Post by Amanita Vernia on Jul 1, 2005 16:40:43 GMT -5
The Captain and Merchant speak on deck as sounds come from the jungle
Amanita Vernia: The water was calm, the night somber and the merchant restless. She had waited for the search party to return with Venor, two men she cared for in very different ways were in the jungle, but now with them both on the ship she still felt uneasy. The journal was given to Arculeius to keep safe even though the man could not read a lick of it. She had already told him as much as she knew, clues that still needed to be put together, but it was more than what Krakatoa had or he wouldn't be trying to get it. Small fingers tightened around the railing at the side of the boat as she stared off towards the dark shore. It faded in and out, an occasional animal spotted drinking along the edge, but mostly just an endless sea of green foliage.
Brinlar Sevarii: ~ From the raised platform of the sterncastle,next to Mateo who holds the tiller, the pirate known as the Sleen of Cos watches the merchant woman with an almost casual in difference, to any that happen to look in his direction, but, that is not the case. He learns more from watching than anything else, and he misses little. All imput is processed into that razor sharp mind of his, and..after another ehn or so, he mutters quietly to Mateo~ Keep her in the channel, Mateo...the current is strong in this bend of the river" With that, he steps to the stairs and down, moving past a snoring Thurnock, his large head resting on the skins of the Oarmaster, and makes his way to the railing a few feet from Amanita, leaning crossed forearms atop it and peering off towards the darkened shoreline. After an ehn or so, he offers in her direction " Quiet for a change, aye?"
Amanita Vernia: While there were times when Amanita could be quite social, she hadn't said much to any since boarding the boat. She was dressed in the clothing that TaSheera had lent her rather than the thick robes of a city free woman, but there were other things about her that had changed. Fingers slid back from the railing and wrapped around her elbow, the opposite arm folding as she crossed them over her chest. She seemed comfortable with her footing on a ship, but her body was tense, as if she was waiting for something to jump out from the darkness and come after her. She hardly moved, but the captain would be able to judge her posture with his keen observations. She was used to having Arculeius' eyes on her, but he had finally gone below deck to get some rest. Hearing Brinlar the merchant's eyes turned to him first, followed by the rest of her head with a small nod. "It is... but is such a quiet good or bad?"
Brinlar Sevarii: Seeing her enter into a defensive posture, Brinlar straightens and turns to face her, crossing his own arms over his chest and gracing her with his most charming, disarming smile he possesses. " After the last few hands..I would say it is a welcome reprieve, aye?"
Amanita Vernia: She watched as his arms mimiced her own, but a smile came to his lips that forced her own to come out of hiding. "That would be the most rational way of seeing it... but I've never been one to appreciate things until they're taken away." Which meant she would only miss the silence when it was loud again, only wish for the calm when they hit the storm and never love anything until it was taken from her. She glanced towards the water again, speaking to the pirate again, but not allowing him the direct contact of her eyes. "I must thank you for sending your men with Arculeius, he is prone to not ask for help even when he may need it. I was also told your men helped save many lives when our house was attacked. I am grateful." Arculeius may have already shared the same sentiment, but the merchant needed to give hers as well. She looked back from the water at the man, her arms uncrossing in their defense and a genuine smile given.
Brinlar Sevarii: His gesture taking in the context it was given, to illicit a smile from the solumn woman of Silenti, he drops his arms down, resting large hands on his hips, silver-flecked gray pupils standing out beneath mocha-hued brows. *q* Speaking of the search party...I have to say I was surprised when they returned with your kajiiru..of all people." His voice when he schhoses to utilize it as such, is pleasntly soft and alluring. " He is much more than a common slave, isn't he, Lady?" Perfect teeth gleam white as his lips curl inot a charming smile. " You will realize, and soon if not already..I see much more than a common man does...one of my latent attributes that has been beneficial on many occasions..." At this juncture of the quest, before they disembark the galley, Brinlar holds a confident air about him. Once in the jungles, he is on uncomon ground, so to speak, and he wants as much information as possible before they enter into the next phase of thier journey. Now....the first time he has had to convcerse with her alone, seems as good a time as any to gently confirm suspicions as well as garner any other information he can.
Amanita Vernia: His charm did well to calm her defenses, though the merchant was never a woman without any upon her, the best kept wer those calmly kept silent. She didn't look too surprised at his question, in fact, she suspected an even larger hell raised about sending men into save one who had been a slave. Her arms almost lifted to cross again on instinct to cross, but she stopped them and instead pushed her elbow back to rest along the rail. It came at the perfect height for her to lean against it, but following the rail down one could see the sizeable difference between the woman and the pirate. "I have returned his freedom to him, but you are right, Sir... he was never a common slave." She did realize Brinlar was an observant man who caught on to things even before they were spoken to him, but she could also see he wanted to know more from the way he was digging. "We had suspected him to be one working for Krakatoa when he first came to the house, so he was taken prisoner and then enslaved. During my escape from the house he killed two of the attackers and saved my life... It gave me reason to free him, he should not die a slave." She had gone to look in on him enough times to know that it was a very likely possibility, his infection was still not gone and most the time he was unconscious. The pirate would see the worry in her eyes as well.
Brinlar Sevarii: Brinlar nods,glad to know the tall Schendian warrior is leading the expidition. Salty still is an unknown...skilled with his twin blades..but..Brinlar has no grasp no the man as yet. now..Arculeius, on the other hand..holds the Cosian pirates respect, for more than one reason. He decides, after a moment of deliberation, to offer a partial explianation for his quieries " My men, once we were aboard the Folly, voiced to me thier displeasure in not knowing of Krakatoa, or his stake in this. Had Arculeius shared the possibler dangers, less of your members of your house would have died. I place blame on no one, I simply point out validation for my asking what I do. " Smiling again, he concludes with " I will converse with Arculeius...but I wish to know all you have to offer about the sleen that I am certain stalks us as we speak....."
Amanita Vernia: The woman might of been hesitiant to look directly at the pirate, to hide her thoughts or out of a modest manner, but when he spoke of the men's deaths she looked directly at him. "I was told Arculeius spoke to you of the threat and mistake me if I'm wrong... but was it not you and your men who intercepted the information that he was planning to attack the house?" The way her brow pinched together showed she was distrubed by the insinuation that men had died due to a lack of information shared. Her voice remained clam, but she wasn't sure if the pirate was trying to play on her vulnerable state. "What we know about Krakatoa is that he might just be the most dangerous man in Schendi...that he obviously has not fears of law since he attacked our house...." she hushed as he began to speak over her.
Brinlar Sevarii: He shakes his head, thick unruly mocha-hued hair waving behind his head. " No, lady.. Arculeuis mentioned he was worried about this jungle urt, but I assumed he was a danger to the expedition..akin to he was seeking it as we were. I did not think the sleen would attempt a coup at your estates, and my men and myself were simply coming to Silenti at Arculeius request that eve..we intercepted no message...only an injured boy who informed us the house was under attack...by whom he did not say..nor at the time did I ask" Brinlar, in fact..is angered at himself for underestimating the guide of the explorer Shaba..a mistake he will not make twice.
Amanita Vernia: "I regret that we were not better prepared..." her head was shaking as she thought of the men lost, though many of them were hired mercenaries, it was still not something she liked knowing... that they might of been able to prevent it all. "I can understand the worry of your men, but I think we all underestimated the man's strength and know that it was only a fraction of what he might be capable of." She moved away from the railing, but she didn't turn away from him, only took another deep breath before going on about the dangerous man known as Krakatoa. "He was a guide, but he is also a killer. Many say he has killed half the caste of geographers trying to find this journal that Shaba wrote his secrets in... the one that tells about Nyoka. I found a journal in my father's house when I returned home, one written by Shaba, with maps, but no X... if you understand. Whatever treasure is out there, even Shaba did not want it to fall into the wrong hands."
Brinlar Sevarii: The dashing pirate smiles, a slow nod of appreciation after hearing the reason for the attack on Silenti " Well..hard to track up on the river....and...once we leave the Folly, the jungle is even harder to seek us out. I will sugest to Arculeius that we enter at a point that Krakatoa would not look for us. i can easily sail the folly a few pasangs from our departure point and return in the runabout" Brinlar wants every advantage he can get while in his element, on a waterway. Once in the jungles, he will defer to Arculeius and ever TaSheera, for that matter, as they are the most skilled in that type of environment.
Beast of Nyoka: ||The Jungles Surrounding The Folly|| The drums began. The rolling song of wood beating against a hollow tree trunk was so far away that it was faint carress against the ear. With the sounds around the pair at the prow, it would be be easy to miss that small inland beat. All around the sounds of labor. There was the grunts of the men with each hard draw upon the oars and the sound of sandals scraping against wood as heels were braced for better leverage. Not to mention, there was a wet splash when the paddles rose like the fins of the great Kraken up from the water, only to be dipped below again to ready for the next pull. Then just as soon as they seemed to really get hot and heavy, the drums stopped. The jungles went quiet again seeming to skulk back to watching the barge fight it's way up that serpentine stretch of river. Had the drums been part of a brief ceremonial rite? Perhaps. It was quiet again. But just as soon as the jungle seemed to take a breath for a relieved sigh, the drums sounded again. This time the drum beats were closer and on the opposite side of the river from where the original sonata had played.
Amanita Vernia: Earlier Brinlar had mentioned the quiet, the peace after the storms so to speak, but that silence was now replaced by the beating of drums. Just as the pirate started to speak of a plan to avoid one danger, another came up through through the jungles, but this time, with it's own warning alarm. All on deck followed the sounds into the jungles, the merchant scanning the shoreline the same way she had been when Brinlar found her, but it was the stab of oars into the water that turned head, not to the jungle, but back to the river. Darkness gave the perfect cloak to whomever was out there, but the drums proved that they didn't wish to go unnoted. They were trying to intimidate those outsiders of the jungle. Arculeius who was getting the first shut eye since he'd left Schendi woke to the same sound. He reached for his tunic, not bothering with sandals, and rushed through the belly of the ship towards the ladder to go uptop.
Brinlar Sevarii: The sudden onslaught of the drumming that shatters the stillness of the night illicits a frown on the pirates handsome face, a snort from the sleeping Thurnock as his massive head lifts from the leather skins of the Oarmaster, blinking profusely, looking about and locating Brinlar "cap'n?" Brinlar growls and strides towards the sterncastle past the massive carpenter and fellow pirate, thumping his shoulder and commanding: 1/2 beat..lively now" Brinlar after 3 more strides attains the raised deck, Renn..like a red-headed ghost..suddenly appearing behind him, as his captain from his current position scrines about, the blasted drumming echoing from different directions "Savages..by the Kings! " he curses and turns to Renn "fire arrows..first aft..then starboard..shed some light on the river, sea sleen..this blasted drumming could be masking the approach of ememies!" Renn, with a hurried nod, darts down to his place on the main deck and retrieves his bow and quiver, then moves to a side hatch and removes rep cloths and a jar of tharlarion oil, saturating the remnants with the thick substance. Stepping to the port railing, the wiry 1st mate wraps an oiled cloth round the arrowhead, then lights it with a strike of his tinderbox. Once it catches flame, he sets the arrow to his bow and pulls back, shooting the flaming brand up high over the stern, Brin squinting at barely illuminated waters behind the Folly as Thurnock, owhn thudding of the skins mixes with the loud thudding from the jungles.
Beast of Nyoka: ||The Jungles Surrounding The Folly|| Again, the volley of drum beats cut off. The close-hugging jungles seemed to cock their 'ear' to listen and to wait for the next minuet. If one had keen enough ears and had been paying very good attention then perhaps they would deduce that the same notes and cadence had been repeated for each stanza. If not, then they would have their third chance. Right now. Erupting from the jungles just parallel from where the Folley worked the water to make way up river, the drums seemed to call to the dark heart of the jungle. Wake up! Listen! Then silence ate up that sound as if it never were. Men scrambled to the attention of the whip cracker aboard the folley and it wasn't long until flame tipped arrows streaked up from the barge like bandoliers of light. They arced majestically before they rained down in the river like fizzled fireworks. The swayback river illuminated fore and aft sees no perusers of any kind. No canoes lurking in wait. No barges fulled to teeming capacity with dark skinned savages ready to bite down. No one. Anywhere. How could that be? Then again. Further along up river from the barge, the drums spoke their message. That's all it could be because no army of blacks came to the war call of the drums. The drums were an effective communication tool that could pass a message over many pasangs of jungle within a short distance of time. They say hundreds of pasangs within an ahn, even. The message would be in that mostly unknown Ukungu dialect that the Beast and his men spoke. Only, perhaps, 5 percent of those in Schendi could speak it.
Amanita Vernia: Arculeius, a man born in the jungles, was not even privy to the dialect... his ears were keen enough to catch onto the message once he came to deck, but just like the rest of them staring off into the jungles, he saw not attackers in pursuit and nothing moving in the jungles. The streaks of light fired into the sky gave them a chance to see deeper in all four directions and still nothing. The merchant stood helpless while the others readied for whatever was out there. The dark skinned man moved towards the captain and uttered a single word. "Communication." He waited to see if that explaination was enough for the man to understand what the drums were being used for. "They are letting those in the village know we approach, the drum travels faster than foot."
Brinlar Sevarii: Seeing no threat anywhere, the builders glass screwed into his left eye, swiveling to follow the flaming arrows, the Sleen of Cos, listening to the sounds of drums from upriver, comes to the realization that each session heard is repetitive, the nubians explaination confirming that. "By Thassa's left teat!" Gone is the suggestion mentioned to Amanita that he was going to share with Arculeius now. On Thassa drums are used to signal ships in an Armada when engaging in battle, but this? "Kings man, we might as well hang oil lamps from the riggings and wear the white if Initiates!" Renn, once again at his Captains side, chuckles and to lighten the mood, offers up "Cap'n..I dun lok good in white..clashes with me hair, yanno"
Beast of Nyoka: ||The Jungles Surrounding The Folly And Beyond|| Like a game of leap frog, the message goes from one spot to the next travelling it's way to the open throat of the Ushindi Lake. There, it would round that shield-shaped water mass, making to the court of the Black Ubar as well as across the waters to a small village that was under the firm clutch of the Bila Harmuna, himself. A small black boy on the teetering dock was casting |sorry, froze| stones into the stagnant water of the inlet off the lake. Not just bored but if a tharlarion was lurking down beneath the wooden stanchions of the peir; it would natural snap and lash at the zing of a good stone across it's head. The urchin bolted to his bare feet when he heard the drums and ran like a blue streak back down the planks and into the village. "Akira! Akira! Akira!" He howled, doing a little jig outside each hut as if he could shake the muddy soil beneath his small weight. Several men soon emerged from the huts and several others made their way from where they waited and guarded at the perimeter of the jungle. A clicking of tongue against the roof of one man's mouth and in silence they regarded the boy until he got his breath back and he told them. "Whites coming upriver to Ushindi! Akira says make them go slow." "Slow?" An emphatic nodding of the youngers head. "A woman is with them. The white-white woman. He say no kill her." A grunt and about an ahn later, 4 canoes fanned out on the lake, heading for the sill where the Nyoka river began from the great Ushindi lake itself.
Amanita Vernia: The water was calm, the night somber and the merchant restless. She had waited for the search party to return with Venor, two men she cared for in very different ways were in the jungle, but now with them both on the ship she still felt uneasy. The journal was given to Arculeius to keep safe even though the man could not read a lick of it. She had already told him as much as she knew, clues that still needed to be put together, but it was more than what Krakatoa had or he wouldn't be trying to get it. Small fingers tightened around the railing at the side of the boat as she stared off towards the dark shore. It faded in and out, an occasional animal spotted drinking along the edge, but mostly just an endless sea of green foliage.
Brinlar Sevarii: ~ From the raised platform of the sterncastle,next to Mateo who holds the tiller, the pirate known as the Sleen of Cos watches the merchant woman with an almost casual in difference, to any that happen to look in his direction, but, that is not the case. He learns more from watching than anything else, and he misses little. All imput is processed into that razor sharp mind of his, and..after another ehn or so, he mutters quietly to Mateo~ Keep her in the channel, Mateo...the current is strong in this bend of the river" With that, he steps to the stairs and down, moving past a snoring Thurnock, his large head resting on the skins of the Oarmaster, and makes his way to the railing a few feet from Amanita, leaning crossed forearms atop it and peering off towards the darkened shoreline. After an ehn or so, he offers in her direction " Quiet for a change, aye?"
Amanita Vernia: While there were times when Amanita could be quite social, she hadn't said much to any since boarding the boat. She was dressed in the clothing that TaSheera had lent her rather than the thick robes of a city free woman, but there were other things about her that had changed. Fingers slid back from the railing and wrapped around her elbow, the opposite arm folding as she crossed them over her chest. She seemed comfortable with her footing on a ship, but her body was tense, as if she was waiting for something to jump out from the darkness and come after her. She hardly moved, but the captain would be able to judge her posture with his keen observations. She was used to having Arculeius' eyes on her, but he had finally gone below deck to get some rest. Hearing Brinlar the merchant's eyes turned to him first, followed by the rest of her head with a small nod. "It is... but is such a quiet good or bad?"
Brinlar Sevarii: Seeing her enter into a defensive posture, Brinlar straightens and turns to face her, crossing his own arms over his chest and gracing her with his most charming, disarming smile he possesses. " After the last few hands..I would say it is a welcome reprieve, aye?"
Amanita Vernia: She watched as his arms mimiced her own, but a smile came to his lips that forced her own to come out of hiding. "That would be the most rational way of seeing it... but I've never been one to appreciate things until they're taken away." Which meant she would only miss the silence when it was loud again, only wish for the calm when they hit the storm and never love anything until it was taken from her. She glanced towards the water again, speaking to the pirate again, but not allowing him the direct contact of her eyes. "I must thank you for sending your men with Arculeius, he is prone to not ask for help even when he may need it. I was also told your men helped save many lives when our house was attacked. I am grateful." Arculeius may have already shared the same sentiment, but the merchant needed to give hers as well. She looked back from the water at the man, her arms uncrossing in their defense and a genuine smile given.
Brinlar Sevarii: His gesture taking in the context it was given, to illicit a smile from the solumn woman of Silenti, he drops his arms down, resting large hands on his hips, silver-flecked gray pupils standing out beneath mocha-hued brows. *q* Speaking of the search party...I have to say I was surprised when they returned with your kajiiru..of all people." His voice when he schhoses to utilize it as such, is pleasntly soft and alluring. " He is much more than a common slave, isn't he, Lady?" Perfect teeth gleam white as his lips curl inot a charming smile. " You will realize, and soon if not already..I see much more than a common man does...one of my latent attributes that has been beneficial on many occasions..." At this juncture of the quest, before they disembark the galley, Brinlar holds a confident air about him. Once in the jungles, he is on uncomon ground, so to speak, and he wants as much information as possible before they enter into the next phase of thier journey. Now....the first time he has had to convcerse with her alone, seems as good a time as any to gently confirm suspicions as well as garner any other information he can.
Amanita Vernia: His charm did well to calm her defenses, though the merchant was never a woman without any upon her, the best kept wer those calmly kept silent. She didn't look too surprised at his question, in fact, she suspected an even larger hell raised about sending men into save one who had been a slave. Her arms almost lifted to cross again on instinct to cross, but she stopped them and instead pushed her elbow back to rest along the rail. It came at the perfect height for her to lean against it, but following the rail down one could see the sizeable difference between the woman and the pirate. "I have returned his freedom to him, but you are right, Sir... he was never a common slave." She did realize Brinlar was an observant man who caught on to things even before they were spoken to him, but she could also see he wanted to know more from the way he was digging. "We had suspected him to be one working for Krakatoa when he first came to the house, so he was taken prisoner and then enslaved. During my escape from the house he killed two of the attackers and saved my life... It gave me reason to free him, he should not die a slave." She had gone to look in on him enough times to know that it was a very likely possibility, his infection was still not gone and most the time he was unconscious. The pirate would see the worry in her eyes as well.
Brinlar Sevarii: Brinlar nods,glad to know the tall Schendian warrior is leading the expidition. Salty still is an unknown...skilled with his twin blades..but..Brinlar has no grasp no the man as yet. now..Arculeius, on the other hand..holds the Cosian pirates respect, for more than one reason. He decides, after a moment of deliberation, to offer a partial explianation for his quieries " My men, once we were aboard the Folly, voiced to me thier displeasure in not knowing of Krakatoa, or his stake in this. Had Arculeius shared the possibler dangers, less of your members of your house would have died. I place blame on no one, I simply point out validation for my asking what I do. " Smiling again, he concludes with " I will converse with Arculeius...but I wish to know all you have to offer about the sleen that I am certain stalks us as we speak....."
Amanita Vernia: The woman might of been hesitiant to look directly at the pirate, to hide her thoughts or out of a modest manner, but when he spoke of the men's deaths she looked directly at him. "I was told Arculeius spoke to you of the threat and mistake me if I'm wrong... but was it not you and your men who intercepted the information that he was planning to attack the house?" The way her brow pinched together showed she was distrubed by the insinuation that men had died due to a lack of information shared. Her voice remained clam, but she wasn't sure if the pirate was trying to play on her vulnerable state. "What we know about Krakatoa is that he might just be the most dangerous man in Schendi...that he obviously has not fears of law since he attacked our house...." she hushed as he began to speak over her.
Brinlar Sevarii: He shakes his head, thick unruly mocha-hued hair waving behind his head. " No, lady.. Arculeuis mentioned he was worried about this jungle urt, but I assumed he was a danger to the expedition..akin to he was seeking it as we were. I did not think the sleen would attempt a coup at your estates, and my men and myself were simply coming to Silenti at Arculeius request that eve..we intercepted no message...only an injured boy who informed us the house was under attack...by whom he did not say..nor at the time did I ask" Brinlar, in fact..is angered at himself for underestimating the guide of the explorer Shaba..a mistake he will not make twice.
Amanita Vernia: "I regret that we were not better prepared..." her head was shaking as she thought of the men lost, though many of them were hired mercenaries, it was still not something she liked knowing... that they might of been able to prevent it all. "I can understand the worry of your men, but I think we all underestimated the man's strength and know that it was only a fraction of what he might be capable of." She moved away from the railing, but she didn't turn away from him, only took another deep breath before going on about the dangerous man known as Krakatoa. "He was a guide, but he is also a killer. Many say he has killed half the caste of geographers trying to find this journal that Shaba wrote his secrets in... the one that tells about Nyoka. I found a journal in my father's house when I returned home, one written by Shaba, with maps, but no X... if you understand. Whatever treasure is out there, even Shaba did not want it to fall into the wrong hands."
Brinlar Sevarii: The dashing pirate smiles, a slow nod of appreciation after hearing the reason for the attack on Silenti " Well..hard to track up on the river....and...once we leave the Folly, the jungle is even harder to seek us out. I will sugest to Arculeius that we enter at a point that Krakatoa would not look for us. i can easily sail the folly a few pasangs from our departure point and return in the runabout" Brinlar wants every advantage he can get while in his element, on a waterway. Once in the jungles, he will defer to Arculeius and ever TaSheera, for that matter, as they are the most skilled in that type of environment.
Beast of Nyoka: ||The Jungles Surrounding The Folly|| The drums began. The rolling song of wood beating against a hollow tree trunk was so far away that it was faint carress against the ear. With the sounds around the pair at the prow, it would be be easy to miss that small inland beat. All around the sounds of labor. There was the grunts of the men with each hard draw upon the oars and the sound of sandals scraping against wood as heels were braced for better leverage. Not to mention, there was a wet splash when the paddles rose like the fins of the great Kraken up from the water, only to be dipped below again to ready for the next pull. Then just as soon as they seemed to really get hot and heavy, the drums stopped. The jungles went quiet again seeming to skulk back to watching the barge fight it's way up that serpentine stretch of river. Had the drums been part of a brief ceremonial rite? Perhaps. It was quiet again. But just as soon as the jungle seemed to take a breath for a relieved sigh, the drums sounded again. This time the drum beats were closer and on the opposite side of the river from where the original sonata had played.
Amanita Vernia: Earlier Brinlar had mentioned the quiet, the peace after the storms so to speak, but that silence was now replaced by the beating of drums. Just as the pirate started to speak of a plan to avoid one danger, another came up through through the jungles, but this time, with it's own warning alarm. All on deck followed the sounds into the jungles, the merchant scanning the shoreline the same way she had been when Brinlar found her, but it was the stab of oars into the water that turned head, not to the jungle, but back to the river. Darkness gave the perfect cloak to whomever was out there, but the drums proved that they didn't wish to go unnoted. They were trying to intimidate those outsiders of the jungle. Arculeius who was getting the first shut eye since he'd left Schendi woke to the same sound. He reached for his tunic, not bothering with sandals, and rushed through the belly of the ship towards the ladder to go uptop.
Brinlar Sevarii: The sudden onslaught of the drumming that shatters the stillness of the night illicits a frown on the pirates handsome face, a snort from the sleeping Thurnock as his massive head lifts from the leather skins of the Oarmaster, blinking profusely, looking about and locating Brinlar "cap'n?" Brinlar growls and strides towards the sterncastle past the massive carpenter and fellow pirate, thumping his shoulder and commanding: 1/2 beat..lively now" Brinlar after 3 more strides attains the raised deck, Renn..like a red-headed ghost..suddenly appearing behind him, as his captain from his current position scrines about, the blasted drumming echoing from different directions "Savages..by the Kings! " he curses and turns to Renn "fire arrows..first aft..then starboard..shed some light on the river, sea sleen..this blasted drumming could be masking the approach of ememies!" Renn, with a hurried nod, darts down to his place on the main deck and retrieves his bow and quiver, then moves to a side hatch and removes rep cloths and a jar of tharlarion oil, saturating the remnants with the thick substance. Stepping to the port railing, the wiry 1st mate wraps an oiled cloth round the arrowhead, then lights it with a strike of his tinderbox. Once it catches flame, he sets the arrow to his bow and pulls back, shooting the flaming brand up high over the stern, Brin squinting at barely illuminated waters behind the Folly as Thurnock, owhn thudding of the skins mixes with the loud thudding from the jungles.
Beast of Nyoka: ||The Jungles Surrounding The Folly|| Again, the volley of drum beats cut off. The close-hugging jungles seemed to cock their 'ear' to listen and to wait for the next minuet. If one had keen enough ears and had been paying very good attention then perhaps they would deduce that the same notes and cadence had been repeated for each stanza. If not, then they would have their third chance. Right now. Erupting from the jungles just parallel from where the Folley worked the water to make way up river, the drums seemed to call to the dark heart of the jungle. Wake up! Listen! Then silence ate up that sound as if it never were. Men scrambled to the attention of the whip cracker aboard the folley and it wasn't long until flame tipped arrows streaked up from the barge like bandoliers of light. They arced majestically before they rained down in the river like fizzled fireworks. The swayback river illuminated fore and aft sees no perusers of any kind. No canoes lurking in wait. No barges fulled to teeming capacity with dark skinned savages ready to bite down. No one. Anywhere. How could that be? Then again. Further along up river from the barge, the drums spoke their message. That's all it could be because no army of blacks came to the war call of the drums. The drums were an effective communication tool that could pass a message over many pasangs of jungle within a short distance of time. They say hundreds of pasangs within an ahn, even. The message would be in that mostly unknown Ukungu dialect that the Beast and his men spoke. Only, perhaps, 5 percent of those in Schendi could speak it.
Amanita Vernia: Arculeius, a man born in the jungles, was not even privy to the dialect... his ears were keen enough to catch onto the message once he came to deck, but just like the rest of them staring off into the jungles, he saw not attackers in pursuit and nothing moving in the jungles. The streaks of light fired into the sky gave them a chance to see deeper in all four directions and still nothing. The merchant stood helpless while the others readied for whatever was out there. The dark skinned man moved towards the captain and uttered a single word. "Communication." He waited to see if that explaination was enough for the man to understand what the drums were being used for. "They are letting those in the village know we approach, the drum travels faster than foot."
Brinlar Sevarii: Seeing no threat anywhere, the builders glass screwed into his left eye, swiveling to follow the flaming arrows, the Sleen of Cos, listening to the sounds of drums from upriver, comes to the realization that each session heard is repetitive, the nubians explaination confirming that. "By Thassa's left teat!" Gone is the suggestion mentioned to Amanita that he was going to share with Arculeius now. On Thassa drums are used to signal ships in an Armada when engaging in battle, but this? "Kings man, we might as well hang oil lamps from the riggings and wear the white if Initiates!" Renn, once again at his Captains side, chuckles and to lighten the mood, offers up "Cap'n..I dun lok good in white..clashes with me hair, yanno"
Beast of Nyoka: ||The Jungles Surrounding The Folly And Beyond|| Like a game of leap frog, the message goes from one spot to the next travelling it's way to the open throat of the Ushindi Lake. There, it would round that shield-shaped water mass, making to the court of the Black Ubar as well as across the waters to a small village that was under the firm clutch of the Bila Harmuna, himself. A small black boy on the teetering dock was casting |sorry, froze| stones into the stagnant water of the inlet off the lake. Not just bored but if a tharlarion was lurking down beneath the wooden stanchions of the peir; it would natural snap and lash at the zing of a good stone across it's head. The urchin bolted to his bare feet when he heard the drums and ran like a blue streak back down the planks and into the village. "Akira! Akira! Akira!" He howled, doing a little jig outside each hut as if he could shake the muddy soil beneath his small weight. Several men soon emerged from the huts and several others made their way from where they waited and guarded at the perimeter of the jungle. A clicking of tongue against the roof of one man's mouth and in silence they regarded the boy until he got his breath back and he told them. "Whites coming upriver to Ushindi! Akira says make them go slow." "Slow?" An emphatic nodding of the youngers head. "A woman is with them. The white-white woman. He say no kill her." A grunt and about an ahn later, 4 canoes fanned out on the lake, heading for the sill where the Nyoka river began from the great Ushindi lake itself.
