Mother Kahli says "I don't recall this shipwreck. It must be recent."
That's when Ederion catches a glint of shining light from beneath the wreck. A gold coin.
"We definitely need to take a look at it" - the elf cracks a smile when he sees the gold beneath the wreck - "Just to make sure..."
Aster frowns at the delay, but doesn't comment.
As the spell wear off, and Tasha begins to move as normal as a human with a fish tail can, she nods at Aster's frown. "Should we waste time? We decided to attack to prevent them from re-organising in defense. As much as I know the rebellion needs gold... I doubt it'd be gone if we come back for it later." A nervous expression appears on her face, as she turns to Ederion and Rexandi. Unless they're planning to loot it and be gone from here... but we aren't... right?
Moving to Bazzle's side, she gently puts her gauntlet on his shoulder. "You'll get better. We know it. And you might need to keep them safe.", she nods, before readying herself to delve, be it ship or chasm.
This +1 shocking shortspear is made entirely out of impure copper, beaten and sharpened into shape. It occasionally zaps small insects or parasites as it's carried around, and sometimes flashes symbols in druidic.
Once per round, the wielder can target a creature within 50 feet to zap with the Crack of Lightning. The wielder makes a ranged attack as if throwing the spear, only for the spear to animate into a bolt of lightning and strike the target. It then appears in the hand of the wielder again. Such an attack deals 1d12+1 electricity damage and crits on a 20 x3.
This shortspear has the brace property when used two-handed. If the wielder is struck by an electricity attack while bracing, they reduce the damage taken by 1d6+1, to a minimum of 0.
Small sized creatures can wield the Crack of Lightning as a small sized spear.
Aster nods with Tasha "Saving these people should be our only priority."
"I agree - unless we suspect this is an ambush laid by the enemies, we should leave the gold for later, as much as we could use it!"
Though with Ederion's protests, the remaining team decide to press their advantage. Hopefully with their haste, Menotheguro will be unprepared. They look back to the barren, but sunlit underwater world behind them. Somewhere beyond their vision lies Rillia and Bazzle, desperately racing towards the village of Secret Shoals for aid. The remnants of the mermaids wait, hoping that they can be saved from certain death, or worse.
Before them, a gaping chasm of darkness. The current races down into the abyss, making return nearly impossible. Retreat is not an option. The heroes will either emerge, somewhere, victorious, or they will never see the sun again. At least not with free will.
And so they dive into the chasm, and darkness threatens to surround all but their magical light. The current pushes them ever downwards, without any need to swim.
"Stay brave everybody" Aster says in a quiet voice, more for herself than anyone else.
Ederion moves after the others, stretching to see what shines golden but eventually giving up.
Rexandi and Ederion both spot a tiny object, dimly illuminated by their light. While Rexandi can't swim fast enough to do anything about it, Ederion quickly paddles with all his might and grabs hold of it. It's a pouch made of glittering cloth, sort of appearing like the stars of a night sky.
The current pushes them ever onward, until they're thrown into an open cave. Still completely submerged, this underwater cave has many strings of kelp growing from the soil below. Each string of kelp is covered in spider webs, which reflect the light. The dragon carcass has ripped through a few of these webs, and is stuck against a massive wall of webbing further ahead. The water passes through this wall, but anything larger than a fist is bound to get caught.
When the group looks above, they see a large pocket of air being held down by nothing but a tight weave of spider webs. In the center lies the spider, reminiscent of the one that dwelled in the Lucky Bones entrance. Its abdominine is covered in webbing, which holds air around it. To its side, a small tunnel can be barely seen.
The current continues to push the group towards the webs.
Rexandi immediately gets stuck.
Ederion manages to thread lightly in the watery environment, taking a step ahead and assuming a defensive posture - "Let us do this then"
Rexandi tries to move, but she immediately gets caught in the webbing. Ederion navigates the webs with incredibly agility, and swims closer to the spider in order to draw its attention. Mother Kahli casts a spell that creates a whip made of tightly rippling bubbles.
The spider climbs around on the webs to circumvent Ederion, ignoring him for someone in a more helpless situation. It comes around and looks Ederion in the eyes, its legs raised and venomous fangs shown. That's when Ederion realizes that this monster isn't just a giant underwater spider... It's a Skum, an Ogre Skum. It's abdomen used to be the Ogre's belly, and its eyes are huge for how small the pupils are. Fortunately, this realization and display don't intimidate him.
The current pushes everyone, who must swim to resist it. Rexandi is already tied to the kelp, and the spider navigates by clinging to its webs. Only Tasha fails to swim against the current, forcing her closer to the spider, and entangling her in webs.
Rexandi struggles and does her best to hurl the javelin at the spider-ogre.
"That is... both creative and distrubing" the pump rat mermaid probably hypocritically mentions before doing a quick prayer, , and swims closer to Rexi to hopefully keep the skum ogre spider away from her.
"Sure is. Though I'm not sure the Shelynites would agree on this piece of abstract art!", Tasha blurbs back at Aster, as she sets on to fight the beast. The water and her shield seem to fight one another, but the dagger slices into the skum's flank. Aster, I'll get you something back for that, someday..., she smiles a defiant smile at the ogre.
Aster's blessing does little to aid Rexandi's throw, nor two of Tasha's shield bashes. The dagger does pierce flesh, however it doesn't draw much in the way of blood. Mother Kahli tries to slash it with her conjured whip, but she fumbles and fails to make the whip crack.
Several kilometers from the chasm, Bazzle and Rillia begin to approach the mermaid village.
"Another Skum..." - the elf ponders, not without a certain sense of wonderment at the creature battling them - "How are they getting these amazing... Forms?" - he seems to drift away in thought for a moment, but then refocuses.
"So you think it a good idea to turn your back on me, do you?"
Ederion tries to stab the hulking monster, but his rapier fails to pierce through enough layers of fat to do any real harm. The spider rears backwards, then thrusts itself towards Tasha. She catches the monstrous fangs with her shield, with their points hanging over the top and threatening to get her should her strength fail. They inject green venom into the water, merely a few inches from Tasha's shield arm. Despite being a well-trained warrior, this unnerves Tasha terribly.
The current pushes everyone farther into the complex, requiring them to swim against it. Aster and Mother Kahli manage to stay where they want, but Ederion gets swept up in the currents and entangled in the webbing. Rexandi and Tasha remain where they are, as they're already tethered.
Rexandi and Tasha don't need one since they're entangled
Rexandi continues to feebly try to hurl lightning to help Ederion.
"Get away from her!" Aster swims forward and slams her mace (or tries to) into the bloated bag of spider orge trying to poison Tashsa.
"I am still here"
Rexandi's attack vaporises the water around the giant spider Skum, but she's making sure not to risk hitting her allies. Aster comes in to give the Skum a good thwack with her mace. She unintentionally bursts one of its disgusting tumours, which erupts into blood, pus, and tiny eyeballs. Ederion thrusts at its abdomen with his rapier, this time sinking into the flesh enough to do some damage. Mother Kahli gets impatient, and begins her raging song to put this monster down.
The snapping mouth of the horrid monster bashing against Tasha's shield seems to shake her. Are we... are we biting off more than we can chew?, she hesitates for a moment, before Mother Kahli's song brings a fire to her veins. Lashing with the shield and dagger, she cuts deeply into the ogre's flesh.
AC: is 23 right now, I think.
Tasha bashes the Skum with her shield, opening it up for a good slash with her dagger. The dagger cuts deep into one of its mandables, which erupts not in blood, but in tiny little fingers attached from the inside. They reach out to grab at Tasha, though at no risk given their tiny reach.
The ogre spider Skum shifts a little away from Ederion, while circling its prey of Tasha. It subtly moves a little closer, then lunges to grab Tasha's shield with its mandables. In so doing, it pushes forward, and jams its fangs into her shield arm. She can already feel the cold venom spread through her body, up her arm and into the heart. Small twitches begin as the muscles start to spasm.
The spider rotates vertically to get a better look at Ederion. Its beady little eyes examine him from every angle, and a few drops of venom escape its fangs. This unnerves him as he begins to think he's next.
The water continues to push everyone, though only Aster and Mother Kahli remain un-entangled. Both of them manage to stay exactly where they are.
Bazzle and Rillia arrive at the village of Secret Shoals. Several Skum bodies, and one mermaid body are floating in the water. Crone Serpentslayer meets with Bazzle and explains that they were attacked not five minutes after Bazzle's group had left. There was only one casualty, but everyone's feeling the pressure. What does Bazzle need?
Rexandi continues to struggle and do her best with the lightning spear, which isn't much.
Ederion tries to shake away the jitters running down his spine when the malicious creature stares at him, and presses forward - "You are dreadful, I will give you that"
"This..." Aster tries to find words to describe the horror she seems from this thing. Eyeballs, little fingers, all of it, but can't.
She swims a tiny by closer to Tasha to block the thing from getting to Rexi.
Rexandi's lightning bolt sizzles too far from the spider Skum to do any harm, while Aster's mace harmlessly bounces off its squishy flesh. Ederion shifts forwards and looks the monster right in the eyes. Though shaken, he steels himself to push his rapier deep into the monster's skull. It shrieks and recoils from the attack, and then again as Mother Kahli lashes it from the side. Yet it is not quite dead. It looks like it will try to lunge through the rapier blade for a final death strike at Ederion.
Barely holding back a shriek of horror as the fingery mandibules reach for her, Tasha cries out in pain as the spider bites her. Poison. It's poisonous!, a chilling thought runs through her mind. Tasha's shield bashes once again into the spider's head, sending it drifting into the murky waters in a pool of dark blood. That aboleth thing... needs to be stopped., she shudders, watching the deathly writhes of the beast. "It's, uh, dead. Is... everyone alright?", she asks, reaching around to feel the poisoned wound.
Turning to Rillia, she tilts her head. "Uhm... curiousity took a seat for the combat, but I have to ask - what are those spirits next to me when you sing?" The woman seems confused. "Are they, like, my ancestors?", she raises a quizzical eyebrow. Since I'm pretty sure nobody on my mother's side had raised a weapon outside of an opera.
"I . . . I hope we are not vulnerable here in the village?" Bazzle struggles to put a brave face on what is an unnerving feeling for him. "I don't suppose there is a way to cure blindness here in the village.?' He shrugs. "I am loosing track of time. I would hate to add drowning to me current situation." He jokes with an edge of helplessness marking his expression.
Aster will swim over to the posioned warrior, tsking at the swolled red arm "I don't have much to help with that, unfortunately I am not the best healer, but..." she'll press her hand against the wound and will some healing into the arm.
Mother Kahli replies to Tasha "They are the spirits of all mermaids who have died fighting by tooth and blade. I hope one day to join them, maybe even on this day."
Aster heals some of the damage caused by the bite, but the toxins are still coursing through Tasha's blood.
Tasha feels okay for the moment, but doubts the worst of the venom is over.
Aster Cobblestone attempts underwater medical care.
Unsuccessfully
Rexandi continues to struggle against the entangling seaweed.
"I has't a spell yond shouldst aid thee." The old crone replies. She sings in the language of the ocean, and Bazzle feels water swirling around him. Yet after the spell is complete, Bazzle feels no different.
"I can tryeth once again"
The song begins and the waters swirl, then slowly dissipate with no effect.
"Curses! Thither is but one more option."
She swims away for a moment, then returns and presses something... fleshy, but inflamed, on Bazzle's mouth.
"Bite into this while i weave the spell. Thee shall beest free of this beshrew, but only f'r one day."
The taste of the thing is far from appetizing, but inside spurts out pure water. A different song begins, and though this one takes much, much longer to complete, Bazzle's eyesight returns to him. He now sees that he's bitten into a bladder of some sort, filled to the brim and tied off with pure water.
Aster ?Cleo? Cobblestone attempt underwater medical care.
"Wait, I think I have a solution for that..." - Ederion rummages around in his backpack, then produces a vial - "Aha!"
Then he rummages some more, and produces a bulbous bottle.
With unusual skill, he opens both vial and bottle, stoppering them with his thumbs, then connecting both at the top with minimal saltwater intrusion, pouring the liquid from the vial to the bottle, its color taking on a significantly darker cast and twinkle with motes of beautiful white light- "There!" - he smiles, closing the bottle again, shaking it once or twice, and handing it to Tasha with a wink - "Now drink this"
Tasha drinks the enhanced Antitoxin, and soon she feels much better. The damage that was done has not lessened, but she's almost certain that the venom has been nullified.
The current continues to push the group towards the large web containing the dragon's corpse. A large ring and collar both reflect Rexandi's light. The large web keeps objects larger than a fist from passing through, but behind it is a very large tunnel. Above where the pocket of air is, are two much smaller tunnels. They are so small that medium creatures need to go single file, though they don't have to squeeze. Smaller sized humanoids can fit two side by side. At this moment, Ederion's swimming spell loses its effectiveness.
"Uh. Thanks, Ed! And Aster!", Tasha answers as she feels the effect of the poison not worsening. The potion makes short work of her wounds, and soon she's swimming same as normal, if a little stiffer. "I mean, it doesn't have to be today?", she raises a reassuring fist towards Mother Kahli, before furrowing her brow. But what if she does want it to be today? And they need to be die in battle, like the Ulfen from that play? "Uh. Whenever it is, may it be glorious.", she adds with more confusion than conviction. Change the subject. Tasha, write yourself some phrase cards to avoid sticking your foot in your mouth.
"I always say we take the right if we're in a situation like that. Makes you right in at least one way.", Tasha jokes.
Aster gives a low surprised chuckle at the joke "Right is just as good as any other choice." she welcomes the levity in the hell they are now "It bled eyeballs, did you see that! Gods that was gross."