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Lord Talfryn sits in the gunwhale, hunched over with one hand trailing in the chop, staring lugubriously down at the depths. He's exchanged his great coat and finery for a simple outfit of compact gray wool, a broad leather belt cinched low around his portly stomach from which his pouches, scroll tubes, and wands hang. Shining black boots reach up mid-shin, and every few moments he mutters to himself, casting a prestidigitaiton spell to wick away the spray and recomb his thick hair.
"Hrmph?" For a moment he stares at Garvid as if he didn't even recognize the man, but then he pulls his thoughts from the depths and removes his monocle to wipe it on his tunic.
"Ah. My family. Well. Brace yourself. I shall endeavor to keep the tale brief. The Blackoaks have an illustrious history here in Korvosa, as you can well imagine, stretching back eight generations."
"My great, great, great, great, grandfather Killan Blackoak arrived in 4447 ostensibly to help supply the old Fort with luxuries from the parlors of Cheliax, but proved his true worth instead during the Great Fire when he performed all manner of heroics and caught the Field Marshall's eye. You might have heard of it in the ballad of The Three Rings of Sadness? No? Nevermind. Regardless, he was sufficiently impressed by his own bravado that he decided to stay on and help with the reconstruction. His mercantile ties greatly facilitated the recovery and he was bestowed the title of marquise the following year."
Talfryn looks out over the choppy waters at where Korvoso looms, hunched on its promontory like a beast prepared to leap into the Jeggare.
"His son proved adept at matchmaking, and my great, great grandfather was married to Countess LeFavre. We retained our mercantile connections with Cheliax until the Cousin's War, in which we fared poorly of course and lost much prestige and leverage. For the last century we have speculated on international trade, to varying degrees of success, all the way up to the murder of my father and two elder brothers. My mother's suicide a few years later soured my taste for the noble life, and, well."
Talfryn's brow lowers as he considers his memories, surveys the span of his life, and then shrugs. "I withdrew from Anomanexus College and allowed our businesses to fade. I've made my peace with my house's demise when I pass. I shall be a footnote to a footnote in Korvosa's storied history, and to be honest, that is quite all right with me."
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Sitting quietly, moving only to nod at the older man's stories, Garvid listens intently, the images of days long gone much preferable to the sight of the sloshing, murky waters. "Huh.", is all the guardsman can reply after the end of the tale, staring into the distance, seemingly deep in thought. A minute later, he gives Talfryn a long look in the eyes, a sorrowful smile spread on his lips. "I used to think, if you got a title, your life's all...", he scratches his stubble. "Fancy clothes, fancy drinks... and going to swaries." He shakes his head, then stares towards the isle.
"I'm quickly running out of people to be angry at. Not so great for those left on the list.", he remarks, running his fingers over the needle-sharp spike on his halberd. "Let's go and find some damn clues. I can't be the only one who's tired of being one step behind, am I?", he exhales in a low voice, cracking his neck with a sound terribly similar to that of the breaking of ribs, spinning the halberd in an overhand grip.
"Let me go first.", he offers, reaching over to the chest and grabbing a potion. "I'm way too pickled for whatever's hungering down there, and you don't want this set of old dinnerware tumbling on top of you.", he slams his fist on his chest. He moves closer to the edge, staring down into the water with disgust. I've dragged way too many corpses from you to like you, you piss creek. But I'm going to enjoy beating you up for answers.
"You're not too far wrong, my friend," says Talfryn with a sad smile. "Many's the noble who hides a black heart behind a glittering veneer. A good number of my own forebears would have made your list easily, for that matter."
As they reach their destination, Talfryn holds up a hand, drawing a scroll from a tightly sealed tube at his hip with the other.
"And a moment, Garvid, if you will. I stopped by a curious little shop on the way here and procured a few scrolls to help us with this endeavor. This one in particular might render us some valuable information. If I may?"
He unfurls the scroll and quickly reads the arcane syllables contained therein, causing a sharp wind to whip up across the water and creating whitecaps on the choppy waves for a moment. Then, as Talfryn sets the scroll aside, a spiral of water emerges from the river and bends toward him, twin eyes glowing an emerald, almost tropical green from its depths.
"Attend," commands Talfryn in a stiff manner. "Eighty feet below us lies the sunken Direption. Scout it as quickly as you may, and then return to inform me of any perils or dangers in the immediate area that may obstruct our attempt to investigate the wreck."
Talfryn sits back when the water elemental sinks back into the Jeggare. "There," he says, smiling at the others and adjusting his monocle. "It may be for naught, but there's a chance we'll glean some useful information. Fifty seconds is all that fellow has, so with a little luck we'll learn something soon enough. In the meantime, a few more spells to increase our chances below..."
Yaziyah says nothing as Talfryn recounts his family's history, simply watches the man sharply as she fiddles with her new purchase, a crossbow that can shoot underwater. Before Garvid goes into the murky river, she casts a few spells on him, causing pretty lights to come into existence and spin dancingly around his helm. Garvid can feel his senses sharpening slightly, although with the stench coming off the water that is not a blessing.
She sighs. "If we had more time to prepare... I have a ritual that would have allowed us all to see into the darkness. But we must make haste, so here we are." After unfastening and setting aside her clattering breastplate of bones, she casts a spell on her own weapon, causing it to glow with magic, as she prepares to dive as soon as Talfryn's scout returns.
Li clutches the side of the boat and keeps her eyes on the bottom of the boat. A few times her gaze glances out over the water and she shudders. She knows she has to go down with the others but that doesn't mean she has to like it. When they get to their destination, she checks her underwater crossbow - or at least that is what the gentleman had assured her - to make sure it was ready to shoot. She had splurged on one that was of better craftsmanship and she hoped that she hadn't been lied to.
She takes the water breathing potion in one hand and her potion allowing her to see in the dark in the other. In a quiet voice all she says is, "I be ready."
Lord Blackoak's elemental drops into the water without uttering a sound, disappearing under the flat, wine-dark waves of the Jeggare. The sun is just sinking over the walls of East Shore, and you can see the farmers returning to their homesteads outside of town over High Bridge to the south.
Less than 30 seconds later, the water next to the boat begins to roil as if it is coming to a quick boil and the elemental launches itself out of the water. Attached to its semi-liquid body that is quickly losing its shape and coherence is a spiny-faced, dark brown eel that is in the process of chewing through its arm. The elemental smashes it a few times with its remaining fist, and the eel goes stiff and stops moving.
The elemental rights itself, its damaged arm melting into liquid, and croaks out a single word in Aquan, "Danger!", before it dissolves into a puddle in the middle of the boat.
The fisherman yelps in panic: "All right, time to get out now! I'm getting out of here!"
"Of course." Yaziyah utters sarcastically as the eel flops into the bottom of the boat. "These lovelies had to lurk around this particular spot, didn't they just. If you don't know, this is a silt eel, it's poisonous and very likely not alone."
She pats the fisherman on the arm reassuringly. "Alright, friend, no need to panic just yet. They're in the water, you're out of the water, and we're not exactly helpless babes. Nothing will hurt you." She gestures at the group, who is by now bristling with various deadly implements.
"Now, let's see what the situation is down there." A simple cantrip causes the eel corpse to glow with eerie lights. Using her gloved hands, Yaziyah gingerly drops it over the side, watching its progress towards the bottom intently.
Also with the underwater crossbow, the good Dr. somehow still feels that he would be next to useless without his alchemical explosives at hand.
But he was not about to let them go by themselves; this was too important for him.
He stripped down to his briefs, made sure he had his dagger and crossbow were within reach and more importantly his new magical sack where he virtually kept everything else that he might need.
He drank a couple of extracts, "As ready as I will ever be."
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HP 52/52
AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15
10 +2(DEX) +3(studded leather)
Conditions: shield, mutagen, monkeyfish (not sure what else Yasi cast on everyone)
Melee (MW dagger): +5 = +4(base) +1(MW)
Melee Damage (MW dagger): 1d4, 19-20, x2
Ranged (bomb): +6 = +4(base) +2(dex)
Ranged Damage (bomb): 3d6+4 x2, 20'
alchemist fire or acid flask 1d6+4
12/12 bombs, 0/1 mutagen
Extracts used: shield, monkeyfish
"Of course it is...", Garvid's grumbling tone suggests that him and the eels had previously been acquainted, much to both parties' disliking. [smaller]"Damn nature should have the good sense to stay the hell out of the city."[/smaller[, he grits his teeth, as he watches the glowy eel slowly descend into the water. "Though I think you just sent them the eel equivalent of a basket with a horsehead in it.", he grins back at Yazi, hand pawing away at a glowing orb of light floating around his head. Staring at the potions crate near his feet, he frowns. Am I the only one who always wonders what they taste like?
Nervously, Mouse sets her fiery stone whirling around her head, a tiny part of her still nervous that the waters would douse the flames. She toys with the gilded handle of the ensorcelled dagger they'd found in Carowyn Manor, admiring the subtle swoops and curves with her fingertips. It wasn't what she preferred to fight with, but she knew all too well that fists were going to be too slow to do much good underwater...after all, she'd woken too many times with nightmares of thrashing beneath waves that hold her in their embrace as surely as chains. At least a good narrow blade didn't much care how fast it was moving - it would skewer its target just the same.
She watches in awe as Talfryn's summoned servant dives and re-surfaces, and distaste is clear on her face as she watches Yazi carefully set the eel alight with magic and toss it overboard. As the light fades into the depths, she gingerly removes one of the small vials from the potion crate and unstoppers it, using her teeth to yank at the cork in the vial's mouth. Well...they ain't like to go 'way jus' cause we sit 'round. Nothin' for it but t' go, I s'pose. An' at leas' Mister Cal's folk'll be able t' git th' smell o' this river water out wit' magic...
Talfryn recoils from the water elemental and its violence, then sighs as he rubs his chin and watches the others prepare.
"I don't have any spells prepared that could affect a mass of these underwater," he says. "Nor do I know how one of these alchemical fires would work when submerged. Anybody else have any idea how to handle a potential swarm of silt eels?"
That said, he draws another scroll and moves to the edge of the boat. Upon reading it, a whirlpool forms just beside him in the choppy water, which then rises up into the air in the shape of a revolving throne.
Talfryn then casts a final spell on the head of his walking stick, which glows a numinous pale gold in the evening light. He grips the edge of the boat, observes his spell, and then nods to the others. "When anxious, uneasy and bad thoughts come, I go to the sea, and the sea drowns them out with its great wide sounds, cleanses me with its noise, and imposes a rhythm upon everything in me that is bewildered and confused." So said the poet Marion Rikkler. I wish I could say the same. I am ready."
After quaffing the potions said to allow you to breath water, you plunge into the icy waves of the Jeggare river. The potions themselves taste a bit like seaweed and cinnamon, with an aftertaste of tempered iron, but that sensation quickly passes as the brackish and sewer-tinged Jeggare river water enters your mouth. You do your best to at least keep out the suspicious chunks floating by.
As Dr. Pietro warned you ahead of time, the magic of the potion works not by transforming the water into air, but by allowing your lungs to somehow breathe the water as if it were air. Before that can happen, however, the water must first fill your lungs, and that can trigger an unpleasant drowning sensation in those who are not accustomed to it.
Once you have all adjusted to how your body now works (at least temporarily), you swim along with Garvid as he sinks to the bottom of the river like the proverbial anchor. Your guide's directions were spot on, and it does not take you long to located the wreck of the Direption. The ship seems to have broken in half and now lies in two pieces on the floor of the Jeggare, with the bow of the ship lying on one side of a large boulder, its inner decks facing towards the surface, while the rest of the vessel lies wedged against the rock on its side.
Despite knowing what he must do, Talfryn resists breathing in the filthy water for far longer than is wise. His pulse is pounding in his temples and black spots are dancing in his vision before he finally inhales, swallowing and choking down the water, gulping and thrashing despite himself as his every instinct urges him to thrash toward the surface.
Then, mercifully, he can breathe once more. His hands pat at his woolen tunic in a reflexive attempt to grip his lapels, and with that he forces a final few bubbles out of his sinuses and starts to sink down into the gloom, turning about as he does so, paranoid that behind him at any moment a mass of eels are about to strike.
Down they sink - and farther down - till all is twilight gloom, the mass of the wreck emerging and gaining form till the party lands on the silty floor. His slipstream spell keeps him from actually touching the muck, allowing him to hover effortlessly beside the group, and with them all he peers forward, trying to divine further information from the Direption.
Then, wand of magic missile in hand, he slowly starts swimming toward the twisted part of the wreck, intending to peer into both sections through their torn sides.
Then, wand of magic missile in hand, he slowly starts swimming toward the twisted part of the wreck, intending to peer into both sections through their torn sides.
Despite himself, Pietro laughed as Lord Blackoak struggled with the magic he so easily employed.
That was a bad move as his laughter made him choke on water - or was it air - for a few seconds before he had things under control.
It was easier to move about with his webbed hands but he knew that it would not last very long.
With his new underwater crossbow out he tried to peer through the murkiness and wondered why no one had ever invented something like the crossbow but where he could load his bombs, especially his frost bombs which should still damage assailants even underwater.
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HP 52/52
AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15
10 +2(DEX) +3(studded leather)
Conditions: shield, mutagen, monkeyfish, endure elements
Melee (MW dagger): +5 = +4(base) +1(MW)
Melee Damage (MW dagger): 1d4, 19-20, x2
Ranged (bomb): +6 = +4(base) +2(dex)
Ranged Damage (bomb): 3d6+4 x2, 20'
alchemist fire or acid flask 1d6+4
12/12 bombs, 0/1 mutagen
Extracts used: shield, monkeyfish
Garvid lands in the debris and muck. Well, now I know what the Jeggare tastes like. Pretty much the way it looks..., he think to himself. Raising his halberd, he points towards the bow section. "Start there?", he offers with a frown, as bubbles leave his mouth. "This feels... So strange... Breathing water. Or at least a liquid substance.", he starts slowly making his way towards the ship, his footsteps leaving swirling trails of muck behind him. As Lord Talfryn finally makes his descent, he joins Pietro in a chuckle. If we put a string on him, he could pass as a large balloon... , a thought appears in the guardsman usually sullen head.
Li feels the water pressing in on her and she can feel herself start to panic before scolding herself and reminding herself that she had been through worse. She tentatively breathes in some water and then chokes as it feels like she's drowning and she doubts the magic. But then she remembers that Ishani had given them the potions so they had to be good. She forces herself to continue breathing until the panic of drowning passes.
Moving towards the shipwreck, she keeps her underwater crossbow at the ready should any threat present itself.
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The sensation is almost intolerable in its familiarity. Mouse fights it as long as she can. As the water presses against her mouth and sneaks up her nose, her eyes go wide, and without even meaning to she begins to scream and thrash several feet below the water as images and sounds assault her mind. A piece of broken mast lurches past her mind's eye, dragging a piece of sailcloth that looks as inviting as a blanket but spells doom for anyone fool enough to wrap themselves in it. Thunder cracks overhead, timbers creak and groan and splinter, and everywhere the sound of destruction and terror rages. And a woman...a slender woman fighting the water's swell, at once a stone's throw distant and a world away, and I gotta reach 'er but there ain't no way oh gods no no...
Mother! she finally shouts, the river exultantly forcing its way into her lungs as she cries out - and with that, the confusion vanishes, and the Jeggare River comes back into focus. Once the initial inrush of water passes, the sensation slowly becomes more tolerable, but the sense of dread and despair from her sudden burst of long-forgotten memory doesn't. You gotta go, Mouse, the half-elf reassures herself in her mind. This ain't that. 'S jus' like breathin' Old Korvosa air. E'en smells jus' th' same. The joke is enough - just enough - to let her continue forward, and she rejoins the others just outside the sunken ship clutching her dagger in a death grip.
Slinky hisses in protest as Yaziyah unstoppers the water breathing potion, but the woman unceremoniously grabs it by the nose and forces a few drops down its throat. Downing the rest, she dives off the side of the boat into the murky waters. Adjusting to breathing water takes a few moments, and Slinky outright panics, swimming in a frantic circle around Yaziyah until she grabs it and stuffs it in her coat. Her bony frame cuts through the water like a knife, and soon she joins the rest at the bottom of the river, crossbow at the ready, alert for more eels.
Flagging Talfryn, she points to the bow section. "Look for magic?" Without waiting for him, she heads in that direction, opening ger arms to indicate her area of focus, so that the two of them don't overlap.
As you walk toward the wreck, the eels you saw before wriggle out from below the ship and come sliding toward you in the water, their fangs bared.
When Mouse sees the movement in the water, she springs into action. Not wanting to stray too far from her allies, she opts to simply place herself between them and the oncoming threat, standing at the ready to attack the eels as soon as they came near. Moving under the water is odd, to say the least, but she adapts as best she can, holding her dagger out in front of her to stab at whatever comes within reach of it.
Talfryn, about to turn and warn the others of the movement he'd espied, saves his breath as the eels emerge.
Instead, he aims his open palm at them and lets fly with three magic missiles that fizz and slice through the water.
With her weapon at the ready and a clear line of sight at the eels, Li tests out her new weapon and lets a bolt streak through the water towards one of the eels
Seeing the others leap up, Garvid feels his halberd jumping in his hand a little faster than usual. Taking several paces forward, his feet plant themselves in the muck a couple of feet in front of Mouse, as he plants the halberd's hilt in the ground, spike pointing forwards. "There's something about the local gangs... They're a bit fishier than usual. Heh. Fishy.", he chuckles, ready to skewer the first one to charge.
Seeing the approaching hungry beasts, Mouse swims out in front of the group, placing herself between them and the eels, her dagger held closely at her side.
Armed with her brand new underwater crossbow, Li's blots strikes true, spearing the advancing creature through the side.
Garvid moves in just past Mouse, setting himself to intercept the incoming eels.
He gets there just in time as the eels come swimming toward you, their serpentine bodies moving through the water at surprising speed. The first run straight into the guard's halberd, and is speared in two. ()
The next swims past its fallen brethren and strikes at Garvid, but he jerks back at just the right time. ()
Another one swims up and strikes at Garvid. This one is luckier, and latches on to the tall man's arm, but its fangs fail to pierce the skin.
A third tries the same thing but fails. (
The next swims past Garvid (who takes a swing at the thing, but misses) heading toward Mouse. The small half-elf is ready, however, and easily stabs at the eel, sending it to the river bottom. ()
The final eel swims around Garvid and heads toward Dr. Pietro. ()
Lord Talfryn's magic missiles cut through the water as if it were air, taking down the eel threatening Dr. Pietro.
Li is already loading another bolt as her first one embeds itself in one of the eels. The water proves to be a small obstacle to learn from but the rogue's dexterity allows her to still load her weapon with speed. As soon as it is loaded, she takes aim at the eel about to snack on Garvid and releases the bolt.
Stepping (swimming?) a few feet forward to stand beside Garvid, Mouse sets her dagger flashing, stabbing at the eels with astonishing speed.
She wasn't going to waste her magic on these slimy critters. Swimming forward to get a better angle and carefully swinging the special crossbow, she takes a shot at the eel threatening Mouse. While the swimming was no problem, especially unencumbered by the boneplate, shooting her new toy was a little trickier, and her bolt sails wide of the target.
A heavy boot stomps on an eel on the ground as Garvid pulls his halberd from its corpse, sending trails of blood in the water. He lifts it up in an over-the-shoulder stance, he lunges forward at the remaining eels with furious, speedy jabs. "Can the Jeggare get any worse?", he mutters, before grunting. "Don't answer that."
The doctor thanks the older gentleman for blasting his eel and trains his crossbow on one of the slimy critters fighting Garvid.
He winced as he saw the eels latch on to the man and not let go. He hoped he had enough thread to sew up those wounds but knew that Garvid was a tough one.
He aimed and released and watched as the sleek bolt sped through the water.
And he kept watching as the bolt swam right past the eel to get lost in the murkiness beyond. The doctor got busy loading another bolt into the weapon.
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HP 52/52
AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15
10 +2(DEX) +3(studded leather)
Conditions: shield, mutagen, monkeyfish, endure elements
Melee (MW dagger): +5 = +4(base) +1(MW)
Melee Damage (MW dagger): 1d4, 19-20, x2
Ranged (bomb): +6 = +4(base) +2(dex)
Ranged Damage (bomb): 3d6+4 x2, 20'
alchemist fire or acid flask 1d6+4
12/12 bombs, 0/1 mutagen
Extracts used: shield, monkeyfish
You quickly make work of the remaining eels while the rest flee downstream and away from the wreck, leaving behind blood-streaked water.
Exhaling a flow of bubbly water, Garvid leans on his halberd. "Well, I don't see how this could've gone better.", he mutters, reaching for his arm to feel the dents in the armour from the eel's spiky teeth. And I just had it cleaned yesterday., he notes, before starting to trod towards the boat. "Let's hurry up and go into the plague boat." His expression is one of cynical surrender, as he takes point. "Doc, you'll know what we're here for when you see it, right? This is more your field than any of ours."
Li watches the remaining eels swim away but quickly reloads her crossbow anyways. There's no way that she isn't going to have her weapon readied down here. Who knew what else was lurking in the water. She begins to move forward again towards the wreck. "That be one problem we be solvin'. Now lets be seein' what else we c'n be findin'."
Talfryn floats along just behind them, easing through the water effortlessly, mustache fluttering about his face, monocle continuously falling away from his eye onto to be snatched out of the water and replaced.
"Let us hope no plague-beast has taken up residence in the hull," he mutters quietly to himself. "T'would be most reasonable and unfortunate if that proves to be the case."
Exploring the wreck meant going into close quarters, so Yaziyah stows her rather useless crossbow and takes out her spear, using it as a pole to pull herself along the silty river bottom as she floats horizontally, long skirts billowing around her legs. She peers into the shadowy depths of the broken-up vessel, the ioun torch orbiting her head providing some illumination.
At the moment the wreck of the Direption looks calm, with no obvious signs of dangers.