and cannibalism." She shudders.
"Also I imagine that all the good folks that ended up on the island have been killed or have - " he glances to Pezock, "...gained a little unusual perspectives..."
"That cannibals kill and eat everyone who comes here, even Captain Zoventai," Pezock says. "Except me." He points to Aycenia. "And her. And that's only because they're frightened of her and my crab. Once the cannibals are dead, good people will be able to survive here."
He pats his sabre. "Soon," he mutters to it. "So soon now."
"Aycenia," Douena asks, "this logbook talks about a gray, silent island. Do you know about anyplace like that around here that the castaways would have been able to get to?"
"Aycenia," Douena asks, "this logbook talks about a gray, silent island. Do you know about anyplace like that around here that the castaways would have been able to get to?"
"That refers to the fungal blight, I am sure," Aycenia says. "The captain traveled there once and came back from it much afraid. It had not progressed as much at the time, but I think in his madness, the captain saw what it would one day become."
"Oh, well, that's good, then," Douena says, brightening. "He was scared of the fungus island, and we've already fixed that. Maybe all the cannibals won't be so scary as he thought they were, either." She considers a moment. "To be fair to him, I guess things would look a lot worse if I was here alone. I'm glad we're all here together." She smiles around at the group.
Jask smiles. "There's no doubt that are large number has helped us to survive here. If fewer of us had survived the wreck, we probably would not have lasted this long. We owe that to Alton."
The little flappybite squawks at that moment, as if in response to Jask's statement.
As the sun sets, Jask serves some food. After you've eaten, Gelik performs the seventh section of the Abendego Cantos.
Calm and well-rested from his time at Aycenia's grove, Gelik delivers a stunning rendition of this penultimate section of the poem. There are tears in Aerys's eyes by the end and she gives him a big hug afterwards for bringing it alive so well.
Lorenz is a little choked up at the end of Gelik's performance. "That was...astoundingly well done, my friend," he squeaks, patting Gelik gently on the back after Aerys is done hugging him.
He turns to Aerys, casually rubbing at his eye. "Such a beautiful work, Aerys. You write with such clarity and passion. Truly inspirational."
"A wonderful job on your part, Gelik, and an equally wonderful job on yours, Aerys. If you two could learn to get along, you could probably make a living out of these performances."
"Wise man embraces the words of angels, thank you, you two," Mahjik says as he comes to hug both Aerys and Gelik. "That was amazing!"
After her time with Desna, Douena settles into the back of the audience. Having plucked some small berries off a bush, she amuses herself by watching them roll down the hill while Gelik is orating. Despite herself, she finds her attention drawn to the performance at times, however.
Urza is visibly moved by Gelik's performance. He hugs Aerys and shakes Gelik's hand.
In the morning, is doing better, however he doesn't really look it. The redness in has lessened, but spread. It now covers most of his body. In addition, his skin has become rougher, though without loss of tactile sense. Finally, he is much more comfortable in the heat of the day. Luxuriating in the warmth even. When asked, his only response is "That which does not kill me, makes me stronger."
After another night's rest without incident, Lorenz gets up and puts on his armor before turning to other tasks such as tidying up his sleeping area, checking his weapons and counting the remaining arrows, and doing his customary sword forms to warm up his muscles.
When he is finished, he frowns thoughtfully. "I think I'm finally getting used to the heat. My armor doesn't quite seem to wear me down as much these days."
Approaching the others, he asks, "So what are the plans for today?"
It's a hot, humid morning. Drizzling rain is falling almost mist-like on the hilltop.
"We kill the cannibals!" Pezock exclaims in response to Lorenz's question.
It's a hot, humid morning. Drizzling rain is falling almost mist-like on the hilltop.
"We kill the cannibals!" Pezock exclaims in response to Lorenz's question.
"Do we have a plan?" Douena asks curiously. "Or do we just start walking in that direction and kill whatever we find?"
"Do we have a plan?" Douena asks curiously. "Or do we just start walking in that direction and kill whatever we find?"
Pezock looks momentarily annoyed. "So we make a plan to kill the cannibals and then kill the cannibals," he says. "I suggest we stake out the area around the village and find a good spot to lay an ambush. And then we kill them!"
"All right," Douena smiles at him. "That's a start. Aycenia, how far is it to the cannibals' village? Will we have to camp on the road?"
Lorenz frowns. "Someone, it may have even been me, suggested that we first scout their village before we tried an actual attack. I think that was a good idea."
Eyeing the others in the camp more carefully, one of his eyebrows quirks upward. "Only, I'm not very good at scouting. Is anyone else here good at that? Mainly, I think I'd be better suited to the part Pezock is talking about, erm, killing the cannibals."
"The village is on the other side of the small southwestern bay," Aycenia says. "It is only a couple of miles in a straight line from here, but you will need to go around the bay, which could add a bit to the distance. The village lies at the at the southwestern corner of the bay."
"Sasha, do you think it's safe to bring Alton with us? Or are you going to stay here and take care of him? And what about Aerys? Is she feeling well enough to go fight?" She sighs. "I'd say to wait until everyone's better, but someone else just keeps getting sick."
Eyeing the others in the camp more carefully, one of his eyebrows quirks upward. "Only, I'm not very good at scouting. Is anyone else here good at that? Mainly, I think I'd be better suited to the part Pezock is talking about, erm, killing the cannibals."
"I'm good at scouting," Douena tells Lorenz reproachfully. "Haven't you seen how good I am at scouting?"
"Well, we - as a group - aren't particularly adept at fighting at night. We'd attack at dusk at the latest. Personally I think just after the mid-day heat will work best. Whatever scouts are leaving the village will have done so in the morning - and whatever scouts are returning probably won't move and return during the worst heat. So I think that is the time when we'll find the smallest number of them directly at the village."
Flushing a little at his error, Lorenz tries to make up for it. "Of course I do, Douena. I thought that went without saying. I just think it might be a good idea if you weren't alone in scouting."
He isn't sure about Mahjik's thoughts. "Are we sure they'll be affected by the heat of the day the same way we will, though? They've lived here forever, after all, and I haven't seen any of them wearing armor. Or even clothes, really. They might not even notice the hot part of the day."
"We need to be careful about getting caught in their traps, too," Douena reminds them. "So far, they haven't been nearby when someone's stepped in one; if they're waiting to jump out and attack us while someone's swinging up in the air, that'll be a lot more trouble."
"I'm good at scouting," Douena tells Lorenz reproachfully. "Haven't you seen how good I am at scouting?"
"Douena, if you were good at scouting, he wouldn't have seen you."
"I'm good at scouting," Douena tells Lorenz reproachfully. "Haven't you seen how good I am at scouting?""Douena, if you were good at scouting, he wouldn't have seen you."
Sasha laughs. "Don't worry, Douena. None of us have seen how good you are. We just know how good you are."
She places little Alton on her lap. The flappybite squawks and flaps its wings. "I can't leave Alton behind," she says. "However, I really want to go with you. So I was thinking maybe two or three of us should form a sort of rear guard. We could keep watch further down the road to warn the rest of you if any cannibal patrols are coming your way while you're trying to fight the ones in the village. We could even waylay them before they reach you. I was thinking maybe Ishirou and I could form that rear guard. And maybe Gelik too, since he never does any actual fighting anyway."
Gelik clears his throat annoyedly. "I'll have you know I perform a very valuable service," he says. "I keep everyone's morale up. You'd have all wasted away in depression by now if it weren't for me." He adjusts his hat with a scowl.
Douena looks at the map Aycenia has annotated for them. "It looks like a shorter way to the cannibals than to the captain's old hut, especially if we take this trail most of the way." Her finger traces along the line toward the village. "Of course, we'll be more likely to run into cannibals on the trail ... but since we're planning to kill them all anyway, I guess that's a good thing. The more we can meet in small groups away from the village, the fewer we have to fight when we get there. We can't let any of them get away this time, though," she says soberly. "If they get back to warn the rest, we'll lose our chance at surprising them."
"I think it wisest to wait a few days to see if Aerys gets better. that way we'll be at our best. It will also give us more time to plot and plan."
"Wise man would grab at one bird, not two," interjects Mahjik, "Douena rightly points out that we keep getting someone ill in the group - and every day spent not attacking the cannibals is a day closer for them to discover our whereabouts or presence and then be more prepared for when we strike."
"I agree with Urza," Lorenz says. "Unless we're traveling all over the place and leaving tracks, they're not likely to find us. If we take a few days to rest, regain our strengths and let them search the whole island for us, maybe they'll be so busy searching for us that their village will be weaker. Either that or they'll give up and lower their guard in the process."
"Wait? Wait?!" Pezock's feathers ruffle and stand up on end. "It's always wait with you people. I've been waiting for years! I say we kill them today!"
He turns away from the group, muttering angrily and patting his sawtooth sabre. "Yes, I know, you're right. They're useless. I should have let my crab eat them. No, don't worry. We'll still kill the cannibals. Soon. Soon."
Lorenz had been expecting Pezock's objection. "I understand how you feel, Pezock, but we're just trying to make it easier to kill even more cannibals. You won't be disappointed."
Douena shoots Lorenz a why-are-you-toying-with-the-emotionally-unstable-birdman look. "It's all right, Pezock. Maybe you and I can go out and find some cannibals to kill. Have you ever seen their village? If you can tell me anything about it, we can start planning how we'll kill them." She tries to lead him away and get him involved in building a model of the village to make tactical plans with.
"Wha...? Oh! Ya! I'm also keen on seeing the village." Something just seems off about Mahjik, his beat seems slightly of; but when people take a second look, all the usual cues seem to be in place - smile, nods, more-places-at-once.
Douena shoots Lorenz a why-are-you-toying-with-the-emotionally-unstable-birdman look. "It's all right, Pezock. Maybe you and I can go out and find some cannibals to kill. Have you ever seen their village? If you can tell me anything about it, we can start planning how we'll kill them." She tries to lead him away and get him involved in building a model of the village to make tactical plans with. 1d20+3
Pezock seems initially annoyed as Douena tries to lead him away, but soon calms down. "What? Seen their village? No, of course I haven't! There are too many of them for me to have gone by myself. However, perhaps you are right about going to investigate. We could pick off a few of them before we launch the main attack. Yes, you and I will go kill cannibals! Come!" With his hand on the hilt of his sword, Pezock begins marching towards the edge of the grove.
Douena gives the others a smile and a shrug over her shoulder, as she allows herself to be led away.
"You do realize he's not going to just investigate?" Urza says to no one in particular just before he gathers his meager supplies and follows them.
Mahjik shakes his head, grinning, as he follows as well.
Lorenz looks in astonishment and then in growing irritation as Douena first looks at him as though he's the one stirring up trouble and then singlehanded makes the whole situation worse. He throws his hands up in the air and begins muttering to himself under his breath as he hurriedly grabs up his belongings and hurries after them.
"I'll try to keep them from getting themselves killed," he calls out over his shoulder as he leaves the hillside behind.
"Okay!" Sasha calls with a laugh as Lorenz rushes off.
Pezock doesn't wait for you to grab your things, so you have to rush to catch up with him. He strikes off southeast into the jungle. "Die, cannibal!" he cries as he slices a vine with his sawtooth sabre. "You have no hope against me!" he yells at a large plant that he then hacks with his sabre. He continues to cackle gleefully as you go.
"Uh, Douena? You might want to encourage, using that fantastically effective manner that you have with people, Pezock to be quiet so that we can catch the cannibals in surprise rather than the other way around." Lorenz says softly as he catches up to her.
He looks worriedly at Pezock announcing his approach to the world and tries to consider ways that they could take advantage of the tengu's certain capture.
She smiles up at Lorenz. "I don't know: Maybe he can be like the candleflame that draws the moths to it, and we'll be the people hiding in the dark around the candle going 'Whack! Whack! Whack!'" Nevertheless, she draws up close to Pezock. "You're going to have to try to be quieter than that, Pezock," she scolds mildly. "If the cannibals hear that we're coming to kill them, they'll all run away and hide and we won't get to kill any of them."
Pezock pauses for a moment. "You're right," he says. "We don't want to scare them away. Tell that chatty one over there--what's his name? Loren?--to keep his voice down."
With Pezock being quiet now, you continue through the jungle. After about an hour and a half, you come out of the jungle along the edge another one of the Shiv's towering cliffs. Looking down below, you see a river rushing and curving along the cliff's base, then out into a bay to the southwest. A little farther out, you can see a trail running in the same direction as the river and then along the south shore of the bay. To the northeast, you can see that the land gradually rises while the cliff gradually lowers to a point where the cliff finally vanishes.
Along the trail to the south, about a mile or so, Douena and Mahjik can just make out small figures moving northwards. It's difficult to tell just how many at this distance, but there look to be four or five. Probably a cannibal patrol, you figure.
"Climbing! And swimming!" Douena grumps. "Every time I start to think I might get to like this island!"