Dardek waves and smiles "Well it was nice to meet you! I was hoping to exchange names and maybe you know get something for telling you wehre the boat is.....I have a long journey..." 

“Hey, uh, ummm, scuse me?!?  Hey wait a minute, mister ah, Birdman.  Your a Kenku, right?  Elder Reed and Emma told me about ones like you.  What's in your back pack there?  Did you take something outta that boat?  I'd be careful with it, one of those mushroom men might JUMP OUT and GETCHA, if your TAKIN MY MEANIN’.  I'm just gonna take out this bow to cover you in case any of em pop out.  Did you see em?”  Nib arches his voice in an odd manner, wanting to be heard by the whole area as he brings out his short bow and notches an arrow…

Hearing Nib's chatter, Ashley thinks he might be talking to her.   She bursts through the bushes to 'Jump Out' gripping her new quarterstaff at the ready.

The kenku respond to Nib's bow and Ashley's sudden appearance by reaching for their rusty blades and squawking in some indecipherably avian communication.

BEGIN INITIATIVE

1. The Party

2. The Kenku Scavengers

Nib holds his bow up, breathing deeply to calm his nerves. Pal, don't judge me… he thinks to himself. ”This didn't haveta be like this birdman… just drop the bag, I had it first, you need to drop that stuff and move on now…” He lets his breath out and lets the arrow fly at the one who was threatening him, seeing it sink in he feels a rush of adrenaline.

The arrow hits deep and the kenku lets out a terrified kaw... Nib then ducks back into the bushes and moves 25 feet to try and flank them.

Dardek gasps at NIb letting loose an arrow and quickly moves behind Ashley. He yells out, "Drop your weapons, we only wanted to exchange what you found for the boat down river....If you drop your weapons, and give us what you found, you can live and leave!"

Ashley tightens her grip on her quarterstaff and attempts to give the kenkus the meanest look she can muster. She walks 15' to the South, glaring at them the whole way, "Best listen to my friend if you want to live."

Talon remains hidden, using his stealth and the Kenku's attention on Ashley to ready an action as some sort of strange violet energy crackles in his throat...

The kenku look to each other, considering their options... The one holding the bag drops it and bolts. The other follows, arrow still embedded in their side.

COMBAT IS OVER

The kenku flee into cover of the woods. By now the last vestiges of daylight are gone. You'll have to camp soon or risk exhaustion.

As the rest of you catch your breath, Dardek immediately runs to the backpack and opens it. Inside he finds...

• 5 silver pieces
• 5 gold pieces
• A crowbar
• An empty perfume bottle
• A small, weathered wooden box
• A flask of oil
• A waterlogged scroll case with ruined documents inside
• A wooden doll which looks something like a soldier
• A rusted, dull short sword
• A pouch full of chalk
• A vial of ink
• A metal tankard
• A pocket knife
• A wooden whistle
• Block and tackle
• A broken clay vase
• A chunk of driftwood with a crudely drawn painting of a boat
• A hooded lantern

Dardek tells the others all the stuff that was left behind not really remembering what it was they were looking for to begin with. He gives Ashley 2GPs and 2 SPs (his and her shares). He doesn't really know what he would use any of the other stuff for so he quietly finds a tree stump to sit on and waits for the others.

Ashley heads over to join Dardek but gives him a strange look when he hands her their share.  She hands back his gold and silver pieces, "These are yours Dardek."

She then starts rooting around the random items and takes hold of the small wooden box and tries to open it.  She smirks at the block and tackle recalling how useless it was against the dwarf guard on the ship.  She takes hold of the vial of ink, "Anyone want the crowbar?  If no one does, I'll grab it, but I'm not the strongest."

The box is strange... It doesn't appear to have any obvious lid.

It's a roughly 6 inch cube, lightweight (about a pound or so) and carved out of some sort of cheap wood interlaid with bits of ivory or bone and a lacing of tarnished metal.

As Ashley turns the box in her hand, she notices that some of the interlacing patterns are actually meant to be manipulated. With the push of her finger, she can twists the abstract designs into various shapes. Some almost look representative... A laughing face or a hand or a star formation.... But whenever she can never quite manage to form an identifiable shape on all six sides at the same time... Very odd.

Nibs mouth goes open, he says “Treasure!” and steps forward, excited at his first loot.  He slings the bow over his shoulder and bends down, looking at the bullseye lantern and oil.  “I had one like you, before I tossed it overboard on the boat.  I think you are meant for me..”. He takes the bullseye lantern, oil, and the small whistle which he tests a few times, then puts in his pocket.  “Hey, thas a funny box.  What’s it do?”

Talon swallows whatever power he is charging in his throat and then wonders over when the fight has stopped...though he'd be remiss to say it was much of a fight at all.  

He takes a look at all the things that have been dumped out, and then begins to pull things out.  He takes the empty perfume bottle for himself, his violet eyes glinting off the glass of the bottle, before then picking up the short sword and showing it around.  

"For goodSeig, yeh."  He says...though without that same charm he once had when he spoke.  

Then he wonders off again, away from the pile of trinkets and this and that, and sits down next to Seig, laying the short sword on his friend's chest. 

Dardek smiles and nods at Ashley "Thank you, I will hold onto this for you....us....I will hold onto it." Dardek still seated asks the group "Does anyone remember what we were uhhh looking for?"

"Well, we were looking for something to give the elves for their favor... do you think this box might be interesting to them?  It's a gift and a puzzle?  I don't know?  Should we check out the wreckage, make sure there isn't anything else?"

Hearing Seig wake up, Ashley brightens, "Welcome back to the living!  We chased away some kenku and they left some items, you want anything?"

"A gift! Right....let's not open that box then. Maybe if left sealed the elves will think it of higher quality and help us.....Oh hey Seig...glad to see you are back...Don't mind my makeshift bandages and stuff...I did my best to keep you alive."

“Let’s clear away from here a ways before we camp out for the night.  I don’t want those birdmen coming back for us, or knowing where we are!  Now that we have that box, and I’m supposin that could be the gift, let’s head toward the elves!”  Nib is excited to get underway.  He looks curiously at Talon and Sieg, but doesn’t know quite what to make of them.  

"Ooh, Talon getsSeig a sword."  The Kobold says, letting go of the blunt, rusty short sword, leaving it to rest on his friends abdomen.  "From Kenkus, yes."  

The Kobold ignores...or perhaps doesn't understanding...the whole part about the Viking style funeral.  It's hard to tell where his eyes, lacking both pupils and irises, simply a see of glittering violet, are focusing, and his pallid, gray skin, covered in barnacles and patches of what looks like purple-pink algae (maybe?) is all it takes to tell that there is something seriously different about the little Kobold, and that's not even taking into considering his more subdued, level demeanor.  

"BraveSeigbrave."  Talon says, like he's trying to be affectionate.  "As always yes.  Talon sees what happens to Seig after Talon..."  

The Kobold pauses and thinks.  

"...after Talon visits somewhere else."  

He raises a finger like he is going to point, but just makes a twirling motion, twirling and twirling all around them like he doesn't know where 'somewhere' is...or maybe like he can't describe it, at least.