Baragona

----> Come the morning, the group awakens to loganberry pancakes and milk. Uther is outside on the porch with his hound, Gerald. Uther is rocking in his chair and smoking his pipe, blowing smoke rings at the air. Tilwic is washing his face in the well in the corner of the clearing.

----> Once breakfast has been scarfed and everyone has had their turn at the well, Uther leads the group through the jungle back to the clearing and the seaside cliff. A dozen or so small, stripe-tailed monkeys shadow the group. Following him down the cliff trail, the party makes small talk.
----> Midway down the rocky path, Uther halts and begins making odd, chirping calls up at the jungle's trees. Some of the monkeys appear very close by, cocking their heads at the sound. "Mumunaka," Uther yells to them. "Mumunaka lopupu!"
----> The strange looks he receives from the group make him erupt with laughter. The twinkle returns to his eyes as he guffaws and then turns back down the trail and continues.

----> At the bottom of the cliff is a secluded beach. A large cavernous opening in the cliff's face hides two boats; one is a large pontoon-type boat and, the other, a smaller rowing boat. Uther gives the group the pontoon-boat, with flat deck and twin pontoons that extend three feet passed its deck. Six large oars are also given for the boat's propellant.
----> A large sack suddenly falls from the trees overhead. Looking up, the group sees the stripe-tailed monkeys jumping about the branches of an overhanging tree. When the sack hits the beach, it bursts open and spills many large fruits and nuts. Mostly, it is filled with the yellow gourd-like fruit that seems prevalent here.
----> "Lopupu! Minyabi, minyabi!" Uther yells to the chattering monkeys, nodding his head and laughing. Turning back to the party, he goes on. "My friends want you to have some food to take with you," Uther states, picking up and handing the sack to Conner. Wasting no time, Conner smiles and grabs a ripe gourd which he devours in a fit of juice and drool.

----> After thanking Uther (some thanking him more begrudgingly than others), the group, Tilwic included, pushes off toward Baragona.

----> The island, no longer clouded in foggy mists on this clear and blue-skied day, is very close. Grant's face turns several shades of green during the journey; Tharg and Conner take turns making fun of him by making vomitous sounds and pointing and laughing. The oceanic voyage lasts only a few hours, the group allows the pontoon-boat to drift most of the way there.
----> Once near the island, it is obvious that there isn't much on this tiny chunk of rock. The temple is the main landmark, lying only a short trek into the jungle. As the group lands, a small gathering of small, gray-haired monkeys can be seen picking food from a small clearing that marks the coastline. At least two dozen of the pink-faced simians are present, some carrying young on their backs. As the boat approaches, some of them begin screaming frantically and warn the others that potential dangers have arrived. They scatter, leaving their meals to the seabirds to scavenge, and watch the group from the trees.
----> The boat beaches itself on the rocky shoreline. Not much of a beach, this area is mostly exposed reef with little or no sand or shells. The only shells here, in fact, are the empty husks of the crabs and crustaceans the monkeys were cracking open and eating.

----> Grant is the first one off the boat. His feet wobble about and he slips several times as he makes his way as far from the water as possible. To his credit, he never once threw up or complained through the entire trip. He busies himself steadying his breathing as well as his stomach.
----> Tharg and Conner leap from the pontoon and follow Grant, still poking fun at the dwarf's sea sickness. Grant, without a word, promptly kicks Tharg in the knee and punches Conner in the stomach; the commotion sends a flock of the hungry seabirds to a panicked flight. They fall back a step, still laughing.
----> "Laugh it up, ya unsympathetic bastards," he mumbles. The barbarians continue to laugh at point at Grant. The color has finally returned the his bearded face.

----> Alasdair helps Alliandra from the pontoon. They look about the beach, taking in their environment. The monkeys continue to watch the curious spectacle from the trees. One brave monkey chases off the seabirds to retrieve a few dead crabs before returning to the safety of the jungle.

----> Tilwic dexterously twirls a dagger between each finger of his right hand. He also peers about the terrain as he does so and walks through the group of seabirds toward the jungle's perimeter. The birds flee at his approach, but remain nearby and wait for him to leave their seafood banquet. Tilwic's black hair blends in with his black robes so that its end and the robe's beginning cannot be discerned. He drops to one knee and looks at the dead crustaceans.
----> "Some of the Marryk survived," he states confidently.
----> "How do you know?" a doubting Alasdair asks.
----> Tilwic stops twirling. "Some of these carcinus libinia have been freshly spear-pierced," comes the evidence.
----> "Car-sin libby-wha?" Tharg looks at Conner for an explanation. Dual shrugging of shoulders ends the confusion.
----> "Could have been our boys, Cain or Johnny," the bard offers.
----> "Doubtful," Tilwic sticks to his original deduction, again spinning the silver-handled dagger over and over in his hand. "These spears were three-pronged, characteristic of the Marryk fishermen."
----> The group nods their heads. It seems the Taer is encyclopedic and very well schooled, not to mention skilled with his daggers.
----> "My mission takes me to the temple," he goes on to state. "You contracted to retrieve the hydrangea sempervirens for the Jalbeorne." When he says Uther's last name, he does so with heavy accent. "If there are any surviving members of the Marryk reconnaissance team, I'm sure I will find them inside Baragon. I submit to you that your targets will be keeping shelter there as well. I suggest we make haste for the temple."

----> There are no visible trails leading onward through the jungle. There is only the temple, peeking above the treetops, to use as a guide. There is also a small outcropping of coral here, standing nearly fifteen feet high, that hides a small cave from the ocean's erosion. Beyond the cave, a small stretch of wet, rocky trail parallels the water's edge. The skies are clear and the sun is high in the bright, blue skies. The only sounds are the chirps and squawks of the Baragona jungle, the waves rushing in and out of the craggy shoreline, and the hungry seabirds, their courage growing directly proportionate to their hunger.