The Kenkus seem fascinated by your display, and they wiggle their hands several times, punctuated by squeals of joy: you figure it's their way of rendering applause. The elder is also very entertained by the motes, grasping after them at first, before watching the display, almost wistfully. By the end of the display though, you figure that at least the seed of an idea of what you were trying to do got through.

With everyone pitching in, you have the gear and stores unloaded in two hours and the Captain swiftly folds up the boat, much to the surprise of the curious Kenku watching the display unfold. Porting around the dam takes you the better part of an hour, but the kenku do their best to show you more solid paths to make your progress more easy and swift. Once at the other side of the dam, the Captain unfolds the boat and the Professor walks on board, carrying with him most of the gear easily on board, where he dispells the disc, leaving the Crew to start stowing the items, while you all can decide on how you want to proceed with the Kenku.

Looking over the boat, you notice quickly, that there's likely enough space for the elders and the children, but not the entire tribe on your ship.

Shae'd begin low, mostly humming a soft melody to herself but as they worked over the course of the two hours she found herself singing a bit louder as they went. With song also came some dance. Instead of simply marching, the medic found herself step turning and swaying along to her own tune. With others leading the way, she let the sound of nature and the path guide her flow of movement and music.

Shae carried what she could, be it small or little, working up a bit of a sheen in the morning sun. When done she'd take a long pull from her waterskin and pause for a breather. Her eyes scan over the boat and their crew as she's mull over Mulligan's asks. The woman chewed the inside of her lip as she does when she's deep in thought. Everything was up for consideration and it was worth analyzing every angle. She too wanted to ensure as much safety to the Kenku, but they had prior commitments too. There had to be a logical middle ground that could hopefully satisfy the situation.

"Mulligan," Shae's eyes would find him. "Have you given your suggestion of building up defenses any more thought?" She'd pause for a moment before beginning to share her own thoughts. "I wish to provide as much immediate assistance to the Kenku as you do." She'd start. "Taking into consideration what we do know, experiencing their lifestyle, and the confirmation from the Elder that the threat is more distant, I believe they'd be safest here in their home." There was a comforting smile on her face. The scholar saw layers of natural defenses already existing here with the Kenku. The environmental advantages alone... "And I can't bare to separate these little Kenny's from their Protectors. Could you?" Shae's head would tilt slightly as she said that. There was this foreboding sense that if they were to collect all their elders, children and the weak on their boat to their destination, it could be disastrous... Like shooting fish in a barrel.

Inhaling a new breath to shake that negative thought, Shae would start again. "Speaking for myself," She'd place her hand over her chest. "At this point in time, I must weigh our original mission above staying here." She'd admit. "There are lives immediately at risk. They need these supplies. My skills may be required." The medic would pause and her hand would find her bracelet. "I'm not suggesting we split the group, but I would not argue against any one desiring to stay here with the Kenku." She'd say with honesty as she'd fidget with her bracelet. If they could not come up with any other quick solutions for complementing their existing defenses, some or someone staying behind as back up manpower may be the only other option for some... Anything could happen... But she had to have faith in those she was with... just like then.

Glasses:

"Much of what I could do to help would require my presence, though I could shape the earth into more defensible berms at need," responds the Professor to Shae, adding, "And I agree that the Kenku would be best served by staying here all together, other than maybe one or two adventurous youths who may want to join us in our mission."

The Professor takes his leave of the Kenku, but first hands the elder a single sheet of parchment that has the Common alphabet at the top and small pictures with words underneath of all the people and objects he has pointed out during the morning with fire.  Bowing, he returns to the ship to start a ritual while the others prepare for departure.  Calling his friends close, he completes the ritual, granting Water Breathing to the party and the crew officers.

     "Honestly, I'd not given it a second thought," Mulligan admitted when asked about the Kenku defenses, slightly embarrassed.  "I'm a song and dance man, a cards and drinks man, not a strategy and tactics man.  In a pinch I can wield a sword.  As long as it's light and stylish, yes?  And frankly I think the Kennies, err.. Kenku would know best what would help them most.  They know how they fight, their style and all.  I just thought if we could express the offer to them sufficiently they could maybe tell us... And I figured the professor was the one most likely to get such a complicated offer through to them is all."  Otherwise Mulligan nods and agrees with desiring to offer any assistance practical while not ignoring their main purpose.

     "Taking their young?  The thought never occurred to me!" Mulligan would say, taken aback.  "Helping the village relocate, sure...  If going down the river a ways would help their situation.  But one cannot take the children away from any people and expect that to turn out well, don't ya think?  If not for the younglings, what do the rest have to bother fighting for?"

     A bit of foreboding then falls over Mulligan as his listens to Shae speak solemnly about the goal of this voyage and the need for the supplies they carry.  "Split the group?" he would repeat almost silently to himself, the words having a weight that even he never expected words could have.  The words echoed in a way that blotted out everything else around them from his mind such that they were all he could focus on for a while...

     "Well, yes...  It does make a certain sense, I suppose..." Mulligan says, softly.  "There's Berrus back... And the ship certainly have plenty of better fighters than myself besides...  And not much need for a song and dance many versus the undead, really now, right?  Yes, yes... It does make perfect sense..."

     "Right then..."

     "Yes... ok.... I should.... I should grab another load.  Yes. Right."  And Mulligan turns and walks away to theoretically grab another box to haul...

Was it something she said? Shae's brows would knit. "I wasn't insinuating..." Did she do something to take the wind out of the usually enthusiastic and positive bard's sail? There was always room for creativity... Then she'd exhale to herself.

Shae's lips would purse. She'd tilt her head back to stare up at the sky. The moment the Professor completed his ritual, she'd kick off and soar straight up into the air.

"I dinna tink splittin tha group be the best idea"  Berrus says softly.  "We ken always come back or ifn tha perfesser can get a rough idea from these birds where these snakes may be?  Or how far maybe"

Glasses:

"An excellent idea, Berrus.  Perhaps Shae and I can share our map with the Kenku and they can point out nearby items of interest--especially if there are unknown threats that lie ahead of us upriver," responds the Professor.  With Shae scouting from above, Snively settles in to wait for her to return to ground level before suggesting that very thing.

     Get over it, kid, Mulligan thinks to himself as he mindlessly goes about moving this box from here to there, as he has been for the last hour or so without a thought in his sullen head.  It's not like you've a perfect record or anything.  You know it's true.  Even the likes of you can't win them all over...

     It was true, Mulligan knew.  Then again, he hadn't even been trying, had he?  Sure he had been infatuated with her at first sight, had made the moves and danced the dance.  Hell, had even stuck his neck out for perfect strangers to impress her during the chaos of the Executioner's Run.  And things has been going good.  He was sure of it.  The game was afoot and life was good...  But then you stopped playing, his inner voice chided.  You know it's true.  Mulligan did, there was no denying it.  Somewhere between getting outfitted with the goods from Princess Kwayothé and getting on the boat...

     Is it some kind of weird sea sickness? Mulligan almost asks himself.  But no, that's just silly...  But still, the game had ended and there was no figuring out why...

     Because it stopped being a game, you moron, he told himself.  The truth made him pause and whistle.  It was the first sound he'd made in an hour or more.

     Was it Berrus, he wondered.  It was obvious there was some history between Shae and the dwarf.  Obvious from the moment Mulligan saw them see each other again.  Yes, but no...  That was surely a part of it, but not because of Berrus.  It was more about seeing Shae as a person, Mulligan thought.  The realization she wasn't just a beautiful conquest but that she had a story, a history, a future...  And Mulligan was afraid of it all.  She was not one to just woo and move past.  She was real...

     And Fang and Reng...  They were real too.  Back at the Executioner's Run he had help as he could for the piss of it all.  To impress Shae, sure, but also just because it was fun.  He was sure he would talk himself out of whatever happened just as he had with everything.  It's what he did.  It's who he is.  But there's consequences this time, the voice prodded.  And boy was it right.  Those two were in effect pardoned so long as they complete this mission...  Something Mulligan had helped bring about, fully intentionally or not.  They too had just been playthings to him, at the time.  He didn't really know them then.  Didn't care much about them.  But now...  now they too are real.

     And the Professor?  The voice asked.  Mulligan actually laughed.  Can't put any blame on me there, he answered himself.  He seems like a good sort, for the bookish type.  Still and all, he's not here due to me...  Still...  Would hate to see anything happen to the little gnome.

     Mulligan looked about him at the Kenku village and it's residents.  These Kennies are a blast, he thought to himself.  But they're not a game either.  He couldn't just deliberately misconstrue Shae's words as a way to get out of his responsibilities to those on the boat.  He couldn't treat the Kennies as his playthings to save and rescue, either.  If he abandoned the ship and his party members that easily, would he really stick around if things got tough for the Kennies?

     So yo ho ho and a bottle of rum, it's the pirate life for me... Or thereabouts, Mulligan decided.  Still, the Kennies...  What to do about the Kennies?

     "And I can't bear to separate these little Kenny's from their protectors," she had said.  It was repeating in Mulligans head now...  What if they didn't separate the LITTLE Kenny's though?

     Soon enough, Mulligan found the Professor and proposed an idea.  Squatting down to talk to the Professor, Mulligan did his best to lay it out.

     "We wouldn't want to take away their young, obviously.  And they need their warriors.  But what if we invited a few of those between those two stages?  Surely they have those too young to be children but not yet adults and warriors?  What if we took like a half dozen of them with us?  Not too long, I think, maybe a weeks or so travel?  Something they would be able to find their way home from safe enough.  I'm thinking, it's a short time but still, maybe we could teach them a few tricks?  Hell, never saw them in battle, maybe they could teach us a few...  But I think in a few days or more I could maybe teach them a sneaky maneuver or two that I picked up along the way that they probably don't know.  I'm no warrior like Fang or Reng  but I know some dirty tricks on how to take advantage in a fight...  How to twist the knife, you might say."

     "And Feng and Reng, surely they have a thing or two they could teach in a short time?  Tactics or proper grip or something?  You and Shae as well, of course!  I know magics are tricky, probably couldn't teach any of that in a few days...  But strategy?  Defenses?  Shae is fricking brilliant and you more so, sure there's something!" Mulligan would all but beseech. 

     "I know it wouldn't be much, what any of us could teach in a few short days...  But if they even picked up a thing or two and brought it back and taught the others?  Still, probably a wild thought to think it would turn the tide in a real fight, but maybe it's something we could do?  Just...  Doing nothing seems wrong.  I know we have bigger things to tackle but..." Mulligan shrugs, the steam run out of him.  If there was any possibility in the idea he was sure the Professor would find it.

Berrus looking around the terrain then to the professor

"We ken set up some berms n meybe an abbatis r 2.  But tha may take a day r two to set up properly"   looking around more. "N i tink height mey be their best advantage not fortifications"

Glasses:

"That seems like a fair idea to me, Mulligan," responds the Professor, "Especially as these cultures often have a ritual or transformation stage the young go through before becoming adults where they might wander the world for a time."  Seeing Shae might be awhile up in the air, the Professor takes the map he had been preparing to share with the Kenku elder and ask his questions, then offers to Mulligan, "Let's see what they say, shall we? May I suggest we limit the numbers of who we might accept--3 seems like a reasonable number, especially if they are representative of the most adventurous of the youth in the tribe--we must couch it as an invitation for their education, though, and not make them feel obligated.  Would you like to take the lead in such a negotiation?"

"Whiff, please track down Shae in the skies above and let her know what Mulligan and I are up to if she wishes to join at her convenience," asks the Professor.

Glasses:

To Berrus, Snively agrees, "Snake people are unlikely to be slowed down by mounded earth, but if we help them set up some noisemakers so they have early warning of any stealth yuan-ti approach, that might give them the time they need to prepare a defense.  Perhaps some platforms in the trees for missile weapons?  What do you think?"

"Sounds fair enough. Land isna good enough fer decent fortifications anyways"

Reng has disappeared into the work of moving the ship and gear, and had to play catch-up on conversations. She is skeptical about bringing a lot of kenkus into danger but she doesn’t say absolutely not, and would agree to give a few pointers when it comes to close-quarters fighting.

     “Oh, definitely an invitation, an offer of exchanging information.  And theee sounds good.  I was thinking maybe a few more, but not much,” Mulligan answers. “We do have limited space on the boat and all…”

     “I’m happy to go with you and propose this, but I do think you have a better back and forth with them.  I maybe play with them more but you definitely get the ideas across better…”  Mulligan is more than ready to assist the Professor but complicated ideas being translated to them?  Definitely seems a bit beyond his own capabilities.

     To Reng Mulligan would point out that they’re in danger here, and the plan isn’t to take them very far away.  A few days, just to give some pointers while not losing time on their main mission.  
     “Noisemakers?  Like perhaps tripwires buried by leaves and such?  Rigged to set off a recognizable warning…” Mulligan says to Berrus and the Prof.  “The Kennies could mark the trees on the village side so they’d k ow which paths to take…”  Mulligan would happily share “theoretical” knowledge of traps and alarms and such that he’s picked up along the way.  

Glasses:

The professor waits a bit longer for Shae to return; if she does not, he heads over with Mulligan to speak with the Kenku elder.

The kenku seem unsure about your proposal. You can tell that they are a close-knit community, that tries to look after one another. As several of you start to teach the kenu ways to add to the defences of their village, and the Professor and Mulligan speak to the elder about the prospect of teaching even more to some of their young, they seem to be swayed. After a few moments, you see two young kenku parrots, with their plumage still finding its full colour, eyeing you curiously and with barely contained excitement. After a brief back and forth, you learn that the taller of the two is referred to as Sonny, and the smaller one Ginny.

Shae had lost track of how long she had been in the sky. Her eyes fell over the jungle canopies and followed the river along. Alone in the vast air above, she’d fade off into her own daydreams as the wind caressed her skin and flowed through her hair. Eventually she’d be greeted by Whiff, the Professor’s elemental, encouraging her to return for further discussion. It was time to ground herself in the task at hand once again.

Knowing how smooth her previous landings were, Shae would try her hand at a more delicate and quiet landing.

Shae was able to keep control and avoid a repeat of her original crash landing when she first learnt how to fly. Though, she wasn’t the quietest thing either. She did catch quite a few leafs and branches on the way down, scuffing up her arms a bit. It’d be pretty easy to pinpoint her area of entrance. Finding her balance back on her feet, Shae would brush the dirt off herself and pluck a leaf from her hair. “There are no obstructions along the river for the next several miles.” She’d announce. 

     Mulligan immediately goes over to Sonny and Ginny and does what he can to lay on the charm and become buddies with them.  This is what he does.  He does everything he can to make them comfortable and confident about their decision and assured them that everything is up to them.  "We want to teach you.  So you can teach them.  If you have had enough, you can leave at any time.  If we start getting too far away, you can leave at any time.  You are in charge of when you leave, what you do.  We just want to help..."  It's not as easy with the language barrier but he does his best to instill that to their guests.

     He also will assure them, and anyone who is around, that he and the others will protect them to the best of their abilities.  "Until you leave, my job is to keep you safe.  I will do everything I can to ensure you are safe."

     While the ship is still being re-sorted out and all, Mulligan will bring Sonny and Ginny to Berrus and Reng first.  He makes introductions and explains to them both that the two Kenku will be joining us for a while.  "We're going to show them any little tricks and tactics for fighting that we can teach in a session or two...  I expect you can come up with a move or two to show them?" Mulligan explains.

     The Kenku are next brought to Fang, but only after Mulligan warns them that he is scary looking but friendly!  "You can't blame him for how he looks, but I swear he is good people."  Mulligan will make a point of standing between the Kenku and Fang when introductions and explanations are made but will try to crack a joke or two in order to get the Kennies a bit more comfortable around Fang than he suspects they initially are.  "Anything you could teach them, Fang, would be a help.  Perhaps tips on tracking or setting traps or the sort?"

     Lastly Mulligan will bring the pair to Shae and the Professor.  "I don't even imagine what you two do could be taught in the little time we're going to have these two as guests," Mulligan assures them.  "But you both seem to be catching on to talking to them better than I suspect the others will, perhaps you two could both be around during their lessons when you can?  Help translate, as it were?  If nothing else it never hurts to have a someone supportive pulling for you when learning something new..."

"Greetings"   Berrus looks the Kenku over. Almost inspecting them

"Short or at least light weapons i be thinking.   They look more set fer speed o'er strength.   Meybe teach them shields.   Nae shure bou armor.      He looks to Reng. "Wha d'ye thenk?"

Glasses:

The Professor introduces himself to the two and asks how long they plan to stay with them and how they plan to get back.  He is wants to make sure the elder knows and approves of their arrangement and knows when to expect the younglings’ return.