[Adventure] Serpent's Skull: Souls for Smuggler's Shiv (DM: Mewness; Judge: THB)

Noriaki's eyes go wide, and he shushes Hu Li as loudly as he dares, which isn't very. "What, you want her to know we're here?"

Takahaan, having been silent for a long time, perturbed by the presence of the tricking shadows, lets out a soft chuckle as his spirits are eased by Hu Li's silly song.

Managing his gruff voice into a soft whisper, the dragonborn speaks. "Let's go and see this witch, then. Quickly, I hate today's downpour already."

He unsheaths his nodachi, hanging it low in his hand, alert and ready.

"W-we d-don't go in b-boat b-but we g-go in there f-from the r-rain? "

Kane looks quite incredulous.

"Okay b-but I h-hope the s-song w-works ..."

Kane seems to have taken Hu Li quite literally as under his breath he is furiously whispering "r-radish for the g-goat ... p-put it in the pot..."

Castile looks up and frowns at the overcast sky.
"I don't much care to get stuck outside in the rain. Besides, there's still hope that the witch is friendly!"

Hú Lí inches carefully forward towards the hut, watching, listening, sniffing the air, hoping to get some idea of what is within.[sblock=rolls]Stealth at Bone Hut: 12(1d20) +6 = 18
Perception at Bone Hut: 8(1d20) +8 = 16[/sblock]

Kane's blade springs into his hand as he tisks.

He also heads towards the hut but seems displeased mumbling something about priorities and being scared of rain but not spooky huts you think.

The door to the hut hangs slightly ajar, and Takahaan pushes it open and enters, sword drawn. Surprisingly--or perhaps unsurprisingly, given the dilapidated state of the hut--there is no witch in evidence, nor any sign that there ever was one. The interior looks utterly disused: probably nobody has entered here for years, perhaps decades.

There is nothing in the way of furniture except for a very old chair that looks to have been carved from a tree stump and a few pieces of metal so rusted that it is impossible to determine what they were originally good for.

The rain begins to fall. Fortunately, the hut is still sound enough to provide shelter against it. As everyone squeezes in and settles down to wait out the downpour, a few of the adventurers notice a book wedged in a niche. The book seems to be an old journal, but most of the contents are completely illegible. Only a few scattered notes remain.

[sblock=Old Journal Notes][...] many survived, Thrune’s Fang will never sail again. The Allarian outpost must be completed without [...]

[...] fine hunting on the Shiv, but the bugs are a constant distraction. Nylithati’s skills as a healer help fight the sickness, but I fear she has [...]

[...] whisperings at night, odd dreams. In darker moments I wonder whether the island is truly haunted. Perhaps it is not just bodies that are stranded here, but souls. But I do not want to think like [...]

[...] founded. Nylithati has seized control of my crew. They are hers now. And so I have abandoned [...]

[...] fine home. Fresh water nearby and I need not endure Nylithati’s ceaseless raving about [...]

[...] will not be returning to that gray, silent island again. There is nothing there but horror [...]

[...] crew lurking about the area. They seem strange, almost feral. It has been almost ten years since the wreck. I wonder what strange beliefs Nylithati has [...]

[...] changed. There was no sign of Nylithati in the camp, but the focus of their ceremony was a cauldron they must have salvaged from the Fang at the base of the ruined lighthouse. It was into this that they threw the half-eaten body of the still screaming man [...]

[...] all around. I can hear them chanting in the green even now. They call her “Mother Thrunefang” now, and promise me immortality if I lay down my arms and surrender. I now know what their immortality consists of, and I’ll have no part of that corrupt life after [...][/sblock]
[sblock=History 21 (active only)]The Allarians have made many attempts in the past to establish an outpost on Smuggler’s Shiv, but none have ever been successful. These attempts started before the collapse of the old empire and continued even when its glory days were past.

[sblock=History 23 (same check)]”Thrune” is the name of an old and formerly very influential Allarian family. It is not known exactly what happened to them--their dealings became more obscure after the fall of the Empire.[/sblock][/sblock]

Takahaan grips the journal tightly as he reads the dark passages, unsure of their meaning with so much content lost by the journal's disrepair. He passes the book around, making sure to note and point out the only clear words within its pages.

As the book makes its rounds, Takahaan speaks up first.

"Perhaps the crew spoken about could be the wreck with the wall-shadows. This intrigues me... I would like to return there at some point, perhaps better-armed or so, to find out what happened."

He turns his head toward the entrance of the hut, watching the rain fall heavily, feeling the biting homesickness in the pit of his stomach.

[sblock=History Check Failure]
1d20+6=15[/sblock]

"That could be," Hú Lí says, "But there are many strange things on this island. It's probably those cannibals that the writer speaks of, but we have heard nothing of any 'Mother Thrunefang'."

She looks out at the rain.

"The rain never lasts long. Soon we will be on our way again. Let us be thankful that this shelter was here, despite its looks."[sblock=roll]History in Bone Hut: 8(1d20) +10 = 18[/sblock]

Kane chuckles and nods in agreement at Hu Li's words.

"I th-think this p-place is s-starting to p-put the s-spooks up m-me. W-worrried even by ab-b-bandoned huts just f-for a f-few bones."

He takes his turn reading the journal. His thoughts grow dark as the snippets call back knowledge to mind. The eyes in Kane's head roll back and a horrid voice rasps out his desire to share that knowledge free of stutter.

"Allarians ... many times these people have tried to build themselves an outpost on the Shiv and as many times their attempts failed. This happened before the old empire crumbled and continued on even after... is it possible they were in the end successful?
And this name... ”Thrune”... I remember it. It is a family name of an old Allarian family of once great influence. Their activity became enshrouded in darkness when the empire collapsed.... I would say what ever is happening upon the SHiv ... this lies at the heart of it."

[sblock=ooc]
Anything else you would perhaps like to share [MENTION=14889]Mewness[/MENTION] ? After having rolled a crit I mean? [/sblock]