Wardove's Rumble in the Jungle

Game Master Laithoron

"A retainer?" Aycenia's brow wrinkles a bit at the polite yet cryptic evasions from Priyya and Lureene and she looks at the woman Malandraenas and Lureene introduced as Alis.

"Many reasons?" Sasha asks, clearly confused. "I thought we were coming here to see if the tree spirit would help us out with the giants."

"That would be one of the reasons, Sash."

"Oooh right and we were gonna sneak attack 'em from the sea, that's right!" The redhead seems quite pleased with herself for remembering that all on her own.

Priyya sighs, hoping to have gotten through introductions first. She raises a hand to stay other comments.

"We have friends captured by the giants that we need to rescue. There is also a sorceress on the island who is here for reasons we need to ferret out - for she precipitated the deaths of nearly the entire crew of our ship. Some of us - meaning me - have an interest in seeing the Red Mountain Devil destroyed or vanquished. All of us are seeking a way back to the mainland... although I am growing quite fond of this island. And not a few of us would be disposed to remove the corrupt giants roaming this place." She looks at the others. "Is that a good synopsis of it?"

Eek! Ninjas! BTW, Mal introduced everyone in Druidic before Aycenia switched to common.

Alis smiles gently at the mildly confused tree spirit. "Forgive us for being secretive. You see, we captured and enspelled two giants yesterday from the tribe that has been attacking us. They said to keep away from the north side of the bay near their village claiming an evil tree spirit lived here."

The dryad's eyes go wide for a moment at the implication that she is evil but Alis continues. "Well, given that the giants are cannibals and not philosophers, that they pay tribute to that winged devil that hunts in the night, that even villains seldom see themselves as such, we suspected that evil doers such as them might name a thing or being evil simply for frightening or opposing them."

"Like Priyya says, the giants have our friends and are helping a murderous wizardess. We mean to save our friends and uncover that callous woman's plot."

After a brief pause to let all of that sink in, she adds, "Can you help us Aycenia?"

BACK you crazy Ninjas!!

"We have friends captured by the giants that we need to rescue. There is also a sorceress on the island who is here for reasons we need to ferret out - for she precipitated the deaths of nearly the entire crew of our ship. Some of us - meaning me - have an interest in seeing the Red Mountain Devil destroyed or vanquished. All of us are seeking a way back to the mainland... although I am growing quite fond of this island. And not a few of us would be disposed to remove the corrupt giants roaming this place." She looks at the others. "Is that a good synopsis of it?"

Lureene gives Priyya a steady look, before she nods slowly "I agree with what you say, Priyya. Actually, I would not mind it if we could destroy that foul devil, if only to keep Ieana from forging an alliance with it!" She adds for Aycenia's benefit, "Ieana is the wizardess' name."

Priyya inclines her head to Lureene, "I didn't want to speak for the rest of you out of turn."

Upon hearing of your plight from Priyya and Alis, Aycenia gasps in horror before a look of sadness and sympathy casts a shadow across her beauty. "I remember when those giants first came here from over the waves, it was many years ago now. They were not always depraved, but they have ever been warlike, that much has not changed. Yet it was not from within that their hearts were blackened so."

"No, that is something else. It was here before the giants, before the colonists who built that stone tower, even before I was a sapling. Through the roots of my tree I can sense it. There are ancient things and secrets below this island, though I know not what or where they are."

"Yet you already know the giants are not the only evil here if you have seen that devil. It is a cruel and ravenous blood-drinker and has killed many of my animal friends and others like yourselves. That those giants worship it like a god is only all the more foul! I can tell you that it lairs near a hill with ancient stones by the mouth of the river at the foot of the red mountain."

"However," a shudder raises goosebumps on Aycenia's frail figure, "they are not what I most fear. A hideous blight causes suffering to my realm, a strange fungus that surely spreads from the grey and silent island north of here. There is nothing that I can do about it. Even if I had the courage to leave my tree, I am afraid of what it would do to me..."

She takes Priyya and Alis' hands in hers and looks at them with imploring eyes. "Please, if you can help save my realm I will lend whatever magic and aid I can to assist you!"

Strangely moved by the dryad's plea, Priyya looks softly on the woman and strokes her cheek before saying with her usual humor "I like this island and wouldn't mind spending more time here. I'd be a poor future neighbor if I didn't help out, wouldn't I? If we can rescue our friends before they become dinner... I'll happily set aside a reckoning with that Devil to deal with the blight. Alis, any objections or should we divide our efforts?"

Lureene feels a sense of compassion, and touching Aycenia's arm she gives the dryad a reassuring smile. "I know how scared you are, not being able to do anything, but rest assured I will help you as best as I can."

While Lureene comforts the dryad, Mal pulls Priyya and Alis aside. In a hushed tone, he says, "The last time we split up," he tips his head at Sasha, "three people got captured."

Despite the fact that Mal goes thru the motions of walking away a bit and speaking in a low voice, pretty much everyone can hear him — a fact he does not seem overly concerned about.

Priyya's smile at Mal is maybe a bit too cheerful. "Not true! That was the first time we split up. The last time we split up, you and I... beheaded a couple of giants." She gets a faraway look briefly then snaps out of her daydream abruptly, "But your point is well taken, Mal. Let's stay together if that is feasible."

Not far away, Sasha gives a huff and rolls her eyes, clearly having overhead Mal's comment.

Ignoring her, Alis remarks in the same hushed tone, "Well, I guess we can't know now what sort of trouble everyone would have gotten into if we had stuck together. For all we know, splitting up decoyed the scouts and bought us time. Still, I agree that splitting up any further could be... problematic. If we actually get into a fight, we'll certainly need all the help we can get..."

Lureene nods at Alis, ”Yes, I agree we should all stick together, no matter what happens. As for what to tackle first…” her voice trails off in thought. Alis gets the impression Lureene meant something else in addition to the obvious meaning. She cannot help but see the hurt in the succubus' eyes.

She turns to Aycenia, and softly asks, ”Aycena, we do want to help you with this blight, but our friends are in mortal danger. We think they will be feasted on before the night is over. If you could tell us how far away this island is from your grove, then we can get a better idea how much time we have.”

"The blighted island is about nine miles north of here, west of the great round pool."

She squeezes Lureene's hand, looking deep into her eyes, "Please though, if your friends are in immediate peril, save them first! You can retreat here afterwards if you are able so long as you promise to save the jungle once you have recouped your strength."

Aycenia kneels on the ground and at a mental command from her, the ground shifts forming a representation of Reaver's Shiv. She points to the large island west of the tidal basin. "The blight has been spreading for not even half as long as the giants have been here, but each year it grows more quickly. Even though I may not have much time, a decade or two at most, it is still much more than a single night!"

Sense Motive DC 15 (everyone): When she mentions a decade as 'not being much time', it suddenly occurs to you that Aycenia must indeed be quite old to think 10 or 20 years is a cause for urgency.

"Hmm, yeah that's definitely too far to go there and get back in time I'd say..."

A sudden thought occurs to Sasha and she snaps her fingers. "Hey, couldn't her princess just send the navy and a bunch of wizards to burn the blight away after we get out of here? You're gonna be the governor and all that right, your Alisness?"

Aycenia looks more than a bit alarmed at the possibility of anything getting firebombed, not to mention a cadre of fire mages and a navy. The fact that Alis is a princess and a governor doesn't seem to mean anything to her.

"You would ask fire mage to burn down the silent island? What if the smoke from it poisoned the animals? What if that spreads the spores further? Please, my roots tell me that this is a supernatural blight that sickens the land!"

Priyya puzzles through what the dryad has said and what her gut tells her. "Aycenia, if 10 years is the blink of an eye to you, still the sun will rise and set many times before the blight gets closer to you. We can rescue our friends and turn our attention to the blight with just a few rising and settings of the sun. Is there some problem that makes the wait of just a few days hazardous? Does something come quicker than the blight?"

"You don't have to worry, Aycenia, I wouldn't order anyone to burn down the island. And if I send ships here, it would be only to finish the lighthouse so that no other ships will ever be wrecked by the razor coast of Rea–" she hesitates for a moment, "of your home. They would also ensure that no pirates ever bother you here again."

"Hmm, yeah that's definitely too far to go there and get back in time I'd say..."

A sudden thought occurs to Sasha and she snaps her fingers. "Hey, couldn't her princess just send the navy and a bunch of wizards to burn the blight away after we get out of here? You're gonna be the governor and all that right, your Alisness?"

Lureene shakes her head at Sasha ”Aycenia is right. We don’t know what kind of blight this is, or whether it is resistant to fire, or what.”

She faces the others, ”Something else just occurred to me. Could it be possible Ieana is searching for the source of this blight? If that is the case, then we definitely need to investigate further, and destroy it before Ieana gets her hands on it!”

"Pirates? I don't understand what you mean. The only person here beside the giants is the mad tengu who lives by the great pool. No one bothers me here even now..."

At Priyya's words, Aycenia nods in agreement. "No, no, that would be more than enough time, if you come back and are able."

"Well, if Ieana is looking for the source of it then her sense of direction needs some work. Her path takes her in practically the opposite direction."

Suddenly something occurs to Mal and he leans down and whispers something in Priyya's ear.

'Lis, I would not discount the possibility so cavalierly. We still know very little about her, but if she is interested in the source of the blight...As for why she is with the giant cannibals, maybe she needs helpers to make her way down to the other island, since she cannot get there on her own."

"Pirates? I don't understand what you mean. The only person here beside the giants is the mad tengu who lives by the great pool. No one bothers me here even now..."

"Tengu? What do you know of him?"

"So you called it the grey and silent island. What kind of creatures live there? Are the animals gone? Are there undead beings there?" Not knowing if the dryad is familiar with the concept of undead, she adds. "Creatures that were once alive but now are dead, yet still move."

Suddenly something occurs to Mal and he leans down and whispers something in Priyya's ear.

Priyya answers openly, "Well, you're not just a pretty face, are you? I think you've hit on it."

Aycenia seems a bit confused by Priyya's question, but does her best to answer. "All the plants that once grew there have died. No animals will go there and even winged creatures do not fly near it. There are things that move, but it is hard to say if they were ever alive or dead."

"Tengu? What do you know of him?"

"Oh the tengu? He hasn't been here very long, only a few years I should say. There was once a mighty crab that lived in the great pool. The little ones there now are her offspring. She died not too long before the wreck that trapped the tengu here and he now lives in her belly on the south side of the pool."

"He talks to people I cannot see. Since they leave no foot-prints and don't ripple the water I think they may only be in his head. I thought it best to leave him alone. Even the giants never harry him."

'Lis, I would not discount the possibility so cavalierly."

"Why do you think I'm being cavalier? If we split up enough to cover every possible spot she could be interested in, we'd end up facing her either two or one on one. I don't like those odds, not when her spellcasting outstrips our so greatly. It's called playing the odds, El. I just think it's more likely that she's interested in something further south than Quellig's stash or this blight. Just look at the map, she practically walked right past them."

After looking at Lureene for a moment she asks, "Would you feel better if I did another reading? You didn't seem too enthusiastic about it when I did one a few hours ago..."

After looking at Lureene for a moment she asks, "Would you feel better if I did another reading? You didn't seem too enthusiastic about it when I did one a few hours ago..."

Lureene pulls Alis aside away from the others, and talks to her privately.

Alis looks a bit surprised when Lureene pulls her aside, but after the two begin talking she returns the succubus' hug in earnest.

The princess leans back a bit, blue and indigo eyes looking deeply into each other. Alis brushes a lock of hair out of Lureene's face before putting a hand on her warm cheek and giving her a kiss.

With that, Alis takes her friend by the hand and returns to the rest of you. "Well, Lureene really had to twist my arm, but she finally convinced me that consulting the cards on Ieana's goals might not be such a bad idea..."

Aycenia cocks her head to the side when Alis takes off her backpack, kneels on the ground, and remove the silver pouch containing her lavishly illustrated Tarot cards. The dryad looks to the olive-skinned woman beside her for guidance on what is going on before kneeling beside the princess, hands folded in her lap, curiosity firmly peaked.

She seems almost entranced as Alis speaks to herself in Sylvan, thin fingers shuffling and bridging the deck multiple times. Yet when Alis bridges the cards for the fifth time, Aycenia nearly jumps when a card springs free and flips thru the air to land on her skirt.

The dryad's golden eyes meet Alis' and she says with no small hint of surprise, "One slipped out!"

*sigh* I must be all jittery after that last kiss.

"Oh, that happens sometime," Alis says. For a moment she looks chagrined and about ready to shuffle the card back into the deck when something gives her pause.

"Aycenia, turn it over and tell me what you see without minding the words at the bottom..."

The Goal: What does Ieana seek?

With equal parts hesitation and curiosity, Aycenia picks up the card cupping it in both hands as if it were a wounded bird. She turns it over in her hands noting the texture and recognizing that the object itself was once part of a living tree now transformed and used to bear artwork.

I wonder if he minded, it is certainly pretty...

Upon feeling a delicate hand rest on her slender shoulder, she looks to see Alis smiling at her and giving a nod of consent. The living tree spirit takes a deep breath and begins to describe what she sees, "There is a great beast guarding a powerful, fiery orb, but a woman without has tamed it with only her empty hands. It looks like the woman and the beast are on a span made of stone, not a natural one, but worked stone like when the men built that tower. The orb is in the center of the span but it doesn't look big enough to block the way. All around the woman and the beast, are birds and cats but they are not fighting. The animals too seem tamed or enraptured. There are sprites and a shrine too..."

Aycenia looks to Alis and then up to Priyya as if seeking to know if she answered correctly.

Lureene gazes at the card almost enraptured by the imagry described by Aycenia. She would be the first one to say she did not understand the divination art, but still it did not take a genius to figure out the key elements...

"I...I believe the woman represents Ieana, while the lion is the leader of the Giants, who she has tamed. The orb is what she seeks, but what is representing the orb..." She shrugs helplessly.

Alis smiles back at the dryad and says something to her in Sylvan that makes Aycenia smile before returning the card.

She gives a knowing look to Priyya and gives Lureene a warm smile at her suggestion before looking at the Strength card herself. She studies it for a moment and adds to what the dryad said, "So it would seem that what Ieana seeks is to gain control over some sort of monster that guards a source of power — one that lies along the path she wishes to follow. The other animals are of no concern to her, though they flock to that place as if they know it well. Aycenia, do you know where the giants offer their sacrifices to the Red Mountain Devil?"

Aycenia nods. "Yes the place where they offer it tribute is on that hill I mentioned, the one with the ancient..."

She looks at the card again and notes what the offering brazier rests upon.

"...stones," she finishes more than bit of surprise showing in her exotic features. Her eyes seems to almost glow like amber held up to the setting sun and she asks, "So does that mean this sorceress seeks some power she thinks that old devil controls?"

"...and that her only interest in the giants is in having them show her the way."

Lureene chimes in, "So, that means we need to make sure she cannot offer a sacrifice to the Devil. She will then lose her bargaining chip for the devil. Therefore, we need to make sure to rescue Kovack as well!"

"That could very well be..." With that, she puts away the Tarot deck and says, "We need to come up with a plan on how we want to proceed..."

OK, heading to be for the night. Nice progress today btw. I'll have to update ye olde mappe on the morrow! :)

"...Therefore, we need to make sure to rescue Kovack as well!"

Priyya remains non-committal. She pulls Mal aside:

Mal's lip twitches a bit at Priyya's comment but he nods silently knowing the truth of it.

Better than being eaten alive...

Alis bites at the corner of her mouth a bit at Priyya's whispered observation before clapping her hands on her thighs and rising to her feet, a hand extended to the dryad. "Aycenia, is there anything you call tell us about the giant's village and defenses that might avail us?"

Lureene's eyes flash a burning shade of crimson as she overhears the comment, and rises to her feet to say something to the fiery priestess. When she sees Mal nod in agreement, she sighs and decides to let it go. I hope and pray it does not come to that. They should not suffer any more than is necessary.

"Their defenses?" The dryad takes the princess' hand and rises back to her feet in a single graceful movement without any of the stiffness that a man might know from straining their knees and ankles for so long.

"The trees tell me that... there is an open space in the ground beneath their camp, they feel with their roots that it is a foul place now but... it was not always so. Yet..." she stares off into the distance as if focusing upon something far away, something that makes her shudder. "Yet even the waves that carved out that place have touched upon something here long before me, something that should have remained buried... They say that they have seen the giants throw sacrifices down it from the fire pit in their camp and that slavering things rejoice in it!"

She looks up with a look of revulsion on her face, "It is the giant's afterlife here in the world of the living!"

"You said waves carved out a place beneath their camp?"

Aycenia nods, holding hugging herself as if from a sudden chill.

"So there must be sea caves below the cliffs then... Is there anything else you know?"

She cocks her head to the side. "They keep lookouts, usually two of them. They stand gazing north over the bay ever vigilant for approach by sea or the path that leads to their camp along the ridge from the east."

She points to the map Sasha is annotating, noting the trail on the eastern shore of the bay.

"Also, there are things that were once giants, now barren of flesh like trees devoid of leaves. They stay in a pen on the east side that guards the way to their witch to the south. The master of the tribe dwells in the stone tower at the north-west corner of their camp. They keep... their chattel in a pen south of the tower, west of the witch, it is opposite from the way into their camp at the north-east where a vicious lizard lays in wait. The fire-pit leading below is in the center of it all."

Her shoulders suddenly slump as if in weariness and Alis quickly moves to hold the taller woman. "That is all that I can see thru the jungle's eyes."

Mal points to the Sun, now only about 2 hours from the horizon.

"The trail is no good, we'd be lit-up and staring into the Sun trying to spot any guards. And for once the skies are clear, even Brightpool will light us up."