Today’s snippet, titled “Reflections – Aerys #1”, is a piece I wrote about the Pathfinder campaign I’m running – “The Serpent’s Skull”.
      Be forewarned, there may be mature themes and naughty language below.
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      Aerys had gotten used to the constant noise of the island. Mostly. She hardly noticed the crashing of the waves, the endless buzz of insects, the screech of monkeys and the chattering of the beautiful, rainbow-plumed island birds. The voices of her fellow survivors was mostly resigned to a low drone in the distance.
      She focused her entire being on her Abendego Cantos. Fortunately, the nameless hero who had dragged their gear ashore had managed to rescue her ink and quills, the water-tight tube containing her precious epic poem, and her favorite tricorn hat. The perfect snow white feather that had once jutted jauntily from the hatband was long gone, but Aerys did not mind. She could always harvest some iridescent black one from that vexing raven, Tesla, or perhaps a vivid lime-green one from a toucan.
      Each night she had taken a watch. She walked in circles, built various misshapen figures out of wet sand and punched them into oblivion, watched the queer luminescence in the waves, and reviewed the latest couplets of her poem in her mind.
      Each day, she walked up and down the shore in search of debris that could be scaveneged for their base camp, added a new couplet or two to her Cantos, and grew more restless.
      “I need a ship beneath my boots,” she said on the sixth morning of their exile. Gelik had finally finshed bitching about Jask’s food – which wasn’t half bad, considering that it was days-old tuna and he had neither pantry nor equipment to create it with – and everyone else was busy eating. “Who will help me build a boat?”
      “Build… boat?” Ishirou quirked his head.
      “Aye,” Aerys tossed the empty leaf into the fire. “A raft, or maybe we can repair the skiff from the Jenivere. There has to be enough salvage on this stupid rock to construct something that’ll get us to port. It can’t be that far to Eleder.”
      “What, you didn’t memorize every map of Desperation Bay? What kind of pirate are you?”
      Aerys growled. The little Red Mantis bitch got on her last nerve and it took every ounce of control remaining in her body not to punch that smug smirk off her stupid freckled face.
      “C’mon, Babs,” Sasha tucked the newly hatched reptile into her vest, right between her sunburned tits. “Let’s go find some food.”
      She stalked off and Aerys was glad. The base camp was always a more quiet, peaceful place without that chittering reptile and her little pet, too.
      Ishirou tapped her knee politely. “Boat?”
      “Yeah, I’m gonna start collecting wood and bits and bobs. You wanna help?”
      “Hai,” his voice was a low, gutteral grunt punctuated by an affirmative nod. “I help, build boat.”
      “I’ll keep watch here then.”
      “Well,” Gelik’s snivelly voice made her skin crawl, “I don’t have anything better to do. I’ll go with you two.”
      Aerys rolled backwards over her shoulder, leaping to her feet with acrobatic flare. “North first?”
      “Technically, that’s west, but… yeah. Let’s that way.”
      She dumped out a satchel Gelik had found washed up yesterday and then ignored his protests as she slung it over her shoulder. “We will need a way to carry any small odds and ends,” she told him, “Bring those two lengths of rope, too, Ishirou. And you, Daffodil, grab those waterskins there. We’ll refill ‘em at that pond Lars mentioned.”
      One way or another, Aerys thought later, as they began a steep climb up onto the cliffs above the beach. I’m getting off this island and I’m getting a good, solid deck beneath my feet again. Nothing can stop me now.
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Note: Images are “Nessie” by (dsidwell), Ruins at Chicen Itza by (BenEarwicker), and Goat Skull by (humusak2) from SXC.hu; edited by me