Log the Twenty-sixth
Once again, I have underestimated the resolve of our great and mighty captain! While us uninformed sluggards were content to await the dawn, the captain saw this as the opportunity to further explore the island and to work towards our ultimate goal; the death of Black Jenny!
As we were kicking the body of the dirty doctor zaius off of his perch, little Anna and the captain start questioning the remaining human servant. Although she was overwhelmed by the captain's presence, she did manage to say that the damned ape used to go into the mines with sacks full of ill gotten goods and return empty handed. It would seem that we will not need the blessing of Harrimast to discover the sluggard's secret after all!
The entrance to this mine was atop a series of bamboo scaffolding. Why there was not a single ladder up to the top is beyond my comprehension. It seems that the apes enjoy making the humans climb a small ladder and then run across the entire cliff face before climbing another ladder to the next level. It is almost like they have devised this as some sort of game.
As we stepped upon the scaffolding, we discovered that not all of the apes were smart enough to have run away from our little pyrotechnics display. A single ape stood atop the scaffolding, holding two barrels. With a roar he let one of the barrels loose and it started rolling it's way along the scaffolding, dropping down the ladders as it went. Kemby must have had some sort of flash back to his youth for he immediately started running along the scaffolding, attempting to jump over these barrels. The captain and I took the more pragmatic approach and took to the sky with the aid of some magic. Little Anna seems to have some spider blood in her, for she and her mutt simply started running up the side of the cliff. The damn dirty ape had yet another trick under it's hat. For as the captain and I swooped in for the battle, the ape hurled a flaming barrel of pitch towards us. We were singed, but that did not stop me from landing beside the beast and lay my steel into his guts. Sadly, all of the fur that I was cutting off of the beast created a cloud that was too thick for me to see through, so I was forced to retreat. And by this time Kemby and little Anna had finally made their way up to the top of the scaffolding, so I took a moment to catch my breath and allowed them to finish off the foul creature.
After a short rest, we followed the tunnel into the cave. In no time we arrived at a sturdy elevator that descended down into what must be the apes mines. We lowered ourselves down and started to explore the various tunnels that stretched before us. It took some exploring and a close call or two, but eventually we were crawling down a steep incline towards a large loading chamber. The incline ran through a volcanic fissure filled with far too many sharp edges for my liking.
Little Anna was leading the way and must have been lulled to sleep by the monotony of the journey, for she walked right into the arms of a number of the damn apes. They had already knocked her off of that damn dog before we could get close enough to help. Lucky and Kemby weaved and hacked their way through the dumb beasts while the captain was responsible for the stench of much burnt monkey flesh. Within seconds they saw the error of their ways and scattered into the tunnels before us. We were almost ready to sound our victory cheer, when the captain warned us to more apes approaching behind us. We sealed off the entrance as well as possible and looked about at our options.
We stood in what must have been the off loading room for the miners. A number of tunnels stretched out before us, each one complete with a mine car and set of tracks. One of the tunnels had been closed off with a set of crossed red beams. With nary a second (or first) thought Lucky and Kemby pushed a mine cart into the closed tunnel and hopped aboard. The captain and I procured a second cart and followed after them. Little Anna chose to avoid this and had her dog run the rails after us. Within seconds it was obvious that we were not in control of this metal steed. The brake seemed rusted open, for no matter how much we leaned upon it, it would not slow us down. The captain and I were barely able to hang on as the carts plunged into the darkness, with only Lucky's occasional cry of "right" or "left" alerting us enough to throw ourselves to one side and lean into the precarious turns.
As we rolled along, we could hear the sounds of apes and other carts from all around us. When we burst into a huge open cave, we could see a second track off to the side and a cart full of apes keeping pace with us. As they attempted to leap into our carts our bows sang their deadly song and the apes all fell into the darkness below us. Another 2 carts soon appeared beside us, as well as a third that came screaming up behind us. These apes had come equipped for the fight and arrows started to rain down upon us. As we returned fire the cavern that we were riding through came to an end and the tracks extended out across a lake of lava! Seeing a fiery death below us must have given him some motivation, for I have never seen Lucky lift one of those apes before. But, I am much thankful that it was the ape that plummeted to the boiling lake below instead of our beloved first mate. I'm still not sure what magics he used, but the captain was able to cause the cart behind us to lose a wheel, fly off the tracks and flutter into the lava below us.
Though there was a lull in the battle, we could here more carts coming towards us and see their cowardly eyes off in the distance. It was then that the tracks split again, with one branch heading into a cavern where the entrance was marked by another set of crossed, red beams. Lucky leaned into the curve and crashed through the beams. The captain and I were close behind. It was strange to hear the panicked cries of the apes at that point, which is perhaps why Lucky was so quick to spot the danger. As we looked ahead we could see the glow that would indicate the next chamber extended over the lava lake. We could also see that the tracks ahead were broken and were hanging in the air, point down towards the lava. Lucky's cry to abandon ship was heard loud and clear by us all and we quickly went over the sides of the carts. Harrimast must have been watching us at that point, for some fancy foot work from us all managed to keep us all standing and uninjured. It also gave us a great vantage point from which to watch the mine carts hurtle off of the tracks and float gently through the air before disappearing below the waves of lava.
We seem to have lost our pursuers, but we had no idea of where we were.
And even worse! We would now have to walk everywhere!
Jee-to, Quartermaster, Lady's Favour
As we were kicking the body of the dirty doctor zaius off of his perch, little Anna and the captain start questioning the remaining human servant. Although she was overwhelmed by the captain's presence, she did manage to say that the damned ape used to go into the mines with sacks full of ill gotten goods and return empty handed. It would seem that we will not need the blessing of Harrimast to discover the sluggard's secret after all!
The entrance to this mine was atop a series of bamboo scaffolding. Why there was not a single ladder up to the top is beyond my comprehension. It seems that the apes enjoy making the humans climb a small ladder and then run across the entire cliff face before climbing another ladder to the next level. It is almost like they have devised this as some sort of game.
As we stepped upon the scaffolding, we discovered that not all of the apes were smart enough to have run away from our little pyrotechnics display. A single ape stood atop the scaffolding, holding two barrels. With a roar he let one of the barrels loose and it started rolling it's way along the scaffolding, dropping down the ladders as it went. Kemby must have had some sort of flash back to his youth for he immediately started running along the scaffolding, attempting to jump over these barrels. The captain and I took the more pragmatic approach and took to the sky with the aid of some magic. Little Anna seems to have some spider blood in her, for she and her mutt simply started running up the side of the cliff. The damn dirty ape had yet another trick under it's hat. For as the captain and I swooped in for the battle, the ape hurled a flaming barrel of pitch towards us. We were singed, but that did not stop me from landing beside the beast and lay my steel into his guts. Sadly, all of the fur that I was cutting off of the beast created a cloud that was too thick for me to see through, so I was forced to retreat. And by this time Kemby and little Anna had finally made their way up to the top of the scaffolding, so I took a moment to catch my breath and allowed them to finish off the foul creature.
After a short rest, we followed the tunnel into the cave. In no time we arrived at a sturdy elevator that descended down into what must be the apes mines. We lowered ourselves down and started to explore the various tunnels that stretched before us. It took some exploring and a close call or two, but eventually we were crawling down a steep incline towards a large loading chamber. The incline ran through a volcanic fissure filled with far too many sharp edges for my liking.
Little Anna was leading the way and must have been lulled to sleep by the monotony of the journey, for she walked right into the arms of a number of the damn apes. They had already knocked her off of that damn dog before we could get close enough to help. Lucky and Kemby weaved and hacked their way through the dumb beasts while the captain was responsible for the stench of much burnt monkey flesh. Within seconds they saw the error of their ways and scattered into the tunnels before us. We were almost ready to sound our victory cheer, when the captain warned us to more apes approaching behind us. We sealed off the entrance as well as possible and looked about at our options.
We stood in what must have been the off loading room for the miners. A number of tunnels stretched out before us, each one complete with a mine car and set of tracks. One of the tunnels had been closed off with a set of crossed red beams. With nary a second (or first) thought Lucky and Kemby pushed a mine cart into the closed tunnel and hopped aboard. The captain and I procured a second cart and followed after them. Little Anna chose to avoid this and had her dog run the rails after us. Within seconds it was obvious that we were not in control of this metal steed. The brake seemed rusted open, for no matter how much we leaned upon it, it would not slow us down. The captain and I were barely able to hang on as the carts plunged into the darkness, with only Lucky's occasional cry of "right" or "left" alerting us enough to throw ourselves to one side and lean into the precarious turns.
As we rolled along, we could hear the sounds of apes and other carts from all around us. When we burst into a huge open cave, we could see a second track off to the side and a cart full of apes keeping pace with us. As they attempted to leap into our carts our bows sang their deadly song and the apes all fell into the darkness below us. Another 2 carts soon appeared beside us, as well as a third that came screaming up behind us. These apes had come equipped for the fight and arrows started to rain down upon us. As we returned fire the cavern that we were riding through came to an end and the tracks extended out across a lake of lava! Seeing a fiery death below us must have given him some motivation, for I have never seen Lucky lift one of those apes before. But, I am much thankful that it was the ape that plummeted to the boiling lake below instead of our beloved first mate. I'm still not sure what magics he used, but the captain was able to cause the cart behind us to lose a wheel, fly off the tracks and flutter into the lava below us.
Though there was a lull in the battle, we could here more carts coming towards us and see their cowardly eyes off in the distance. It was then that the tracks split again, with one branch heading into a cavern where the entrance was marked by another set of crossed, red beams. Lucky leaned into the curve and crashed through the beams. The captain and I were close behind. It was strange to hear the panicked cries of the apes at that point, which is perhaps why Lucky was so quick to spot the danger. As we looked ahead we could see the glow that would indicate the next chamber extended over the lava lake. We could also see that the tracks ahead were broken and were hanging in the air, point down towards the lava. Lucky's cry to abandon ship was heard loud and clear by us all and we quickly went over the sides of the carts. Harrimast must have been watching us at that point, for some fancy foot work from us all managed to keep us all standing and uninjured. It also gave us a great vantage point from which to watch the mine carts hurtle off of the tracks and float gently through the air before disappearing below the waves of lava.
We seem to have lost our pursuers, but we had no idea of where we were.
And even worse! We would now have to walk everywhere!
Jee-to, Quartermaster, Lady's Favour
posted by groodude | 3:12 p.m.
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