( Dex Save - 15 )

Kairouani avoids the sand and throws the handaxe at his retreating form as he hasn't ceded the combat to her yet and in the somewhat flexible rules of the challenge is still an active opponent. Regardless of whether she hits him or not she then steadies herself and mumbles a short prayer to the Sea, her Mother and any other Ancestors who are listening. ( Cure Wounds)

Attack: 24 Damage: 6

Cure Wounds- 2

Thea, seeing the disappearing form of Smiler, calls out one last time, just for good measure "Be warned, my servants, for this coward will face my furious wrath for his crimes. Do not follow in his footsteps!" With that, she hops out of the tree and circles around, appearing from the eastern part of the jungle onto the sand. Sheathing her bow, she makes her way over to Seri and whispers in her ear "Should I pursue him? I'm quite adept at hunting down foul men."

Seri turns to her quick-bladed Aseri ship sister, puzzled at having heard what she thinks is Thea's voice making pronouncements on behalf of Trondro.  Yet she realizes that she herself channeled the Wave Father's power to assume His voice herself.  Was that any different?  Seri reminds herself that she is but an acolyte, who is in no position to tell her own shipmates how to put words to their individual beliefs or lack thereof, only to give voice to her own.

As long as they are sincere.  I am not certain Thea means what she says of Trondro, but perhaps it is I who must understand her heart better.  And my own.

"I do not doubt your ability to stalk and slay this slave-trader quickly and quietly, ship sister.  Yet I think doing so would usurp Kairouani's challenge and nullify the result.  Of course, Maheri may have done that himself already by fleeing rather than surrendering before being defeated."

Her reply to Thea is a whisper in Veridian, but she raises it when addressing the young islanders and Smiler in Olona:

"You have all witnessed it with your own eyes.  Maheri, facing defeat and the condemnation of his own aberrant behavior, enslaving others, even his own people, for trinkets, has chosen not to submit with honor, but rather to flee into the forest like one frightened of the sea."

She looks each one in the eye, one by one, her gaze coming to rest on Smiler's face.  Trying to make them understand despite the difference in dialect.

"It is done.  Let there be no strife between our peoples.  Join me in declaring Kairouani the victor of the challenge.  Free yourself from the curse which enslavement brings upon slave and slave-trader alike, and return with us to your island to seek a more worthy leader.  Shun the eastern slave-buyers with metal clothes and fire sticks.  And let my companions and I depart as guests, free as all should be to pursue Trondro's horizon."

Given the opportunity, Seri summarizes what she has said in Veridian to her shipmates (other than Kairouani who already knows) and to Billy.

She continues concentrating on Trondro's blessing for the full duration.

William lowered his bow. One part of him, the biggest part, was glad to see that the fight was over with minimal bloodshed and no casualties. But another part, as small as it was there was no denying it was there, had longed, hoped even, for an outright battle. He shook his head to disperse these dark thoughts. They were anathema to his disposition. Maybe the shipwrecking, island navigating and slave trading was finally getting to him.

'So this means what?' He asked as he joined up with the group. 'You're in charge now of these men, Kairouani? Or should I say captain Kairouani now?' He smirked with a goodhearted wink.

Thea nods begrudginly at Seri's words, sheathing her blades. She listens to her "ship-sisters" proclamation, as well as William's question. Silently, she thinks to herself: What I could do with a tribe of warriors. Then again, I doubt storming these guys into a port to get rid of all the creepy drunks there would go over well with the authorities. 

She stands behind Seri, hands on her hips, looking intently at the tribesfolk, waiting for their reaction to the priestesses words.

( Kairouanis reply will wait til the DM has posted so I know exactly how things sit currently.)

The axe strikes Maheri's back as he disappears into the gloom among the trees. The sound of the blade hitting flesh is unmistakeable, though the result is unclear. The sounds of movement can still be heard, so presumably he is still alive.

There is a pregnant pause following Seri's words. After perhaps thirty seconds, one of the young men hefts his bone blade and sets off into the trees, following Maheri. This move prompts first one, then two, then a third and a fourth to follow. They disappear into the trees.

The three who remain on the beach lower their weapons to the ground and turn to Smiler, who is watching the others retreat into the jungle with an anxious expression on his face. At length he turns back, to see the three hunters looking to him for direction. He grimaces, a stark contrast to his customary wide-mouthed grin. He seems at a loss to know what to do. His eyes come to rest on Seri.

"Sister... Great things have happened here. Trondro has spoken, and..." He glances back to where the others went into the jungle, "I... do not know what his judgement is. Can you help me... us..." he gestures to the three hunters, "to understand? Maheri yet lives. The contest is not over. Is it?"

Billy, understanding the jist of Smiler's words, harrumphs. "Looks finished to me," he mutters in Verdian. "You run away, you lose. Coward like that'd get a lick o'the cat on my crew."

Kairouani frowned as the youngsters followed Maheri into the jungle, she had been hoping to only maroon the honourless one here, but they had made their choice.

" The coward who sells his own people has run away.  He has relinquished his position as leader and warrior, how could anyone follow such a creature?"

" I will waste no more time on it."

She turned to the three remaining lads and Smiler, " You have maintained your honour and I recognise you as fellow true warriors able to guide your own paths.  Take the turtles and a share of the bounty that Trondro deems fit.", she nodded to Smiler and Seri.

" We should depart now, I have no wish to remain in a place so despoiled by the stain of dishonour."

" I name this shore, Maheris Shame. Let it be known as this from this day on."

" Lets get out of here."

"Lets!" with that, Thea turns heel and heads for the canoes. She waits by one of them that Maheri or the Youngsters occupied on their journey there. Since she doubts the remaining Tribesmen will be able to use them, she reasons that they can use them to go...well, wherever the heck they are going. In the excitement of the past few days, I would bet my britches Thea has forgotten where they were going on Captain Thorn's ship. 

As they prepare to set off, Thea looks at Kai "Maheri's shame huh? I wonder if the name will stick? What are the chances that piece of [GP] reappears later in our journey as an antogonist bent on revenge? Probably low, especially since I read too many novels."

Seri nods, accepting Kairouani's conclusion, though unable to hide her disappointment that several of the islanders chose to follow Maheri still.

Quote from Uhtred_the_Unprepared >>

 The three who remain on the beach lower their weapons to the ground and turn to Smiler, who is watching the others retreat into the jungle with an anxious expression on his face. At length he turns back, to see the three hunters looking to him for direction. He grimaces, a stark contrast to his customary wide-mouthed grin. He seems at a loss to know what to do. His eyes come to rest on Seri.

"Sister... Great things have happened here. Trondro has spoken, and..." He glances back to where the others went into the jungle, "I... do not know what his judgement is. Can you help me... us..." he gestures to the three hunters, "to understand? Maheri yet lives. The contest is not over. Is it?"

The jarring incongruity of the shaman turning to her, a mere acolyte turned navigator aboard the Horn of Plenty, for wisdom makes Seri feel like one of the great sea turtles, in her element when afloat on the sea, but slow and vulnerable when crawling up on the land.  Easily duped and defeated.

She speaks carefully in Olona in response to Smiler:  "Thank you, brother, for helping prevent more blood from being spilled on Trondro's shore tonight.  Aye, Maheri lives.  A pebble flung above the high-tide line seems safe from the waves, yet the pounding surf will grind it into fine sand all the same, given time.  None of us knows the next turn of the ocean or skies in our minds, yet we can align ourselves with His greater rhythm in our hearts."

"Selling slaves, including your own people, for profit is anathema.  I think you know this as well as I.  Tonight Maheri has revealed the weakness within his own heart, with Trondro as witness.  Every one of us has a choice, and he has chosen to flee and live.  For a time anyway.  We could pursue in anger, yet I feel we should do as Kairouani suggests and leave him to his shame.  May we join you and your remaining people to take your boats and leave this place for your home, either now or as soon as it is safe?  I would help you navigate by the stars, yet I know these islands not."

She turns to William and Thea, speaking in Veridian, translating the gist of what has been said, and thanking them for their restraint.  "I do not think Kairouani is chief over these islanders as a result of this.  Or at least, that was not the intent of such a challenge.  It was for honor, for our freedom and Maheri's shameful selling of human flesh, not to acquire power.  These islanders must chart their own course."

Quote from Uhtred_the_Unprepared >>

 

Billy, understanding the jist of Smiler's words, harrumphs. "Looks finished to me," he mutters in Verdian. "You run away, you lose. Coward like that'd get a lick o'the cat on my crew."

"On your crew," Seri repeats softly, turning to the grizzled man.  "As we were crew on Captain Thorne's ship, the Horn of Plenty, before the storm.  Tonight is a night for truths.  For Maheri, for Kairouani, for all of us.  So tell us true, Billy Flint.  What was the name of the ship you shared with our Captain?"

Quote from Tybard>>

She turns to William and Thea, speaking in Veridian, translating the gist of what has been said, and thanking them for their restraint.  "I do not think Kairouani is chief over these islanders as a result of this.  Or at least, that was not the intent of such a challenge.  It was for honor, for our freedom and Maheri's shameful selling of human flesh, not to acquire power.  These islanders must chart their own course."

William shrugged. Most of the tribal stuff went over his head but given the circumstances, whatever they had now was the best outcome.

'Still leaves us stranded on unknown sands.' He said. 'So what's the plan: we take one of them boats and set out on good luck and high hopes?'

He heard Billy mention his crew. At Seri's prompt William turned a listening ear.

Kairouani nodded, " Yes. We part ways here. They take a boat, the turtles and whatever share of the other items the two Wise Ones deem fair and we take the other.  Wave-Sister can guide us home now that we have a better idea of our location in the archipelago."

She stepped in closer, dropping her voice, " We should depart soon....I am far more wounded than I am prepared to admit in front of the others."

Amusement twinkles in Billy's eyes. "Aye, it happens me and Julius sailed together. Seems a lifetime ago now. I recognised that daft green hat o' his back on the beach, it's true." A frown extinguishes the merriment. "I hadn't seen him for years, but I heard the madness took him. Obsessed, he was. Thought he'd find old Blackheart's treasure one day. Crying shame what false hope can do to a man. I'm sorry you people suffered for his folly, but the rest of his crew came off worse I think. Aye."

He looks upward at the star-studded sky, and then at Seri. "I've a fair idea of our position. Mayhap between us we can find our way out of this. I don't fancy our chances on a long voyage in one o' those though." He nods at the canoes. "Did I hear you say we should get these lads home? Seems a sound plan to me. Perhaps if there are Verdians about we might be able to... come by a larger vessel."

To Kairouani he says, "That was well fought, sister. He looked a dangerous foe, if one not prepared to meet his maker. Must have a guilty conscience, I'd say." The grin returns. "I'm mighty glad you're on my side!"

Seri gazes at Billy Flint for a long moment after he reveals what is almost certainly an incomplete truth about his sailing with "Julius" Thorne.  Had she ever known Cap'n Thorne's first name?  She finds she cannot recall, yet she does note that Billy never actually answered her question about the name of the ship they sailed on together.  Moreover, she remembers the grizzled man's reaction when he saw Thorne's hat while departing the first island.

...You pass the wreck of the Horn of Plenty and the site of your coming ashore. Cap'n Thorne's green hat stands as a memorial to his folly. Billy is gripping the sides of the canoe so hard that his knuckles are white and the tendons are standing out from his forearms, but as you pass your campsite, his eyes are glued to the hat until you pass the hulk and it is out of sight...

"What false hope can do to a man.  Aye."  Seri repeats with a sigh, knowing Billy will keep his secrets.  She glances at William, wondering if the multi-skilled sailor is thinking what she is.  When she has a private moment, she sends the company man a telepathic Message.

Message:  Cap'n Thorne and Billy Flint sailed together... perhaps as pirates on "old Blackheart's" ship?

None of this addresses the current situation, however.  Seri speaks to all of her companions:  "The clear skies and stars above may allow Billy and I to navigate Trondro's currents, yet we are not as proficient with these canoes as are the islanders, and a long voyage on such watercraft seems to presume too much on the Wave Father's grace.  Perhaps we can accompany the shaman and the islanders who stayed with us back to their home islands, each taking a cnoe?  We know that larger, eastern ships stop there, if only because without them, Maheri would have no one to sell his slaves to."

To Kairouani, she adds quietly:  "Elder Sister, I can call on the ocean's cleansing power to stanch your bleeding, if you wish it.  My ability to do so is imperfect and limited, however, and there is only so much I can do before I tra-..., before I rest again.  Alternatively, William could see to your wounds."

Thea watches Billy as he tells his tale, and though she doesn't complete buy it, she moves on, and listens to Seri's words with hope "Does that mean we can get out of this gods-forsaken jungle and back to that thing called civilisation? I'm all for it, especially if I get the chance to get personal with some slavers" Her face is hungry as she says this. As for what she is hungry for, well...I'll leave that up to interpretation.

Kairouani nodded to both Thea and Seri in agreement and headed to the canoes and began preparing to get underway. Any healing the others had for her could wait until they were at sea and out of direct line of sight of the young men and Smiler.

William briefly flinched when he heard Seri's voice inside his head. It was much like an intrusive thought except the one whispering in your mind was not you. He counted himself lucky that he had seen it before, lest he thought he was going mental.

If so then he probably figured out what we were- are doing. We must remain cautious.

It felt weird to whisper a private conversation to someone outside of earshot but William had come to expect weird things, especially when they concerned magic and the magically gifted.

'Canoes then until we get to a port.' He said pointedly ignoring whatever Thea was implying. He joined Kairouani in preparing for departure. He glanced at her wounds but respected her choice of not wanting to show any weakness in front of the others. He still tore up strips of cloth to use as bandages the moment she would allow.

Seri inclines her head in acceptance of William's reply to her telepathic message.  She looks a bit worried at Thea's planned aggression towards the slavers, considering that large slave ships likely have many sailors, and from Smiler's recounting, they are armored and armed with fire-sticks.

She approaches Smiler, speaking in Olona.  "We wish to return home, yet these are your canoes, and they are not suitable to travel far across Trondro's expanse as we will need, at least not for us who may lack your people's skill to propel a canoe.  If you will allow, you and the other young men here take one canoe and four of us will take the other.  If you can slow your pace so that we do not fall behind, we will accompany you to your home island."

Seri does not even bother to mention the fact that she herself will swim alongside, casting Shape Water as she goes for favorable currents.  But her first casting of Shape Water is to raise five-foot high waterworks above the surface of the lagoon, in the trident and wave symbol of Trondro.

Smiler looks anxious, glancing at the ominously quiet jungle. "We cannot simply leave Maheri. His supporters in our village will not stand for it. We will be beaten, or worse."

"If I catch matey here's meaning right," says Billy in Verdian, "I think we'll be right as rain. Half of his little gang just abandoned him here, I have a feeling he might not be as popular in his absence as he'd like to believe. I've seen his like before. Rules by fear. Doesn't work so well when you're not there to intimidate people."

Billy turns and chuckles as Roger emerges from the trees. His colours muted by the moonlight, he alights on the big man's shoulder.

Seemingly persuaded by your movement to ready the canoes, the islanders scoop up their dropped weapons and move to join you. Several worried glances toward the trees later, the canoes have been pushed off the beach and you are underway by the light of the moon and stars hanging in the clear, endless sky.

Setting a course almost due north, the three young men in the other canoe are joined on the paddles by Smiler. The four of them pull the laden craft through the water with determination, but the speed they achieve is not close to that which brought you to this island. With Seri in the water, effortlessly keeping pace, Thea, William, Kairouani, and Billy bend to their task with the paddles. 

As you travel north, I'll have a survival check from Seri to see if she can track your location. Also Athletics checks from the paddlers.