N'goka frowns at her discovery. "These men were cannibals, we should take care with any further encounters."
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Seeing the humanoid fingerbones, N'goka calls upon the spirits for guidance and examines the bodies of the fallen men for signs of kuru, or similar ailments that afflict the bodies of those who consume the flesh of their kin...
N'goka attempts to plug another arrow into one of the sun-touched men, attempting to adjust her aim with a muttered prayer, as both have engaged her companions in furious melee, and the rapid movements of so many bodies are frustrating.
Redstripe, having closed into melee, cuts loose with a flurry of scythe-like leg talons and a snapping bite, accompanied by a somewhat humorous sounding 'honk' from the colorful crest-like structure atop his snout.
If necessary, N'goka takes a single step back, to avoid being within immediate striking range of her target, and unleashes a second arrow, preferably at a target that isn't already within melee combat with one of her companions.
As she does, she also whistles for Redstripe to move forward and engage, and he does, choosing the closest of the charging men and attempting a single slash with the blade-like talons extending from the sides of his legs.
N'goka screams a reply to their aggressive posture, a wordless cry of challenge, and launches an arrow at the attacker on the left.
Redstripe trembles, but is unsure if he should also attack, and merely waits, hopping from foot to foot, impatiently.
North seems as good a choice as any. Back to the beach and then around the island along the shore. Perhaps we can find some sign of the smuggler's for which this island is named, and... arrange passage off of this place. N'goka doesn't sound like she expects to be able to barter passage from whatever smugglers use this island to store cargo temporarily, particularly given the chance that such smugglers are ferrying *human* cargo.... Barring any dissent, she calls Redstripe to her side and proceeds north to the beach.
As they prepare to explore, N'goka will commune with the spirits for guidance, mostly to bolster her own confidence, and then quietly address Ishiro, We will be seeking out food, and a safer campsite, as well as any possible means off of the island. Please keep your warrior's blade at the ready, and look out for the others. She attempts to flatter him with the implication that she regards him as the most competent warrior of the group, and that he alone would be trusted with such a responsibility.
N'goka prays to the spirits in the morning, strengthening her connection to them, so that she may call upon them for guidance more readily in this unusual situation. She redraws the lines of ash upon her face, with a cross-like pattern, starting at her hairline and extending down to her chin, crossing above her eyes, dominating the image. The shaking woman should be restrained, so that she does not damage herself, or run into danger from the torments of the evil spirits leaving her body.
N'goka notes the missing gnome only in passing, having groggily confused him with the other gnome during the night. In the morning, after hearing of his being taken away, she clucks to Redstripe, who diligently remains close to her leg sometimes for ten minutes at a time before she has to remind him... Whatever took our navigator may find similarly sized prey tempting, so it would be safest for Vix, Redstripe, Tariro and Gelik to remain close at hand, in case of another attack. Our navigator has been taken. An ill omen indeed. Are we truly lost?
N'goka gets up, eager to find a site that will prove more secure from local animal aggression, something with at least one back to a wall of some sort...
Sargava? Nice? Not particularly, N'goka replies to Gareth's query, But it is as close to what some call civilization as the Expanse holds, for those who are not native. Unlike almost every other outlander settlement in these lands, it isn't entirely a festering hive of criminals fleeing crimes worthy of execution in distant lands. With a toothy grin, she adds, Still, the Chels consider their Sargavan cousins 'unsophisticated,' which, in my eyes, means they can't be all bad...
N'goka agrees with Jask that nobody should work during the hottest hours around noon, and adds, Drink nothing that the spirits have not provided and cleansed. We have no medicines here for those who grow ill or feverish. Privately to the little gnome, whom she remembers never shut up during their journey, even if he's been a bit subdued since the shipwreck, Does your arsenal of tales include any of daring rescues of the survivors of shipwrecks? Preferably a stirring tale of survivors working together to survive? Such a story might be useful to stir the drunkard out of her soul-sickness, and inspire the whimsical lass to be a bit more helpful. She treats the gnome like he's a valuable addition to the survivors, and not at all like the two she has just privately dismissed, to give him the idea that he's 'part of the gang' and that she's trusting him with something important.
N'goka has fairly quickly decided that the alcoholic half-elf and the laughing woman are in some sort of shock, or perhaps just naturally useless, and focuses her attentions on Jask and Ishirou. Jask seems friendly enough, and the two-faced god of magic is known to her, both as a potential protector, and a potential destroyer, fickle and fearsome. Engaging the former prisoner seems wise, and she invites him to assist in dividing up the food. Ishirou seems quiet, perhaps resigned to some fate, but as he did the task she assigned him back on the beach without complaint, she asks him again to help her prepare the sea scorpion for them to eat, figuring that whatever game Gareth brings back can be eaten later. She flat-out forgets the presence of the gnome, in her attempt to get the castaways involved in their own survival...
N'goka, of the Omekai, she says to Joao, and your name? setting down whatever she was carrying heavily, clearly exhausted from the trek, although she's made no comment about it.
Indeed. These are ready for transport, N'goka says, hoisting the dead scorpions either aboard the pony, or on a makeshift travois to drag. We need to find a secure place, before the night comes, and whatever eats *these* comes to find a new meal...
The only gear we found on the ship is the supplies we brought back, priest. N'goka replies to Jask's query. Perhaps you can use a bit of the lumber as a club or stave, if we are again beset by creatures such as these. she adds, gesturing at the bodies she and Ishirou are preparing for travel to wherever they are to eventually set up camp. There was, however, a holy symbol of your god of magic, that must have been yours. Check the supplies...
Barring a sudden press to move out, N'goka will hoist the scorpion-things to drain, using a length of rope, so that the meat does not grow overly foul to the taste from corrupting fluids within. While she knows that the spirits can make the meat safe to eat, the spirits will not be so kind as to make it a *pleasant* experience, if she doesn't take at least basic precautions... She calls over to the silent man with the strange sword. Ishiro, would you assist me? She has no need of the quiet man's aid, but wishes to engage him, believing that a too-quiet man with too-idle hands is a dangerous thing waiting to happen. Hanging the beasts from the side of the little man's pony may end up being the solution of choice, or from a stick held by two of the travellers, if they set into motion, and she explains this to Ishiro, if he comes to assist. This meat is safe, so long as the spirits cleanse it first, or it is well-cooked. It should last us the day, and Vix and Redstripe can devour the parts that we would not, but we will need to find another source of food for whatever days lie ahead. As she is working, her eyes fall upon Gareth again, and his collar, and she calls out to the nearest of Tariro, Joao or Brugga, so see if one of the keys recovered from the ship would un-clasp the slave-collar. None should be slaves here.
While the group gathers the other survivors and figures out where we are headed to camp, N'goka takes up the bodies of the slain scorpion-creatures and examines them for edibility, calling upon the spirits first to cleanse the body she chooses with clean water that pours down from her fingertips, and then to purge any unclean things within the meat.
She suspects that the best meat will be found in the claw and tail, regarding the creature as something like an oversized lobster.
On that we are agreed, camping on the beach would only result in yet more attacks by the scorpion-creatures, I suspect. Or worse.
Nethys is the pale name for the Burned Face, patron of magic. N'goka says, in answer to Gareth's question.
She looks up past the beach, to see if there is any obvious place to build a camp within view, or if they will have to travel inland a bit to find a secure-looking place to settle.
I am not skilled in the ways of the many different cultures outside these lands, and would not recognize if someone was acting unusually, but the fact that the cook was not who he appeared to be means that one of us, or one of the others on the beach, may be similarly wearing a false face.
So it seems likely that whoever brought us food killed the cook first. N'goka says, as she helps hoist lumber and sail away from the doomed vessel. And yet, while we were poisoned, we were not slain, which suggests that our lives yet have some purpose, perhaps as sacrifices to dark powers, or fodder for some beast... she says, in a clinical tone that gives no indication that she is discussing her own possible fate.
While hauling gear up to the ledge, N'goka will mention to the others, The cook was bitten by a large snake, and died before dinner was served last night. Do we know of any venomous serpents aboard the ship? I noted only the pony, fox and Redstripe, who is not venomous.
Once the items are dealt with, N'goka will first make sure that Redstripe has come out of wherever he is hiding, even if she has to pick him up and carry him, and then examine the two bodies.
Unless anyone suggests otherwise, she will say a prayer to commend them to the spirits of sea and sail, Gozreh and Desna, and leave their bodies for the sea to claim.
While dragging stuff to the point on deck where it will be hoisted off the ship, N'goka looks to see if the keys to the manacles on Gareth's wrists (if they are still present!) still hang on the hook where she noted them earlier.
If nothing else, the canvas and the rope will make it easier to hoist these supplies up to the ridge we used to drop down to the deck. N'goka says, as she begins hauling items towards that end of the ship, so that it can be quickly hauled up. As she does, she again repeats the honking cry, attempting to call Redstripe to her side.
To Tranz and Tariro, N'goka says, Redstripe, my scaly friend, is here, do not mistake him for a sea scorpion, please. Also keep an eye out for the Captain, crew or that woman who stayed in his quarters. I did not note them among the survivors... She continues to search for gear to toss up to the ledge.
Placing her sickle back in her belt, and her longbow across her back, N'goka attempts to attune her senses to the spirits again, feeling a twinge of doubt about whether she is worthy to do so after her outburst a moment before, and seeks out the most necessary items to toss up to the man who remained on the ledge.
If using ropes to haul items up to the ledge would prove most efficient, she will secure ropes and canvas against that purpose.
N'goka attempts a 5 ft. step to position herself so that one of her allies can flank the creature with their own action, instinctively assuming the pack tactics of the wild dog.
N'goka takes another shot, muttering Spirits, guide my aim.
She drops her bow into her off-hand and draws her sickle, growling, Fickle spirits, the hell with you, then!
More vermin. N'goka says loudly, in case anyone has not noticed them already, as she draws her bow and fires an arrow at one of the smaller creatures.
N'goka allows the others to get their footing before jumping down to join them, concealing any signs of her own uncertainty. She knows better than to show fear in front of the pale ones!
The more of us who know how to forage and hunt the better. If, the rumors of ghouls have any truth to them, we will need to find a safe place to hole up, with a single defensible line of approach. Food and drink will be a secondary concern, I fear, with the primary concern being not becoming some other creatures food and drink...
As she moves out to join Gareth, N'goka says low, Survivors, weapons and tools should be our priority. Between foraging, hunting and calling upon the spirits to purify what provender the land provides, such as those sea scorpion creatures, we should not lack for things to eat. The spirits can even drain the salt from seawater, so that we will not lack for clean water to drink. N'goka makes no provision for how the survivors will fare if she is for some reason not able to hunt for food or purify the fodder at hand...
N'goka takes stock of her own equipment, and says to the others, Is there any thing that we specifically need from the ship? It would be unwise to spend any more time than necessary on the thing, and I do not wish any to be lost to greed. She leaves her pack on the shore, not wishing to lug it around, nor valuing anything in it enough to be worth the inconvenience.
N'goka laughs at the gnome passenger who spoke, and joins the others to check the shipwreck for their missing companions and any other survivors, saying to Brugga as they move off, I am a hunter, we will not need to eat the useless ones. Nor should we feed them. If you feed a thing, it follows you around. Her voice is just loud enough to carry back to the speaker, but she doesn't turn to see his reaction.
N'goka cups her hands in front of her mouth and makes a strange honking cry.
N'goka secures her belongings and then examines the others for signs of injury or ailment that she may need to treat.
Her distraction at her missing companion clearly has her mind unfocused, as she misses even the most obvious of injuries... Indeed, I suspect our missing companions may still be aboard the wreck. And what spirits favor caused our own personal equipment to be so neatly arrayed? I know the half-orcs items were stowed below-decks...
Round 5 action; N'goka calls out in her mind for Redstripe, while hauling herself to her feet.
N'goka wakes up to the sight of Gareth's brutish face, and closes her eyes again for a moment, to take stock of her condition before opening them again, her face impassive. What has happened? she asks brusquely, feeling in her minds eye for the presence of Redstripe.
Recognizing that the crew needs to be able to move around unencumbered by the retching passengers, N'goka locates a bucket or two not in use and ushers the afflicted to an out of the way spot where they can sit down and hold their heads over a bucket, rather than clinging to a railing and getting underfoot. One by one, she'll lead anyone who is ill to the same place, to sit down on the deck and hang their heads over the buckets. Hopefully, sitting down, they won't be rocking as much, and this will help them settle their stomachs. If nothing else, it will make it less likely that one of them will get washed over the railing... She sees Redstripe clinging to her backpack, looking miserable, and escorts him to a similar out of the way location. He blows salty water from his sensitive nostils at the scent coming from the ill passengers, but his tiny claws retain their death-grip on her satchel, as he digs into the leather, seeking for some sense of stability in a world that is heaving and tossing around him.
Waiting for the crew to be occupied with other matters, N'goka brings the hoarded food from earlier to the half-orc, although she avoids exchanging pleasantries, as she has other things on her mind to examine in the hold, such as the strange stunted pale zebra that someone brought along with them, perhaps for a exhibit or some wealthy collector of freak animals.
While clearly not pleased at it's transport, the animal seems healthier than she would have expected, and shows no signs of recent captivity, such as sore spots from bindings or the usual scrapes and bits of loose fur one would expect from an animal that has struggled for it's freedom recently. She does not wish to grow too attached to the strange beast, knowing that it is likely bound for some unpleasant fate, perhaps even a Qadiri banquet, as she has heard of the desert-men and their decadent feasts of river serpent and raptor eggs and oversized beetles and stranger things besides. Recognizing that under stress, it might have a greater need for fluids than normal, she does bring it some fresh water, which pours from her hands into a bucket as she calls the rain spirits down into the musty hold, despite their whispered complaints on the subject.
Returning to the deck of the ship, she makes an effort to locate the exact storage place(s) of the key or keys used to secure the half-orc within the hold. She suspects that at some point, she may find it useful to be able to get her hands on those keys, perhaps even in a hurry.
Redstripe has been trained to 'fetch' small colorful items, and she waits until later in the evening, to give him some specific pointers on the item in question, a key-ring, perhaps, that he might be required to 'fetch' to her during some distracting occurence...
N'goka answers, A shark, as large as this ship, was following us. It has gone to attack a group of whales, so we are safe for now. She points to the bread and cheese she squirreled away from her last meal and whispers, For later.
Bad day to be a whale, N'goka thinks. She mutters a prayer, in the common tongue, Let us give thanks that the beast has found something other than us to fill it's belly this day. Our thanks to the whales, who will soon know great sorrow in our stead...
In Chel-accented Common, which sounds incongrous from her throat, she looks to Joao, It should not be following us, unless it scents food. If there are no lines dragged hooked fish, something must be leaking from the hold... Something like blood... She turns and heads down to the hold, to see if someone has bled out on the floor of the hull, and could be leaking the scent of blood into the waters, grunting for Redstripe to take up his traditional position upon her backpack, as she has learned not to leave her things unguarded around this crew.
N'goko is concerned. A shark, of any size, shouldn't be following a ship unless it scents food. She checks the boundaries of the ship for trailing ropes that might be dragging something that is attracting the shark, like a fish that has been snagged by a drag-line and is bleeding. She talks to the spirits in her native tongue, asking for their advice as she searches, but they seem too scared to offer anything other than contradictory babbling.
After calling upon the blessings of the spirits to cleanse her soup of hostile energies, perhaps spiteful forces from an improperly butchered animal, N'goka eats most of her soup.
N'goka similarly picks the pork out of her soup and hands it to her companion, who, while not hungry after his large lunch, happily devours anything she tosses his way. With the setting of the sun, the halfling-sized lizard has taken to resting it's head on her leg, while she sits, watching her eat with rapt fascination. She tucks her bread and cheese away, and after Redstripe moves his head back and forth for a few moments, first trying to inch closer to her sash, then getting in some bizarre staring contest with her, as if he could hypnotise her into handing the food over, gives up and sighs audibly before setting his head back down.
Redstripes eye opens to watch the fox approach and it turns itself over and regards the gift through a single eye, it's head canted at an angle and low to the ground as it makes a strange purring cluck. It bites once at the rat, apparently more symbolically than anything else, and then leaves it for the fox to finish, if it wants. N'goka has heard wild tales of magicians whose animal companions are uncannily intelligent, but she has never seen such a thing with her own eyes, and is amazed at the foxes actions, and how readily Redstripe seems to be willing to accept the small animal as part of his 'pack.' She had assumed that he must have been part of a pack before he was captured, but, until now, had never seen him demonstrate pack behavior towards anyone but herself.
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