Krogan was relieved that the old man was alive, though it seemed a sign of weakness to show it, so he merely nodded to the professor.
If Abbas is heading out to patrol, I'll come with him.    I'm not familiar with this kind of wilderness, but I'll do what I can.   

He gathered his things and prepared to try to climb down to scout the forest floor.  He was actually a bit excited to see what was down there.

Fareeda jumped at the sight of Ham coming from below decks, and stood to the side with a hand upon her chest as she just took a moment to breathe and collect herself.  It felt as though her heart was fluttering faster than a hummingbird's, but unfortunately for her right after a crash in an unknown jungle island was hardly the time to lose her cool.  Is this what an adventure felt like...?  Suddenly the young dancer felt a swell of awe and appreciation for the heros of old who defied all odds in their stories, along with a growing suspicion that she might not be cut out for this work.  Not that she'd let anyone else know that, particularly that fop Jibril; he'd feel all too self-important and vindicated to hear that bit of revelations.

"...Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And I, I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."

It was a small piece of a verse she found calmed her, so she kept repeating the verse in her mind over and over again until her heartbeat slowed while leaning against the nearest beam, shutting her eyes to allow the images of soft rain in a field of flowers to fill her mind.  It was enough time for her to relax and hear the good Professor's request of Abbas leading the team to search the area while he made repairs.  Neither option sounded appealing at this point, but the thought of Abbas and Krogan leaving the ship so soon after that attack at once made up her mind.  If she was going to be anywhere in this forbidden jungle, it would at least be with those two.

"I'll volunteer for this endeavor as well.  It is by the grace of the divines to have lived thus far, and fortune favors the bold.  If our brave warriors are willing to meet this jungle, they should not meet it alone," Fareeda spoke in a poetically soft voice as she moved forward to join the group again, slipping her hands gently onto Abbas' arm as she did so; the dancer transferred the energy of fear to softness instead, finding the latter emotion more useful than the former.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:27, Thu 15 Dec 2011.

Jibril just frowns unpleasantly as the crazy gnome regains consciousness. For the fifth time already this morning, he had wondered what the hell he was doing on this expedition.

When Fareeda joins them, Jibril points up into the tree at his stranded clothes. "Fareeda, do you think you can grab your broom and fly up there and retrieve those for me?"

Krogan nodded to the talented bard, smiling at her enthusiasm.
You're more than welcome, Fareeda.   It's probably not a place for casual music, but another pair of sharp eyes is always a good thing.
He grinned at her, but frowned in confusion at Jibril's request.   The bard could fly?   And why would a broom help her getting the clothes if she could already fly?

Sometimes he despaired of ever understanding city people.

Lambrac dragged a sturdy plank from the shattered helm and shoved it through the side-rail and over a neighbouring tree branch, estimating that it would wedge them in place more effectively. Finally, he yanked the knot tight with almost savage force, letting irritation cloud his worry over this mess they were in.

Out of the frying pan, into the fire, and now what they were into? He knew inventors, even mad gnomish inventors — he was from Lantan, after all — but Professor Hingleswip was soon turning out to be the maddest. Everything he did to help seemed to make a situation worse. This was no way to do business, and no way to manage a major engineering project. The whole thing was a disaster.

At Hingleswip's speech, Lambrac had reached the end of his tether, and turned on the professor in anger. "Iscarion? You still want to try for Iscarion? We don't know where we are, our transportation is ruined, and we have no supplies. And it looks as though this god Ubtao himself has cursed your endeavours." he fumed. "We should make what repairs we can and head for the nearest town. I know some Lantanese operations here, they'll assist. Then we return to Calimshan... Mistress Ghusoon will not be pleased to hear how her investments have been squandered, and would rather see this disaster salvaged." He rather hoped Jala's name would put an appropriate amount of fear into Hingleswip.


OOC: Intimidate 7, yeah, real threatening
This message was last edited by the player at 02:35, Thu 15 Dec 2011.

The request Jibril made of Fareeda was met with a soft expression as she glanced up to his stranded garb, looking like a discarded skin from a hopelessly garish snake, and gave the man a knowing gaze as she spoke, "It is unwise to ask a fish to fly unless you are prepared to make them wings."  Her hazel eyes then gave him a once-over, foot to head as one would inspect a mule on sale, she gave a subtle cringe imbued in underlying haughtiness and turned her attention away without so much as a second glance.  It was her only true response since Krogan made his encouraging sentiment known just after; Fareeda's expression returned to its gentleness as she looked upon the orc with a charming smile that crept onto her rose-pink lips and inclined her head slightly towards him in a 'thank you' gesture.

But the tensions rose once more while Lambarc voiced his passioned opinions; truth be told, much of it expressed how she felt about the endeavor, as it seemed fruitless to try for this temple without a functioning air-ship, ranged defenses, and fuel to even bother, but it was not the time to argue details.  The Professor, while cooky and zealous, was right that if they couldn't work as a team, they'd be dead, and those reptiles made that painfully clear and made such teamwork in perfect jeopardy if they did not tread carefully.

"Lambarc, my friend, I agree with your sentiment on our position, as it is precarious at best, but is it not best to postpone the decision on where to depart to until after we repair the ship?  You have a sharp eye and keen wit; we could use both and your passion while scouting out for suitable replacements for our lost supplies," Fareeda spoke softly to him with a head slightly turned down as if vulnerable and tentative about her address towards him in a gentle way, by all appearances trying her best not to further anger Lambarc with words or body language.

Diplomacy (take 10): 20   ~How can you.... resist?
This message was last edited by the player at 05:12, Thu 15 Dec 2011.

The Professor sighed and rubbed at his temples as Lambrac ranted, waiting for the young Lantanese man to finish before replying. "Ah yes, I had quite forgotten we had one of Ghusoon's pups along for the ride. Well you can rest assured that tart's concerns are of no interest to me, she got her payment and she can grow fat on it in that brothel she calls a palace."

It was obvious that Lambrac's outburst had awakened an entirely different side to the Professor, "Make no mistake young sir - this is my expedition and my ship. You want to run back to Calimport and to ghusoon, be my guest, nearest settlement is a hunded leagues south of here - Refuge Bay". He gestured back to the cliff edge just a few dozen yards back towards the ocean, "The natives call this the Bone Coast, hundreds upon hundreds of leagues of sheer cliff faces thick with jungle. In this terrain the journey would take you a week on foot. With no supplies or equipment, I doubt you'd make nightfall."

His eyes narrowed, "This setback is temporary. We will reach Iscarion, I haven't worked this damn hard for this many years to turn back now. You put up and join the team or you run back to your mistress. Decide."

The Professor arched his brow as he waited for Lambrac's answer.

Lambrac fumed, looking between sweet Fareeda, the suddenly firm Professor, and the dense green jungles that stretched on to the horizon. Fareeda's calming words and good looks really weren't helping; women like her always made him feel small and enslaved to them. He twitched irritably, trying to find a way out of this that would save face. "Decide? I have no bloody choice, do I? This is the only ride in town." he muttered. Lantanese were known across the Shining Sea as a peaceful people, themselves the ones who would stop a fight or calm an argument. But this one had been pushed to the edge; he was angry, afraid, and deeply offended by the whole sorry affair.

Turning his back, he stormed off, returning to his efforts at securing the ship as he tight as he could make the knots. Bloody Chult. A hundred leagues north of Refuge Bay, the very wrong side of Chult, nowhere near the Lantanese logging camp and the portal network. No hope there. He'd had more experience working up north at Fort Beluarian, but that was much too far. He was stuck here. Hopefully the others would see sense in time, and demand the mad professor turn his damn ship for home. How many deaths would that take?

There was one benefit to this, at least. Now he had no qualms whatsoever about completing Jala's little side-quest.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:09, Fri 16 Dec 2011.

Abbas sighed to himself – mentally – at Jibril’s petulance and insults, then Lambrac’s outburst, then the Professor’s “my way or die”.  One negative attitude fed the next, jacking tempers for the third.  None of which saw the ship repaired, returned to the air, the party safe and successful in their explorations.  Yes the ship had been sidelined – but it was in relatively one piece, just damaged, and all those aboard were at most bounced around and uninjured.

Taking up the conversation from Fareeda’s calm words, Abbas spoke quietly and diplomatically, slowing his pace of work significantly, but also seeking to diffuse some of the tension by continuing efforts in organizing items scattered about the shipdeck.

“If we are able to travel to a town, then travel to Iscarion is little different."  A stack of sailcloth folded together slid to one side - not a bad resting place if there were no hammocks left, one might imagine.  "Our focus is to ensure supplies are sufficient for food, drink, and travel, correct?  If they are not sufficient to go all the way, we forage or stop at town to replenish – which we would have done even had there been no encounters on the way in.  Travel to either stop along our trip is swifter and safer in the airship, so it seems our goal in recovering the necessary supplies helps on every front.

“Return from Chult is most certainly a goal I presume we all share.  The question is how?  How?  Both in what steps do we need to facilitate the return, and on what level of success?  Whether return sought is fame, wealth, or knowledge, a successful exploration would be goal and task met, and if items of value are located… why all the greater return on our time and teamwork.  Life is not tried if it is merely survived.”

The elven warrior slowly made eye contact with each party member, adjusting his posture oh-so-slightly.  Fareeda’s veiled turbulent emotions, Jibril’s tempermentalness, and Lambrac’s explosion  were counter-balanced by Thaniel’s reserved nature, Lini’s light-heartedness, and Krogan’s helpfulness.  The Professor seemed to waiver between distraction and doggedness.  Trouble bred tension, and had birthed a fine litter - but not unexpectedly, with the near-death experiences... that everyone had survived fit.

Parry and thrust, parry and thrust.

“We always have choices.  In Calimshan, working together, we succeeded against ambushers and politics.  In the wild air, we successfully arrived – through teamwork with the ranged attacks and magic.  The early landing was accomplished again only through teamwork in working the ship, casting off excess weight and supporting the ship to work sufficient time to put us in range for the Professor’s magics.

“The common thread in all our tales is the team working together to success.

“Of course we are going to face challenges – an obstacle we overcome is nothing without the challenge.  We train ourselves against better swordsmen, foes in the field, and experience.  We are a powerful and able group, skilled in stealth and steel, magic and ingenuity.

“All these rest upon the third how – what we need to restore the ship to continue onwards.  A good list of what we need to restore the ship, what alternatives we should be seeking, and perhaps some good bug ointment I thought I heard about previously, and we can drop the rope ladder down and search away.  While the list is being compiled, let us look about from our vantage point and learn what we can of the area to familiarize ourselves, and perhaps those of us more familiar with the animals and pitfalls can provide some forewarning – I will admit the giant bird-bats were not something I was expecting at first instance, though I had heard tales of great beasts here, and my thanks to everyone in their quick action.  Professor, can you provide us the list of what we should be seeking?” Abbas politely returned focus to the employer/ship captain/powerful mage – three points that spoke oh-so-strongly about returning him onside in the team discussions.

"And Lambrac, as Fareeda noted, you have indicated a better grasp of this area than most of us, and a sharp mind in making use of the ship - your appreciation of what we find to put to use in repair of the Professor's list would put us all another step ahead?"

Krogan merely waited for the fervor to die down.  As tense and angry as several people were, it was still a calm santuary of bliss compared to the orc caves in which he was born.   He suspected that he could survive here, by stubbornness if not skill, and figured the rest could as well.

I'll see about finding the easiest way down, one that lets us meet the ground at a speed we choose, if possible, and we can look around to see what is available, as we suggested.   

He nodded at Abbas, respectful of the man's calm mind during their predicament.

Thaniel watches the conversation with interest, but decides against wading in on a subject he neither knew little about nor cared for. Instead he sticks close to Korgan, who had proven himself in a fight already. "I will go on the scouting trip. I am far more at home in a jungle than on the wing in any event."

Walking to the side, Krogan pulled out the rope ladder from the side of the railing, tossing it down the side of the railing.  Looking back he nodded to the others.
If you wish to pull this up after we leave, feel free, but I'd ask for someone to stick around on watch to get it out in case we come back in a hurry. 

He went down first, smiling at the prospect of exploring the new environment.

Linni hit the Professor on the shoulder as he awoke, "I thought you were hurt!" She huffed.

Now that her Uncle was found to be well she set about exploring the edges of the ship, looking over the edge with interest at how comfortably the ship had been stuck in the tree. It didn't take long for her to lose interest in the curiosity and she returned to the Professors side as he admonished Lambrac for his outburst. "I don't care what we find. Nothing's going to be as dangerous as falling out of the sky."

The conflicts within the group seemed to pass right over the small gnome's head. Now that the airship had landed and her Uncle proved well her mind was firmly set on exploring the jungle below them. She grinned, excited, as the Professor mentioned the expedition. "I'll get ready!" She squealed as she disappeared below deck. She reappeared shortly after, her adventuring equipment once again strapped about her person. From the looks of things her vials of alchemists fire thankfully survived the crash intact. As did her weasel familiar, Kei, who once was on deck ran around to sniff at the rest of the party before returning to Linni to weave around her legs.

So she stood by the rope ladder, hopping anxiously from one foot to the other, peering over the edge in anticipation. "Uncle can stay with Ham and Jens, I'm sure the ship needs a good once over after all that anyway." She grabbed one side of the rope ladder and slid down after Krogan.

Lambrac listened sullenly, silently, and yet defiantly through Abbas's fine speech. He was still too bitter over this disaster and the conflict with the obstinate Hingleswip. He was uncomfortable being so angry, it didn't suit him at all well. But things needed to be said. While he could agree that finding supplies and repairing the ship were their first priority right now, the goal was still highly questionable, the professor's plans and past suspicious. He could poke a dozen holes in the plan. But later, when Hingleswip wasn't around to interrupt and bully the others.

But finally he nodded at Abbas's request. "I'm no expert, but I've been through Chult before. I can find a few things." Truthfully, he was an engineer and might be more useful helping to reconstruct the ship. But Ham, Jens and even Hingleswip knew about that than he did, and, by Gond, there was was no way he could work with him now. He had to get off this damnable ship.

"Blah, blah, blah," Jibril muttered to himself as the elf droned on and on. He suspected Abbas was one of those individuals who enjoyed listening to the sound of their own voices way too much.  As he searched for his belongings for their expedition into the jungle, he idly wondered if Abbas would be similarly carrying on at length as the panther devoured him.

While they waited for the professor's list, Lambrac returned to his efforts at securing the ship to the tree. That's when he saw it, cursing under his breath. The rope he'd cut earlier was hanging loose, of course. But if the balloon it held down slipped, it would tear open on the tree and they'd lose buoyancy. Dashing over, he grabbed the rope and pulled it back to tie them together Too short now, of course. He needed something to connect them.

That's when he spotted it, flapping up by the prow. Some purple cloak or something; he really didn't have the capacity to care. It was sturdy fabric and it would do. He drew a knife, cut it, and then ripped it loudly in half.


OOC: Say goodbye to your cloak, Jibril. :P

There's an audible gasp, and Lambrac feels a heated glare on his back.  He turns to find Jibril's fiery eyes sizing him. "Not many...men...have had the gall to rip my clothes in such a fashion."

"Keep it up, and I might share my insect repellent with you," he adds with a smirk.

"Ask the dinosaurs, magistrate, they'll happily tear your clothes off. As for me, you're not my type." He glanced over to Fareeda, most definitely his type, but sadly she was already interested in Abbas. And Linni was jail-bait. This was going to be looong trip.

"Say, have you got any fatter clothes? We might need new balloons." he teased the priest.

Jibril ignores Lambrac's jest and give him a feline grin that suggests all kinds of things.

"I've never been with a Lantannese before. I imagine it's something akin to midget mud wrestling."

After finding his belongings, he retrieves the previously mentioned insect repellent and sprays himself with a healthy dose before they start their trek into the jungle.

"Water". The Professor looked at Abbas with bloodshot eyes - he was still clearly fatigued from the near-disaster minutes before, "For the moment our priority is fresh water. We threw nearly every vat overboard back there and in this place without water we might as well throw ourselves off that cliff edge".

He struggled to his feet, retrieving his cane from nearby to lean on. "Look for any streams heading to the cliff - but don't take that water, disease will eat you faster than the raptors here - follow it back and find the source. You'll have to figure out a way to carry it too. Leaves, bark, skins...you'll find something I'm sure". He slumped back down onto the deck, eyes closed and head in his hands.

"If you let it, this place will devour you. You must learn to work together and use the jungle as a tool. The natives of Chult, the Tabaxi, know this more than anyone - perhaps you could seek them out, they might be willing to help".

He looked up again, staring at each of you, "And one last thing: be back by nightfall..."

"Water? I can conjure up to 16 gallons a day, starting tomorrow if needed. That might be enough for all of us to share on a daily basis. We would just need some containers for it," Jibril replies as he examines the smudges on his clothes from the crash landing.

Krogan will gather any small drink containers he can gather, to take with him.  This was a scouting mission first, though, and he figured there'd be plenty of time for that later.   He reckoned if the priest could conjure water, they could just fill anything, and just take what they needed.

Heading down to the ground, Krogan spied around the area to see how safe it looked.  He readied his morningstar and heavy shield, ready to defend his friends.    When they arrived, he would look at them, nodding.

I may have been raised in the wild, but tracking and such were never my strong point.  we never had to leave far from the caves.   But my draconic magic can enhance the senses, so I  can be a big help to anyone else good at such things.   

He smiled as he looked around.
OOC:03:23, Today: Krogan rolled 13 using 1d20+1. spot.


This message was last edited by the player at 09:25, Sat 17 Dec 2011.

"You're thinking of gnomes. Try the professor." Lambrac suggested to Jibril, slightly maliciously at Hingleswip's expense. Tying off the remains of the priest's cloak to the balloon rope, Lambrac finished and ventured back to where the professor was holding court again.

He considered Jibril's offer. "I don't want to know where you'll conjure it from, but in this weather, humidity, workload, counting gnomes as half... That's actually more than enough drinking water for all of us, leaving a little for washing..." he decided, counting off the crew, relieved that this first and most vital need would be easily taken care of. "But how much do we have left for today, and do we have containers to hold it all?"

He listened to Krogan's words about tracking. "I picked up a little Chultan wilderness lore the last time I was here. I can't track, but I know some edible plants, animals, the weather and whatnot."

The Professor smiled, glad the group were finally starting to pool their individual talents together to approach the task at hand. "Good. Well it won't hurt to keep an eye out for sources of water, should anything happen to Azuth's finest here we'd all be back at square one.

As for containers, perhaps you could kill two birds with one ample-sized stone; this jungle is teeming wiht boar, deer, water buffalo and Barravar knows how many other species of game. They will provide us with fresh meat and hides that can be turned into waterskins", he gestured at the hold, "We have a cold room below that we can store food in, however it runs on the same fuel as the engine. Herein lies the next challenge - I need you to find dry timber, a challenge no doubt in this damp humid place but there has to be something. I'll get Ham and Jens to salvage any non vital timber from the ship whilst I start work on building a burner. Primitive by my standards but it will have to do".

He stuck one hand on his hip as he gazed up at the midday sky. "I estimate we have about six or seven hours of daylight left, let's not waste any more time".

Jibril looks disgusted at the Professor's suggestions for waterskins, but he resigns himself to the fact of their current circumstances. For the millionth time, he wonders with a loud sigh what possessed him to go on this adventure with a tart and a whole host of other characters that could have filled a Calampani circus.

With a flourish of his hands, he waves the others onward into the jungle. "Well you heard the Professor...chop, chop! We've got to go hunting some water buffalo or something.  Krogan, you stay next to me and keep the snakes and other venomous creatures from killing me, because if we are going to survive any of this you're all going to need my healing powers and my ability to keep you from all dying of thirst."   
This message was last edited by the player at 00:35, Mon 19 Dec 2011.