Quest #15 "Taking Down Captain Bing"

[tkrexx]

Lightfinger also searches.

The wily Halfling skirts into the pit Monocar fell into, just to be nosy. He notes the goo on the pegs that the Man-Mountain failed to impale himself on. Hold on a moment, He asks as he tries to pull/dig/otherwise remove a pair of the spikes for further examination.

[ChubbyPixie]

Chauncey seems preoccupied and antsy to leave.

[Bluehorse]

Monocar

Even after the healing and despite the relief it obviously gives... he is still a very big guy with some very big damage to his feet and legs. Walking is difficult and he groans and whines uncontrollably as his still somewhat wounded legs try to support his weight. Oh gods it hurts so much! Who would do such a thing?! Ohh....

[OGRE MAGE]

Heading Back To Beachtown
Godsday, The 9th of Goodmonth
Late Afternoon, Hot, Humid, So Buggy

Lightfinger inspects the green goo smeared on the ends of the spikes in the pit. There isn't enough of the residue to collect, but the thief is pretty sure that one of the smugglers knows a bit about making natural poisons from some of the exotic plants around. The spiked branches are easy enough to remove from the bottom of the pit. Monocar cleans and dresses his wounds as best he can, very worried about his health after hearing the group is about to go cross country.

Alordan takes a look through the belongings of the smugglers they killed. He finds a total of 56 gold coins on the dead men, but not much else in the way of valuables. They were each armed with a dagger, a crossbow, and wearing cheap looking leather armor. Everyone can add 8gp and 100xp to their sheets from this encounter, since XP was already figured for this mission.

Lerrick gathers everyone together to bless them with the light of Pelor before they depart into the jungle. Talaris gives the half-elf with the odd mark on her forehead a strange look, but decides not to say anything to his religious counterpart.

Luther sees that Chauncey is growing impatient, so he takes point, hacking through the thick foliage of the overgrown jungle. The trek through the bush is just as bad as they remember it was on their way here, but after several hours of hacking, slashing, sweating, crying, being eaten by insects, and getting cut, scratched, and gouged by thorns, leaves, and branches, the party is able to bypass the remains of the smugglers group all together, eventually making it back to the beach trail, west of the river trail.

The sun is close to the horizon by the time they exit the harshness of the jungle, exhausted, badly cut, and half eaten. If they hurry, the group should be able to make it back to town by nightfall. Up ahead on the beach is a gruesome sight.

There appears to be a large carcass of some strange looking winged creature lying in the sand, just off the trail. There is blood and guts hanging out of it everywhere, but nothing obvious is currently feeding on the free meal.

Actions?

Luther R3 18/26
Chauncey MU3 11/16 CL, DM, RM 0/2 first 1/1 second
Monocar F3 22/31
Lerrick C2 11/11 0/3 first
Lightfinger T4 16/19
Alordan R3 15/18
Talaris C2 14/14 0/4 first

[ChubbyPixie]

“That,” says Chauncey, “will, I imagine, attract something larger. Perhaps we should circumvent the remains and be on our way...” in spite of his own advice, he eyes the carcass from afar, clearly intrigued and desirous of a quick inspection. Is it the lizard bird they saw previously? he wonders.

[tkrexx]

Lightfinger pauses.

His Hobbit curiosity nearly gets the better of him once more, but Arte is too tired and too beat up worry about a big, dead flying lizard. One less thing to pose a threat to us, says I, He offers, and hurries along.

[Bluehorse]

Monocar

Checks the bodies of the pirates for any boots that will fit him before setting off. Or anything in the way of better clothing for that matter. His are starting to look like he has always died multiple times.

Once they find the carcass of the flying lizard, the big guy... ever hungry... looks it over with a woodsman's eye to see how fresh it is. You think this is fit to eat? We could quarter it out and take it to the cooks back in town. That would be good right? We should at least take the head as proof it is dead. That would be good news for folks, right? What do you think got it? Hey! You think anything here could be tanned for leather or used for crafts? A dragon tooth dagger sounds pretty cool...

[Urson]

Luther

Luther is in full Ranger mode- watching for dangers and leading the way.

When they reach Pterry, he shakes his head. Look there- and there. Someone's already taken a few choice cuts- see how clean the edges are? Maybe you can come back for a tooth or two, Monocar. We're all wounded, you may have something awful in those cuts, and the scavengers will be all over this carcass when the sun sets. I'm sorry, buddy- it's not worth the risk.

If anyone needs a shoulder to lean on, Luther is glad to help. He continues toward home.

[Bluehorse]

Monocar for once listens to reason and nods, ready to go.

[ravenn4544]

Alordan is sees the mutilated corpse on the beach and is reminded of Devlin... After a minute, he looks back down the beach for any smugglers...

[kruk]

Lerrick takes one look and pukes. She turns her head from side-to-side to see if anyone noticed, then shakes her head, moving a bit farther away from the ill-fated lizard beast.

[OGRE MAGE]

Making It Back To Beachtown
Godsday, The 9th of Goodmonth
Early Evening, Warm, Humid, Even More Buggy

Needing to travel past the carcass to get back to town, the group gives it a wide berth. Even from a distance, Chauncey can tell that it was indeed the same flying lizard that has been seen around the beach before, which is just fine with the groups thief.

Having found nothing on the smugglers that would even come close to fitting him, Monocar of course wants to run up to it, visions of a cool dragon toothed dagger swirling around in his head. He sees that the body has already been completely harvested. In fact, he doesn't even see the things head on its body anymore. The butchering was definitely not professionally done, of course, and any tiny scraps of meat left behind are already covered with black flies and disgusting jungle worms.

Luther warns against getting any closer, keeping the group moving past the dangerous sidetrack. Monocar stays quiet and actually listens to the elder statesman for once. The whole scene reminds Alordan of their friend Devlin, who was ripped apart by the sea troll right on this very beach. He looks back towards the river, but doesn't spot anyone following the group. Lerrick does not handle the carnage very well at all for an adventurer, covering her mouth and nose as she passes the smelly pile of leathery wings and mutilated body parts. She moves around it as quickly as possible with a really bad taste in her mouth.

The rest of their return trip goes by without any trouble, possibly because the biggest threat on the beach is now laying in a bloody pile behind them. They can smell the scent of smoking meat on the air as they near the shanty town, though it isn't one any of them has ever had the pleasure of experiencing before. The sun dips below the water with a sudden flash of bright green light just as they reach the fire pit on the beach.

Though it has been a few days since they left Beachtown, things still look generally the same to them. The one rather large noticeable difference is a huge sailing vessel anchored a few hundred yards off the western shore. Nobody in the group has ever seen this ship, or anyone like her, out on the water before. The fire tenders greet you as you enter town, they appear eager to cook anything you have brought back for them. The smoke from the fires slowly chase the insects away from you, allowing you to breath for the first time in days without sucking in bugs.

Actions?

Congratulations on surviving and welcome home everyone!

Luther R3 18/26
Chauncey MU3 11/16 CL, DM, RM 0/2 first 1/1 second
Monocar F3 22/31
Lerrick C2 11/11 0/3 first
Lightfinger T4 16/19
Alordan R3 15/18
Talaris C2 14/14 0/4 first

[Urson]

Luther

For a little while, Luther just stands near the fire- enjoying the lack of insects and the smells of hot cooked food. He asks about the ship, and nods when he's told about the Dwarves. I just hope folks can be polite- no need to make _another_ enemy around here.

Soon enough, he goes to the water's edge, rinses off the sweat and sand, and then stumbles off to his hut- and a long night's sleep.

[Bluehorse]

Monocar

Looks longingly at the food as well as the water, oh wow, a bath sounds great, but the salt would hurt like hell... plus doesn't blood in the water attract sharks? Not a fan of the idea of getting eaten... course maybe if we can lure sharks we could eat them... nothing scarier than a monocar thinking of food...

[ravenn4544]

Alordan stops at the fire tenders. "There is quite a carcass up the beach that would have been great to bring back - however it had turned and the meat was spoiled, sadly. What's that ship there, good sir? I don't recall seeing that before."

He will share about the encounters they had with the smugglers and monsters in the woods. The town needs to begin preparations if the smugglers decide to get even more bold...

[tkrexx]

Lightfinger hungers.

He smells the food and wonders if it's the flying lizard on the grill. He wonders what flying lizard tastes like. He's conflicted on whether to bathe, sleep or eat first. He decides on eating. Then sleeping. Then bathing.

[ChubbyPixie]

Chauncey inquires of the fire pit tenders whether the expedition that went in the opposite direction has returned yet. He has much to recount to Avalaa. He then heads off to his shack to arrange his things, clean up a bit and get some rest. There is much to do in the morning.

[Bluehorse]

Monocar

Opts for a quick trip in the shallows, braving the salt in his wounds for the sake of feeling clean. Then he goes to the cooks for a meal telling them all they want to hear and much much much much much much more about their trip and he natives and freeing slaves and Cap'n Bing and his pirates. He then will head back to his cot in the common house for some sleep.

[OGRE MAGE]

Making It Back To Beachtown
Godsday, The 9th of Goodmonth
Early Evening, Warm, Humid, Even More Buggy

Lightfinger’s suspicions seem to be spot on. He ponders giving the sizzling lizard meat on the spit a try as the toothless chef grins down at him uncomfortably.

The cooks don’t seem quite as talkative with the group on this return trip, though that doesn’t stop Monocar from telling them everything he wants to anyway. Alordan warns them of possible trouble from the pirates and is told about Bing’s ship sailing past the town a few days ago. They fill the group in on the dwarf situation and about their ship, then telling Chauncey to check the tavern for his friends.

After some painful but still refreshing washing in the shallows, most of the group seems content to head off to bed to get some well deserved rest.

As always, keep posting here if it is related to this mission. Otherwise post future plans in their appropriate threads. Thanks!

Actions?

Luther R3 18/26
Chauncey MU3 11/16 CL, DM, RM 0/2 first 1/1 second
Monocar F3 22/31
Lerrick C2 11/11 0/3 first
Lightfinger T4 16/19
Alordan R3 15/18
Talaris C2 14/14 0/4 first