You get 37 feet closer to the shore before the boats sinks under your feet, your currently 97 feet from the cave mouth opening.
My minimum swim is 15 (+14 skill check). I assume I don't need to do any rolling just to swim there. Everyone can breathe water at the moment so I probably don't really see a need to rescue anyone.
Xavier let's himself sink to the bottom and trudges his way to the shore. A few test swings reveals how difficult it is to fight with a sword, so he sheathes it and starts walking. ..Although if he manages to land anywhere close to the octopus he will take a moment to pound his Heavy Pick into it's brain.
autp crit ×4
Since getting wet is inevitable, Quiz lets himself sink and using a couple of dimensional slides he hops to the cave entrance.
Rena tries to stay calm as the water enters her lungs... it was never pleasant. She slowly moves toward where she believes the cave mouth to be.
Although it is not the way or manner you intended to arrive into the cavern the group does manage to get there with some effort. Although you are not further molested.
This huge stone cavern reaches over one hundred and fifty feet back into the heart of the rocky island. The murky waters of the cove cover the cavern’s floor to a depth of at least fifteen feet. The space is alive with the sounds of dripping water, and the walls glisten where just a short time ago they were submerged. Barnacle colonies dot the walls, and seaweed hangs limply elsewhere. While the arch of the cave mouth stands thirty feet above the water, the roof of the cavern rises as it runs into the island, reaching a height of at least seventy feet at its far end. Likewise, while the cave mouth is only thirty feet wide, the cavern expands to several times that as one enters. To either side of the cave mouth, stone ramps five feet wide rise out of the water and cling to the cavern walls, gradually rising upward to end at a height of thirty five feet at the far wall. At that wall the west ramp opens into another chamber from which faint light emanates. Thick ropes hang into the water here and there, some anchored to rusting cleats set into the walls, others lying in loose coils.
Dominating the far wall are gigantic wooden double doors, twenty-five feet in height and forty feet in width, composed of planks which could be ships’ timbers and are heavily reinforced with rusting steel. The top of the doors are flush with the top of the wall, while the bottom is ten feet above water level. The many barnacles indicate the door is typically submerged to a depth of twenty feet. No hinges are visible, making it appear the doors open inward.
Standing atop the far wall to either side of the giant doors is a pair of wooden and steel contraptions which resemble small siege engines. A stout wooden base supports a pivoting mechanism enclosing an open chute ten feet long and one foot in width, with attached gears used to adjust the angle of the chute.
the water level rising and falling the guards are alerted that there are people arriving at the complex.
Here is the first map of inside.
The guards are all on their toes as far as alertness, they are expecting to see a ship emerge, whixh is what usually occurs when the water lowers.
Of course your group is basically treading water to see any of this. Otherwise, you are underwater and see nothing at all. You know they were expecting some reinforcements and the lack of ship does seem to put them on heighten scrutiny.
Quiz whispers to the party, "I have a plan, actually two. First one is simple, I create a big distraction and you rush em. Plan B is group invisibility. What do you think?"
Maybe best to stay underwater and under the doors, an illusion of water above us as we drift in. Rena offers.
Xavier will follow the other's lead on this one. His armor made swimming horrendously difficult and so he would father walk to the shallows and climb onto dry land when the depth allows.
We don't know what's in there and we still need to get out, keep it simple, conserve resources.
"Just tell me when to charge up and punch someone. I don't know if I like the look of those machines. "
"Where is it? blow the horn." there are three short toots form a horn hanging around one of the guards neck.
"OK how about this. I go up invisible and make the north cave wall and shore look about 5-10' south of where it is, tapering towards the guards. You all then swim up and surprise the guards when we get close?"
2. Dimensional slide or swim up to the shore.
3. Cast an solid image of the north cave wall to make it seem a bit further south. 4. Wait for the others to come and attack.
5a. If loads of enemies engage, use loathesome veil (with an arcane reservoir point for +2 DC)
5b. Otherwise use create pit if its more than 2 enemies
5c. Blast with the wand if magic missiles
I wouldn't mind waiting them out. We can stay submerged quite awhile till they go off their guard. They can't see us if we stay deep. Wait till they settle and we can pick guards off later. They have numbers so I'd rather not fight without advantage. Is there a way we can drag alot of them under water? A trap we can spring?
The priest starts to look about for anything that may be useful or faults in the cave.
The group moves inside the cave mouth (basically in the vertical row where the number 1 is located on the map.) In the center of the cavern the depth is 20 feet and closer to the edges it goes up to 15 feet.
Xavier you don't see anything to trap the guards with but you know you could try to pull them in the water.
"Sure we can wait if you prefer. One way or another I can get us close if needed, or maybe there's some ruse to get them to come to the water?"
Silent Image of water above us as we pass them, go...
Xavier considered the setup of the cave.
The footing is only one person wide.
Aside from shooters they would have to come at a foe one on one. I can use 1 spell to make myself unhittable. I will climb out on the southern ledge and knock them into the water. Bug, you grapple and drown them. No waiting, I want to get them before my spell runs out.
Xavier moves to the southern ledge about 1/2 way along (80ft from the 1st white Hob) and uses his wand of DIVINE FAVOR, then casts SHIELD OF FAITH, then climbs out of the water. Hopefully, Bug follows and AIDS ANOTHER to help him climb up.
+2 From Aid another
Having gotten to the ledge. Daniel draws his Bastard Sword as he double moves 20 feet towards the southern hobs and calls out, Ah, here's the problem I KNEW I could smell Shyte over the seawater.
He uses a SWIFT ACTION to draw his QUICKDRAW SHIELD
Rena thinks of how to best say "i told you so" in the near future, even as she prepares to back any play.
"I think Rena is right, we can simply swim under the doors. No need for a fight, but I'll support you either way."
For now, let's slip by... Not murky, the same as the rest of the water.
Rena heads in.
Xavier halts his advance. You don't seem to favor this course. I have reservations about leaving enemies at our back but...very well. Let's try to bypass the doors.
"Fine. I'll get to beat them down eventually I expect. "
OK so we're attemptibg to slip past. Quiz uses a silent image of the water in the cacinuty of the gate, looking exactly as it would normally be, except without us. He'll hold the illusion until we're comfortably past.
There faint light visible beyond the doors as you manage to walk under the water and below the doors. It becomes clear there is a hidden harbor behind the doors.
Fifty years ago, when Pelastour covertly sailed the Scythe to his concealed port here, he and his crew would follow a multi-step process to secure his vessel. After entering the cove, he performed the ritual to lower the water level and waited for a launch to emerge from the exposed cave to bring mooring lines. The ship was then hauled through the cave mouth into the hidden harbor and set adjacent to the lock doors. The cove water level would eventually rise back to normal, as would the waters within the cave harbor. With the water level equalized to that in High Port, the lock doors were opened, and the ship was tied up in High Port, free of tidal influences. From there, the doors could be closed and the water level in the lock drained to lower the ship down to the level of the Lower Canal to give access to the storage spaces under the Dragon and the oubliette beneath the Goat.
The stone ramps, used by the port’s longshoremen when pulling ships into the port and roughened to improve footholds, are nonetheless quite slick thanks to the build-up of decades of marine slime. Treat all
normally submerged sections of the ramps as lightly slippery surfaces for movement purposes. Likewise, any portions of the cave walls or lock doors that are normally submerged are equivalent to slippery surfaces for the purposes of Climb checks. The ropes in the cave were used for hauling and securing ships, and are too thick and stiff to use for anything more precise, such as binding a creature of less than Huge size. Given the need to maneuver ships within the cave, the water is quite deep with the cove’s waters lowered, there is still 15 feet of water in the cave, and under normal circumstances, the water is forty-five feet deep.
Everyone can make a perception check while walking underwater.
You see the remains of the black-hulled Scythe lying on the bottom, boards from a destroyed ship.
Rena realizes how the water lock system works, and will communicate this when there is opportunity.
When you swim under the doors and pop up for a look on the other side you notice those two strange contraptions that you did not recognize have two hobgoblins manning each one. You figure that it is some sort of siege weapon. They hobgoblins have their backs to you now as their attention is out towards the cave entrance.
You moved into another cavern. This cavern is only slightly smaller than the previous one, measuring over a hundred feet long and nearly as wide, with a natural stone ceiling over forty feet above. Aside from a twenty-foot-wide flat stone shelf running along the northwest wall of the cavern and a much narrower shelf to the southeast, the cavern is filled with perfectly still water, forming a most unusual port, with a fully intact fifty-foot-long ship expertly tied to the stone pier, and a narrow gangplank leading aboard. There are no signs of activity on the ship beyond flickering, unnatural light at half a dozen points on the mast, clearly the product of magic. A plaque near the bow reads “Silver Reign.” The dockside is relatively bare beyond a plenitude of rope. The water is contained at the far end by a low wall with open space beyond; like the previous cavern, the ceiling of this one extends even further into the island, angling steeply downward past the low wall as the floor drops off into some unseen space.
I had to make everyone smaller to keep it in perspective/ratio
Rena motions to follow her... she moves to apparently use the ship for cover (against the known guards). She brings two fingers to point to her eyes, then outward in a panning motion.
Quiz nods at Rena, then points at himself and then his eyes and makes a walking motion with two fingers. He then swims over towards the area marked as 4, taking caution to remain unseen. Without exiting the water he attempts to see what is in the area beyond, paying particular attention to the coming and goings of any guards. Once he's had a good looksee he'll return to the others.
He will go as indicated.
Xavier remains still but looks at the hull of the boat, wondering if they should take the opportunity to put a hole in the bottom.....
Then he waits for the Gnome to return from his snooping. For a wizard, gods he was good at sneaking.