Chapter 3: Meeting The Natives

"So they's just as bad, then?" Elspa asks. "Auntie Zilla's some lady lives in a cave over there." She points down the beach. "Kinda crazy, but she didn't give us trouble like the village."

Ygne twists her face up as though she tastes or smells something foul. "I don't think they're the same," she murmurs, "They do it to stop.. him.. the bad.. the god from..." Ygne squeezes one eye shut and groans, "Ugh, I don't know. I'll think about it later."

"She sounds weird." Ygne mutters about Auntie Zilla, but quickly changes the subject, "Khiva and the others didn't give you trouble. They wanted you to stop smellin' so bad." Ygne smirks and lightheartedly murmurs, "Can't rightly blame 'em, neither. I don't know about you, but I don't get to be clean often enough to pass up the opportunity. You act like they wanted you to cut off a finger."

Looking to Elspa and Jarveena, Well, I'll leave you to decide where we go next. Anyway I'm not sure I can operate anything that floats as well as you two, so I'll go get some crab meat while you decide. Moss leaves towards the giant crabs.

Elspa stares at Ygne with a 'Yes, and?' expression that indicates bloodletting was the distinct impression.

Going back to the group, I don't know if you decided where we're going yet, but I think it's gonna have to wait...pointing the flashes of lightning...storm's coming.

"Well, that looks fun," Frick remarks, watching the clouds roll closer.

Ygne stares back at Elspa for a moment, not quite understanding the interaction there. Eventually, it seems to dawn on her, and she adds, very slowly, "And... they... weren't."

Elspa raises her eyebrow. "Riiight..." she says in a sure-go-ahead-believing-that tone, though does not press the issue. She spares a glance at the sky at the incoming storm.

"Jarveena! Can we ride in this weather? What about fight, if we come up to these tentacle things?"

"It'll be rough fer sure, but we'll manage. Figh'in' tho--that'll be dicey. Mebbe if we 'ad harpoons an' shit."

"Prob'ly better to wait it out, then," says the barbarian. "But that depends on where we wanna go. Going for pirates means sailing a lot, and maybe we want to head out when the weather's not bad. Going to the big land up north might be a fast row and we could risk it.

"So who wants what? You all knows I want to find that pearl, and you all says you coming with. Don't mean we gotta go straight to the place."

We need more time and info to be sure of what we do with the pearl and how. I say we should start with the southern tip of the big island.

"What His Majesty said," Ygne murmurs distractedly, her eyes set on Rygnar with a questioning look on her face.

"Well, now that it's settled, let's find us a good place to wait out the storm," Frick says, watching the storm approach, "Cave or village? I'm thinking cave for now, that way there's less chance of anyone overhearing what we got planned."

"'Cept that Auntie Zilla, o'course."

Frick turns to Rygnar, "Hey, big guy!" he shouts, "We're not leavin' yet. Come on, we're gonna find shelter before the storm hits."