Seeing the bright incandescence that was Krysta, the giant bat let out a low shriek of acknowledgement.
Delendir fights with the waters when he feels the powerful claws pulling him up. The ranger protests trying to defend himself from the new menace until he notices the brilliant amethyst scales "Krysta?!" he clings at the dragon as she flights him back to the other side of the river.
When both reach the solid ground, the half-elf rolls clumsily for a second before he can kneel and raise his face "Krysta!" Delendir recovers his breath while he contemplates the new shape of the dragon "Good heavens! That was a timely apparition! You saved me from those rageful waters!"
"But look at you!" the ranger incorporates himself and wrings his clothes in an attempt to dry them "What happened?! We feared you might have decided to leave us behind. Are you ok? Well you look better than ever!"
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Krysta got Delendir to safety and landed then replied, "I wasn't going to leave since everyone was set against it. I just got hungry...really hungry. There was a significant amethyst deposit in the mountain," she smiled hapilly, "now there isn't. I needed to eat to get bigger, I knew it was close, and I knew what it meant. Took longer than I thought to finish digesting it."
The bat tilts its head at Krysta before nodding.
"You are even more impressive than before." Yavenee says with a smile. "All the better to deliver your wrath upon our enemies."
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Elisai is much less confident about relying on a gigantic bat to fly her across the river, but on the other hand, she wasn't really keen on the idea of having to swim and needing to be fished out like Delendir, so gingerly climbs up onto Sunday's back.
She is much relieved to be on solid ground after crossing though, and gives the bat a grateful - if awkward, nod of things.
The giant bat gives Elisai a reciprocal squeak.
With the help of their two flying companions, the party makes their way towards Turtleback Ferry as quick as they can. There certainly have been better days for flying though, and as they make haste into the midst of the howling storm, words are lost in the driving rain and pealing thunder. It is quite clear that the flooding waters are rising and still will make their way towards town, but it looks like the party may still yet arrive in time to help. With hope, you press on as fast as the burdened Krysta and Sunday and manage.
As the town comes into view, one thing is obvious: the village of Turtleback Ferry is drowning. The muddy, surging waters of the Skull River tear through the center of the community to fill Claybottom Lake with a terrible fury--many of the buildings that once sat comfortably on the river's banks are already flooding and in danger of collapsing from the rushing water. A group of children and a woman huddle aboard one of the old turtleshell ferryboats, the tiny flood-bashed vessel lodged up against the general store threatening to capsize at any moment. Beyond, the town's church stands solid, its foundations already three feet deep in the floodwaters. Frantic movement is visible in the upstairs windows as townsfolk trapped inside rush about in a desperate attempt to save scriptures, comfort the sick, and pray for deliverance.
As your flying friends touch down at the edges of the rushing water, you gasp and mutters yourselves when you looks and see the woman and children in the trapped boat. Taking note of your arrival, a men quickly makes his way out of a building and shouts "By Gozreh's beard, you've come back!" He looks to you all and then pleads, "It's Ms. Henkenson! The school teacher and the kids! They are trapped! Please help!"
"Daud, Krysta, can you help them?" the half-elf looks hopeful at the now proven flood-rescuers.
Meanwhile he takes out his lock-breaking toolbox and looks to improvise an harpoon "I need a rope. I can attach this improvised harpoon to the rope, then send Ghina with it after Daud and Krysta, and attempt to fix it to the boat to pull it out of danger"
He turns to the man who talked up with the party "Quickly, you have to evacuate the town, this place is getting dangerous. More and more waters are coming down"
While Krysta would normally have been in her half-elf form for the journey she chose to stay in her true shape. While she passed it off as wanting to be able to get through any difficulties easier the truth was that she felt awkward in her own body just now. It was evident in little things to those who had traveled with her that she was, occasionally, having problems tripping or getting caught by an unexpected branch or wind current, but by the time they reached the Ferry she had gotten mostly accustomed to herself once more.
When they saw the state of the place she was shocked. She'd resumed her alternate form for the approach so as not to startle the townfolk but as the man approached and began babbling about the teacher she had already touched her ring and shifted. Delendir barely said a word about helping the children and their teacher when Krysta was already in the air and flying that way. She made her way to the ferry and looked for a means to steer the boat or get the passengers off of it.
Seeing the flooded town as well as hearing all the shouting the bat grumbled out a squeak before taking to the air alongside Krysta when everyone pointed and shouted towards the schoolteacher and kids.
As Krysta begins to make her way towards the boat, the children point at the flying dragon and begin to scream, cowering in fear.
"No! Calm down! It's our friend! The dragon is a good one, it will save you!" Delendir shouts from afar trying to calm down the situation.
But as usual, his rude manners just make to inflame more the situation.
Frustrated, he continue trying to improvise a harpoon.
Ignoring the fear of the children, particularly since time was of the essence, Krysta flew to the boat and decided that the best way to save them was to try and free the boat. She landed on the side opposite the building, dug her talons in, and began to flap her wings fiercely as she tried to drag the ship free.
She called out to teacher, "Get ready to steer this thing, I'm trying to pull you free of the building!" With that she put her all into it, straining to pull the vessel off of what had it hung up.
Following after the dragon the bat followed her lead and latched onto the boat.
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Elisai almost gives up at the idea of trying to calm down a group of children at the sight of a giant bat and a dragon trying to pull a boat. ”Children, children, you need to calm down, they won’t hurt you, just think of them as more ermmm, pets” Elisai attempts, trying to make them sound more adorable and cuddly, as opposed to big and scary.
Elisai's words have a calming effect, their screaming and hysteria fading way as the words from the spirit dander offer some calm to the scared individuals.
Krysta and Sunday grab a hold of the boat and begin to pull on it. With a loud groan, the boat seems to break free.As they strain and begin make some headway, the current carries a slithering object up against the side of the ferry.
A tremendous 16-foot-long nightbelly boa, one of the more dangerous predators to ply the river, burst from the waters, rises from the water with a loud hiss and attacks. It's large head immediately flies towards the ferry and it scoops up and swallows young Tabitha Kramm, pigtails, freckles, and all. The school teacher Tillia Henkenson screams once more along with the rest of the children, powerless to stop the ravenous reptile. This task falls to the you!
"Oh dear! That's growing more dangerous by the moment" Delendir presses on and attempts to climb into one of the houses roof to gain proper sight of the boa.
Delendir finishes fashioning together this makeshift harpoon just in time to hear the sound of the snake attacking. He quickly scurries up top of the closest building, gaining an excellent view of the developing situation across in the water ahead.
The giant bat lets out an angry screech and immediately snaps at the serpent, dark spirits riding along.
Just as they cleared the boat from the building Krysta saw the snake strike. She gave a screeching bellow of rage and flapped up then over to attack the thing from above making sure to keep herself between it and the boat so it couldn't grab anymore kids without ignoring her. With a roar of rage her jaws snapped out fiercely at the serpent's head.
Her bit tore the head off of the snake and she looked in to where the child was. Screaming at Sunday she said, "Hold it up! Don't let the water take the body!" With that she began to tear at the flesh of the serpent as she tried to reach the little girl and get her out of the snake's body. When she reached the child she said, "Grab my neck and hold on"
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Sunday quickly snatches up the body of the snake, preventing it from falling away. Bloody and crying with hysteria, the girl tentative reaches up and grabs a hold of the talking dragon. Krysta can feel the girl trembling in fear as she lifts her body from the corpse of the large snake.
Krysta and Sunday work together on removing all the school kids. Little Tabitha Kramm eyes open wide as she get lifted up by Krysta. The school teacher Tillia Henkenson is all thanks and praise "Praise the gods and thanks to you heroes! We would have all been in the belly of that snake if not for you. When the flood waters came in the schoolhouse we climbed aboard the boat, but then it broke its lines and sent us into the village. Dear me, look at the village and my little schoolhouse all underwater."
Watching the kids and then the waters to make sure no other predators try to take advantage of their current situation the giant bat lets out a squek as it’s eyes latch on to something. Elbowing the crystal dragon it points out towards the church.
From his vantage position, it is easy for Delendir to spot the tree. He also looks to the church and points there "Trees do not usually submerge underwater, and definitely do not stay long"
As the children are all placed to safety the half-elf descends from the building and looks for a shallow area to approach and investigate the phenomenon.
"That would have to be an unnaturally heavy tree not to float in this much water." Yavenee says as Delendir points it out.
"Tree's don't tend to dodge obstacles on their own" Elisai points out rather obviously, her eyesight not as good as the others but still sharp enough to observe the obvious. The recent entry of the gigantic snake has made her a tad wary, and she clutches her sword for safety.
With the girl freed and clinging to her Krysta got some space and then carefully cradled the child in her forelegs as she landed on the boat. The vessel tilted heavily towards where she landed but not enough to capsize. She let the girl go and said, "There all better now." She bobbed her head to the teacher as she spoke and then turned her gaze to the tree that was being pointed out.
She realized like the others it wasn't a tree and the dragon gave a great flap of her wings as she lifted off from the ferry. "You're right, not a tree. What is it?" She continued to gain height to try and track whatever it was from above.
Free from one danger, another now torments them. The children scream again as something immense, something wrong, erupts from the water and bellows in furiously. The creature continues to rise and rise from the waters until somewhere 50 feet above you high into the air stirs the largest creature you've ever witnessed in your life.
Filthy water sluices from a head that somehow combines the worst traits of moray eel and tyrannosaurus, clad in oily-black skin and held thirty feet above the flood on a muscular, boneless trunk that gradually widens until is disappears into the muddy water. About it thrash barbed tentacles terminating in blood-red eyes, emerging from the river and crawling about the shoreline looking for victims. The head turns about, serrated jaws and garishly red gums and tongue glistening. Yet within its glaring eyes clearly lurks an intelligence, ancient and cruel. It stares down at Delendir, Elisai and Yavenee ; pitiless, hateful and raging, savoring the horror that its manifest alienness evokes in onlookers.
"By the All-Father," stammers Tillia Henkenson as all color drains from her face. Raising a trembling hand and pointing up into the sky she fearfully concludes, "It’s B-Black Magga! B… But how?"
The giant bat lets out a bemused shriek as it sees the giant monster rise up.
Stirring in the water, the tremendous creature turns its attention towards all of the people before it and prepares to attack.
"The Black Magga....a Mother of Oblivion, holy to Lamashtu. Its breath induces madness, its bite withers and destroys, and its tentacles can reach through barriers to find its victims wherever they hide." Yavenne shouts as she stares up at the horrific monstrosity before them.
Immediately she summons the forces of fate to weaken the creature's defences.
Still latched onto the raft, the giant bat begins to beat its wings to the move them all away from the giant monster.
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With the monster appearing Krysta agrees wholeheartedly with Sunday's actions and dives back down to latch onto the boat and help push it away from the creature that rose from the depths.
Elisai reacts defensively, while the craft is pushed down the river, the medium casts Mirror Image, trying to make herself as small as possible against the huge creature.
The witch stares down the formidable opponent and creates the smallest levels of doubt with her gaze. The tremendous beast doesn't hestiate long though, moving backwards slightly it exhales a cloud of foul-smelling, poisonous breath that blankets nearly the entirety of the area in your sight.
Delendir rears back a second under the impression of spotting the gargantuan creature. He starts to sweat and his hands tremble as the confusion starts to overtake his mind.
Unable to recognize the creature, Delendir is just able to bubble incoherently, unable to think what to do in such a situation.
With a screech of rage at the giant bat creature beside her Krysta released her hold on the boat and tore into the terrifying thing with her full might. Her teeth snapped and claw tore at the hideous thing in her confused state but fortunately for Sunday her confusion made her strike in a hurry and her blows, while fearsome, were not as accurate as they could have been.
Letting out a shriek when one of the Dragon’s claws grazes him the giant bat reaches over to snap at her.
The giant bat lets out random squeaks and shrieks.