The Endless Hunt: Season 2, An Explosive Island

[Legendary Sidekick]

Reaver (and Manimus)
Hanna replies to you, "For starters you can teach your big friend to pronounce my brother's nickname correctly. But don't hang around here all day on my account. You and your friend are too successful as hunters to remain indoors. Some of the tourists are worried about a roar coming from the plateau. Do you need a rope to climb?"

To Manimus, she adds, "I think you can do fine without one!"


Sigrelyn (and Heverik)
Up ahead is a very long bridge. Seven women are being led across. There are two men behind them, two in front. Unlike the women, the men are not bound.


Sage Aeron Greymoore (and Thames)
Thames flies into a tunnel ahead of you. You dash to catch up, then see him stopped at the end of the tunnel where light and darkness meet.

A rhythmic chant...

The sound of at least fifty men...

You see the red hue and nothing more. You remain in the shadows, leaving time for your eyes to adjust to see what is beyond the billowing puffs of steam and fluttering sparks.

Silhouettes...

Odd shapes with feathers and limbs, horns and tusks protruding outward...

Your eyes have still not completely adjusted, but the smell of death is near. There are at least six bodies. They are wearing tusk earrings.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Rose, the Red & Ivy, the Green

Ivy lowers her rope and grips it with all of her might. She carefully lowers Rose--at the slow pace that she prefers--from the upper plateau atop the Rainbow Falls.

Clad in a red gown with gold trim, Rose stands with one foot in a knotted loop in Ivy's rope. Rose's canines, Daisy and Duke, patiently await their master in the place where she will eventually be.

Once Rose is on solid ground, Ivy quickly slides down to join her. With a whipping motion, she releases the rope's grip from the ledge above and wraps it around her waist and left shoulder. It blends in with her costume made of freshly cut greenery.


Rose glares at the pirate prisoner with contempt. "I should have his head for seeing me like that!"

You know floral wear washes off in hot water! is the comment that Ivy keeps to herself.

"No matter. Let us awaken our guests!"

Ivy picks up the palm frond.

"I believe they are early risers, dear."

"Oh, hell."

 

[Reaver]

REAVER-

"Thank you dear Hanna," I replied to my lovely employer, "a rope is greatly appreciated. Even though I am an accomplished climber, I do not wish to tempt fate. My friend and I will head for the top of yon plateau and see what we can see."

 

[Reaver]

MANIMUS-

So like, the babe was all like: "Manimus, there's a monster up on top of that...um...giant flat rock...thing...up there and like, will you please go kill it?"

I was like: "Sure babe, but like, when I come back, you better like, have my dinner ready and like, be ready to do me and stuff."

She was all like: "Hell yeah I will, 'cuz I'm all like, totally hot for you."

Then I said to Reaver: "Quit hidin' under the table and come on! We like, got a monster to kill and junk!"

Reaver was all like: "But Manimusss! I'm all like scared and stuff! I'm gonna like pee myself again!"

I was like: "Seriously, dude, that's totally gross. Don't do that. Seriously."

Then we like, left for the big...rock...that...you know...fat toe thing.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Area 1

Manimus (and Reaver)
Manimus "leads" Reaver in a jog down Bear Bottom Beach, commenting on the muscle tone of the tourists who dare don the traditional swimwear of the Roku-Roku.

One of the men, who in Manimus' opinion is notably lacking in both muscle mass and body mass, has no business wearing a banana leaf thong. Reaver is growing weary of Manimus' comments on fashion and muscles, but he does recognize the bespectacled weakling. He was a passenger on the ship.

"Manimus, I see the barstools worked better than I thought they would. You didn't drown or get eaten by a shark!"

Manimus fails to recognize him.

Addressing Reaver as "Mr. Bodyguard," he continues, "I'm glad you're safe... both of you! The rest of us on the ship weren't so lucky.

"One-Eared Jack took our ship. I'm not sure what he wanted... but he was after one of the ladies. He separted us, then something went wrong..."

A gull swoops down to snatch a bread crumb. There are several around the man's feet.

The bespectacled man tries to snatch the bird from the air.

"Darn, I missed."

The man walks away in the direction of another flock of gulls feeding on crumbs. He makes another futile attempt to catch one, then wanders aimlessly.

 

[Reaver]

REAVER-

"What an odd little fellow." I said to Manimus, but yet again, my words fell on deaf ears. The gladiator was engaged in yet another impromptu workout, this time with a rather large group of tourists. Every so often, Manimus paused to sign autographs for any passer-by who recognized him.

"Manimus," I said, raising my voice above the din of the quickly growing crowd, "we really don't have time for this. We must summit the plateau and determine the source of loud roaring that's frightening Hanna's patronage."

Of course, Manimus paid no heed. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself and was now walking around the periphery of the exercising tourists, barking commands and commenting on their muscle tone.

I sighed deeply and sat down in an abandoned beach chair. To my right I noticed a large wooden chest brimming with ice and bottles of ale and wine. I helped myself to a fine bordeaux while I waited for my idiotic associate to finish.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Area 5

Reaver soon sees why Hanna gave him a rope. The sheer wall of rock before him would be quite the challenge without one. Manimus' ego will not allow him to use anything other than his own mucles.

Reaver tosses the hook several yards above. He moves quickly. His muscles will only burn more if he attempts to scale the first wall with caution. Manimus finds the right places to grip onto and is not far behind.

On the second wall, Manimus stays close to Reaver's rope in case he cannot find a legde to grab onto. "If you pull that rope loose and get us killed, I'll wring your neck as we plummet to our deaths!" Reaver warns him.

Manimus cracks a smile. "No fear," he says to encourage his obviously scared sidekick.

Reaver rolls his eyes.

The men hear a roar up above. Reaver twirls his rope... the hook flies toward a palm and wraps around its trunk. His heart racing, Reaver wastes no time. His adrenaline is pumping. Pain and exhaustion no longer exist. Manimus is keeping pace, enjoying every moment of the climb.

Reaver is truly impressed that his goofy associate is able to scale the wall without a rope. Manimus is impressed that Reaver was able to scale the wall so quickly.

Manimus forces Reaver to accept an almost-bone-crushing handshake.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" he says with a tone of genuine admiration.



The two men look at the view to the West--nothing but ocean--then look down at the waves crashing against the rocks far below.

Behind them, they hear a loud roar.

Close behind...

 

[Reaver]

REAVER-

After a very long climb, Manimus and I finally reached the top of an expansive plateau. We quickly moved away from the edge of the cliff to better assess the source of the roaring. Much to our surprise, we spotted a massive golden bear, nearly eleven feet tall, clad in a bright pink dress, purple socks decorated with tiny skulls and crossbones and matching pink ballet slippers.

It only took an instant for me to discern why the creature was roaring. It was pinned to the ground with six large chains and being tormented by four ragged-looking curs who I immediately recognized as being from the pirate ship, although judging by their garb, it appeared that they no longer bore any allegiance to their Captain.

I looked at Manimus: "I thought you dispatched those scurvy dogs after you nearly took my head off with the barstools."

"Well, like, I thought I got 'em all," the gladiator replied with an embarrassed grin.

"No matter," I answered, drawing my runic blades. "No quarter for these bastards. Agreed?"

"Hell yeah!" Manimus replied, positioning the Lava Core Hammer for battle. "Let's like, cream these dudes!"

I felt the bile in my stomach reach the back of my throat when he said that, but I refrained from commenting.

 

[Ravana]

SIGRELYN and HEVERIK

Up ahead is a very long bridge. Seven women are being led across. There are two men behind them, two in front. Unlike the women, the men are not bound.

"Not on the bridge," Sigrelyn whispers to her husband. "Can't get the ones in the front easily, and there's too great a chance of someone falling off. Someone we don't want to fall off, that is."

"Of course."

"Right. We follow them. Once we can get a clear shot, I'll take the two in the front. You: sword. Keep the ones in the back busy for a few seconds."

"Only that?"

She smiles. "Well, feel free to run them through if you like. I have no objections."

"Thank you. You know I wouldn't want to spoil your fun, dear." Heverik draws. While the hilt may be (okay, is) over-ornamented, the blade is a finely-crafted fencer's weapon… just the sort of thing every prince learns to use while growing up. No matter what their later course in life.

Sigrelyn and Heverik wait until the party has crossed the bridge (and is temporarily out of sight of it, if possible), then pursue and engage at the first opportunity.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

A loud rumble is heard throughout the island...



Sigrelyn and Heverik are on the bridge. Heverik looks down nervously as the very long and very ancient bridge begins to rock with the tremor. Sigrelyn sees that the coast is almost clear, but must hold her position to avoid being spotted--and hold onto the bridge to avoid a long fall...

(Write dialogue between the couple.)



Reaver and Manimus are facing pirates.

The bear struggles to free herself, frightened by the tension among the humans and the volcano, both of which are about to erupt...

(Write the battle.)



Sage Aeron Greymoore and Thames are in the tunnel observing the men chanting. The river of lava in the area before them begins to overflow. One of the men ceases his chanting and begins to scream as his oversized feathered mask is engulfed in flames. He removes the mask from his torso and tosses it into the lava.

The man is wearing nothing but warpiant, bone jewelry and a banana leaf thong. He is not seriously burned, but seems to be very traumatized and disoriented. The other masked men seem very disturbed by this. An elder thrusts the butt of his staff against the rocky ground, and the other fifty or sixty men converge on the unmasked...

(Write Sage's thoughts regarding his next move.)

 

[Reaver]

REAVER-

“Indeed,” I said to Manimus, forcing the bile back down as we moved quickly toward the four rogues. “You take care of the two on the left and I’ll deal with the two curs on the right.”

“Okay.” The gladiator’s reply was curt. I could see that he was completely focused now, his mind only on combat.

The former pirates were so immersed in their sadistic game that by the time they realized we were there, it was too late. Manimus struck the first two ex-pirates with the Lava Core Hammer with such speed, ferocity and accuracy that it passed through both of their heads like a hot knife through butter, a heavy plume of blood, brain and bone filling the warm, tropic air. In fact, the war hammer’s impact was so powerful, only the bottom half of their corpses remained.

My runic blade was a silvery blur as it cleaved the head from my first opponent and split the second in half at the waist. The second foe was still mostly alive from my powerful attack, so I ended his miserable existence by jamming the sword through the top of his head.

After cleaning the gore from our weapons, Manimus and I evaluated the situation further.

"Well, it goes without saying that we must free the poor creature.” I said, looking down at the pitiful, tormented animal.

“Like, yeah,” Manimus replied, rubbing his chin, “But like, as soon as we do, it’s like…ya know…gonna try ‘n kill us.”

“Indeed,” I replied, “and who could blame it? Adonai knows what hell those bastards put it through.”

Then a thought suddenly occurred to me. I turned to Manimus: “Who are the best beings in the world when it comes to dealing with animals?”

A look of utter confusion filled the gladiator’s face. “Umm…I don’t…umm…”

I suddenly realized that I should refrain from asking the warrior any questions dealing with anything outside of “hot babes” and working out.

“Forest Elves,” I told him as plainly as I could, trying to avoid making him feel stupid.

“Well no doi,” Manimus responded, trying to save face, “Tell me something I don’t know.”

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Secret areas discovered!

Manimus
As soon as Reaver mentions the "forest elves," Manimus says "no dpi" and looks toward the direction of the forest.

He sees a vine hanging from a giant orange wood tree... and another... and another. He can't resist the urge to show off.


(Does Manimus swing on the vine ABOVE AREA 4?
If yes, what does Reaver do?)





Heverik
The bridge is shaking too much from the rumble. Prince Heverik sees his lovely bride struggling to hold on. It is his duty as a husband to rescue his damsel in distress.

His recklessness gets the better of him, and he immediately falls off of the bridge. The complexity of his costume saves him. As he teeters over the rope--which makes a lousy rail--he becomes entangled. Part of the rope "rail" follows the prince down the hundred foot drop. The rope stretches, slowing his fall, and almost yanks him back up toward the bridge--

But just as he starts to move up,the rope snaps, tossing the prince ten feet in the air.

He finds himself sprawled on his back in a field of heather. He sees a sign:

WELCOME TO LEMMING'S LANDING


(Heverik can go UPHILL or DOWNHILL.
Sigrelyn can continue WEST TO AREA 7 or head back EAST TO AREA 6.)





(NOTE: Map updated to show all normal areas.
Aeron and Thames are on the path between AREAS 3 & 9.)

 

[Ravana]

HEVERIK

…looks up to make sure that none are about to. Lemmings, that is. Landing.

He then extricates his attire from the remainder of the rope, considers momentarily which might make a better garment, then settles on both. After all, one never knows what one might require next.

"I almost feel there's a potential for a new sport in the experience somewhere," he addresses to no one in particular. "I must be sure to mention it to some of my Helderau cousins." Then, on reconsideration: "No, that won't do. None of them are stupid enough to try it. Some of the Clothildan line might fall for it, though.…"

[On the assumption his wife is no longer in sight:] "Well, she'll continue on to rescue those poor lasses, no doubt. As she ought. Much though I'd like to rejoin her, I'm not certain I can handle the upward route. Besides, she's already there. Perhaps down will allow me to intercept them."

He calmly extracts a ribbon from his supply of spares and ties it to the signpost.

"And if not, I'm sure it will lead to something interesting."

Heverik heads down.

•

SIGRELYN

…looks over the bridge to see if she can ascertain her husband's condition and place of landing. Though it hardly matters, save as a point of future reference. He'll expect me to keep after those captives. I'm sure he'll be fine. At least as long as he doesn't run across anything that catches his interest.

Sigrelyn continues pursuit, looking for a place from which to shoot the two men leading the procession. Whether or not she shoots all four will depend on how rapidly the other two can reach said spot.

 

[The Grey Sage]

Well guys the sage is going to have to back out. If I have time I'll write a good exit scene but I'm swamped with work and just can't check in here often enough. Thanks for the go round though.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Sigrelyn follows the men at a safe distance up the mountain road.

The path is too narrow for her to head them off without being noticed, but the curvature of the path and the rocky mountainside allows her to follow at a fairly close distance without being noticed.

The rumbling subsides, but the cobrathons in the above cave are agitated. With a loud hiss, snakes pour out of the cave.

One of the prisoners shrieks at the sight of the snakes, most of which are over ten feet long.

The men pull out their swords.

(Write Sigrelyn's next move.)



Heverik finds himself face-to-face with a King Cobrathon.

(Write the entire scene: "A Prince vs. a King!")



(Note added to bounty #7.

Sage, you will be missed!)

 

[Ravana]

SIGRELYN

The rumbling subsides, but the cobrathons in the above cave are agitated. With a loud hiss, snakes pour out of the cave.

One of the prisoners shrieks at the sight of the snakes, most of which are over ten feet long.

The men pull out their swords.

Sigrelyn, moved by the selfless gallantry of the men in placing themselves between their captives and certain death, can do no other than to draw her sword and join them in their efforts. Sadly, however, her lack of familiarity with close-quarters combat—combined, no doubt, with the ongoing tremors—causes her to stumble into one after another of the men at most inopportune times, with the disquieting result of propelling them headlong into the serpents, resulting in their numbers rapidly dwindling.

Should any of them object to her presence at any time, she will simply withdraw a step or two and let them decide for themselves which opponent they'd prefer at their backs—her, or the snakes.

•

HEVERIK

Heverik finds himself face-to-face with a King Cobrathon.

"Mother always told me there would be days like this."

(Write the entire scene: "A Prince vs. a King!")

Get back to you on that in a bit.

 

[Ravana]

HEVERIK

In point of fact, his mother had never told him any such thing. He’d always heard it was the sort of thing mothers told their children, however, so it seemed an appropriate thing to say in the circumstances.

The closest homily his mother had bestowed upon him was “When all else fails, remember your manners.” Which was the main thing preventing him from uttering what was really going through his mind: Okay, you win. Yours is bigger. That, plus: What an interesting cloak that would make!

Of course, the first trick involved surviving long enough to see his wardrobe people again.…

Circling his right foot behind him, Heverik draws his sword cross-body as slowly and quietly as seems advisable. Then he looks for his shadow, rather hoping it’s in front of him, as this would require less moving about. If it is not, he seeks to place it in that general direction. Then he switches into a more proper fencing stance, sword-arm forward.

Then, in his most pleasant voice, he strikes up a conversation.

“My, what a fascinating serpent you are! I have never seen your like before… and I can assure you, my knowledge of herpetology is most extensive. Your markings are truly exquisite, I would go so far as to say unprecedented, utterly unknown to the scholars of the Collegium Imperial. You really must meet them some day: I’d be delighted to perform the introductions.” That much, at least, is true. “And your size! I’ll wager you eat red-maned ligers for breakfast, do you not?”

As he drones on—and it becomes more droning as he goes—he allows his sword to drift slowly to one side of his body, then back across to the other. Then again, broadening the motion marginally each time, though never increasing the speed at which it moves. The sheen of the blade is perfection itself, while the gems of the hilt would be enough to blind even… well, him, were he to look at it. Once the snake begins to track on it, he alters the motion gradually, until it becomes a figure-eight pattern, always maintaining the same languid rhythm.

A man who’s spent three decades at royal court—and spent the most recent of those training snakes to stuff down his pants in ongoing efforts to circumvent the restrictions of Title LVII of the Imperial Code—knows a thing or two about being charming.

His motions, his soothing tones, do not cease until the serpent has concluded that the glittering thing before its eyes cannot possibly be worth attending to further and it lapses into quiescence. At which point Heverik slowly backs away, still not ceasing his sword’s motions, until he’s well past a distance where doing so would not re-ignite any interests in him personally.

Another thing his mother had told him: “Flattery will get you anywhere.” Though it generally depressed him how often she turned out to be correct about that. Still, sometimes it had its uses. Told her I had my methods. I do hope she finishes rescuing those poor lasses soon, so she can come kill this thing for me.

It never so much as crosses his mind to imagine his wife would have any difficulty with either task.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Pirates, Ladies, and Snakes

Sigrelyn stumbles into two of the pirates. Ten-foot-long snakes descend upon them--creatures that are easy to kill with a sword, unless they are directly above the swordsman.

The other two turn toward Sigrelyn, mistaking her for one of their prisoners long enough to say, "Virgin or no virgin, the natives need to appease..."

Seeing her sword pointed his way, the speaker clams up. Both men figure they have a split second to decide whether to go after the woman or the snakes. Neither is in charge, so neither man thinks to call out his target or bark an order...


(Ravana, finish the scene.)

 

[Ravana]

SIGRELYN

…smiles.

She has a very attractive smile. Really, she does.

Her sense of humor, on the other hand, doesn't always correspond to those of others.

"Please, by all means, finish killing the snakes. I'll even let you run afterward. I'm just here for the bounty on them."

Her eyes twinkle. "Of course, there are so many of them, I'll need to recruit some help carrying them back. These fine young ladies here strike me as being just about the correct number for the task."

The second pirate opens his mouth to object; she cuts him off. "Or you could carry them for me yourselves. I'll even pay you for your services. In which case, the ladies can accompany us or continue along the path as they will. I imagine you'd prefer they came with us; that way, you'll be able to keep an eye on them. Who knows where they might wander off to if they're left unattended?"

Now it's the first pirate's turn to voice an objection—and it's his comrade's turn to cut him short. "Let's kill some snakes, Mitch."

"Are you nuts? What's to stop her from running us through from behind?"

"The same thing that's stopping her from running us through now, moron: her forbearance."

Mitch is the slow one of the pair, and is very impressed by words such as 'forbearance.' He's also keenly aware that whatever that may be, it's unlikely the snakes have any. For both reasons, he turns around, albeit with visible reluctance, and starts beheading snakes. His partner joins him a moment later, and shortly thereafter, there's a considerable pile of belt material waiting for a competent tanner.

"Now then," Sigrelyn addresses the assembled, "who'd like to help me haul these back to town?" The girls give various small shrieks or expressions of disgust, apart from one who says "I will, your Ladyship."

"Good. You get to go untied, then."

"I'll get it," the second pirate says. He pulls out a pocket knife—after carefully and conspicuously sheathing his sword—and walks over to cut the volunteer's bonds.

"Are you out of your mind, Ferdy? Why are you—"

"Because she hasn't killed us yet… and the boss will, if we show up like this. You coming with, or you wanna run?" While Mitch is considering this, Ferdy turns to Sigrelyn. "You won't kill us, will you, your Ladyship?" He has no idea whether she's really a Ladyship or not, but it seems a safe way to play the situation.

"On my honor," she says. "Kindly collect the rest of the snakes, and drape them about the necks of our employees." When this generates another chorus of shrieks, she adds: "If it seems likely they'll fall off, tie them in knots." The objections subside… or at least become far quieter.

After the snakes have been more or less evenly distributed, Sigrelyn motions back the way they came, with the obvious hint that the two pirates ought to lead the procession, she bringing up the rear. When they reach the damaged bridge, she instructs the two pirates to assist the hands-free crossing the majority of the ladies are obliged to make. Which is simplified when a couple of them decide they're more afraid of the bridge than the necklaces they're wearing, and their requests for conversion to volunteer status are granted.

Once all are on the far side, she turns once more to the pirates. "I cannot, unfortunately, guarantee that the locals won't kill you. I'd protest strenuously, of course"—this, when they once more seek to object—"but, after all, this is their island, and their justice you'll have to face. I can," she emphasizes, "think of a way to work out a small delay in the process, however, as well as considerably increase your chances in the long run." She appears to have their complete attention.

She gestures off the bridge, pointing out the nether end of the broken rope. "My husband is down there somewhere. I'd appreciate his return."

The two pirates look at the rather forbidding terrain they've been asked to negotiate. This time, it's Ferdy who seems about to balk, but Mitch says "What does he look like?"

"Don't worry. You can't possibly miss him."

She directs the remainder of her column onward.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Rose, the Red

MIDSUMMER SPRINGS (AREA 6)

"Sigrelyn, dear! You're back... and you've brought guests."

At Rose's gesture, Ivy rushes to the women to help carry the snakes. Ignoring Ivy's estimation that the combined length of the snakes must measure around 40 to 50 feet, not counting the six-footers, Rose continues,

"But what about your husband?"


* * *


LEMMING'S LANDING (AREA 8.1)

"It's one thing to tie 'em up, the ladies, and march 'em to the volcano, Mitch, but I must confess... me heart wasn't in it knowing them masked blokes 'd toss 'em in."

"Ye supposin' there be a curse for not a-pleasin' the lava demon?"

"I don't know about no lava demons. I'd be more worried about divine retribution if we did just that?"

"Divine retro what? You means we be punished for takin' orders? Ferdy, I think ye been at sea too long, and all them half-dress Roku ladies struttin' about gotcha thinkin'--"

Ferdy replies, "Ye mean the ladies what would have us killed?" but when he hears no response, he turns to see Mitch struggling with the King Cobrathon.

"I'll save ye, Mitch!" he shouts as he takes a swing at the snake's head.

The snake darts back, almost dodging Ferdy's overhead strike. With half a face and no fangs, the snake loosens its hold on Mitch and wrappes part of its thirty-something-foot body around both pirates. Their blades out--with the flat side pressed against their chest--deter the King Cobrathon from finishing them.

Their necks free--at least for now--the two men cry out for help.

* * *

Heverik hears the men. They're not far away at all, and seeing how he wandered toward a dead end, he can only head toward the cries for help or stay put.