"Ooh, ooh, ooh, ah, ah, AAAAH AAAH AAAH!!!"
Alis looks up to see her little monkey friend swirling her circlet around its thin little waist like a hula-hoop. After it clatters to the table, it thumps its chest and goes, "Ooh ooh ooh..."
Pursing her lips, Alis looks down at her bathrobe and slippers and says, "Right, I should probably get dressed..."
As Aerys hoist's Alton's body up onto her shoulders, a stoic expression on her pretty face, the princess sighs and looks to her friend and bodyguard.
"Mal, Priyya?" she takes her backpack from the trunk and begins swapping out some equipment and clothing until she find something a bit more appropriate for the steadily increasing tropical heat. "I know it's heavy, but my chest can hold a lot more than you'd think. Could you two load-up whatever we're able to salvage inside and carry it with us? I'll be out in a minute or two..."
As everyone exits, she looks to the monkey and says, "I need to think of a name for you..."
Looking at the little fellow's antics with her circlet and the sort of chirping sound he makes when he isn't hooting for her attention, she smiles and rubs the tuts of golden fur atop his head, "You've got a little golden crown of your own, I see. I think I'll call you... "
The little white-fronted capuchin claps his hands seemingly in approval before handing his mistress her circlet.
Lureene notices the golden haired monkey, now called King Tut. Now where have I heard of a King Tut before? How strange. A sudden thought occured to her, Well, if I am going to keep an eye on Gelik, I think I will need an extra set of eyes, and wings for that matter.
She says to Alis, "Excuse me for a moment..." and stepping off away from the others, starts chanting arcane words, while picturing her oldest friend in her mind. Soon afterwards, there is a flash of multicolored light and Grak appears next to her.
Grak flies over to his mistress, and starts licking, and kissing her...while Lureene picks him up and holds him, stroking his scaly skin and his wings, knowing how much he missed her.
"I missseedd you, Mistressss...."
Lureene responds, "I missed you too, Grak. Let's go introduce you to the others, I am sure Gelik will be most fascinated by this..."
Mal gives Alis a blank stare, "Did you really just take all of my suggestions then spit them back as if they were your own thoughts?" His green-eyed gaze slides over to Darkmane, "I used to know this a$$-hat back in my unit who did that. He thought it made him sound like he had authority." He looks back at Alis, "And you brought a whole chest full of crap for me to carry? How thoughtful…" And he begins rummaging around in it to determine what actually needs to come, automatically tossing aside the 'sink'. "Uselessly heavy." Out flies a arm-load of fancy clothes, "Uselessly… well… useless."
"Do you really intend to haul this chest all over this island while we try to find our way to civilization? And yes, the emphasis is on 'you', Alis… I didn't bring the damned chest. I'm a tracker. Not a porter."
He stands up, "Well, while you all hash that out, Sasha, Little Sister and I will be looking for a spot to park it tonight to recover. Sasha, you want in on this?"
When Mal finishes his diatribe, Alis returns his blank stare with a raised eyebrow.
Was he addressing another princess standing right behind me?
"I realize that it still early in the morning and that you might have some vestiges of poison addling your thoughts, but what in the nine hells are you talking about, Sergeant?"
"In case you are mistaking me for one of your army buddies, there's a few little details to keep in mind. Firstly, in case you forgot, your employer, the King of Ilmarond, did give me authority. I would think that by this point, you have been around royalty enough to to know all things are considered advice and counsel pending the decision and pronouncements of such a person. It's not that different from the military in that respect."
"Secondly, while you might be fine with going AWOL on a tropical island and living out the rest of your life without a care in the world, some of us have a bit more we need to accomplish in the here and now. So yes, I will in fact need my clothes for when we reach Port Eldarion — the Governor of Dafar will not preside over court in her bedclothes."
"Thirdly, I never said nor intended for you or anyone else to you lug something that bulky around the entire island. It needs to stay at our base camp where ever you and Sasha determine that should be. As for the 'uselessly heavy' basin that you nearly broke, that is our source of fresh water."
She puts the magical basin back in the trunk and stuffs the clothes into her magical backpack before standing atop the chest to bring herself closer to Mal's eye-level. "Alexis had this trunk designed for me. The insides contain an 'extra-dimensional space' so that it weighs the same whether it's full or empty. That's why my orders were to fill it with whatever we're salvaging for our camp. It can hold a lot."
"So for now, please carry it outside and place it on the beach somewhere dry. It's only 150 pounds, I've seen you practice your morning calisthenics carrying more weight than that."
In a rare flash of wisdom with a pinch of arid humor, Priyya says, "I'll fill and move the trunk... but that is going to be difficult with you standing on it, Alis."
"Good point, I suppose I'd actually have to be inside it for that whole weightlessness thing to matter, hmm?"
At that thought she grins at Mal and says, "I probably shouldn't have said that. Don't go getting any funny ideas now, Mal!"
Mal sighs, his shoulders slumping as if under a great weight that until now he'd been hiding from everyone. "No, of course I'll take the the chest outside." His eyes search the floor as if looking for some kind of refuge from all the stares he's getting, and he mutters under his breath, "I apologize for my words and tone, everyone. But especially you, Alis. It was uncalled for... I'm not even mad at you."
With that, he replaces all he's ripped out of the trunk, even giving a clumsy if hasty attempt at refolding the clothes, then picks up the chest with surprising little effort and heads outside.
Alis nods. "Apology accepted, Mal, thank you."
She rests a hand on his shoulder as he straightens things up and says quietly, "Alton's death weighs hardest on Aerys, but I know that you and he were becoming good friends too. Please, forgive me if I've seemed insensitive to your loss. I'm just trying to keep a level head so that everyone else can have confidence in our leadership. Sometimes that means seeming unaffected by hardship so that the challenges we face don't seem so daunting. I'll do my best to keep morale up, even as I know you'll do yours to ensure everyone's safety."
"I apologize for my words and tone, everyone. But especially you, Alis..."
"Apology accepted, Mal..."
Priyya lets the poignant moment hang for a moment before her bedeviled nature kicks in, "If this turns into some group-hug, I am leaving."
She looks like she swallowed a lime, so sour is her expression. "Holding onto your apologies and kind words for princesses I see! Not 20 minutes ago you were giving me crap for not healing you while I was succumbing to poison. I mean... I-wasn't-dying-er-anything-but-I-could-have-been but the point is theoretically I could have been in danger. And what do I get? Nothing." The smile beneath her practiced sourness shows her true feelings.
"Tut dear," Alis says with a smirk, "Priyya's lonely, show her some love, would you?"
The little monkey looks up at the dark-eye cleric with big puppy dog eyes. "Ooo..."
It then leaps onto her shoulder and gives her a kiss on the cheek before hopping off to land back on Alis' hammock.
Lureene steps outside of the wreck of the Pearl, Grak flying closely behind her. She scans the beachside looking for the gnome bard Gelik. As she looks for him, her mind cannot help but recall another unusual gnome she had the extreme pleasure of knowing back from her days at the Silver Hart Inn. A tear travels down her cheek, when she realized she never had the chance to formally say goodbye to him. Ohhh, Straehan, I have wronged you terribly! I wish I could apologize for what I did to you. I hope you are still alive...Strae-hun.
On finding Gelik, she approaches him, and waves in Grak's direction, "Hello, Master Gelik. I wanted you to meet one of my best friends...Grak, this is Gelik."
Priyya looks startled but her general love of animals overcomes her concern over monkey fangs near her face. "Hmmm... that wasn't quite the furry kiss I was hoping for but I suppose begging clerics can't be choosy."
Grak lands on the sandy beach next to Gelik, and crawls over to where the gnome can talk to him without bending down too far.
"Gelllliiik, peeeased t' meeeettt yeeee."
"Aww, he likes you, Priyya!"
As soon as Jask and Mal have departed, she starts getting changed into a hot-weather outfit consisting of a short, black leather bodice with numerous fishnet panels across the sides, back, and sleeves to ensure adequate circulation. Over this, for modesty, she dons a short leather bolero with gill-like vents in it.
A pair of short, tight-fitting breeches with fishnet panels on the outside of the legs cover down to the middle of her thighs. A pair of lightweight, calf-height black boots with the big-toe separated protects her feet, while a crimson sash made of a soft chamois material gets tied around her waist.
Outfit: Hot-Weather Explorer's Outfit
"Well," she says to Priyya, "hopefully this will keep me cool. I'd prefer to not have to rely upon casting endure elements except upon those with a weak constitution. If this morning is any sort of an indicator, we may need to ration our spells for more life-threatening concerns. At least you and Lureene should be alright in this weather. Don't think I didn't notice you turning kabobs and carrying scalding hot crockery with your bare hands when we were camping not that long ago."
With a wink she slips her baldric over she shoulder, motions for King Tut to hop down, and then stows her hammock. As his mistress braids her waist-length tresses around her mithril circlet, King Tut regards Priyya taking interest in her facial expressions and mannerisms.
"Well, I think that's about it," Alis says, hair now up and out of the way. She looks under the mattresses, behind and inside furniture under rubble and on the walls. Satisfied that she isn't missing anything, she swings her little haversack and the attached monkey up onto her back. "What a sad end for such a sleek vessel. I'll have to write a song about her someday. At least not all on-board the White Pearl have died..."
Gelik lowers the instrument thru which he was sighting and regards the odd little creature. "Wings just like you mother, eh?"
A devious gleam enters the gnome's eyes and he strokes his dark goatee thoughtfully. "So my dear, you've lost that tummy of yours and gave life to this charming little fellow, have you? Might I presume that since you've shown me your snake, I might show you mine... I could summon him tonight perhaps, beneath the light of the moon and stars."
While Lureene never realized that Gelik had an eidolon or familiar of his own, she inextricably feels herself blushing at his suggestion.
Diplomacy Checks
Sense Motive Checks:
Sasha's eyes light up at Gelik's proposition, his intent clearly lost on her.
"Ooooh! I LOVE snakes! That sounds like a great idea, don't you think, El?"
"Shy but friendly," Gelik muses, returning to his instruments. There is a broad smile on his face even as he wipes the sweat from his brow.
"Aww, he likes you, Priyya!"
Priyya skeptically observes the monkey observing her before ryely answering, "Of course, he likes me. I'm very likable - when I'm not being a cast-iron b!tch."
"What a sad end for such a sleek vessel. I'll have to write a song about her someday. At least not all on-board the White Pearl have died..."
"Let's try to keep it that way. There's been enough heartbreak on this adventure. So... what IS the plan? Gelik seems interested in treasure hunting and antiquarian pursuits. I'd settle for nearly everyone staying alive and getting off this rock. Are we expecting that the saboteur is making for the treasure and are we planning to intercept and commandeer his/her/their boat?"
"Well," she says as you finish checking the last cabin and wade thru the surf up onto the sunny beach, "unfortunately, you got stuck here with the wrong twin. If Alexis were here, I suspect she'd figure out a way to build a new vessel from the wreckage and get us on our way."
She gives a sardonic laugh, "Wouldn't it be ironic is she was up to her ears in political intrigue and politicking right now? Ha! Each of us in the wrong spot."
Alis assays the line of bodies that Aerys and Mal are forming on the beach, as Jask says prayers nearby. Not too far away, Gelik chats with Lureene and Sasha, the red head clearly fascinated by both Grak and whatever yarn Gelik is spinning.
"Just a moment, Priyya. "
A devious gleam enters the gnome's eyes and he strokes his dark goatee thoughtfully. "So my dear, you've lost that tummy of yours and gave life to this charming little fellow, have you? Might I presume that since you've shown me your snake, I might show you mine... I could summon him tonight perhaps, beneath the light of the moon and stars."
Lureene resists the urge to throttle the gnome after his latest attempt to woo her. Belatedly, she realized she had seriously considered his offer, if only for a few seconds. She touches the ring on her finger to focus herself, and gives the lecherous gnome a wink, "Perhaps that could be arranged...I know Grak does get very lonely at night."
"Ooooh! I LOVE snakes! That sounds like a great idea, don't you think, El?"
"Yes, Sash, Master Gelik loves showing off his...instruments."
Later, she would realize exactly why she was tasked with this assignment by Princess Alis. She really must have been getting tired of him for quite the obvious reasons.
"Quite right, my dear," he replies absent-mindedly to Lureene looking thru the princess' spyglass at a pair of rather intriguing natural landforms, "quite ri–"
Alis' words shake him and he nearly gouges himself in the eye in surprise. "Oh! Yes your highness, it was simply done. There's no mistaking it, we're on The Shiv, at the north judging by the landforms and the location of the Sun and sea."
"Thank you, Mr. Aberwhinge."
As she shows Priyya the map and points to an inlet on its northern shore, she speaks in a slow, even tone. "Gelik, if you don't direct that spyglass elsewhere, the next bit of cleavage you have the pleasure of observing will be your own."
"Oh! Uh, um..."
The gnome's sweaty fingers slip and the elongated spyglass collapses on itself, the telescoping rings that forming it shrinking back into a neat coil not much larger than a compass.
Excusing himself to the ladies, he hustles off to return the expensive navigational aids to the princess' trunk, mumbling an apology under his breath as he moves at an astonishing pace for one of his size.
With her eyes, Priyya draws Alis' attention to the collapsed telescope and says obliquely, "That happens to so many men. Pity." She is clearly enjoying the sight of the flustered gnome.
Alis gives a laugh at Priyya's poignant observation. "Nothing gets past you, does it, old girl? Now then, where were we?"
"So... what IS the plan? Gelik seems interested in treasure hunting and antiquarian pursuits. I'd settle for nearly everyone staying alive and getting off this rock. Are we expecting that the saboteur is making for the treasure and are we planning to intercept and commandeer his/her/their boat?"
Nodding at Mal and El as they approach, she says, "Ultimately, we need to get off this island, preferably with most everyone still breathing. Jask's assistance could certainly prove useful in Dafar, and we might be able to get some leads on the Coil thru Sasha. Provided her spirit doesn't break, Aerys could also make a fine captain — I have the feeling I'll be in need of them between the situation at Light's End and the potential state of affairs with the Freebooters."
"For now, I'm at a loss as to what other allure Reaver's Shiv could hold besides Quellig's treasure, although I can certainly perform some Tarot readings later on. Assuming that Ieana is at fault, I'm guessing that whatever brought a mage of her power here must require a ship to see to its completion. Otherwise, there would be little point in her saving The Pearl on multiple occasions when she could just as easily have used magic to fly. Even if she needed a boat full of sacrifices for some reason, it's kind of careless to just abandon them to their fate."
"Unless there are any other suggestion, I'd say reaching the treasure first is as sound a goal as any. At least it looks like a fairly tall hill. We might be able to get a better view from there..."
"Suggestions?"
Lureene nods in response, while unconsciously chewing on a stray strand of hair, "Well, 'Lis you are correct with all of your suppositions, although if she needed a ship, why did she not just use the Pearl? I guess the only one who knows for sure would be the Captain.
She turns her attention to Gelik, "You mentioned the old Academy vessel the Nightsong ? Do you think it's possible Ieana would be looking for whatever the Academy was searching for on their expedition?" She shrugs, "I do not know many mages, but Ieana does not strike me as being guided by simple greed. She looked like she was looking for something specific, arcane lore perhaps, or possibly magical artifacts of some kind."
When Alis points out the hair in her mouth, she hastily takes the piece of hair out of her mouth, and adds, "I guess we should head for this treasure then, at least I can update my wardrobe on my own dime when we find it."
She nods to Mal, "I'll leave the land navigation judgments to our expert but, perhaps, moving along the inside of the archipelago along the beach would be the quickest route. If we could avoid the cannibals and undead, that would be a bonus."
"The inside arc would allow us to see anyone coming up along the shore, although it would also let others see us too. What do you think, Mal?"
"Oh, before I forget, could you hand me the collar we used for Talvyra's disguise? I had an idea..."
Mal stops what he's doing and moves over to where the girls are looking over the map and hands the collar to Alis. "Well, it would certainly be the quickest route to run on that inner beach. If the map is accurate," he looks up as if his eyes could pierce the distance to verify it's accuracy, "then we could use the cover of the treeline to move somewhat unobserved while keeping an eye on the water." He points one clawed finger at the couple of rivers that run north/south along the eastern stretch of the main island. "It should be very simple to switch to following one of these rivers at this point, and there look like more than enough big hills and ridges to keep our position triangulated as we go... assuming that old kook's map is accurate." His eyes unfocus momentarily at the thought of his short-term martial instructor, then he shrugs. "Not getting lost should be simple enough. As for avoiding undead and cannibals... that's just good ole fashioned scouting. Speaking of which, most of my time scouting will be done in an animal form. I move much faster that way. So communication will he somewhat limited, but I will keep my presence known and the way marked."
Lureene nods slowly, having some trouble following Mal's plan on the map. She had to confess to herself, she was no woodsman.
"Mal, do you think Grak here could assist you in scouting the area? He looks sufficiently...wild enough to pass for a native part of the jungle, and also he would allow us to stay in contact with you."
As you talk, Alis takes the collar from Mal and is about to clasp it around King Tut's neck when the little monkey hops down and runs away. "Aww, I was just starting to like–"
However, she stops when she notices him hop up onto Gelik's back and grab something out of his pouch.
Grapple
Yet before Tut can make good on his escape, the cagey gnome swoops him up, admonishing, "Ah, ah, you little thief, I've got you now!"
A twinge of alarm registers on Alis' face and she runs over just Tut bites Gelik on the hand making him drop his hat with the monkey it.
"Why you little!"
He pulls his foot back to kick, but when he does so, he raises only a cloud of sand as the hat complete with monkey, is whisked away by a cantrip from Alis.
"Tsk, tsk," Alis catches the hat in mid-air clucking her tongue. "What are you getting up to you little rascal?"
Screeching excitedly, the monkey hands her a small, glass bottle with the model of a tiny ship inside it. "The... White Pearl?!"
She puts Tut back on her shoulder and tosses the hat back to the flustered gnome. "Gelik, where did you find this?"
Sense Motive Checks:
"Oh that? I just found it lying around while we were all searching the ship, that's all. It seemed like a pit to leave behind, it's all we've got left to remember the ship by now."
While the gnome's straight face and plainness of speech disarm Lureene, Jask, and Sasha, Alis, Mal, and Aerys share a disapproving look while Priyya furrows her brow trying to figure out if he's being sincere or not.
Even from some distance away, Aerys easily recognizes what the princess is holding. Without saying a word, she walks up behind Gelik, outside his line of sight, and then puts him in a headlock, growling darkly, "That's Captain Kovack's model of the Pearl you scheming little cheat, what else did you take that you're not telling us?"
Perception Checks
Grapple Checks
Gelik's eyes bulge and he struggles to get free, legs kicking wildly, but like a snake Sasha glides up and slips the satchel off his shoulder.
She flips it open and says, "Looks like there's a whole lot of bottles in here... water walk, water birth?, rest less, cure light, cure mod, heal dis, heal poi... There's gotta be a dozen of these in here, maybe as many as twelve! Oh, and a bunch of gold and platinum coins like the ones you use, your princess."
"Huh, hey inside this bag it looks like someone wrote the captain's name and the name of the ship, why do you think that is?"
Priyya's eyes harden. She sweeps the gnome with her Alita-given senses, searching for the remnants of evil in Gelik.
Lureene glances at Grak, and an unspoken command passes between the two. He flies over to the currently grappled gnome and immediately jumps on top of his neck, and starts to lick the poor gnome!
Lureene watches impassively, and then after a few minutes says quietly, "Well, Gelik, I would advise you to be truthful here, as you know that old saying, 'the truth shall set you free'."
"Good question, Sash. Perhaps Gelik knows..." She motions for Sasha to hand her the satchel, and mutters a quick cantrip, scanning it for magical auras. As she scans the contents, a thought occurs to her. "This is a payoff. Someone paid the Captain for services rendered. But...what was he paid to do?"
She hands the satchel to Mal, "Can you determine who had held this satchel before the Captain by their body scent?"
Alis sighs, eyes closed as she rubs her temple. "That would be the ship's emergency medical kit, and the fares we all paid for passage to Dafar."
A disapproving look ceases the gnome's struggles and he gives a nervous grin as best he can what with Aerys' well-muscled arm constricting his windpipe, wincing as the snake licks his face. "I'm sure there's a very good reason why you were keeping these supplies secret when you could see how injured Mal and Priyya were from fighting that giant sea scorpion. I'll look forward to hearing it after we get done searching the Captain's Cabin and your backpack to see if there's anything pertinent to our survival that you might have forgotten to mention..."
From her hip sheath, Priyya pulls the one weapon she has never drawn before - a wickedly curved and golden bladed katar. With a deft flick of her wrist, the triple blades spring out forming an elaborate and deadly sun symbol. She admires the symbolic and practical aspects of the blade before tightening her hand around the grip. She takes a knee, getting eye-level with the gnome. Her blade hand resting casually on her bent knee.
When she and the blade have his full attention, Priyya speaks, matter-of-factly. "I don't find you charming in the least. Whatever little wit and charm you have are wasted on me. In fact, I never particularly liked you before... and I like you even less now. So, here's the point I want to clarify for you in case you were confused: I don't work for Alis. I don't need her leave to act. So, if I deem you a threat to this group or my mission or Alis' mission... the last thing you'll see in this world is the hilt of this blade sticking out of your chest. That's not a threat, it's a statement of fact. I may have to answer to my Goddess if I'm over-hasty in killing you - but I can live with that risk." She gets up, folds and sheathes the blade. "Just something to consider when choosing your future words and actions."
Mal watches the situation play out, watching the useless gnome squirm under the 'charms' of all the women. "Gnome. You got one shot at getting this right, so I'd suggest you speak plain. Darkmane's not one to level empty threats at people, so honesty really is the best policy here. Did you steal those? And were you intending to share them with the group?"
Gelik pees himself at the promise of pain and violence from Priyya and Mal. When he finds no shelter in Alis' gaze, he swallows hard and stammers air being difficult to come by in his current predicament, "I– I– wasn't going to hog them all i– if someone else obviously needed s– some. B– but, there's not m– much help I can do to h– help, s– so I th– thought I could at least m– maybe seem heroic later on. Y– you know, to impress the l– l– ladies!"
Aerys dumps him on the ground and puts a foot in the center of his back to keep him from running. He immediately chokes but is finally able to take a deep breath again. "I didn't really search Kovack's room to well so there might be more there. I just grabbed what seemed the most useful or valuable with what little time I had, honest!"
