She bares her teeth at the man. "How dare you question my motive! Of course I tried to help him. He was beyond the aid of Calistria or me. So I sought his information, yes. To secure his vengeance!"
She gives Ivar a look of disgust, "And what do you know of suffering, foolish man? You think that slitting a man's throat causes instant death. No! They still feel the pain of the blade piercing their skin and meat, and slowly choke to death on their own blood in a process that can last several minutes. Be quiet about things you are ignorant of."
You make it back to the beach and begin to cook up a great scorpio-lobster-shark stu.
"Dead men tell no tales. I know it happened over five minutes ago, so it's lost in that fuzzy place you call a brain, but we were stranded here in a deliberate act. Figuring out the who and why of it seems pretty important. Truly, with every word you prove your ignorance." Rolling her eyes, she goes in whichever direction Ivar didn't.
Tusara feels slightly sick hearing Ivars remarkably detailed description as to how to cut someone's throat. Undoubtedly useful information if you were planning to do such things, but for herself it was a little bit graphic for her taste.
Julian: You know the Island is called SMUGGLERS SHIV. You also know (with GROUP CHECK knowledge local, geography, survival or profession sailor)
Tusara, you don't know what the keys are for yet.
"The armor might be useful to me, let me take a gander mate. It doesn't surprise me though, probably that demented captain... was raving about the mate needing to have an 'accident' in his journal.... foul woman seemed to have poisoned his mind with lust."
Julian spits.
"According to the map we are at a place called Smugglers Shiv. Not a friendly place to say the least, most crews avoid it."
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begin satuday night optional flurry:)
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You wake up earlier then the rest of the survivors this morning. You decide to take a stroll down the beach, to the south. It's a lovely day on a tropical beach. What could possibly go wrong?
Sasha has gone with you. She will be interesting to watch. MAP UPDATED.
Albrecht rises as well, rolling up his bedroll, and saddling up Bartimaeus. He looks to see if the wreck is still there and catches up with Ivar.
Ivar, you must know a bit about zis. Vat are our options for gettink off zee island. Could a craft be made zat is sea vorthy?
Sasha pinches Albrechts arm no pirate could withstand our Panzers. We have nothing to fear Ivar!
"We should be careful though", Tusara remarks, stretching slightly "We don't want to be alone if we encounter that priestess...I'm sure she is around here somewhere".
Albrecht frowns at Ivar explanation about difficulty of ship building. He looks sideways at Sasha, displeased with her lighthearted treatment of the noble gnomish panther cavalry brigade.
Bartimaeus is a panzer, not a panzer. He says as if this clarifies something.
He perks up a bit at Ivar's next words, obviously heartened at the sound of a plan.
So you have a plan zen? You sink vee can signal someone?
You have a good point my lady, a signal vould also alert anysing else on zee island.
Merelinda awakens, stretching as she slowly opens her eyes. She sits up, looking about the campsite as the last vestiges of sleep leave her. Squinting, she notes the position of the sun and chuckles. Apparently the swim had tired her to the point that she had overslept. She notes the missing members of the party, quite gladdened that the Ulfen is among them. She likely needed the extra time to cool off after the argument of yesterday.
Last Night
Merelinda sulks on the way back to land, still quite pissed about her confrontation with Ivar. She takes the time to analyze their situation. The passenger, Ieana, or Yarzoth, had intentionally shipwrecked them here with the Captain's assistance. She had taken magical control of the man, planting paranoia in his mind to keep his crew from talking sense into him. A serpent had killed the cook. Her mind wanders further, to her dream and the snake-women in it. She remembers the laughter of the shadowy figure in the background as the dagger was poised above her chest. Was there a connection there? The priestess was almost sure of it.
After they arrive at the island, Merelinda helps gather the items they grabbed from the ship, organizing them into form or function. Enough food for about three days, enough material to create crude shelters from the sun. They would need to find a source of fresh water soon, otherwise their immediate survival needs were covered.
As night falls, she helps herself to more of the shark fin soup from earlier. Better to use renewable resources than finite ones. When she has her fill, she seeks out the sorceress, sitting down next to the lovely woman. She smiles at her, green eyes dark in the moonlight. "Hello there. You never answered my earlier question...what do you think this is about?"
Tusara looks puzzled, "What do I think what is about?"
"All this." She extends her hand to the panarama of the island, the treacherous bay, the hulk of the ship resting precariously, waiting for the tide to take it to its final rest.
"I guess supposition is kind of pointless, isn't it? You just seem like you actually have a brain, so I wanted your opinion." She stares off into the night, then looks to the woman again. "I must confess, I had a dream while we were washed up on the beach. A disturbing dream involving snake people. Then it turns out the cook was bit by a serpent, and Ieana, or Yarzoth, had some kind of egg...it leads to some disturbing conclusions when you think about it."
Bayani, too awakens with the sunlight, and stretches out languidly. He is still wearing only his smallclothes after the swim, and when he dresses, he only puts on a pair of short trousers, liking the feeling of the sun on his chest. I should spend some time studying my book, he thinks, if I could master the armor spell I could use it instead of bulky leather and metal.
Mobutu approaches Bayani as night falls. "Mo ní a àlá kẹhin alẹ ti mo ni lati so fun ẹnikan nipa. Mo n soro ni wa abinibi languge ki ko lati gbigbọn awọn elomiran. O kopa ti ejo ati kokoro."
He hesitates for a moment. "Mo ro pe o je kan ifiranṣẹ lati a ọba kan wa eniyan yin."
I had a dream last night I had to tell someone about. I speak in our native language as not to alert the others. It involved snakes and insects. I think it was a message from one of our people's deities.
Bayani is sitting on the sand oiling his bow, with his daggers and Chakrams sitting beside him along with a whetstone. He is wearing the same thing as when they swam out to the ship.
With a gesture, he invites Mobutu to sit.
"So fun mi ti yi ala, ore mi. Mo ní kan ajeji kan bi daradara, tun okiki ejò, tilẹ ko kokoro. Kí ló ṣẹlẹ, ki o si idi ti o ro ti o ti rán nipasẹ a Ọlọrun?"
Mobutu sits and listens to Bayani's story that, though not similar to his, reeked of the familiar. "Awọn iyaafin ninu yara ti wa ni mo fun fifiranṣẹ awọn ifiranṣẹ si rẹ olóòótọ ni àlá. Sugbon Emi ko le ro ti ohun ti ejò tumo si." he says. "Ṣugbọn ti o ba ti o ko ri awọn kokoro, ki o si awọn ala gbọdọ ti nkankan miran."
He leans back, laying down on the beach to look at the stars. That woman, Ieana, was some sort of witch. Do you think she planted those snakes in our dreams?"
The lady in the room is known for sending messages to her faithful in dreams. But I cannot think of what the snake means.
But if you did not see the insects, then the dream must have been something else.
Bayani continues rubbing the wood of his bow with an oiled rag.
"Mi ala je ti ifẹkufẹ ki o si gidigidi igbaladun - bi mo ti wi, awọn ọkunrin ati awọn obirin caressing mi - soke titi ti o kẹhin apakan ti mo darukọ, ni ibi ti nwọn han bi ejò ati ki o leyin ti mo si ri awọn ọkan nikan tobi pupo ejò. Emi ko gba eyikeyi ori wipe yi je kan ifiranṣẹ lati ẹnikẹni ayafi boya, bi o daba, Ieana. Mi ìgbàgbọ jẹ pẹlu Nethys ati kò ti rẹ akiyesi awọn iranṣẹ tabi aami ni o ni ohunkohun lati se pẹlu ejo."
"I think....I think that whatever that women was, she didn't plan to shipwreck here. Visit sure, but a shipwreck seems a little too....unpredictable a disaster, assuming she didn't want an survivors".
Tusara glances around the vegetation at the edge of the beach "At a guess, this place is important to her, critically important...so being careful is a good idea"
Resting her hands underneath her chi, Tusara considers the dream "Yes, I had a nasty dream as well, one that started with meeting old enemies and ending we me spending the rest of my life as a glass statue owned by a snake person...maybe our minds were all focused on the serpent lady and it had an effect on our dreams....I don't know"
The priestess gives the sorceress a level look, eyebrow arched to indicate her pessimism regarding this being a random occurrence. Her look softens, and she reaches forth to brush an errant bit of hair behind the woman's ear. "It seems we might be here for some time. Tell me, do you know of The Book of Joy?" A faint smile appears on her face, her brilliant green eyes lost to darkness in the night.
Tusara frowns slightly "No, I don't know of that book"
Merelinda chuckles at the woman's expression. "It's the holy text of Calistria. It details her tenets and directives to her followers on the topics of secrets, revenge, and bodily pleasures. Of course, you likely don't have much concern with the third, lovely as you are." She keeps her eyes on the other woman's, gauging her reaction.
Tusara flushes slightly turning pink, "More like I don't have much experience with the third, although I do have a bit of experience with the first two"
"Is that right?" Merelinda smiles impishly at the other woman. "Full of secrets, are you? How delightful! I'll tell you one of mine, and then you can share. I am a daughter of a noble house, born into wealth and doomed to a boring life as some nobleman's trophy. Calistria offered me freedom from those bonds, and from many of the restraints of my noble upbringing." The Calistrian raises her arms over her head, stretching luxuriantly.
Tusara begins to giggle slightly, "It is an odd coincidence, that you and I have a nearly identical secret, I am princess Tusara, before events conspired to find myself here, no deity involved here...it was only due to my own skills that I retrieved mine own freedom."
She begins to laugh huskily, her eyes merry in the dark.. "How strange! Still, I won't question my good fortune to have someone who can empathize, Princess."
She leans closer, her green eyes fierce. "Tell me of this vengeance you wrought or seek." In the dim light, Tusara can likely not see her skin is flushed at the prospect of the story.
Tusara abruptly stops giggling, her gaze turning pensive as she looks down slightly. "It was my own fault really, I convinced my tutor to take me out upon the water...I just wanted to experience a little slice of freedom away from the trappings of my position...but we went out too far, and were beset by pirates. My tutor died, and while I later escaped, injuring several in the process, I don't consider it accurate recompense for what was taken from me"
"The Savored Sting would surely smile upon your vengeance. Myself, I have relatively little to offer on the vengeance side, beyond the devastation I intend to visit upon that b#&%@ Ieana when we find her. I am well versed in the others of Calistria's edicts, though." She smiles, cocking her head in curiosity. "Tell me, do any of our companions catch your fancy?"
Tusara pauses, sifting her mind through all the people she had met "No, none of these men particularly draw my interest...shame really, being stuck on a desert island together...what about you, does anyone interest you?"
She chuckles, looking at the stars for a moment as she answers. "The Ulfen's size is intriguing, but his personality completely derails any of my interest. The elves are also interesting, being Calistria's chosen race, but they seem to have no personality at all. The pirate might hold some promise...only time will tell." She shifts her gaze back to the woman, the right side of her lips curled upward as she arches her left brow.
"Then again...I might have found someone else who might provide me with some entertainment for the long nights waiting for rescue or spent exploring this place." She reaches forward, her forefinger tracing the woman's jawline.
Just then you hear a man screaming. Up the beach. It's night now, too dark to see. But you guess he's around the bend in the next cove, about 2000 yards away.