Mal shrugs. "Ida know..." Mal's delivery is so dead-pan, it is hard to tell if he is joking. "Lureene summons that guy out of thin air. I didn't know you could do that with a familiar. Too bad I can't do that trick with Little Sister."
Lureene chimes in, "I think that is a good plan, 'Lis. Grak will have no problem maintaining contact with me, as long as we are on the same plane." She smiles teasingly, "Soooo...unless you find a planar portal here, and take Grak along plane hopping, we should be fine."
She thinks for a moment, "From what little I know of eilodons, they do lose strength the further away they are from their master. However, Grak has told me he has not felt any weaker the farther away he is from me. I can only surmise since he also shares an arcane bond with me, it also grants him strength to overcome that weakness. Perhaps Alexis knows more of this..."
"Hmm, well unfortunately you got stuck with the wrong princess. If 'Sis were here, she'd probably have drafted plans to build a new ship from the wreck of the old one and have it half-built by n– OW!!!"
Alis jumps and smacks her thigh as yet another mosquito decides to make the switch to blue blood. "I'm tired of all these gods-be-damned bugs on the god-forsaken island!!!"
She holds up her hands in exasperation as she slows the descent of the remaining castaways using her spells. "I just don't get it. I made certain to take a bath last night and I'm still getting chewed up!"
Lureene laughs, "Well, you can take heart in the fact your fashion skills, not to mention your fashion sense are second to none! You and your King Tut bring a new much needed fashion trend to the Reaver's Shiv natives!"
She looks at the cloud of mosquitos surrounding the Princess, "I think maybe you should switch to a different brand of bath salts."
Alis jumps and smacks her thigh as yet another mosquito decides to make the switch to blue blood. "I'm tired of all these gods-be-damned bugs on the god-forsaken island!!!"
From above, Priyya hears the princess' curse and calls down, "God-forsaken?! I expect you'll be making me a good deal on leasing this little slice of paradise then!"
"How about I just pay you to take it off my hands, will that work?"
After everyone has made it to the base of the cliffs, Alis briefs everyone on the proposed plan. Throughout it, Sasha shifts uneasily, clearly agitated for some reason. Before Alis can finish, her patience runs out and she says, "Uh, if 'Dre is the one doing all the tracking then why don't you guys just go with him?"
"Well, for starters Sasha, Mal moves a lot faster than the rest of us."
"Plus, Sash, Grak and I can maintain contact through our bond, so there is no need for us to go with him. We would only slow him down."
"I'm tired of all these gods-be-damned bugs on the god-forsaken island!!!"
Mal c0cks his head and frowns, curious at the swarm surrounding the Princess. He moves in closer, eyeing her. "Excuse me, Alis." He moves his face near her neck and breathes deeply then steps away, saying "It's your perfume. It carries a hint of copper, like blood. I bet that's why they like you so much."
"It's your perfume. It carries a hint of copper, like blood. I bet that's why they like you so much."
"My perfume...?" She blinks seemingly surprised by the statement. "Hmm, well I have other perfumes that I could use I suppose. Do you think one with an ambergris base would be better then?"
"Well for starters, Sasha, Mal moves a lot faster than the rest of us."
"Plus, Sash, Grak and I can maintain contact through our bond, so there is no need for us to go with him. We would only slow him down."
"Uh how are you two going to slow him down? Well anymore than Priyya will? You guys all walk at about the same pace, but that doesn't matter though."
She points up to the sky, holding her hands out as the rain continues to fall. "He's not following a fresh trail so 'Dre isn't exactly going to be sprinting thru the jungle. He's going to have to take his time. Unless she suddenly learned how to track since yesterday, Priyya or anyone else is just going to be following along. I'm pretty sure even the gnome could keep up with 'Dre or I while we're tracking — not that I'm saying he should, that is."
"My perfume...?" She blinks seemingly surprised by the statement. "Hmm, well I have other perfumes that I could use I suppose. Do you think one with an ambergris base would be better then?"
Lureene sidles next to the buxom Princess and says quietly to her, ”Ummm…I think what Mal is saying is you should go without perfume for a while, and see how that works out for you.”
She once again gives quiet thanks her demonic blood is not very appealing to mosquitos.
Alis pales visibly at Lureene's interpretation and without saying them mouths the words "no perfume?" in seemingly abject horror. Looking at one of the angry pink welts on her arm, you gather that some sort of an inner conflict is playing out in which she weighs the gravity of the situation.
Mal shrugs and holds his hand out catching some raindrops as if to emphasize a point, "This isn't about speed. It's about continuing to track our game before the trail gets colder or is wiped away completely by the rain. It's also about stealth, safety, and endurance. Three of us are more likely to go undetected rather than five or more. While I don't mind stalking alone, if there are traps or unseen dangers, it would be smart to have a partner along. I can hunt better and faster alone but Darkmane has the ability to keep our weariness at bay. We've been going all day; it's likely we will go all night. I'm sure she can keep three of us up and moving... I don't know if she could manage five or more."
"So time is wasting..." He turns to Alis, "It's your decision - about the scouting party AND your perfume."
Mal's reply snaps Alis out of her inner struggle and she looks up at him. "Mal, it's not even noon and you had the middle watch. You can't possibly be tired yet."
She sighs and begins using a prestidigitation to remove the perfume from her person. "As for stealth, I suspect only Sasha has the potential to be a better sneak than me, and Priyya can vouch for my skill with traps. Remember that crypt a few months back, P?"
Alis shakes her head. "No, making sure a trail doesn't go cold won't matter if you don't have enough back-up to deal with whatever you find. As long as it takes to get anywhere, there's no guarantee we'd have enough time to make it to you to help out if you had Grak signal us for help..."
"Jask?"
"Yes your highness?"
"So time is wasting..." He turns to Alis, "It's your decision - about the scouting party AND your perfume."
"Also, don't forget this, we need to find out why she came here. I would not advise attacking her, as I believe she is much more powerful spellcaster than myself. If we want to ambush her, then we all need to participate if we are to take her down."
"I'm leaving you in charge here, but look to Sasha's expertise, she seems to know what she's talking about. Please look after everyone's health and well-being until we get back."
"Sasha?" Alis looks up and the discontented redhead, "Please look after everyone. If you think things here are too dangerous or that the others aren't considering things that you know better about then let them know. El's going to leave Grak here with you so that you can talk with her, ok?"
"Wait, you mean you want me to stay here?!"
Alis nods.
"Well, that's just stupid! I should be out there helping 'Dre on the hunt!"
"Well, it would be good to have you along, that's true. But what if Ieana and Captain Kovack come back here? If they get away from us then we'll need someone with wood-smarts who can spring a trap on them and take them down before they know what hit 'em. Aerys can really pummel someone, but in terms of setting up a trap or an ambush... well, there's no question that that's your specialty."
She leads Sasha about 20-feet away and whispers something to her.
Perception Checks
"Hmmph!" Priyya and Aerys share an incredulous look, certain that Sasha is going to protest further. However instead she replies, "Alright, I'll make sure everyone is good and safe for when you get back, even the gnome. You'll see, Sasha Nevah will take good care of everything!"
With that she gives the princess a big wink and licks her lips while casting a sidelong glance at Gelik.
Sense Motive Checks:
Alis smiles broadly. "I know you'll do a great job. Thanks Sasha!"
Turning around with an almost wide-eyed look on her face, as if she never expected that would work, she says, "Alright, Mal, you've got point. I'll stick near you checking for traps while Priyya and Lureene hang back a bit so we don't scare up your quarry."
As the four head south following the trail, Alis whispers to Mal, a smirk on her face.
"Mal, it's not even noon and you had the middle watch. You can't possibly be tired yet."
"After another 12 hours of tracking I will be tired. That's what I'm planning for."
"Also, don't forget this, we need to find out why she came here. I would not advise attacking her, as I believe she is much more powerful spellcaster than myself. If we want to ambush her, then we all need to participate if we are to take her down."
Mal tries (unsuccessfully) to not roll his eyes. He stares at the reformed succubi briefly as if to say, Do I look like an idiot?
Without another word, he turns away and begins to take stock in the contents of his pack, dumping non-essentials, and tightening everything down.
[ REAVER'S SHIV: Map | Position (011) | Overland Rules ]
As the four of you set off, behind you Sasha begins giving orders to have everyone fall back into the gap in the jungle and to help with getting the camp setup while she scouts the area for any dangerous wildlife.
For the next hour, Mal leads you, following Ieana's trail and is turns westward and exits the jungle. You find yourselves near the confluence of two lazy rivers. One is fed by the waterfall to your north, the other descends from further up plateau that steadily rises to your south. After joining, the two then flow east and south in a low valley between that plateau and a ridge on the eastern edge of the island. While the eastern river would lead almost directly to the hill on which Captain Quellig's treasure is purportedly buried, the trail instead leads directly into the north branch of the river rather than crossing to the south like you might have expected. Thankfully, the rain at least finally tapers off into a drizzle before finally abating
entirely.
On the south bank of the confluence, Alis points to a tangled thicket of brambles with thorns up to 6-inches long with numerous red berries visible further inside. Birds and other wildlife seem to frequent the area feasting on the small, plump fruits.
"Hmm," Mal says, "seem edible enough, might make for a good snack for some of you if it weren't for the brambles. Just the same, I'd rather stick to what little sister and I take down..."
In spite of the momentary setback, it doesn't take long before Mal points to the opposite bank of the 20-foot wide river. "A child could see where someone scraped their way up the mud of the bank there. Come on, let's get on with it."
Taking a running start, the five of you charge and easily leap across. Easily except for Mal whose foot slips as the edge of the bank collapses beneath his weight robbing him of his forward momentum. With an awkard twist, he plunges into the river not far from his goal sending schools of little fish and a pair of brown-feathered egrets fleeing from the noise.
Scarcely troubled by it since he was already drenched from the recent rain, the big man hoists himself out of the creek before taking off to the west.
"Yeah, that was definitely Kovack's trail," he growls, "Looks like they headed straight for that central basin..."
After about about a quarter hour, you reach a tall cliff whereupon you find that the trail disappears, presumably over the edge.
Stealth Checks
Survival Checks
Acrobatics Checks
"So, should we just float down again or do we climb down the nice rain-slick rock face?"
"So Aerys, my girl, how are you holding up?"
Aerys frowns a bit at the inquiry. "Well, I haven't jumped off a cliff yet, though around you guys I suppose that wouldn't be too effective, would it?"
With a melancholy sigh, she opens the top of her pack, sheltering it with her body, to reveal the book she's been writing. "It ended up gettin' him killed, comin' back for this."
She thumps the cover twice before closing her pack once more. "It just wouldn't be right if I wasted his effort, you know? Figure I should at least stick around long enough to wrap things up..."
Lureene mutters a curse in a foul tongue. She glares at the cliff face, almost daring it to object. "Damn, so Ieana knows she is being followed for sure. If she is a mage, then she probably cast some spell granting her and Kovack means of flight. They could be anywhere now." She sighs and turns to Alis, " I don't think she took a swim, therefore neither should we."
She paces for a moment, "Maybe we should follow the river towards the treasure cache. If they doubled back there, we might pick up their trail again." Judging by the tone in her voice, she does not sound very hopeful of that event transpiring.
"El, that was a rhetori– Wait... what?" Now being bothered by far fewer insects, Alis raises an eyebrow at Lureene's assessment. "Why would her using feather fall to float down to the base of the cliffs have anything to do with her knowing she's being followed? For the love of Heaven, the trail is over a day old! Exactly who was following her yesterday besides her little puppet, the good Captain Kovack? We were stuck in the shipwreck scavenging supplies during a rainstorm this time yesterday. We scarcely knew where we were let alone anyone else."
She looks over the cliff and shakes her head. "This isn't any taller than the cliff Auntie Corrina's châteaux sits on. 'Sis and I have been feather falling off of that to go sneak off for confections since before Priyya was born I'd wager. No, I think if Ieana had a mind to fly the whole way she'd have just cast the spells and been done with it. Heck, she might have used them up getting off the Pearl before she hit the rocks. At any rate, it's nearly 200 yards from the water's edge to the base of the cliffs. The only swimming we'd be doing is if we purposefully decided to take a dip."
Perception Checks
Lureene smiles fondly at the memory of the chateau, and the one time she had jumped off the cliff with Alis earlier in the year. She holds up her hand in a placating gesture, "'Lis, all I was offering was a possible reason for what Ieana did. I do not know...awww hell 'Lis, I don't know why she came here! As far as we know this Island is just a graveyard for ships..." She glances sidelong at Priyya, "and also soon to be a hunting preserve for certain people.
She sighs theatrically, "We just do not have any answers. All I can tell you is Alton was wounded by Kovack, presumably. Sooo...it is possible they both know we are still alive." Looking over the edge of the cliff, she adds "I don't see anything down there which would entice her to take a dip!"
With a melancholy sigh, she opens the top of her pack, sheltering it with her body, to reveal the book she's been writing. "It ended up gettin' him killed, comin' back for this."
She thumps the cover twice before closing her pack once more. "It just wouldn't be right if I wasted his effort, you know? Figure I should at least stick around long enough to wrap things up..."
Priyya lowers her bow, surprised by what she is hearing. Her hand fiddles with the now deactivated magical pin, a talisman. Not for the first time, Priyya wishes Alis hadn't canceled the magic in it. It was so much easier to be soft when I was playing 'Sarah'.
"How do you know the book got him killed? Maybe he picked it up as an after-thought when he couldn't find anyone else alive. Maybe rescuing me, or Alis, or Gelik is what put him in harm's way. Alton gave his life so that the eight of us could live. I think it'd be a poor way to honor his sacrifice by dying before your time. If you want to repay his loss, take the second chance he's given you and live it to the full. Become a captain, sail the seas, fall in love, have children... do anything but enjoy your life, Aerys. He gave you the chance to do that; don't piss that gift away."
Mal ignores the conversation, engrossed with his survey of the cliff-face. "Well, feather falling would be fastest. But if you want to conserve your magic, we can rope down with little risk, I think."
"Well, my healing and flying magic is pretty limited, but I don't do much with the rest of it besides swim, jump from high places, and guide difficult-to-hit attacks."
She looks at Talvyra and pauses for a moment.
I don't even want to know how he gets her up and down a rope...
"Let's just feather fall, we're not far from where you saw that flying... thing and I'd rather not get picked off."
With that, you all take a running start and leap out over nothingness once again. Instantly, King Tut gives a little whimper and buries his head in her cleavage like an ostrich hiding its head in the sand.
"AAAaaah! Bad monkey! Hands off the treasure chest!"
A scant 2 seconds later, she calls out, "Featherfall," arresting the descent of herself, Mal, Priyya, and Tal whilst Lureene takes the scenic route down. Upon landing, Alis extricates her new pet and shakes a finger at him. "You better behave or you're going to get a spanking mister! You hear me?"
For his part however, Tut just gives a little smile and covers his ears making a sound like laughter. The princess' eyes narrow and she just shakes her head.
"Men," her tone is scornful, "it takes a year or more to ween them the first time around then after that all they can think about is starting again..."
Trying very hard to tune out the dialog between Priyya and Alis on the matter, Mal successfully picks up the trail once more and begins heading southwards at a good clip.
Survival Checks, base of cliffs
Perception Checks
Stealth Checks
Survival Checks
Perception Checks
Stealth Checks
[ REAVER'S SHIV: Map | Position (012) | Overland Rules ]
You skirt the tidal basin, keeping near the trees on the sloping hillside, Mal points out the lair of what would appear to be a gigantic crustacean of some sort albeit not a sea scorpion. Thankfully it appears that whatever it is not at home.
As you continue, the cloud cover begins to thin and by 1:00md, the Sun has raised a thick, hot haze dispelling the blessed cooling effect of this morning's rain shower. In the course of just an hour the temperate rises nearly 20 degrees to well over 100°!
Even Mal, who was feeling OK in the heat this time yesterday begins to flag under the oppressive heat although stoic as he is, he ignores it and instead makes certain that his fur-coated little sister remains cool.
By 2 in the afternoon, you find yourselves approaching a small campsite with a number of shelters built from driftwood, many of which seem to be collapsed. Amidst the rubble, stands a lone woman gazing forlornly in the middle of the camp staring out to sea. Even though Mal stumbles a bit from his fatigue as you approach, the woman hasn't noticed you yet.
Survival DC 15
Fort Saves DC 15
Perception Checks
Stealth Checks
Gelik gives a high-pitched scream and runs away from the water's edge. "Sasha, there's another over-sized thing with too many legs after meee!"
As the gnome goes running underneath the hunter's blind she has constructed, she peers thru the branches, noting the surprised grunt from Jask and the sound of Aerys cracking her knuckles.
However, when her eyes fall upon the rough red shell of a giant crab clambering up over the rocks and headed after Gelik, an almost feral grin splits her face. "Don't worry, I've got this one guys. Just see if her majesty has and butter stashed in that big chest of hers. I'm hungry!"
Not long thereafter, while still gazing at the woman standing up ahead, Lureene hears a familiar voice inside her mind. 'Missstress, does Alisss have any butter inssside her majessstic chessst? Sssasssha isss hungry.'
With a hand signal, Mal signals a halt and slowly backs off for the group to have a hushed discussion.
"Something isn't right here. She has vines wrapped around her. I don't know if she is some strange creature or bait."
Seeing Mal's fatigue, Priyya lays a light, cooling, hand on him as she looks at the strange woman and area closely.
Seeing that Mal is having trouble, Alis lays a hand on his arm and suggests quietly, "Mal, maybe you should cast endure elements on yourself. It's only going to get hotter and you've been working yourself pretty hard. Anyway, anything special about this woman or we go ahead and introduce ourselves? She certainly doesn't look like a giant cannibal from here."
Lureene's
Lureene does a double take on hearing Grak’s question in her mind. Butter? Why does she need butter? Fighting a creeping blush as one reason occurs to her, she responds quickly to Grak, ”Not now, Grak. Tell Sasha she will have to go without butter, for whatever she wants it for.”
Turning her attention to the strange woman, she recalls whether she has heard of anything like this before, however nothing comes to mind. She whispers a quick protective spell before she turns to the others,
”I don’t like this at all, but if she is friendly she may be able to point where Ieana and Kovack were headed. Let’s talk to her, I can charm her if she is actually human.”
Mal nods curtly and casts the spell on himself, instantly feeling a sense of relief from the oppressive heat. He says with a trace of humor, "Maybe she's a baby giant cannibal. We could just pass her by, eh? Chatting her up sounds like a diplomatic mission to me and I'm no diplomat. But I'll give it a shot, if you really want."
"Well if she's a baby giant cannibal then we need to go fetch Gelik right away." She winks. "Anyhow, I've already taken a beating from all the bugs so why don't you have a chat with our prospective baby giant cannibal. El I mean, not you Mal. Have to stick to everyone's strengths and all that you know."
Lureene nods at the others, while inwardly swallowing a knot in her throat. Still, this was something she was indeed …built for.
She approaches the woman, her hands open and spread out in a peaceful gesture. ”Hello there, my name is Ellie. Are you one of the shipwreck survivors, or do you live here? I just want to ask you some questions.” She waits for a response from the woman.
With her bow held casually, Priyya watches Lureene's 'tentative' approach. She leans over to Alis a bit, speaking out of the side of her mouth, "Maybe I should go with her. She looks a little bit like a deer I saw once... after I accidentally blasted it with my Daylight spell."
Lureene nervously approaches the woman, stuttering a bit as she speaks, her concentration shaken by the green tendrils that sprout from her arms and legs. At the introduction, the woman turns and moans softly, her eyes a milky-white color and her belly distended nearly to the point of bursting as if from a pregnancy gone horribly wrong.
At once, she lurches forward towards Lureene and you can hear a ripping sound as tiny rootlets that had sunk themselves into the ground from her bare feet and legs are torn free. She seem unperturbed by what should be agonizing pain and plods toward Lureene, hands outstretched. A pungent smell like overly ripe fruit or strong musk emanates from her.
"Well done, Lureene. It looks like she just wants a hug." Her ears perk up and she looks towards the south-east "Sounds like she's got some friends in need of a hug too, but I can't see them yet..."
Perception Checks
, Strange Woman, Mal
"Yeah... f&@< that hug! Lureene, fall BACK!"
It is a testament to her training and bloodthirsty nature that Priyya doesn't hesitate. The words aren't even out of her mouth as two of her arrows streak towards the Swamp Woman's eyes.
Full Round Act -
HIT:
DAM:
HIT:
DAM:
Priyya sinks two arrows into the woman's head which makes a sound not unlike firing on a gourd or melon. A thick, white fluid seeps from the wounds but the 'woman' seems to barely take notice.
"OK, well that's... unsettling," Alis says as she unholsters her 'sewing kit' and snaps off a pair of shots before backing off. Both quarrels stick but they really don't seem to have any effect at all.
"Priyya, are you sure this isn't some kind of undead?"
Priyya knocks another arrow, "If it's undead, it is unlike any I've ever seen... but I don't have a spell to tell for certain. I'm willing to blast it with Alita's holy light to see what happens. Hopefully, I don't end up healing whatever that is."