The Endless Hunt: Season 2, An Explosive Island

[Legendary Sidekick]

Welcome to Roku-Roku Island!

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The Bounties​

1. 
   [*=left]Captain One-Eared Jack: wanted for kidnapping passengers from a pleasure cruise ship after it had already survived a pirate attack!
   REWARD
   CAPTURED: 5,000k
   KILLED: 2,000k
   `
   [*=left]Jack's Buccaneers: to be killed on sight. Each wears a tusk on his right ear. Turn in the tusk earrings to confirm a kill.
   REWARD
   CAPTURED: nothing - kill him!
   KILLED: 500k (Greymoore @ 3; Sigrelyn @ 5; Heverik @ 2, sort of)
   `
   [*=left]Wilhelmina Pinkletoes: dancing bear that escaped from the pleasure cruise ship. Must be taken alive!
   REWARD
   CAPTURED: over 9,000k (Reaver)
   KILLED: you owe 100,000k
   `
   [*=left]The Love Boat? Passengers: 10 female, 29 male, all still alive according to Captain Goldenrod, who escaped Cap'n Jack's men.
   REWARD
   MEN RESCUED: 500k
   WOMEN RESCUED: 1,500k (Greymoore @ 3; Sigrelyn @ 7)
   
   NOTE: The mother if one particular girl is offering a very generous reward. Oddly, she did not offer any information that would aid hunters in identifying her daughter. Instead, she decided to add to the reward if any female passenger is rescued.
   `
2. The Red-Maned Liger: Due to over population, the Roku-Roku are asking hunters to do what we feel is safest for the tourists.
   REWARD
   CAPTURED: 4,000k
   KILLED: 8,000k
   `
3. Demon Stones: Fireballs are being hurled into the wilderness! Any hunter who survives this attack will be rewarded for delivering a demon stone to Hanna's Tavern.
   REWARD
   DELIVER A DEMON STONE: 6,000k (Manimus @ 1)
   `
4. Cobrathon: The Great Snake Chase is on! Kill as many giant snakes as you can! Your reward is based on the combined length of all snakes killed, but Cobrathons under 6'6" are not counted.
   REWARD
   FIRST HUNTER TO REACH 6'6": 700k (Greymoore @ 9')
   FIRST HUNTER TO REACH 10': 1,000k (Sigrelyn @ 15')
   FIRST HUNTER TO REACH 25': 2,500k (Sigrelyn @ 55')
   FIRST HUNTER TO REACH 50': 5,000k (Sigrelyn @ 55')
   FIRST HUNTER TO REACH 66'6": 10,000k (Sigrelyn & Heverik @ 86'7")
   
   NOTE: A tourist claims to have spotted a King Cobrathon approximately thirty feet long. Any hunter who manages to kill this beast should drag its corpse to Bear Bottom Beach (Area 1).
   ~Heather, Roku-Roku Lifeguard on Duty

(Credit: weapons by Capcom, illustrations by "Bobo")


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Weapons for Sale
Rose, the Red Ranger has decided that she no longer has any use for her dual blades, so she is allowing me to sell them to any interested hunter who successfully slays a red-maned liger!

Rose and the other ladies of the Roku-Roku tribe are now the proud owners of some brand new weapons. My big brother Bobo the Great Grandmaster Smith always builds a prototype of any weapon he gives to the rangers. I am happy to report that my brother tested all of the prototypes, and found no need to make any changes.

In other words, these weapons are just as good as the ones he gave to the rangers, and only slightly used! The names of the weapons are shown beneath Bobo's sketches. The "price" for each weapon is in black.

Come to Hanna's Tavern if you are interested in these weapons.

~Hanna

P.S.- We also sell torches and climbing gear.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Captain Bob "The Chin" Goldenrod

"Blast!" The Captain stood firm with a white-knuckle grip on the helm asking himself, "Why in the name of all things holy did I ever agree to this? A war hero shouldn't waste his last years at sea chauffeuring rich and shameless youths so they can intoxicate themselves and... well... I don't even want to think of what goes on in the lower decks.

"How about you, Reaver? You're still young. But the lads outnumber the lasses three-to-one. With odds like that, what kind of a man would even consider... er... Reaver?"

The Captain sighed, "Must be on patrol again. So then I was only talking to..." The Captain suddenly clammed up.


(Reaver, have REAVER patrol the ship. He does not see any threats yet.

You may choose to have MANIMUS explore the upper deck.

Neither character has access to the lowest deck.)

 

[Reaver]

The Love Boat?

I must've been completely off my cracker to have agreed to take this assignment. There's absolutely no chance of any real danger threatening this old ship. I'm not even sure who it is I'm supposed to be protecting.

My employer simply handed me a large bag overflowing with gold argents and said: "Keep an eye on my little girl."
I looked into the bag, trying not to squeal like a teenaged girl. Then I asked: "What's her name? What does she look like? What cabin is she staying in?"

My employer shrugged and replied: "Well, er...you see, I've never actually met her."

"What?" I asked, incredulous. "How's that even possible? You're her mother!"

"Well, I mean, sure, I gave birth to her,"the girl's mother replied, a guilty look on her refined face, "But I didn't raise her. That's what nursemaids and the rest of my husband's staff were for. I mean, by Bouldergut's Hammer, breastfeeding? Changing diapers? Teaching them things? Ughhh!"

I didn't even bother responding to that. I simply grabbed my duffel bag and boarded the ship.

Even though the Captain and I go way back, and were quite good friends, I was still pleasantly surprised at how nice my stateroom was. After unpacking and safely stowing my gold, I donned my weapons, specialized armor, my travelling clothes and cloak.

From that point on I began patrolling the ship, keeping an eye out for trouble. I have to say that I'm very troubled by the male to female ratio. I expect a fight to break out any minute. Well, no matter. If something happens, I'm ready.

And now, as I look around, the only real threat I can see is Ultimus Manimus, the famed gladiator. He arrived just before the ship got underway: his large retinue of beautiful women in tow, fawning over him like he was Adonai's gift.

He seemed completely indifferent to them, however they all packed themselves into his cabin, the largest on the ship, and have yet to come out.

It's nice to be out to sea again. The fresh salt air is cool, taking the bite out this hot, sunny day.

As I walk onto the main deck, I'm quite taken aback to see Manimus, clad in frightenly tight shorts and shirt, leading a large group of young men in some odd form of exercise.

All the girls are by the bar...looking bored and drinking heavily.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

???

Manimus
"Hey, Underpants! Back away from the ladies so we can tie 'em up alive. They make better hostages that way," says a man with a patch on his right eye.

"No, no... stand where y'are, Muscles," says a man with a peg where his left leg should be. "I'm not convinced a knot could hold ya."

Eyepatch sneers, "You and Mr. Armed Guard can both forget about being taken alive."

Pegleg laughs, "Are you ready to take on an army?"


Twenty more pirates are about to board The Love Boat?, but a large wave forces them to hang onto their planks for cover.


(Eyepatch and Pegleg are the only two pirates on board at the moment. Both are carrying swords in their right hands.

REAVER and MANIMUS have time to:

• speak one line of dialogue each
  AND
• move toward the pirates or the ladies
  AND
• make one attack move each, if near the pirates
  OR
• find something that can help with attack/defense at the bar, if near the ladies)

 

[Reaver]

Reaver

Well, now. What have we here? Some sort of pirates? At last! A little bit of excitement in an otherwise mundane assignment. Someone up there is smiling down upon me. Perhaps I should try to communicate with them:
"You there! Drop your weapons and I'll spare your lives!"

No response, other than stupid looks at one another.

Oh well, more's the pity. I move toward them with my usual speed and agility, drawing my runic blades from their scabbards. Methinks they weren't expecting someone like me to be aboard this "pleasure cruise".

They never do.

"Manimus!" I say as calmly as I ever could, "Quit wasting time with those two idiots and protect the women!"

The gladiator nods and grabs the two buccaneers by their heads, smashing them together before trotting over to the bar.

 

[Reaver]

Manimus

My name is Ultimus Manimus and I am a slave.

To fashion!

I mean, have you seen all the trends I've started? It's not easy being a paragon of war, physical fitness and fashion..all that makes a REAL man a REAL man. What can I say? The men hate me because the women love me. I mean, sure, women are no good for doing my workout routine, but they're great for lots of other things. You know what I mean.

So I end up with a week's "vacation" on this cruise ship because I won it as a prize in my last match. Some prize. This place is a total sausage festival. No, I mean that literally. Have you been to the buffet? It's fabulous!

Not long after I got on board with my ladies, we immediately got to my stateroom and got-it-on. You know what I'm sayin'? Oh yeah. Then it took us like...forever to get my hair and face design just so. No! It's not make-up, smart guy.

It's a cover-up to hide a blemish. Yes. I know, I know. It's hard to believe that someone as perfect as me has any imperfections at all...but I do. Adonai help me, I do.

I was totally bored now, so I decided to put on my workout clothes and get my swoll on. I told the girls to stay in the cabin. Let's face it, I wore 'em out. They could barely stand, let alone walk. Pretty easy for a man like me.

After I got up to the top deck, I saw a bunch of dudes talking to these girls, trying to get in their pants, of course. But the second those lovely ladies saw me, it was over.

The guys were naturally jealous, of course. They were all like: "Aww...Manimus. We're totally jealous.
You're like the sexiest guy ever. We don't have a chance with these chicks now that you're here. Can we like, work out with you? Please? We all want to be as hot as you."

I was like: "Whatever, dudes. If you think you can hang with the Ultimus. Who wants to hold my feet while I do my warm up stretches?"

We were only a few minutes into my patented Freakin' Ultimate Dude Gladiator Exercise for Professional Army Cadet Knights Expecting Results, when some weird looking dudes wearing absolutely crusty-looking pirate clothes (I know! Can you believe it?) crawled over the railing and started barking orders at me.

Then I saw my old friend Reaver. He told me to quit messing with the pirates and protect the ladies. So I smashed their heads together and ran over to the bar.

Reaver was all like: "Right on, Manimus! You kick ass, dude!"

I was like: "Thanks."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Pirates x 20

Reaver

(You are now positioned by the plank where pirates are boarding the ship. It's wide enough for three men to approach you at once. From above the banister, they have the advantage of higher ground. On the plank, you're eye-to-eye, and their approach is slower. By the bar, you have Manimus, but pirates would have time to group together if you bring the fight back there.

You can:

1. Stay by the plank.
2. Get on the plank.
3. Head to the bar.

In addition to telling me your position, state your next action: fight or talk.)

 

[Reaver]

REAVER


I laughed with glee as the pirate's heads exploded into a shower of blood, skull fragments and brain matter after Manimus slammed their heads together. However, my bliss was short-lived the moment I had to turn my attention back to their fellow privateers.

I decided to step onto the plank, thus giving them a good look at what they faced should they decide to continue with their foolish pursuit. As much as I would relish slicing these poorly organized fools to ribbons, I thought it might be best to at least try to appeal to their limited sense of reason:
"Who is master among you fine men?"

"Who are ye' ta be askin' who are cap'n be?" one of the dregs queried. He appeared to be better dressed than the others and a bit cleaner...less stricken with scurvy.

It was painfully obvious that this moron was their leader. No matter what they chose, his head was going to be my trophy.
I hate it when people answer my questions with a question.

"Why, I'm Reaver, of course."

There was a chorus of loud whispering and harumphing as the motley crew talked among themselves.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Pirates x 20, 19, 18...

Reaver

(The pirates don't stay in a huddle for long. Two men move in front of the leader, so their heads are the first to fly.

Only the leader has any real skill. You're too quick on the draw for most men, and on this narrow an area, there's no room for untrained fighters to flank you. You might be capable of taking out all twenty men, who move predictably in the hopes of overwhelming you with sheer numbers... or maybe they would succeed in the end. You never get the chance to find out.

About halfway into the battle, a powerful wave causes the plank to shift. You barely stumble, but in that brief moment of lost balance, the peg-legged leader tumbles into you, knocking you overboard.)



Manimus

"Manimus!" shouts a scantily-robed woman with her limbs wrapped around her musclebound protector. "Do you think the bodyguard can swim?"

"Not with all that armor on," says a small man ducking behind the bar. "Looks like he's going to drown and we're going to surrender."

"That's awful," cries the woman. "Oh, Manimus... if only the bodyguard were as manly as you, he could swim all the way to Roku-Roku Island with his heavy swords and everything!"

"Not without a floatation device!" the little man insists, handing Manimus two wooden barstools.


(MANIMUS has obtained 2 Wooden Barstools.)

 

[Reaver]

MANIMUS-

So I'm like standing by the bar and the chicks are totally hangin' all over me, which is like totally cool and all, but I'm like: "Oh no! My buddy Reaver just fell off the boat!"

Everyone was all like: "Oh No! Manimus! You gotta save that dude, or something."

I was all: "No doi, people. Chill out. I got this under control. Hey you, the little dweeb behind the bar, hand me those barstools before I cram 'em in your cram hole."

The little dweeb was like: "Yes, sir! Here you are, sir. Thank you for speaking to me."

I totally ignored the dude and took the stools from him. I set 'em down and made out with this super-hot babe who was hangin' all over me. But I had to stop before my friend Reaver drowned like a pair of dirty jeans in the wash.

"Sorry babe," I said to the totally hot babe, "I have to save my friend Reaver before he drowns like a pair of dirty jeans...in the wash."

The babe was all like: "Oh, Manimus. You're so awesome. Reaver is so lucky to have a friend like you."

I was like: "Yeah. I know."

Then I went over to where Reaver took the header and looked down. He was splashing and kicking, trying to keep his head above water. He said something like: "Oh, thank Adonai for you, Manimus! You're the greatest man who ever lived!"

I was like: "Yeah. Thanks. Tell me something I don't know."

Then I threw the two barstools into the water right next to him. Those bastard pirates were going to pay for tossing my buddy Reaver into the drink. I ran onto their ship and began ripping off their arms, legs and heads.

When I was finished, I noticed that Reaver still needed help staying afloat.

He was all like: "Help me, Manimus! I still need help staying afloat!"

I dove into the water to give him a hand.

 

[Reaver]

REAVER-

As I expected, those idiotic pirates made the wrong choice and decided to go on the offensive. My runic blades quickly dispatched the first two, sending their heads tumbling through the air. The surprised look on their faces as they cascaded down into the crystal blue water was priceless.

Much to my disappointment, I was only able to dispatch a baker's dozen before the unpredictable sea swelled violently, causing the pirate ship to lurch suddenly. The peg-legged captain gave an odd yelping sound as he stumbled forward and collided with me, his ungainly mass knocking me overboard.

Fortunately, my martial-arts training allowed me land in the warm, clear sea somewhat gracefully; and once I gained the surface, I quickly stowed my runic blades in their scabbards. Despite my skill as a swimmer, my armor had soaked up quite a bit of the salty liquid and had increased in weight significantly, making it incredibly difficult to stay buoyant.

As I struggeld to tread water, I heard a great commotion coming from the ships above. I barely had time to process what was happening when I was nearly knocked unconscious by two wooden barstools that someone had tossed at me.

At first I thought it might have been one of the pirates who'd thrown them, a vain attempt at retribution for the bloodbath I'd unleashed upon his shipmates. But just then, the gladiator Manimus looked down at me and smiled; giving me a thumb's up before he leapt onto the pirate ship with a scream the likes of which I'd never heard.

I took hold of the two barstools, pulling them close to me. They made excellent flotation devices, allowing me to rest my burning muscles. The sound of snapping bones and screaming pirates rained down from above for several minutes before it finally stopped.

Then, much to my horror, Manimus stepped to the edge of the pirate ship and made several dramatic poses as if he were preparing to dive in to save me.

"No!" I yelled at the fool, "Manimus! Go and get a rope! Don't dive in!"

But my words fell on deaf ears. With a grace that belied the gladiator's massive size, Manimus dove in.

Now what were we going to do?

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

(MANIMUS and REAVER see smoke coming up from the horizon.

Too far from the drifting ships to expect a rescue, they swim toward the smoke, hoping land is not too far away...



ISLAND MAP: AREAS 1 & 2 UNLOCKED



To be continued on Leap Day...)

 

[Reaver]

REAVER-

With the warm, fast moving undercurrent pulling me toward the not too distant shore and no hope of returning to the ship because the idiot gladiator had jumped into the water, there was no choice but to quite literally "go with the flow". In retrospect, this was quite fortuitous, because I yearned for the excitement of the unknown adventures that lay ahead.

As I kicked toward shore using the barstools that Manimus had nearly taken my head off with, I tried not to laugh as he dog-paddled next to me, sputtering and whining in the gently bobbing water. At one point I offered him one of the stools, but he flatly refused, stating that he was just fine.

It took us about twenty minutes to reach the shore. Had I not had to drag Manimus' flailing, spasming bulk the last thirty feet, it would've taken half that time. Once his feet touched the sand, he prostrated himself, kissing it and thanking Adonai with a loud, tearful prayer for giving him the strength to rescue me.

Directly in front of us was a large, dense-looking jungle, comprised of very tall, coconut-laden palm trees and berry-filled shrubs. I immediately recognized them: baneberries. Very sweet, semi-toxic fruit that caused mild hallucinations in anyone who ate them.

I also noticed a large plume of smoke rising up from the other side. The possibilty of fire meant someone-or something awaited us there. But that didn't seem all that important to me at that particular moment.

"Manimus," I said, trying not to laugh, "You look absolutely famished. Have some of those berries. They're delicious."

The gladiator didn't even hesitate. He dashed toward the closest bush and started wolfing them down by the handful.

"By the Android's Shining Red Feather," he exclaimed with a berry-stained smile, "These are absolutely divine!"


Within minutes, the gladiator stopped his feasting and dropped his arms to his sides, staring blankly at something that only he could see. "Woah," he said in quiet wonderment, "I can't believe it!"

"What is it?" I asked, unable to stifle a chuckle.

"The Unicorn King," Manimus replied matter-of-factly. "He's glorious."

Before I could respond, the muscle-bound fool darted into the jungle. I cursed myself for having such a dark sense of humor.

 

[Reaver]

MANIMUS-

So like, after I totally kicked those pirates' asses, Reaver was all like: "Save me Manimus! I can't swim!" And all the babes on the other boat were all like: "Yeah! Please save that poor old dude! He's like drowning and stuff!"

So I was like: "Okay." And I dove in the water next to him. When I got to the surface, Reaver was all like: "Oh, thank you, Manimus! I was like, totally going to drown. Even with this barstools I can't, like, stay afloat."

I was like: "It's okay, dude. Relax. I'm going to get us to shore."

Reaver was all like: "Cool! Can I like, hang onto you? You're like the strongest man in the world and like, you can totally pull the ship if you wanted to, so I know that it won't be a problem for you to pull me to shore."

I was like: "Whatever, dude. Let's go."

So I grabbed ahold of Reaver and I pulled him to shore. The whole time he's all whining and stuff. Thankfully it only took us like two minutes to get there. When we got there, Reaver was all crying and kissing the ground and stuff. It was really pathetic, but hey...I didn't say anything because I didn't want to hurt his feelings.

There was like, a huge jungle with like tall trees and bushes in front of us and Reaver was all like: "Those bushes have berries on them! Ohhh...I'm like starving but I don't know anything about wilderness survival. Can we like, eat those?"

I'm like: "Doi...of course we can, dude. Haven't you ever seen island blueberries before? But, like, let me eat some first to make sure they're ripe. You can like get totally sick if you eat ones that aren't ripe."

Then, like...I ate some, but like...there must've been some sort of weird magic spell on that island 'cuz I don't remember anything after that...

 

[Ravana]

Back on the ship, the captain hears a knock on his cabin door, followed by a firm female voice saying "It's safe to come out now. The ship's been cleared of pirates."

The door cracks open, and the aged captain peeks out. "You've chased them all off my ship?"

"No. The others took care of that, mostly, before diving over the side for some reason or other."

"What about the ones who didn't board?"

"Those are the ones I took care of."

The captain goggles, but this is sufficient to draw him forth—if for no other reason than to see if it was true. Though he hardly doubts it. Sure enough, the deck of the pirate ship appears abandoned.…

"Do you have enough men to put a prize crew across? I think we should get to that island… some of your passengers were last seen swimming that way. As are some of the pirates. I'd prefer to take your ship in, if possible: it would involve less time."

"Time? For…?"

She rolls her eyes, nods at her companion, who is gazing distractedly over the rail at various bodies struggling through the surf under burdens ranging from inappropriate bathing attire to gaping sword wounds. "Transferring cargo."

"Ah. I see. Uhm… my apologies, milady, but I have no charts for that shore, and I'll not be risking my ship nearer inland."

"Why not? If it runs up on something, you've got a spare." She levels an unsympathetic gaze at him, reminding him of the source of this windfall. "Or… you could take everyone else across to the other ship, and leave the prize crew on this vessel. I'm not particular." His crew, many of them assembling behind her, didn't seem enamored of either possibility.

"I don't mean to seem difficult, milady"—he truly didn't, under the circumstances—"but I doubt I could convince anybody to take either—"

"Sir," a bosun interrupts, seeking to forestall further incident. "I'd be willing to row these Highborn ashore in the launch, if it will help any."

The lady looks at him a long moment, then about at the clearly unenthusiastic crewmen. "Okay, fine," she mutters. "Send someone to our cabin to get the smaller black trunk. And only that one." Two crewmen scuttle off before they could even be pointed out. Then she strolls over to her companion, who had remained oblivious to the interchange, the bosun in tow. In a completely different tone, she says "Sorry, honey. Looks as though we're going to have to rough it."

"Oh Are we going to that spot over there?" he inquires.

"Yep," she chirps. Her attitude could not be more different from a moment before had she tried.

"Ah. Good. Looks marvelously entertaining. Many of our fellow passengers seem to think so, too, judging from their eagerness to reach it. Er… do we have to swim as well, or…?"

"No, this brave fellow is going to row us."

"In, ah… I'm not an expert in the arts of stowage, but I don't believe all our things are going to fit in that little craft he's preparing."

"Nope," she chirps again. "Coming, honey?"

"Of course, dear. I'd hardly leave you to face all those curious men alone. Wouldn't be fair."

"Nope," she chirps yet again.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"You betcha." She catches his arm and leads him toward the launch, into which a box the size of a coffin is being settled.

As the boat is lowered into the water, the man asks "By the way, is it customary for small islands to smoke so?"

"Nope."

"Well, I do hope the hunting is good, at any rate." Prince Heverik looks wistfully back at the ship that would bear the bulk of his traveling wardrobe off to points unknown.

"I think we can count on it," Baroness Sigrelyn replies.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Rose, the Red Flower Ranger

A young lady clothed mostly in flowers posts a sign near the entryway of Hanna's Tavern.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Tourists,

The map at the top of sign post #1 shows the areas in which you may travel freely. If you arrived by ship, you are now at the East side of AREA 2 (2E). Here you may find a dock, a tavern, and quaint village.

If you arrived by barstool, you would probably end up in the Southwest side of AREA 1 (1SW). But those reading this sign are better off walking there, taking the path from 2W to 1E. There are several huts and shops along the boardwalk in the center of the beach area (1C). This is a new development. The Roku-Roku apologize for not displaying this on our map.

Also, please ignore the bounties beneath the map. These are for hunters, who I assure you are more than capable of keeping that nasty Red-Maned Liger away from your loved ones.


OXOX,
Rose
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Rose turns to welcome... well, the Prince, officially... but she's more interested in the Baroness, whose eyes are glued to the bounty posts.

A kindred spirit, Rose asks herself, or does the lady prefer men over beasts?

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Lily, the Orange Flower Ranger

A young lady wearing warpaint and little else posts a sign along the newly developed boardwalk.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HELP WANTED: LIFE GUARD

The Roku-Roku are looking for a really muscular man to hang around the beach all day shirtless without getting sunburned.

Qualifications: has huge muscles, enjoys displaying them
Experience: swam a long distance without getting devoured by octopiranhas


Hugs, Kisses, and Oxen,
"Tiger" Lily
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


She leaves a spear and shield by the sign... just in case.

 

[Ravana]

SIGRELYN and HEVERIK

"Pinkletoes"? What kind of person would give a bear a name like that? Sigrelyn scowls at the notice. Well, it could be a family name, I suppose.… Shifting the weight of the bow-case on her shoulder slightly, she begins contemplating methods for capturing a bear without harming it.

"Dear? What's a liger?" Heverik had taken in the notices, without, so far as could be told, ever removing his eyes from the fascinating floral attire of their greeter.

"Something we aren't allowed to kill, honey." Which might complicate keeping the bear intact. The hunters I could just shoot, of course. But if the liger—whatever that is—comes after it… well, perhaps it would be better off returned to the ship after all.…

"Oh, phoo. Perhaps they have a pelt or two to sell, do you think?"

"I somehow doubt it. But I'm sure we can find someone"—she drawls out the word—"who would know."

"Ah. Indeed. Tell me, young lady," addressing the one presenting herself before him, "do you know if there is anyone who has any red-maned liger pelts available for sale? Ideally a half dozen or so, though I suppose two would do for a start… though I also suppose that would depend on how large a red-maned liger is. How large is a red-maned liger? And how do you get those flowers to remain there?"

Sigrelyn suppresses a snicker at the greeter's reaction to Heverik's clearly unexpected line of questioning. "Don't forget to ask her about the other thing, honey."

"Oh, of course! However could it have slipped my mind so rapidly?" Turning back to the native: "And might there be a strong pair of hands or two about who could retrieve the small black trunk" (behind him, the baroness gestures to indicate its true dimensions) "from the dockside?"

"And bring it.…" she prompts, sotto voce.

"…and bring it to… ah… is that quaint little building over there what passes for travelers' accommodations in this municipality?"

Without awaiting the reply, Sigrelyn hooks his left elbow with her right and directs their path toward the tavern. "Whether it is or not, the signs implies it serves drinks, at least. I'm sure our hostess will see to it that our possessions arrive in due course." The baroness cocks an eyebrow her way. "And I might have a few other questions for her myself, once she's thought of answers for yours."

As they wander off, he says: "So which of the targets do you intend us to pursue first?"

"I was thinking the pirates."

"Oh, you're so good to me! You knew I wanted some of those fascinating earrings the poster described. Do you know, I think this is likely the first time that young lady has ever seen a prince of the blood? How she goggled! I'm sure she never took her eyes from me once!" He adjusts the moleskin lapels of his organdy doublet. He really needed to have a word with his tailors about better methods of keeping the tails hanging correctly. Even with the bezels, they kept tangling. "We must keep an eye out for snakes, dear. You know how I feel about those. Do you suppose… if they call it a red-maned liger, there must be ligers with other colored manes as well, mustn't there? Or perhaps it's meant in contrast to some other part that's red.…"

Their conversation fades on the salt breeze.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Rose, the Red Flower Ranger

BARONESS SIGRELYN (and PRINCE HEVERIK)


"I knew you weren't an ordinary tourist. You are a Huntress! I saw it in your eyes...

"And if... your husband, I assume?

"Ah! Prince Heverik. Well, if he would like to have floral attire custom tailored for you, he should seek Ivy, our designer. You'll recognize her. She wears an outfit made of, well, ivy... leaves and clingy vines. The rest of us don't know how to put flowers on without her guidance, so she can never wear them.

"Of course... we would have to put the flowers on you. Not all of our visitors are comfortable with that, as it is a three hour process, thirty minutes of which involves the application of oils to your body that are necessary in order for you to remove the outfit easily when the flowers wilt.

"Such attire is advantageous to a Huntress as the fragrance does repel ligers, which makes travel in the wilderness considerably safer."

Rose hands a lei to the prince and the baroness.

"This will cause the liger to pause momentarily before it tries to bite your head off. For a skilled Huntress, this moment may present the opportunity to kill rather than be killed. For the unskilled, he would at least have time to quickly pray to his god or goddess of choice that he may receive a quick death.

"If you want a pelt, remove the liger's head! Just not on the beach, if you please. The tourists panic at the sight of a killing.

"The red-maned liger weighs half a ton and is twelve feet from head to hind. It is a striped wildcat much like the tigers from the continent, but stronger, with a kingly mane as red as blood.

"A magnificent beast! We try to show mercy and take them alive, but when their population becomes too great, it is necessary to thin the pride. Therefore, the reward for killing this beast will be greater than that for capturing.

"Ah... here is Lily with your belongings!"

The Prince notices Lily's attire consists of mostly paint, a liger hide bikini, and a single tiger lily in her hair. He doesn't notice she is easily lifting his trunk over hear head as his eyes aren't looking that high up.

"Have you any questions, Huntress--I mean, Baroness? Or... shall I see that Hanna serves your husband and yourself at once?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Susan, the Yellow Flower Ranger

At the cave entrance (Area 1-NE), a sign is being posted by a young lady with a black mask around her eyes and a hat which resembles a large acorn hat.


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Dear tourists,

The Roko-Roku Cave Walk is cancelled for the remainder of this moon. We apologize for the inconvenience.

"When Life Hands You a Coconut, Make Pina Colada"



Dear hunters,

Those with bad eyes are strongly advised to use a torch. They may be purchased in AREA 1-C.

"Seek and You Shall Find. Seek with a Torch and You Shall Find More"


Spiritually Yours,
Susan
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Susan enters the cave. A crash of breaking pottery can be heard, followed by a "Goddess dammit!"