The magic flowing into her body restoring her vitality, Tasha nods appreciatively. Should they not have saved their magic for... later? I'm just another shield in the fray. Taking the time to tap her feet on the more or less solid ground, as if using them for the first time, she raises a hopeful eyebrow. "There can't be much left now, can it? I feel like we fought off an entire army."
Frida rolls her eyes and sings that it was nothing.
As soon as Bazzle touches the chest, he yawns and groans, before falling over and taking a much needed nap.
Ederion opens the rest of the chests, thanks to his elven immunity.
- Adamantine light pick
- 3 vials of silversheen
- Silver holy symbol of Torag
- Scroll of Raise Dead (waterdamaged, 25% chance of wild-magic)
- Potion of Lesser Restoration
- Bottle containing 250gp of diamond dust
- 5000gp worth of coins and gems (heavy)
As Ederion brings out the items, Rexandi casts detect magic, then peers over the various thing.
"Huh. This must've been a cache for a dwarven miner at one point," she says. "But wound up underwater due to... who knows, a cavern being opened to the ocean or something."
"The potion is for curing minor ailments, you might consider taking that once we're someplace where you can drink it," she suggests to Ederion.
"Understood Rex" - Ederion moves to the gnome, shaking him - "Are you ok Bazzle?"
The gnome starts awake, "huh. Are we dead.:
"Naaaah, not yet" - Ederion laughs - "You just needed a quick rest, it seems"
You notice that this room's corners are not symmetrical like the rest of the lair's construction. Most corners have had a certain dip, or roundness to them. However, the North West and South West corners of this room are hard right angles.
Bazzle looks about,"Huh? Did anyone else notice that this room's corners are not symmetrical like the rest of the lair's construction. Most corners have had a certain dip, or roundness to them. However, the North West and South West corners of this room are hard right angles." He stands up and examines the west wall.
"Why is that important?" Aster asks, out of curiosity.
Rexandi says, "Well... if you're going to make a secret door, it's probably easier to make the seams align with a straight edge, rather than a curve?"
Bazzle takes a closer inspection of the walls, especially the Western wall. He notices that the western wall is perfectly straight, and is of an equal composition of minerals from top to bottom. Bazzle remembers how Gnomish communities often cloak their homes with illusions, and this proves no different. A reasonable illusionary wall, but nothing an expert Gnomish illusionist couldn't do. He simply walks through the wall, revealing another water-blocking barrier. He can't see much through the barrier, but he can tell from the shading that the room is flooded, up to about his head height.
"Its an illusion." He pokes his head through the faux wall. "There is another barrier here keeping water out."
Aster's heart stops for just one moment, as it looks like her friend's head is chopped off by a wall of all things. Just a moment.
"That way then?"
The group enters this fairly small room, which is flooded to the average height of a human's waist. The ceiling is dome-shaped, as is the floor below it. Floating in the center is a massive translucent fish egg, which must be at least the height of Ederion. Inside the translucent navy egg is blurry form, roughly the shape of a fish. A single red eye opens up, and looks at the party.
The now increasingly familiar voice echoes in everyone's head.
"I yield. What do you want from me? There is much I can offer."
This is an unhatched Aboleth. Aboleths can reproduce Asexually every few centuries, and put a lot of time and effort into the process. Gestation takes years in and of itself, and then the egg requires to be fed arcane energy in large amounts. They are essentially helpless during this time. The final process requires the suicide of the parent, who's blood hatches the egg. The offspring feeds on their parent's corpse, and in consuming the brain, gain many of the memories from the parent's experiences. This near-perfect recollection has passed from generation to generation since ancient times, creating a similar being in a new body. In this way, Aboleths are nearly immortal.
"What in Hell's murky bathwater is that? An egg? If its a baby imagine its power full grown."
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"I haven't the foggiest..." Aster says softly to her friend before responding to the thing "Now you want to talk? You have tortured countless. Warped their bodies and enslaved their minds." Aster is a good person, or at least tries to be after spending decades trying to forget when she wasn't. But not today. "NO! There is no prison that can hold you or spell that can keep your horror spewing ways to yourself. There is no power you can offer that is worth the Guilt of turning a blind eye from the pain you have spread. " her knuckles white as her grip on her mace tighten "No, today either you die, or we do."
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"It's dying, is what it is!" says Rexandi, moments before she unleashes a lightning bolt.
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The sight in the room makes Tasha's mouth gape, before her stomach rushes to her mouth instinctively. Her dagger at her side, she takes a look at the egg. A... a baby? An adolescent? His mind, warped as it is, is all there. She nods at Aster, before taking a step towards the aboleth, the dagger in her hand glowing. "You've kidnapped me, and many others. Your armies have killed many mermaids. And you tried to kill us about as many times as I can count." The dagger in her hand lights up red as she closes in. "It's only fair we get a shot at killing you at least once. Then, we can talk."
As Aster declares death or justice, and Rexandi begins casting her lightning spell, it's actually Frida who takes the initiative. Unable to understand the others, she charges at full speed through the water towards the egg, then leaps into the air to strike with the magical warhammer. Her strike cleaves through the egg, rupturing it and smashing into the hatchling. The hatchling aboleth is pummeled in the head and dies immediately.
One tiny second lingers in silence
Then a rumbling is heard as the floor beneath them shakes. The stonework suddenly gives way, dropping everyone fully into the water. Mud swirls through the now dark water, but below lies a faint red glow, the eye of Menotheguro.
"So be it."
Now fully submerged in the water, Rexandi feels a powerful magic swim through her. She feels the power of a Ley Line.
Aster yelps in surprise. She didn't think it was going to be that easy but she hadn't expected the entire building to fall apart. Fearing the worst she spends a moment shifting into her furry rat person form, and prepares to follow anyone toward the big bad.
Bazzle transitions back into his Manta form.
As everything crumbles around them, Ederion drinks the Mutagen, his features becoming more animalistic and primal, limbs elongating just enough to make it a bit disturbing if not abnormal... He smiles.
”Time to finish this” - and dives toward the red dot.
Rexandi wastes no time - she breathes in the currents of the water, the power with them, and launches her last lightning bolt at the aboleth.
Aster takes off after Ed.
Rexandi's lightning attack hits dead center, provoking a deep pitched grunt from the aboleth in its true voice. Ederion and Aster prepare for combat, and dive down into the murky water. Bazzle turns back into a miniature manta ray.
Tasha's mouth snaps open at the sight of Menotheguro's form lurking in the water below. Though, there's little fear in her heart, only determination. Her armoured tail flapping in the murky waters, she beelines for the red dot, shield raised high.
Tasha swims down into the depths, using her superior mobility to get through the cloud of muck. Only visible to her, she sees a truly massive creature. A three-eyed fish of huge proportions, with four tentacles, a giant mouth of razor-sharp teeth. Its green and grey skin glistens with clear, thick slime. Its eyes shine a red light like an infernal lantern, the center-most one is ringed with arcane symbols. In the clear water below, Tasha sees a labyrinthine of ruined stone pillars, all inscribed from top to bottom in ever-shifting script. A current flows to the West, through even more ruins.
Menotheguro does not hold back. It casts a flurry of spells like a rapid-fire archer. The first one coats itself in a magical force-field. The second affects Tasha's mind, but she resists it. However, the third one cripples her. Tasha screams as her very bones crush and splinter within her body. Though alive and semi-conscious, Tasha is wholly exhausted and numb from the sudden torture.
The murky water begins to be washed away, making it slightly easier to see.
Ederion swims furiously as he hears Tasha's screams - "Stand back Tasha!" - he charges headlong at the red dots.
"How does that feel?" - he snarls at the creature.
HP: 38/47, with 5NL damage
AC: 26 (-2 from charge =24) (I assume my Shield has faded)
Effects: Mutagen, Bless, Inspire Courage
Aster swishes her mermaid tail and charges after Ed, having no magic left all she has is her mace.
With the water growing clearer. Bazzle gives the Crack a blast at the monster.
Rexandi tries to get to Tasha, hoping to get the warrior back on her feet.
Aster uses her mermaid tail to swiftly close the distance between herself and Menotheguro. Her mace harmlessly bounces off its natural armour. Bazzle's lightning attack is deflected by the aboleth's new force-field defences.
"Tasha! Tasha!" shouts Rexandi as best she can while swimming forward.
Feeling like every bone in her body is on fire, Tasha focuses through the haze on agony on Rexandi's voice. "Y-yeah!", she cries out, swimming upwards into the waters towards the tiefling's voice.
Tasha and Rexandi meet in the middle, where she heals a decent chunk of Tasha's wounds in an instant. She can't do anything about the exhaustion, however.
Frida charges in after Aster, but it seems Menotheguro was waiting for this. Having resolved not to attack the resistance wererat, it waits until Frida closes past a 15ft range, then slaps her in the face with one of its tentacles. Her charge is completely ruined by the attack, but she manages to survive ever so barely. It doesn't look like the slime has had an effect on her.
At the same time, several mermaids tumble through the barrier up above. Melody and Harmony begin singing again, and Rillia condenses the water around her to create her signature water magic.
Menotheguro begins casting a series of spells, completely unconcerned about Aster and Frida being nearby. Aster proves it wrong though, when she makes an uncharacteristically accurate and powerful attack that bashes through its layers of slime and thick hide. Yet it manages to retain its concentration, and soon a wave of power pulses through the water. Aster feels the eye glaring at her, and words appear in her head "I prepared this spell in case you were so bold". She resists the glare, but several things begin to happen. Aster suddenly feels her mermaid tail split back into her legs, and then her body begins to change. Unwillingly, Aster's form reverts into her human physique. Then, the gills she had suddenly vanish, and she realizes that she's about to drown. Tasha and Rexandi have similar, but limited versions happen to them as well. Tasha's mermaid tail splits into legs, and Rexandi loses her slipstream spell.
Then it lashes out with a tentacle, and smacks the now human Aster in the stomach. The damage is minor, but she feels the slime eating away at her skin.
Menotheguro is breaking every known rule of magic. Not only is it casting evil-eye hexes faster than Rexandi could hope for (although they're being resisted), it's combining spells at the same time. This was a True Form spell, which also delivered a Dispel Magic on Aster at the very same time.
Masters of the arcane, dragons have long been capable of magical feats that lesser races have never been able to emulate. Even the Azlanti and Thassilonians, extremely powerful in arcane magic though they were, were only marginally rivaling the powers of dragons. Yet dragons have lived longer than all two-legged races, and their arch nemesis lived in the only realm they never dared enter: The deep sea. The Aboleth, older than all dragons, older than any living god, knows the same secrets to magic.
Such creatures know the very fabric of arcane magic. They are capable of weaving spells together at the same time, modifying spells instantly with metamagic effects, without altering the spell's requirements for magical reserves. They can cast spells spontaneously, yet retain immense knowledge of spells as a true wizard. Any spell that can be cast as an arcane spell, regardless of class, is available to those with this knowledge. So there is no distinction between wizard and witch, sorcerer and bard. All are within the capacity of this arcane archmage.
Triaging the situation as best as possible, Rexandi switches to responding and throws a water lung hex on Aster.
Ederion chuckles at the whole situation, and charges at Menotheguro - he winks at Aster as he passes her by - "Go out with a bang"
"Or not..." - the elf adds, after a poorly aimed thrust.
HP: 38/47, with 5NL damage
AC: 26 (-2 from charge =24) (I assume my Shield has faded)
Effects: Mutagen, Bless, Inspire Courage
Spitting out the water in her lungs in a retching cough, panic begins to set into Tasha's eyes as she struggles to hold her breath. The bubble forming around Aster's head, however, makes her pause for a moment. Magic will see us through... again., she notes, as she bites her lips, and stops fighting the gravity's pull, sinking towards Menotheguro with fury in her eyes.
Knowing her time is limited, she strikes out one last time.
Suddenly there is air around her and she can BREATHE!
Bazzle takes another shot with the Lightening Crack.
Bazzle swiftly zaps the aboleth before the rest of the group swim in to make aiming difficult. Ederion charges to strike Menotheguro, but he's slapped to the side much like Frida. The damage however is minor, and Ederion miraculously resists the aboleth's slime. Then, Tasha slams into Menotheguro, putting all her momentum into a single shield bash. Aster regains her ability to breathe, thanks to Rexandi, and lands another solid blow. Frida is having a terrible time putting enough power behind her strikes to do anything noteworthy.
Rillia, Melody, and Harmony swim down to meet the aboleth. Rillia batters it with her condensed water strike, while Harmony heals some of Frida's wounds. Mother Kahli splashes into the water above, as does Floyd.
Menotheguro does not swim backwards. It lashes out with all four of its tentacles to those nearby. Tasha, Aster, and Frida all get smacked, with Ederion nimbly dodging. Tasha feels the slime wreck havoc upon her skin, and Frida is nearly knocked out cold. Then Menotheguro casts a new spell. All water around it in a 5ft radius suddenly vanishes as it is consumed by a black aura of nothingness. Everyone within the aura feels their skin stretching, threatening to burst. They cannot breathe air nor water, and everything is left eerily silent. Tasha feels the heat emanating from Menotheguro's bloody middle eye, and she falters in her defences.
Now cut, fried, and bruised, Menotheguro looks nearly ready for death. Yet its body changes. Its fins grow in such ways that it can more easily dodge from side to side, and its body thins ever so slightly to have less space open for attacks. Yet after all this fighting, there is no malice in this creature's eyes. No hatred. Nothing at all. Perhaps most notable, and most disturbing, is the aboleth's inability to feel any emotion.
That was an unmodified Call the Void spell. It will last for at least another minute, and continue to deal damage during that time. It will follow Menotheguro if he moves.
Tasha was cursed with an Evil Eye hex
Ederion has a thing or three to tell Menotheguro, but he suddenly finds the worst possible fate has befallen him - he cannot speak!!
Enraged, he thrusts out at the hateful creature who is torturing him so.
HP: 33/47, with 5NL damage
AC: 26 (I assume my Shield has faded)
Effects: Mutagen, Bless, Inspire Courage