Chapter 1: After the Storm

[mTeasdale]

As soon as the sword talks, Jaali run forward and hides in the jungle. He then unsheath his cutlass.

[quozl]

Yuan-Chen unsheaths his talkative sword and focuses on it, ignoring everything else.

"I thought we had an agreement. You were going to help, remember? Fight injustice and all that. But now you want meat? We have plenty of meat in our packs! We're trying to survive out here and you are endangering us. Should I just bury you out here on this island? Is that what you want?"

[Woe]

We're 140 yards away from the dinosaurs. That's really far, and they'll need to have really good hearing to hear us; and then we'd need a really bad reaction roll for them to run that far just to cud the sword into submission.

Sonja will check to make sure the dinosaurs are undisturbed, glare at the monk, and go back to trailblazing. Is this thick enough where she'll need to use her axe, or is it more open? If the latter, she'll have her bow out.

[MevlyTM]

Realizing that he's not very stealthy, Maju decides that haste has suddenly become more important. He quickens his pace to put distance between himself and these large beasts.

[Longman]

The thief Jaali hides in the jungle, the mage streaking past his location to the west in sudden haste to get away form the dinosaurs. Sonja moves forward on the original path, slashing a few vines out of the way but otherwise travelling unimpeded.

That leaves Saracen and the Monk, still dealing with the talking sword.

"I don't want to eat the meat, you idiot! I want to KILL! And if you leave me behind, you'll be out of the Great Way, won't you! So give me a good reason why I don't make a lot of noise!"

(The sword is correct. You are supposed to be returning it to the Great Way Monastery of Pu To, when your year with it has elapsed, and you cannot dispose of it in the meantime.)

Saracen watches this conversation with amused interest. "Wow, I can see who's wearing the scabbard in this relationship," he says.

Meanwhile, the dinosaurs munch on, oblivious to it all.

(PS - Woe is correct. The chances of this getting dangerous are quite low. Treat it as a role-play encounter. You'll be making camp soon.)

[quozl]

"So you want to kill, do you? We're going to be crossing the desert soon and there may be pirates there looking to kill us. If we survive that, there's a ruin out in the middle of the desert. Filled with magic and monsters and who knows what. Plenty of things for you to kill. So why don't we save the killing for when we need it, OK?"

Yuan-Cheng sheathes the sword and starts walking on. Then he stops and unsheathes the sword.

"And another thing! Don't think that I won't ever leave The Great Way. I truly may decide to throw you into the volcano we saw and pursue another way."

He sheathes the sword again and walks on, following his companions.

[mTeasdale]

Jaali leaves his hiding spot and joins the rest of the party. He then look towards Yuen-Cheng :

"You did not thought it would be a great idea to tell us of your big-mouthed sword ? We try to be as discrete as possible, and then it start to yell ? You realize that one of us could have been killed ?"

(This sword reminds me of Lilarcor )

[quozl]

"You have a point. Maybe we should all spend some time around the fire tonight talking what we bring to this party."

[mTeasdale]

"And I hope you have other things to bring us than opportunities to get killed..."

Jaali takes break and realize what he just said.

"Sorry. That was rude. This jungle is making me nervous."

[Longman]

After a few tetchy moments like this between the passengers, things settle in once a camp is made, over a mile from the dinosaurs. The sword seems to have shut up, for the time being.

The bird Altair is sent on a night mission by its owner Saracen to scout the pirate camp at dawn, and return. It's instructions are to look for the party in the desert. That's where you will be after a few hours trekking, tomorrow morning.

(If you want to RetCon this, you can, SerGavin. I'm just adding because it makes sense. If you send the bird out now, you'll either have to wait til it comes back, or move into the desert where it can see you).

It moves past midnight and nothing has happened this night,so far. You do not lose rations. The mountain air is cool and mercifully mosquito free. Perhaps Sonja makes one last plea to dissuade you from going into the desert.

I'll update again tommorow. Good time for RP and decisions in the meantime.