Awakening on a Clay Beach

Alessari ud Tise’el feels groggy as she stirs from a forced sleep. Something weird happened. She was focused, in the middle of them being ambushed, when everything started to slow. Looking around, she’s no longer in that field of a valley, but now on some kind of beach. No, not just some kind of beach. The shore of the island that the temple is on. So they haven’t left yet. Her crew are around, Ren and Felazo treating some minor wounds. As well as two others, tied up. And scrap wood all around the beach. Looking over, to her side, coughing up some flehm, she asks, “they didn’t destroy the rowboat, did they?”

Beside her, Sister Hilan shakes her head. “No. Den is fetching it. This is likely their ship.” She gestures to the unconscious people, still tied up.

“Who are they?” Sari asks her friend.

Sister Hilan pauses a moment, thinking about the question, before she admits, “We aren’t sure. They were fairly well equipped and ambushed us, but seemed scared during the ambush.”

Terrified people, broken ship parts, Sari begins to piece things together. “They must be some of Zeltaro’s pirates. They followed us poorly and roused the anger of the ship-eater who protected the Rillanso Fleet.”

The monastic sister thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “That would explain their fear, and they did seem wounded. But they would have had to be attacked around the same time we landed on the beach.”

“Or shortly thereafter. Given we didn’t see it, the creature’s territory probably has not expanded.” That is a good thing, it means that their path back should be safe.

Denlo, approaching the shore carrying their boat, shakes his head. “That’s not a good thing,” he says. Sari looks over towards him, somewhat confused. “If they were attacked all the way over there and washed up here…” he explains, trailing off. He sets the boat down on the clay.

Sari realizes the issue as soon as Den finishes his half-sentence. It does make sense. For at least three of the shipwrecked pirates to show up this far away means that the rest of the crew could have ended up on just about any island. Which means they need to be expecting an ambush at any time. She takes a deep breath. “It’ll be a minute before I’m ready to move out. How long has it been?”

“About an hour. We waited, rested up, because we need your eyes available to watch the newcomers before we row out,” their captain says from behind her. “Are you good to go?”

The noble huntress takes a moment, then nods. “Yes,” she says, looking at the pair. There is the slightest movement in the larger, masculine elf’s neck, tracking the conversation and gauging his surroundings. “Though the one missing an arm is already awake.”

Felazo looks at the prisoner, and says, “Renalt, would you be so kind?”

From the waterline, sitting in the clay with his feet in the lapping tides, strumming the same string over and over again as though he is trying to work something out, Ren seems lost in thought. Felazo looks exasperatedly towards Den, who sighs. “Ren,” the Elfi’ika barks, though the irritation seems entirely performative to Sari.

Renalt turns, shaken from his stupor. “What is it?” he asks, “Be we to depart so soon?” Then, seeing Alessari awake, smiles. “Ah, you return to us, surging scion. Good evening.”

Felazo shakes his head, and says, “Our dear huntress informs us that our unwilling guest who enjoys punching people is awake. I was hoping you might have a chat about what happened to them, and what we might expect before we make it back.”

Ren nods. “I do suppose that makes a good deal of sense. Though the other seems more the leaderly sort.” Standing up, the musician makes his way over to the prisoners’ side. “Dear friend,” he says without changing his tone nor expression, “I was hoping we could chat.” The man doesn’t move any more than before, still feigning unconsciousness. Waiting for an opportunity to strike. “See, we were hoping to leave this archipelago safely, and return ourselves to civilization. We’d be more than happy to bring you and any other survivors with us, but only if you can provide us with aid that it is clear we will all need if any of us are to survive. You were shipwrecked after all, such a fate would be terrible if it were to happen to the only other ship available to any for safe departure. Might I suggest you tell us all about the shipwreck and its aftermath, so that we can all leave this place alive, together. Wouldn’t that be the ideal situation?” There is something in Ren’s voice, in the cadence of his words and the lilting tonal shifts, that made it clear something more was going on. Something mystical. A glitter behind his eyes and smile makes that even more clear, though she cannot tell precisely what. Ren then approaches even closer, as though trying to give the fighter that opportunity the man had been looking for just moments before.

The muscled man didn’t even attempt to escape, or fight, or hide his wakefulness anymore. Instead, he looked Ren in his eyes and nodded. “That would be ideal,” he says with a relaxing sigh and sagging shoulders. All the tension he’d been building up released softly. “Ever since we heard about your defeat of Klazero, Zeltaro has been tracking you guys. We followed you to this random archipelago. We could not find your ship anymore so we scouted the area with our own. That’s when it struck. One of the ships in the ship graveyard launched itself at us, capsizing our boat. The other pair fired on it, but their cannons seemed to do nothing. A massive amount of water started to pull those of us in the water towards some kind of claw extruding from the ship that looked almost human, then that claw slammed down on Zeltaro’s flagship, exploding in flames. I’m not sure how many made it out, but Farino and I grabbed onto one of the hunks of the bowsprit that shattered off after the attack. But it capsized our last vessel, then began to attack at things in the water. One explosion of flame after another, with exploding balls of water. Over and over again. I don’t know how long it took or when it ended, I was out before then. We must have gotten lucky, because the hunk of bowsprit we tied ourselves to washed up on shore. As we started to search the area, Farino found your rowboat. Then, Azugari came up from the waves. Told us we could ambush you, take your loot, and interrogate you to find your ship. That was one of the things Farino is quite good at.” He looked around and, not seeing the other man, sighed. “Was quite good at. The ambush obviously didn’t go as planned.”

“Where did the attack of this beast occur?” Ren asks calmly.

“I don’t know,” the fighter replies, “Out there somewhere.” He gestures vaguely towards the water, “I would know the waters if we get close, but please, don’t get close.”

“So it isn’t within eyeshot?” Ren presses.

The man shakes his head. “It was a bit further around that isle,” he says, gesturing in the direction of the island they were docked inside. Which means there would certainly be survivors who made their way to that island’s shores. Though the forest was dense and the entrances small enough that they might not have found the secret cave system.

Felazo nods. “So we head back to the Ekzokia, and rest while our other guest awakens, then have her, who apparently swam to the shores from the attack site, indicate on our maps where the site was. Using that, we can extrapolate where people might be and extract them if at all safely possible.”

Renalt looks up at their captain, a bit confused. “Really, we’re saving them?” he asks, “Going out of our way to?”

“Not Zeltaro if we can help it, but the rest are just following their captain. Lizato can decide their fate,” the captain says, “I have no say in the laws of the Caravan va Cotropla.”

Sari does not particularly like the idea, but she understands it. She remembers what her father taught her about the old ways. The importance of rules to the world. And how the Caravans practiced the same legal traditions since before the fall, wherein business always remained in the families. She nods. “If that be the case, we ought to get going quickly. Else it will be pitch black by the time we make it to the caverns.”

“If you’re ready,” Felazo says, looking to the rowers. Den shrugs, clearly still in pain but he isn’t one to complain. Sister Hilan merely heads over to help the prisoner to his feet. Picking up the still unconscious form of Azugari, the sister carries her to the boat, leading the one-armed man as well. They add the treasure they took to the boat, then begin to row out into the waters.

The entire time that the boat moves slowly across the waves, despite the beginnings of twilight tinging the color of the sky to a beautiful orange, the fighting man looks nervous, watching the waves, waiting for something to appear from nowhere and strike. But nothing comes. Soon enough they make it to the other shore. The sky a blazing crimson around them. “How did you make it across without getting attacked?” the man asks.

Sister Hilan ignores him, picking up his unconscious superior. Felazo ignores him, as Felazo and Ren have to help Den with the rowboat. Ren doesn’t seem to notice the question, muttering to himself about the bones meaning angels. Den says nothing, because Den doesn’t like to speak. Which leaves the explanation to the huntress.

Sari sighs. “The theory is it’s territorial. You guys sailed into its territory, while we avoided it. Simple as that.”

“But how?” he presses as they begin to walk into the safe jungle. Or, it used to be safe, but now the noble huntress had her eyes scanning the underbrush constantly, in case of an attack.

“Very basically?” she replies, “Felazo read it in a book. Beyond that, something about charts and a fleet that was once here and stories of how they defended themselves.” She’s trying to move past the conversation. It’s somewhat distracting, and she also isn’t sure how much she wants to reveal. How much Felazo would feel comfortable with a prisoner knowing.

The man missing an arm nods. He understands when someone is busy. He moves back towards the monastic sister and his unconscious ally. Leaving Sari to her thoughts. If a group washed up on the shore, they would have had ample time to scout between the shorter drifting distance, the hour waiting period, and the rowing time. They may or may not have found the cavern, but they almost certainly would have found the watchtower. Which means that is the likely first ambush point. The watchtower provides solid cover from those on the ground, and has a good view to spot them as they travel. Fortunately, their route does not take them close enough to be hit by arrows from the watchtower. The second ambush point would be if they did find the caverns, directly inside them. It is what the caverns were specifically designed to do, after all. Unless they found it immediately, they likely didn’t have time to map the whole cavern. But they wouldn’t need to, the place that Den hid the boat earlier today would be a near ideal ambush point.

She slows down slightly, to casually approach Den and the others under the boat, without clueing in the one armed prisoner. “When we start getting close, let me go ahead.”

“Ambush?” Den asks.

“Hiding spot,” she explains.

Den nods. “Arrows or magic?” he asks, looking at their captain.

Felazo looks somewhat confused. Renalt elaborates for their taciturn comrade. “Denlo was wondering what weaponry we would face in a fight against Zeltaro and his forces.”

“Both,” Felazo replies, concerned.

Den gives Sari a nod. “On draw,” he says. Alessari nods as well. He wants her to draw her bow as a signal for them to slow down and her to head off. She can do that easily enough.