Travels with a Yellow Bird Part 2: The Duel

>Last time on Travels with a Yellow Bird

>You started on your journey with ten men, one woman and the intelligent harpy Flit.

>After leaving your mountain refuge, you snuck into the old capitol under the cover of darkness. You stole a small military patrol clipper while the docks of the old city burned

>As you escaped, a single Lizardgirl guard boarded the boat and was captured.

>She agreed to give you information on where to resupply for your travels across the great sea. But her price is a duel to the death with you and only you.

>Knowing you are far outmatched, you must use your wits and guile to survive.

Your traps and tricks are prepared. But are you?


I stand on the iron deck of the forecastle of the windjammer as dawn creeps over the water. Elsa stands by the main mast, leashed with a heavy rope under the watchful eyes of my crew. Flit looks on nervously from the Crow's nest making strange half-chirps every few moments. Elsa wears her heavy cotton armor padding but her armor is too valuable a prize and too much an advantage for me to give away. I steel myself, my saber taken from the hold feels unfamiliar in my hand and the makeshift shield I've fashioned from a barrelhead weighs heavily on my arm. With the rise of the first sliver of sun, Stan hands Elsa her short sword and deftly undoes the knots in the rope.

Elsa stretches, cracking her neck loudly as she strides confidently across the riveted planks, her claws clicking against the iron. Her sword picks up the light of the rising sun and shines red looking soaked with blood.

Her tail straightens as Elsa comes straight at me in a dead run. With tremendous strength she chops down trying to knock me off balance. I hear a resounding thunk as I barely bring up my shield in time. Splinters fly and the overwhelming force of the blow knocks me to the ground. Elsa follows it up with a vicious kick from her taloned foot into my side. "Get up! GET UP AND FIGHT!"

My side on fire, I swing my saber at her legs. She tries to dance back, the blade nicking her and drawing a bloody slash across the soft scales of her inner thigh. Elsa looks positively ecstatic. "First blood. Good!" She backs up and begins to circle me, working her back toward the sun. I slip off my shield as I get up, my hand stuck in a pouch I'd tied to the back. Elsa smiles and charges again.

I throw the shield at her. She breaks her stride to bat away the heavy wood. And that's when I throw the gunpowder in her face. Black covers her head and she screams as I blind her one good eye. "You dishonorable son of a whore!" She begins to panic and swing her sword wildly.

I circle behind her. After a few moments she stops swinging to try and rub her eye. I see my chance and tackle her. We hit the iron deck hard. Her sword clatters away out of reach. Elsa struggles desperately, her tail thrashing against my chest, claws scratching shiny furrows in the iron. My own saber lays uselessly at my feet. Her strength is too much for me and she begins to crawl out from under my hold.

My hands slip by her waist as she twists and tries to turn her claws on me. I feel something sticky and wet. It's blood. I jam my fingers into her wound and she shudders and screams.

I'm almost down to my last dirty trick. There's a lit lantern that looks leftover from the night watch, but I left it there as an ace. Fire and oil are never pretty. I dig my fingers deeper into gash between her scales. Elsa groans with less energy now and rubs at her eye streaming with tears. I look at her sorry dirty face. "Yield woman. You don't have to die. You're more useful alive." I pant.

Elsa's answer comes between gasps of pain. "Let me live? Will you take responsibility boy?"

>Spare her
>Finish her, by sword or fire
>Other


"I'll take responsibility." You say as you remove your bloody hand. "If you keep your end of the bargain."

Elsa rolls over and leverages herself up to a sitting position. She cries as she rubs her eye.

Flit glides down as the rest of the crew gather around. "Ugly fight." you hear one venture. Flit hops toward Elsa, the small harpy taking a keen look at both of us. "We should get her cleaned up before that infects." She brushes Elsa's leg with her wing.

Elsa lashes out with her arm "Don't touch me!" and it was then I saw it. The sulfur in the powder had gotten into her good eye. Her eye wasn't just red and swollen, parts had begun to cloud and dull. She seems to search for something. "You said you would take responsibility." She stretches out her arm slightly to your right. "Then help walk me back to someplace warm, and we can talk."

Flit begins to huff up when I take Elsa's hand but nods to two guards to follow me as I take Elsa back to the brig before flapping up to the Crow's nest with a stormy look.

>Find out about Serpentus
>Find out about Limus
>Find out about mainland ports
>Chitchat
>Clean and dress her wounds
>Other

Choose 3


Elsa stares into empty space as I clean her up with a wet cloth. Her scales feel smooth to the touch and soft, different from the armorlike scales on her shins and forearms. She winces as I stitch her wound together as best I can. Her broad ears twitch as I switch to removing the powder from her face.

"How bad is it?" I ask as I near her eye.

"As bad as it looks I'm sure." She laughs halfheartedly. "I can see light and dark and a few fuzzy shapes." Her ears droop a little. "Always been a stupid girl. You see this?" she points at the old scar across her dead eye. "You think I got that in a battle? No. Just a young Lizardgirl dumb enough insult a Salamander to her face." She seems to drift away. "Long time ago."

"Tell me about your time at the capitol. The ships you saw, where they came from, the people there." I pressed, trying to steer her around.

"Well there's the fleet in the harbor, but it's mostly support for convoys on the coast. There's nothing in Auk that can face them anymore so what's the point? We barely crew and guard them anyway. Look at how easy it was for you to get ahold of this ship." Elsa sighs. "I still remember the wreckage of the Auk wooden ships when my sisters and I were first brought to the city. Took them years to clean them all out." She grabs my hand gently in her claws. "I bet you were just a boy then, and I was still a fair maiden who had hopes to win a title and a husband." Elsa continues on about the capitol, detailing patrols and the situation of the garrison, the regulars stationed around town and the shock troops and nobles in the castle. She leans close after awhile. "What you really want is to find one of the trade ships coming home from the port. They're full of supplies and lightly guarded, unless they're carrying men." She leans closer. "I might be able to show you the routes, but my memory is fuzzy and I can't see the charts." She leans forward and her cool lips brush my cheek. "Surely it will come to me."

I pull back. I've been warned all my life of the spells any Dragoon could put on men. I won't be so easily distracted when the information we need is so close at hand. A look I can't quite read crosses Elsa's face, disappointment?

"Maybe it won't." She says after a long moment.

"Do the ships stop at Serpentus?" I prod, breaking the silence. My bruises are aching and my ribs are swelling painfully beneath my shirt. My patience is beginning to be tested.

Elsa starts a little at the sound of my voice then answers. "That is a light garrison. Trade goes through Limus. Most ships at Serpentus are to support the Lamia colony and to protect from pirates, like you." She lets go of my hand. "That's what you wanted to know isn't it? Go." She wraps herself in my old coat and feels her way to the cot in the brig.

I consider what she said as I make my way back to the Captain's quarters to discuss plans with Flit, leaving Jenna to guard Elsa.

>Pillage the capital
>Head to the Lamia colony at Serpentus
>Head to the trade port at Limus
>Look for a trade ship on the open sea
>Other

You have 4 small cannons and one carronade with enough ammunition for 1 short battle and 5 days of provisions.