Jayse, struggling with the precarious stance, attempts to turn the hold into a full arm-bar. His free hand lashes out, attempting to lock the elf's joint in place.
Fin frowns seeing that there's no room up top for her to help out. The likelihood that some scruffy pirate is actually giving his this much trouble seems a bit hard to believe. It suddenly occurs to her that he must still be trying to avoid hurting baldy (even though she's feeling considerably less gracious right now).
"Jayse! Throw down! Wind catch!"
Demonstrating what she means, she backs away a few feet, sheathing Whoosh yet keeping her hand on its hilt. The winds begin to stir around her, scattering dust and making her shirt sleeves ripple as she holds a hand up.
Jayse slams Crow backward, stunning him just long enough, to pin him. Crow goes boneless, knowing he's got no choice now.
Jayse spins the man into a choke hold position, but doesn't clamp down. "We'll chat later about the gash in my leg, buddy. But for now you're gonna drop that blade."
When/if he complies, Jayse holds him for a second considering Fin's plan. He looks down at the 15 foot drop and the hard deck below, I guess the question is how much do I trust Fin.
With an inward shrug, grunts, "Your not gonna like this..." and throws his body-weight over the railing, taking both himself and the stranger into a free-fall towards the deck and Fin.
Although she'd like to see Crow face-plant on the deck for trying to make her hair look like his, Fin speaks a single word in a tongue Jayse had only previously heard among the Tengu, and the two of them slowly drift to the deck.
She then immediate grabs hold of Mr. Fake Elf to ensure he doesn't try anything else.
He does, indeed drop the blade, and you secure him on the deck, trussed like a turkey if you wish, as the Mako finds a soft patch of sand on which to land.
Before doing anything further, Jayse fills Ushari and Straehan in on what has happened before speaking to the strange elf. "Okay, I'll let you go if you don't do anything crazy. And by 'crazy' I pretty much mean anything but sit here nicely while we have a chat. We're here to help the villagers. Answer each of our questions simply and honestly, please." He waits to make sure the man understands. "Are you a pirate? Did you arrive on this broken ship?"
Ushari maneuvers the Mako gently next to the sand bar, and allows Jayse and Fin to board the vessel with their captured prisoner. On seeing he is an elf, her eyes widen but she says nothing. After Jayse has filled her in on the events, she stands close to him and watches him carefully.
As Jayse asks his questions, she looks him over and allows a seductive play to appear in her eyes. She keeps quiet, and allows Jayse to take the lead with the interrogation.
Crow gives Jayse a hard look. "What's in it for me? You ain't saying anything about what's gonna happen to me - so I gotta figure you mean to kill me whether I help you or not. That being the case - kill me and get about your business, boyo." He spits in no one's direction. "If I get a last wish - I'll take my pleasure with that tall elf girl." He leers.
Ushari resists the urge to respond, instead turning away from him and scanning both the beach and the ocean waters for any signs of other parties.
Ushari scans the distant beach and notes wisps of smoke rising periodically through the trees a bit up the hills. She can vaguely make out several large tarps or tents mixed amongst the trees in that general area.
While Fin and Jayse continue to interrogate the prisoner, Ushari sidles over to Straehan and discreetly points out what she noticed on the hills away from the beach.
"What do you make of that, Strae? Whoever they are, I don't think they would be friendly to us. Call it a hunch."
He shakes his head, "I have no idea what to make of it... but it doesn't give me a warm and fuzzy feeling."
Jayse sits considering a bit, and his demeanor darkens, "You're right. You need to know what's in it for you, so I'll be honest. We came here to warn the people of this village that dangerous pirates and reavers might be about. Your evasiveness gives me the distinct impression that you're not one of the villagers. You wanna know what's in it for you? Well, here's what's in it for you… you keep being evasive, unhelpful, and keep making me believe you're one of the people who came on this boat to attack that village, I'll kill you." The cold sincerity in his voice hangs in the still air as he lets those words sink in.
"If you've got something helpful for us. Something that might help save the actual victims here. Well, we might be able to come up with a deal that at least falls short of death." He holds up a finger in the man's face, "Oh, also, 'that tall elf'…" His finger points towards Fin, "ya know, the one capable of commanding the air, can out-run and out-lift most men, and who has more training with her blade and bow than most war-trained men i've known? From what I can gather her whole family was poisoned and murdered by a ship of pirates, so I'd be real careful about what that last wish is."
He stands back, crossing his arms and giving the man a second to consider, "So, who are you? What's happening here? And how do you figure into those happenings?"
Crow considers Jayse's words carefully. "Alright. I'll tell you what you wanna know, if I get to live. I manned the 'nest on this boat a'fore she wrecked here. Reavers jumped us. We got away but they ruined the ship and we wrecked here. The captain decided to take over the village and rob the locals. He's hoping to make enough money to get another ship or something."
?
"That's a start. How many pirates were on this ship? And were any more ships? Also, do they know we're here?"
Upon the confirmation of her suspicions that the man is actually a pirate, it takes all of Findelgwing's will not to end him then and there. Only the sound of Jayse's voice asking questions for the purpose of helping out others cuts thru the flood of painful memories brought to mind.
While the man balds like a human, there is no mistaking the elvish ancestry in his face and it conflicts her. What if all of the pirates were elves and had waylaid a town of humans? True, the man's appearance was a stark reminder that this world was much different from the one on which she was born, but what a cruel irony that would be to now have to slay elvish pirates to defend humans...
Perhaps it would be best to let Jayse decide the man's face, yet if their prisoner were to so much as try to escape... well, it would be a short-lived attempt.
Her sea-green eyes practically aflame with rage and unbidden tears, Findelgwing growls out, "Mine... Villagers... Where?"
Crow licks his lips and looks between Jayse and Fin, trying to gauge their reactions. "Before the Reavers, there were maybe three dozen crew on the ship. After we wrecked, I dunno, maybe a score or less still lived. It's just the one ship and I haven't seen the Reavers again. We must have lost them."
"Do they know we're here?"
He glances at the Mako, pulled up on the sandbar. "Maybe. I dunno for sure."
"Mine... Villagers... Where?"
He moves his eyes over to the beach and the hills beyond where the thin trail of smoke winds into the sky. "There's a watchfire in front of the mine and hearth and torches inside it. It's just a little way into the hills beyond the village. Just follow the smoke, you can't miss it."
Ushari has been quiet during the interrogation, keeping an eye out for any other surprises. Once the half-elf Crow has finished his responses, she pulls Jayse aside, leaving Fin to keep an eye on their prisoner.
She keeps her voice low, ”Now, the question is what should we do with him? My suggestion is to leave him on the wreckage, and check out the village. Assuming he has not led us astray, then we can return to pick him up, and allow him to go free. What do you think?”
So the reavers are involved somehow... good to know.
Jayse lets himself be led away by Ushari, "I'm not really thrilled at the idea of letting him go free. The villagers should get to decide his punishment, but only if he continues to cooperate with us. I can bind him pretty tightly if we need to leave him somewhere."
He steps back over to the pirate elf, "Did you try to signal your pirate friends when you saw us?"
Jayse lets himself be led away by Ushari, "I'm not really thrilled at the idea of letting him go free. The villagers should get to decide his punishment, but only if he continues to cooperate with us. I can bind him pretty tightly if we need to leave him somewhere."
Ushari nods in agreement, "Yes, I agree. We can tie him up either here or onshore somewhere, it does not matter to me."
"Not really, no."
To everyone, it is pretty clear he is shaving the truth. You'd bet he sent some sort of signal but you suspect he isn't sure if the message was received.
Without hesitation, Jayse's blue blade springs into his hand, and he plunges it into the man's chest, driving towards his heart.
As the man dies, Jayse says quietly, "I told you to stop being evasive, friend."
Crow doesn't even have time to register surprise before the blue blade bisects his aorta. He dies in seconds.
Crow is bait.
He looks up, the blue blade shedding the elf's blood with surprising ease, "So we should assume they know we're coming. Any brilliant thoughts on how we should approach? I mean, stealthily would be my suggestion." His eyes touch on the Mako.
"With his mention of the reavers, I'm thinking we should take the time to hide our ride. We need to save the villagers if we can, then make sure they're prepared in case the Reavers are coming."
Ushari's face is devoid of emotion as she watches Crow die. She strips the body efficiently of any gear or valuables on the corpse before dumping his body overboard.
She cleans off the deck of the elf's blood, and replies "Yes I agree. Let's get underway, and we can find a place to beach the Mako and hide her like we did before."
You push the Mako free, climb aboard, and wheel her around, presumably heading out of the small cove and then diving towards the well-hidden berth you spotted before. With nary a whisper, you guide the Mako onto the strand and secure her.
Jayse speaks very little as he tries to help get the Mako hidden. He slips into the treeline as they make their way towards the smoke and (hopefully) the living villagers. He pauses at one point, whispering to his friends, "So do we make straight for the mine or should we see if there are any clues for us in the village?"
"Two watch, two search?"
Findelgwing thinks on the matter as you walk, trying to figure out how to express what she's thinking in a language the others will understand. Turning to Straehan she begins to explain.
Ushari is silent for a minute, before she comprehends what Fin is referring.
"That sounds like a good plan, Fin. Since it is getting close to dark, pehaps you and Strae should watch, while Jayse and I search the village."
Fin nods in agreement and looks to Jayse and Straehan to see what they think about the idea.
Straehan, after his Fin-to-Common translation, thinks only briefly. "That sounds fine to me. If that crowbait wasn't lying," he says vaguely indicating the dead pirate with a wave of his hand toward the sandbar, "then there are less than 20 pirates around... even fewer if they have carted off the women and girls."
She strips the body efficiently of any gear or valuables on the corpse before dumping his body overboard.
Oh I KNOW sissy-girl di-int just stuff ol' crow boy's naaasty-ass armor in mah bag of holding! Sistah puh-leeeaaase!
Our heroes ghost stealthily through the trees, sneaking up on the small tent village and mine from the east. The sun begins heading for the horizon and a creeping mist eddies through the trees and wafts fitfully pushed by winds sweeping through the hills. You have seen no sign of villagers or pirates, other than the odd footprint or well-worn trail on your way here. As you get close, you see it is a spread out 'village' made of large and small tents centered around two or three firepits. There is a single hewn-log building near the well. The entire village 'area' butts up against a steep hill and cliff. As you are moving through the trees, you note there is a man tending the fire , though you cannot see him clearly from your current position.
Map: Mining Village
Usahri pulls Jayse aside whispering in his ear, "If we can get close enough I can attempt to charm him with my magic...or do you just want to approach him openly?"
Ushari's idea interrupts Jayse's own half-assed plan, and he nods, "Actually that's a great idea. We just want to find out what he knows, right? Pirate numbers, locations, and the same for the villagers. I'll come with you so I can be at hand. If he asks, I'm your cousin." Jayse unstraps his crossbow, leaving all obvious weapons on the ground amidst the trees.
"I'll keep an eye on the building in case there are more pirates inside. Ready when you are."
Ushari slinks over to where Fin and Jayse are to fill them in on the plan, such as it is. Once done she makes her way towards the lone man tending the fire....
"Ready."
Jayse follows her quietly.
Fin and Straehan take a circuitous route northward, dodging by the building and well. They move stealthily into a stand of trees, seeing a small group of tents along the steep hillside. They stop and assess. To get any closer to the hillside, particularly the firelit cove that must be the entrance to the mine , will require them to move across an open space in sight of the main encampment.
Meanwhile, Jayse and Ushari steal along behind the building, skirting the trees, and creeping along behind a large tent until they are close to the middle-aged scraggly fellow poking absentmindedly at the fire. He is totally oblivious to them until Ushari calls out to him softly, attempting to weave a magic spell around him.
The fellow turns around, clearly surprised. He looks confused for a moment then waves you forward, saying "Welcome strangers! Come sit by the fire."
Map: Mining Village
Jayse takes in the man, trying to keep his facial expression somewhere between neutral and friendly. As he waits for Ushari to take the lead, he strains with his eyes and ears for signs of others - be they pirate or villager - especially along the tree line and in the tents.
It is an effor not to let his nerves show, exposed as he and Ushari are in this unknown village with this unknown man. Only an old mental exercise keeps his nervousness from showing in his mannerisms.