GM Ladile's TL;DR: A Pathfinder Society Campaign

Game Master Lady Ladile

In draconic

Well, that was worth trying. No ill feelings I hope. I wouldn't have ate you, I find turtles so cute!

After a slight pause she adds
Have you ever considered a career as a ninja?

If anyone was confused, he's no longer completely underwater; I just neglected to update the tracker/map token to reflect it earlier!

"I am afraid that ... we cannot give you ... the orb. But what would ... a powerful being ... such as yourself ... want with it ... anyway?" the Doc asks, still speaking in the tongue of Dragons, to the extant that he doesn't mix in a few words of Cyclops by accident.

Seeing as how this isn't going to go well, and that their Captain is likely to abandon the ship to fight the dragon in the water, Doc moves up to the poopdeck to lend what help as he can. He says a few arcane words, and touches Malachi on the ... shoulder? Is it still a shoulder when there's a tentacle attached there now? Or do they use a different word? He'll have to ask Maria; she's a vet.

Move, cast marid's mastery  on Malachi 

Maria moves over next to Zithembe and draws her new crossbow. She glances over the edge and issues a warning in draconic, ”Listen, we can offer gold as tribute or we can fight. Tribute means money in your horde at no risk to you. Fighting means guaranteed injury, maybe death. We are all experienced combat veterans and there is a fair chance you don’t swim out of this one.”

She pops the water breathing potion sponge into her mouth but doesn’t have time to begin chewing.

Two move actions completed

The Grandfrogger carefully hops closer to the… main mast? Mizzen mast? Poop mast? Sailors certainly have such odd names for things. “Ask for the blessing of the spirits of wind and waves, I do!” he prays. A gentle rain and pleasant breeze sweep the ship’s deck in response.

5 ft step and cast bless.

Captain Malarkey shares the tengu gift for languages, and follows along the 'parley' - right up until Maria offers tribute.

"Tribute? TRIBUTE!? That beast is getting none of my gold, yes! Nor my ship! Nor my orb, nor any other trinkets or baubles, by Besmara!"

"ATTACK!"

A long, twisted horn resembling that of a narwhal emerges from under Malachi's hat. The captain runs along the deck before vaulting over the railing with his lucerne hammer as an impromptu pole. As he dives towards the dragon turtle he turns the hammer point-downwards...

raging hammer, bless, marid's mastery, power attack: 1d20 + 12 + 1 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (12) + 12 + 1 + 1 - 2 = 24damage: 1d12 + 8 + 1 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 8 + 1 + 6 = 22

Possibly add +1 to attack for superior elevation? Malachi's attack should come at range 10', but then he's going to land on the dragon's shell or in the water and I expect provoke an AoO. If the dragon doesn't immediately drop Malachi then all Mal wants is a flank buddy to go to town on it. (I know this is high risk; honestly I expect bribing any sort of dragon to be terrifically expensive).

"GET DOWN HERE AND FIGHT, ME TRUMPS!"

The memories of darting through the water and catching fish, tearing blubber off of whale carcasses, and breaching the water from below to catch seals in your sharp toothed maws fills the minds of his allies as Zithembe summons the spirits of the water to his aid. He places the potion sponge of water breathing in his mouth just in case and then dives in after Malarkey.

Spiritual Invocation (free), Standard, Move

Acrobatics: Long Jump DC 10: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11
Swim (Take 10): 20

Allies within 30 ft of Zithembe gain +2 Non-Spell damage.

Resigning himself to a fight, Dr. O'mayga gives Malachi a little boost to his aquatic combat capabilities while Maria moves up next to Zithembe and makes one last offer/warning to the dragon turtle, lest it face the group's wrath. The Grandfrogger also adjusts his position on the deck before beseeching the spirits, who are happy to oblige, for a small blessing for the group.

Malachi, on the other hand, is having none of this 'tribute' nonsense as he charges forward and pole vaults over the side of the deck with his hammer and drops towards the dragon turtle!

Yep, +1 for higher elevation~

The creature manages to react quickly enough to swipe at Malachi as he drops, opening up a gash on one of the tengu's tentacles! (Malachi takes 10 damage.) Yet the dragon turtle gets his as well, as Malachi's hammer slams into his shell with a *CRONCH!* Some small cracks appear in the shell but the turtle still looks quite ready to rumble.

Unless you'd prefer to be in the water we'll say that Malachi lands on the turtle's back/shell because the GM thinks it's cooler that way.

Not about to let Malachi face the beast head-on by himself, Zithembe taps into the spirits of the water itself before placing his potion sponge in his mouth and taking a running jump over the railing and into the water! Luckily the turtle is too slow to make another swipe as Zithembe splashes down next to him.
______________

Round 2

Maria (Touch of the Sea)
Zithembe (Touch of the Sea)
The Grandfrogger (Water Breathing)
Malachi (-10; Guidance, Marid’s Mastery, Wild Shape’d)
>Polly
Hepsubia
Dr. O’mayga
==============
Dragon Turtle (-22; Got a monkey Malachi on his back)

Active Conditions: Bless, Spiritual Invocation (+2 to non-spell damage)

Environmental Conditions: None

Hepsubia may act!

The Open Sea

Optional Battle Music

longBow, Bless: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 6 + 1 = 12
DmgChampion: 1d8 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 2 = 4

Hepsubia sends an arrow flying half heartidly.

It is lost to the sea.

Hepsubia makes an effort with her bow but the effort is a bit lackluster and the shot misses.

"What I want with the orb is none of your concern, little morsels!" the dragon turtle roars. "You had your chance; now I will simply rend each of you limb from limb until I find what I seek!"

Perturbed about the tengu on his back and not happy about having his shell cracked the dragon turtle swipes and snaps at Malachi, leaving him with many bleeding wounds! Malachi takes 45 damage.
______________

Round 3

Maria (Touch of the Sea)
Zithembe (Touch of the Sea)
The Grandfrogger (Water Breathing)
Malachi (-55; Guidance, Marid’s Mastery, Wild Shape’d)
>Polly
Hepsubia
Dr. O’mayga
==============
Dragon Turtle (-22; Got a monkey Malachi on his back)

Active Conditions: Bless

Environmental Conditions: None

Everyone may act!

The Open Sea

Optional Battle Music

The Grandfrogger hops to the railing and pulls himself up to the top. Large red eyes glare down at the turtle below.

Move and use Evil Eye to give the dragon turtle a -2 penalty to AC for 9 rounds (Will 18 to reduce duration to 1 round).

Visions of Tiger rushing into combat and being ripped auntie two flash into her mind, but Maria pushes that from her mind and aims carefully for an exposed nostril.

”We have no option but to fight now, all attack!”

Perfect Strike 1/2 used

MW Underwater Crossbow + PBS + Bless: 1d20 + 8 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 8 + 1 + 1 = 20 or
MW Underwater Crossbow + PBS + Bless: 1d20 + 8 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 8 + 1 + 1 = 14

for Piercing+ Focused Shot + PBS + Zith: 1d8 + 4 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 1 + 2 = 11

20 to hit, 11 damage

I'm going to claim Flanking on the dragon turtle - Mal could hop into the water with a 5' step off the dragon's back I suppose, but it's cooler if he can do it from atop the creature's shell with Zithembe "underneath", and this also makes the damage calculation easier.

Malachi runs about atop the dragon turtle's shell as the monster turns its head to bite him. Alas, the tengu is neither agile nor well-armoured enough to avoid serious injury.

"EH, YOUR TRIBUTE IS DEATH! NONE MAY ATTACK MY SHIP WITHOUT PAYING IN BLOOD, YES!"

Captain Malarkey leaves his hammer embedded in the dragon turtle's shell, and pulls at the ragged edges with claws and tentacles. He snaps at the bloody wound with his beak, and impales the dragon with his horn...

raging furious claw, bless, marid, flank, power: 1d20 + 11 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 11 + 1 + 1 = 32damage, zith, sneak attack: 1d3 + 11 + 1 + 2 + 2d6 ⇒ (2) + 11 + 1 + 2 + (6, 2) = 24
raging furious claw, bless, marid, flank, power: 1d20 + 11 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 11 + 1 + 1 = 19damage, zith, sneak attack: 1d3 + 11 + 1 + 2 + 2d6 ⇒ (2) + 11 + 1 + 2 + (6, 3) = 25
raging furious peck (bite), bless, marid, flank, power: 1d20 + 11 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 11 + 1 + 1 = 23damage, zith, sneak attack: 1d3 + 11 + 1 + 2 + 2d6 ⇒ (3) + 11 + 1 + 2 + (5, 5) = 27
raging furious horn, bless, marid, flank, power: 1d20 + 11 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 11 + 1 + 1 = 24damage, zith, sneak attack: 1d8 + 11 + 1 + 2 + 2d6 ⇒ (8) + 11 + 1 + 2 + (2, 1) = 25
raging furious tentacle, bless, marid, flank, secondary power: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 6 + 1 + 1 = 18damage, zith, sneak attack: 1d4 + 6 + 1 + 2 + 2d6 ⇒ (4) + 6 + 1 + 2 + (5, 5) = 23
raging furious tentacle, bless, marid, flank, secondary, power: 1d20 + 11 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 11 + 1 + 1 = 14damage, zith, sneak attack: 1d4 + 6 + 1 + 2 + 2d6 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 1 + 2 + (1, 1) = 13
raging furious claw, bless, marid, flank, power: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 6 + 1 + 1 = 17damage, zith, sneak attack: 1d4 + 6 + 1 + 2 + 2d6 ⇒ (1) + 6 + 1 + 2 + (6, 4) = 20

The Captain's piratical fury is evident for all to see as he sets about the monster.

I hope it's enough!

"Yes, Hogo, you're ... correct," Doc says in reply to Hogo's animated and excited chitterings. "This would be an ... unprecedented ... opportunity. We've never studied a ... dragon-crab's passing before."

Heedless of the danger Doc maneuvers closer to the fight in the hope that he'll be ready to study and aid the turtle-dragon's passage into the Beyond.

He's also quite amazed at Captain Malarkey's combat prowess, but just in case he focuses on the crab-turtle's internal skeleton.

Boneshaker, Arcane Pool point, Salt reagent, Fort DC 20 for half : 6d6 ⇒ (2, 4, 1, 5, 3, 1) = 16

If the creature drops below 0 hp, he'll jump onto it's back (Boots of the Cat, of course) and do his "Consume Life" thing. (Bad name, but not evil.)

The Grandfrogger fixes the turtle with red, evil-looking eyes that weaken it to the strikes of his allies! Save failed!

Maria steps up and takes advantage of this by firing an arrow into one of the creature's limbs and Malachi maneuvers into a more favorable position atop the creature's shell and unleashes hell with beak, claw, and tentacle! With the fourth strike the turtle gives a mighty groan and goes limp, blood pooling into the water all around.

Dr. O'mayga had been ready to rattle the creature's bones but thanks to Malachi, he can save his magics for another time. As the creature begins to bleed out, the samsaran hops over the side and onto its shell to consume the remainder of its life force.

Combat Over!

Doc does indeed hop over the side, landing surprisingly nimbly on the dying beasts slick and cracked shell. He's dimly aware that their Captain is quite injured, but this opportunity simply must not be missed.

Hogo crawls down the Doctor's right arm and curls themself like a bracelet around his thin wrist. Doc nods once to the sentient vine, and together they focus on the ebbing life energy of the mighty creature. Doc channels it through himself, and with Hogo's assistance and guidance, they steer the dragon-turtle's spirit toward the River of Souls. Just for an instant the River becomes visible to the pair, and they watch in awe as a nosoi shoos the bright mote of soul energy along.

"Hmm, yes, Hogo. ... Someday, you shall," the Doctor murmurs as they stand.

"That was ... very informative. ... Did you know ... that it was indeed ... a dragon?" he informs you all needlessly. Their studies done, the pair clamber less gracefully back onto the ship before remembering that Malachi was injured.

Acrobatics, Take 10 : 10 + 2 = 12

"Ahh, Captain, do you ... need healing?" the Doctor of Death Studies asks as he pulls out a wand.

"Eh.... eh.... he's soup now, yes!" the captain laughs as he recovers his breath.

"And yes, I am bloodied! Always a risk, to charge into combat against a larger foe. But Besmara watches over me today, yes!"

"You!" Malachi shouts up to the crew. "Haul this carcass in, yes! What we don't eat, we sell back in port, yes! Much profit!"

Burn 5 charges from Malachi's infernal healing wand, and then top off with a clw wand.

clw wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Maria kicks into gear as the first mate, quickly devising a pulley system big enough to haul the carcass in, ”Don't forget your pike, Captain. It looks expensive and would sink like a stone.”

She spends a bit of time harvesting scale samples and studying the creature, though declines any portion of the meat.

”Did you know that a dragon turtle has an adapted swim bladder it can also use for its steam breath? The theory is the heat gland doubles to keep them warm in the icy cold depths. It makes sense, but who really knows with magical creatures.”

She turns to the other elf, ”Tahl, is that stone still pulling?”

Zithembe eventually climbs the side of the ship and hauls himself back onto the deck. "My concern for your safety was premature," he says to the tengu.

"Eh, I couldn't have done it without you, Mister Golem, yes!"

Malachi doffs his tricorne and bows to Zithembe, wincing as his wounds continue to knit together.

"Can't hit the weak spots without a shipmate to distract the foe, yes."

It's quite sad. In fact, I don't have recipes to cook turtles. I'm sure my favorite Tygger would have enjoyed that meal..

Though it takes some effort, you're able to get everyone safely back on board the Flawless Diamond as well as take advantage of the dragon turtle's demise to harvest as much as possible from the corpse. What's more, the turtle's attempt to capsize the ship knocked open a hidden and long-forgotten smuggling storage compartment in the ship; within you find a large onyx gem worth 700 gp, a very old bottle of wine that's probably worth 50 gold to the right collector, as well as three potions.

After taking a little time to get things settled, you turn your attention back to the task at hand. In response to Maria's question Hepsubia holds up the orb, which now glows brightly and visibly pushes against the elf's fingers in the direction of the nearby island, leaving no doubt as to your destination. The island rises up from the ocean, with sandy shores and dense green foliage. Several large trees look to have fallen recently. You can see a few dozen small structures, indication that it either is or has been settled at some point.

It takes about 15 minutes to travel close enough to be able to drop anchor and head ashore in a lifeboat; all the while the seismic activity continues to occur at random intervals, though not nearly as strongly as that first initial burst. As your lifeboat approaches the beach you see a small crowd of people gathered near the wooden and stone structures, watching your approach. One figure breaks away and strides purposefully towards you, her blue skin and turquoise hair contrasting sharply against the sand. She opens her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted as the ground once again rumbles slightly beneath everyone's feet. With a scowl, she points first at you and then out towards the Flawless Diamond.

"What. Did. You. DO?"

Craft: Alchemy Potion 1: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (18) + 13 = 31
Craft: Alchemy Potion 2: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (11) + 13 = 24
Craft: Alchemy Potion 3: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (20) + 13 = 33

Maria quickly identifies the three potions, barely even needing to inspect them, "Bear's Endurance, Invisibility and Slipstream. All useful."

______________________

Maria taps herself with a wand as they approach (heightened awareness) and hops out of the lifeboat, dragging it ashore. She frowns, "Well simply, we are here to solve a mystery. We certainly did not expect the earthquakes though, is anyone hurt?"

Diplomacy + Inspiration Aid: 1d20 + 4 + 1d6 ⇒ (5) + 4 + (2) = 11

"Solve a mystery? Solve a mystery!? So you come to our home, our waters, carrying what's clearly some sort of magical artifact," she gestures to the very conspicuous glowing orb in Hepsubia's hands, "that you apparently know next to nothing about! And have the nerve to act surprised when it has consequences??"

Fuming, the woman - likely an undine based on her appearance - points out towards the open ocean. "A group of my people capable of breathing underwater were out there when the first earthquake hit and haven't returned!"

Maria frowns, "Would you allow us to try to go help them? To amend our error in judgement?"

Effie would probably be going crazy about this. Innocents harmed through our neglect and all that. But how were we supposed to know what an ancient artifact would cause? It seemed like just a homing beacon.

"Eh, don't look at me" Captain Malarkey scowls angrily. "I just killed a dragon that attacked my ship unprovoked, yes. You know anything about that?"

Maybe they know about the monastery, yes, but I don't think so.

Sense Motive : 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

She didn't ask us what mystery. Perhaps she knows, and only wishes to divert our attention. I do not trust this one, Doc thinks to himself. Thinking is so much faster than speaking since the concepts can be processed without the confusion of a dozen languages getting tangled up in one's head.

"Do you ... recognize this ... artifact? Would you ... have known ... that this would happen?"

Confronted by Maria's sincere desire to help as well some sensible (and perhaps slightly accusatory) questions from Malachi and Dr. O'mayga, the woman seems to lose some of her fire and bluster. She sighs heavily and closes her eyes, rubbing at her temples.

"I...no, I don't know anything about your artifact. Magical artifacts are often dangerous...but they do sometimes possess wonderful powers, too. So no, I suppose I wouldn't have expected it to specifically cause an earthquake," she admits after a pause. "And the dragon turtle. Dragon turtles aren't unheard of in these waters but I never knew we had one living so close by. We saw it attack your ship but there wasn't time for us to do anything about it; we were too busy making sure our homes didn't collapse on top of us."

The woman takes a deep breath and turns to Maria. "Look. Six of our people were underwater at those damned ruins when the earthquake happened. I'm the leader of the village here, and as much as I want to go out after them, I can't leave everyone else behind and possibly in danger. If you're able to go down there, then we would greatly appreciate the help."

She pauses again and in a much lower, more worried tone, she whispers, "One of the missing is my wife, Zulfibha. If you can, find her. Please."

"We will ... assist you, yes," Doc O'Mayga says, unconsciously mimicking Malachi's speech pattern. "It is what ... Pathfinders do."

"Ahh, yes, she did," he responds to Hogo with a friendly flick to a thorn.

"My friend ... reminds me that you ... mentioned ... how did she say it? ... 'those damned ruins.' Could you ... elaborate?"

Maria pops her potion sponge back in her mouth and chews it slowly, relishing the flavor as the liquid trickles down her throat. She has plenty of time though as Dr. O'mayga is talking again.

She spits the wax remains out and carefully wraps them up, securing them in her pack. She makes a note to make a bunch of potion sponges in case they are needed in the future. Maybe with honey added for sweetness?

The alchemist prepares another swimming elixir and asks, "Point us in the right direction please, we will go immediately to help."

When on the way, she dips her head underwater first to test the effectiveness of the waterbreathing potion. One never knows how good free potions will work, after all.

_________________________

A reminder that we also have three free found potions. Slipstream, Bear's Endurance and Invisibility. They won't be usable underwater, so should probably be taken before we go down to the ruins. I'd suggest anyone who needs a swim speed and had to buy a consumable for such a thing to use the slipstream potion (20 ft swim speed for 30 minutes, if no one wants it, Maria will use it instead of a 3 minute extract). One of our tanks that doesn't have a +2 belt of con should probably take the bear's strength (+4 Con for 3 minutes). No clue about invisibility, it could help anyone (invisible for 3 minutes).

"I apologize for the calamity of our arrival. Believe me that we bore no intention toward your people or this island. We were following the magic within the sphere and trying to maintain our ship at sea," Zithembe says. "You have given the ruins a negative appellation twice, now. Would you tell us what it is about the ruins that gives you such disdain toward them? Is it more than serving as a danger to adventurous and reckless youth? And Maria is right, we would help, if you can provide us with direction."

Diplomacy to Improve Attitude, if necessary: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26 +2 more vs. good-aligned person

Captain Malarkey turns aside to his First Mate and whispers to her "Eh, the golem is very talkative. Most unusual, yes! How much do you think he would cost, yes?"

Maria holds back her sigh and replies, ”Are you asking how much a similar constructed body would cost to make or are you asking about purchasing him to be owned? If the latter, then I’ll remind you that the society quite often frowns upon owning slaves and I doubt greatly that Zithembe would agree to any such deal like that. If the former, then I am impressed with your newly shown magical construct crafting ability and we should talk further after this mission.”

"Eh, a construct doesn't count as a slave, yes. Are you saying nobody owns this Zithembe-golem?"

Zith is not a thing. He is a friend, even if we disagree from time to time, because we don't have the same point of view. He isn't to sell. And if someone managed to enslave HIM

Hepsubia emphazises the HIM , while her eyes throw double-handed axes to Malarchi (causes daggers are way to small.)

I'll do my utmost to pursue the slaver and free my friend, unleashing awesome havoc unnightmared before on the slaver.

"It also occurs to me that we have not formally introduced each other," the shabti says. "I am Zithembe."

It seems that Zithembe's earnest words and apology have finally mollified the woman; though still clearly worried about the fate of her missing people, much of the tension has drained away.

"So that's the mystery you were talking about," the undine muses. "In that case, I'm also sorry for my anger earlier. Seems this whole thing has been a case of bad timing all around. I am Remendi, leader of our little community here on Wavebreak Haven. As for the ruins we came across them about five years ago. Most of the site is, well, in ruins, but there were a handful of buildings still intact. Some of our more intrepid members explored the site and determined that it seemed to have once been a monastery of some sort."

Here, Remendi shakes her head. "A few of our number found details of ancient martial arts techniques and began to teach themselves. At the time I figured it was a harmless endeavor but now...now I wonder if I should have made the ruins off-limits. Such places can be dangerous enough as it is, without adding magically-induced earthquakes to the mix. But there's no use in regrets right now. You said you would help and I'll do what I can to aid you. The ruins lie about a half mile off the shore..."

Remendi gives you fairly thorough directions on how to easily and quickly reach and find the ruins and also bids you to wait a moment while she returns to her home for additional supplies to aid you. After a few minutes she comes hurrying back down the beach carrying several pairs of goggles as well as a belt.

"It isn't much, but I hope it will help," she explains as she passes each of you a pair of underwater goggles. "We found this belt from a shipwreck some time back and it should make the wearer a little more dexterous."
______________

In addition to the underwater goggles, she also offers the group a Belt of Incredible Dexterity +2.

"Interesting," Zithembe says, examining the goggles. "Thank you, Remendi." He then clarifies, "So we should row out to there, anchor, and then take our water breathing elixirs?"

Doc doesn't seem to be following the conversation about golems, because, again, golems don't die. It's only when Hep seems to take it personally that he finally realizes what's going on. "Captain ... Zithembe is not a golem ... just because he is made of ... jade. Nor am I an undine ..." he pauses muuuuch longer than normal to slowly gesture at their host, "... just because I am ... blue."

Turning back to Remandi, he bows in thanks for the assistance she's provided and begins to make his way down to the beach and their pinnace.

Nautical nit. It would be a  pinnace,  not a "lifeboat."

Mage armor from wand when he uses his potion sponge, also. 

Maria accepts the goggles and looks the belt over, ”This will be useful to a few of us, perhaps.” She puts it in the rowboat :) for discussion later.

Pulling out a map and a ruler she looks over their options then asks their local contact, ”Would you advise we use the landing craft :) to get to the ruins or return to our ship to take it there? The ship might take a little longer, but would provide a much better location to stage our rescue effort.”

Remendi considers the size of the Flawless Diamond and thinks on Maria's question. "The ruins should be far enough out that you can safely anchor your ship nearby. If anyone's injured, it'll certainly be easier for you to treat them there than in that tiny thing you came ashore in!"

"Eh, I know the difference between an undine and a... whatever-you-are, a samsaran, yes! Met a few samsarans in Tian Xia, yes. Plenty of undines at sea. Not so many not-golems, yes. Eh, he said he was his own self, even though someone paid for his creation, yes. So somebody somewhere makes Zithembes, yes, and I am sure very expensive too. For a wondrous creation he is! Worth a boat-load of booty, by Besmara!"

"Eh, speaking of booty, that is a very shiny belt, and I do not own such a thing. So, you want to dice, shipmates?" The Captain approves of the First Mate's plan in this regard.

"Remendi is right, yes. My ship is best! Although it needs more guns."

"Shabti," Zithembe interjects. "The ritual used to create my soul produces what the ancient humans called a shabti. My creation cost a god-king of ancient Garund more than most kings of this era will ever see to create me. It cost more than any soul should endure in the bowels of the Abyss to become free."

The ground beneath your feet rumbles again and Remendi gives you all a pointed, worried look. "Please, hurry and see what's become of my people before it's too late," she urges you. Though she's obviously been privy to at least some of the side conversation about Zithembe and his autonomy, she's either too polite or too worried about the situation at hand to remark on it. Or maybe a little bit of both.

You hop back into the pinnace and head back out to the Flawless Diamond, where you weigh anchor and maneuver out to roughly where the underwater ruins should be, according to Remendi. There you drop anchor yet again and, after quickly making your preparations, dive into the water and begin your descent.

A dozen ruined buildings lie scattered across the sea floor, though a single building in the very center of them all appears almost completely intact. While some of the sunken buildings have clearly lain wrecked for centuries, a fact made clear by the overgrowth of algae and seaweed, others appear to have collapsed quite recently.

As you approach the orb in Hepsubia's hand glows brighter and brighter, resonating with whatever might lie within. You then spot four undines busily working around one of the ruined buildings, clearly doing their best to keep it from collapsing entirely.

No checks or anything required up to this point. It's not specified what depth the ruins are at but given that there are also no noted visibility restrictions due to darkness, assume they're relatively shallow - maybe 100 feet down or something along those lines. Also, please remind your GM as what preparations you've made with spells and potions and such, as it may or may not become relevant!

Monastery Wreckage

Optional Background Music

The elf clambers up the rigging and manages the spotting tasks as the ship is shifted over to the ruins. She yells 'drop anchor' and then takes her time climbing down. Before diving in she puts her new goggles on, greases herself up, drinks a chalky liquid, activates a wand, and slams back an elixir.

Goggles, Alchemical Grease (4hrs), Sooth Syrup (1 hr), Heightened Awareness (10m), Elixir of Touch of the Sea (3m). She did her water breathing potion as they left the beach so probably 4hrs 30m left on that.

And since no one else appears to have wanted to roll for the belt, she will slip it on.

"Ooh, Dexterous!"

Underwater

She gestures to get everyone's attention and points at the crumbling building, puts her weapon away and swims over.

Header should be updated with every buff. She does have a +6 initiative now with the belt and Heightened Awareness will bump that up more if we get into trouble. And her Perception is also higher with HA.

Malachi's eyes go wide at Zithembe's story. "Humans created a soul? 'God-king' must be right, yes!" The Captain shakes his head, marvelling at the miracle of the shabti's existence. He is only shaken out of his daydreams of god-like power and limitless wealth by the urgings of Remendi.

"Yes, yes! To the ruins then!"

Once above the ruins, Malachi runs through some preparations.

Wild Shape for tentacles again - pretty sure it's more than 70mins since the first use. Water breathing potions for Mal and Polly. Slipstream potion. Barkskin spell. Longstrider spell (probably redundant but you never know). I'll put all this in Mal's header spoiler.

"Eh, the islanders are here, yes." Malachi indicates the undines, then calls out to the creatures.

"E, talofa i ai. O le a le faafitauli, ioe?"

Once they are anchored above the ruins, Zithembe consumes the potion sponge of water breathing. He then removes a flask with the seal of the Dark Archive on it and drinks it.

Before he dives into the water, he takes out his coral wand and attempts to activate it. It takes him two tries to get it to work. He stows the wand and dives into the water.

Water Breathing, Slipstream (30 minutes), Touch of the Sea (3 minutes). While TotS is active, should have a Swim speed of 50 ft, otherwise 20 ft when TotS not active.

All four of the undine whip their heads around at the sound of Malachi's voice, eyes wide with surprise but also hope.

"Help!" one of them cries. "Two of our friends got trapped under here when the big earthquake happened! We've kept it from collapsing all the way so far but we're getting tired and can't keep this up for much longer!"

Monastery Wreckage

Optional Background Music

Doc follows everyone back into the small boat ;) and then back up into the ship. He seems a bit distracted, but does focus when it's time to head down into the briny depths.

He starts by pricking his finger and squeezing several drops of his own blood into a small bowl. He adds one of the water-breathing potions and swirls it all around as Hogo excitedly climbs into the bowl before Doc is even done.

"There, there ... no need to get so ... excited. There's no ... rush." he chides his friend.

After just a few seconds, the gruesome contents of the bowl are gone, and Hogo slithers back up into Doc's hair with a satisfied burp. The samsaran rolls his eyes at his companion as he chews his own potion sponge and spits out the waxy remains into the sea.

He taps himself with a wand, sets his goggles on his face, and executes the most horrendously uncoordinated entry into the water. He flails about while Hogo hangs on tight, then finally gets the hang of it and follows Maria down to the ruins below.

"Hogo, do you ... think that ... spider spell ... would help? Could it ... shore up ... the damage?"

Hogo chitters back, and Doc stops swimming as the pair commune.

Water breathing for both Hogo & Doc. Mage armor 1 hour.

The  Web spell seems to be vulnerable to flame, not water. He'll use an Arcane Point and a full-round action to swap out Flurry of Snowballs for Web, planning to use it to help hold the crumbling pieces together like a bandage. 

The elfgineer gives a thumbs up and circles the building, searching for the best way to help.

Knowledge: Engineering + Inspiration: 1d20 + 11 + 1d6 ⇒ (17) + 11 + (1) = 29