Deth mutters under his breath, watching the monk talk to the fishes. "I guess I'm going to have to learn that language." He turns to the others in the boat. "Think they are going to answer back?"
Deth takes off his Ironwood Buckler, his bow and his quarterstaff, then grips the spear with both hands and dives into the water. Surfacing briefly, he says a few words in Sylvan and water seems to flow into him, slowly turning his feet into flippers and his hands become longer and webbed. "I wish that I could breath water." he says as he swims out towards Aenon, getting ready to go down with him and deal with the fish.
Nox checks to see if the dinghy could get them any closer. Once they've went as far as they can. he casts Monkeyfish and jumps into the water.
ROUND 1
echeneis(a)- Detaches from teh boat and swimms almost supernaturally fast at Aenon.
echeneis(b)-Detaches from theh boat and swimms fast at Deth Biting him and grabbing hold.
Delia-
Momo-
Deth-
Aenon-
Nininox-
Deth exclaims "Oh %^%" as the fish hits him with blinding speed.
As it attaches, Deth's eyes widen. "It's draining my speed!" he exclaims to the girl's on the boat.
He once again draws upon the power of the green as he expands, dropping his spear as he claws at the fish, trying to get it to let go.
As the fish comes free, Deth uses his expanded reach and turns so the fish is over the rowboat. "Shoot it! he yells, confident in Momo's archery.
Nox will start casting Sleep on he fish that Deth just shook off.
Delia immediately begins another wordless tune that seems to invoke a sense of the ocean... She then looks around for anything she might be able to use to help her companions! "Try to pull them out of the water if you can!"
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Feeling his joints stiffen in the sea creatures grasp, Aenon tries to slip away.
Momo watches in horror as her companions are grappled by the echeneis. Momo drops her bow and quiver to the boat's floor, takes a deep breath, and jumps off the boat. Momo hits the water feet first, her body causing splash of water to hit the boat's deck which gets her abandoned bow and quiver wet.
As Momo feels buoyancy push her upwards, she pulls both daggers from the holsters at her thighs. She's still wearing her leather armor, which feels heavier as it soaks up water. She lifts her arms, each hand gripped tightly around a dagger.
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echeneis(a)- Detaches from the boat and swims almost supernaturally fast at Aenon.
echeneis(b)-Detaches from theh boat and swims fast at Deth Biting him and grabbing hold.
Delia- Inspire Courage
Momo- Jumps in the water with daggers
Deth- Takes control of the grapple and rolls the fish over to the surface.
Aenon- Laments his ill fortune to be tangled up all the time. Struggles but is unable to break free.
Nininox- Casts Sleep Its falls alseep in Deth's grasp.
Seeing its mate dealt with so quickly the echeneis releases Aenon and dives deep. The blow lands but in seconds you can see it darting away. Surprisingly it seems to be heading back towards shore where it slips inside an underwater cave.
Nox, still at the surface, calls for Deth to end it quickly, and provide dinner for the group. "There might be spices in the larder," the gnome calls out.
Once he hears about the underwater cave, he thinks long and hard. "I can swim pretty well, but can someone head down there and see if there might be breathable oxygen in the cave? I've heard of things like that. Or we could just ignore the last fish, and let our ship get into motion."
Deth gently keeps the speedeating fish under the water to avoid waking it. "Do we have a bucket or something to put it in?" he asks Delia. "You've put it to sleep, Nox. Good job." He glances back into the water to check on Aenon. Seeing the monk is OK and no sign of the sister fish he turns to Momo. "I'm afraid if I take it out of water, I'll wake it. So, I guess the question is do we kill it or take it captive?"
As he swims for the surface, thoughts of the fight and the echeneis fills Aenons head. "I'm thinking we should let it go." He tells his party. "From my interactions with them, they seemed far brighter than your average fish. If they behave anything like some mamals, we may just have stumbled into their nesting area and scared them. It would be a shame to kill a pair just looking out for their young."
"I don't think we should let them go." Deth replies. "They are aggressive, easily provoked and capable of stopping the Peregrine or any other ship dead in its tracks." He pauses for a few moments before continuing. "We probably need to find its mate and deal with it. Also, this is exactly the kind of unique fauna that the Peregrine might be interested in taking back home. I think that is to dangerous to allow happen. I vote for killing the little bugger."
Momo swims to the surface. She treads water as she listens to her companions. "I agree with Deth. They're too dangerous in a new settlement like this. ...I'll kill the one Nox put to sleep if you all want." Momo wonders if Aenon has a soft spot for aquatic creatures. Even if this is their next, it's an unfavorable position for the colonists.
Deth asks Aenon. "Where did it's mate go?" he asks as he transfers the fish into one hand and regrabs his spear. "I'm going to drop the fish into the boat, which will probably wake it up. I'll try and pin it with the spear, but in case it doesn't die, be ready." If no one objects Deth will drape his arm holding the spear over the gunwale and then counts to three. On three he brings the fish out of the water, dropping it into the boat and tries to impale it with the spear.
"Noted, I'll take care of the mate then." With that, Aenon lets himself sink back beneath the waves and darts towards the cave. As he closes in, he grasps his spear just a little tighter and readies himself to strike. Trusting his sense of even minute changes in the water to give him an edge over the echeneis, he inches closer to the mouth of the cave.
As Deth impales the fish with the spear it jerks and lashes out with its final efforts before succumbing to its wounds!
Aenon, as you approach the cave you see...
Reflected sunlight from outside flickers across the water and reflects on the stone ceiling in this mostly submerged cave. The waters are cold, but not to a life-threatening degree, and the motion of the surf outside sends mild, rocking waves across the chamber. A passageway extends to the north, and to the south is the cave entrance.
The cave system is partially submerged, and the depth varies due to the uneven floor rising and sloping in places. The rounded cave roof remains 5 feet above the water except where noted. The average dwarf, gnome, or halfling standing on the floor of the caves is at least 1 foot underwater at this depth, while Medium creatures can
stand with their feet on the bottom and keep their heads above water.[/ooc]
There is no illumination in the caves, but the sunlight from outside provides dim light up to 25 feet into the cave. You can see two Grindilows deeper in the entrance, they seem to be on guard and ready for you.
Deth asks Nox. "Before we cook this up, are there any parts that we might want to save for magic purposes. It was sucking the speed right out of me." He pauses, and looks around. "Where did Aenon get off to?"
Aenon halts in the water and lowers his spear at the sight of the two creatures. He waves a free hand and yells out "ሓኢል ፍሪአንድስ፦ ዒ ኣም ሀረ ዊጥ ኖ ኢልል ዊልል፣ ወ ኦንልይ ሴክ ኦኡር ሚስሲንግ ብረጥረን፦"
"Hmmm, if keep the vital organs like the kidneys and liver and give them a once over. That'd be the best place to store magic I could think of. I think mister grumpy undine went chasing after the other fish. Hopefully he brings it back and then we can have a nice full dinner for everyone!"
"You think that freak'll taste any better than the scaps we had last night?"
"Dont know, looks kinda boney..."
Aenon backs away from the squidlike creatures, before darting back towards the boat. With an eye fixed on the strange creatures, he remains submerged until he reaches the dingy and emerges between his companions. "I couldn't find the echeneis, the cave was far deeper than it seemed at first glance." He says, while trying to catch his breath. "But when the island takes away, it gives back tenfold. I found squidpeople. They may have eaten some of the colonists, because they were talking about scaps they'd eaten, and sure as all hells didn't seem friendly."
"They may have followed you up here" Deth ducks his head under water to double check. Well for about a minute I can probably tow a couple of us to Aenon's cave. Was there any air in the cave?"
"Getting there shouldn't be much of a problem, it's only a short swim, and the water in there's barely chest high. The real problem is that it's both a tight fit and pretty dark, fighting will definitely be more difficult than it's been so far." Aenon replies, brows furrowed in thought. "We could probably take the dingy, if it'll make people feel more safe. Otherwise, like Deth, I'd be happy to give anyone a lift over to the entrance, it shouldn't be much of a problem from there.
"Let's take the dinghy over there then. If the fighting is as bad as you say, any of us might need to retreat and it'd be smart to have the boat there for easy access.". Nox was ready to proceed when the others were prepared.
Momo returns with a cloth napkin tucked into her collar and she's holding what appears to be a fork. "What's that? Calamari? Where?" Momo looks ready to fight another battle if it means food other than their bland trail rations.
"Let's take the dinghy over there then. If the fighting is as bad as you say, any of us might need to retreat and it'd be smart to have the boat there for easy access.". Nox was ready to proceed when the others were prepared.
Deth pulls the boat over (hopefully with Aenon's help). Then he will offer to carry anyone over to the cave.
"They were more people, less squid." Aenon laughs as he sees the ravenous ranger. He then gets behind the dingy and helps Deth by giving it a solid push.
Getting down into the caves while a little tricky proves to not be a real challenge and dispatching the two Grindylows at the mouth of the tunnel takes place without incident. A passageway extends to the north, and to the south of the cave entrance.
"Nice work. To bad about the lack of edible creatures, eh Momo?" Aenon teases after they dispatch the final grindylow. He turns and looks further into the dark depths of the cave for a moment, before turning back to the party. "It will probably be dangerous ahead, the water and darkness won't be doing us any favours. So I think I'll try sneaking ahead to find out what we're up against. I suggest you guys find a way to deal with our natural obstacles."
Aenon waits for a moment, and if nobody objects, he slips under water and tries to scout ahead.
Delia remains behind while Aenon leads forward into the darkness. "Be careful." She whispers to him before the departure.
It was all Nox could do to keep treading water while the others explored the cavern. "A little warning about the depth would have been nice," he muttered, trying to gulp in the air without getting a mouthful of water for his trouble.
North or South East Aenon?
This open cavern is where some members of the Shellcracker Gang spend their time resting and eating. Within this dark chamber, Aenon can spot at least 3 more Grindylows who appear to be ready for intruders.
The grindylows fight fiercely to protect their home and their scavenged loot. The grindylows make use of the columns of rock here to gain concealment and avoid direct line of sight with you as they use
hit-and-run tactics in this wide area.
The echeneis from earlier is in here as well and seems to behave similarly to a trained dog with these creatures.
Alone Aenon is quickly overcome! He retreats but is not pursued beyond the edge of this cave.
Noticing Nox's distress, Deth picks him up and sets him on his shoulder while he looks around for a ledge or something to place him on.
Aenon quickly returns to the party, one hand covering a shallow wound in his side. "Found more of the squids further in, and the echeneis too. They seem to have somehow tamed it to do their bidding." He reports to the others before describing the layout of the room. "The seem to have dug themselves in pretty well, I'm not sure how we should proceed."
Deth hands Aenon some plums. "Here, have a few of these" He tells Aenon. "Is there enough of a gap so that we can use bows?" he asks the wounded monk. "If we can shoot then I would say that Momo and I start shooting while Aenon stays submerged in front of us, ready to intercept any fish or goblins that come our way. Delia and Nox can support us magically or physically, whatever is needed. If we can't shoot then we'll just need to close underwater so that they can't use their javelins effectively."
"Thanks." Aenon gives Deth a quick nod as he accepts the plums and wolfs down the first one. "They seemed to have pretty good cover, shooting them might be difficult unless we can somehow draw them out in the open." He starts chomping down on another plum as he looks back into the darkness of the cave.
Momo turns to Deth, "Even with my abilities, it's going to be near impossible for me to hit something that deep underwater from the deck of a boat. I think I'm going to have to use my daggers." Still, Momo returns her bow to her back, a leather strap runs across her torso, securing the weapon to her back.
She leaves her backpack on the deck of the small boat but takes five arrows which she secures with a strip of linen to her belt. "I don't think we can drag them out safely unless we want to risk one of us being captured." Momo raises one eyebrow as Aenon, "Are you volunteering to be bait?"
Momo sheaths her daggers in their holsters and jumps back into the water to join Aenon. Momo stays surfaced, treading water until the party is ready to move.
Deth grabs his spear with a two handed grip and says to Aenon. "Lead on." He follows behind the monk, staying completely submerged and walking slowly, putting one foot in front of the other and making sure he has solid footing before taking another step. He is ready for the lightning fast fish or any of the goblins to dart in to attack.
Seeing the look Momo gives him, Aenon slumps his shoulders dejectedly. "I guess I am." He sighs and turns to lead the party further into the cave. As they reach the cave expansion, he joins Deth under the surface and attempts to set up a defensive formation to protect the others.
Since Aenon didn't need the Light, Nox casts his Light cantrip on Deth's spear.
Momo swims after Aenon, holding her breath. She was accustomed to holding her breath while hunting out in the forest. The smallest movement could scare away prey. Still, being underwater where breathing isn't a physical option is disconcerting to Momo.
Her is attached to a leather strap on her vest which emits a small amount of light. With her limited visibility, Momo touches the cave wall periodically for security.
Momo swims up to Aenon and encourages him to keep going by giving his shoulder a slight squeeze and nodding.
Momo does not have any weapons drawn because she had been focused on swimming.