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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7550826" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 246</p><p></p><p>To Bredan it felt like the <em>Golden Gull</em> was limping as it eased slowly into the natural harbor. The crew had cleared away most of the debris created by the storm from the ship’s decks, but nothing could conceal the jagged remnant of the main mast.</p><p></p><p>The island wasn’t very big, maybe a little more than a mile across and half that in width. At first it hadn’t looked promising; the side that faced them on their initial approach had been mostly bare cliffs, rising up to a hundred feet above the level of the pounding surf. The island itself looked to be volcanic in origin, with a black peak that rose to a bare crest several hundred feet above the surrounding ocean. But the rest of the island was covered in a dense carpet of green, and as they’d come around to the far side they had seen this cove, a narrow wedge flanked by tiny slivers of inviting white beach.</p><p></p><p>It had been more complicated than that, of course. Sond had brought them in slowly, using her powers to shift the once sleek, now ponderous bulk of the ship through a gap in the reefs that surrounded the lee side of the island. Wary of submerged rocks, she had crew members perched on the bow keeping watch and taking frequent soundings. She finally called for the anchor to be dropped about a thousand feet away from the closest beach, and ordered the crew to begin unlimbering the ship’s launch for departure.</p><p></p><p>As the boat was being lowered down on its davits, Bredan joined the others gathered along the rail. They had already decided who would join the first expedition. The <em>Gull</em> only had the one boat, so the first trip would be to gauge whether there were any immediate threats near the shore. Their priority was to find a tree that could serve as a temporary replacement for the main mast. A second objective was to find a source of fresh water that they could use to top off the <em>Gull’s</em> supply.</p><p></p><p>The members of Sond’s crew that had been assigned to the first trip started down even before the launch was in the water, clambering down over the rope ladder that was dropped over the side. They included two common sailors and an officer, the latter carrying a small crossbow slung across his back. Rodan descended with almost as much ease. Bredan tried to gauge whether the crew drew back from the tiefling as he settled into the boat, then decided it didn’t matter. Whether or not the sailors were made uncomfortable by having Rodan in their midst, the ranger’s skills in the wilderness made him an invaluable addition to the team.</p><p></p><p>Xeeta followed him down. Bredan was next, but he hesitated as Quellan came up to him. “Be careful,” the cleric said.</p><p></p><p>“We’ll be all right,” Bredan reassured him. Quellan had volunteered immediately to be part of the shore party, but his size and bulk would have put too much stress on the tiny boat. Glori had agreed to come in his place, her magical talents in reserve in case they ran into something dangerous ashore. She lingered with the cleric a moment as Bredan started down the ladder.</p><p></p><p>The others had made it look easy, but the ladder seemed like a living thing, twisting in Bredan’s grasp as if intent on dropping him into the ocean. The weight of his dwarf-made armor didn’t help any, but he wasn’t going to leave that behind on a trip like this. He made it down safely, even if Rodan and one of the crewmen had to help him get situated in the boat.</p><p></p><p>By contrast, Glori dropped down lightly into the front of the boat almost before he had found his seat. She took hold of the small curve of wood that jutted out from the prow and pointed toward the beach that was their destination. “I’ve always wanted to be the first to discover a new land,” she said with a grin. “Shall we?”</p><p></p><p>“I notice that she didn’t bother reaching for an oar,” Bredan said to Rodan.</p><p></p><p>“There are only six,” Rodan said.</p><p></p><p>“Looks like Torrin wasn’t planning on being one of the six.” The <em>Gull’s</em> second mate—first mate now, Bredan amended—rather than pester the smiling bard, picked up the last oar and joined the others in piloting the small craft toward the waiting beach.</p><p></p><p>The water was crystal clear, and Bredan could see fish swimming below them when he lifted his oar from the water. They came up on the shallows quickly, and Bredan joined Rodan and the sailors in jumping out and dragging the boat up onto the shore. Once it was settled Glori hopped out onto the sand. “I claim this land, in the name of the Adventurers of Crosspath,” she declared.</p><p></p><p>Bredan was already studying the forest. Jungle might be a more appropriate term, he thought. The growth was thicker than anything he had ever seen before, and it seemed to press in against the narrow line of the beach, as if trying to claim that space as well. There could have been anything within that shadowed expanse, watching and waiting. The beach was never more than twenty feet deep across its face, and it vanished altogether where the cove met the steep slope that descended from the island’s interior. It seemed likely that there had to be fresh water somewhere within all that green, but Bredan didn’t know enough to know where to start looking. He could tell that none of the trees near the shore were straight or tall enough to serve as potential candidates for a new mast.</p><p></p><p>Torrin seemed to share his assessment, for the mate pointed to a spot inland and said, “I believe we will have better luck in that direction.”</p><p></p><p>“With all respect, sir, you may want to let us take a quick look around, first,” Rodan said, as he fitted a string to the new bow he’d purchased in Li Syval. “Clear the area, make sure there aren’t any nasties lurking nearby.”</p><p></p><p>“It’s doubtful that an island of this size would support any major fauna,” Torrin said. He was a young man, maybe a few years older than Bredan, and clearly didn’t like the idea of someone else taking change. “But we won’t go far in our initial survey. The ladies can stay with the boat until we give the all-clear.”</p><p></p><p>“With all <em>due</em> respect,” Glori said before Bredan could chime in, “Those two are okay if you need something chopped up into little bits or stuck with arrows, but Xeeta and I represent the heavy firepower of our group.” She nodded toward the sorceress, who produced a spike of fire from her new rod.</p><p></p><p>The display clearly had the desired effect; Torrin swallowed and said, “Gravis, Kavek, you two stay with the boat. Keep an eye out.” The two sailors seemed quite content being left behind, as the rest of the company trudged along the beach for about a hundred yards before turning inland.</p><p></p><p>The transition was dramatic. It had been warm and dry on the sunlit sands of the beach, but within a few steps the forest engulfed them in shadowed coolness and soggy damp. The ground was soft and spongy, and plants plucked at their sleeves and leggings with every step.</p><p></p><p>“It must rain here a lot,” Glori said.</p><p></p><p>“Stay close,” Torrin said. “It’s easy to get lost in all this growth.”</p><p></p><p>Bredan caught Rodan’s gaze and rolled his eyes. The tiefling smiled, but his attention quickly returned to the surrounding forest. He made less noise than any of them as they pushed deeper into the tangled jungle. Bredan wondered if the ranger was seeing more than he was. He didn’t see any animals, other than a few birds that stirred in the canopy above them at their approach, but the whole place felt teeming with life. He resisted the urge to summon his sword as they trudged forward, the boggy ground sucking at his boots with each step.</p><p></p><p>They’d covered barely a hundred steps before the ground began to slope upward.</p><p></p><p>Bredan thought that the jungle growth would have thinned as the slope increased, but if anything it grew even denser, until they were fighting for every step forward. Even Rodan seemed to have difficulty blazing them a path.</p><p></p><p>“There’s something over here!” Glori called out.</p><p></p><p>The others turned toward where the bard was pointing at what looked like an overgrown shelf of rock, maybe twenty feet out of their line of march. But as they made their way in that direction, they could see that it was part of what might have once been a structure, its lines too regular to be natural.</p><p></p><p>“A ruin?” Xeeta asked as they reached it.</p><p></p><p>“Somebody built this,” Rodan said, running a hand along the stone face that Glori had first spotted. It was crusted in moss and lichen, and overgrown with clinging vines, but they could now see the seams where the stone blocks had been fitted together.</p><p></p><p>“There’s nothing left,” Torrin said. “The repairs to the ship must be the first priority.”</p><p></p><p>“We’ll find the tree,” Glori said. “But if there was an ancient civilization here once, it might be useful to…”</p><p></p><p>She was cut off as they heard a sound coming from the direction of the beach. It was a cry of alarm, which abruptly transitioned into a scream of pain that itself was suddenly cut off.</p><p></p><p>“The sailors!” Xeeta said unnecessarily. Bredan was already running back the way they had come, with Rodan just a step behind him.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 7550826, member: 143"] Chapter 246 To Bredan it felt like the [i]Golden Gull[/i] was limping as it eased slowly into the natural harbor. The crew had cleared away most of the debris created by the storm from the ship’s decks, but nothing could conceal the jagged remnant of the main mast. The island wasn’t very big, maybe a little more than a mile across and half that in width. At first it hadn’t looked promising; the side that faced them on their initial approach had been mostly bare cliffs, rising up to a hundred feet above the level of the pounding surf. The island itself looked to be volcanic in origin, with a black peak that rose to a bare crest several hundred feet above the surrounding ocean. But the rest of the island was covered in a dense carpet of green, and as they’d come around to the far side they had seen this cove, a narrow wedge flanked by tiny slivers of inviting white beach. It had been more complicated than that, of course. Sond had brought them in slowly, using her powers to shift the once sleek, now ponderous bulk of the ship through a gap in the reefs that surrounded the lee side of the island. Wary of submerged rocks, she had crew members perched on the bow keeping watch and taking frequent soundings. She finally called for the anchor to be dropped about a thousand feet away from the closest beach, and ordered the crew to begin unlimbering the ship’s launch for departure. As the boat was being lowered down on its davits, Bredan joined the others gathered along the rail. They had already decided who would join the first expedition. The [i]Gull[/i] only had the one boat, so the first trip would be to gauge whether there were any immediate threats near the shore. Their priority was to find a tree that could serve as a temporary replacement for the main mast. A second objective was to find a source of fresh water that they could use to top off the [i]Gull’s[/i] supply. The members of Sond’s crew that had been assigned to the first trip started down even before the launch was in the water, clambering down over the rope ladder that was dropped over the side. They included two common sailors and an officer, the latter carrying a small crossbow slung across his back. Rodan descended with almost as much ease. Bredan tried to gauge whether the crew drew back from the tiefling as he settled into the boat, then decided it didn’t matter. Whether or not the sailors were made uncomfortable by having Rodan in their midst, the ranger’s skills in the wilderness made him an invaluable addition to the team. Xeeta followed him down. Bredan was next, but he hesitated as Quellan came up to him. “Be careful,” the cleric said. “We’ll be all right,” Bredan reassured him. Quellan had volunteered immediately to be part of the shore party, but his size and bulk would have put too much stress on the tiny boat. Glori had agreed to come in his place, her magical talents in reserve in case they ran into something dangerous ashore. She lingered with the cleric a moment as Bredan started down the ladder. The others had made it look easy, but the ladder seemed like a living thing, twisting in Bredan’s grasp as if intent on dropping him into the ocean. The weight of his dwarf-made armor didn’t help any, but he wasn’t going to leave that behind on a trip like this. He made it down safely, even if Rodan and one of the crewmen had to help him get situated in the boat. By contrast, Glori dropped down lightly into the front of the boat almost before he had found his seat. She took hold of the small curve of wood that jutted out from the prow and pointed toward the beach that was their destination. “I’ve always wanted to be the first to discover a new land,” she said with a grin. “Shall we?” “I notice that she didn’t bother reaching for an oar,” Bredan said to Rodan. “There are only six,” Rodan said. “Looks like Torrin wasn’t planning on being one of the six.” The [i]Gull’s[/i] second mate—first mate now, Bredan amended—rather than pester the smiling bard, picked up the last oar and joined the others in piloting the small craft toward the waiting beach. The water was crystal clear, and Bredan could see fish swimming below them when he lifted his oar from the water. They came up on the shallows quickly, and Bredan joined Rodan and the sailors in jumping out and dragging the boat up onto the shore. Once it was settled Glori hopped out onto the sand. “I claim this land, in the name of the Adventurers of Crosspath,” she declared. Bredan was already studying the forest. Jungle might be a more appropriate term, he thought. The growth was thicker than anything he had ever seen before, and it seemed to press in against the narrow line of the beach, as if trying to claim that space as well. There could have been anything within that shadowed expanse, watching and waiting. The beach was never more than twenty feet deep across its face, and it vanished altogether where the cove met the steep slope that descended from the island’s interior. It seemed likely that there had to be fresh water somewhere within all that green, but Bredan didn’t know enough to know where to start looking. He could tell that none of the trees near the shore were straight or tall enough to serve as potential candidates for a new mast. Torrin seemed to share his assessment, for the mate pointed to a spot inland and said, “I believe we will have better luck in that direction.” “With all respect, sir, you may want to let us take a quick look around, first,” Rodan said, as he fitted a string to the new bow he’d purchased in Li Syval. “Clear the area, make sure there aren’t any nasties lurking nearby.” “It’s doubtful that an island of this size would support any major fauna,” Torrin said. He was a young man, maybe a few years older than Bredan, and clearly didn’t like the idea of someone else taking change. “But we won’t go far in our initial survey. The ladies can stay with the boat until we give the all-clear.” “With all [i]due[/i] respect,” Glori said before Bredan could chime in, “Those two are okay if you need something chopped up into little bits or stuck with arrows, but Xeeta and I represent the heavy firepower of our group.” She nodded toward the sorceress, who produced a spike of fire from her new rod. The display clearly had the desired effect; Torrin swallowed and said, “Gravis, Kavek, you two stay with the boat. Keep an eye out.” The two sailors seemed quite content being left behind, as the rest of the company trudged along the beach for about a hundred yards before turning inland. The transition was dramatic. It had been warm and dry on the sunlit sands of the beach, but within a few steps the forest engulfed them in shadowed coolness and soggy damp. The ground was soft and spongy, and plants plucked at their sleeves and leggings with every step. “It must rain here a lot,” Glori said. “Stay close,” Torrin said. “It’s easy to get lost in all this growth.” Bredan caught Rodan’s gaze and rolled his eyes. The tiefling smiled, but his attention quickly returned to the surrounding forest. He made less noise than any of them as they pushed deeper into the tangled jungle. Bredan wondered if the ranger was seeing more than he was. He didn’t see any animals, other than a few birds that stirred in the canopy above them at their approach, but the whole place felt teeming with life. He resisted the urge to summon his sword as they trudged forward, the boggy ground sucking at his boots with each step. They’d covered barely a hundred steps before the ground began to slope upward. Bredan thought that the jungle growth would have thinned as the slope increased, but if anything it grew even denser, until they were fighting for every step forward. Even Rodan seemed to have difficulty blazing them a path. “There’s something over here!” Glori called out. The others turned toward where the bard was pointing at what looked like an overgrown shelf of rock, maybe twenty feet out of their line of march. But as they made their way in that direction, they could see that it was part of what might have once been a structure, its lines too regular to be natural. “A ruin?” Xeeta asked as they reached it. “Somebody built this,” Rodan said, running a hand along the stone face that Glori had first spotted. It was crusted in moss and lichen, and overgrown with clinging vines, but they could now see the seams where the stone blocks had been fitted together. “There’s nothing left,” Torrin said. “The repairs to the ship must be the first priority.” “We’ll find the tree,” Glori said. “But if there was an ancient civilization here once, it might be useful to…” She was cut off as they heard a sound coming from the direction of the beach. It was a cry of alarm, which abruptly transitioned into a scream of pain that itself was suddenly cut off. “The sailors!” Xeeta said unnecessarily. Bredan was already running back the way they had come, with Rodan just a step behind him. [/QUOTE]
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