Gair rolls the shark-tooth onto his stomach, pulling his hands behind his back, "Get some rope!"
Once the cannibal is bound securely, Gair stands, wavering for a moment as more blood pours from his injuries. He leans out to steady himself on a tree and looks at Vallen, "I fear I may need some assistance friend."
After he has ascertained whether or not acid-face will make it, the dwarf looks up to Gair. "Oh, blood and thunder Gair." He waves over those hurt in the battle, putting an arm around the Kellid's waist to support him. "Come over here if you're hurt! I don't want those things getting back up."
The dwarf moves 30' away from the carnage, setting Gair down on a log. He gathers the others around him and grasps his holy symbol, calling on Torag to heal them. Two waves of positive energy flows from the priest and sweeps through the surrounding trees.
Gair shivers as the healing energy washes over him. Tracing a hand over the half healed wound in his side, he places a hand on Vallen's shoulder, "My thanks, these are as fierce of warriors as we were told."
Moving past the dwarf, Gair makes his way over to his son, "Bern, today you have made a father proud.", he grasps the boy on either side of his head, smiling, "Such a blow was worthy of my own sire, truly the spirit of Andras must hunt beside you!"
Turning back to face the others he nods to the two captured shark-teeth, , "Well fought, all of you. Now lets see what can be learned from them? If we mean to get them talking we will have to wake the burned one first."
Acid-face makes a hideous sound as he breathes, but for the moment, he's alive. The survivor glares fiercely as Sai approaches with a length of rope and hogties him.
Walton emerges from cover and sees all the bigguns standing around.
"Ben?" he says, his voice full of anxiety.
Manari looks at the dead for a few moments and nods to herself. She looks particularly at their eyes before she finishes. After she is finished, she stands and looks to Cueta.
"In the Shackles, did you ever encounter the Kuru? They are a race of cannibals that seem to once have been human. These creatures resemble them closely. Their eyes are poorly adapted for bright light, and the Kuru, at least, believe they draw strength from the flesh of sentient creatures."
"Come over here if you're hurt! I don't want those things getting back up."
When Ben hears this he gets to his feet. Does that mean the fight is over? he calls toward the group as he bends down and retrieves his sling. He makes his way to where the battle took place and looks at his battered comrades and the dead sharkteeth. From the looks of you all I am glad I decided to try to flank them.
Ben goes back to the boat that Walton is hiding under. He knocks on the boat and calls to his brother. You can come out now the fighting is over, but there is work to be done. When Walton emerges from under the boat Ben tells him Keep the dagger for now. It is better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
Cueta emits a sharp gasp and quick intake of breath when Torag's energy washes over her and her torn muscles knit back together, her bleeding ceases, and her wounds mostly heal, leaving behind soreness, scabs and scars.
Turning to Manari, Cueta appraises the elf, impressed with the mage's knowledge. "I've heard of the Kuru, yes, but campfire stories when we were in the bush, mostly, designed to frighten and I'm sure full of inaccuracies. I can say for certain I've never seen one until the first night we camped near here. Do they talk? It certainly seemed as if that one did."
Addressing the group, she says, "Perhaps we should camp here to tonight? There's water below and night approaches quickly."
Gair nods to Ceurta, "I would say so. These raiders will likely not be missed until late night or morning. We should have time to move on before others arrive."
Collecting weapons from the bodies, Gair leaves their grisly armor behind, taking any other valuables he finds.
Taking the two axes from the decapitated shark-tooth, Gair brings them to Bern, "I'd say you more than earned these trophies son."
Taking a chisel and hammer from her woodworking tools, Cueta kneels by the sharktooth's leader and begins removing his teeth, making sure to do so in full view of the conscious sharktooth. Her stomach turns as she does this, but she holds her breakfast and manages a stoic face through the process. Smearing the Kuru's blood on his hide shirt, she stops and looking intently at the shirt, says, "Hey, anyone know if any of these hides come from bugbears? I think I might have an idea..."
a few minutes after Vallen channels energy Kal'Tos calls those who still have minor wounds together. he makes sure they are far enough away from the prisoners so he doesn't heal them and channels energy twice.
Gair nods his thanks to Kal'Tos, felling much more himself now.
He watches Ceuta remove the teeth impassively, curious as to her next move.
I'm fine Walt. Ben calls to his brother as he emerges from the underbrush. I only got one shot off with my sling before the the others won the fight. I told you that you had nothing to worry about.
Vallen nods at Gair, quite happy to help. He guffaws at the Kellid mentioning they were fierce warriors. "I think you taught them the meaning of fierce today, Gair. You and your son both- You nearly cleaved that one with the garish paint in half! Though.. it's quite disgusting, its guts are everywhere now... ...And Bern- I didn't know you could decapitate something without a butcher's block!" Vallen heaps praise on all of them that fought, especially Cueta for spotting the savages. They could have been in a very different mood right now, otherwise. Or being eaten.
Listening to Manari, the priest muses for a moment and nods his head. "Kuru you say...? Manari, now that I have seen these creatures it behooves me to ask Torag's celestial entourage for guidance. Hopefully these things are Kuru, and we already know that much more about them. I must meditate."
The dwarf finds a comfortable stump, and sits upon it cross-legged. He delicately slips his holy symbol from around his neck and places it in his palms, face up, the thong spilling from his fingertips and dangling towards the ground. Exhaling slowly, the dwarf whispers a minute long incantation/prayer, slowly slipping into a lucid state. The young priest pleads to the powers that watch over him to grant him all the knowledge they can spare on these shark-people.
if you all think the weather will behave, then we should probably move the boats back down to the foot of the cliff and camp down there on the sand. Away from the corpses. Ben say as they start to deal with the aftermath of the battle. these could have been scouts. so we have no idea how many might be in the area. We need to have our escape route in place. We are trapped with the boats up here.
Gair nods, "That's a good idea Ben."
Looking to the rainclouds, the ranger does his best to determine if the storm has blown itself out or if there might be more to come.
Uncertain, he looks to Ceuta, "What do you think Ceuta? Are we in for worse more storms?"
"Indeed, it is a good idea, Ben." Cueta peers over the cliff to see if the water has receded, then looks at the waves, how they are approaching the shoreline, and the clouds, and licks her finger and lifts it to the wind.
"All the signs point to horrendous storms and calm, pleasant skies tonight. Kal'Tos has spent much time travelling the world - perhaps he has better insight?"
Cueta takes her harvested teeth and the smallest hand drill from her tools, and laying the teeth on a flat rock, begins to drill a small hole in each tooth. Once finished, she cuts a foot from her rope and unwinds the cord, taking a string of hemp and winding it through the teeth, making a necklace. Noticing Gair watching her, the Mwangi smiles and says, "An offering for the goblins. If my suspicions are correct, these hide shirts come from their people. We may perhaps have a common enemy to rally around - if we can find a way to break biscuits with them. I want them to know that we are serious in our hatred of the sharkteeth, and I figure since they left us one tooth on their statue, we will leave them many in return." She loops the necklace around her head, making sure the conscious Kuru watches her do so. "For safekeeping, and to maybe get the two we have captive talking."
When Vallen speaks such words of praise for his allies, Cueta blushes with pride and unconsciously does a short curtsy, as she would have had to do the missus's presence. "I'm glad I could repay just one of your many kindnesses, good priest."
"Alas, my travels have taught me much, but weather telling wasn't one of them. Perhaps if I was devoted to Gozreh I would have better knowledge of such things. Nevertheless I agree we should camp on the beach."
Survival check to predict weather.
The general consensus is that there will be weather tonight and tomorrow. At the moment, it's still raining fairly hard, but the wind has died off. The waves have died down to something close to normal, and the beach below you has emerged from the waters, reshaped by the storm, but still present.
Walton grabs his brother in a fierce embrace, lifting him off his feet, and then falling down on the wet ground.
"Quit being so sneaky!" he growls, but he's grinning as he stands up.
Edmund walks a short way off, peering east along the line made by the tops of the cliffs. He points and turns back, looking for Cueta.
"Mos... Cueta," he calls back. "They came from this direction?"
Sighing, Gair looks to the dwarves, "I think we should risk it. I do not want to be caught with no means of escape. Grab those blocks of yours, we should move our camp back down to the beach."
Kal'Tos is visably unhappy about the dwarf skin hood.
"Manari did you lose any dwarves once you landed or could this indicate that there is a group of dwarves native to these lands?"
After talking with Manari, Kal'Tos begins setting up the block and tackle system again.
Profession (miner)
Back at Newspring, a pair of the elves step forward to explore, as well as an older Kelesh woman who claims to have some knowledge of herbalism. A Varisian who has made a spear for himself claims to be a decent tracker, and a halfling named Valentinian boldly offers to lend his blade to the cause.
The group sets out immediately.
Manari confers with Walton, Jaysin and Sai, who were with the Harpy as well. They speak for a long while, frowning in thought, before Manari seems satisfied.
"We lost two dwarves that I recall, but one was a woman and the other wore his beard shorter than this," Manari says. "I think you may have found the first sign of your kindred in this place. I am sorry for the circumstance of that discovery."
Cueta scans the treeline, trying to see what Edmund is getting at. "Indeed. They came at us from the east, through the woods there. I can't say if they came all the way from the east, as frankly I didn't notice them until they were practically upon us, but it makes sense that their camp is located somewhere in that direction, taking into account where they've found us before."
"And, Edmund, I just wanted to say, your fighting ability tonight was impressive. We've had our differences, but if we have to go to war, I'm happy that you are on our side."
Turning to everyone, Cueta raises her voice. "I know it is distasteful, but if you don't have armor I'd suggest you take one of these shirts. They are protection, no matter how foul. And of course, you should lose any shirts after our mission here is done - we don't need to upset any possible allies by wearing their friends and family. We should also lose the feathers from the axes - there is no telling what they came from, but if the sharkteeth believe they take on powers by wearing and eating others, we'd best not tempt the bearers of these feathers either."
Vallen opens his eyes as his meditation is complete, lifting a hand and rubbing his forehead. He hops down from the stump and begins to stride over to the rest of the party, still processing the new information injected into him. He speaks to the group as a whole.
"Manari, you were correct- these are Kuru, or a form of them. They eat sentient beings, are sensitive to bright lights, and see well in low light. Furthermore, they seem to live around ruins, or at least that was I was told by...uh... they never say who they are, really. Let's call them celestial benefactors. Anyway, we should keep our eyes out for any remnants of ages past. Most importantly!" The dwarf looks over at Cueta. "The Kuru have their own unique language, but some speak a form of Polyglot. It could just be another dialect, do you think you could figure it out, Cueta?"
The dwarf sighs, looking over at the carnage that the others are beginning to clean up. As he notices the beard-hat, the priest recoils in disgust. "Torag's mighty shield protect us..." A heavy frown covers his face as they discuss the possibility of native dwarves. "I would be happy to see some kin, but..." Fiddling with his rings in thought, the dwarf paces for a few moments."There were many splinter groups during the Quest for Sky, I believe. Let us hope they are friendly, and did forsake the teachings of Torag as the Duergar did."
Vallen agrees to assist Cueta in her plan to carve a statue-message to the goblinoids, a mix of contemplation and excitement on his face. "What an excellent idea Cueta... why... statues are used to communicate messages of course, but you usually put them in a hall, or a garden, but setting up one up as a means of parley... yes, yes, once the boats are down let's set to work at once."
Istiel raises an eyebrow as two elves volunteer to go exploring. Unfortunate, but their wanderlust is probably getting to them. While she would prefer they stay here until Manari returned, she would not ask them to stay, nor would an elf would never tell another elf what to do.
Later, she wishes the two parting elves luck, and to tell her if any potential lands for a settlement were found.
Cueta rubs her chin in absentminded thought. "I suppose it is possible that these sharkteeth are related to the ones in Garund and the Shackles, so it could be that they speak a form of Polyglot. I'll certainly do my best to talk with them."
Bern looks skeptically at Cueta and the kuru's armor. He shakes his head. "If I die, I won't go to my ancestors wearing that."
None of the others seem interested either, though Kyle seems to think it over.
Edmund smiles wryly at Cueta's compliment.
"You're the only one of us that had the sense to keep watch. If they'd come on us unawares, we would not have come through so well." He looks back to the east and shakes his head. "These came along the shoreline. Didn't they come in boats before?"
Gair frowns from his spot at the block, lowering the first of the boats, "It is possible but we should still wait until we've had time to let them talk to each other in the morning."
Once the boats are lowered, Gair grabs Ceuta and a couple of the others to help him bring the captured shark-teeth down to the beach. If it proves too difficult to find a spot to bring at least partially bound captives down he suggests lowering them with one of the blocks.
Once everyone is back at the beach, Gair brings some short logs down so that they can flip the boats over and then prop them partway up in order to have shelter without being too cramped.
making sure the prisoners are nearby but on opposite sides of the camp from one another, he returns to his carving, absently eating a few mouthfuls of food while he works.
Soon enough though he has to lay aside the bow and take his turn at watch with Sai and Jaysin.
Hassan thanks each of the volunteers before they depart and urges them to move quickly, taking what provisions they need and focusing on the task at hand rather than foraging as they go.
Once the group sets out, Hassan returns to his duties, trying not to think about the dangers the explorers face.
"Edmund, how do you suppose they came along the shoreline? I suppose that they could have climbed the cliff face and headed through the woods, as we've seen some leave from the shoreline, that is true. I---
Cueta races to the cliff's edge, and looks east and then west, walking up and down the top of cliff, trying to get a good view from multiple angles, looking for any signs of landing, or better yet, canoes stored along the shoreline.
Sure enough, at the next cove, about a half mile down the beach, Cueta sees one of their canoes. It has been pulled up several hundred yards from the shore, presumably in anticipation of yesterday's storm.
The Mwangi lets out her best Ijo war whoop and then runs to Edmund, and stops just short of giving the nobleman a bear hug, instead punching him playfully, but hard, in the arm, and swearing. "Calistra's unwanted sons! Edmund, you glorious bastard, you're a genius! And we've got another boat!"
Running back to the cliff-line, she points to the east. "Everyone, in that cove - a canoe. It was probably dumb luck that they found us at all, but I think we can assume that their settlement could be reached by boat. We may not need to trudge around these forests after all. And these are short range craft! Even if they are hopping their way down the coast, I doubt they would stray too far from home, only five of them at a time. We may be close to them, I'll bet a day - two at most - up the shoreline!"
Gair moves to join Ceuta, "Putting the wreck of the harpy and the cave very near to them. With luck we can learn more in the morning. For now we should recover the boat. Another watercraft could be invaluable to us. Five or six of our number should go bring it back here."
Looking out at the dark skies and still somewhat churning waters, Gair raises an eyebrow, "I believe I will stay with the captives..."
Vallen is busy moving supplies when Cueta lets out a war whoop, his beard hairs standing on end as he momentarily thinks they're under attack again. As she hops excitedly about he realises something good happened, and relaxes.
"I'll help move the canoe over here... but uh... Cueta, you sound like you want to raid their village. I signed up for a salvage operation, I'm no soldier."
Gair looks at the dwarf, "We are here for both purposes Vallen. But do not worry, we will need volunteers to go with the laden boats back to Newspring. You are welcome to head back with Sai and Walton."
The priest sighs lightly, looking off into space for a moment or two. "I have to say today's battle wasn't what I would call enjoyable. Everything happens so quickly, no time sit down and make a plan. I must say I'm glad all of you are here. If I go to work at Torag's forge with my warhammer as pristine as the day it was made, I'll be happy."
during his turn on watch Ben talks quietly with Walton and Kyle about the days events and the plan for the next day. He keeps a close eye on their surroundings not wanting to take the chance on no more Kuru showing up.
Cueta cocks her head to the side and stares at Vallen intently. "Vallen, priest, friend, I wouldn't call today's battle enjoyable either, but Torag speaks to you for a reason. He wants you to build a place here, correct? What will those creatures do with your work, with our loved ones, if they have their way? This is not a matter of sport or fun, but a matter of doing what must be done!"
"I have been attacked twice by these creatures, and they have put our friends from the Harpy through hell. If there is opportunity to end this we must seize it, and seize it without any hesitation or remorse, because failure could mean the destruction of Newspring, the deaths of us and of our loved ones. Vallen, priest, friend, I don't want to raid their village. I want to burn it down and send them to Lamashtu's armies in the realm below. I want to end this threat before it ends us. And frankly, you have proven yourself a soldier, upon the deaths of an ant and the subjugation of a Kuru. If the opportunity presents itself, we will need you!"
Vallen listens to Cueta speak, but he sighs at the end. "You certainly are a gifted speaker, Cueta. I understand wholly- but it doesn't mean I want to be a part of it. I am still no solider. I fight in self-defense and the defense of my comrades... I don't purposely go marching off to hunt down our enemies." The dwarf shoulders his load and continues his job. "If a herd of elk appeared outside of Newspring, every man, woman, and child would grab a sharpened stick and try to chase them down to eat them. What are we but elk to these Kuru, and would our fate not be the same if we appeared outside their village?"
"We have not the numbers to attack a village at this point. Perhaps once we have made contact with some of these other natives we can strike directly at them. I fear an attack now would only deprive Newspring of some of its best warriors and hand some good weapons over to these savages."
"Do not speak of soldiers Vallen, my people have none. Soldiers are pressed to fight for causes that are not their own, this makes them weak. We have warriors and that is what you must be. A warrior champions his own causes because he chooses to. These shark-teeth have proven that they will attack us on sight. If this is the case then so long as they hold this territory you and each of us are under constant threat. How would you answer that threat?"
"We may not have the strength to topple a large community but we must know what we are dealing with Kal'Tos. We know very little of their numbers or leadership. Now may not be the time to bring the fight to these men but I promise you it is time to learn what we face in them? Once we have the supplies and hopefully a rough location from our captives we must scout their settlement and see what kind of threat awaits us. From there we can decide our next actions."
"I agree scouting is important. But people need to realize that we are only scouting." Kal'Tos looks towards the young human warriors.
"We don't want someone trying to be a hero and getting people killed."
Gair looks at his son and turns back to the dwarf with a fierce look in his eyes, "My son will keep his head Kal'Tos, you should place your worry elsewhere."
Edmund scowls at being called a bastard, but he bears it quietly. From the look on Bern's face, Kal'Tos' concerns seem quite reasonable. Kyle, at least, has his enthusiasm for battle dampened by embarrassment, but Bern looks ready to take on a boatload of cannibals by himself.
"I say we load up the boats with goods from the cave and send them back. We keep the canoe and do some scouting. We can probably portage across the neck of that peninsula and save ourselves some time on the way back."
Gair nods, "Agreed, that canoe should hold the lot of us on the way back if needed."
"But, perhaps I am not so gifted a speaker. Gair makes my point much more clearly. I'll ask you this as well - do elks have forges with which to make swords and spear tips? Do they have knowledge passed down from generations of elders, and the ears of Torag for their needs and prayers? I've seen you lift a boat up a cliff. Can an elk do that? The only time to be an elk is when it is best to be an elk." Cueta glances Edmund's way. "Other times, you may need to be a mosquito. If you are near these Kuru, then well, I think it best to be a python or a panther."
Cueta looks at Walton and Sai as she speaks. "Vallen and I can get the canoe, but we will need one more. Will anyone volunteer? Preferably a sailor or a fisherman? The more experience, the better. Or, a sailor and a fisherman, so that we may take a longboat there and not walk these hazardous woods?"
Day 12 13th day of Gozran
Gaross approaches Horn'Tos early in the morning. He has with him the stone Hammer head he carved, several stout lengths of wood, and several strips of leather. Horn'Tos thank you for the loan of the tools yesterday. I appreciate your trusting me with them. I have a question for you? I saw you made some sheilds out of the Ants your brother and his companions killed, and I was wondering if you know anything about fashioning Weapons?