Lilly, now that the heat of the battle is past, quickly rushes to poor little Eyeball lying amid the debris. She turns as her name is called.
"Unfortunately I know no more than you". I awoke with one of those dastardly quick little crabs biting at me, and sprang into action only a little before you". Lilly reels and almost falls as she clutches her still breathing pet to her breast.
"The bigger question is how did we, and out gear get here. This stuff is piled up not spread all along the shore as it should be. Maybe we should explore a bit and get some more information".
Heal (to check Eyeballs condition)
Heal (to check our condition...sickened?)
Knowledge: Nature (Info about our surroundings)
Perception (Walking the perimeter of the beach starting with the water in front of them, and circling the entire beach clockwise.
Hearing Lilly respond, Kythas nods at her explanation while he finishes his work of depositing the dead euryterids a few feet past the high-water mark on some flat rocks.
"Damn this heat." he complained softly to himself as the sun beat mercilessly down upon him, "We'll have to cook these things within a few hours or they'll start to rot and bring Gods know what kind of scavenging beasts upon us.
Kythas eyed the rapidly shrinking stash of goods on the sandy turf and wondered if a big enough cauldron was among the litter.
Looking towards Avarthiel, "I believe I am okay. I just feel a little sick. By the looks of what happened to our ship, I guess I am feeling very well considering what the option could have been. Are you okay?"
"I am so happy to see that so many of us survived. It seems odd that none of can remember what happened after dinner. None of remember what happened to the ship, and none of us remember trying to stay afloat in the ocean or trying to rescue others. It is far beyond the possibilities of a coincidence. We have to start considering that there is something else going on here. Someone may have put us here for a reason."
Kystra sighs.
Kystra nods at the suggestion to salvage items. "Yes, we should indeed salvage all useful items. We should also consider the possibility that we might be marooned here for sometime. Hopefully there is a settlement nearby, but setting up shelter should be a priority right now. Perhaps some people should also scout out the area to assess if there are any immediate threats and to determine an optimal location to build a shelter?"
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.
You are certain that the reason for your horrible physical state isn't only caused by the high probability that you were all submerged under water - but based on your memories of last night, you are fairly certain you were all poisoned yesterday. Or what you believe is yesterday.
The surroundings indicate that this is a tropical island of some sort, and the environment matches that of the Mwangi Expanse. You also know this place is dangeorus - but you are unsure what dangers are to be found.
You don't have to scout for long; you see a shipwreck in the distance, one that looks like the Jenivere...
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"These things will make fine eating." Kythas spoke loudly to everyone in earshot, inviting them to help him move the bodies to a safer location. "It looks like we might be here for awhile, so we'd better salvage what we can."
"Good work Kythas. That should stave off the inevitable descent into cannibalism for a few more days!"
Avarthiel is quiet for a minute, listening to Kystra, and then says, "You are right about the need for shelter. I would say that our other pressing problem will be fresh water. Perhaps Lilly or Kythas will know the best places to look for water in all that greenery - we are lucky to have such outdoor folk with us."
The wizard decides that the best way to help at this point is to take a full inventory of the supplies available. Particularly Avarthiel looks for preserved food, casks of water, or other survival equipment.
"I'm not certain who to trust. I think we should be aware that whoever has orchestrated this may very well be amoungst us. Although... hrmm... no it couldn't be? Could it?"
Kystra stands up takes another look around at the carnage and at everyone around. Tears start to form in the corners of her eyes. "Noooo!" she exclaims as she brings her hands up to her face and runs off into the jungle.
Still near Dantes, Kythas winces as the Oracle suddenly screams and tears off towards the jungle.
"This is exactly the kind of thing I was worried about." he whispered.
After rapidly discarding the notion of loosing an arrow into the fleeing woman's calf to stop her from running into the canopy, the wild elf broke into a full run in an attempt to intercept the distraught passenger.
Shouting caution in elven as he gave chase.
Roll to leap/grapple if she doesn't stop.
Kystra just reaches the beginnings of dense jungle vegetation when she feels a slight breeze behind her, followed by a hand partially making contact with her. The push is just enough to knock her off her momentum as she tumbles forward into some leafy plants.
She looks back and sees Kythas getting up from the ground where he did a near faceplant in his dive to catch her. Kystra sits sobbing where she is.
Wiping the damp earth off his chest and spitting out a small bit of fern, Kythas kneels down next to the Oracle.
He pauses, hoping the words will sink in before extending a hand to help her up to her feet.
Jask and Aerys both aid Avarthiel in sifting through the heap and organising what's there; most of it is recognisable, as equipment and gear of yours. The remnants of the few pieces of furniture you can find are smashed to bits. The only whole barrel consists of dried venison, a supply that is almost exhausted.
Avarthiel thanks Jask and Aerys for their help. Clearly distracted and worried by Kystra's sudden flight the elf is concerned that he said something to precipitate it. However he judges it best to let Kythas speak with her, and so gets on with sorting the heap, though with many a look over his shoulder to the jungles edge where Kystra weeps.
Oops...
"Dantes, perhaps you could help Kythas in calming Kystra down? Oh, and Lilly - what have you found on your survey? Any sign of other survivors?"
Lilly seems to have paused in her search for a moment and is intently staring out to sea. At Avarthiel's question she slowly turns around, still clutching Eyeball to her breast.
"Well I don't believe we'll be leaving on the same ship that brought us here". ,she says turning and pointing at the wreck, then glancing down at Eyeball again in concern.
Rising to a kneeling position Kystra reachous out and grabs Kythas shirt collar and shakes him slightly.
In a frustrated demeanor...
"You don't understand! Its my... my curse. Great misfortune follows me where I go. I cannot escape it. It is like I am constantly punished and regardless of the misfortune which occurs I always survive unscathed as if to be reminded that I have little control of what happens aroud me."
Kystra sighs and looks down at the ground as she faintly considers Kythas words. "My curse has never caused anything this grandiose before. Maybe it's trying to keep me from looking into my ancestor's past? I don't know, perhaps this is too great of an event to have been caused by it -- but what if? Should I chance risking everyone's life again? I don't know."
Kystra glances into the dense foilage of jungle, listen to the many stange sounds echoing from within. She realizes that the only gear she has is a dagger. As the futility of her intended action is understood, she speaks softly, "I'm Sorry. I feel like such a fool. I just don't want to risk being the cause of anyone's harm."
The wild elf smiled as Kystra's grip on his collar eased and she seemed to relax.
Kythas stepped back from the half-elf to give her some space and turned back to the assembly on the beach.
Nodding very weakly at Gelik as he finished.
I think we can trust Kythas to bring her back. He can surprise you from time to time...
Most strange. This sack is mine. It was on my hammock several decks below. How did it manage to make it here on shore without its contents being completely spilled out?
Dantes stands and surveys the group of survivors around. To no one in particular he'll say We should definitely arrange a shelter. And can I make a suggestion about food? Anything we find, let me sample it and the rest of you wait a half hour to try it after me. If something is bad or tampered with, my dwarven gut gives me a decent chance to survive it. With that, he'll try a chunk of the venison, chewing it carefully and thoughtfully, and then note the position of the sun. He'll get to work looking for a place to set up a campsite big enough for the ten of them, plus another couple in case other survivors come across them.
"Agreed," Aerys proclaims as Dantes suggests a course of actions. "But we need something solid. Something we can't make without proper equipment. The half-orc said she saw the Jenivere, so I say we all go there together, see what we find. Might be we find a boat to get off the island too."
Aerys takes one of the few remaining bottles of rum from the organised pile - regardless of whose it is - and begins to chug. Ichirou has already begun to walk a fair distance in direction of the Jenivere, with Gelik and Sasha on his heels. Jask seems unsure of what to do, though he looks inclined to head towards the Jenivere as well.
"Well?" Sasha bellows. The good cheer is back in her voice and despite the impossible situation she seems as cheerful as ever. "We won't have all day, y'know!"
Despite her impatient call, they all wait for you to gather. Next to Lilly, Eyeball seems to finally get to his senses - and while he is swaying, still a little sick, he looks to be fine.
Kystra nods at Kythas' suggestion and follows him back.
Kystra places her hand on Kythas' shoulder, "Thank you for your kindness and concern."
Appearing somewhat embarrassed, Kystra goes straight to the pile of goods and begins assisting in salvaging equipment, including looking for her own gear.
Joining the rest of the group, Kythas returns to Dantes' side to find him chewing on a piece of food.
"Heh, no surprise there." he laughed to himself as he gave his friend a slap on the back.
"So what's going on Ironbelly?" he asked cheerfully, watching a trio of the party make there way towards something out to sea...
Kythas' jaw slackened, all humor draining from his face at the sight of what must be the Jenivere, the only home he had known for the last five years, crippled and dying beneath the afternoon sun.
He let out a long, resigned sigh and braced himself on the dwarf's shoulder a moment before starting out to follow the three who were already making their way down to the lost ship.
Seeing the ship a total loss and wrecked on the beach, Kythas immediately begins inspecting the hull from as closely as possible without risking his safety to determine how best to board the Jenivere.
Come on, Kythas. If anyone knows the layout of that ship well, it is us. He'll call out Master Gelik, could I ask of you to be in charge of our supplies, such as they are, at least until we return?
He'll also check on Jask before running after the others. Will you stay with us? The captain and his soldiers are not here, so there is nothing to fear there. Is he still chained?
"Agreed." Kythas nods solemnly to the dwarf before he headed down to inspect the beached vessel. "I'll be waiting for you before I try to go aboard, it's likely going to be a dangerous undertaking."
To Aerys, "I'm not sure we'll be lucky enough to find a whole extra boat on the wreck of our last boat... but no harm in looking.
Avarthiel follows Sasha, Dantes and Kythas to the wreck of the Jenivere and looks up at the ruined ship with a sense of unease. "We should be able to find tools. And maybe salvage some of the wood and canvas for our shelter. I am not sure that I would trust any food we find, even to test on good master dwarven-guts here. Of course, we may have no choice."
Avarthiel is happy to accompany others onto the boat, but is clearly not keen to go first.
Feeling a bond with Avarthiel and Kythas and wishing to keep them safe with her healing talents, Kystra will also volunteer to go with them.
"We'll need plenty of rope, which we should have along with grapples, hammers, gaffs and mops which we can use for poles and sail canvas in the main store hold."
Kythas explains to Avarthiel and the others, as he strips down to his loincloth in preparation for the upcoming climb or swim. By the time he has finished, he has only his symbol of Gozreh tied tightly around his neck and his sword, bow and quiver of arrows strapped across his back.
"There will be food, knives, hopefully more rum," casting a look back at Aerys as he says that part, "oil, barrels, cauldrons and fresh water in the larder. We should take care to make sure the stores are properly sealed before we even remove them from the ship."
Wiping the sweat from his face before he continued, he looked over the ship once again. "We should make haste as well, the tide is going out now, but judging by the watermark on the shore, we won't have a lot of time to dally and once it comes back in, we risk the whole ship being torn apart around us if we're still below deck."
The wild elf kisses his wooden totem to Gozreh and mutters a quick prayer in his native tongue before preparing to board the dead ship through whatever means is the easiest and/or most apparent.
Avarthiel's eyes are carefully averted from Kythas' rapidly revealed form. The elf also hikes robes up to the waist and prepares to help fetch and carry.
"Soonest started is soonest finished.'
Even a cursory glance is enough to confirm that the Jenivere will never sail again. Only the ship's stern seems to have survived the wreck, as less than half of it remains on the sand, most of it dipping into the depths of the water. Some hundred feet away, in the midst of the ocean, the other half of the ship remains, nestled between cliffs and sharp rocks. 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 ship to claim the last of this once-fine ship.
The stern has somehow been turned to its side; yet you can easily tell what is where. The captain's cabin, or what once was the cabin, is easily visible and reachable with a little bit of swimming. The end of the ship is a hefty mess of debris and soaked logs, but the stairway down to the lower deck underneath the captain's cabin is wide open and unobstructed.
From the mouth of the opening, you hear a rattle...
"Well, this ship ain't sailing again," Aerys says bitterly, taking a swig of rum.
Avarthiel:
Kythas:
Kystra
Dantes
Lilly
As the group makes it's way towards the ship, Lilly notices them and rushes to catch up.
"Wait"! "I would like to come as well".,she looks frantically about for some assistance. "Could anyone here watch out for Eyeball while I'm gone". She then takes a minute to band his beak so he won't bite whoever is watching him if he awakens.
"Well, let's get this party underway." the near-naked elf stated, diving into the sea and making his way out to the smashed stern.
Once he nears the revealed Captain's cabin, Kythas hears a suspicious rattling from within the ruined ship.
"What is that?" he mouths to himself and looks back at his companions, whispering his intent to scout ahead onto the wreck itself and investigate the strange racket.
"I'm going to see if I can find out what that is, if anyone is going to follow me, be silent."
Cautiously pulling himself aboard, the dripping elf quietly approaches the sound of the noise, arrow nocked and crouched low as he advances on the dangerously shifting vessel.
Stealth
I would temper your hopes of what we might find there. That looks awfully bad there. And if my gear that was well below decks washed up here, that means it was pretty severely washed out. Still, anything of value. Perhaps some dried planks can help with getting a fire going.
Kystra tries to look around for something that is both buoyant and that could serve as a container such as a small barrel. Kystra will remove her boots and cloak. She will ensure her dagger is securely fasted to her leg and will then swim out with a steady pace.
Dantes takes a 10 to swim out as well. He nods in agreement with Kythas, and follows him in.
Stealth
As Kythas, Dantes and Kystra set into the water, the rattle becomes louder. Kythas has barely climbed up on the wreck and notched an arrow when the first creature comes bursting out the doorway, taking a big chunk of the Jenivere with it. Another one follows shortly after. They are much taller, easily matching Kythas in height. A great set of barbs and a stinger protrudes off the end of their massive tails - and they seem to know exactly where you are...
Dantes:
Kystra:
Kythas:
Lilly:
Avarthiel:
Dantes:
Kystra:
Kythas:
Lilly:
Avarthiel:
Average: 15.6
Aerys:
Gelik:
Ichirou:
Jask:
Sasha:
Average: 13.4
Eyrupterid 1:
Eyrupterid 2:
Average: 11.5
Dantes will move to E10 and say to Kystra Back to shore! Let's draw them back where we can get around them!
Shurikens flurry
To hit
Damage
To hit
Damage
Possible crit, confirm
Extra damage,
Knee deep in the water, and getting ready to swim out, Lilly spots the creatures, and lets fly with a sling bullet.
Sling
Sling damage
Kythas, nearly bowled over by the giant creature's sudden appearance from his flank, quickly regains his footing on the slippery deck and leaps backwards to try to avoid the monster's strikes as he retreats. Diving back into the sea and quickly swimming back to shore, he sends an arrow at the eurypterid that was closest to him.
Acrobatics (to avoid potential AoO from movement)
Attack!
Damage:
Kystra will withdraw upon sight of the creatures, however she will try to keep beside the others as they withdraw, matching their pace.
Avarthiel steps forward slightly, finding the best position. As before, the wizard draws a circle in the sand with the tip of the carven staff and summons a whirl of protective arcane energies.
"Gather round, friends. There are only two - concentrate on bringing one of them down. 'The higher, the fewer', as my master once said. "
[ooc]Lilly, I think Eyeball is back with you. You may have missed:
Next to Lilly, Eyeball seems to finally get to his senses - and while he is swaying, still a little sick, he looks to be fine.
Avarthiel says to everyone, "If you focus attacks on one of them, I have a spell that may scare the other one off."
Well now I don't get to cast cause fear as a prank on Kythas, at least until tomorrow. But this is probably more useful...
As Dantes, Kythas and Lilly unleash their barrage of projectiles, they hail upon the eurypterid; one shuriken makes its way into its eye. Blood splatters across the wet deck of the ship. The creature collapses, its limbs twitching momentarily... and it stops moving.
The others come running from the side of the ship, in time to watch your quick disposal of the first creature. The second one, enraged, steps forward... and unleashes its sting in direction of Dantes! The dwarf dodges without difficulty.
(miss)
"Eyeball Attack"!Lilly cries as she begins to make her way out to the ship to support the lone dwarf.
Sling attack
Sling Damage
Seeing the first beast fall under a hail of missiles, Kythas rushes along the surf and fires a second arrow at the remaining creature.
Attack!
Damage:
If Kythas' shot doesn't kill it, Dantes will flurry again, two shurikens at the remaining creature.
To hit
Damage
To hit
Damage
Then he'll step to F9, keeping Kystra behind him.
The combined effort of Lilly and Kythas is enough - Lilly distracts it with the bullet, and Kythas's arrow sinks into its head. It twitches, its pincers clicking, as it keels over, rolling into the water. Blood starts to dribble from its wound.
"Impressive aim," Gelik mutters as the others approach the edge of the water.
"Yes," Aerys confirms. "I wonder if those two were the only ones in the wreck. Need to be careful, see if we can find something worthwhile now."
Shouldering his bow, the elf nods at Aerys and tosses a wink at Gelik for the compliment before setting off to the corpse of the euypterid he just dropped.
"It looks it will be us eating you tonight friend." He said flatly to the twitching carcass of the thing as he yanked his arrow out of it's face.
"Between these two and the five little ones we slew earlier, we won't go hungry for today at least." He informed everyone around him as he dragged the lifeless creature to the beach.
Turning to Dantes and Kystra he whispered, "Sorry about the hasty retreat." raising his voice back to normal, he continued, "Now let's do some exploring." tossing a glance back at the wreck.
"Well that was very efficient!" exclaims Avarthiel. "Dantes, how can I best help? I have a scroll of Floating Disk that will help us carry significant amounts of salvage if that would be useful?"
"Well that was very efficient!" exclaims Avarthiel. "Dantes, how can I best help? I have a scroll of Floating Disk that will help us carry significant amounts of salvage if that would be useful?"
That's great! Let us pull out as much as we can before you cast it, then we'll load it quickly to bring it back to where we'll build a campsite. Dantes will let Kythas take the lead, but he'll be close behind.
The green-haired elf takes a sunrod out of his backpack on the beach and returns cautiously to the spot on the Jenivere where they were ambushed by the large eurypterids, with his companions close behind. Pulling himself back up onto the wreck, he listens for any more of the sneaky beasts and approaches the second dead crustacean, giving it a less than gentle prod with the point of his blade before deeming it truly dead. Motioning for Dantes to help him drag the thing to the edge of the ship and toss it over for the others to add to the rapidly growing "to eat" pile.
Once that business is concluded, he whispers to his crewmate, "We should see what these scavengers were up to down there." he said, pointing his bared sword in the direction where the creatures erupted from moments before. Turning to Avarthiel and Kystra, he adds, "I think its safe for you to explore the Cap'n's cabin while me and Stubby go see what's below."
Kythas looks down at the monk and whispers,
"Anybody who's going with me, I'm heading down to into the ship's belly to see what I can find. Prepare for a likely wet and quite possibly dangerous trip." He explains to whomever chooses to join him as he readies himself, curve blade drawn, to venture deeper into the doomed vessel.
To Dantes, Avarthiel says, "That's fine. Just shout when you're ready for the magic. It will last for about an hour."
The wizard then nods at Kythas in agreement at his suggestion to search the captain's office. "Kystra, are you coming with me?", and Avarthiel heads inside...
Surely there won't be any traps in the captain's office. Best keep an eye out anyway...
Avarthiel
The captain's cabin is a right mess. The bed has been all but shattered against the rear wall. Broken lanterns litter the floor, and there is a distinctive smell of oil mixed with the water. The captain's desk is upside-down, half of its drawers spread across the floor. Quills float in the inch-high water. Shattered inkwells coat the left wall - the actual floor. You can spot several keys - and one of the drawers appears to be locked...
Kythas & Dantes
Peering into the doorway to the lower deck, you realise the stairwell never had a supporting wall - there is a drop down to the uneven floor. When you drop down, you find that the water reaches up to your ankles - and stranger still, there seems to be no explanation for how the eurypterids burst out of the doorway in the first place...
You can see one door some odd twenty feet away, as well as the hatch down to the lower floor - the supply room. At first glance, the hatch has been heavily damaged, its surface coated in scratches... and from the cracks you can see something that looks like blood.
Outside
"Suppose there is no denying this, is there?" Sasha says with half a smile. "We're stuck."
"Don't look like we'll find a lifeboat either. Look over there." Aerys points to the cliffs and rocks in the distance, where a smaller boat lays crushed.
"Troublesome." Ichirou sits down in the sand, his hands folded. Jask peers at the captain's cabin with some interest. Gelik scuffles about, blade in his hand, as he fences with shadows.
The green-haired elf takes a sunrod out of his backpack on the beach and returns cautiously to the spot on the Jenivere where they were ambushed by the large eurypterids, with his companions close behind. Pulling himself back up onto the wreck, he listens for any more of the sneaky beasts and approaches the second dead crustacean, giving it a less than gentle prod with the point of his blade before deeming it truly dead. Motioning for Dantes to help him drag the thing to the edge of the ship and toss it over for the others to add to the rapidly growing "to eat" pile.
Once that business is concluded, he whispers to his crewmate, "We should see what these scavengers were up to down there." he said, pointing his bared sword in the direction where the creatures erupted from moments before. Turning to Avarthiel and Kystra, he adds, "I think its safe for you to explore the Cap'n's cabin while me and Stubby go see what's below."
Kythas looks down at the monk and whispers,** spoiler omitted **
"Anybody who's going with me, I'm heading down to into the ship's belly to see what I can find. Prepare for a likely wet and quite possibly dangerous trip." He explains to whomever chooses to join him as he readies himself, curve blade drawn, to venture deeper into the doomed vessel.
1d20 + 8
"I'll go with you". "You might want me to go have a look-see first". "The darkness doesn't bother me". "Believe me I'll holler if there is trouble".
Stealth with no shield