In reply to Game Master (msg # 38):

Darren breathes a sigh of relief as the rahi fell, taking a moment to recover. Afterwards he would walk the area around the boat for anything else unusual while the others work, eventually noticing the structure. He walks over to investigate.

Lutorian realized that he’s sitting in a big hole in the sand for no other reason than kirina wanted to find stuff buried in the sand, and now he sits there contemplating what he’s just done and the sand that now fills his joints.
Lutorian shovels a big load of sand and dumps it on kirina’s head, and leaves the pit without saying a word.

Velike felt certain that the Rahi, while still unresponsive, would certainly have appreciated his words. One could hope that it would not blindly attack Matoran in the future.

Darren moved away from the others, reaching the edge of the beach in short order. A quick look told him that the marker held two simple messages chiseled into the stone.

The structure next to the road marker was a wall about as tall as himself. It was shaped like half a circle of rocks stuck together with clay, with a few carved pictures on the inside. The opening faced away from the beach, meaning Darren had to move around it to see what it hid.




Darren: You've checked out the structure. Report to the others if you wish, or they can see for themselves.

Everyone: Got nothing new for you right now, but the previous list and replies still apply. Don't be afraid to take actions that advance the narrative from here. :)

Tameku followed Darren to the path with the stone marker. He immediately felt a lot safer leaving the open terrain of the beach behind and approaching the jungle with its trees. He took a look at the stone marker.

Tameku got a look at the stone marker and the structure with a curved wall next to it.

In reply to Tameku (msg # 49):

Kirina shook the sand pile from her head in annoyance. She stood back up and glanced around the beach, noting the Dermis Turtle that seemed to be searching for something. Brushing the excess sand from the crevices of her mask, she decided not to incur further wrath from the team by wandering off. As she turned to follow the others to the monument, she made a mental promise to keep an eye out for any other Rahi acting outside the norm.

Tameku did something... (private to GM) (hope this works?)

Kirina surveyed the beach, and took notice of the turtle moving about. While overall peaceful and non-threatening, it had gotten a bit closer to them, and appeared to have a metal rod of sorts sticking out of its shell near the shoulder. Completely unfazed by this object, it had picked up a piece of something green that it was now lazily chewing on. Was it... metal?

The Vo-Matoran eventually reached the two already present at the stone marker, and got a good look at it herself.

Tameku seemed interested in inspecting it further, no doubt using his expertise as a merchant to look for details that would be lost on others.

Meanwhile, the storm was still raging around them, ensuring that the footprints they left in the sand were turned into puddles in short order.

In reply to Game Master (msg # 48):

“Hey, there’s a village over that direction.” Darren yells over the rain, pointing from the natural umbrella of the trees. He doesn’t bother with the little statue, as getting out of the rain was more pressing.

In reply to Darren (msg # 54):

“Good. Shelter would be useful in this storm. Let us hope any inhabitants are friendly.” Velike replied, staring where he’d indicated before heading towards it, his spear in hand.

"Seems like this village is populated by Le-Matoran", Tameku said, still looking at the statuette. "Hey, Lutorian, Kirina!", he called over, "There are some carvings here of what look like Rahi. Has any of you an idea what they could be? I'm definitely not interested in another nasty surprise like that on the beach" He gestured towards the carving with the many sharp-beaked bird Rahi on the right.

In reply to Tameku (msg # 56):

Similarly uninterested in more surprise Rahi attacks, Kirina followed Tameku’s gesture and inspected the carving, as well.

(Kirina rolled 6 using 2d6, keeping the highest dice only with rolls of 1,6.  Attempt to identify the Rahi depicted in the carving.)

“Alright” lutorian replied to tameku, making his way over yo the others.
Once inside, lutorian investigated the statues, trying to see if he could identify any of them or see if he could decifer their behavior from their apparence.

Lutorian rolled 6 using 2d6, keeping the highest dice only ((6,6

Darren and Velike started down the path, finding it soft and muddy, but relatively dry compared to the beach. The treetops far above swayed violently in the wind, but down on the ground the forest provided something of a natural shield against the storm. They could walk and speak a bit easier here. No village was immediately visible from where they stood, but with any luck it wouldn't be too far.

Meanwhile, Kirina and Lutorian took a moment to check out the Matoran carvings and statuette.

In reply to Game Master (msg # 59):

“The larger bird looks like an Akifira eagle, and the smaller is a Kewa. Kewas are domesticated birds used by Le-Matoran, but the eagles do sometimes hunt Matoran. It looks to me like this is a Le-Matoran and his Kewa bird fighting the eagle. Akifira are rare, but if there are any on Rangi Motu, the resident Le-Matoran should be able to help us fight them off.” She stopped and turned to Lutorian, “At least, that’s what I’ve heard. I don’t know much about mountainous Rahi.”

Lutorian gives kirina a quick sideways glance before responding “yes that’s correct, they only hunt at dusk, and rarely attack matoran. Your also right about this being a battle-flight, capturing one while in high-flying combat is one of the greatest respecable tasks a le-matoran can do, this might be a trophy of some kind”

"Then let's try to get a roof over our heads before dusk. I'd rather not meet one of these Akifira, Le-Matoran Kewa riders rushing to our aid or not."
Despite his words, Tameku didn't move, instead slowly reaching out a hand to touch the statuette. "But something about this sculpture is strange... shouldn't it be wet from the rain?"

When Tameku placed a hand on the carved figure in front of him, he felt something odd.

A moment later, the surface of the figure was beginning to darken from the wet spots of rainwater hitting it. The rain that had been flowing off Tameku's mask, on the other hand, was suddenly gone.

Thunder cracked somewhere far away, feeling more distant than before.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:02, Wed 10 Jan 2018.

Tameku quickly snatched his hand back, then, realizing that the wood sculpture was rapidly getting wet, quickly touched it again in hopes of reversing whatever it was he did.

Try as he might, Tameku could not make anything happen. The statue remained entirely unresponsive.

"Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn", Tameku muttered, touching the figurine again and again without anything happening. That he himself was now protected from the weather he hardly noticed. He had the impression that someone might get really pissed off if the sculpture got damaged by the weather, and he really didn't like people getting mad at him. Being in trouble wasn't good for business.

He wondered if the figurine might fit in his bag. He could return it in the village and apologize for whatever elemental thing he accidently disrupted. He was good at dealing with people.

“Tameku what have you done! By touching that you’ve been cursed! You’ll die in three days if you don’t sacrifice a Matoran to the Akifira”
Lutorian yelled out, his mask having a larger grin than usual.
“Whatever caused the statue to keep dry, is working on your mask now.” Lutorian said in a more serious tone.
As for the statue, we could bring it to the Le-Matoran and say we’re ever-sorry and maybe they’ll forgive us. We’re usually jolly-folk anyway.”

In reply to Game Master (msg # 59):

Darren walks down the path a bit, before turning to look back at the other two matoran. "Hey, are you guys coming along?"

Tameku realized that the figurine, which was about as tall as his head, would fit snugly into his bag so long as it could be removed from its pedestal. It appeared to be wedged in pretty tightly, but could definitely be loosened... hopefully without damaging the goods.

Meanwhile, Darren surveyed the path ahead, and spotted a number of exotic plants among the grass and ferns. Further ahead, a more narrow path split off from the main road, leading in between dense foliage to some unknown location.


Tameku
It can be carried. Needs a roll to get it loose, though.

Everyone
Staying on the current path will presumably lead you to the village.

Tameku carefully tried getting the statue loose, but it became clear that he would have to apply some force to actually manage that. Carefully he selected a part of the statue that seemed well suited to get a good grip on it but also seemed sturdy enough to not break off if he pulled on it. He pulled, carefully applying more and more of his strength, until...

Applied skill: Judging Craftsmanship to pick a sturdy section of the figurine to pull on

Tameku rolled 6 using 2d6, keeping the highest dice only with rolls of 6,3.  Pulling loose the figurine.

(that figurine is a magnet for sixes XD)