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.
Feh, that map merely confirms what I had already deduced.
Did we recover any documents? Did the captain have a log? Tranz will want to peruse any documentation, and then once we have gathered as many supplies as possible Tanz will suggest finding somewhere to make a makeshift camp.
There is indeed a Log..
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.
Log details as promised...
An examination of this log reveals that the Jenivere’s captain seemed to be suffering from some sort of madness that grew over the course of the ship’s final voyage. Earlier entries from previous voyages are precise in recording progress and events along the way, as are entries from the first two-thirds of this last trip.Yet as one reads further, the more recent the entries get, the less common they become—in some cases, several days are missing entries.
What entries do appear are strangely short, focusing more and more on one of the passengers—the Varisian scholar Ieana, with whom the captain seems to have become obsessed. Several entries are nothing more than poorly written love poems to Ieana, while others bemoan Captain Kovack’s inability to please her or catch her attention. Near the end, the entries begin to take on a more ominous tone with the captain starting to complain that other members of the crew are eyeing “his Ieana.”
In particular, he suspects his first mate is in love with her, and writes several times about how he wishes Alton would just “have an accident.” The final entry is perhaps the most disturbing, for in it the captain writes of how he’s changed course for Smuggler’s Shiv at Ieana’s request. He hopes that the two of them can make a home on the remote island, but also notes that the crew are growing increasingly agitated at the ship’s new course. The captain muses that “something may need to be done about the crew” if their suspicions get any worse.
Tranz frownds as he reads further and further into the log, and eventually gathers the whole group round, to read it aloud for everyones benefit.
It seems the captain and that Ieana had hidden motives... the distinguished Gnome muses, making notes on the log with his phoenix feather quill.
The missing crew is probably dead..they would have been in their quarters in the totally destroyed lower deck in normal circumstances.
"Well things being as they are, let's make the best of the situation". "Perhaps we should build a shelter and fire of some sort, and establish a base camp here on the beach".
"If any of you have any wilderness skills, perhaps they can come with me, and let's explore the general area, looking for a supply of fresh water, and maybe some food". "Others could get busy with shelter, and a fire". "We can re-access our situation once the basics are taken care of". "We should also see what the other survivors have to offer".
Gareth carefully poses a question, speaking slowly to help prevent him from tripping over his words...Umm... Now that I... think about it...W-where did my...restraints go...? Gareth looks at his unshackled arms and feels the collar, the only piece remaining of a once very sophisticated restraint.
Gareth lifts the holy symbol he found in the captains desk up in front of his face so he can better see it.
U-umm.., Is N-Nethys a Sea god? I-I'm not to familiar with some of the m-more exotic gods...
"If any of you have any wilderness skills, perhaps they can come with me, and let's explore the general area, looking for a supply of fresh water, and maybe some food". "Others could get busy with shelter, and a fire". "We can re-access our situation once the basics are taken care of". "We should also see what the other survivors have to offer".
...Umm...I'm O-okay at hunt'n and s-stuff. Much better at it than conv-conver-... conversing with people like them. Gareth loads his crossbow and keeps it in hand, ready to hunt and search the area.
Survival +2 vs humans[/smaller]
Perception +2 vs humans[/smaller]
Gareth
You make your way back to the camp rigging up a makeshift pack saddle from the nets and rope and using tariros pony to carry the bulk off the equipment back to the the other passengers are still sitting around listlessly.
Name Attitude Morale
Aerys..Unfriendly..Shaken
Sasha..Unfriendly...Shaken
Ishiro..Indifferent..Shaken
Gelik..Indifferent..shaken
Jask..Unfriendly..Shaken
Diplomacy rolls can modify a NPCs attitude also certain circumstances.They can be useful in setting up and running a camp if used correctly
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.
Nethys is the pale name for the Burned Face, patron of magic. N'goka says, in answer to Gareth's question.
...B-but why would the c-captain have this then? Seems a-a bit odd... Also...umm...I-I think we shouldn't c-camp at the beach...
On that we are agreed, camping on the beach would only result in yet more attacks by the scorpion-creatures, I suspect. Or worse.
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.
Aerys gives Joao a bleary eyed look.."is that what you think..well good for you..you survived..got a drink?..if not..come back when you have one"
N'goka is fairly sure that the food she forages is edible.There will be enough from the four beasts to provide a days food for everyone
Jask is still manacled. he gazes morosely out to sea.Gelik is making bad jokes about pirates and mermaids.Ishiro sits motionless. Sahsa is pacing about the beach as if eager to get moving though the giggles that erupt from her ocassionally suggest she is still in shock.
[ooc]Note on survival..in this heat each person need 2 gallons of water a day..as that is what create water provides in a casting you have no problems with water.Food is another matter..you are going to have to hunt and you have no idea what the fauna or flora of this island are like.
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.
Tariro approaches Sahsa. "What are you laughing about"? "You seem to be full of energy, would you like to help with finding a campsite"?
diplomacy
As Joao attempts to free Gareth's neck Gareth mutters a "T-thank you," regardless of success.
Not so good with others, Gareth sets out to hunt for food and scout the area. Assuming he gets some food and returns, if the party has moved camp he will track them.
Survival +1 for tracking anything
Perception
There is a key that fits the fetters as they fall away from the Garundi Man his face breaks into a smile... and he offers his hand to Joao
"Well met" he says in slightly accented Taldane(common)"I am Jask Derindi cleric of Nethys and Scribe."
He levers himself to his feet..
"Thank you for freeing me..those fetters had been on since Corentyn and were beginning to become irksome.I have some skill as a healer and as a woodsman if you need me to assist with anything"
"Also I think I may have some insight into what happened to us"
He points to some looking furrows in the sand leading up from the waters edge..
"We were drugged most likely with a very strong dose of Taggit oil then someone brought us ashore..probably after the ship had hit thoise rocks. They dragged us up from the waters edge and brought our equipment with them..well all but mine..did you happen to find my gear on the ship?"
Ishirou at N'gokas request merely grunts an acknowledgement and sets to helping her.
Sasha looks down at Tariro and giggles again.."Oh sweetie I'm sure all these big husky men will be far more able to help you than me..now why don't you go away and play like a good little girl"
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...
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...
Jask moves to the pony and searches through the gear making exclamations as he finds items he claims are his..indeed all the items from the footlocker.
You create a makeshift travois from some of the heavy sail patches you found and move towards the forest...choosing the best place to camp isnt easy it all looks the same an unbroken expanse of green.by now its about 1000 am and the temperature is rising. the shade of the jungle looks inviting and you push into it the clammy heat enveloping you as you go..its slow going the undergrowth and rising terrain slowing you to a crawl..(about 1 mile in 2 hours)
By noon you are all feeling the strain and the heat is at approaching its highest...when you find a small area of relatively clear ground surrounded by rocks...
As you enter the bush rustles and a single dog sized rat scurries across the clearing
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.
she did but it might have been lost in the wall of text...reposted just in case
Sasha looks down at Tariro and giggles again.."Oh sweetie I'm sure all these big husky men will be far more able to help you than me..now why don't you go away and play like a good little girl"
Gareth moves through the jungle managing to find roots,berries and small game enough to supply 8 peoples needs for today.Off course the small game is lizards and grubs for the most part.
Do you continue to hunt or work through the hottest part off the day?
Brugga is quite relieved to have Vix back and is less than helpful in searching the ship once she has found him. She does help carry supplies, however, and help in selecting a campsite.
As for convincing the other passengers to be friendly, Brugga has zero interest in doing it of her own accord, and is liable to be quite harsh and no-nonsense with anybody moping around.
Survival check to aid in camping, hunting, etc."
Brugga manages to forage wough food for 3 people so between her and Gareth you have another days food for everyone.
Brugga manages to forage wough food for 3 people so between her and Gareth you have another days food for everyone.
Gareth moves through the jungle managing to find roots,berries and small game enough to supply 8 peoples needs for today.Off course the small game is lizards and grubs for the most part.
Do you continue to hunt or work through the hottest part off the day?
I return to camp, most game would probably be out in the cooler times anyway.
Brugga manages to forage wough food for 3 people so between her and Gareth you have another days food for everyone.
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...
Jask advises ( and N'goka should know) that working in the hottest part off the day is a recipe for exhaustion..
Jask tells you his story while you rest
He was once employed by the Sargavan government, but when he uncovered evidence of corruption involving illicit deals with the Free Captains of the Shackles, Jask confronted his superior, only to be betrayed and framed for the same crimes. Faced with imprisonment, Jask fled all the way to Corentyn, where he lived a modest life as a scribe for a decade. He’d thought his enemies in Sargava had forgotten him, but then a Sargavan agent caught up with him and put him in irons. The agent handed Jask over to the captain of the Jenivere with instructions to return Jask to Sargava for trial, but the captain disappeared during the shipwreck, leaving Jask alive but bound.
One of the incriminating papers he found so long ago indicated that one of his superior’s contacts in the Shackles was a man named Avret Kinkarian. Kinkarian’s ship, the Brine Demon, reputedly wrecked here on Smuggler’s Shiv. He knows it’s a long shot, but Jask would love to track the ship down and explore the wreck on the off chance there could be more evidence somewhere aboard to prove his innocence.
Name.. Attitude....Morale
Aerys..Unfriendly..Shaken
Sasha..Unfriendly...Shaken
Ishiro..Indifferent..Shaken( can be a Guard or a Defender for the camp)
Gelik..Indifferent..Shaken (can be an Entertainer or a Medic for the camp)
Jask..Friendly..Shaken(can be a Hunter or a Medic for the camp)
Once a campsite is established, it provides a safe place to rest out of the relentless heat of the sun, while the shelter and smoke from a campfire helps to ward off insects (reducing the chance of being exposed to disease to 10% per day). In addition, there are five roles that PCs or (more likely) NPCs can take up as part of their daily duties to further enhance the effects of a campsite, as detailed below. In order to fill one of these roles, the character must spend the entire day pursuing the role.
Defender: A defender works to set traps, shore up a shelter’s walls, and see to the safety of the campsite. The first time in a day that a wandering monster or hostile creature attacks the campsite, the defender’s traps inflict 2d6 points of damage—divide the damage done as equally as possible among all attackers. Each additional defender
assigned to a campsite increases this damage by 2d6.
Entertainer: An entertainer helps to raise hopes for rescue—each entertainer grants NPCs a +2 bonus on Will saves to increase morale
Guard: Each guard reduces the chance of a wandering monster attacking the camp during the day or night by 5% (minimum chance of 5%).
Hunter: Each hunter provides enough food and water for eight Medium creatures per day.
Medic: Each medic reduces the chance of being exposed to disease by 5% and increases the number of hit points healed naturally during a night’s rest in the camp by 2.
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.
Gareth notice's everyone shaken attitude and tries to make them feel better, despite his usual passiveness.
E-everyone, Every t-thing is going t-to be a-alright. I've b-been in worst s-scraps than t-this, and I-I t-turned out ok...
Diplomacy
Geliks attitude doesnt change much...
"Aye. I've got a few stories." he states and launches into a rather bawdy tale of a marooned pirate and a young lady of gentle birth left on an island which had nothing on it but a load of rum.
Brugga is also eager to explore the island, although if there was to be a day where the party will be staying at the campsite all day, she would be willing to lend her assistance as a guard.
As for the heat, she's wiped out by about 10:30, and finds the heat oppressive until 4 or 5 hours after noon. She'll tough it out though.