Kairouani looked deadly serious, " No....it is not certainty.  Merely possibility.  Our best course of action remains accompanying them to their destination.  From there we will see our way."

" Spilling blood leads to reprisals.....your people are safe but mine and the Wise Ones adopted people will suffer if unjust action is taken."

"I am not certain," Seri admits softly.  "It is merely guesswork, and my mind is muddled with melancholy at the death of the majestic sea turtles.  I do not wish to take the islanders captive as that profanes Trondro's shores as much as what I suspect they seek to do to us.  Nor do I wish to slay innocents."

"We could simply ask them, perhaps an onshore oath witnessed by Trondro, that their intentions are not such, being ourselves also willing to bind ourselves to the same oath.  Or we could wait as Kairouani suggests, until we are at a more populated island, though then we may be outnumbered."

'We'll keep our wits about us.' William concluded his part. 'For now it would be best to wait and see how the situation plays out.'

 He was however a bit flummoxed at Seri's suggestion. 'If they are slavers, I doubt they will have any compunction about lying under oath.'

Billy had appeared to perk up at the prospect of 'action,' but his shoulders drop slightly at the realisation that the consensus is to wait and see how this pans out. "Aye, you speak with wisdom," he says, to Kairouani, and with a nod to Seri. "I'll be keeping a weather eye on the scurvy dogs, that's for sure."

"Scurvy dog!" Screeches Roger, before taking to the air and flying into the trees.

Once your conversation is complete and you have reached this consensus, you set about feeding and making yourselves comfortable for the night. Seri conducts her ritual in order to converse with the Ankoai.

Still ignoring you, the men around the fire talk in hushed tones as darkness falls and only the light of the fire remains, painting them in shifting shades of orange.

Thea looks over at Seri, inclining her head towards the trees, as if to ask "Can I go now?"

As Seri begins her ritual for Speak with Animals, standing placidly in the waves, she turns back to Thea with a somewhat stricken look.

"You can always come or go, Thea.  We will be here for you when you return.  Thank you for staying a moment to listen."

"I can go?" Thea processes this for a second, then gives Seri a hug "Yes! Now I can find out what's on this blasted island. There's something here, I can feel it." With that, she skips off. She stops, realizes she's supposed to be sneaky, and tries to melt into the shadows, moving off into the jungle.

Stealth check: 14

She looks around, trying to get her eyes adjusted to the light. She peers into the shadows, listening intently to the sounds of the jungle.

OOC: What is the current light level where she is?

Quote from Raccoon_Master >>

"I can go?" Thea processes this for a second, then gives Seri a hug "Yes! Now I can find out what's on this blasted island. There's something here, I can feel it." With that, she skips off. She stops, realizes she's supposed to be sneaky, and tries to melt into the shadows, moving off into the jungle.

Stealth check: 14

She looks around, trying to get her eyes adjusted to the light. She peers into the shadows, listening intently to the sounds of the jungle.

OOC: What is the current light level where she is?

It is a clear night and the moon is bright, so on the beach it is dim light. In the trees, however, it will be almost completely dark.

What does Seri wish to ask the Ankoai?

Speak with Animals:

At first, Seri does not say much to the Ankoai, sensing instinctively that birds of prey may not be chatterboxes like monkeys or parrots.  She also suspects they prefer freshly-hunted meat to the copper piece Seri had offered the monkey or the mango she had offered Roger the parrot.

Instead she introduces herself solemnly after a period of silence and speaks quietly of what she observes of the shore, the water, surrounding wildlife, guessing that the birds too are remaining watchful of their surroundings.  After some time, she tells the birds of her own home island, far to the southwest, and of the shores and the prey available to hunt there, offering as much knowledge as she can freely, thinking it may be of interest to hunting creatures such as the Ankoai.  She asks the birds of their island and the of other wingless, featherless bipeds they hunt with.

Only then does begin asking the birds if any of the islanders treat with other paler-skinned wingless ones like William or Billy (pointing at them unobtrusively) and if those paler-skinned wingless, featherless ones often take away darker-skinned wingless featherless ones inside great hollow logs with huge smooth wings that hang from straight leafless trees (sails on masts).  She tells the Ankoai that she is a vessel for Trondro, the great provider of prey throughout the oceans, and that she is far from home, seeking to understand what happens on distant shores.

As Seri does this, she once again casts Shape Water to form waterworks above the waves in the form of Trondro's holy sigil, maintaining the quietly flowing form in the bright moonlight.  If she thinks it will help, she uses Minor Illusion briefly to depict ships, with Easterners directing captive Olona and Igneri onto them.  Trying to do so well away from where the islanders are gathered around their fires.

Kairouani spent a few hours staring out to sea and letting the shallows wash over her feet, she kept an ear out for any conversation that might carry across the sand and water.

Perception- 5

Noticing Thea trying to slink off, William went and followed her, reasoning that they are on unfamiliar soil and that nobody should be wandering off alone.

The Ankoai sit impassively on the gunwales of the canoes, peering regally at their surroundings and occasionally preening. They do not seem surprised that Seri can communicate with them, they simply seem to accept that is the way of things.

They are birds of sharp vision and deadly precision, but are not blessed with a superior intellect. They listen to Seri's tales of her homeland with some interest but do not offer any comment.

The canoes provide cover from view for her little show, so the islanders seated around the fire cannot see what she is showing the birds. At her questions, they confirm that they have indeed seen large, unnatural logs that are driven swiftly through the water by the wind in their great, reaching wings. These vessels are crewed by people who look a bit like William and Billy, but who have hard, shiny coverings on their heads and torsos, like great silvery beetles. The Ankoai speak with some trepidation about weapons wielded by these humans, which create terrifying flashes and bangs and clouds of smoke. 

The birds don't really understand the relationship between these people and the islanders, but they do talk to each other and exchange things. They confirm some familiarity with Seri's image of darker-skinned islanders bound in chains and being loaded onto ships by the beetle-people.

Whilst Seri is holding this conversation, Kairouani's ears strain to hear snippets of hushed speech from the fire. She hears teenage bravado. Some of they young men are discussing Kairouani and Thea in fairly unsavoury terms. They apparently don't dare say anything similar about Seri. 

From a different conversation she hears one mocking the stupidity of easterners, as they 'clearly do not realise what is happening.'

Thea sneaks off into the gloom, unnoticed by the islanders, and William follows. Billy is reclined on the sand, propped on one elbow, watching Seri with interest. He sees Thea and William go, but pays them no heed. He seems fascinated by sea elf's communication with the great birds of prey.

Does Thea go into the trees or does she stay on the beach?

As Seri's conversation with the Ankoai comes to an end, she notices Smiler get up from the fire, where he has been sat apart from the younger men, get up and approach her. He is grinning ingratiatingly and stops at a respectful distance. His age is hard to tell but he is perhaps in his forties. He is thin, all sinew and hard muscle. There is barely an ounce of fat on him. He is wearing a simple loin cloth and his throat and wrists are adorned with bone jewellery. His jet black hair is cut in a bowl style and beneath the fringe his eyes twinkle amidst a mass of wrinkles. His mouth seems unnaturally wide and Seri can see all of his teeth, which seem to have fared better than the rest of him over the course of the decades of his life. His hands are empty.

He nods his head as he speaks. It is either a mark of respect or a nervous tic. Seri is unsure which. 

"Wise one. You are touched by Trondro. I can see." He jabs a finger at his own chest. "I, too, have his gift." He sounds enormously proud of himself at this assertion.

Before Smiler approaches, Seri whispers a Message into Kairouani's mind (to which she can reply telepathically).

Elder Sister.  They are slavers, I am almost certain of it.  The ankoai speak of their home island, of great ships and armored easterners with fire sticks loading chained islanders inside.  I do not know for certain which of us they mean to sell as slaves, but I suspect at least some, if not all.

During her ritual and conversation with the birds of prey, Seri has been standing in the sea, waist deep, gently rocking and utterly undisturbed by the shore breakers splashing her chest as one might expect from a sea elf (with a swim speed and water breathing).

When Smiler addresses her, she considers a moment, looking for a moment, every bit the adolescent that she still is.  Finally, she answers solemnly.

"The gift is an blessing and I am grateful to know that you too have it.  Though I am taught its purpose is not for boasting nor personal gain, but service.  To serve, not just one's tribe as I serve the Olona, but all people who live on Trondro's shores and traverse His seas.  Do you feel the same?"

Seri cannot quite bring herself to call Smiler 'Elder Brother,' glancing at his unnaturally wide mouth and sharp set of teeth, then meeting his eyes directly.

"Tell me.  Are the gifts the Storm Father grants you like mine?  Or perhaps do you yourself turn into beasts as I have heard some do?"

Kairouni gave a sigh and mentally replied ' Noted' to Seri.

She turned and walked towards the teens, " You speak of my fish-belly sister and I in terms unbecoming, Children.  As a warrior of my people I must answer such lack of respect with action."

" Come to me and we will see if any of you have the skill to back your tongues.......or lay yourselves now at my feet and beg your betters forgiveness."

William tapped Thea on the shoulder. 'I can't-' He began before switching his words, 'I won't stop you from doing whatever it is you want to do but you shouldn't be out by your lonesome self out here in unknown territory.' He glanced around at where they were heading. 'So what is it that you're trying to achieve here?'

As they realise they have been overheard, the young men immediately appear the chastened boys they really are. None can meet Kairouani's eyes and they shift uncomfortably under her gaze. They don't seem willing to back their words wit anything but avoidance.

The leader approaches, from where he had been sat apart. He is shorter than Kairouani and carries a bit more muscle mass than the rest of his group. His small, dark eyes scan the circle and come to rest on Kairouani.

"Problem?" he says. Then his eye is drawn to where Smiler and Seri are in conversation and his brow furrows. He makes as if to head in that direction without waiting for an answer from Kairouani.

In response to Seri's questions, Smiler gestures to the vastness of the ocean with an outstretched arm. "The waves speak to me," he says, still grinning and nodding. "They tell me what has been and what is yet to come. They send guardians to protect us from predators of the deepness."

Kairouani smiles internaly but keeps her expression neutral.

" Very Well."

She doesn't answer the leader but does turn her back on the boys to watch him walk over towards Seri.

As Smiler is regaling Seri with a description of his gifts, the leader approaches and grabs him roughly by the arm, pulling him around.

"Do not speak of this to them," he hisses angrily, then raises the steel blade in his right hand. Smiler, not smiling for once, flinches and raises his free arm to defend himself from the expected blow. The leader instead kicks at Smiler's legs so that he stumbles and would have fallen had the leader not had hold of his upper arm. He drags the hapless older man back a few steps toward the fire as he scrambles in the sand to get his feet back under him, then shoves him so that he falls to the ground. The young men around the fire laugh at this display.

Smiler climbs to his feet and slinks back over to the fire where he sits grimacing and rubbing at his leg where the leader's foot struck him.

The leader does not look back at Seri after this, but makes his way back over to his spot outside of the circle around the fire. He gives Kairouani a cold stare as he passes.

OOC: Sorry, I was camping for a few days, but I'm back now. Those teenage boys are lucky as all heck that Thea couldn't hear them.

Thea heads off into the trees, her human eyesight lessened by the darkness, though her vision still searches, constantly twitching and noticing small details. She was always good at that, reading people and noticing small things. That's how you stay alive, you notice everything.

As William stops her, she starts, and whirls around the face him. Her hand slids towards her breast, presumably to pull a knife, until she realizes that it is William. Her hands drop to her sides in relief, and she looks back at the Company man "Our friends over there said not too venture off into the island. They must be hiding something, they have to be. I intend to find out what. And thank you for not trying to stop me, I really would like us to stay friends."

Quote from Uhtred_the_Unprepared >>

As they realise they have been overheard, the young men immediately appear the chastened boys they really are. None can meet Kairouani's eyes and they shift uncomfortably under her gaze. They don't seem willing to back their words wit anything but avoidance.

The leader approaches, from where he had been sat apart. He is shorter than Kairouani and carries a bit more muscle mass than the rest of his group. His small, dark eyes scan the circle and come to rest on Kairouani.

"Problem?" he says. Then his eye is drawn to where Smiler and Seri are in conversation and his brow furrows. He makes as if to head in that direction without waiting for an answer from Kairouani.

In response to Seri's questions, Smiler gestures to the vastness of the ocean with an outstretched arm. "The waves speak to me," he says, still grinning and nodding. "They tell me what has been and what is yet to come. They send guardians to protect us from predators of the deepness."

Standing in the sea, Seri nods serenely at Smiler's exposition, rocking gently as another shore wave breaks past her.  Saying nothing.

He did not answer my question about whether he uses his gift to serve.  Not just his own people, but all who live on Trondro's shores and and in His waters.

She leans back and submerges herself fully, disappearing below the waters, swimming away from shore (30' swim speed, Water Breathing), praying for Trondro's Guidance once more.  Looking for any threats or hazards under the surface as she had in the lagoon where the Horn had shipwrecked.

Perception plus Guidance:  11 + 4 = 15