The great Expedition I - RPLOG
Participants
Date
28/12/479
Log
"The "Dawn of the Waves", is looking for bodyguards and crew for a privately funded expedition into thus far unexplored parts of Promise. Please report to First Mate Erika Dustwing in her office in the harbor, if you are interested." That was all the note on the board of the Freeswords and on the walls of several other taverns and inns across town said.
The office building is little more than a small rented room with a door to the street, but it is pretty easy to find, despite its rather quiet location on the edge of the harbor area of the city.
Rixo tended to prefer land routes and walking solitary on her journies throughout the land, but sometimes different wasn't too bad. A knock at the door heralds her arrival before she lets herself in, stretching out and offering a wave all at once. "This the place for the voyage?"
Ssen makes no effort to hide the excitment in her gait, every step springing the moth forwards with gusto. She can't wait, an adventure! a giod one! no muckibg around sandy holes with dead badgers, exploration! fame! fortune! She flutters her wings while looking up at the door in awe, stealing her teeny welf before swinging the door open, stepping in after the panda quietly.
Peter is all dressed up for work, metal plates etched with runes strapped securely over thick and scarred leather. His fluffy tail bounces behind him as he slinks into the door as well, wrinkling his nose at the familiar faces
Fenris carries few possessions with him, aside from his long coat and whatever treasures it hides, along with a silvery otter golem that scampers along at his feet. His exposed arms sport several heavy, silver colored rings at his wrists, elbows and biceps etched with complex mathemagic. He slips in quietly after the others and looks around the office. It had been a long time since he had last signed on with a ship's crew.
The inside of the building is what you would expect from something rented for only a short period of time, a desk, a chair, no decorations on the walls, some candles and maps, and a clever clan bat in her early thirties. Miss Duskwing looks up from the map she was going over as Rixo steps in. "It is." She eyes the panda up and down for a moment. "Crew of guard?" Before she can get an answer, three more people step in, who get the same question.
"I suppose so," Rixo says, offering a little shrug. "I'm not much of a sailor, so I doubt I'd be helpful with much else. I am just looking for adventure, really. To see if I'll recognize any of the places, or to enjoy new places if not."
Ssen inclines her head backwards at Fenris and Peter, giving Fenris a wave and Peter an encouraging thumbs up before she starts glancing around. She blinks up at the bat, answering the question with a vague gesture at the boomerangs stored on her arms, hoping the mime would go down easily.
"Crew," Fenris says with an affable smile, "I'm one of the best ship's cooks in any port, if you will have me." Which is funny, coming from a being as large and apparently battle ready as the tiger is.
The bat nods at Fenris and Rixo, and after a moment of raised eyebrows, at Ssen. "Trip is expected to last two months, but because we are heading out to explore, we can not be sure. Pay is 25 crown per month for crew and 65 crown per month for guards. We will leave the harbor in two days at sunrise. Any questions?" The bat drones the information and questions, obviously having had to repeat them quite a few times already.
"Gives me time enough to pack, I suppose," Rixo says, setting her hands on her hips. "Looks like we're going adventuring together again, Fenris. Our paths seem intertwined. Just as well. You make for a pretty fair companion on the road. Though it seems we'll not be encountering many roads this time, being at sea."
Ssen stares back at Erika, unblinkinh for the whole period, flapping her wings once pointedly at the end of the exchange. She nods firmly and noticably at each point raised to confirm her understanding. The small being closes her eyes and cants her head, chittering loudly and excitedly, a real adventure!
Fenris gives the bat a lazy salute and a dazzling smile. "Whatever you say, Captain," he says, not seeming the least bit bothered by the pay discrepancy. People are usually at least a little curious when he claims to be anything but muscle for hire, but it seems that the bat has had a long day already. It's a wonder that he didn't have to prove anything to be hired on as cook. With the difference in pay, most beings were probably signing on as guards. "Always a pleasure, Rixo," Fenris says to the red panda, "I certainly do my best."
The tiger gives one more lazy salute, then turns to the door. "Come on, Kawa," he says, apparently to his golem, "We've got a few things to take care of."
The bat shakes her head. "Only the first mate, you will meet the captain once we are ready to leave port." With that said, there is little more to do for the trio than to pack their things and get ready for the adventure that lies before them.
Two days later, the "Dawn of the Waves" is ready to set sail. It is clear why they decided to hire extra crew for this trip. The ship is a large, three masted galleon that likely takes several dozen beings to operate properly. Erika is standing near the gangway, armed with a list and a quill, checking off the names of the beings that board the vessel.
Having dressed herself in robe of light, black cloth with a high collar, Rixo was indeed present at the scheduled time. Her luggage slung over her back with a pair of straps, though there wasn't a large amount of it. Enough for an appropriate length of travel, though. She stands wordlessly at the end of the plank, glancing around.
Ssen rushes up to the ship with just as much exhuberant energy as when she first approached the office as she nears the ship. Her whole body bristles childishly at the sight of the ship and the bat, she only speeds up upon having the ship fall into her sight. The moth wears a long, flowy coat and some shorts and not much besides, carrying with her some warmer clothes in a little burlap bag. She scoots up to familiar bat and raises both her arms infront of the...whatever genus a bat is.
Fenris looks. . . different. Not unrecognizably so. Just a little different. A little softer around the edges maybe? It must be the wardrobe change.
The tiger has left behind his outlandish Creator uniform in favor of a short leather vest, trimmed in some sort of long fur. It leaves his fluffy chest and thick torso on display. His heavy belt holds on loose, canvas trousers tucked into dark boots and his little golem scampers along with him.
"Fenris," he says to the bat, "Ship's Cook at your service."
The bat checks off the names on the list. "Yes, yes. I hope you cook better than the last one." She shudders. Looking down at the energetic moth she nods at her. "Please board the ship, there are not many left to come, so we will leave soon." She still sounds annoyed at her task, but less so than two days ago. "I am sure the captain wants to hold a little speech before we do."
"Fenris is a fair cook. I can vouche for that," Rixo says, glancing over her shoulder. "Don't make me regret those words, hmm?" She adjusts the strap of her bag and makes her way up onto the ship proper, exhaling as she goes. "Hopefully this will be entertaining!"
Ssen clearly has had no experience of being on such a tremendous vessel, slipping past the Bat to wander out into the middle of the ship, spinning aroubd to take it all in. Her little antenea twitch and she smiles up at the nearest crew members she can find. She looks a bit...out of place.
"I expect that I am better than PASSING!" Fenris says playfully, shouldering a small rucksack and walking up the gangplank, his little golem following after. The big tiger saunters easily along the deck and slips below, walking as if he knew the place back and front already. And maybe he did. After all, a good cook doesn't let someone else choose his ingredients.
After a short while, he returns, sans rucksack and golem, with a little smile on his face to await the captain's arrival.
The captain is already giving his speech, as the three arrive on the main deck. He is a slightly overweight walrus with graying hair and a broken tusk. "We will be the first to explore the waters we are headed for, and, with luck, the land they will lead us to. I am confident that both the veterans of this proud ship and the new hires will lead us to great discoveries and riches. Now find yourself a place to sleep, if you haven't yet, and get ready to set sail, if you belong to the crew." It would seem that the largest part of the speech was missed by the two fighters and the cook, as well as the last few hires that arrived after them, as well as the bat who has now boarded the ship as well, and withdraws the gangplank with the help of a burly ox.
Ssen barely listens to the captain, she's too busy staring at the aluring cup thing on the top of the ship. That would be her domain! The moth wastes no time in delving below decks to lay claim to a dark little corner before coming back up to the deck. She locates tge nice Bat lady and, whether or not she's busy, disturbs her by tapping her arm and pointing up at the crow's nest with literally no explination of actions or intent
"Yes, may fortune favour us in our trip!" Rixo says, making her way below the deck to find a place to set her things, and to sleep, later. Though right now, sleep was hardly something on her mind.
Fenris has already claimed his space in the galley and checked over the supplies and joins in with the crew to cheer the captain, if only to show willing, since he missed the speech. The burly tiger then sets about helping where he can with launch preparations, though there is little for him, as the cook, to really do just now. There would be potatoes for peeling and meals to prepare later. Mostly, he just gets out of the way, leaning against a railing to watch the launch.
The bat is busy with one of her lists as Ssen reaches up to her arm and looks sideways, then down, to locate the moth. "The crow's nest? What about it?" She squints, then coughs. "I am sorry, that is a position better suited to someone who, ehm, can talk. You can just explore the ship for now." As the bat finishes, the ship's sails are being set and anchor raised, allowing the galleon to slowly pick up speed and leave the harbor.
Rixo gets her bag squared away by her bunk, her swords kept strapped to her belt. Then, she sets about wandering below the decks, largely just trying to familiarize herself with where everything is before she returns topside, herself, to look out over the awaiting sea. "Ship voyages still make me uneasy."
Ssen raises a hand, mask shifting as she opens her mouth to argue but a quick glance to the side later and the Moth is staring down at her feet in disapointment. She looks almost heartbroken as she sulks up to near the prow of the ship. She stands there quietly, staring out into the harbour as the ship shudders to life. It would be hers, dammit, one day
Fenris looks over at Rixo with a smile, folding his arms across his fluffy chest. "I figure that the sea has already done me as much damage as it can," he says, though he does not really clarify, "All she can do now is kill me or let me be, otherwise it'll just be the same old tune." The tiger looks around at the rest of the ship's crewman with interest, watching them raise the anchor at set the sails. "But then," he says, "It has been a few years since I was last on a ship like this. Maybe she's come up with some new tricks." The tiger saunters over to the First Mate. "I'd ask the captain," he says, "But I figure that is more your job until we're introduced. When are the officers going to want their dinner?"
Erika looks up for yet another distraction, a more important one this time though. "Ah. Seven. Every day. Six and seven for the crew, in two shifts. Is that all?" She is already back to her list and scribbling stuff with her quill, while the ship leaves the harbor and heads for the open sea. A warthog chuckles at Rixo in the meantime. "Not often on the open sea, eh? Your one of the guards they hired then?"
The expedition has been going on for a dreadfully boring two weeks now, with little more than the open sea to rest the eyes on. Today promises no difference from this, except for some dreadfully dark clouds on the horizon, right in the direction the galleon is headed.
Rixo didn't mind the trip too much, despite her land preference, having largely kept to herself and with her nose in a book. It helped keep her mind off the sea, at least. And not that there was much to 'guard' from out here. Hopefully it would stay that way.
Fenris is sitting at the aft of the ship with a fishing pole in hand, trolling for something to augment the unfortunately bland fare that comes with ocean travel. He has been fairly successful so far, able to make fine fare for the officers' table and pretty passable stuff for everyone else. The burly tiger has fallen into the role of ship's cook quite well over the past few weeks and ingrained himself with the crew. He hums a little sea chanty to himself while he fishes.
The ship continues on its course, towards the dark clouds, as Fenris spots a large wall of fog that seems to be catching up with the ship rather quickly. Not much longer and the vessel will be sandwiched between two kinds of bad weather.
It would be unfortunate, to be sure, but Rixo was oblivious to it for the time being. She was still down in her bunk, not reading this time, but stretching and polishing her weapons. She did not fear much in the way of damage befalling them, but the upkeep was just about ritual to her at this point, and she was nothing, if not a Being of ritual practice.
Fenris frowns at the approaching fog bank, looking between the fog and the sails and noting the storm ahead. He rubs his chin and considers the wind. "Don't like the looks of that," he says, mostly to himself, reeling in his line, "What's the word from above?" he calls out to the crows nest, looking back out to the fog.
"Doesn't look good" Comes the call back from the crow's nest. The pig in it squints into the fog, but before he can see it, it is too late, two smaller ships have caught up with the galleon and are letting lose a barrage of warning shots, before a voice, amplified by air magic, booms over the decks. "Surrender your ship and goods now, and your lives will be spared, refuse and we will take them by force." The ships are build for speed, but decently armed and are flying black sails, as well as black flags, with the skull of some kind of rodent over crossed sabers. Different guards and crew members exchange worried looks, the former readying their weapons.
It's hard to miss the sound of cannons. The panda woman furrows her brow and stands, shrugging herself into her thick silk garments, smoothing out the over-robe and fastening it shut, her sword belt pulled on over it. "I suppose it is to be a battle, then," she mutters to herself, taking up her naginata last and making for the deck.
"Ah, yes," Fenris says, a pleasant smile on his face, "That makes a lot more sense." The tiger whistles, and a long stream of sea water slides up over the rail and swirls around him, assuming a serpentine form. He stands easily on the swaying deck, awaiting orders.
The captain must have already given some orders to those that are in charge of things, as the ship starts to turn in an attempt to navigate its side to face the pirates, who in turn circle the ship, avoiding just that. The first mate has meanwhile appeared on the main deck and yells orders of her own. "Get ready to defend the ship, everyone on their posts!"
Rixo was no expert on naval warfare. Well, not being on the boat, at least. She knew how to organize fleet tactics. There was no place for that here, though, so she opts simply to take a place near the entrance to the lower decks, making sure she's not too much in the open to become a target for stray cannonfire.
The pirates, since that is what they must be, must have a magician or two of their own to pull off this trick. Fenris lets his elemental serpent twine slowly around him as he bends down to pick up an enormous wooden spoon. He looks out over the water to the nearest of the ships and gives a shot at a bit of water magic, using the fog and sea to his own advantage to send splinters of ice into the sails and crew of the attacking vessel.
Without a spyglass it is impossible to tell if Fenris' spell does much damage to the crew of the attacking craft, but the sail is taking some hits, slowing it down enough for the officer in charge of the cannons to decide to try his luck, downing one of the masts and damaging the hull, while sending tremors to their own ship. The pirates don't take long to retaliate, the other ship firing a broadside at the galleon to cover those who are boarding it, most via traditional means, but some of their beings are flying and provide air support, most with musket, one with needle sharp icicles made of magic. A rather tall and wide warthog with a morning star in his hand and a pistol on his belt has picked Rixo as his opponent and swings the dangerous weapon at her.
Rixo remains stationary, watching the warthog approach. She doesn't move a muscle until her gets close enough to swing, and when he does she moves just enough to both get into position and let the weapon sail overhead. She thrusts out with the polearm in the same motion, blade seeking purchase on his torso.
Fenris stands still, holding his big, wooden spoon ready, but mentally directs his icy elemental into the teeth of one of the pirates flying across the gap between ships, while he focuses his own magic into a bit of a boost for his shipmates, the fog turning warm around him.
The warthog goes down as quickly as he arrived, but behind him a hyena is ready to take his place. The woman is wielding some sort of huge weapon, that must be a modified ship's cannon and is aiming for the panda! Just as she is firing the thing, the impact of several cannonballs rocks the ship and the aim is thrown off, the weapon punching a hole into the wall beside Rixo instead. The being that has so rudely been stopped in his tracks by the elemental loses his hold on the line and falls into the ocean, while another, a sparrow, lands near Fenris and jabs at him with his two daggers.
Rixo locks eyes with the Hyena for a moment, widening her stance to remain steady as the boat rocks. The shot missed, and she needed to pay it no mind. Instead, she steps forward, thrusting out with the polearm again. It was not a graceful maneuver, and it wasn't fancy, but in the tight space of a ship a thrust was one of the most effective things she could do. Especially with the reach of the weapon.
Fenris takes a single, perfect step back on the rocking deck, moving just out of reach of the sparrow's daggers, and swings his sturdy wooden spoon at the pirate, directing his watery elemental to another boarding pirate. The less that made it aboard, the better. He could only hope the rest of the crew had their posts covered. And that they did not mind him using this spoon for the fish soup he planned to make later.
The hyena blocks the attack with her unwieldy weapon, which is knocked out of her hands in the process. She produces a shotgun from her back to replace it and fires it at Rixo, who is scrapped by some of the shrapnel, but largely alright. Fenris continues to masterfully dodge the attacks of the little sparrow, as another impact rocks the ship, knocking both of them off their feet and the sparrow nearly off board.
Rixo grunts as some of the shot stings against her silk covered arm, but she doesn't let it stop her, bringing her weapon up, this time, swinging the polearm down in a straight cut.
Fenris rolls forward, spoon extended to give his sparrow opponent a hard jab, hopefully sending them over the edge to free him up to help elsewhere. Since there don't seem to be any more flying pirates, he calls his elemental back to coil around him. Those cannons need dealing with.
It is as if the officer of the cannon deck could read Fenris' mind, since just now a broadside sinks the damaged pirate vessel, or rather seals its fate to, as it breaks apart just as the sparrow drops into the ocean. The other ship seems to be mostly intact however, and that is good for the pirates, who seem to be falling back, a series of impacts covers their retreat, the hyena who just dodged Rixo's attack giving her a cold look and the second barrel of her shotgun, just as another mast of the galleon goes down.
Rixo scoots out of the way of the second shot, this time striking with the butt of the polearm, trying to simply knock the hyena off the deck and into the sea. "Get out of here," she mutters.
Fenris rights himself and leans on his oversized spoon as he watches the pirates flee, groaning as the mast tilts crazily and falls. "That's going to be fun to fix," he says, plucking his fishing line off the deck.
The hyena dodges the half heartedly attack and leaves on her own term, along with the other pirates. They bit of more than they could chew, but they sure did chew. The galleon is in a dire state. Two of the four masts are down and the main deck is a mess. Several cannons are destroyed and the lowest deck is flooding, with several beings already working on patching the holes there. The crew does not look much better. More than half is dead and most others are wounded.
Rixo grunts and pats down her sleeve, shaking loose any spare shot that might've gotten stuck in her robe. "Pirates never learn, huh." She shakes her head and leans her naginata against the cabin, dragging the dropped cannon over near it to get it out of the way before she moves off to help attend the wounded. She had little medical training, but she didn't need it to wrap a bandage.
Fenris rolls his shoulders and straightens his sailor's vest. "To work then!" he says cheerily, heading below decks to where the crew is wildly working to patch holes. "Someone called for the cook?" The big tiger focuses himself and enters that special fugue state for magic and starts to push the water back out the way it came. "Hop to it, lads!"
A couple of bitter looks are thrown at Fenris. "People died, you know?" Comes from an otter who had so far worked on fixing the leaks underwater, but, thanks to Fenris' magic, he and the others can work in the dry now, at least in this part of the deck. There is indeed a lot of bandaging to be done and the first person in need of medical aid that Rixo comes across is the familiar bat, who seems to have both a broken arm and leg, as well as some bleeding wounds.
"Does the ship have an actual medic on hand?" Rixo asks, doing a bask job of cleaning the wound with water before bandaging it. Not a full treatment, but better than nothing. "If so, you might want to see them after. I do not have the proper supplies on hand to do more than staunch the bleeding, I am afraid."
"And I'll do my mourning when the ship is not sinking. I'm the cook, gentlemen, this is not really in my job description," Fenris says, waiting for the crew to get their patches in place before moving on to where he might be needed next.
The first mate groans at the treatment. "We do, if they survived the attack." The section of the ship Fenris is in seems to be patched as well as it is going to get for now, and the workers head off to another as quickly as they can. And they would better get the ship into somewhat seaworthy shape soon, as the storm is still approaching as well.
Rixo gives the bat a clap on the shoulder before standing and offering a hand. "Well! Try to find them then. I'll go try to find others in dire need while you do. Can't have people dying after the battle. Not when we need the ship fixed up, else we're all dead."
Fenris follows along after the workers, staying in the quasi-trance of magic, forcing the cold ocean water back as they progress to the hold and other parts of the ship, continuing the weary work of repairs as quickly as possible. The oncoming storm was going to be. . . exciting.
The first aid and fixing of the most severe damages occupies everyone who can lend a hand for the next half hour. The ship has slowed noticeably, after having lost half of its masts and seemingly the capability to navigate properly, but it reaches the storm eventually. High waves whip water through holes in higher decks, slowly flooding the freshly fixed lower decks once more, while strong winds threaten to rip the remaining masts apart, although, several crewmembers are already working on reeling in the sails.
Once her part of the first aid treatment is done, she returns to her bunk in one of the non-flooding decks, to reclaim her book. She was not crew, and she did not know much about ship repair to be anything other than in the way. She could be dry enough, though, and her weapon needed cleaning. That did not take too terribly long, at least.
Fenris can see that his culinary expertise is not needed just now. So he sets his focus on keeping the water out of the hull as best he can. The burly tiger finds a clear spot in the middle of the ship where he settles down to meditate, letting all his focus remain on the water magic needed to keep the ocean out. Oddly, he starts to sing. Something in an odd, foreign tongue. Most of the crew probably won't hear it over the sound of the storm, but it helps Fenris stay focused on his task.
Fenris' effort buys the ship some time, but in the end, it is no use. The masts are torn off, as too few, too disorganized beings try to reel the sails in, and Fenris alone can not save the ship from filling with water, as much as he tries. Lightning striking the ship several times adds to the disaster, as several small fires spread out, one igniting a powder keg, the resulting explosion tearing a large hole into the side of the ship, filling it even faster.
Rixo furrows her brow at the explosion. Again with the booming. She heaves a sigh and closes her book, taking up her weaponry again, and shouldering her pack, in the event they must abandon ship. She'll not be without her belongings! Once that is done, however, she quickly scurries off to help in putting out the fires. There was no shortage of water to use in that process, at least.
This was not how this little adventure was supposed to go. Fenris exhales and rises as water starts to fill the hold. "Best brace for impact, I suppose," the tiger mutters. Damn, he hates losing. The tiger quickly gathers a few things, rations, small tools and a little medicine kit and secures them to his vest, checking his other carefully stowed items, then hurries above decks to recieve orders.
The captain is nowhere to be found, but the first mate, is standing on deck, one hand on the remainder of one of the masts, the other holding onto a crutch. "Get to the lifeboats, quick!" The instructions are not really needed, as most who can are already fleeing to the boats, and those who are not, are carrying wounded and supplies to them, as another explosion rocks the ship, knocking Fenris, Rixo and many others off the ship and into the deep waters.
Rixo was already hurrying for one of the boats when the explosion knocked her off. She might not have liked boats, but she was no stranger to swimming. And she was thankful to have packed light! Light enough that she had no problem kicking herself to the surface, sputtering water and looking for any boats that had been lowered into the water she could climb to. Drowning at sea was not the way she planned on leaving this world.
Fenris curls into a ball protectively as he tumbles off the ship to splash into the heaving ocean waves. The tiger is a strong swimmer, and has a bit of stamina left, despite his long battle with the storm and the sea, and taps a little bit of the water magic remaining to him to stay afloat.
The boats that did make it safely into the water, are battling the elements and its an uphill battle with the high waves and strong winds, leaving them unable to come to the aid of any of the beings that got knocked off the galleon. Luckily enough, there is no shortage of scrap from the ship floating around near them.
Rixo closes her eyes for a moment, sucking in a breath and ducking under the water, swimming towards a large enough piece of wreckage. As soon as she surfaces near it, she clambers onto the scrapwood and lays atop her weaponry so that they do not go anywhere, wrapping her fingers around the edge to keep herself held to her improvised flotation device.
Fenris swims for the surface, casting about for something to use as a flotation device, and gives a few strong strokes to a bit of wreckage. There is not much else he can do for the rest of the crew, so he just settles himself for what is doubtless going to be a very, very long night.
The night is indeed going to be very long, Fenris, Rixo, the boats and several other beings all drift off from the sinking ship, grasping onto whatever keeps them alive. Fenris and Rixo specifically hold onto their pieces of wood all throughout the night, even after the exhaustion takes its toll and they pass out.
Rixo is the first to awaken, on an unfamiliar beach. Vultures are circling high in the sky and monkey like creatures dart away as she stands up. Fenris is nearby, still passed out. As are a few other's.
Rixo grumbles and touches a hand to her head as she wakes, rolling over and sitting up. "Well, that's why I don't like boats," she curses, running her fingers through her black hair, shaking out salt and sand before she starts to stand, scooping up her spear to use as a walking stick. She surveys the scene, before making her way over towards Fenris to nudge him with a boot. "You still alive there, old man?" She teases, seeing if the tiger would awaken.
Fenris is wakened by Rixo's call, but he lies still for a moment. "Nope," he says, "Definitely dead. Do I still have to get up?" The big tiger opens his eyes and sits up with a groan. "Where are we?"
The where is a good question. The beach is warm, nearly hot, despite the early hour and the plants further inland are distinctly tropic. And on the horizon looms a tall mountain with a suspiciously flat summit.
"Hard to say," Rixo says, shrugging and glancing around. "It looks like a few places I've been to in my travels around the world, but it is not as if I am carrying any maps, or anything of the sort. Or a compass, for that matter. I can find out bearing, but not til tonight, I'm afraid," she says, glancing around. "I can read the stars, but without stars to read, well." She gestures along the coast. "It shouldn't be too hard to figure out which way civilization lies, at least."
"Okay, okay," Fenris says, "I am getting up." The tiger hauls himself to his feet and dusts the wet sand from his trousers. He looks around and checks his possessions, before looking around the beach.
"Let's see who else is alive," The panda says, wandering off to start poking Beings with the butt of the polearm, checking for life and rousing those that are just unconscious. "Should have brought a bow or something. Might be able to make one with some scavenged supplies, though, if I need to."
Most of the things the Tiger and the panda held onto are gone, at least from their direct possession. Most of their gear is spread across the beach, some things are missing completely. The probing and prodding reveals that not many had as much luck as Fenris and Rixo, everyone else who washed up in their direc vicinity is dead.
Fenris checks his things, finding that all of his most important possessions are where they should be, though his spoon seems to be gone. Which is unfortunate. He sighs as he joins Rixo in the search, and finds no survivors. "Not the adventure I had hoped for," he says.
Rixo managed to keep what mattered most to her, at least. She didn't pack much, after all. She had her weapons and her clothes, and that was enough. Shame about the book she was reading, though. "No, perhaps not. But... Well. Frankly, I do not mind this so much," she says with a shrug. "I am glad to be off the boat at least. And it's not the worst situation I've found myself in."
"Same," Fenris agrees with Rixo, straightening up from yet another corpse and sitting down on the sand, "But still." The tiger rubs a hand over his face and looks forlornly over the beach. "You want to see if you can scavenge something to eat?" he says, "I'll. . . I'll gather the bodies. We can at least send them off properly."
"I will try," Rixo says, frowning. "I'd prefer a bow, still, for that. But maybe I can find some berries or edible plants," she says, hefting her naginata and setting off for the brush. "I'll be back to help bury them soon," she says, waving over her shoulder as she steps into the treeline.
"Burial won't be an issue," Fenris says, rising again and carefully lifting one body after another, laying them gently along the beach. Getting bearings will wait just a little bit.
There are indeed some berry bushes nearby, but they are nothing either of the few have ever seen, so it is hard to tell if they are edible.
Rixo collects them anyway, though she probably won't be the one to try them, except as a last resort. What she was really looking for, and listening for, was a body of water. Aside from the Aqua Magna anyway. A pond, river, or anything of the sort. She was after fish.
Large and strong as Fenris is, it is not long before he has carefully laid out the bodies of crew or pirate, whoever they might be and looks at the lined up corpses as he changes the gem in his soul pendant. He stands contemplatively for a few minutes, then extends a hand to channel a bit of intense fire magic. "I am sorry," he says quietly as the ashes are washed away by the lapping waves.
