Cato’s arrow pierces the arachnid’s thorax. The spider goes limp and hangs lifeless in the web.
From the elevation of the escarpment you see the jungle 100 feet below to the east and farther east (about half a mile away) is a Large cove.
The Jungle plateau continues to the south and west . To the southwest you can see the cliff gives way to a third of a mile wide valley, beyond which another plateau rises.
Cato moves to cut the Ky out of the web with his longsword. "Good show, Mr. Zarek. Your first shot cracked the exoskeleton just enough for my arrow to penetrate to a vital organ. Are you alright, Ky?"
After ensuring Ky is not in further danger, he looks around the spider's lair, wondering if it caught any other people recently. The Captain, perhaps?
Ever so slightly, Kymayni blushed as Cato helped to clear the remaining webbing away. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine" she said, holding her arm where the spider's fangs had sunk in. "Might need a new pair of breeches though" she said with a nervous laugh.
Jamming her boarding pike into the dirt, she pulled the waterskin out of her back. She took a long drink and then used the rest to wash out the wound. Before popping the cap back on, she waved her hand over the opening and chanted the divine words to refill the skin. That done, she grabbed the pike from the ground. "We should continue on west. Get a view of the other side of the island."
Other than a few desiccated birds and a cocooned monkey corpse there is nothing of interest in the spider den.
Continuing to the west. The escarpment continues three quarters of the way into. From here You can see the lagoon to the northwest. South is a narrow valley. Southwest beyond the valley rises an expansive escarpment.
"Well!" Cato says with some excitement, "Look there! A hut by the lagoon." He thinks for a moment before sighing. "I shouldn't expect for something positive, should I? Perhaps we should check out the clearing that way?"
"If there is someone living in the hut, we might want to meet them and find out if they are freind or foe. We are still pretty close to camp, after all."
"Cato is right, if there is someone there they might have information we need or maybe items to barter." Zarek say while eyeing the hut.
"Well then...onward!"
Okay you are standing on the edge of a 100 foot cliff. It will be a 2 hour and 20 minute walk back down and around the escarpment reach either the hut or the clearing
Oh by the way it begins to rain lightly.
Or
You could try climbing down the 100 foot cliff.
So what do you want to do?
"If it wasn't for the rain, I'd risk the climb" Ky said, staring out over the escarpment.
"Let's go. At least the trees may spare as the worst of the rain...I hope" she dared, looking up, apprehension on her face.
You reach the bottom of the ridge in an hour and are back at the Crab beach. Will you be following the lagoon beach or the inland jungle to get to the Hut?
By the way, it stopped raining.
"I hope there is someone home that could give us a lead or at least a place to dry out a little bit. Zarek says while ringing the rain water out of his hair.
With a shrug, Cato suggests sticking to the lagoon. "We might see an occupant easier using that approach. "
Following the open lagoon beach with its ocean breezes is a welcome change from the sweltering insect ridden jungle.
Yes it would be perfect. Except for…
Well... You actually see nothing but the nice beach. Until the two giant crabs burst out of the sand.
Surprise !!!
1C 2K 3Z
1C 2K 3Z
Wow, both attack Cato!
Hit!!
To Cato
Probably not grabbed
"Ow! Bloody hells! Get off of me! Cato shouts. He speaks a word of magic and tries to conjure a bright red flash of light before the clawing crabs eye stalks.
But wrestling with a large crab makes it impossible to focus.
Kymani shuffled closer to the crab before stabbing out with her boarding pike.
"Must you play with your food?"
"At least we know what is for lunch!" Zarek says sarcastically as he picks up a large rock and smashes it down onto the northern crab before moving closer to engage.
Ky’s pike thrust leaves the crab bleeding copious amounts of blue blood. But it continues its attack on Cato
Zarek’s rock crack the other crab's shell but does not stop it.
The other crab attacks the Gnome
"Ow! Ow! Get it off me, get it off me!" shouts an injured Cato. He leaps back, barely managing to slip from its grasp and casts a healing spell.
"There is a place in Absalom that has 'all you can eat' crab. I'm going there when I get off this bloody island!" He tells his aggressor in an enraged voice.
"I'm really starting to hate this island."Zarek mutters to himself, the air beginning to swirl as he gathers silvering strings of aeither and coalescing it into a blade and attempts to plunge it into the crab.
Too close for her boarding pike to be effective, Kymani stomped on the grab, again and again.
Ky’s attack quickly turns the crustation into jumbo lump crab meat.
While Zarek’s psychic sword thrust leaves the other crab teetering on broken legs and a punctured shell. But it continues to attack Zarek.
Miss!
Hit!
not grabbed
With a hand on the shell of the no longer moving crab, Kymani leapt over it, landing in the sand with a flourish of spray. She grabbed her boarding pike and shoved it at the live crab, sending the tip deep into it's flesh.
Cato finds himself reaching a bit of breaking point in his building frustrations and lashes out at the crab with his sword and a well-placed jabbing lunge. Before his blade hits, he see's Ky crack into the pest and feels certain she took it out, but he follows through on the attack.
"How are we gonna prepare crab this time?" Zarek says sarcastically while assessing his wounds.
The remaining crab is completely impaled by Ky’s pike and nearly slashed in two by Cato’s strike. It collapses in an untidy heap on the beach.
"We need to get back soon, but the prospect of a survivor on this island thriving makes me say, 'hurry along!'" Cato says rubbing the mostly healed wound from the crab.
You make good time sticking to the beach and encounter no more crabs. Arriving at the hut. Which you see is actually the remains of a small camp.
This campsite consists of several small shelters made from driftwood—all have mostly collapsed.
A shambling corpse that has pale yellow skin and stark white eyes. Its clothes hang in tatters around its decaying form. stands forlornly in the middle of the camp, staring vacantly out to sea.
"Hmpph. Zombies. Is there no end to this accursed island?"
Kymani moved closer to the zombie, boarding pike in hand, her eyes darting around the seemingly abandoned campsite.
"Missed your boat did ya?"" she called out, hoping to draw the zombie's attention.
Cato stares at the zombie and listens to Ky's words. Something clicks in his head and his eyes grow wide. "Ky...that's a zombie, sort of. It isn't the typical undead variety, though, but a plant called a 'yellow musk zombie!'"
Cato shouts out, "They're a little quicker than an undead zombie, but you pretty much just need to use basic violence!" He pulls his bow and takes a shot.
Moving a little closer Zarek lifts one of the stones from what used to be the fire pit and launches it at the walking corpse while saying "Did I mention I'm really starting to hate this island? Think I might have mentioned it before."
The creature turns slowly when Ky speaks. Then begins to shamble in her direction.
Cato’s arrow sinks to the fletching in the Zombie’s midsection. While Zarek’s rock slams into its head, sounding much like hitting a tree. It continues to move.
Walking up and attacking Ky.
Ky completely impales the shambling zombie, ending its existence.
A search of the remains of the camp reveals
You find nothing else of interest or use in the camp. There is however a well worn trail leading south.
"Whatever happened here, it did not end well." She kicked the sand out of frustration.
"We need to make a choice. We're not likely to catch up with the Captain if we have to retreat to the others at camp every night. I have to imagine he and his companion are making directly for whatever objective they have, and we won't catch them like this. If we want answers, we're going to have to pursue them with intent."
"I don't know what to do" she said, shoulders slumped. "We shouldn't abandoned the others, especially if getting off of this dung heap is our goal, but letting the captain and that...whatever she is, escape with answers, and without recompence, just doesn't seem right either..."
She kicked the zombie one more time for good measure.
"Maybe we could find a better place to hold up, somewhere that is more safe? That way the others can stay there while we increase our efforts on locating the Captain."
"I knew it was too much to hope for a survivor of one of these other wrecks. It doesn't bode too well for us, does it? Which is why we need to stick together. We keep looking for signs of the Captain and his associate as we go."
"Wait a minute. Something..." Cato says as he bites his lip and looks around. "Ah! Of course! Ky, Mister Zarek, that path! Tropical forests grow at an astounding rate, no path could survive without consistent use! Let's go!" he says somewhat excitedly and rushing toward it.
A little over 5 minutes of travel along the trail (You figure travel is about twice as fast on the trail) the trail curves to the Southwest. From this point you figure it is about 10 minutes through the jungle to the clearing.
Do you continue to follow the trail, or head toward the clearing?
"Well, lead on then."
Rounding the curve, Zarek takes a quick look around.
"I think we should check out the clearing more before moving on. I don't want to miss anything before we move on."
After another 10 minutes of hacking and trudging through the heavy jungle filled with bright flowers on thorny vines and biting insects. (This island is definitely a tropical paradise.)
You arrive at a fifty-foot-diameter clearing in the jungle that allows the sun to beat down upon a field of wilted-looking plants, their leaves a sickly, diseased yellow. At the center of the clearing stands a large, bulbous plant and its tall-stalked, twitching yellow flowers, attended by 3 Zombies, that turn to look in your direction.
Create Yellow Musk Zombie (Su)
As a full-round action, a yellow musk creeper can bore dozens of tendrils into the brain of a helpless creature within reach, such as a creature entranced by its pollen. This attack inflicts 1d4 points of Intelligence damage per round. When a creature is reduced to 0 Intelligence, it dies, and the tendrils break off inside its brain. One hour later, the creature animates as a yellow musk zombie (see below).
Pollen Spray (Ex)
As a standard action, a yellow musk creeper can spray a cloud of pollen at a single creature within 30 feet. It must make a +4 ranged touch attack to strike the target, who must then succeed on a DC 14 Will save or be entranced for 1d6 rounds. An entranced creature can take no action other than to move at its normal speed into a space within the yellow musk creeper’s reach, at which point an entranced creature remains motionless and allows the creeper to insert tendrils into its brain. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Yellow Musk Zombie A yellow musk zombie is a rotting creature from which wet green vines have sprouted. Treat a yellow musk zombie as a standard zombie, but with this special quality.
Plant Traits (Ex) This zombie’s animation is provided not by necromancy but by the plant that grows throughout its body. Yellow musk zombies lack undead traits, but gain plant traits. They are treated as plants, not undead, for the resolution of magical effects and attacks. Channel energy cannot harm a yellow musk zombie, for example, nor does negative energy heal a yellow musk zombie.
"Not your normal zombies...Cato, are those more of those lemon meringue zombies? And what's that thing in the middle? I don't like this."
Before moving in, Kymani takes the time to summon her mage armor.
Cato knows exactly what the flower is, and can confirm these are more of the 'lemon meringue' zombies. "Yes, more of those zombies, and the flower? That's a yellow musk creeper! Stay back! It can spray you with a debilitating pollen at point blank range! It can turn you into one of those zombies!" Cato remains where he is and takes aim at the flower.
"What the hell is up with all these zombies! I hate zombies!!" Zarek exclaims before using aether to pick up a rock and hurl it toward the closest zombie.
Cato’s arrow sinks to the fletching in the plant, causing a puff of sickly yellow pollen. The Gnomes rock however misses the mark.
All three of the Plant-Zombies charge our heroes. One attacking each.
Cato
Ky
Zarek
Looks like only Cato is hit.
Caught somewhat offguard by the sudden charge of the zombie, Zarek begins to coalese silvery strands of aether around his dagger. In one quick move, he attempts to plunge it into the zombie before him.
With the zombie too close for her boarding pike, Kymani lashed out, first with her right leg, and then her left.
Cato grunts from the pain of the zombie's impact and moves out of it's reach to cast a spell of healing before he's killed by a zombie.