On the Island: Ceremony and Escape

[bringmethatnpc]

The sound of thunder rumbles through the air, heralding an approaching storm--

--no, wait.

That's not thunder; that's the beating of drums.

It's a beautiful clear day on the island, just perfect for a ceremony and celebration, as the tribe prepares to send their chief to the gods.

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[bringmethatnpc]

This particular guard is bored.

He wants to be at the chief's godhood feast. That's where everyone else is. They're probably lighting the fire by now. But no, he had to step on a branch and startle the parrot they were hunting last week, so it flew away and now he's in disgrace, and now he has to guard the stupid prisoners to make sure they won't escape.

They're not going to escape. So he's missing the feast for no good reason.

Sullenly, he tramps across the rope bridge above the prisoner's cage-globes.

[turned_captain]

"Stop! Stop!" Will mutters hoarsely, waving everyone down, and looking up. The pirates all freeze, and wait for the guard to finish his patrol.

[bringmethatnpc]

"Shhhhhh," Leech hisses to the others in his cage, and motions them onward. Handhold by handhold, with agonizing slowness, they work their way past Will's cage.

They're not going to fall behind. Oh no.



There's a critical flaw in Leech's otherwise sound plan. And that flaw is this: it's possible to climb silently by feeling about for vines to grab, and it's possible to keep a constant eye on the guard patrolling the bridge while doing so. It is not, however, possible to keep a constant eye on the guard and meanwhile check that every vine you're grabbing is, in fact, a vine.

"SNAKE!" screams Leech, flinging the reptile away, and there's a confused and noisy flurry that ends with the cage dropping away from the cliff wall.

[bringmethatnpc]

Momentum is a harsh mistress.

So is gravity.

The cage swings nearly to the other side of the ravine, lifts, hesitates, and then drops in a whiplash rebound that snaps the rope binding it to the bridge. It plummets, pirates screaming all the way, to the river below.

Very, very far below.

[turned_captain]

And that attracts the guard's attention, who watches the cage o' pirates fall, then looks back up at the other cage o' pirates still mid-climb up the wall.

There's only one thing to do.

"Move!" Will commands, and his companions redouble their efforts, to get to the top before the guard can get help. It's not far to go, and they do eventually manage it, pulling the cage over the edge of the cliff.

Will has properly taken charge now.

"Cut it loose! Find a rock!"

[bringmethatnpc]

...Okay, maybe he's stuck on guard duty for a good reason.

But he's still not about to let himself get blamed for this disaster, too. Dropping his spear in the nearest patch of solid ground, the guard takes to his heels.

Minutes pass.

Valuable minutes. Time enough to get the cage over the top of the cliff, and make a good start on cutting the ropes. Very valuable minutes.

...And then the horde appears. Bristling with spears and facepaint and fury and, oh dear, that's just about the entire tribe right there, isn't it?

And they're really, really not happy to have their holy ceremony interrupted by escaping food stores.

[turned_captain]

Uh oh.

Will's first impulse is to yell run, but then he figures that pirates don't need to be told that. But then he realises that they probably dont' realsie how to run in a cage.

So he gives a different order.

"Roll the cage!"

That seems to work for a little bit, as the pirates rolls the cage like crazy away from the charging tribesmen, but it's not quite fast enough for Will, and they keep tripping on the bones.

Change of plan.

"Lift the cage! Hurry!"

[bringmethatnpc]

Gibbs throws himself into this now. Will does have a bit of the vision a leader might need, but these men will never truly listen to him. It takes an old salt of far too many years to make things happen.

"Come on lads! Lift it like a lady’s skirt!" Ah, the stories he could tell about such matters (some of them true). But not now. Now is the time for making good their escape.

[bringmethatnpc]

Some of the pirates give Gibbs curious looks. Others have already heard some of the stories. Some even know how to lift a lady's skirt.

After a second's fumbling, they manage to co-ordinate a group lifting with their lower legs sticking out of the bottom of the cage, and they run.

Until someone - and it certainly wasn't Marty - trips again and the ball goes rolling out of control again

[bringmethatnpc]

...Out of control and off a cliff. Luckily, the cliff overlooks the sea, and the sea is surprisingly soft and welcoming. The cage breaks apart, but the men do not.

Being well-trained men of the sea, all can swim, and Gibbs quickly get to the front of the pack.

"This way, lads!" Off in the distance is a familiar ship.

And as they swim, the natives unleash spears and arrows of outrageously poor aim.

[bringmethatnpc]

But running up behind them comes a young native boy, yelling as loud as he can manage.

The chief is running! About to get away! This is not supposed to happen.

With an angry roar, the native hordes turn around and begin the rush back to the camp.