Weyve's eyes turn black, and with a gesture, shadowy chains burst from the ground, ensnaring the lead Gillman's legs!
Weyve's chains trip the gillman before lashing him, causing him to shake with fear. Terana draws her trident and manages to impale the prone enemy on its tines. Oorka grants Tobar some divine guidance for his next attack.
Rather than risk attack by standing, the gillman stabs out at Terana's feet with his weapons. The other two step up to attack the paladin as well, one from around the corner of the cave entrance. One manages to find a chink in her armor, driving his sword int oher side.
"Ouch!" Terana yelps as one of the gillmen draws blood. She retaliates, but aims for the one still on the floor, in order to reduce the danger.
"That seemed to work well," Weyve observes. "Let's do that again." Another pair of smoky chains burst from the ground, grabbing at the Gillmen's legs.
Weyve then takes a step back to give the others room.
Gideon slashes down at the prone enemy, hoping to take advantage of his position of weakness.
Tobar likewise pivots slightly, reloads, and takes a shot at the next foe in front of the battle line.
Terana stabs the prone gillman again, then Gideon finishes him off with a swift and brutal chop to his neck.
Tobar fires another shot towards the next gillman, but the enemy just barely manages to twist out of the way in time. "Don't despair! Try again!" Oorka urges, granting the crossbowman guidance again.
Weyve's barbed chains trip one of the two remaining foes, leaving him shaken.
The fallen gillman tries to stab Terana but doesn't come close. The other one uses his cover to maneuver around without opening himself up to attack as he fills the gap. With a snarl, he stabs at Terana as well, his trident scraping against her armor.
With Ookra's guidance, Tobar manages an absolutely devastating center shot.
Weyve pulls out his crossbow and takes a shot, but the bolt glances harmlessly off the wall.
His machete dripping with the blood of its most recent victim, Gideon turns the weapon to the next mad gillman in front of him.
Terana too thrusts forwards, not enjoying how close the trident forces her to get to the foes teeth and claws.
Tobar's bolt buries itself in the gillman's chest. He coughs up blood, but remains standing--at least long enough for Gideon to cut him down with his machete.
Terana stabs down at the prone gillman, striking him with her trident. The crazed man desperately stabs back at her, to avail.
It's a simple matter for Gideon and Terana to finish off the final foe.
Terana retrieves her glaive from under the bodies and stalks forward down the cave towards the curtain covering the far wall. Some native caution inspires her to at least attempt to be stealthy. Unfortunately she's bad at it.
Following Terana forward, but staying at least a few steps away in case her advance triggers another trap, Gideon carefully looks around as he goes.
A simple wooden barrier blocks the entrance to the chamber beyond, but it is easily moved aside. This flooded cave is roughly square, and its features have been smoothed by the passage of seawater in and out with the ebb and flow of the tide. A large swath of the southern wall is marred by deep carvings depicting a crude, twisted sigil. A pile of humanoid bones heaped four feet high litter the floor in front of the glyph. Atop this mound rests a stone trough, stained with old dried blood.
Two gillmen flank the entrance to the chamber, while by the altar stands a female gillman clad in mithral chainmail and wielding a rapier. A hanged skull hangs about her neck, the unholy symbol of the demon lord Zura.
Another horrid creature hovers nearby, buzzing wings holding it aloft. A grasshopper serves as the gaunt thing's head.
"Praise Zura! She has delivered a fine meal to our doorstep today. Your blood shall slake our thirst, and the marrow from your bones will fill our bellies!" the female gillman declares.
The wihsaak raises its clawed hands, and a cloud of greasy darkness washes over you, wounding you and making you feel sick. The gillman leader follows this up with a sound burst, while the other two attack with their weapons, but fail to hit.
Terana (probably) spends her turn stunned.
"Zura has no power over me, fiend!" Terana cries, even as the oily blackness washes over her. A flash of rose light disrupts the darkness as Terana draws her trident, pressing her other hand to her chest as she does so.
Against all odds, Tobar somehow holds out. He grits his teeth and draws down on one of the minions in the frontline.
"That bug's a bad one! Back up, let's get s'more space!" Gideon urges the others, casting Grease on the ground just in front of Terana to try and slow the enemies down.
Weyve staggers under the force of the blast, and puts his hand to his ears trying to ease the pain. Black mist pours across his temples and ears.
Weyve then throws a bolt of light down the corridor, which bursts among the two gillmen blocking the door.
Tobar's crossbow bolt whizzes past the gillmen, shattering against the cave's far wall. Gideon greases the floor, causing one of the gillmen to slip and fall. Weyve's burst of radiance sears their flesh, but they manage to ward their eyes against the blinding light. Terana stabs the gillman in front of her with her trident. Oorka lies on the floor, unconscious from the wihsaak's spell.
The extraplanar horror focuses its insectile gaze on Weyve, and the oracle hears a voice in his mind: "Abandon your resistance and prostrate yourself before my glory, and I may spare you and your friends!"
The gillman priestess casts another spell, attempting to paralyze Terana. The prone gillman stands and attacks, while the other one attacks as well, managing a good hit with his short sword.
Shaking off the spell Terana keeps stabbing, hoping to drop the gillmen quickly as the priestess glows momentarily with the rose light of Shelyn.
Tobar takes another shot straight down the line, then steps back to make room for the warriors to move while he reloads.
"Gaah! Dammit!" Gideon swears in frustration, dropping his machete in favor of his shortbow, nocking an arrow to the bowstring and firing a snapshot off at Gillman in front of Terana, then takes a five-foot step backward so Terana can follow and give her room to use her glaive.
"I will never surrender to the likes of you!" Weyve shouts. He pulls out his wand, and with a gesture...
...calls up a ball of fire in the midst of the enemy!
While the wounded gillman manages to avoid Weyve's flaming sphere, Terana's trident and Tobar's crossbow bolt put him down. Gideon fires at the next one, but the cover his allies provide causes him to miss.
The gillman cleric conjures a glowing red rapier that thrusts at Terana, but her divine powers deflect the blow. The other gillman doesn't land a good hit either.
The wihsaak clicks its mandibles and suddenly disappears, reappearing behind you! Its wings buzz as it brandishes its claws!
The grease on the ground proving more a hindrance than a help, Gideon dismisses the spell to allow Terana a clear line to the bigger threats.
Unnaturally terrified of the demon, Tobar runs away.
Tobar shivers as he attempts to smash the demon with the butt of his crossbow.
"Aagh!" Weyve shouts as the creature appears next to him. "Get away!"
He takes a step back, but not before willing the sphere to move towards the other gillman hiding around the corner.
He then flings a bolt of light at the creature.
With the various magical impediments falling away Terana takes a risk and charges forward towards the cleric, cursing the fact that she doesn't have a moment to recover her glaive first.
Gideon dismisses the grease while Tobar swings his crossbow at the wihsaak, but it bounces harmlessly off the monster's carapace.
The gillman misses Terana as she rushes at the cleric, then just barely manages to avoid Weyve's flaming sphere! Terana smites the priest of Zura, driving her trident into the other gillman's chest.
Weyve blasts the sahkil with divine radiance, wounding and dazzling the creature but failing to blind it!
The cleric tries to concentrate on a spell, but she ends up losing it. The spiritual rapier misses Terana, as does the other gillman who moves in to flank.
Meanwhile, the wihsaak flits over to Weyve and tears into him with its claws!
Terana strikes again with her trident, but the large number of weapons surrounding her make landing a blow difficult!
She then steps sideways, trying to get out of the flanking position.
Since the demon is tangling with Weyve, Tobar takes the opportunity to rush in, loading as he goes, and fire once more at the cleric.
Seeing the others continuing the fight despite the damage they've taken, and Oorka's unconscious form lying near him, Gideon curses again. "Dammit! Sinashakti, guide my shot here!" he says, voicing his inner thought as he calls on the empyreal lord of explorers.
The Zuran parries Terana's trident with her rapier. As the paladin steps out of the way, Gideon and Tobar rush in to help her. The bard's arrow strikes her in the stomach, while the crossbowman's bolt sinks deep into her chest, piercing her black heart! Blood pours from the vicious wound as she groans and collapses!
"Agh! Damn you!" weyve shouts, pressing his hand over the wound.
Wand still in hand, with a thought Weyve directs the flaming sphere at the Gillman again.
Weyve steps back and points the wand at the Wihsaak. "Okay, insect, try this!"
Both the gillman and the fiend nimbly dodge Weyve's flaming spheres.
The remaining gillman turns his rage on Tobar, seeking vengeance for his mistress's death, but he fails to hit. The wihsaak claws at Weyve again, scoring one good slice.
Seeing her cousin in trouble Terana leaves the final gillman to Tobar and rushes back down the corridor, pausing momentarily to scoop up her glaive as she does so.
Gideon rushes forward, past Terana, and fires another arrow into the gillman tangling with Tobar.
Tobar once again resorts to bashing his opponent with his crossbow in close combat.
"Ah... a little help here!"
The first sphere winks out of existence. But Weyve, after stepping away, concentrates and has the Flaming Sphere roll towards the creature again.
He concentrates for a moment, and his eyes turn black. A faint black haze covers his features.
"Come and face me beast!" Terana calls, levelling her glaive at the creature and hoping it will ignore her cousin.