As night falls, you move a bit up the cost of the river and all settle in for an evening's rest, having arranged a watch schedule for the evening...

Seig, stil recovering from his near mortal wounds, defers on taking a watch shift this evening.

Ashley uses her natural talents to start a fire, catching the attention and delight of Nib.

Nib polishes his new lantern and practices with his new, highly useful weapon.

Dardek does his best to ignore the grumbling in his stomach as he practices some combat exercises he learned from an old friend what feels like a lifetime ago.

Talon, meanwhile, unbothered by the lack of food, patrols the riverbank soaking in the sounds and the smells of the natural world, occasionally putting his feet in the cool water of the river.

When it comes time for sleep, Ashley eagerly takes the first watch.... It's easy for her to stay vigilant... easier than it is to sleep after all she's experienced... This place... The open air, the constant sounds of wild, unbridled life around her is both exhilarating and anxiety provoking. She is no longer a prisoner, but she's far from safe... in many ways it's the least safe she's ever been... but it's worth the cost... right? Isn't it? The nagging question pains her, distracting her...

She occasionally has to remind herself that the others are counting on her to be the first alert against danger.... but the only sound she hears is Nib whimpering in his sleep, gripping tight to the empty air, apologizing to someone for leaving... Pal? Someone else? The fear in his voice... she recognizes it from her own heart.

She nearly jumps out of her skin when Talon startles her, approaching from behind... His disquietingly even demeanor makes Ashely wonder...  Did he even sleep?  He tells her it's time for him to take over the watch and she dutifully takes to the uncomfortable patch of dirt near the the fire... The closest thing she has to a bed for the forseeable future.

Talon's senses attune to the environment in a way he didn't expect, and doesn't entirely comprehend.

Everything about this natural world around him is foreign to his senses... and yet he can physically feel the sensation of the tides pulling on what remains of his blood. The remaining bonds to his Onifax... to his mother... to see-moo.... to his kin... they're hazy in his mind... like a distant dream... compared to the soul bond he shares with The Deep... The scent of brine in low tide swells in his sense memory,  evoking a calming sensation on his nerves, like the smell of a favorite childhood meal. Somewhere in that little kobold brain, he remembers that this is not right... That this is not really who he is... but that rebelling voice is fading quickly.

These are the reflections he has running through his head as he stands with his feet in in the water, gazing downstream... and spots a moving light approaching from somewhere in the distance downstream.

Focusing his gaze, Talon can barely make out the shape of a boat, slowly making its way upstream towards the camp. A beam of flickering yellow light, likely from a bullseye lantern radiates from the boat, rolling over the shore as if someone were searching for something...

Anyone who is on watch when Talon is....not sleeping...notices that the Kobold just lies down in the debris of the forest, motionless, starry eyes staring into the sky above.  He looks dead.  Again.  Unmoving.  Unbreathing.  For all intents and purposes, he just looks dead.  Hours and hours of a living thing looking very, very dead.  

When he is awake, the entire world is a marvel, seen with fresh eyes.  Eyes gifted to him from somewhere else.  

Somehow or another he has found himself wading along the edge of the water, something that would have terrified him less than a day ago, when he notices the beam of light searching.  

He moves quick, trying not to draw anymore attention than he needs to, as he makes his way to wake up Seig first, then Ashley.  

"Wakes up hm."  He says, being as stealthy as possible.  "Someonecominginboat."  

He points in the direction of the searching lantern.  His voice is low and even, lacking it usual excitement.  

"Upnowup.  We gets everyone's up hm." 

Ashley wakes with a start and wonders what the creepy little lizard wants.. but then realizes he is waking her due to an oncoming boat.  She silently nods and crouching, heads over to Dardek and wakes him up, "Hey, we should move under more cover, into the forest would be good."

She watches Talon, the feeling of uneasiness is hard to shake.  Is this how he was going to be?  She wonders if he has the same thoughts, wants.. needs, that he had before?  His personality sure has changed, did more of him change that they didn't know?  She realized she was glad he woke them, he could have waited in the shadows like he did with the kenkus to see what would happen.  This thought makes her feel a little better as she continues to nudge Dardek to get him to wake up.

Dardek yelps when Ashley wakes him "Yes father I cleaned the latrine!" He sits up and looks around "Oh Ashley it's you, I thought, oh I can never escape that place.....Why did you wake me? Am I" He gupls "Taking a watch?" 

Ashley smiles down at her friend, his trepid ways she is starting to become accustomed to.  "No, you do not need to take a watch.  There is a boat coming up river, find a spot in the woods and we'll come join you.  Someplace that has good cover."

And she heads over to Nib and starts gently waking him.

Ashley doesn't have to tell Dardek twice. Before she is done with her sentence all traces of him have vanished but maybe his hiding spot should have been better (stealth 5)

Nib stretches his little body and a sound escapes him, like the cooing of a dove.  “Aaaa-aaah….   Wha?  What’s happening?  Why are you up soooo early, Ashley?  Gonna light a fire for breakfast?  Mmmmm.  I just had a dream about eggs, and bacon…. I can almost taste it.”  The little halfing sits up and looks around, puzzled.  

Talon (And anyone else who still has eyes on the oncoming craft): You see that it's closing in at a distressing rate, maybe about 150 yards away at this point judging by the light.

The way the beam passes over the shore, you don't need any skill check to tell they're searching for something... 

Ashley: As you look around, hurriedly deciding what to do, something catches your eye - it's the wooden box, rolling across the ground away from you, tumbling end over end like a hamster wheel. It's easy to catch, but as you race to pick it up, you notice something you didn't notice before, a faint whimpering sound coming from within, like a distressed animal.

Dardek: Doing what you do best, decide discretion is the better part of valor and duck into the woods... You move deep into cover with such haste and focus that it takes you a moment before you realize none of the others are with you... And you're not 100% sure how you got where you are... Oh shit.

Nib: You look around, more than ready for that morning meal. You're more than a little disoriented when you see that it's still night time.... not only that, the others seem to be moving around in a state of haste and worry... All except....

Sieg: Who wakes with the sound and the hubub all around, but still isn't in any condition to spring into action to help.

Echoing in the distance, you hear faded muffled voices coming from the direction of the approaching vessel. The tone is even, all business, but still to far to make out clearly... but one thing is certain, they'll be here any moment now.

What would you like to do?

Nib grabs his pack, his bow and gear and starts to run in the direction of Dardek, wanting to remain unseen and avoid being seen by these folk who are apparently looking for the crash site as well.  

Dardek looks around and no longer sees any light or his companions....He becomes more nervous than usual and sits amongst the trees curled into a ball trying to calm himself and listen for his friends (3 Perc). It's eerily quiet.....he slinks down further towards the ground with his head between his knees.

Ashley takes hold of the little box, brings it up close to her face and whispers, "Hello?  You alright in there?"  Feeling a little foolish, but wondering what the whimpering means, she then turns and heads in the direction Dardek went and Nib is going.  She urgently whispers to Seig and Talon, "C'mon!"

Nib heads off in the direction Ashley indicated, into the heavy brush, but he doesn't immediately spot anyone else. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes and looks around to see if he can find any indication of Dardek's path... As you look, you hear a piercing whistle coming from the river behind you, now out of view.

Dardek as you crouch there, on the verge of tears, you notice something catch your eye... a bulbous root formation that looks uncannily like a face watching you from the underbrush. You stare at it for a moment in puzzlement... It's just your imagination, right? That isn't a... or... wait... is it? 

Just then, the face-shaped root blinks its eyes... Not scowling or advancing. Just watching you, placidly.

Suddenly, you hear a piercing whistle. You and the strange root-face instinctively turn to look in its direction at the same time, but whatever might be there is obscured by the brush.

Ashley in response to your query, you hear a faint, distant meow emanate from inside the box along with the sound of soft scratching from within that shifts the moving parts slightly, to no real effect. Turning your attention to your companions, you see Talon crouching over Sieg. You call out to them, urging them to hurry. Talon doesn't immediately respond.  Before you have a chance to act further, a beam of light passes over the camp. You duck away just in time as the light hits Talon and Sieg.

You can't really see through the blinding light to see who's on board, but you make out the shape of chain armor and helmets... and you a piercing whistle come from them as they begin to address...

Talon, a bright light covers you and Seig as the boat approaches. You hear snickering human voices, but can't really make out what they're saying. Something about "diseased" and "death warmed over." Finally, one of the voices addresses you. Gazing up and adjusting your eyes to the light, you see the two men wear matching suits of armor. Not the See-moo city guard. More like the ones who were with the bald man at the Fools Boon, what feels like a lifetime ago... 

One of the soldiers lets out a piercing whistle intended to startle you or get your attention... "Oi! Beastie! What'd you do to that feller there?" He flings a rock in your direction... not intending to hit you, just intending to get a reaction as the other laughs. "I'll bet you poked some holes in him, didntja? Knifed his guts for spare change, eh? That's alright now, I won't tell..."

The bully with the rock then pulls out a pouch of coins and jangles them. "Hear that now? Whole bag of shinies for ya. All you gotta do is tell me if you seen a couple strangers running through these parts. A young lady with red hair and a feller with gold in his cheeks. That ring a bell, ya little bugger?" He shakes the pouch again impatient. "C'mon now. You can tell..."

Ashley realizes how close she was to being seen as she quickly glances at the meowing box that she holds.  She finds herself trembling in the shadows as she waits to see how Talon and Seig will answer the goons.  She holds her breath as the sound of gold hits her.

Dardek peeks over his arms at the little creature. He lifts a finger to his mouth in a shhhh manner hoping the creature understands. He sees nibs fumbling around but is too frightened to make a noise….

Once Nib hears the whistle and the voices, he stops moving and gets even lower to the ground.  He doesn’t see Dardek, lost him in the confusion.  At this point he just stops and listens for what may come next, looking for a good place to hide…

Quote from Antlan >>

Dardek peeks over his arms at the little creature. He lifts a finger to his mouth in a shhhh manner hoping the creature understands. He sees nibs fumbling around but is too frightened to make a noise….

The little creature responds by slowly putting it's gnarled finger up to its cheek as well, mimicking the action, if not entirely understanding it.

Dardek still scared to make a noise swallows hard...nervous....nervous for them all. What can he do? Maybe this little creature can help him? He whispers very quietly "Can you understand me?"

Talon looks at the rock, and listens to the men.  He has a moment where he starts to show his teeth, but instead he slows down and listens to the situation he's in.  'Diseased'.  He takes a moment, unsure of what to do, but he survived see-moo, didn't he?  Having lived in the city and having to outsmart his pursuers often, he decides not to fight or flee.  Instead he holds his ground and looks at the talking men, ignoring the jangling coins.  

Then he begins to cough.  

"Sick."  He says, holding up empty hands and coughing some more. "Catchedthediseasedyeah."  

He looks around...more so they can get a good look at him and his change in pallor and his eyes.

"Found hims like that."  Talon says then, not bothering to wipe the sick from his chin.  He points back at Seig.  "I didn'ts do that, I think he's sick too.  Lots of things here sick.  Thinks its in the water."  

Dardek: The plant creature opens it's little slit of a mouth and utters a diminutive, incomprehensible response in a language reminiscent of Ewok. As it does, you see several other plant-creature faces looking at you from the bushes, muttering to each other and gesturing in your direction. A few have adorable astonished looks frozen on their faces, (Literally --->  😯). Judging from the way they're gesturing toward you with a sense of awe, they seem to be taken by your appearance, and the flecks of gold in your cheeks. The elder who you first saw tries to ask you something, but of course you have no idea what he's saying. He gestures toward the men in the boat with his 5 inch long spear as he addresses you in a questioning tone. In response to his query, a few of the others nod and ready their weapons, whispering little yelps of encouragement to each other. The elder seems to be waiting for your response...

Ashley: As you hold, waiting, you hear the sound of the whimpering and meowing continuing to emanate from the box.

Talon: The two men in the boat respond to your lie with a look of concern and revulsion. "Filthy ******* lizard." Says one of the men, steering the boat a bit away from the shore.

 "Should I put it out if it's misery?" the other replies as he reaches for his crossbow.

Before Talon has a chance to react, the other one puts his hand on the crossbow, stopping his partner. "Nah... Not worth the bolt... Besides, who knows what trouble we might kick up. Let's just move on. Two little magies are hard to miss. Sure they'll pop up somewhere or another."

The first one lowers his crossbow, spits and takes the oars again, preparing to row off. (Which is exactly what they'll do unless someone stops them)

Dardek shakes his head no and puts his finger to his mouth in a shhh manner