"You worry too much, lieutenant!" Aerys' tone has become a great deal happier over the past few weeks since Sarah's intervention and the start of her romance with the first mate. In fact, given her exemplary performance, the Captain had actually promoted her to Second Mate. Apparently seeing the two young love birds and the trials of this voyage had given the old sea dog pause. Not just once was overheard ruminating about the possibility of retiring and passing his business on to someone younger.
The feisty half-elf delivers a solid punch to Alton's beefy arm, a broad grin on her attractive face. "I just overheard our skipper talking with Vinzini about wanting to throw a bit of a party for the crew tonight. Evidently he has a big announcement he wants to make!"
Judging by the sparkle in her blue eyes, no amount of melancholy is apt to daunt her fervor at this point.
Alton's eyebrow twitches a bit at Aerys' love tap, though he does allow himself the faintest hint of a smile. "Well this should be interesting at least. Of course, so long as your eyes are on watch, we are in good hands..."
You get the feeling that he is a bit chagrined to need Aerys on watch tonight as opposed to on other... duties, but such is life.
Mal looks up from coiling one of these ridiculously thick ship's ropes at Alton's hesitation about Reaver's Shiv, having come to respect the man's instincts while on the water.
"What is the Reaver's Shiv?" His hands and body keep working by memory as his attention remains on the sailor.
Lureene spends most of the journey sequestered away from the rest of the crew, as the magical properties of the hairpin have started working a mite too well, or so she thought. The closer she got to the groups destination, the more short-tempered and waspish she became. Understandable, especially after the encounter with the Scylla, she had several nightmares concerning her Mother and how she gloated about using her daughter for some nefarious scheme. One of the dreams she had also involved her father extending a hand to her, like in her vision . Thus her sanity is maintained.
By the time Rosday arrived, she was inclined to stay below decks, but at the insistence of both Lisa (who had grown tired of Ellie’s moods) and Sasha (who had missed her friend’s presence), she made her way up top, where her condition was really starting to show.
When she hears her ‘husband’ Andre ask about the Reaver’s Shiv, she perks up and listens intently for the answer…
"Reaver's Shiv?" Aerys raises an eyebrow at the mention of the place, "When Alton and I were sortin' out Ishirou's things, I came across a bunch of treasure maps. I'm not the best at readin' his scrawl, but one of them mentioned there bein' an old pirate's stash on a place known as The Shiv."
"Hmm, hmm, hmm," Gelik muses. "You know I think I've heard of that place before, although it was called Smuggler's Shiv. Still how many 'Shivs' can there be in one sea, right?"
"No doubt, but what is this 'Shiv' praytell?"
"Oh right, well you see–"
"It is said that the dead walk on Reaver's Shiv and that those who have yet to die dine on the flesh of their kin." Alton's voice is low, but it is clear that he is neither amused nor trying to entertain you. "The very plants and animals of the island thirst for blood, and those who sail too close to the islands cutting edge are doomed. It is a grave for pirates, merchants, smugglers, and soldiers alike."
"Once, about two years ago," he continues, "we approached too closely by day and could hear the screams of the damned from the green hill that crowns the isle. At night, witchlights dance on the shore. They are the glowing ghosts of cannibals eager to lure ashore their latest meal."
"Fascinating!" Gelik says excitedly as he writes down some notes. "You know, The Academy lost a vessel in this area some years ago, the Nightvoice. Why it wouldn't surprise me if it wrecked itself on this very island you speak of! Lisa, shrewd business woman that you are, finding that ship could be a very lucrative endeavor. And if our dearly departed second mate had planned to look for treasure there... well it would only make sense for The Academy to also investigate such a cache, wouldn't you say?"
Alton grumbles something under his breath as he turns to go, quickly finding some sailors who need to be reminded of their duties. As he heads off, bellowing, Alis says, "Hmm, well it's something that might make an interesting expedition at some point. Yet as eventful as this voyage has been, and as hot as the weather has become, I would say it could wait for a spell. Certainly the White Pearl doesn't have the resources aboard to field such an effort."
Lureene shoots a quick glare at Gelik, noting his callousness concerning the loss of Ishirou. Is that all he cares about? Money? Treasure? She speaks in a deadly calm voice, "I think we should be quite cautious before we even think about exploring this Smuggler's Shiv. I would not feel safe during such an expedition, without a batallion of Lightbringers as escort!"
Gelik pauses and nods knowingly. "Oh of course! I didn't mean right this very instant. After all, your lovely mother has business to tend to in Dafar, and you'll soon be a mother yourself!"
"He's got a point El." Sasha appears from out of nowhere and gives her friend a squeeze. "Not that you don't look good enough to eat, but that's not really a good thing if you're dealing with a bunch of nasty cannibals I guess, is it?"
"Besides, I'm really not sure how you're even able to stand up without falling over right now. By the gods, woman, what are you smuggling in your blouse, watermelons?!"
Lisa snickers a bit at Sasha's candor. "Oh that's nothing. Why if Ellie takes after me she's only about halfway there right now. Yes the cards foretell great things before you, daughter..."
Aerys gives a whistle and winces a bit at the though. She pats the olive-skinned beauty on the back, and offers her consolation, "Well, good luck with that, Ellie. At least the babe won't go hungry, right?"
Lureene replies acerbically, "Well, Momma...I am not quite sure that is what you told me earlier when you gave my reading." She turns to look at Aerys, and mutters, "Ha ha, just you wait until this happens to you."
Aerys chuckles a bit. "Not too worried. Don't forget I'm half elven. When was the last time you saw a top-heavy lass who had any elven blood in her veins much less half?"
Suddenly Lisa chokes on the tea she was drinking and is left sputtering as she gasps for air.
"No, no," she waves the dark-haired girl off, "I'm fine, *cough* really. Lump of– *wheeze* undissolved sugar– stuck in my throat, that's all."
Shaking her head, the older lady sits down atop a crate as she catches her breath.
If Lureene says a word, cows will feel inadequate...
Lureene cannot help but glance at her 'Momma' and is about to respond, but when she hears Lisa choking on her tea, and notices the LOOK in her eyes, she catches herself in time. Aerys, it was not THAT long ago... She thinks wryly to herself.
For dinner that night, Vinzini prepares a feast serving up clams, pasta dishes, fresh bread, olives, deviled eggs, sea bass, crab cakes and more. The wine and ale flow freely too, particularly after Captain Kovack makes his big announcement...
"Lads n' lasses," he hoists a brimming cup into the sultry night air, "Ah've given it lots o' thought n' when we put inta Port Eldarion, Ah'll be hangin' up me hat n' lookin' ta raise me some sons n' daughters."
The crew is more than a bit morose at the news of their skipper's impending retirement but he waves his hat until he has their attention once more. "Na don't be givin' me none a that guff. A faller's gotta think 'bout tha future is all. An thinkin' Ah did ye see. So come when the White Pearl weighs anchor agin, yer new captain'll be one ye scallywags already know — Mr. Devers!"
The big man is speechless at the pronoucement but that doesn't stop Aerys from starting a cheer in his honor, nor the crew from filling the night with the sound of revelry. Even as the hours go by and the ship's watch changes, the celebration is slow to die down. Before you each head off to sleep, the last thing you see on deck are Alton and Aerys regarding the stars together by the prow even as Ieana bids Captain Kovack to return to his quarters.
Soon you are all fast asleep from the fine spirits and rich food of the night's party. Even the rowdy sounds coming from the captain's quarters above cannot keep you from drifting off into dreams to the gentle sounds of the sea...
Theme: White Pearl, Black Oceans
That night, Lureene has a strange dream. It seems at once like another lifetime, yet all too real. She is a young woman, newly with child, married to a cold, uncaring husband who cares only for his military calling and little for her. Even news of her pregnancy fails to sway him.
As the new year approaches, she makes up her mind that no child of hers should suffer a life with so cold a father. So it is that when her husband is gone that night, drinking with his fellow officers that she steals out of their home seeking whatever the night might bring.
In town, she meets a young man, shy yet handsome, with whom she spends a lovely evening. As the moon falls past the horizon and the new year begins, the two find themselves back at her home, the rest of the night spent in lovemaking before she reveals that she shall be taking the next ship to a distant land.
With the dawning of morning's light, she bids her young lover return before her husband returns and to seek her overseas with the next moon. She ruefully notes that her so-called husband has yet to return and decides it best to leave for the port before his return.
Yet that night, as her ship, the White Pearl sets sail, the flame in the lighthouse expires. Incredibly, the moon above is blood-red yielding no light at all upon the dark waters. Calamity seizes the ship and she feels a tightness in her chest as the ship strikes something hard and all the sailors scream in terror. The last thing she knows is the icy embrace of the black ocean even as she longs for that of her lover...
Theme: Solitude
Lureene awakens slowly, everything dark and silent. Gradually sensation begins to creep back in — the feel of sand below and of something wet lapping against her feet. She hears the sound of ocean waves washing against a beach, and a heaviness in her limbs.
Suddenly, she feels a searing pain in her shoulder and is jolted awake to see that she is once again herself and that nearby are Lisa, Andre, Sarah, Sasha, Gelik, Aerys, Jask, and Talvyra. Head reeling and stomach lurching as if she had consumed an entire cask of wine by herself, she sees looming over her a dog-sized creature with large pincers, too many legs, and a finned tail bristling with a long, thin stinger has just lanced her with poison! In its pincers it clutches the shiny pin she had in her hair when she fell asleep.
When Lureene cries out in pain, she can see a number of other such beasts swarming on the beach around her and her friends. Nearby your equipment is stacked up.
Only Gelik fails to awaken at Lureene's piercing scream. Alis, Mal, and Priyya are instantly wide awake while Aerys and Jask awaken more slowly. As Sasha groans and opens her eyes, she looks up to see the bat-winged woman nearby and gives out a scream of sheer terror!
Completely oblivious to the sea scorpions, she jumps to her feet and tries to run away but receives a painful sting
Perception Checks DC 0
Initiative Rolls
Site: Reaver's Shiv, (A-Castaway Beach)
As everyone begins to wake up and a growl escapes Talvyra's throat, you hear the panicked screech of a tiny monkey that was playing with Alis' hair. Looking up, the tiny thing runs across her body and lobs a rock at the sea scorpion between her and Lureene, cracking it on the head and screeching as if trying to frighten it away.
"What the–"
Suddenly seeing the many-legged creature at which the little monkey is gesticulating, she kicks at the spiny thing trying to scare it away. Yet with the first bit of movement, she feels her stomach lurch and what would normally have been a sharp kick is instead more like a push and has no effect on the sea scorpion.
, Sea Scorpions, Priyya, (Aerys), (Jask); Sasha, Monkey
MAP: Castaway Beach, (Round 01)
Mal's senses return slowly, and his protective instincts kick in before he has a chance to think about his actions. As he stands to seek out all potential adversaries, his body is flooded with the warmth of his feral power, and his form shifts to that of a hunting cat.
Mal roars out a challenge, and it is echoed by Talvyra as she springs to her feet, taking on a defensive stance.
Lureene struggles to take in what has happened, but her conscious mind has seeming deserted her. She lets instinct take over and utters a quick command word, instantly appearing several feet behind her! Now on her feet, she utters a spell....
Once the spell has been cast, she utters weakly, "No, Sash, wait! It's me, Ellie!"
Without hesitation, Andre sheds his human form to take on that of a great cat. When he rises to his four feet, he suffers the sting of a nearby sea scorpion but manages to shrug off the effects of its poison.
Behind him, little sister shakes off her stupor and gets to her feet.
In the blink of an eye, Lureene blinks away from where she was to appear upright between Mal and Tal. Instinctively, she reaches for the spell component pouch at her waist for a handful of colored sand to cast a spell, only to realize that she doesn't have it on her.
Her head reeling from the sting she just suffered and the queasiness in her belly, Sasha casts an incredulous glance at the owner of the familiar voice, her face a mixture of fear and betrayal. "There's just no way, that's not possible!"
Caring not a whit for the drama between Lureene and Sasha but only for their hopeful meal, the eurypterids swarm forward, pincers snapping.
Three of the nasty little creatures assault Jask, whose feet and hands are still manacled. He gives a cry of pain as their claws break his skin, and he looks to be on the verge of passing out again.
Not far away, another two attack Sasha one of them jabbing the distracted redhead so hard with its stinger that she nearly passes out from the searing pain. The last two attempt to claw and sting Alis and her feline body-guard but even as Mal evades attack, the princesses' sacred protections save her, though just barely.
Sasha
Mal
Alis
Perception DC 0
; Monkey, Alis, Mal & Tal, Lureene, Sea Scorpions
MAP: Castaway Beach, (Round 01b)
"Uugh, what hit m–"
Heedless of her sickened state, Aerys jumps to her feet with the clarity that only mortal danger brings. "SARAH, GET UP! There's a g0d-damned demon, a cougar, a monkey, and sea scorpions all over the place! We're getting chewed up!"
Priyya rolls over and rises slowly, growling in response to Aerys. "Only the scorpions are a threat; Leave the rest alone! Where in the Nine Hells did that monkey come from?"
Priyya makes sure her phylactery rests on her brow and summons Alita's healing light from her palm, thankful for the thousandth time that her most potent holy symbol is the ugly scar encompassing her palm. She rests the glowing hand briefly on herself before aiming it towards her sickened and wounded camrades.
Move Action -
Swift Action -
Standard Action -
Desperate to get away from the biting, stinging crustaceans, Jask attempts to hop back to his feet but only succeeds in stumbling and agitating the eurypterids even further. Thankfully, Sarah responds just in the nick of time to prevent the aging cleric from blacking out.
"Alíta be praised, Sister. My thanks to you!"
, Mal & Tal, Lureene, Sea Scorpions, Aerys, Priyya, Jask;
"Thank me later, Brother. Just avoid those beasts as best you can until we can get you loose!"
Next to Alis' leg, the little white-faced monkey chatters away, pointing at the spiny critter while making a hammering motion with another rock he's dug up. He bounds back and forth in agitation but seems to be waiting for something.
"Yes, yes, I know! There's baby sea scorpions everywhere..."
Trying to keep her agitated innards under control, there is a loud crack as Alis delivers a well-aimed kick to the small creature. It rolls over onto its back, legs twitching spasmodically for a moment before the little monkey hops over and cracks what must be it's skull with the little rock in its hands. As the eurypterid's legs curl up beneath it, the little fellow gives a hoot a delight and scrambles up onto Alis' shoulder as she regains his feet.
"Ha! I'm finally taller than someone! Er– no offense to the sleeping gnome that is..."
With all the shouting and screaming going on, Gelik gives a leisurely groan and stretches luxuriantly until a sharp bit of shell jabs hiim in the back. When he finally realizes what's going on, he shakes his head and rubs his eyes trying to clear away the fog of what's happening.
"Blue blazes Lisa! I didn't mean we should set out already– YE GODS, A SUCCUBUS SAVE ME!"
The frightened gnome give an almost girlish shriek as the sea scorpion next to him gives him a pinch in an an uncomfortable place!
, Sea Scorpions, Aerys, Priyya, Jask; Alis, Monkey, Gelik
MAP: Castaway Beach, (Round 02)
Lureene finally awakens to the feel the adrenaling in combat, which shakes off hte fog which had penetrated her mind earlier. She is conscious now of the sensation of her wings behind her shoulder blades, a sensation both comforting and terrifying as well. Would she ever be free of the taint of her mother? Judging by the reaction of Sasha, Aerys and Gelik, apparently not.
On feeling Sasha's cry of terror again in her mind, a wave of emotion hits her, combining rage and utter hopelessness. She is conscious of only one thing...she has lost another friend. There were only a few souls out there she could consider a friend, one who could accept her for who she was. She had hoped she could count Sasha among them, but she realized Sasha was friends with someone who, in fact, did not exist. And could never exist.
Her heart a dull ache, and her mind reeling from the emotional upheavals, she almost mechanically points a finger at one of the baby...baby?? Aww, crap... scorpions, and utters arcane words in a monotone voice.
Sea Scorpions? Talk about an overreaction...
Mal goes about trying to rid the shore of the pests before they can cause any further harm to his charges or their friends.
The sleek black dog stalks across the sand, looking for an opportunity to strike at her future breakfast.
Sasha winces when Lureene casts a spell and points in her direction. She seems almost surprised when a bolt of energy flies around her to slam into the creature behind her.
Further away, Mal's jaws clamp down on the eurypterid's shell with a satisfying crunch. It twitches in his jaws for a moment before going limp.
He and Talvyra then approach the remaining creatures surrounding Sasha and Jask finding it handy that the two have gathered them all together for easy pickings. While one of them gives Mal a hard pinch with it's claws, he's pretty sure he's hurt himself worse trying to scratch a hard-to-reach itch on his back.
"YE GODS, A SUCCUBUS SAVE ME!"
The frightened gnome give an almost girlish shriek...
Sarah rolls her eyes, "Stop shrieking... you aren't her type anyway."
The remaining sea scorpions continue to peck at Jask and Sorsha. The lithe redhead easily evades the attacks, but the frail priest is trying his best not to cry out in pain as the creatures swarm him ripping his clothes to bloody shreds.
The Dafari man makes a feeble attempt at escape which only serves to incite the sea scorpions further. He leaves a bloody trail across the sand as he crawls away searching desperately thru the pile of equipment for anything that can avail him.
With a curse, Aerys makes her way over to interpose herself between the vicious little brutes and their prey.
Sasha
; Alis, Monkey, Gelik, Mal & Tal, Lureene, Sea Scorpions, Jask, Aerys
MAP: Castaway Beach, (Round 02c)
Seeing Jask get nipped, virtually to death, Priyya wades across the sand to give the scorpions more targets and unleashes another healing blast.
Move Action -
Standard Action -
Finding the racial grab-bag of a scene oddly ludicrous, Priyya fires off on a tangent, "No, seriously, what's with the monkey? Did we stumble into a circus or something?"
Priyya slogs her way thru the sand, her invocation of Alíta's power restoring nearly everyone by Mal to full health (even if you all still feel dreadfully ill).
At Priyya's question, Alis shruggs her shoulders helplessly and jerks her thumb towards the jungle. "No clue, but he does seem to have taken a liking to me..."
Both confounded and amused by the monkey that's perched on her head, pumping its fist as the others beat on the eurypterids, Alis sighs and starts singing an upbeat sea shanty. Soon thereafter, the roiling in your stomachs and the pounding in your skulls starts to ease away. She then steps up next to Jask, the sand seemingly giving her less trouble than the rest of you.
After giving a loud, "hmmph!" at Sarah's quip, Gelik finds that those with the skill for violence seem to have every thing well in hand. Dusting himself off, the gnome wanders around a bit marveling at the exotic plants further inland as he tries to get his bearings.
, Sea Scorpions, Jask, Aerys, Priyya; Alis, Monkey, Gelik
MAP: Castaway Beach, (Round 03)