Bulgo puts away his sling and draws his daggers. His small stature then easily enables him to hide behind one of the ship's masts.
S'arkee heals Rolan back to consciousness.
One of the riders dismounts his horse and wades through the beach's water to reach the small ship, where he climbs aboard.
Rolan gets up and wants to steer the ship, but Bulgo quickly brings Rolan up to speed on what's occurred since his passing out.
The rider that just boarded the ship has no idea where Bulgo's voice came from.
Round 7:
Negi 12/16HP
Rolan 4/17HP
Horse (Green) -14HP
Theron 9/10HP
Mutabi-qi Raider (Yellow)
Bulgo 20/24HP
S'arkee
Khoqarit -1HP
Once he's back on his feet Rolan picks up his crossbow.
Negi calls Jon to his side and mounts him, after which he snarls at the intruder and draws his hammer. The intruder doesn't reply vocally, but he does glare at Negi.
The horse on deck panics and jumps into the water. It then runs off as fast as it can.
Round 7:
Negi 12/16HP
Rolan 4/17HP
Theron 9/10HP
Mutabi-qi Raider (Yellow)
Bulgo 20/24HP
S'arkee
Khoqarit -1HP
As the horse on the deck panics and tries to get off the ship, Theron's roc hits it with a talon. The horse collapses and drops into the water next to the ship.
Theron takes the left stairs to get to higher ground, where he shots an arrow that bounces of the intruder's armor.
Theron's roc then attacks the intruder as well, but the man dodges each of the bird's attacks.
The rider that's still on his horse tries to dismount as fast as he can, but nearly falls off his horse. Despite the slight delay from regaining his balance, he dismount the horse, and wades up to the ship.
Round 7:
Negi 12/16HP
Rolan 4/17HP
Theron 9/10HP
Mutabi-qi Raider (Yellow)
Bulgo 20/24HP
S'arkee
Khoqarit -1HP
Bulgo slips around the back of the ship's mast and stabs the intruder from behind. The man looks like he's in rather bad shape and coughs up some blood.
Round 7:
Negi 12/16HP
Rolan 4/17HP
Theron 9/10HP
Mutabi-qi Raider (Yellow)
Bulgo 20/24HP
S'arkee
Khoqarit -10HP
The wounded intruder lets out a single, pained scream when S'arkee violently probes the man's brain. The man then loses consciousness and hits the deck.
As soon as the other warrior sees the man on deck go down, he turns around. He jumps back on his horse and flees, taking the fallen man's horse with him.
You tie up the man, and a while later he regains his consciousness. However, it turns out the man doesn't speak Common.
Theron's roc just so happens to see a fish in the water, and decides to have a snack. It grabs hold of the fish with one of its talons and lands back on the deck. You may be able to take the fish from it.
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Theron approaches his roc.
He walks over to in front of the man and puts down the fish.
Theron points at the head of the fish, then at the bottom of the fish.
"Eat, eat."
He pats the roc over the head.
The roc eats the eyes of the fish first, as Theron whistles a merry tune.
As the roc pecks out and eats the eyes first, Theron makes gestures between the fish' missing eyes and his roc, then at the man's own eyes.
*Thumbs up (you be good) = good roc.
Thumbs down (you be bad) = roc eats eyes*
"You can understand that much, right mungo?"
The man's face pales as he watches Theron's 'explanation'. It seems the message was very clear to him.
A while later you haul up the anchor and set sail to the Jhemulit camp, which is a half-day's travel downriver from the Kogendu Basin. Several horses and goats contentedly graze about the wide grassy plain on either side of the river, but the fields look as though they have been recently flooded. A half-dozen yurts, drenched from a recent storm, dot the northern shoreline, smoke curling from their rounded roofs. Two small shrines sits a few yards east of the camp, surrounded by wildflowers.
A short, middle-aged Tian-La man with graying hair and a scraggly beard approaches. "Welcome, Pathfinders! My name is Ogokai. How has the journey been?"
Ogokai makes a wide gesture in the direction of the shrines. "Let us head over there so we can discuss important matters in private."
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Bulgo jumps off the boat, glad to be on steady land again.
"Hello Ogokai. I am Bulgo. We have a guest on board that we were hoping you would be able to translate for..."
He goes on to explain about the attack, and wanting to know if it was anything more than just random bandits.
"They did seem surprisingly persistant." he adds.
"I surely wouldn't mind," Ogokai responds to Bulgo. "Just bring him over, and I'll translate for you."
A while later you sit down with the captures man and Ogokai, and Ogokai questions the man for you. It's soon revealed the man's named Khoqarit, and the leader of the Mutabi-Qi raiders that attacked you. You also discover it was a standalone attack, and that Khoqarit fears what he calls "the twisted, little man with the viscous, big bird".
"Like my tribe's forefathers before me, I place great value on hospitality," Ogokai tells you after Khoqarit's interrogation. "Therefore I offer to put you up for the night, in an extra yurt my tribe has set up for you. You will also be provided with as much food and drink as you need."
Ogokai eyes Khoqarit. "What do you plan to do with your prisoner, during the night?"
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Bulgo eyes up the raider and then the others.
"If we let him to back to his people, will he bother us again? Will he even head back without a horse?"
He considers the problem.
"It is hardly my place to look after him. My suggestion is we feed him - provide shelter for the night if he wants it, and then let him go."
The information's relayed to Khoqarit, and he seems to understand his predicament. He promises to not bother you ever again.
Once the raider's dealt with, Ogokai addresses a matter of greater importance to your mission: the incense you're supposed to pick up here. "We have mixed the incense, but I am afraid we cannot give it to you. As soon as we placed the herbs in the crates the Gokan woman left, a terrible storm fell upon us. Many of our horses and goats were scared away by the thunder, and one man was struck by lightning. It is clear—the Sky Spirits are displeased we would give the sacred gifts of the land to outsiders. You may take back the hides the Gokan woman traded us, but you may not take the incense."
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Bulgo sighs and sits, accepting the hospitality offered.
"Tell me Ogokai...The man who was struck by lightning. Was he unrighteous? Was he a man who followed all the teachings of the Sky Spirits? Or did he have a flaw? Did he have a failing that the Sky Spirits knew of and wanted him punished for?"
He looks hard at the Shaman.
"You knew the man, Ogokai. Not me. But the Sky Spirits see much from above than you or I might not see."
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S'arkee shakes his head hearing this story.
Sky God getting angry at trading incence? I know the power of Gods and I do not believe in this being their God's work. May Iissala prove me right.
"Have the Gods shown such anger in the past? Do you ever remember them acting in such a way before?" S'arkee asks as he looks over the situation and tries to help Bulgo. "He raises a good question. Why was this man hit by lightning? Was his death justified?"
Ogokai's face hardens slightly. "Even if this man had been unrighteous, the entire tribe has been punished. Many of our horses and goats were scared away by the thunder."
"The Sky Spirits work in mysterious ways," Ogokai continues, his face softening again, "but they are found mostly in this western region of Shaguang, near the Wall of Heaven. They occasionally fly overhead, and we know to fear them, for in our ancestors' tales they have caused the ruin of many tribes."
He nods in agreement when Negi and Theron speak. "I am afraid that the Sky Spirits have spoken, and unless you can provide proof that you are worthy of accepting these gifts of our land, then I do not wish to give you the incense."
"I do not know what such proof might look like, that is up to you to figure out. Convince me that I should give you the incense, and I will."
"We commune with the sky spirits wherever we are," Ogokai answers Rolan's question, "for we're always connected to the sky, and need not travel to special places to revere it."
Bulgo doesn't see any obvious place where the incense would be, but it's likely in one of the yurts. Most likely in Ogokai's own yurt, as he's the tribe's druid. As he looks around, Bulgo observes only a small handful of
Jhemulit tribespeople are at the camp.
"The storm was last night," Ogokai tells Negi.
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S'arkee thinks for a moment as he looks over this situation and repeats the 7 rules of law to himself.
"Whatever may happen will happen to us and not the villiage. I am certain your sky gods would see no reason to attack you for sticking to your part of a deal. If they had protested they would've shown their displeasure as soon as she arrived with the skins for trade and not after leaving." S'arkee states as he attempts to put this in his opinion "If they are indeed angry, perhaps it is something else. Something we may possibly help you with."
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"You... have a point, there." Negi said, "The agreement was made well in advance of you actually mixing the incense. I doubt they were waiting on you to renege on the agreement, maybe there is something going on." He turned to the elder. "But we'll look into that later. For now, were you able to get your livestock all back?"
Ogokai looks unconvinced. "The sky spirits have done this to make a point. We shouldn't have let the trade enter the stage it's in now, for now we have have to deal with a problem. It's the sky spirits' revenge, because we didn't realize our wrongdoings earlier. Or maybe the sky spirits were merciful, and providing us with a chance to redeem ourselves. We have, however, wasted that valuable chance."
Ogokai shakes his head at Negi's question. "Many of our tribespeople are still out, looking for the horses lost during the storm."
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Bulgo quietly yawns.
A look of embarrassment crosses his face.
"Oh sorry. It's been a long day."
He shuffles a little.
"May I be excused?"
Assuming it doesn't look like he will be giving any offence, Bulgo gets to up leave.
Once out of sight, Bulgo slips into concealment to and looks around for the Yurt of Ogokai. He then slips towards the back of the Yurk and listens carefully to try and ascertain if there is anyone or anything within.
(assuming he doesn't hear anything)
Bulgo slips under the back of the Yurt and searches around for the incense. If he manages to find it he'll take however much he can easily grab while trying to make it less obvious any has been removed.
Takes ten on perception for 20 and ten on stealth as required for 24.
Taking ten on slight of hand also for a 20.
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"My friend has a point." Negi adds. "We probably should rest after fighting those raiders. Would it be okay if we stay the night before concluding our business? In the meantime, I will assist in cleaning up the mess our associate has inadvertently caused."
Before night falls, Negi and Jon will assist in tracking down some of the escaped animals.
Ogokai smiles at Negi. "Even if there's no trade, my offer still stands. You're welcome to stay the night here."
When Bulgo yawns, Ogokai agrees it's best to stop the discussion for today. He escorts you to an empty yurt, where those who want to rest can do so.
Negi's help in finding the missing horses is greatly appreciated. He and Jon are able to track down all of the missing horses, and the tribespeople thank him several times over.
"Your tracking skills are remarkable!" Ogokai tells him. "If only someone in our tribe had such skills, we wouldn't have had to search all day!"
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During the night Bulgo successfully locates and sneaks into Ogokai's yurt. The druid's asleep, and entirely unaware of Bulgo's presence. Bulgo spots two crates, both filled with incense. Venture-captain Amara Li's words then ring through his head: "The ritual requires a large amount of rare incense..."
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Bulgos plan is to leave the top layer or maybe even two in the crates, so it is not obvious for quite some time that there is any missing.
If we have not yet sent off the tribesman who attacked us, or have any bits of their possessions left on the ship, then he might slide something that belongs to them that inside as well to further divert suspicion from the pathfinders.
No need to make it obvious it was us that took it. Where as a bandit who was captured and wanted to get some petty revenge by stealing incense. It's not idea, but its the best I can come up with.
Apart from that, he'll take as much as he can.
Bulgo takes as much of the incense as he can, and drops one of Khoqarit's smaller possessions into one of the crates. He does all of this without anyone noticing him.
The next morning, when everyone's awake, you send off Khoqarit. Afterward, you get back to your ship.
"Safe journey!" Ogokai says as you leave, waving you goodbye. "Thanks for the help with the horses!"
At the end of the day’s travel you reach an outpost along the border of Shaguang. Clumps of green lichen cling to the links of an iron chain that spans the river a few inches above the water, the chain holding several vertical, bobbing logs in place. On the north shore, the chain is bolted to a squat stone block half-buried in the ground. To the south, the chain attaches to a large metal crank handle mounted to a ruined stone wall. A short wooden dock stretches from the front of the stone wall out to the middle of the slow-flowing river.
The checkpoint is overseen by an officious man and three guards, who motion for the ship to stop and dock.