With Rhialla back up on her feet the party continues searching the field. Soon Jaina notices a flash of white off the beaten path. Going to investigate she finds a humanoid femur bone protruding from the ground. digging further she uncovers the entire skeleton it's clothing all but rotted away by time except for a golden buckle attached to a moldy leather belt. Also hooked on this belt is a small glass vial, inside of which she can see some type of liquid, which has miraculously withstood the ravages of time.
Alerted by Jaina's discovery Randall soon finds another intact skeleton, stripped clean except for a pearl inlaid cold iron dagger in a rotted leather sheath.
Neela and Percival soon spot a third skeleton in the soft earth. Exhuming it they find nothing of worth except for a partially intact leather purse containing 55 gold pieces and three small shards of obsidian.
Leaving the corn field behind the party follows the trail back to the T intersection. Following the path to the northwest this time you come to the base of the granite ridge, it's summit jutting some 500 feet above you. You notice that simple steps have been carved into the path making the climb to the top much easier than you would have suspected.
Once near the top you come upon three more of those grisly fetishes like the ones you found in the overgrown fields. The path ends at a well built wooden stockade, it's gate closed. A great tree, its branches extending over the wooden palisade, rises from inside while a small brook runs underneath the walls.
As you stand there wondering about this structure a crossbow bolt thwacks into the nearest totem,disturbing the swarm of flies which buzz annoyingly around you before settling back down to feast upon the severed head, as a voice booms out from inside the fort
|
Well the girls may have taken a spill in the swamp, but they arent whores!
He called back trying once again to make sure Rhialla and Neela at least were behind him. He had no doubt Jaina was more than capable of stikcing up for herself.
You part of the failed colony here? our ship struck the reef and we are looking for fresh water, and the lair of those octosquidthings that took some of our friends!
He added trying to be ... polite.
Somewhat irked by being called a whore (You're one generation off, dammit.), Jaina keeps quiet and lets Percival do the talking.
I could easily break his jaw, but I doubt he's worth it.
"Gods be praised, real people.' says the voice from behind the wall "About time. I've been stuck on this bloody rock for almost two years now."
The stockade's gates slowly creak open to reveal a Human male of obvious Chelish descent standing there his crossbow spanned and loaded held at guard, not really threatening but not pointed away either. A look of consternation crosses his face as Percival's words sink in "Wait a minute did you just say you've been shipwrecked too?" he rattles off a string of invectives strong enough to peel the paint off of a ship before winding down "I knew it was too good to be true."
|
|
Not quite shipwrecked. Our ship has struck some of the hidden reefs about the island, but when High tide hits we will be free. We are here searching for fresh water and our friends, but with the tide coming soon we are on something of a ...time limit. Help us and we can get you off this rock.
He offered the man, glad that the threat of imminant violence was at least for the moment lessened. He glanced to the others and gave a ...slight smile.
A glimmer of hope crosses the young man's face as he escorts you inside the palisades walls "You'll forgive my initial reaction to your approach. I thought you were the ship's whores returning in another attempt to kill me." His hand strays to a silver locket he wears around his neck " They've managed to kill and eat the other survivors, I'm the last one." he heaves a heavy sigh "Even my beloved Rebecca wants me dead, but she can't help herself. It's the sickness you see."
Once inside the compound you see a small wooden lodge built underneath the spreading branches of a great tree. Bubbling up beside the tree is a pool of water which then flows into a spring and out underneath the stockade's wall.
Slinging his crossbow over his shoulder he extends his hand to Percival "The name's Aaron, Aaron Ivy, late of the HIMS* Infernus. The ship was driven onto the rocky shoals during a storm, almost two years ago now, and broke apart. The crew and I were making progress against the storm when disaster struck. A pair of ghouls, the "ship's mascots" the captain called them, escaped from their cage during the blow and began attacking the crew. With the storm without and the ghouls within we lost the battle against the wind and the ship ran aground on the reefs along the southwest coast of this here rock." he gestures around himself to indicate the entire island.
"A dozen of us made it to shore. Nine of us sailors and the the ship's three doxies, two women and a man, my sweet Rebecca was one of them. We were going to get married once we made port." he shakes his head as if to erase a bad memory "When they got sick we thought it was something on the island until they turned and attacked poor Samuel. Three against one, Sam never stood a chance." he shivers "I can still hear his screams as they tore him apart."
"Anyways, the rest of us salvaged what we could from the wreck and built this fort to keep them at bay and await rescue. The rescue never came. We cleared some land east of here and planted some crops from seeds we salvaged from the wreck. Things were good until that damned bug moved into the fields. Killed three more of us before we abandoned the crops to their own devices. Between it and the ghouls it became too dangerous to harvest, despite the "scarecrows" we put up."
"If'n you're wanting fresh water for your ship this here pool is the only source on the entire island, which is why we built this fort to protect it. As to your friends and these, what did you call them...octosquids?. Those would be the grindylows, I reckon. Sadistic little bastards so your friends are possibly still alive just so they can listen to their screams before they grow tired of them and eat them. They live in a series of caves to the southeast. They captured a couple of us when we first started scouting the island. We gave them a wide berth since then." he points to a weathered brass spyglass attached to the stockade's wall "You can use that to scout them out if you wish, although it's too late to mount a rescue attempt tonight" "The caves are completely underwater come high tide but you should have some time in the morning before the tide comes rolling in."
Looking through the spyglass you spot a pair of grindylows cavorting and splashing in the water of a nearby cove.
One of the creatures appears to be wearing Sandara's tricorne hat.
With a pleading look in his eyes Aaron rattles on "You're welcome to spend the night here and go out in the morning. I'll even go with you, if you'd like. It's been so long since I've had anyone to talk to I was afraid I might be going crazy"
|
|
A navy man eh? Commisioned or enlisted? Im Percival Asploric, of the Kintargo Asploric's.
He asked carefully though never breaking his smile and not mentioning the ship they came in on just yet.
"Well if it makes you feel any better, we ran across those folks and put them to their final rest and well that monster in the corn field wont be bothering you anymore either. We would gladly accept your help with the .. grindylows you called them? I dont want to wait til morning to find our friends...but we are all pretty banged up and beat, and walking into their lair like this wont do anyone any good.
Randall peers through the telescope at the frolicking grindylows "Son of a b~@+!" he shouts "One of the little bastards is wearing Sandara's hat, I'm sure of it. She and Rosie must be inside the caves."
Apparently I forgot to add this in the description of the loot you find in the fields.
It's a potion of Water Breathing
A look of shock passes across Aaron face as Percival tells him of your encounter with the ghouls . With a tear in his eye and a lump in his throat he manages to whisper "Thank you." Then in a stronger voice "I didn't have the heart to kill her. So, thank you, thank you for releasing her from that horrible undeath that held her."
The evening is passing uneventfully when Randall begins to feel that familiar itching between his shoulders again moments before a banana and then another fall to the ground at his feet. Aaron comments "Odd, that's not a banana tree." as Randall looks up and notices a pair of human looking eyes reflected in the fire light. The seconds seem to stretch into infinity as the two remain locked in a gaze that neither seems willing to break. The rest of the party follows Randall's gaze up into the tree and notices a small monkey sitting on one of the branches looking intently at Randall. Neela smiles knowingly, reminded of her own bonding ritual with Mr. Wiggles.
The moment passes as the monkey leaps from the tree to the ground below and, scooping up one of the bananas, climbs up Randall's leg and perches itself on his shoulder.
Bemused, Randall takes the proffered banana, and between bites mumbles out "Wow! That was intense." Looking at the monkey Randall smiles "The little bugger reminds me of a companion a certain "Lord of the Jungle' had in stories I read when I was little. So in his honor I'm going to call him Nakima." Nakima chatters approvingly as he wraps his tail protectively around Randall's neck as the coosome twosome settle in around the fire.
Randall takes the vial and after casting Detect Magic stares intently at the the liquid inside
"I have no idea what it could be. Neela, would you like to take a look?" he asks, handing her the bottle.
|
|
I almost feel left out. Hello there little monkey.
He began carefully laying some of his gear, doing his best to clean out some of the muck, gunk and assorted debris of the crazy day. After shaking his coat out he offered the long sleeved garment to Rhialla in case she would like to mend clean her things.
Being as quiet as she usually is, Jaina sits down and starts brushing her clothes off. "...well, now that we know where Sandara & Rosie are, I say we take a break. We need to be at our best if we're going to save them."
Glancing over at the vial Rhialla has no idea what to make of it.
Tiptoeing to plant a quick kiss on the big Chelaxian, Rhialla don's the coat that envelops her as she adjusts or removes articles of clothing, repairing them by casting her invaluable mending spell.
Randall watches the show as Rhialla repairs her torn clothes. "If you'd like I can clean those for you." he offers as he casts Prestidigtation and watches the dirt and grime slough off himself and his clothes.
"Absolutely!" Rhialla exclaims enthusiastically. "What I wouldn't do for a bath......quiet you!" she says grinning at Percy before he can comment.
Randall uses his spell to clean the dirt and grime off of anyone who wants it, although it's not as satisfying as a hot bath it will make due.
You spend an uneventful night at the little outpost and wake in the morning refreshed
As you are eating breakfast Aaron emerges from the central hut dressed in a suit of finely made studded leather, his trusty crossbow slung over his shoulder and a well used cutlass strapped to his hip. In his hands he holds a suit of leather armor "Perhaps one of you could use this? Don't mind the blood stains, it used to belong to "Riddleport" Bob. At least it did until the ghouls caught up with him. They tossed it back over the wall when they were finished with him. I tried to clean it up as best as I could" He looks to Jaina and Neela, the only two unarmored people in the group.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
He chuckled at the mans... make that Aaron's offer. He had some understanding of magic, and while he didnt understand Neela's magic at all he knew that sometimes armor interfered with such things. Hell he often thought of perhaps one day dabbling in it himself. He thought he was smart enough for such things, he just never had a chance to persue it. Jaina however seemed to prefer to not have armor, she had several chances already to find some if she wished.
Might want to hold onto it Aaron, just in case we rescue our friends in the water and they are sans gear. Lets fill up the water, and if we run into trouble against those octosquid grindylows we head for the walls here. If they defended against the ghouls I cant imagine octosquid things will have any better chance. And lets get a move on, would hate to keep our friends waiting, both below and at the ship.
he said grimly stretching and working out any kinks in his body... when he thought no one was looking he snuck a quick kiss to a certain piratical cleric.
Randall takes the armor and using his magic cleans the blood from the armor. Taking the leather in his hands he turns it over and over, examining it.
"I can't say for certain because of the claw and teeth marks, but it looks perfectly serviceable."
Before the party gets ready to depart Randall will take the vial of liquid from last night and give it one more try.
"Nope, still nothing.' he says with an apologetic shrug.
Jaina looks the armour over while Randall cleans it, then holds her hand out. "Mind if I use it?"
Perplexed, Randall hands the suit of armor over to Jaina "S,sure, here you go."
Neela takes the vial from Randall and after casting a spell stares at the liquid within for a few seconds "It's a potion of Water Breathing. It will allow one person to breathe underwater for up to 10 hours or it can be divided equally between any number of people up to the 10 hour duration"
As Neela makes her pronouncement Aaron takes a vial from his pouch and stores it in his backpack "Great! Then I won't be needing this. The Infernus had a couple of these in storage in case of emergency."
Jaina starts putting the armour on. "Thanks. I didn't look for other armour bits because they weren't my size."
Jaina nods and stands, flexing in her new leathers.
"We've wasted enough time here."
Aaron picks up his pack and slings it over his shoulder "You heard the little lady. Wouldn't want to keep these friends of your's waiting any longer than we have to."
Aaron leads you down off the ridge and into the jungle. After several hours of hacking your way through the undergrowth you arrive at a cliff overlooking a sheltered cove below. The cliff ranges anywhere from 40 feet high near the edges and rises to over 80 feet near the center. Water churns below as it enters the cove from a tunnel leading from the sea and disappears beneath the cliff face . The rugged walls of the cliffs provide adequate handholds if you wish to climb down to the water
You can tell from the coloration of the water below that no rocks lie below the surface. You might be able to dive from the cliff top without fear of bashing your head open, although if you enter the water at the wrong angle you could hurt yourself
From a high point near the center, Rhialla looks off into the water and smiles. "No rocks below, perfect for a swim." she says flashing a quick grin before launching into a perfect dive hitting the water with barely a splash.
Jaina watches incredulously as Rhialla and Percival dive over the side of the cliff.
"Hell with that--I like my neck as it is." Jaina starts climbing down the cliff. "Neela, do you need some help getting down?"
Looking over the edge of the cliff into the rushing water below Randall reaches into his pouch and pulls out the vial Neela had identified earlier that morning. "Looks like we might be going underwater at some point in the not too distant future, so this couldn't hurt. Skol!" Taking a swig he passes it to the others
"I think she's right about the rocks, I hope." Standing at the cliff's edge Randall steels his nerves and swan dives off the cliff into the water below.
Barely making a splash Randall knifes through the water. Surfacing with a huge smile on his face he pumps his fist into the air and lets out a triumphant shout "Woohoo, I didn't die!"
As his jubilation ends Randall begins to sing. With his voice carrying over the water, the rough current in the cove begins to lessen.
Jaina starts swimming across the cove. "Nice singing, Squeezebox."
Aaron stands at the edge of the cliffs, steeling his nerves, then with a leap he expertly dives into the water of the cove.
With everyone together again you begin swimming toward the cavern entrance to the east, deeper under the island. Entering the tunnel you soon lose the light from the entrance and it becomes pitch black. Randall casts a spell and four glowing spheres of light appear, illuminating the area around you.
Sloshing through the knee deep water of the tunnel you soon come to an opening leading to the southeast, while the main tunnel continues onward to the northeast.
With the flick of his hand Randall sends the glowing balls of light into the southeast opening revealing a large cavern. The walls of the entrance are decorated with the jawbones of several different species of fish. The effect makes it seem as if you were entering the maw of some hideous sea creature.
Making your way further inside the cavern the floor soon begins to slope sharply away beneath your feet and you quickly find yourself treading water to keep afloat.
As Jaina and Percival begin swimming deeper into the cavern they soon discover a diabolical trap. Barbed hooks held afloat by pieces of cork have been strung between the seaweed fronds. Percival is quick enough to avoid these hooks but Jaina soon become ensnared as the hooks catch upon her armor and clothes.
Jaina starts cursing in Ignan as she gets entangled up in the ropes.
Flailing about blindly, she doesn't make any progress in freeing herself.
Randall swims up alongside Jaina with a smile on his face "I don't know, Neela. This one seems awfully small, we may have to throw it back." He begins helping Jaina free herself by pulling some of the hooks from her clothes.
With Randall's & Percival's help, Jaina finally manages to get loose.
"Ha, ha, ha. You're lucky you're my crew or I'd have gutted you all like the catch of the day." She grumbles.
Awfully small my ass.