|
Post by Rex Apium on Oct 14, 2017 18:35:07 GMT -5
Josette wasn't very strong, but her stamina was good. She did walk everywhere, after all, so while Feng Kesh carried most of the things and did most of the work that required his strength, Josette helped carry things where she could, removed debris and played scout when she couldn't do either.
The weather here was not something she was accustomed to and was certainly not something her armor was made for. While it was refreshing in the morning, as the sun rose overhead it was becoming increasingly more uncomfortable. She was glad when the two of them had finally finished hauling the stuff off the beach. It was a lot cooler out of the direct sunlight.
She once again let him go about the business of breaking open the containers. She could have opened the locked ones with a spell, but he seemed perfectly content to do it himself and she was perfectly content to let him do it. Finding food she appreciated. Finding beer and rum not so much. She wasn't much of an alcohol drinker and when she did she was picky.
At the barrel of gold she just stared dumbfounded. It was more than she'd ever seen in her life time and here she was stuck on what was probably an island with no obvious way off. She started to laugh. She couldn't help it. How absurd of a thing to happen. When she finished she flopped down and stared off at nothing, uninterested in anything else he was doing.
She stayed like this until he mentioned the spyglass. She hopped up and walked over to him at that. She was getting tired of sulking and was honestly hoping that there'd be something for her to do. Taking the spyglass to the mountain seemed like the perfect thing, and she could get there quickly too.
However, at the mention of the ship her priorities shifted, “It look in tact? Or if anyone's on it?”
She left a pause before look around at the stuff they'd hauled off the shore, “This will probably be fine. We should go check it out.”
Truth be told she was getting restless again, and investigating the ship would help ease that.
|
|
|
Post by Former Fiend on Oct 15, 2017 1:01:49 GMT -5
“Hrm. Can't tell from here.” Feng Kesh answered when Josette asked him if the ship was intact. “It's so far away I can just barely make it out with the glass, and there are rocks blocking the main hull.”
When she suggested going to check the ship out, he folded the spy glass again and nodded. “Agreed. Even if it's not sea worthy, they may be survivors. Or there may be something useful.” Before they set off he turned and offered the spyglass to her. “Hold onto that. Depending on what we find, we may still need to head for that mountain you mentioned. You'll lead the way then.”
Feng Kesh took a step in the direction of the ship but paused to consider something before turning to Josette. “I noticed that you're not used to the heat bearing down on you. It's not a short walk; don't take this the wrong way, but perhaps you'd be more comfortable if you removed the leather pieces of your outfit?”
Feng Kesh sighed; there really wasn't a way to frame that that took away from the fact he was asking her to undress. Perhaps unsurprisingly she declined and he nodded, noting that he intended no disrespect. With that out of the way, they set off to the south, sticking to the shade of the trees as they walked parallel to the beach.
The walk from the cave to the beach had the pair largely focused on navigating the forest and following Feng Kesh's initial trail. This time they had a clear path and direction, and the underbush of the forest was thin enough this close to the beach that nothing could sneak up on them; anything that attacked from the woods or the sea would be seen coming. With no need to focus on a specific task and no need to be silent to avoid attracting attention, Feng Kesh decided to pass the time with conversation.
“You mentioned that you were shot in a place called Aziz; I confess I'd never heard of such a place before, at least not by that name. Where is it you're from, Josette?”
|
|
|
Post by Rex Apium on Oct 15, 2017 17:51:40 GMT -5
The woman took the spyglass as it was offered to her and stashed it in her backpack. She had taken it off some time again and left it next to the cargo they'd brought up from shore. She'd be leaving it here once they left to go to the ship. She frequently stashed her backpack before heading into ruins and this wouldn't be any different. Honestly, if they went for the contents of her backpack and not the giant chest full of gold she'd be surprised.
She had declined to remove the leather parts of her outfit. It wasn't a modesty thing, or perhaps it was, so much as it was just what she was used to. A comfort thing, maybe. Despite the heat here, it wasn't the first time she was wearing this in weather it was not made for. She went through the desert of Aziz without changing, she wasn't going to let the humidity here win.
“Hm?” she responded when Feng Kesh started speaking. This wasn't the first moment she'd considered that possibly Feng Kesh was from somewhere she wasn't familiar with, but this was the first time it seemed so glaringly obvious. Still, she needed to give him the benefit of the doubt, “I'm from the Kingdom of Decus and despite that I in no way shape or form, real or imagined claim any amount of loyalty to the country.”
Normally a statement like that could spell her death if said in the wrong company, but she'd been around Feng Kesh long enough to recognize that if he knew what she was talking about he'd prefer knowing the truth. Or at least the cliffnotes version.
“What about you? I'm uh.. I've got a hunch here, and your answer will more than likely confirm or deny it.”
|
|
|
Post by Former Fiend on Oct 15, 2017 18:30:39 GMT -5
Geography wasn't Feng Kesh's strongest subject. He knew a great deal about the tunnels and caves and ruins beneath the earth and the slimy, writhing, crawling aberrations there in. He was quite adept at math and engineering, calculations and construction. He was versed in legends, laws, customs, traditions. He knew people and personalities. He was well versed in logistics, strategy, and tactics.
These were all subjects that Feng Kesh was well studied in. Geography, however, was grouped along side magic, the working of the planes, wider religious doctrine, the natural world, and detailed histories; subjects that he had, at best, a novice's understanding of. A layman's knowledge combined with a high enough intelligence to recognize the depths of his own ignorance in these subjects.
And yet despite knowing how little he knew, he didn't think the existence of a whole kingdom could have escaped him. He'd been prepared to write off his unfamiliarity with the name Aziz as perhaps a local parlance for somewhere he did know of, or otherwise a remote enough area that it wouldn't be common knowledge to outsiders. But he was well traveled enough, and came from a place that was such a melting pot of disparate cultures, that the existence of a whole kingdom shouldn't have eluded him; he would have met a traveler from there or seen it on a map or heard a rumor or legend of it.
And yet he had never heard of this Decus before.
He recalled Josette's story of how she arrived in this place; a magic door ended up being a portal carrying her far away. In that moment he had considered that she had traveled considerably farther than she realized. And in that moment he had recalled the unnatural feeling of the storm that had brought him here. In this moment he once again considered the implications of it.
As he looked at Josette, considering the expression on her beautiful face, he suspected that she was considering the same possibility he was. He knew people, after all. He knew how to read them.
“I was born in Varisia, in the city of Kaer Maga, though my family is not from there. My grandfather was exiled from Minkai; he and my mother settled in the City of Strangers before I was born. I grew up there, lived there until my granfather died and my mother's husband made it clear I wasn't welcomed or wanted there anymore.”
A brief summary of a long story, but that wasn't the most pressing issue at the moment. What mattered was whether Josette recognized the places Feng Kesh named or not, and just what that meant.
|
|
|
Post by Rex Apium on Oct 16, 2017 23:46:43 GMT -5
Josette did not recognize any of the places Feng Kesh mentioned. She could also tell that he didn't recognize the place SHE mentioned. Once all these was made clear, she let out a sigh. She had really, really hoped that whatever crazy magic brought her here just transported her somewhere on Houna she hadn't been to before... and while that was still possible, chances are that really wasn't what happened.
So that brought up the next question. Where were they? They could be on Houna... but they could also be wherever Feng Kesh was from. Or, they could be some other place entirely, some pocket dimension or a different world or... who knew what.
“Well..” she started with another sigh, “I have no idea what you're talking about... which means we more than likely aren't from the same place. I mean, I haven't been everywhere on Houna, but I have certainly not heard of any of the places you mentioned... and even if you were from somewhere on Hema, or some other continent I haven't really been to – you would have known Decus.”
She shook her head, “The Kingdom of Decus has been trying to forcibly control the entire world. They started with everyone in their country, outright banning the worship of any deity other than the God of Light and executed anyone who didn't convert.”
Josette rubbed the back of her neck, “Or at the very least executed anyone actively worshiping any other god... then to top it all off they formed an alliance with people from another world whose... technology? I think that's the word, their technology was vastly different from ours. Actually kind of worked out well for everyone else in the world since that whole debacle put a huge gaping wound into Decus' efforts to invade other countries. Things there haven't been so bad the last two or three years since the army is busy picking up the pieces after that other army left.”
“Point being is I don't think something that big would go unnoticed. They invaded Aziz and several other neighboring countries. Everyone was on high alert when that started happening... even Hema, and those people usually don't care about what's going on in the world.”
Her plan wasn't to reveal all of that, and honestly it said almost nothing about her or her involvement in helping to put a wrench in Decus' plans, but it was still more than she'd initially thought she'd explain. Still, though, if she was going to be stuck on a possible island with this man it wouldn't hurt to get to know each other better.
“What did you do after you left home?” she said after a few moments, in an effort to keep the conversation going.
|
|
|
Post by Former Fiend on Oct 17, 2017 10:42:43 GMT -5
Feng Kesh listened carefully as Josette gave a summary of just why it was so unlikely for him to have not heard of this Decus if they were from the same world. For a moment, he almost wished that they were; for some time now he had a feeling of restlessness at the lack of a challenge before him. Opposing a kingdom that sought to convert the world to it's god by the sword was the kind of cause he could rally behind.
“You're right; it's impossible that such a place would have existed on my world without my knowledge of it. Aziz, Decus, Hema, these names are foreign to me. As is this 'God of Light'; there are many gods where I am from, and many are linked to the sun – including my own. But to my knowledge, none go by that title.” Feng Kesh paused for a moment. “I don't know everything about my world, but such a thing – a kingdom bent on world domination, a religion built on forced conversion, allied with another world. Word of such things would have spread far and wide. And I would have answered the call to oppose them. I can't blame you for your lack of loyalty to your homeland; there's no honor in serving such a master.”
Feng Kesh took a moment to consider the implications of the confirmation that they weren't from the same world. Of the two of them it seemed more likely that she was the one transplanted and that they were still on his homeworld. She had arrived through blatantly magical transportation where as his arrival was possibly mundane. But he knew just enough of magic to know that was far from certain. That storm remained an unnatural thing in his mind and magic took many forms. And the magical door through which she walked could have transported her a simple matter of miles – perhaps hundreds or thousands – while still remaining on her world.
The more disturbing implication was that neither of them were on the world they had been on two days ago. If one or the other were, they had some point of familiarity, some point of reference. He could act as her guide or she as his to help find their way home. But if this was neither of their homes, then they were truly lost. And the possibility that finding their way back would itself be impossible was something they'd eventually have to consider.
But now was not the time for despair. Feng Kesh had no intention of giving up until he had exhausted every option available to him. And, thankfully, Josette had decided to keep talking so they could focus on their conversation instead of wallowing in implications.
“I set out from the city with Akane, a dear friend and lover of mine, looking for... I don't know, really. Challenge. Adventure. Fortune. To prove something, to myself, my family. I think I was just trying to get away. People go to Kaer Maga to disappear and leave their old lives behind. We were among the rare few who left it for the same reason.”
“Anyway, we signed on as guards for a caravan. Humble start to the adventure but we didn't have much coin between us and figured it would carry us far away from the city. After that, well, it's a long story. Got caught up in a cult's plan to destroy a village that turned out to be part of a larger conspiracy to awaken an ancient wizard king who had sealed himself away in another dimension to avoid a cataclysm and planned on conquering the world once he returned. Myself and a few others put a stop to it.”
Feng Kesh let out a chuckle. “It's so rare that I talk about it with anyone, to summarize it so quickly, the whole thing sounds absurd. If you want to hear more of the story I'll tell it, but I've never cared for boasting of my deeds. I wouldn't mind hearing more of you, though.”
|
|
|
Post by Rex Apium on Oct 17, 2017 18:43:08 GMT -5
Feng Kesh's story was like many others she'd heard in her travels. Humble beginnings that turn into greatness. Well, not many. Honestly, most people had humble beginnings and then didn't do much with their lives. They tried, but something or other didn't work out for them. Feng Kesh was closer to the heroes of neighboring countries or even the type of story parents would tell their children.
The woman looked to him when he asked about her. That almost never happened. In fact, most people were content to ignore those around them unless there was a pressing reason to pay attention to them. To be honest, it was safer that way. At the height of the King's oppression even those that mentioned something against the government were taken away. Josette had heard that there was a resistance, but she'd never seen them... and she didn't see them when she and 02 sent that army back to 02's world.
“My life hasn't been so... well, okay, perhaps not.”
She took a breath, “Like I said, I was born in the Kingdom of Decus. My family was pretty well off, dad's part of the standing army and my mother was a Nightsworn... which are a sect of holy warriors for Poe'le, the Goddess of Darkness.” She paused here for a moment before continuing, “She taught me how to be a sword dancer, how to use the magic that ran in our blood and left me her Goddess blessed swords when she died. I left home shortly after that and have yet to return.”
“My life since then has been spent crawling through tombs to try and scrounge up as much treasure as I can find to pay for food and other necessary supplies. It isn't easy as the Decusian army raided most of them to help pay for the army's upkeep.”
Josette paused again and rubbed the back of her neck, “About three or four years ago I was in an old temple to someone. History and religion were never my strong points. Anyway, I stumbled upon a secret chamber in the ruin and possibly accidentally activated some sort of magic in there. Whatever happened exactly it transported a man from a different world there. He had some sort of powered armor that I'm still a little shaky on how the whole thing worked. He'd been part of that army that came over to Houna and joined forces with Decus... but he was... unaffiliated. He'd been experimented on and being separated from his brothers cleared his head enough for him to realize the horror that was being dealt. Long and short of it is the two of us helped send those who weren't suppose to be there back where they belonged.”
As she told the last part of her story she looked down to her right hand and flexed it a few times, “Don't think too highly of me, I had help. Direct intervention from the Gods. Po'ele blessed me with some sort of power I haven't been able to access since then... honestly I'd probably be dead otherwise.”
“When that was all done I went back to doing what I did before. He was gone and there was no one around to pat us on the back for doing a good job... and a girl's gotta eat.”
|
|
|
Post by Former Fiend on Oct 18, 2017 16:22:40 GMT -5
“I should not think highly of a woman whom a Goddess saw fit to bless?” Feng Kesh asked her with a smile. “If this Po'ele saw such worth in you that she chose you as her divine instrument, who am I to disagree? Besides, divine intervention or not, you acted and did what was right when others may not have. That in itself is deserving of respect.”
Moving on as they walked, Feng Kesh picked up on something else she had said.“So then, I'm not the first person from another world that you've met. I have less experience in this; whenever I've encountered something other-worldly, it's usually been some sort of horrific monstrosity that's tried to kill me and others. You're a pleasant change from that.”
Walking as they talked, they were now within plain sight of the ship that they had set out to find. Disappointment would be a natural instinct; the masts were damaged if still standing, the sails ripped off of them, and now that the rocky outcropping didn't block side of the whole of the ship, it was clear to see even from this distance that there were large holes in the hull. While the overall structure remained largely intact, it was still a wreck, and one that wasn't going to get them off the island.
“Damnit.” Feng Kesh sighed under his breath. He'd been holding out some small hope that the ship would be in tact and that there would be crew that they could barter passage from. Of course he had known in his heart that it wouldn't have been that easy – it was never that easy. But he always allowed himself some hope. It was better than considering the possibility that there may not be a way off this isaland.
“We should still take a look.” the half-orc said after a moment. “Might still be crew using it as shelter, or there might still be some useful supplies on board.”
As they continued their approach, the beach here was much the same as it had been where Feng Kesh had washed up and they had retrieved the supplies from the wreck of his ship – this one he didn't recognize, either as the Wealthy Father or the Promise. But the beach itself was covered in tidepools and sea foam, though there were less birds and other scavengers on the beach itself; indeed, the birds were mostly keeping to the sky or perched on the rocks that framed the ship wreck.
As they got closer, it became clear just why this ship was still here – it had been impaled on a rock formation. Even the rising tides and stormsurge of the previous day had failed to dislodge it, and so it clung to the beach. From the look of it, it had been here for weeks, possibly months. There were no obvious signs of the crew; no look outs, no one on deck.
But Feng Kesh was noticing things, and it was that instinct that kept him from calling out to see if anyone was sheltered within the hull, and kept his hand on the hilt of his sword.
The most obvious thing was the skeleton; not of a human but of some sea beast that had been beached. He wasn't sure what, exactly, it was, but it had been the size of a large bull, he'd guess. Laying next to a tidepool covered in sea weed, it had been nearly stripped to the bone. But the birds were leaving it be and there was no sign of any other scavengers about.
As they passed by it, Feng Kesh kicked away some of the sea weed from around it; there were still prints in the wet sand. Indistinct given how wet the sand was; an uncareful step would sink in and distort the shape of the print as it pulled free. But all the same, about the right size for a man's boot.
As Feng Kesh showed Josette the track, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Movement from inside the hull of the ship, caught through one of the large holes torn in it. As he waited to see if it happened again or was a simple trick of the light, he warned Josette all the same;“Be on your guard.”
A shape did pass through the hole in the side of the ship again; man-sized, but shambling and awkward. It stopped right in front of the pair, still several yards off. It was too dark inside the ship to make out precise movements, but it hadn't seemed to turn to regard them directly, and it wasn't obvious as to whether it had noticed them or not. It just stood there, twitching and spasming, the jolting, jerking movements of if it's limbs as if they were being pulled by strings.
Suddenly the surface of the water of the tidepool they stood next too broke, a figured bursting forth, covered in the sea weed that had concealed it's presence beneath the water. Even as it reached it's feet, Feng Kesh's blade left it's scabbard and sliced it's head clean in half.
The body fell as quickly as it had risen, disappearing back into the pool beneath the green blanket of weeds. Something had been strange about it, Feng Kesh knew; he'd cut more than one man's head off and yet this cut had felt odd, as if there was a second skull behind the first. But he didn't have time to dwell on it or examine the body as the figure within the hull of the ship was now shambling towards them at speed, and as emerged from the hull he could see why the other felt so strange.
The figure was a walking corpse of a man, a sailor by it's clothing. But it wasn't magic that was animating it's body. Clinging to it was a large cuddle-fish like creature, the size of a man's head or bigger, it's tentacles emerging from it's shell to pierce the flesh of the corpse, weaving in and out of it, moving it like a puppet. Moving it towards them.
And it wasn't alone. More emerged from inside the ship. More emerged from the tidepools that surrounded them. A dozen by Feng Kesh's count.
He gripped his sword and readied his stance, preparing to slice down the first that came near him.
|
|
|
Post by Rex Apium on Oct 21, 2017 22:45:16 GMT -5
At Feng Kesh's question, Josette shook her head, “No you're not the first – but this is the first time I've been transported to a different world... if that's what happened, that is.”
The two had come upon the ship that Feng Kesh had seen and Josette let out a disappointed sigh. It was a wreck. Josette knew nothing of carpentry and even less of being a shipwright. She thought of the cargo they'd pulled up from the shore and how there was, in fact, enough supplies there TO repair a ship... but one this damaged she wasn't so sure about. She also wasn't sure if Feng Kesh had any idea how to repair it because she certainly didn't.
They walked closer to the ship and it became apparent that not only was the ship damaged, but it was thoroughly stuck where it was. That was even worse than not knowing how to repair the ship. There wasn't a way they could get it out of where it was. She let out another sigh of disappointment and started to look around for any signs of survivors. It was then she noticed it. The... nothing. There were tidepools, sure, but no scavengers. Nothing picked at the tidepools to hunt. That didn't seem right, and certainly didn't sit with her right.
Brows furrowed, she started murmuring an incantation. It would increase her speed and should Feng Kesh be listening and able to understand, he would recognize the words as a very odd dialect of elvish. She didn't draw her swords just yet, but she was taking some precautions. Several more seconds and steps later and she would cast another spell, this one to increase her agility. She was already dextrous, but having the two spells up would make her formidable.
She was glad for this prep work when the first creature sprung from the closest tidepool. Feng Kesh took care of it easily, but that's not where Josette was focused. Instead she watched as the second creature emerged from the hull of the ship. It was now she drew her swords, watching as more of these creatures came from the hull of the ship.
Josette was not the type to rush into danger and she wasn't about to change that habit now. She positioned herself so that the tidepools wouldn't be in her way, and partially so she could keep an eye on them in case any more critters decided to spring out, and waited. As the first weird sea zombie made it within less than 10 feet of her, she sprung forward, the spell that enhanced her speed moving around the corpse so she could cleanly sever it's head.
She would continue to do this, letting the creatures get near her before maneuvering around them like a dancer before slicing at them. Her swords may have been thin, and not nearly as impressive as Feng Kesh's but they moved through the corpses like a hot knife through butter, the runes etched into the blades glowing blue as she danced around the field.
|
|
|
Post by Former Fiend on Oct 22, 2017 12:02:38 GMT -5
Feng Kesh didn't speak elven, but he generally recognized casting when he saw it, even if he didn't know enough to tell just what spell, or what kind of spell was being cast. It was a good skill to have, to recognize the opening that a spellcaster gave when they tried to work their magic, striking before they could finish the incantation, and hopefully interrupting it.
Of course he didn't take that opportunity here, given that Josette was on his side. That she recognized the danger the pair were walking into and took the time to prepare herself for it with whatever magic she possessed – at least that's what Feng Kesh assumed she had done in hindsight – showed that she was someone worth having on his side.
She had good instincts. Now it was time to see if she had the skill to back it up.
After putting down the first of the creatures to burst from the tidepool, Feng Kesh held his ground and let Josette move next. There were only a few brief moments to gauge her movements, but she didn't disappoint. He could only assume that her speed had been enhanced with magic, as quickly as she moved, but her footwork was excellent and her strikes precise, striking at the head of the creature.
The fact that her blades, as small and thin as they were, pierced both skull and shell, spoke to the quality of both their craftsmanship and the magical enhancements placed upon them.
A few heartbeats was all the time Feng Kesh had to take this information in before the creatures were upon him. Unlike Josette, Feng Kesh didn't maneuver around his enemies. In combat he either moved forward and carved his way through all obstacles, or let his foes come to him to die. Straight and direct, either way. And here and now, they were only too happy to come to him.
The first to reach him was the first he had seen, the one that emerged from the hull of the wreck and had charged directly for him. It was unfortunate for this creature and fortunate for the half-orc that he had found the healing potion among the salvaged supplies earlier. It had alleviated the pain from his injuries enough that he felt confident in drawing his nodachi rather than his katana.
He drew back the hilt of the blade, and just as the shambling monstrosity came into reach, thrust forward, stopping it dead in it's tracks. The corpse twitched and spasmed as the death throws of the tentacled puppeteer writhed through it's rotting flesh, the tip of Feng Kesh's blade having pierced straight through the skull of the dead sailor and the shell of the parasite alike.
In one fluid motion, Feng Kesh withdrew the sword into a low, upper-cutting back swing that took the head off another of the creatures that tried to attack him from behind. It's head hadn't hit the ground yet before he struck down a third, the body crumpling as Feng Kesh sliced it in half, tentacles and all.
There was a horrid, sickening screeching sound as the creature inside the shell withdrew the stumps of it's severed tentacles from the corpse, foul pus and ichor flowing freely from it's wounds as it detached from it's previous host and tried to flee for the water. Seizing the opportunity, Feng Kesh made sure it didn't escape.
Feng Kesh turned around to take stock of Josette's progress. If he had any concern, it was misplaced; she was making quick work of the ones attacking her, easily out maneuvering the shambling monsters as they stumbled around on the soft, uneven ground.
But even if she had required assistance, he wouldn't have a clear path to render it. Three more of the creatures lay between them, making their way towards him.
He drew his sword back and to one side, and in one swing, right to left, cleaved through each of their necks, one after another.
With that, everything went quiet again.
There were no more of the corpses, nor of the shelled parasites. At least not in plain view. The tidepools were still again, disturbed only by the ripples caused by the bodies that had just been cut down and fallen into them.
Feng Kesh had counted a dozen of them when the fight began. Now his count showed a dozen bodies laying on the sand or in the water, put down by himself and Josette.
After a moment, the silence was broken as Feng Kesh stepped forward, intentionally stepping on one of the parasites that lay next to the severed head of one of the zombies he had put down. The shell tried to sink into the sand, but inevitably cracked and shattered under the force of Feng Kesh's boot, crushing the soft, boneless remains of the creature within.
“I think that's all of them. You fought well.” Feng Kesh said as he walked over to Josette, giving her an approving nod. “Are you alright?”
Once she answered, he turned his attention back to the wrecked ship. “I still want to check to see if there's anything useful on board. Not likely to find much food that hasn't gone to rot, but there may be other supplies among the cargo. Maybe some clue as to what in the hells is going on here, or even where 'here' is.”
“I'll take the hold; you look above deck. I don't imagine this needs to be said, but all the same, stay on guard, just in case there are any more of these... things lurking or trapped on board.”
|
|
|
Post by Rex Apium on Oct 24, 2017 21:55:55 GMT -5
As the last of the puppet corpses fell, Josette let out a sigh. She was one for focusing her attacks on the most lethal swings possible. This wasn't out of some attempt to show off or some extreme skill, rather she hated a fight being drug out. She wasn't exactly the strongest person and could only take so much damage before she was out for good. It was in her best interest to get the whole thing done and over with as quickly as possible.
Feng Kesh had done a good job, but with his looks if he hadn't she would have been severely disappointed., “I'm fine, yea.”
As he mentioned she should check above deck she gave him a nod. Honestly, it was probably easier for her to get onto the deck of the ship than for him. He was still injured, and the one spell she'd cast on herself helped her jump higher.
She sheathed both of her swords and headed over to the ship. It was positioned in a way that she could hop up the rocks it was stick in for most of the trip up to the deck, It looked like she'd have to hoist herself up onto the deck itself, but there was enough debris around that it wouldn't be impossible. With the route assessed, she made her way to the deck, drawing one of her swords once she'd gotten herself up there.
There were no obvious beasties and she spent much of her time looking around what remained on the deck itself. There wasn't much. Broken barrels and crates. Some rope... a lot of wood in planks if they needed it. The captain's cabin door was open, forcefully by the looks of it, but she wanted to make sure she'd covered everything out here in the open before she made her way in there. If there was anything still alive on this ship, it would probably be there.
She would be wrong, however, as she cautiously made her way over to the busted door and peeked into the room, blinking a few times so her eyes could adjust to the change in lighting. She could see just fine in the low light conditions in the cabin, but it was still a dramatic shift from the bright sunlight. The cabin was empty, well at least empty of living things, and with that established she sheathed her sword. For the most part there wasn't much in there. Some personal effects that belonged to the person that ran the ship, but nothing of real value. The log, however, was open on his desk and she figured if she wasn't going to find anything useful in the ship, she may as well see if she can figure out where it came from.
The chair behind the desk was still good, but she didn't sit in it, instead she stood and propped a knee up on it, leaning over to read the log. She flipped back a few pages, skimming quickly to look for key words. It actually appeared that this particular log was started once they'd become stranded at this beach. The captain had dated them, but Josette didn't recognize the months used... which honestly didn't bode well.
Two weeks worth of logs, and Josette figured starting at the beginning was her best bet. The ship was hit by a storm that for what Josette knew, sounded a lot like the storm that took out Feng Kesh's ship. It didn't completely destroy this one, however, but it did leave them stranded in these rocks. The captain mentioned in his observations that he didn't recognize any of the stars in the sky at night, which got Josette wondering. It was raining so hard last night she wouldn't have been able to see them, but if there was any way for her to know for sure if she was on her world or not it would be the stars. She knew constellations by heart, it was something her mother and her shared.
She continued through the logs. It looked like the captain sent teams out to investigate. Two to scout the shoreline in long boats and teams further inland. One of the teams reported signs of civilization, but long since abandoned. However, it looked like that team was the only one to return. She honestly wasn't surprised by this. Sailors were ill equipped for battle, and if they came up against a beasty that was too big for them to handle, they'd be chow.
Of the longboats he sent out, only one returned – and with half the team dead. The team reported that the island was surrounded by razor sharp reef and rock formations and to top that all off, the water was full of strange and deadly sea critters. Again, this wasn't terribly surprising to her. Of course it would be monstrously difficult to get off this island... it was probably entirely magic too, and if she had the ability to see magic she was certain she'd see she was right.
As she flipped further along, it looked like the predicament the ship was in didn't sit well with the crew. They mutinied. Took their numbers down from 60 to 13. She figured the captain had locked himself in his cabin when this all started to go down. There was only one more page left, and this one mentioned the tentacled creatures that took over the remaining crew members. She was right in her assumption the captain had locked himself in his cabin. He specifically mentioned them trying to break down the door at the very moment he was writing.
For the most part, the log was helpful. A lot more anecdotal than Josette preferred, but it had useful information in it. She closed it and gingerly took it with her as she left the cabin. She might need to refer to it later and she wanted to know if Feng Kesh recognized any of the dates on the pages. She did note, that the captain mentioned 13 remaining crew and the two of them had only killed a dozen... so there was either one more (and possibly the captain) somewhere nearby, or the missing crew members had merely been killed. Whatever the case was, she needed to find Feng Kesh and let him know what she found.
|
|
|
Post by Former Fiend on Oct 26, 2017 9:39:39 GMT -5
As Josette made her way to the rocks to climb aboard the ship, Feng Kesh made his way to the gaping hole in the hull. As a child he would have been able to scale the side of the ship as easily as a spider could climb a wall or a monkey could climb a tree. Growing up in Kaer Maga, a city built for verticality, children learned to climb and to balance themselves upon ledges from a young age. That had become somewhat more difficult for him as he grew up and filled out. He could still do it, it just wasn't as easy as it once was, and there was no sense in over-exerting himself after the fight.
Before he stepped inside the ship, he sheathed his nodachi. A sword that large would be almost useless inside such confined spaces as a ship's hold. Almost; unlike a greatsword, a nodachi still made for an excellent thrusting weapon, not unlike a spear or a pike. Used as such a way it could make for an ideal weapon in a confined, narrow space. But not when he couldn't be sure from which direction an attack would come from, and he may need to make quick adjustments based on that.
Once inside the hull, he drew his katana and spoke the command word, causing it to come alight with flame. He was careful to hold it behind his head when he did so. Counter to the common instinct, holding a torch right in front of your face blinded you to anything beyond it's light. And Feng Kesh, unlike most with orcish blood, couldn't see in the dark.
Inside the hull, Feng Kesh found mostly disappointment. The bottom of the ship was entirely filled with sand, silt, and sea water. Judging by the algae on the walls, high tide regularly filled the lower hold above his head. And while walking a long the beach had given him a tolerance for the stench of sea life rotting in the sun, stepping in here was almost as if he had hit a wall, such was the stench of rot and decay. Some he imagined was from the bodies of the sailors those corpses had possessed. Some of it was likely from stores the ship kept going bad after being flooded too often.
As awful as it was, though, he endured and forced his way through, examining the crates and cargo; what wasn't half buried in sand had been lifted up and shuffled by the tide repeatedly, making passage through the hold difficult. He examined each crate as he stepped through; rot had taken hold in the wood and they yielded to his strength as he cracked them open, only to find more disappointment.
This ship had apparently been carrying grain and farming supplies mostly. The grain had all gone bad, mold and fungus flourishing in it in the wet, dark sanctuary of this place. And the tools had all taken to rust with the sea salt they were bathed in each night. Everything down here was beyond use.
Reaching the end of the hold, Feng Kesh found his way up to the next level blocked by some overturned crates. He shifted them without much effort, but what he found beneath him caused him to reflexively raise his sword. Another corpse. But this one wasn't moving, wasn't being puppeteered by an aberrant creature. It was just laying there, crushed and dead, being fed on by small fish and crabs.
Feng Kesh relaxed; he hadn't been frightened, but quick reflexes meant the difference between life and death in battle. Now that he was reasonably sure the corpse wasn't going to leap up out of the water and attack him, he took a moment to examine it, lowering his sword to illuminate it more. Judging by the holes woven through it, Feng Kesh gathered what had happened; this corpse had been a puppet for one of the creatures, only to be caught under the heavy crates when they fell. Rather than feed it's host, the creature must have simply abandoned it.
Feng Kesh sighed and looked around; there was no sign of it, but there were plenty of places it could be hiding. Perhaps it was in here with him or perhaps it had fled into deeper waters. Whatever the case, he wasn't going to find it unless it came to him. Turning his thoughts from this – though remaining on guard – Feng Kesh ascended the stairs up into the crew deck. Where as below he had found an abundance of things to check for supplies, here there was less. A few foot lockers that the crew would keep personal affects in that had been largely spared form the elements; the tide hadn't reached up quite this high, it seemed., though it was still quite wet from the recent storm.
Feng Kesh broke open each foot locker in turn, though he didn't find much useful. A few whistles, the type that would be used to signal the watch on the ship. Several letters to and from home that Feng Kesh gathered up. His best find was a compass, but when he opened it, he found that the needle only spun about wildly, unable to rest on any direction.
That was troubling, if unsurprising.
With that, Feng Kesh made for the top deck. The door was hanging open as he stepped up into the light dismissing the flame from his sword. The wooden steps creaked under the weight of his heavy footsteps, announcing his approach to anyone on deck. As it happened, there was someone on deck; Josette holding a log book. She'd turned to face his direction before he emerged from the door way, no doubt on guard in case it had been someone or something else.
“I didn't find much.” He said, holding up the bundle of letters and assorted nicknacks that he had collected below. “I hope you had more luck.
|
|
|
Post by Rex Apium on Nov 1, 2017 21:03:44 GMT -5
Josette had heard him long before he made it onto the deck. The benefit of good hearing, perhaps. As he ascended the stairs to the deck she had gone through several scenerios in her head. If it was Feng Kesh, she wouldn't need her sword. If it wasn't, she would. She'd sheathed both of them and one of her hands was full. She could easily dispatch a beasty with only one hand if it wasn't too nasty. Perhaps she should stash the book just in case.
She ended up on deciding to not draw her sword, as the weight of the steps was more than likely Feng Kesh than it was a weird ocean zombie. She would be right, of course, as he emerged from the doorway. A quick assessment told her he was about as lucky as she was in finding anything terribly useful.
“Only thing I found was the captain's log. While it tells us what happened here, it does have way more interesting stuff in it. Turns out the captain sent people out to investigate. Most of them didn't come back, but they did write down whatever the ones that did come back had to say.”
She paused and looked into the island, “He sent people out in longboats and deeper into the island itself. The longboats were a bust, so I don't think it's worth us even exploring that. Island is apparently surrounded by razor sharp reef and rocks and the water is full of beasties... which should surprise neither of us, honestly.”
“There was a team that reported back from further in the island. Turns out there's some signs of civilization, although long abandoned... sounds worth checking out if you ask me.”
|
|
|
Post by Former Fiend on Nov 2, 2017 15:20:09 GMT -5
“That makes sense.” Feng Kesh said when Josette informed him that the captain had sent out scout teams and that they hadn't come back. “There weren't enough of those things,” he nodded over the railing of the ship to the bodies of the sailors on the beach, “to crew a ship this big. And there were enough hammocks set up below for several times as many as we fought.”
“Well, at least we know for sure that this is an island now.” Feng Kesh said after she told him about the lifeboats. News about the reef and sea monsters was disappointing but not surprising, and besides, escape via the sea was a last resort in his mind, regardless. The sea was vast almost beyond imagining, and he didn't know anything about navigating. Building their own vessel and sailing away from this island likely meant death regardless. That was ignoring the possibility – perhaps likelihood – that where they were wasn't someplace that could be reached, or escaped, physically. That they'd need some magic to free themselves of this place.
He perked up a bit when she mentioned that there were signs of civilization inland. “Could be proper shelter, if nothing else.” he said, nodding in agreement as she mentioned checking it out. “Could be answers as to what this place is, maybe a way out.” He considered for a moment. “The teams that went further inland, also didn't come back, right?” She nodded. “Might have been the wildlife that got them, or it could be that this civilization isn't so abandoned, after all.”
The possibility that the island was inhabited was cause for both hope and concern. One could surmise that if it was natives who captured or killed the scouting parties, they weren't friendly. But Feng Kesh could handle himself and Josette could hold her own as well. That they might have answers, perhaps a way out, made it worth investigating. Assuming that it wasn't just hungry animals that were responsible for the disappearance of the crewmen.
Feng Kesh shielded his eyes and looked up into the sky. “It's getting late in the day. I don't want to get caught wandering about in a strange jungle come nightfall, not when we know there are things out there that probably want us dead. I say we head back down the beach, gather up the supplies from my wreck and haul them back to the cave. That's a defensible position, if nothing else, and I don't want to be sleeping close to the water when gods knows what might come crawling out of it. Then tomorrow, we find that mountain you mentioned, get the lay of the land, and then go looking for this civilization the log mentioned.”
He turned to look at her. “Sound like a plan to you?”
|
|
xont
New Member
Posts: 2
|
Post by xont on Nov 6, 2017 0:42:39 GMT -5
Mary woke up face down in the sand, she let out a grunt as she pushed herself up. "Ugh." She said as fell from her hair. "Swear that spell was a mistake." She wasn't exactly sure of what happened, last thing she remembered was testing out an old spell for a friend. Damn werewolves constantly wanting things. She spit on the sand, her eyes going wide. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa." She said as she quickly got to her feet, she looked around. Her dark brown hair was wild. It looked like this girl went through hell.
She started kick the sand. "Book..Book book book book...Gods damn where is my book." She furrowed her brows. "Where am I?" She said placing her hands on her hips as she tried to think of what happened. The components of the spell and the spell itself was not one to transfer her anywhere. She couldn't even do that. No, but her damn friend had to try and see if she could help with him controlling his lycan side. Her green eyes scanned the area as she tried to find a clue of where she was. But, it was tropical and nothing like she had ever seen.
She let out a small sigh, she closed her eyes as she whispered to herself. She had her book bound to her, it would show up where she was...But, sometimes not in the exact area. Her eyes flashed open. It was in that jungle, she let out a sigh as she started to make her way into the jungle. It was the dumbest thing she could do, but she needed her book. She slowly moved through the jungle. Avoiding plant life, making sure she didn't trip. "I'm not doing anything for anyone ever again." She said with a huff.
It wasn't long before things started to get dark. "Damn." She said as her eyes scanned the area, she was close to her book. She didn't know what lurked here she would be an idiot to start a fire. Or maybe it would be smart and she could find someone? But, was it worth the risk?
She moved towards what looked like a mountain, her book laid somewhere near there.
|
|