Chapter 1 - The Skin Chart

There are few calm and uneventful days out on the wildsea. Strange creatures, other sailors or the ever shifting sea itself mean that travel is always an adventure.

This day seemed well on its way to become one of those rare exceptions until, already late, with the sun slowly nearing the horizon far in the West, the crew of the Fading Dawn stumbles upon a wreckage in the foliage of the Thrash. A large ship, spotted from quite some distance that at first appears to have just stopped, maybe for an early night's rest. Until, that is, the one of you who was on watch at the time, spotted the damage to the ship. A chunk missing from the stern of the vessel, rough, sawed edges indicating it was another ship, not a wild beast.
No bodies can be seen from the distance but the signs clearly point to this ship having been attacked. And judging by the lack of movement, of crew bustling about and attempting to repair the damage, it appears that whoever attacked the ship won, and did not leave any witnesses behind.No sign of lingering threat can be detected around the stranded ship so it appears reasonably safe to approach it - an act that is certainly not completely without risk but that but that may be advisable, be it in the hope of finding survivors, to search for valuable loot left behind by the attackers or just to find a clue about who would dare to attack a seemingly unarmed ship in these relatively safe waves.

Tektek grunts as he notices the shipwreck.

"Should we board?"

Tektek is a massive ektus, even among fellow ekti. Tektek joined the crew for an opportunity to search mountain peaks for desert relics rumored to have been hidden away by his ektus ancestors. Being naturally strong, he gained the role of protecting the ship from dangers, punching threats out of commission.

It's known that, before joining the crew, Tektek lived alone as a hermit. While proficient at hunting, he doesn't know how to cook, often opting to eat his food raw.

Teekik the Tzelicrae Navigator, who was among the first to spot the wreckage, was climbing down to hear the crew's opinions. Clicking and gathering volume amongst the multitude of tiny noise culminating into its speech. "Attack? Here? Odd." Expressing caution in the tone, Teekik remained just above the deck listening for a consensus.

All Tzelicrae have a level of oddity, their aloofness inherent, their seems unnatural, their mentality alien. Or was it? Teekik speaks in simplistic phrases and does not mix words. They have always striven to be honest and forthright with the crew of the Fading Dawn. Proclaiming to be a natural in exploration and planning, and has yet to disappoint.

Cyathus sits in the middle of the deck as they often do, surrounded by small scraps of material as they work on the gadget held in the tendril that extends from their lower back, almost like a tail. Every now and then they will hold their mechanical arm out and say a word, result in one of the two creatures sitting near them to pick up something and place it in their hand.

Rust, the springfox, and Moss, the fungal sporehund. Wherever the young Gau is the two are nearby, either helping, or causing trouble by playing.

As Cya becomes aware of what the others are talking about they quickly start to stuff everything back into the various pockets bags and belts slung over them.

'Oh there could be some nice salvage.' The possibility that whatever caused the attack still being nearby was far at the back of the Gau's mind as the walked up to the bow of the ship, eager to see what they could soon win.

Keekik, thanks to their amazing eyesight, spots a thick, congealing yellowish liquid on the deck of the other ship. It's hard, almost impossible, to notice from far away as it blends into the color of the deck but Keekik is fairly certain that it is the ektus equivalent of blood.
As the ship approaches, Keekik feels the waves whisper a secret to them, as they often do when they're out exploring new regions. The destroyed ship ahead was on a religious pilgrimage until they were ambushed and apparently fell victim to a crime more horrible than murder. What that could be or the nature of this religion or pilgrimage are unknown to the tzelicrae.

---

The Dawn approaches the broken vessel at a slow pace and gets a better look at it. From up close, they confirm what Keekik spotted already from far away, that there is ektus blood on the deck. There is also no movement visible, no reaction to the loud approach of the Fading Dawn as it saws its way through the branches and twigs of the Thrash. It is possible that there are survivors hiding inside but more likely, everyone on board of the other ship is dead.

Curious. The Dawn cut forward and soon they were upon the damaged vessel and yet they still had little more than a brutal scene. There would be nothing more to gain by standing in watch, surely, but would it be okay truly to investigate further? Salvage of course being a possible prize even still, but the was a hesitancy Keekik maintained about being callous around the dead. Some take offense to actions other find most practical. Some find it wasteful to leave what is not long claimed by the living. Keekik did not know What was the right way, perhaps it was just a matter of perspective.

The Tzelicrae looked toward Tektek. The Corsair was one who was trustworthy Keekik thought. Were these friends?

Tektek hops onto the shipwreck. He looks back towards Keekik, noting their hesistation.

"Something wrong?"

Obviously, he doesn't see anything wrong about looking for salvage. Whether that's Ektus culture or simply a result of his hermit upbringing is up to debate.

"Only what is seen..." Keekik chittered taking the leap and as they land immediately kneel down honing their senses to the sway of the damaged ship. Lifting to the skin-suits normal half-crouched height, the spiders moved in line behind the towering Ektus. "Seek the helm, first... or the hold?"

As the crew moves over onto the other vessel, they are now certain that the thick, dried liquid on the deck is ektus blood like they assumed from afar. There are irregularities in the blood, like people were stepping through it, though they aren't clear enough to indicate anything in particular.
No bodies are lying on the deck and the blood couldn't have flown upwards from under deck so there must have been fighting up here. There is too much blood for no ektus to have died so the bodies must have either been thrown overboard or taken down into the belly of the ship.

Each of you has a bad feeling about this place, like there is a coldness surrounding it that has nothing to do with the actual temperature. Cyathus' hounds initially refuse to get on board of the ektus ship, though they will reluctantly comply and follow if Cyathus doesn't give in to their initial hesitation.

'Hold. Hold is where the good stuff is.' Cyathus speaks as they try and coax the hounds on board. While they did not want the pair to feel uncomfortable, if whatever had caused this was still around, the gau would need the protection. Though hopefully whoever had done this was long gone, and they could just search the hold for anything useful. The bad feeling was surely just because this was meant to be calmer part of the sea, that was all.

Tektek clicks its tongue at the nervous hounds.

"Do not worry, little ones. I'll lead the way."

It would be rude to chide a crewmate for their bravery. Teekik admired Tektek's confidence and hoped that whatever killed the Ektus was gone. Following, the spiders looked over Cyathus and their pets. They were not privateers or pirates, salvage was the game. Everything else was the unwanted exercise of violent tendencies. One, let alone Many, should take care as not fall into despair or madness, as the rolling waves strip away civility. Leaving a [Swarm Scout] outside to relay signals from the ship, Teekik was ready to enter the bowels of this carcass.

One of Keekik's spiders stays behind to keep watch on deck and over the Fading Dawn, then the wildsailors descend into the belly of the ship to search for the cargo hold. As it turns out, finding the cargo hold is not a difficult task, especially since the path there is marked by a track of ektus blood, seemingly created as a dead or dying body was dragged down from the deck into the cargo hold.

The door to the hold is open, revealing a gruesome scene. Three dead ektus, all of them with visible wounds caused apparently by bladed or blunt weapons, are piled into one corner. A fourth one is leaning, dead as well, against a wall in the back of the hold and a fifth is lying dead in the center of the cargo hold. This one is lying on their stomach, arms spread to the sides. They're topless, wearing only very simple brown pants into which their thorns have poked many holes. It's immediately obvious that something is wrong with their back as its yellowish-white color doesn't match the green of the rest of the ektus' body, though it takes a moment of inspection to recognize what exactly happened. The ektus' green, thorn-adorned skin is missing on their back, from the shoulders down to the waist, seemingly carved off carefully with a sharp knife.

"Poachers?" From behind Tektek the Tzaelicrae crackles the whispered word, like the name of a ghost. Looking about with every available eye, Keekik tried to see in they were all "peeled" this way for resource or to get at the gooey center. What ever it was, it had a blade and a descent amount of strentgh in order to do what was done here. "This was done with care... an evil thing." Added as a personal note upon the nature of what was faced.

All the other ektus are wearing clothes covering their torsos, so unless they have been dressed again afterwards, their backs are still intact. However, it appears that the ektus leaning against the back wall is missing one of the vibrant red flowers that made up his eyes.
Keekik, and anyone else who takes a closer look at the bodies, notices that the ektus can be divided into two groups. Three of them, the one leaning against the back wall included, are wearing practical clothes, a loincloth and padded vest in dark colors. They also appear relatively physically strong. The other two are thinner, less muscular, and are both wearing the same brown pants, though the one lying on the pile in the corner is still wearing a loose shirt as well. A second shirt of the same sort is lying next to the pile of bodies, carelessly discarded, and probably belonged to the flayed ektus.

Tektek kneels over the bodies.

"Excessive greeting for strangers. Perhaps revenge?"

"... if there was rage, why carve with precision?" With a hitter to their step, Keekik moves to investigate the bodies to see if any flowers remained or if they could tell what precisely was stolen. The hold seeming otherwise empty was another mystery. "Do we keep searching?" There seemed to be no loot, and if they intended to salvage the ship parts, they should finish up this bloody tour.

Cyathus wordlessly picks up Rust to cradle in one arm, their other hand gently stroking the larger Moss. The sight of the bodies, and the flaying quelled their enthusiasm to look for salavge. Normally theire were not bodies. Or at least they were a lot older, less deliberate.

'I am unaware of uses for ectus skin, or parts, but that does not mean others won;t use them. Why just the back though. Tattoos? Markings? Can ektus have tattoos?' They turn to look at Tektek, also trying to observe the plant beings reaction. If these had been gau, they had no doubt they would be shaken, so they wanted to be sure their crewmate was doing okay.

Different ektus have different kinds of eyes, though the remaining eye of the leaning ektus is a special one. An Iris Blossom that allowed him to see heat the way others see color. None of the other ektus bodies here have such eyes and none of their eye-equivalents have been damaged or taken. Even from this one ektus, the attackers only took one eye and left the other.
While the bodies on the pile all have visible injuries which clearly lead to their deaths, none of their corpses - unlike with the two other corpses - have been mutilated after death.

"You can tattoo an Ektus. But why steal a tattoo? Once it leaves the body, skin becomes dog scrap."