Sasha joins Douena as she approaches the door across from the lighthouse entrance. "How much is a bunch?" she asks.
She shrugs. "A bunch. Lots of bags. They have holes in them, though, so they'd be hard to carry. Maybe someone could just carry the footlocker? I don't know how heavy it is."
The door does not appear to have any traps. Opening it reveals a large room divided into two sections. A fence divides the two sections. The northern section contains two long, horrifically bloodstained wooden tables. A gate at the southeast end of the fence open to a short flight of stairs that go down to the lower southern section. The southern section is open to the sky and has no floor, just muddy ground, into which numerous stakes have been driven.
Beyond the southern section, through the collapsed wall at the southwest, is the refuse pit.
Douena stares a moment, aghast as she imagines what this room has been used for. "Ew."
"Well, I'll leave you to it then. There's a footlocker downstairs that needs opening, and I need to check the other part of the building and make sure cannibals aren't boiling out of it at everybody else."
"Thank you for being here with me to see this. I can now help in securing the village. I'll stay in the lighthouse and keep watch for any returning cannibals."
"I say we throw the dead cannibals in there," Douena says darkly, indicating the refuse pit. "And we'll say just enough of a funeral for them to keep them in it and not up and walking around. The skeletons ... I don't know if they were cannibals or victims. We'll assume the best and give them a separate service." She turns back toward the lighthouse. "There's a couple of rooms left in there on the first floor. I suppose we ought to see what's in there. Come back with me, Sasha, and you can go up and look at the bags of coins."
Douena will check the door in the western wall first.
The door appears free of traps and opens into a bedroom that, compared to the other places in the village, is actually well-furnished. It contains a crude, but sturdy bed, complete with a mattress. There are also a couple of cushions on the floor.
The room is somewhat cleaner than the rest of the village, but there are the remains of several meals on the floor by the cushions, including what appear to be travel rations.
"Rations. This isn't cannibal food. The captain and Ieana have been here." She backs out into the staircase room and checks the other door.
Mahjik separates from the group a bit to explore the near vicinity of the village, keeping his eyes open for other surprises and extras that are attached in some way to the village. He combs, roughly, a quarter-mile radius around the village.
Douena finds no presence of traps on the final door. Beyond it is a cluttered room, decorated with all manner of relics, including an Asmodeus-shaped ship figurehead, possibly from the Thrune's Fang. It is set up in the north half of the room, the centrepiece of all the clutter here.
The other items in the room are varied and numerous beyond count. Most of them are in poor shape, rotting or broken. There are bowls, table legs, fragments of carvings (wooden and stone), old and tattered clothing, sails, candles, and all sorts of other things. Due to their poor condition, however, it's unlikely any of them are worth anything. Despite the mess and clutter, there is a shrine-like quality to the room.
The village is situated at the tip of a peninsula at the southern end of the island. Cliffs drop down to the bay at the immediate north of the village. To the west and south, it's only a short journey (less than 10 minutes through the jungle) to more cliffs. To the east, the jungle begins to get thicker until it soon reaches the density that most of the rest of the island has.
Lorenz follows the others from room to room, holding the new scimitar in one hand and his shield ready in the other in case of further attack. He has to turn away from the refuge pit when they discover that, his face a shade of queasy green.
With no sign of where the Captain and Ieana might have gone, he frowns, thinking. Then he remembers something they had not yet investigated.
"What about that cover made of bamboo? Could the cannibals have captured Ieana and the Captain and put them in a dungeon or something?"
Mahjik returns, a swing in his step. As he enters the village he calls out, "Everything seems clear around the village! Seems also little wildlife about here - they must've learned to avoid the place for risk of being eaten."
Mahjik returns, a swing in his step. As he enters the village he calls out, "Everything seems clear around the village! Seems also little wildlife about here - they must've learned to avoid the place for risk of being eaten."
Douena looks vaguely surprised. "Do cannibals eat normal food? I guess if they can't get people -- I mean, there can't be enough shipwrecks to feed them every day. It seems odd, though. If we ran out of monkeys and snakes to catch, I wouldn't eat Mahjik."
"What about that cover made of bamboo? Could the cannibals have captured Ieana and the Captain and put them in a dungeon or something?"
"I forgot about that," Douena says, moving over to the cover outside the lighthouse. "I wouldn't think it's a dungeon; the cannibal said their leader welcomed them as guests. But maybe it's a stairway or tunnel or something." She gets down on all fours to examine the bamboo cover, trying to see if it might be trapped.
"Wise man would get his ducks in a bunch," smirks Mahjik, "from my point of view we have three things now: a ways to try to attract a ship to rescue us from this island, a hidden treasure, courtesy of Ishirou; and a mystery regarding the missing Captain and Ieana."
"The first thing should be last," Douena opines. "I mean," she looks around to be sure Urza is still upstairs working on the lighthouse, "as eager as Urza is to be rescued, we don't really want a ship to show up until after we've found the treasure, right? Then we'd have to share." She shrugs. "I'm in no real hurry to leave, myself. I like Aycenia. And I don't even really remember where we were supposed to be going."
The cover is made of a mixture of bamboo and driftwood, and looks like it would be fairly easy to move aside. There are a few stakes driven into the ground at intervals around the cover and lying nearby are a couple coils of vine. Douena finds no sign of traps on the cover.
As she finishes up her examination, there is a rumble of thunder in the distance. This isn't that unusual a thing, except that the sky is relatively clear at the moment. At that moment, the sky to the east alights as numerous strokes of lightning shoot down, all apparently at the same spot. Loud thunder accompanies each bolt. It's impossible to tell exactly where the lightning hits, but it would appear to be somewhere along the west side of the mountain that makes up the southeast side of the island. After a few seconds, the lightning and thunder stop, but a rumbling sound like distant thunder continues for several more seconds before fading away.
Douena stares to the east, wide-eyed. "Well, that was eerie. Why would the sky do that?" She tries her strength at lifting the bamboo cover, her attention still elsewhere. "We should finish up here and get back to Aycenia. I'll bet the land will tell her what's happening."
Mahjik is also surprised, but he still opines: "Oh, there was a fourth thing. That big-big-flappy. Yes? Could it have done that? I hope not..."
"And my Tiny bear!" Douena reminds him. "Only Aycenia said there weren't any here," she remembers with discouragement. "I hope whatever ship comes to rescue us is going to the land of Tiny bears."
"You think we can pry Urza away from the lighthouse to get all the other things done? I suggest Aycenia, Ishirou's treasure, the disturbing weather and finally the lighthouse - in that order. What do you think?"
"I suggest Aycenia, Ishirou's treasure, the disturbing weather and finally the lighthouse - in that order. What do you think?"
Jask shakes his head, still staring eastwards towards where the lightning struck. "Ieana should be our priority," he says, turning back to face Mahjik and the rest of the group. "I think we should do our best to find out what she did here and where she went."
"Well, if she's not under here," Douena replies, lifting the cover and looking in, "I don't know how we're going to find her."
Beneath the cover is a pit. The sunlight shining down illuminates a floor about 20 feet down. The floor is stained with blood and you can see a few fallen leaves and pieces of wood. The smell of decay wafts up from below. There is clearly a much larger chamber that you can't see all of from this vantage.
Douena gives a little gasp and instantly regrets it as she inhales more of the decay-scented air. "It's a cave with a blood-stained floor," she tells the others, "just like in my dream, the one where the big snake came out of the wall and ate me. I'll bet Ieana is down there." She doesn't seem happy about the prospect of going down there.
Lorenz shivers as he gazes off toward where the lightning had struck and where the rumbling began.
"I don't know, I have a bad feeling that whatever's going on over there is going to involve Ieana somehow."
He looks nervously down into the hole. "Perhaps we should rest a little before we go down there. I don't want to deal with a big snake until everyone's recovered from the battle."
The ominous weather grabs Urza's attention. Deep down, he realizes that they still have unfinished business on this island and that rescue will need to wait.
"I agree with Lorenz," Sasha says, kneeling down beside the hole to peer in. "We're pretty wiped from fighting the cannibals. I'm not sure we want anymore fighting right now." She frowns. "Of course, if Ieana is down there, she could sneak away while we rest. So maybe we should check this out right away?"
Lorenz smiles at Sasha's agreement. "I'm feeling fine and I don't need to prepare any spells. Why don't we re-cover the opening and I'll keep watch on the hole while the rest of you rest. If Ieana or the Captain try to climb back out again, I'll call for help."
Douena shakes her head emphatically. "I'm not going down where there's big snakes coming out of the walls until I get a chance to commune with Desna again. If anything should go wrong -- and I can't imagine what could go right in a blood-spattered cave -- there's not a lot I could do about it." She considers. "I guess we could put something heavier over the hole to try and keep whatever's in there in. There's a whole bunch of junk in that room in the lighthouse we could use." She glances up at the sun. "If we're going to try to move something heavy, we should go ahead and do it before it gets too hot. Then we could rest in that lookout room where we can keep an eye on the path. Pezock," she raises her voice to address the pacing tengu, "you've been on this island a while. Have you ever seen that lightning thing before?"
Pezock stops pacing and looks out towards where the lightning struck. He shakes his head. "No, never." He spins around, looking suddenly exuberant, like he's just thought of something. "Clearly, the gods are celebrating our victory!" he says. He draws his sabre and raises it in a salute. "To victory!"
Douena can't stop herself from laughing at Pezock's assertion and stance. "Yes, Pezock, to your victory," she tells him warmly. "If you want to sit and keep watch, Lorenz, that's fine with me, but if we're going back to Aycenia's tonight, we might want to block off the hole anyway until we come back. There's a big piece of a ship in there with a frowny devil on it that looks heavy."
Douena wanders back into the lighthouse and gazes into the room with the figurehead. Then she climbs the stairs and goes to check on Urza. "What do you think, Urza? Do you think you can fix it? You know, Pezock rigged up that whole crabshell thing he lived in. He could probably help you ... if you could get him to pay attention to it." Without waiting for a reply, she goes on quickly and a little awkwardly, "Listen, Urza: What do you think Aerys would have wanted? Should she be buried at sea like a sailor? Or should we take her back to Aycenia's hill and bury her there where Aycenia can keep watch over her?"
"She was a sailor. Burial at sea is appropriate." Urza kneels down and looks Douena in the eye. "And you don't need to worry about me. I have prayed to Pharasma on her behalf. Besides, we have to go make sure you can get a good night's rest. I'll stay here and keep watch while we move the camp here."
Douena gives Urza a little smile and pats his hand comfortingly. "All right. I'll let everyone downstairs know. We won't leave until after the hot anyway."
She traipses back downstairs and informs the others, "Urza says Aerys would want to be buried at sea. I think he knew her as well as anyone did. Should we wrap her up in some of the cannibals' curtains and put in some stones for weight?"
Mahjik stretches, a yawn stiffling on his face. "Whoa, the heat must be getting to me." He looks over at the hole, "What do you think will work well to block this up?"
Mahjik stretches, a yawn stiffling on his face. "Whoa, the heat must be getting to me." He looks over at the hole, "What do you think will work well to block this up?"
"The heaviest-looking thing in there is the frowny devil off the ship. It's pretty big, but if the cannibals' shipwrecked ancestors got it in there, we ought to be able to get it out."
"Makoa, you're a sailor. Come help me wrap Aerys up; you should know how. There's even some real sails in the lighthouse."
Mahjik goes and tries to manhandle the thing towards the hole. "Sasha? Lorenz? Someone? A little help here please."
"Aakif will help you," Douena says as she leads Makoa away. "He's big and strong, and he's not doing anything else."
Lorenz jumps up to help manhandle the big thing over the hole.
With Lorenz and Aakif's help, Mahjik is able to get the figurehead move out of the lighthouse and deposited on top of the pit cover. "That should make it difficult for anyone to get out of there," Aakif comments.
Meanwhile, Douena and Makoa wrap up Aerys's body with the canvas and sails in the lighthouse. Sasha watches from aside a bit and wipes away a few tears.
Once the body is wrapped, Pezock comes over and salutes with his sword. "I will say a eulogy in her honour at her funeral," he announces. "And then we will celebrate our victory and we shall dedicate our celebration to --" He pauses a moment and then leans over and whispers to Douena, "What was her name?"
"Aerys," Douena reminds him with a friendly glare, "and you just remember that she died fighting cannibals, just like your captain and shipmates. You say something you'd want said over them."
"She fought honorably and bravely," Pezock says. "I will say as such. It is a great tragedy that she is dead and not the coward."
"It's a great tragedy that any of us are dead," Douena tells Pezock firmly. "Your eulogy will be fine without any lists of people you wish had died in her place." She turns to Makoa and Mahjik as her experts on sea-going customs. "We're up awfully high here. Do you think we should take her back down to the beach and put her on a raft, like we did the first mate?"
Mahjik grins at the tengu, "You speak big words for a man that spent half the battle sleeping."
Mahjik grins at the tengu, "You speak big words for a man that spent half the battle sleeping."
Pezock glares at Mahjik, but says nothing. After a moment, he turns and wanders off grumbling.
Douena smiles at Mahjik conspiratorially. "You must admit, you can't question the bravery of anyone who could take a nap in the middle of fighting cannibals."
"hehehe, right you are little one."
You settle down to rest out the hot hours of the day. You can easily use any of the the huts or the lighthouse itself as shelter and shade. Eventually, the afternoon rain comes and brings an end to the horrendous heat.
Ishirou then unveils a rickety raft he's strung together out of the bits of driftwood lying throughout the village. As it's been put together quickly and without particularly good components, the raft wouldn't be ideal for travelling anywhere on it, but as Ishirou points out, it just needs to hold together long enough to take Aerys's body away from shore. He suggests heading down the trail to where the river enters the bay. The current there should help take the body well into the water.
"Good job Ishirou," despite the words, Mahjik looks a bit down. A quiet melancholy overcoming him at the finality of the raft and its cargo.
Douena also looks unusually solemn at the prospect of using the raft. "All right, let's take care of the dead things here first." Standing up facing the refuse pit where they tossed the cannibals' bodies, she says in a firm voice, "Desna, put those cannibals on a fast boat to whatever bad place they're going to, and make sure they never come back." Next, she turns to the bone fragments she gathered together from the dead skeletons and tosses them gently over the edge of the cliff into the surf below. "I don't know if these people were cannibals or victims, Desna, but sort them out to wherever they need to go and let them not walk this world again." She nods, the easy part done. "Well," she goes on reluctantly, "I guess it's time to go."
With Douena's short speech of departure for the deceased complete, Mahjik helps pickup and carry Aerys' body. Everybody that wants to, chips in, making the body of the fallen warrior oddly light. So tender and fragile, so suddenly gone.
Douena brings up the rear of the somber parade, holding her wooden butterfly before her officiously. When they arrive and Aerys' wrapped form on the raft is set down at the water's edge, she ahems self-importantly before addressing her goddess.
"Desna, I didn't much like Aerys when I first met her. I thought she was rude and mean and stuck-up. What none of us knew then was that she had a secret struggle. It made her unhappy with herself and unhappy with everyone else as a result.
"When we got stranded on this island, she had the worst time of any of us. We did what we could to help, but she had to do the hard part herself. She hated being trapped here, but Desna, you spared her from the shipwreck so that she could escape her struggles and complete her work. And I ask that you would guide the journeys of the rest of us back off of this island so that we can carry her poem to others and complete her dream."
She pauses a moment. "Desna, it may seem like your luck wasn't with her at the end, but she died fighting shoulder to shoulder with friends and there are worse ways to die. Guide her journey to the next realm. May the wind fill her sails and the stars shine true."
"Now, if anyone else has anything to say ... about Aerys'" she amends with a warning eye on Pezock, "now's the time to say it."
Pezock steps forward and looks over the group and then down at Aerys's wrapped body. "I didn't know her well," he says. "But she died fighting against evil, and that is enough to know that she was a good person. She was brave and valiant, not cowardly like..." He trails off and glances at Douena, then clears his throat. "Well, she was brave and valiant. May Pharasma judge her worthy and reward her in the afterlife."
Having made his peace with Aerys and Pharasma, Urza keeps his vigil in the lighthouse rather than attend the funeral.