[Adventure] Serpent's Skull: Souls for Smuggler's Shiv (DM: Mewness; Judge: THB)
- Thread starter Mewness
- Start date
GROMkill
First Post
Takahaan nods to the kenku and places his sheathed nodachi and shield with his friends' weapons behind the crab claw. As he enters, he speaks. "Thank you for allowing us to enter, Pezock. But who are these killers you speak of? We have seen their mark on the campsites scattered across the Shiv."
Mewness
First Post
Pezock waits until everyone is inside the crab before fitting the chitin “door” back in its place. Seeing Hú Lí admiring the crab’s rigging, he enthusiastically shows her how it works. “Just look through the peephole there,” he directs, then works the levers, raising the claws, opening them, and snapping them shut. “It took forever to get the opening and shutting exactly right,” he says proudly. “I can wiggle the eyes, too, but you can’t see that unless you’re outside. Oh, but where are my manners? I never have guests. What to do, Pearl?” He taps his fingers on the fancy hilt of his rapier. “Some tea would be just the thing,” he says, and proceeds to bustle around, removing a hot coal from a small pot, blowing up a little fire, and boiling some water. He seems either to have forgotten about Takahaan’s question or not to have heard it in the first place.
When the tea is ready, Pezock serves it in mismatched bowls and cups. It is surprisingly good, with a woody sweetness and a sort of gingery bite. “I retrieved this stuff from a few of the wrecks around here,” he says absently. “The Crow’s Tooth was our ship. Seven of us survived, including Eraka, our captain. She--she was a dear friend. They all were. We found that camp over there”--he waves his hand in the direction of the camp to the southeast--“with a couple of shelters already built, which saved us some effort. But it was a mistake to use it. They use those campsites like traps. Like--like larders. They came in the middle of the night and cut down three or four of us before we knew what was happening. Savages, like wild slavering beasts.... Eraka was fighting them, but she was soon struck down as well. She told the rest of us to run. ‘Pezock, save yourself!’”--the kenku here speaks in a strong, womanly voice--“’We can’t fight them here. Take my sword--I can’t bear that it should fall into the hands of my killers.’” Pezock’s voice quavers, and tears come to his eyes. He rests his hand tenderly on his sword-hilt. “I ran, and Oswick with me. We didn’t hear them pursuing immediately--we heard them laughing. We looked back, just briefly, and one of them had--had--” (Pezock steadies his voice with considerable difficulty) “--had cut out her--her liver. He waited until we were looking back, and--and ate it....”
Pezock rubs his face, taking a moment to recover. “Oswick went berserk. I don’t know what happened to him. He couldn’t bear it--he charged straight back at them, screaming like an animal. They killed him. I kept running. I didn’t look back again.”
When the tea is ready, Pezock serves it in mismatched bowls and cups. It is surprisingly good, with a woody sweetness and a sort of gingery bite. “I retrieved this stuff from a few of the wrecks around here,” he says absently. “The Crow’s Tooth was our ship. Seven of us survived, including Eraka, our captain. She--she was a dear friend. They all were. We found that camp over there”--he waves his hand in the direction of the camp to the southeast--“with a couple of shelters already built, which saved us some effort. But it was a mistake to use it. They use those campsites like traps. Like--like larders. They came in the middle of the night and cut down three or four of us before we knew what was happening. Savages, like wild slavering beasts.... Eraka was fighting them, but she was soon struck down as well. She told the rest of us to run. ‘Pezock, save yourself!’”--the kenku here speaks in a strong, womanly voice--“’We can’t fight them here. Take my sword--I can’t bear that it should fall into the hands of my killers.’” Pezock’s voice quavers, and tears come to his eyes. He rests his hand tenderly on his sword-hilt. “I ran, and Oswick with me. We didn’t hear them pursuing immediately--we heard them laughing. We looked back, just briefly, and one of them had--had--” (Pezock steadies his voice with considerable difficulty) “--had cut out her--her liver. He waited until we were looking back, and--and ate it....”
Pezock rubs his face, taking a moment to recover. “Oswick went berserk. I don’t know what happened to him. He couldn’t bear it--he charged straight back at them, screaming like an animal. They killed him. I kept running. I didn’t look back again.”
Pentius
First Post
Noriaki listens to Pezock's tale, but seems distracted. As the bird continues on, all Noriaki can think about is their own camp, about Sasha and Ishirou getting torn apart. He begins to look even paler than usual. He speaks up, his voice trembling slightly. "We will kill them, Kane. But first, I think we should get back to camp."
jbear
First Post
"T-these c-camps are c-costal. Ours n-not. W-we are in th-their ter-r-ritory. They m-may have seen us alr-ready. L-leading them to our c-camp may b-be unwise. W-why not b-bait them t-to us? Use their larder t-traps against them."
He looks towards Hú Lí with a mischievous grin.
"P-put on a show. D-draw them t-to us."
Kane's eyes glaze over. The sound of breaking branches followed by a quiet scream as though someone had fallen into a pit is heard. With a wave of his hand his legs suddenly appear covered in blood. With another wave the blood is gone.
"C-castile c-can set off a trap. I c-can make the b-blood. And Hú c-can m-make the show and d-dance..."
Kane gestures in the direction of the camp.
"We w-wait for them there. W-wounded. V-vulnerable. Easy m-meat. Then H-hunter becomes h-hunted."
He looks towards Hú Lí with a mischievous grin.
"P-put on a show. D-draw them t-to us."
Kane's eyes glaze over. The sound of breaking branches followed by a quiet scream as though someone had fallen into a pit is heard. With a wave of his hand his legs suddenly appear covered in blood. With another wave the blood is gone.
"C-castile c-can set off a trap. I c-can make the b-blood. And Hú c-can m-make the show and d-dance..."
Kane gestures in the direction of the camp.
"We w-wait for them there. W-wounded. V-vulnerable. Easy m-meat. Then H-hunter becomes h-hunted."
Last edited:
BenBrown
First Post
Hú Lí smiles showing far too many and too pointy teeth.
"Yes," she hisses. "We will draw them in and then deal with them--but we will need more than simply that. Our strong warriors must remain hidden. We will need time to prepare, to hide our forces. And we will need to make sure that we are not seen while we do this."
She pauses.
"Do the raiders strike at night, or during the day?" she asks Pezock. "Perhaps a morning ambush would be best."
"Yes," she hisses. "We will draw them in and then deal with them--but we will need more than simply that. Our strong warriors must remain hidden. We will need time to prepare, to hide our forces. And we will need to make sure that we are not seen while we do this."
She pauses.
"Do the raiders strike at night, or during the day?" she asks Pezock. "Perhaps a morning ambush would be best."
Mewness
First Post
“Humans, yes,” replies Pezock. “But not much like you--” he makes a sweeping gesture that encompasses Kane, Noriaki, and Hú Lí. He responds to Kane’s suggestion to kill them all only with a dismissive snort.
“Back to camp?” says Gelik sharply. “We’ve walked all day! You cannot expect us to walk all night?”
“There are more of you?” asks Pezock, almost at the same time. He looks troubled. “If they are not in one of the camps on these trails, we can hope that they are safe for the moment.... If we are lucky, the savages will not check the trails until after the rain, and they may not see your traces, if you did not set off any of their traps. The rain covers tracks well. But....” He hesitates a little, then continues, with noticeable reluctance, “There were two I saw a couple of days ago; they are not your friends as well?”
Pezock’s skepticism seems to vanish as Kane speaks and he begins listening intently. “It could work,” he murmurs, fingering his rapier. “It could work, Pearl--oh, if we could have our revenge, at last!” He falls silent for a little while, both hands curled around his sword, so that he is almost hugging it. “They have a camp to the south, but I don’t know exactly where, or how many of them there are. It’s dangerous to follow their trails, and I’m not much good at finding my way in the forest.”
Gelik looks slightly startled at the change in Hú Lí’s manner, but Pezock, not being at all acquainted with her (or aware that there is anything especially unusual about humans with pointy teeth), doesn’t react. “I’ve seen their hunting parties. Hunting for animals, that is, usually in groups of two or three. But when they attacked our camp there were more. I wish I could remember exactly how many, but it was dark and happened so quickly.... Probably they had watched us secretly, and new how many we were.”
GROMkill
First Post
Missing the strange, subtle mannerisms of Hu Li, Takahaan's eyes are lowered to the ground, his mind rolling around many ideas initiated by Kane's trap plan. He raises his head to look at his allies and speaks up.
"It would take quite the shrubbery for me to conceal myself. In addition, I am too worrisome to let Hu Li be the live bait for your idea, Kane. So," He takes a breath and cracks a half-smile, seemingly humored by his next words. "What say I be the bait? I can fake having fallen victim to one of those traps. The raiders would think me to be next-to-harmless with an apparently broken leg. The minute they step too close, the blood and protruding bone fragments disappear and you pounce from the shadows. If they manage to get to me whilst you charge, its not like I can't hold my own until they have been fully punished."
"It would take quite the shrubbery for me to conceal myself. In addition, I am too worrisome to let Hu Li be the live bait for your idea, Kane. So," He takes a breath and cracks a half-smile, seemingly humored by his next words. "What say I be the bait? I can fake having fallen victim to one of those traps. The raiders would think me to be next-to-harmless with an apparently broken leg. The minute they step too close, the blood and protruding bone fragments disappear and you pounce from the shadows. If they manage to get to me whilst you charge, its not like I can't hold my own until they have been fully punished."
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