Thurden doesn't so much catch his pack as it thuds lightly into his chest and falls into his lap, the dwarf wincing painfully at the jarring. As he slowly begins rooting through the bag he corrects Reijo. 'You can't leave shellfish out in the sun long. It turns quickly.'
He gingerly recovers a scroll case from the pack, unstops it, removes one of the scrolls, and reads from it, the scroll disappearing in a flash and some of Thurden's wounds close. That acheived he takes the time to don his armor and collect his trusty scythe.
'Someone check to see if we're lucky enough to have gotten some butter in all that refuse' He says setting about collecting the dead creatures and preparing a kitchen area.
You can't leave shellfish out in the sun long. It turns quickly.'
Upon hreaing Thurden's words Sunny bounces to attention, gives him a jaunty "Aye!" of acknowledgment before scampreing about and beginning to gather the better remains together, dragging them into the shallow the better to 'keep' them as well as begin washing out all the gungy bits.
To the other folks gatheed about Sunny calls, "Here! Keeep an eye out fer lil' finnys come ta' nibble on'a scraps." She explains, "We can be usin' 'em lil' ones as bait fer later, like." digging some of ehr own gear out set sets about arrainging her net about in the shallow as a way of making a 'Fence' arund her washing station. The better to keep the large fishes from taking larger pieces, as well as corralling smaller fish to help keep for later.
"Folks be usin' choppers an' saws an' stuff ta' be makin' poles an long sticks." She suggests for people to help begin making useful items for the comming camp establishment.
(^_^)
Talk of food calms the angry, bloodied sailor a bit. He winces again as he reviews his own gear, spotting blood continuing to trickle from the more vicious flesh wounds. He then notices Thurden's wounds close up a bit after the seafood chef reads a scroll.
"Got another of those healy scrolls fer me by chance?" he asks with faint hope.
Wiping his own blood from his eyes, he palms his brass compass from his pack. Opening it, his eyes flit between it and the northern sky above. Getting lost in thought for a long moment, he performs the calculations in his head.
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Thurden pauses at his preparations and eyes the swarthy gentleman with a practiced eye. 'Let me have a look at you. Sit on this crate of hides.' The dwarf pokes and prods the young man, a bit firmly a first, but after the first few winces he lets up.
'Well, I was hoping to save it for an emergency, but I don't know that you'll live through the week if we let things take their natural course. Wait here.' Wiping his shellfish coated hands on his pants he draws forth the remaining scroll from his case as reads the incantaion.
"Hmmm... Maybe we can be workin' them thingys off,..." Sunny ponders...
The man obligingly holds out his shackles for inspection.
Assuming that she finds all her stuff, including her thieves' tools....
Is all our gear present?
The moody teen glances at the man in shackles appraisingly. "Who are you?" she demands. More to the point, she adds, "And why are you in shackles?"
The man smiled politely at Shaedeen.
He is a middle-aged, plain-looking Garundi man with hair starting to gray and watery eyes."I'm Jask Derindi. I'm in shackles because that Sargavan officer, what's his name? Anyway, he thought I might object to being hauled back to that cesspit Eleder. And he was right!" He said, seeming strangely upbeat for being shackled and dressed in rags. "Had me in an animal cage in the cargo bay. Hadn't seen the sun since I was captured... Until now."
He turned his face up to the sunlight and onshore breeze, shut his eyes and smiled dreamily.
"Ain't nobody in a uniform at the moment..."
And it's true, none of the castaways is wearing a uniform; although the woman with Ishirou rapidly dressed herself in well tailored masterwork studded leather and a fashionable tricorn hat.
You seem to recall a uniformed man at one of the Captains Table dinners. A heavy drinker. Sir Tybalt Bourchier maybe?
"The question I be wonderin' most is: 'who in the bloody hells took off all our shirts while we be sleepin'?"
No answer is forthcoming. Though Bellamy looks oddly innocent.
"No-Eyes" (so named for the eyepatches on both eyes) Bellamy helped Thurden get his stuff from the pile and offered him a drink from his flask.
"Hey Reijo boy!" He called out and stamped his foot into the white sands of the beach. "I be thinkin' we ain't aboard the ship no more!"
"Got another of those healy scrolls fer me by chance?" he asks with faint hope.
Bellamy walked over to Reijo and offered his flask.
"Here me boyo! Have a little nip of the good stuff!" He said.
'Someone check to see if we're lucky enough to have gotten some butter in all that refuse' He says setting about collecting the dead creatures and preparing a kitchen area.
But no such luck. The only equipment in the pile is each of your personal stuff. No camping or kitchen supplies are with you.
As Sunny busied herself with establishing a cooking station, she can find plenty of driftwood of all types for fashioning spits, brackets and firewood. There is no vessel big enough for boiling the creatures though, for the moment you have to make do with roasting.
But with everyone's stomach growling, everyone pitches in to scavenge a meal from the sea scorpions, tidepool crabs, coconuts and berries just inside the jungle line.
It might becomeing obvious that tanned an' nekkid on a beach is Sunny's natural habitat.
Jask seems appreciative of the view.
Bellamy seems to take no notice.Both Ishirou and the unknown woman blush deeply and turn away.
Sasha grinned and high fived her.
Yhendorn just seemed lost, sitting and staring out to sea.
Gelik looked shocked. He found a gunnysack, cut holes for arms and head, then pursued Sunny around the beach holding it out for her to cover her nakedness.
One of a thousand islands in the Shackles island chain, it's actually fairly close to the Mwangi coast and the shipping lanes to Eleder.
Pretty infamous for the rocky reef surrounding it that causes many shipwrecks.
Jask seems appreciative of the view.
Bellamy seems to take no notice.
Both Ishirou and the unknown woman blush deeply and turn away.
Sasha grinned and high fived her.
Yhendorn just seemed lost, sitting and staring out to sea.
Gelik looked shocked. He found a gunnysack, cut holes for arms and head, then pursued Sunny around the beach holding it out for her to cover her nakedness.
Sunny is more than happy to hug Shasha in return.
At someone comming at her threatening to throw a sack over her head Sunny simply has the tanned Elf squealing in delight and scampering away amidst peals of bright laughter.
Trying to 'corral' some one who's not affraid to disappear into the surf rather completely will have poor Gelik possibly rather flustered and frustrated.
Eventually Sunny tires of the running around and playing. Scamperiing over to the pile of equipment she gathers her stuff. Deftly draping her net about her tanned self and held in place with the sparkly bits of jewelry she's been collecting in her travels.
With her sticks tucked into her 'Scarf' belt. Her sword across her back she smiles at her freinds.
"So... where is we gon'a get ready fer sleepin' an' restin' an' gatherin' stuffs?" She asks every one, absently draping a tanned arm around Shasha's waist.
Shaedeen's facial expression softens from stern to neutral as the Garundi man semi-answers her questions. There's something instantly likeable about Jask--perhaps the fact that he's a fellow criminal--but Shae's learned the hard way to be cautious. After all, she'd been pretty close with some of her fellow Tower Girls...before they'd turned on her. Jask's easygoing manner might just be an act. And he hadn't actually answered her question satisfactorily.
Again hardening her expression, the scrawny teen continues to grill the man while taking a closer look at the manacles that confine his wrists.
"What I meant was: What crime are you alleged to have committed that warranted you being locked in manacles and kept in a cage belowdecks for weeks on end? Those manacles are pretty high-quality--we might need your jailor's keys to spring you."
Hmm...not sure if my sharp eyes and talented fingers can pop the locks or not...but there's no reason to mention that until we hear why he's in chains in the first place.
Annoyed by the lack of any of the mess proper making it ashore, Thurden digs out a waterproof pouch and begins digging through assorted vials and packets contained within. 'Bit of dried garlic, some dried Qadiran peppers, oregano, and of course, salt. Should be good enough.'
After arranging the mess area more to his liking, Thurden sets to work preparing the scorpions.
Pleased by the partial regrowing of the more grievous missing chunks of flesh all over the red sailor's body, he nearly almost thanks the dwarf for his sacrifice.
"I owe ya a drink, mate," he says with a nod.
Remaining seated on the crate, Reijo enjoys the view while responding to Jask. Recalling the name of the Sargavan officer, "Bourchier, was it?"
Spotting his old mate Bellamy, Reijo smirks. "An' what makes ye think that, ye crazed old coot? O'course we're still onboard!"
Smirking more deeply at the confusion he may have sown in poor Bellamy, he eventually lets out a loud "HAH!" as he slaps the blind man on the back. Though he himself winces at the exertion, the pain does not sour his (questionably) humorous mood.
"A bloody nice beach ta see too. Too bad..." His mood dims somewhat. That was not spoken to be cruel, but from sad realization.
He takes a deep drink from Bellamy's flask. "Ah! That's the good stuff, Blindey." And with that, much of Reijo's remaining wounds close up.
After pondering where they are, Reijo decides to keep that knowledge to himself for now.
Hearing Sunny, Reijo next ponders the sun's location to determine the time of day. He also ponders the best place to set up camp.
"What I meant was: What crime are you alleged to have committed that warranted you being locked in manacles and kept in a cage belowdecks for weeks on end? Those manacles are pretty high-quality--we might need your jailor's keys to spring you."
Jask frowned and turned his head back towards Shaedeen.
"Crime? Oh, right, you mean these." He said, shaking his shackles. "Perfectly straightforward. I was an initiate, working as a court clerk in Eleder. I discovered that high Sargavan officials were corrupt. I took my information to the Sargavan Justice. Turned out he was in on it. I escaped, took ship to Corentyn, hid out for ten years. Got snatched by an agent, put in manacles and put aboard ship by that Sargavan officer. Now I'm here." He said, then shrugged."How about yourself?" He asked, suddenly grinning at Shaedeen.
To the south, a wall of green rises in the form of a dense jungle
filled with a cacophony of life. To the east and west, ragged arms of jagged rocks reach out to embrace a wave-tossed cove, while to the north, the waters of the sea surge and churn between the beach and a line of razor-sharp rocks.
Working together collecting driftwood, you manage to cobble together a shelter, far enough from the water not to be swept out to sea, far enough from the jungle to not be eaten by bugs, and enough shade to not be cooked by the sun in midday.
The heat rose past a hundred deg F., and only the onshore breeze made it anything like bearable.
Now, you only need a source of water...
Running behind Sunny, you all round the point and there, unmistakably, is the Throaty Mermaid.
Well, probably. There's been some paint used to change her lines. There's a difference to her masts too, though you can't pin what is different down. Oh, and the nameplate on the bow reads "Jenivere". But all appearances aside, you feel certain that is the ship you sailed from the Inner Sea to... here on.
Even a cursory glance from rank amateurs is enough to confirm that the "Jenivere" will never sail again.
Only the fortuitous presence of a sharp ridge of rock near the side of the sheer cliff wall has prevented the wreck from sinking entirely into the sea, for only the ship’s stern seems to have survived the wreck. This portion is wedged at an angle between the cliff and the rocks, and each wave shakes and tosses the wreck alarmingly. It won’t be long before the constant pounding of the waves dislodges the wreck and allows the hungry sea to claim the last of this once-fine ship.
Not quite as afraid of the pounding surf and deeper waters Sunny begins checking for the safest and best way for her freinds to get over to the wedged vessel.
Helping and that it's probably another good excuse for the tanned (But at least wrapped) Elf to have fun splashing about in the surf.
(^_^)
Thurden stands on the shore picking bits of sea scorpion out of a carried carapace and eating them while watching Sunny splash in the sea.
'Mind the undertow, girl!' He calls out to her around a mouthful.
"I'm no criminal!" Shaedeen protests before belatedly realizing the man's question is likely about how she came to be shipwrecked...not what crimes she's committed.
"Oh...uh...I was just a passenger on the ship when we...when it.... Say, do you know what happened? Did we like hit a reef or something? I can't remember much beyond a big dinner party with the captain."
Thurden is satisfied with his cooking, and the result is an excellent Sea Scorpion meat that is better even than crab.
Jask's expression soured.
"I have no idea. I was locked in a cage in the cargo bay. Last thing I can recall is the usual slop being served by that pig of a cook." Jask recalled slowly.
He shook his head and shrugged.
"Couldn't you guys see anything up on deck?" He asked curiously.
But not a clue as to the why.
In late afternoon, clouds rolled over the skies, giving some relief from the suns heat. The slack tide has arrived.
Come the waning or the power of the tides Sunny is more than happy to help people get out to the ship.
As Thurden mulls recent events he muses out loud. 'Last time I got press ganged I woke up on a ship, not taken off of one.'
As the tide goes out and it becomes safer to approach the ship Thurden approaches the edge of the water and let's out a series of whistles and clicks out into the open water. Striding forward, he reaches a hand out and grips the dorsal fin of a passing dolphin and is pulled out towards the wreckage.
"Not terrible," Reijo remarks as he eats his share of scorpion meat with the other passengers, crew, criminals, and so forth.
When they gather to see the oddly different yet familiar ship, Reijo nods and grunts knowingly.
"Cap'n disguised his own ship. Didn't want it bein' identified..."
Reijo looks knowingly at Shaedeen as she denies criminality a bit too strongly.
He's been wondering as well about missing his memory between dining with the captain and waking up here...
Reijo grunts in agreement with the salty dwarf. "Aye. This'd be a first."
He stares a moment in wonder as the dolphin-rider finds his unusual mount. "A dwarf... ridin' a dolphin? Well. There's another first. Wonder what'll be next?"
"Aye, let's go have a looky-see..." After a chug of rum to wash the scorpion down, he's quickly onto the rock cliffs climbing over to the ship right behind Sunny.
Not trusting her swimming skills, Shaedeen accompanies Reijo to the cliff before finding that likely beyond her skill to scale as well. She gives the salty sailor a semi-glare before speaking.
"Not sure I can scale this cliff. How about I work on the captive's manacles and see if I can get him free? Or maybe we should wait 'til the rest of you explore the ship, but I think he's telling the truth. What say you?"
Sunny splashes about in the surf, trying to entice her freinds to come swimming across the the grounded ship.
(^_^)
Focused on not losing his grip, Reijo dismissively replies to Shae with a mildly annoyed, "Aye, aye..."
"Be sure Blindey's near when ye does," he then more attentively adds before the teen can take two steps away.
With a suspicious glare at the encampment, he more quietly adds for her benefit, "Trust noone, Kitty. Blindey'll watch yer back, though. Well. Figuratively, at least."
Curious as to the wreck of the Throaty Mermaid, or Jenivere, or whatever her real name might be, three former passengers are drawn to her.
Sunny swam out, slick as a Dolphin. Thurden called for aid, and a couple of dolphins helped him across. Reijo scuttled across the cliff face and slid down a line to her deck from above.
They met on the sharply slanting maindeck.
Up close, you can all see the Jenivere is missing much of her bow,
and although it’s only noticeable up close she’s also missing much of her lower deck.
All that survives are the upper decks, a portion of the captain’s cabin, and on the mid-deck, the larder, a supply room, the brig and galley.
Although the Jenivere’s only lifeboat at first seems to be missing, the fate of this smaller boat becomes clear—it was washed up between the ship and the cliff and was crushed by the action of the waves smashing the Jenivere against the cliff side.
Part of the lifeboat’s bow still lolls about in the surf, attached to a protruding timber by a thick rope, as if someone had moored the boat to the wreck.
As you explore, you realize the wreck is not completely abandoned, as once you duck your heads belowdecks you hear something on the lower deck is making a terrible racket. Something with a lot of claws.
Thurden's mind wanders to the galley, but the noise from below shakes him out of his reverie. 'I don't like the sound of that...'
Reijo grunts his disapproval.
"Pro'lly more ov'em crabbies. Like we ain't had enough crabby cakes today."
He scans around at all the wreckage.
"Well we best act smartly b'fore we lose more ship to the sea. But," he shakes the axe still in hand while drawing his loaded hand crossbow in the other, "we'd best make short work of them crawly critters first."
The red-clad scoundrel sneaks down, trying to get a glimpse of what's making that racket before it sees him.
After climbing aboard and simply shaking herself down to flick away most of the ocean water Sunny wanders around looking at all the devastation.
The big room at the back of the ship draws the Elf's attention the most. She remembers how the crew and her companions acted towards both the cabin and its ocupants.
She's brought up short, however, as Reijo and Thurdin peer into the darkness of the hold... space.
She picks up a long-ish peice of wood and also approaches cautiosly.
"Maybe we git some lunch, hey?" She suggests with a whisper even as she peers in/down.
Crawling and climbing around the wreck, you find an intact passageway. Peering up the hallway, you see the glittering eyes of Euripterids. They promptly scuttle towards you, claws and stingers raised...
Round 1 _____________
Players take their turn in order of posting, enemies will go last.