"Oh, hello, Captain. Not too much trouble. Just have to use the right... tools."

The captain gives the party a toothy orcish grin.

“That’s good news. Will you continue on to find the next part or do you all need to rest a little first?”

Stone turns to Penelope,

”What say you, brave lady. You still suffer from injuries. Do you feel capable of continuing onward or would a rest be warranted?”

"A rest would be nice but if we need to move on we should. This little wound won't kill me." Penelope shrugs.

"If brave young Penelope is prepared to continue, then I say we continue. In accordance with our original plan, the next spot to check is to the Southeast."

Stone walks off to the Southeast in the direction of the distrubance.

The captain wishes you luck and points you southeast, in the direction of the next ship part. What is your marching order?

Stone has already started towards the Southeast, but he is not moving quickly and would not mind if one of his companions wished to catch up with him and walk directly in front of him. However, he wants to be close to the front of the group and will not tolerate being third or fourth in the marching order.

(Natasha, as always, makes sure she's walking behind Stone, prepared to hide behind him in case of attack.)

“I’ll take point...”

The party heads towards the next part with Jacob in the lead, followed by Stone, then Natasha, and finally Penelope. 

You all see the cluster of thick, snapped branches in the distance where the part crashed and a bright shining steel object glinting in the sun. As you approach the area, you can hear hooting and hollering and the sounds of branches being broken underfoot.

Everyone make a Nature check.

Stone's Nature = 14

Penlope follows behind Natasha, the est place to stand in her opinion is always the middle.

Penelope's nature:14

Natasha Nature Check: 6

(Natasha looks around at the nature scene before her.)

"I must admit, I'm much more of a city girl, myself. I do hope we can back to our luxurious accommodations soon. My hair is going to need a deep conditioning after being out in this nature all day." 

Nature check: 5

(arms himself with Bread and Butter at the sound of the hooting...)

Natasha has no idea what’s happening, but the rest of the party recognizes the noises. The hooting is a group of Apes and they are clearly excited about something. The party is far enough away that they haven’t seen the Apes yet and the Apes haven’t noticed the sound of the approaching party.

What do you want to do?

Stone cocks his head and listens to the sounds of Apes in front of him.

"I hear apes up ahead. And they sound excited about something. We should be careful. The slightest provocation could send them into an unspeakable rage. Are any of you sneaky enough to go spy on them and see what they are so excited about?"

(Natasha smiles.)

"I may not know a lot about nature, but sneaking and spying? That's a piece of cake."

(Natasha sneaks up to the area where the noises came from.)

18

(And scouts the area to see what she can report back to the others.)

10

Natasha: You deftly and silently approaches the clearing where the ape noises are coming from. Through the trees you can see two large red haired apes circling a shiny valve laying on the forest floor.  The two apes are pounding their chests and jumping up and down. 

There are a few other apes watching from the trees, but they are much smaller than the two down on the ground. They are watching the fight, but have no real interest in participating. The two combatants strike each other, back away, taunt, and repeat. Clearly this is a face-off for ownership of the valve. You are able to return to the party and report without the apes taking notice.

Stone considers Natasha's report.

"Perhaps if we wait a bit one of the Apes will kill the other. At the least they can do each other more damage. But we better get in there before one of those Apes makes away with the Valve. Maybe if a couple of us creep close we can keep on eye on the fight and jump in before the valve is taken."

Stone turns to his companions.

"What say you?"

"That is a good plan, friend Stone. My only fear would be that the valve would be damaged during the fight, we must be prepared to act quickly if they make any move toward it. i shall keep a spell ready just in case."

Penelope give him a thumbs up.