Quest #6.5 "Escaping Camp Water Fall"

[OGRE MAGE]

Out Of The Cave And Into The Fields
Godsday, the 2nd of Goodmonth
Morning, Hot, Humid, Buggy

Understandably, Bonnie does not appreciate the uncouth manner in which she is being treated. She goes along with the men's demands, but then makes one of her own. She tucks her pilfered dagger back into her clothing with her gloved hand.

Keilif doesn't seem as threatened by being forced to work the fields. He quickly changes from his filthy robes and seems almost eager to get started.

The captain moves closer to Bonnie, keeping the strange priest at a distance.

"Your items will be safe here. All of them. I will have the men set up some hammocks in here and you can make this shack your own for now. I wouldn't want you sleeping out in the fields with the disposable help. If you can stay out of trouble for a few days, things will get much better for you."

He grabs Bonnie by one arm and holds her hand up.

"Isn't it a bit hot out here for hand socks? I would hate to see you ruin these fine gloves of yours working out in the dirt. Why don't you leave those here with your clothes?"

Actions?

Keilif C2 15/15 4/4 first
Bonnie T2 9/9

[Monsieur Rose]

Bonnie

Let's make this interesting. I'm going to roll a hard wisdom check to see if she remembers why she's wearing gloves in the first place. After all, she's had a hard couple days.

Hard Wisdom Check(15): [4d6] = 14

Without missing a beat, Bonnie looks the Captain directly in the eyes and responds. "Ah. But then I'd get my hands dirty. I prefer to only dirty my hands with enjoyable work. Besides, I have to make sure my hands stay soft. I've found people prefer them that way."

[OGRE MAGE]

Out Of The Cave And Into The Fields
Godsday, the 2nd of Goodmonth
Morning, Hot, Humid, Buggy

The slimy captain almost responds favorably to Bonnie's smooth and provocative response......almost.

He is just about to let her arm go when he pokes a finger under the cuff and looks up into the glove at her sweating palm. He looks back and forth to Snake-Eye a few times as a puzzled look crosses his face. Then he bursts out in laughter.

"Well holy frickin shit Bonnie, are you ever good! You almost had me for a second there! Snake! Did you see this shit? Oh, I suppose you didn't notice?" He peels back her glove slightly and shows it to Snake-Eye, blocking the view of the sea priest so he cant see what he is referring to.

"This hot little elf has bigger............nerves than most of the guys on our crew! You do know what this means, right?" The mage looks at the gloved hand but he doesn't seem to catch on to what the captain is saying. The captain continues laughing and talking.

"That little moron out at the shack was actually telling me the truth! Man, I almost feel bad for him now." He looks down at Bonnie again.

"That is really something! I mean........wow. You just bought yourself 3 less days in the fields for that move!"

He lets her arm go and directs both of them towards the door and out into the fields. "THAT kinda shit is really showing me some potential, Bonnie! I would say that you just passed one of my unwritten tests! Now.....get your cute little ass out there and show me how hard you can work!"

Actions?

Keilif C2 15/15 4/4 first
Bonnie T2 9/9

[Monsieur Rose]

Bonnie

Never one to complain when things work out, Bonnie smiles warmly at the compliments and starts moving to the door. "Come on Keilif, let's not take up any more of their time. Besides, I'm hoping you know how to do some manual labor. I need someone to copy off of."

[Hotgoblin]

Kelif smiles at Bonnie...We will all work together! I’m sure you’ll do just fine.

[OGRE MAGE]

Out Of The Cave And Into The Fields
Freeday, the 5th of Goodmonth
Morning, Hot, Humid, Buggy

For three long, hard days the pair of adventurers are forced to work out in the fields with the slaves. The farm work is difficult and the hours exhausting, but the time outdoors has given them an opportunity to oversee the normal daily goings-on throughout the camp.

Bing is definitely in charge, though he seems to have little to do with the daily activities and is almost never seen outside of his shack. Snake-Eye appears to be the brains behind the farming/smuggling operations. He is seen moving around the camp a bit more than Bing, but not much.

The farm fields are set up in sections, each planted a few weeks apart from the last. The fields contain a wide variety of different fruits and vegetables, but those are slowly becoming less prevalent with the herb plants now taking up the majority of the space. The ogres tend to the slaves, moving them around and keeping them in line. The slaves are forced to sleep in their chains right out in the fields, though the two of you are allowed to sleep in your shack, protected from the insect swarms.

The majority of action around camp involves retrieving the product from the drying barns, bundling it up in bails, and transporting it down the river on the bamboo rafts. Bings sailors and thugs seem to be the ones involved with this task, though it is hard to tell what is actually happening near the falls and river being that it is so far away from the fields.

If there anything either of you would like to do, say, or try during any of this, go for it. If you would like anything in particular described a bit better, just ask.

[Monsieur Rose]

Bonnie

Bonnie is content to perform manual labor. For a short time. She does her best to make note of times and schedules of the operation. At night she stays in the hut, uninterested in wandering the jungle at night.

"What do you think Keilif? Can I call you Keilif? They should put this on the recruiting poster at the mainland. Come to Big Shiny Island! See exotic species! Plenty of work for all!"

[Hotgoblin]

Of course you can call me Kelif, that’s its, my name!!! You’re right there are many species to choose from on this glorious island! I know now, that some do have more to offer than others!

[OGRE MAGE]

Decisions, Decisions
Freeday, the 5th of Goodmonth
Evening, Hot, Humid, Buggy

This day drags on much like the last three, though it seems like the pair of prisoners are finally starting to make progress with these cruel sailors. A few times during the day you are offered remains of the meals that the sailors were eating. Real meat and bread, not just the fruit and vegetables offered to the slaves. One at a time, each of you are called in early from the fields to have a private meeting with the captain and his advisors. Once the meetings are concluded, you are allowed to rest in your shack instead of being put back to work.

Keilif seems content to toil in the fields, never saying much about it or complaining in the least. Bonnie badly wants to get out of this situation, but she also bides her time, waiting for the perfect moment to make her move, if it ever comes. As the days continue to roll by, the pair wonders if they will ever receive any help from Beachtown or any of their compatriots elsewhere on the island. Both of you start to get the feeling that the others might very well already be dead and that no help will ever be coming.

The main activity around camp is still focused on the actions near the river. Whatever they are doing there, they sure spend a lot of time doing it. It seems like there is a bit of a buzz around camp, as if something will be happening soon. After another hard day in the fields, and eating some real food, your hammocks call out to you yet again.

[Hotgoblin]

Kelif wanders around camp, then heads over to the river. He’ll ask “what’s going on?” to whomever looks in charge.

[OGRE MAGE]

Keilif sees much of the same activity that he and Bonnie have seen for the last week here. Several men are packing up bundles of pungent plant material that they take from the long drying barns next to the river. The bundles are loaded on long bamboo rafts and eventually floated downstream on the swiftly moving waterway by other men, steering the rafts with long push poles.

Anyone the sea priest encounters gives him a wide berth, each of them looking at him suspiciously as they pass. There is a man shouting orders near the river that notices the clerics approach.

"Ooi! So you're da new fish, eh? Come to tell me a little secret, did ya?"

He looks at the other men in a gloating fashion.

"You know what? You don't look all that bad ass to me! So why's da cap'n so sweet on ya then, eh?"

[Hotgoblin]

The Captain doesn’t understand us. Some day he will! Kelif asks inquisitively Where are these bundles headed?

[OGRE MAGE]

The ornery man just stares back at the priest with a confused look. He scans the area behind him to make sure that Keilif is alone.

"Ehh....watcha mean, understand us? You gotta mouse in yer pocket er sumthin?"

The man is totally confused by the second questions.

"Whad ya say? You been here a week now an ya still don't know what were doing? These bundles are weed, see? This isn't just some normal bush weed either! This is primo shit! Brings a pretty penny on the mainland too, THATS what were doing here, stealing the natives herbs here and selling em for a hefty profit! These bundles are drifted down the river a few miles to the storage area where they will eventually be floated down to the sea and loaded up on the Flash! See?"

[Hotgoblin]

I think I know what you are saying! He nods to the old man and keeps going. Kelif walks the perimeter of the camp, trying to paint a mental picture of the Captain's thugs securing the camp and where they're usually hang out.

[OGRE MAGE]

The suddenly inquisitive sea priest continues to ignore the fact that there are several dozen natives, the very same people that he came here to protect and save, still toiling mightily out in the hot fields as he takes his stroll around the huge clearing.

(1 square = 20 feet)

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Starting his tour of the grounds at the waterfall, he sees huge rocks that surround the large basin where the falls dump into from at least 100 feet above. The mist and deafening noise that is created from the massive falls is constant. The jungle that grows right up to the falls on the opposite side is even more lush here than he has seen in many other places around the island. There is no pirate activity anywhere near the base of the falls.

There are a couple of large huts mixed in with some smaller ones over near the cave in the cliffs where he spent his first few nights. Men mill around near the buildings periodically, often going in and out of the longest of the shacks, previously pointed out as the barracks. The same place where the priest and Bonnie had breakfast when they were introduced to the rest of the crew. There is always some activity around the living quarters.

Moving back towards the trail that follows the river, Keilif passes the three large drying barns where the herbs from the fields are hanging. He also sees the long bamboo skiffs that the smugglers use to transport the bundles down river. There is activity here, as the men are almost continuously working on getting the product from the drying barns, bundled up, and sent downstream. The man who Keilif recently spoke with just shakes his head when he sees the filthy robbed priest wandering about aimlessly.

He doesn't notice much action near the river trail, where he and the others entered this camp from. It seems that the pirates now use the waterway to get back to their storage areas, as few men are ever seen moving along the end of the trail. Keilif passes the still hanging body of Brufrig, left to rot on a stake as a warning to anyone else foolish enough to wander into this dangerous place. He walks past it like he doesn't even notice his old friend.

Passing the trail, he heads northwest, towards the incredibly fertile farm fields where the natives are forced to work. He counts around 50 natives as he walks the 300 feet or so towards the huge open walled shack where the ogres sleep. The ogres are not in there during the day, as they are the ones actually forcing the slaves to work. They move them around the fields once the work is done in an area by pulling up heavy wooden stakes that the slaves are chained to. The move them to another area where work is needed and pound the stake back in there with huge wooden mallets. This procedure is repeated over and over, all day long, from dusk till dawn. Periodically, one of the men, sometimes Snake-Eye himself goes out to check on the work, making sure that the ogres know what needs attention next, but for the most part, the pirates don't go near the farm fields very often. Keilif counts a total of 5 ogres currently in the fields, three less than he noticed the day before.