Tyrus nods, pulls his components from his pouch and obliges.
Kien takes a deep breath.
Move with the water, don't let it stifle you.
Kien steps off the side of the boat, plunging into the water.
Luca followed Kien to the back, working to keep well away from the rest of the crew... and felt the things start to reach through her as more Reefclaws dropped into the depths below.
The vision of your elven forebears serves you well in the water, enabling you to see the dark mass of some large creature - or creatures - swelling around the bottom of the ship. All you can make out is that it/they seem elongated like a worm or serpent, and have a large, sinuous tail that is thrashing side to side, driving the boat into deeper and deeper waters.
There are other shapes flitting about the larger creature. Some of them appear to be Luca's summoned servants, others are something else. They appear to be fighting.
More of Luca's power flows, and additional Reefclaws appear in the water. You can feel them begin to move away from you, deeper and deeper, angling for some threat below.
Combat Round 1
Ship: Grappled, Moving, Seaworthy
Kien: At surface, by side of ship
Luca/Tyrus: On Ship
The captain shouts at his sailors, trying to trim the sails enough to change direction. For now they are ignoring the passengers.
Luca stood up on deck for a few moments, monitoring her powers. She couldn't see any enemies, much less affect them - all she could do was monitor her magical connections to have a feel for how fast they might get destroyed. She did, however, step a bit back from the railing.
Tyrus stands on deck, faintly glowing hand raised hopelessly "But I..."
A moment passes, he shrugs, and with a gesture touches his familiar.
Kien dives, propelling himself deeper alongside the hull towards whatever it was that was dragging the ship. As he gets closer he realizes there are at least two creatures, somewhat resembling centipedes. Their many arms are clasped around the hull, bone protrusions at the tips digging into the timbers. At the rear of each creature are two powerful, eel-like tails, moving almost lewdly in the water as they haul the ship against the will of wind and crew.
Flitting around the two enormous creatures are Luca's reefclaws and other creatures, clearly engaged in battle.
"Do you need any help down there!?" Luca called, hoping he could hear her and have some way to respond.
Kien cannot hear Luca's question under the water, and swims a bit further, slipping on his cestus and delivering a blow to the enormous creature dragging the ship.
Despite the awkwardness of fighting in the water, Kien is able to dig his blade deep - but he gets little reaction from the beast.
Combat Round 2
Ship: Grappled, Moving, Seaworthy
Kien: Underwater, by side of ship
Luca/Tyrus: On Ship
Kien can see figures still moving and fighting in the water around him - some of them attacking the Centeels, but seemingly having as little effect as Kien himself.
The ship continues to move against current and wind, and it seems to those aboard that it has begun to sink just slightly deeper in the water...
Luca moved forward just a bit, trying to see if she could spot anything particularly large or nasty in the water. She wasn't very good with magical offense and she already had summons in the water, but maybe she could curse something enough to make it a bit more vulnerable...
Kien snarls at the lack of effect he's having. Well if I can't kill you, I'll rip you off! He flexes his muscles, shifting around and grabbing at the creature.
Tyrus chanted - very similar words - and once again touched Torble. "Go!" he ordered, tipping the carry-cup into the ocean "Bring it to Kien!"
Through her connection to her summoned creatures, Luca can feel that there is battle going on underneath the waves, but she can neither help control it nor add to it beyond summoning more help - which are immediately taken by IT to with as IT will.
The little goobug slips into the water, it's already semi-translucent nature making it practically invisible under the surface. It speeds to Kien and delivers the spell just as Kien begins grappling the creature - or more accurately, one of the creature's enormous leg-like appendages holding the ship.
Steadily Kien manage to rip the talon out of the hull. The tendril even feels disgusting, with strangely textured flesh and knobby joints like the knuckles of an over-long finger. The half-elf feels tendons snapping as he bends the appendage back beyond the limits of its musculature, and when he has finished it hangs limp in the water, occasionally twitching but not restoring it's grip.
Combat Round 3
Ship: Grappled, Moving, Riding Lower 1/10
Kien: Underwater, by side of ship
Luca/Tyrus: On Ship
Centeel #1: Leg's Destroyed 1/6
The crew has begun disappearing below with buckets, bringing them up full of water and bailing them over the side. Everyone flinches as an enormous, sinuous tail-fin from one of the creatures suddenly erupts from the water and strikes the ship, crushing a bit of railing before going back below but thankfully hitting no crew or passengers.
"You!" the Captain shouts at several of his crew. "Bring hooks and axes to hand. If it does that again, I want it pinned to this deck and chopping to pieces!"
This is a towering monstrosity. Kien thinks as his vein-popping efforts only managed to remove one massive tentacles. He slides over to the next one and continues his work, hoping to cripple the creature. He fears he can do no real damage to it, but it may retreat if given enough trouble.
As the battle continued, Luca's body seized up slightly as her power began to be channeled once more - to, assuming no interruptions, drop another Reefclaws over the side of the ship so they could join the battle below. Luca sucked in air a moment later, flinching at the loss of control in desperate situations. I-if that thing comes up again, I can look at it then...?
Torble slips through the waves to the ship's side nearest Tyrus, then begins to scuttle up the vertical wall.
Tyrus looks around helplessly, then with a flash of inspiration grabs one of the smaller ropes on deck and begins to tie it to himself.
Kien successfully manages to maim another leg. He feels the beast shudder as he lets go of the now-useless appendage, but it continues holding the ship.
Somewhere in the water around Kien the reefclaws have managed to gain ground in their own battle, and set to on the larger creatures as well. They manage to several wound another of its pincers.
Combat Round 4
Ship: Grappled, Moving, Riding Lower 2/10
Kien: Underwater, by side of ship
Luca/Tyrus: On Ship
Centeel #1: Leg's Destroyed 3/6
With more of her minions down beneath the water, there wasn't much else for Luca to do other than ready a curse on the next foe she saw - hoping desperately she wouldn't actually need to use it.
Tyrus tags Torble as Torble reaches the top of the rail. "Now this!" Arcane energy - potent, but barely formed enough to be called a spell - coursed through Torble, and with a burbled sigh the long suffering familiar dropped back into the drink.
Kien continues his efforts, further bolstered by Tyrus's magic from Torble.
Getting a feel for how the musculature of the creature works - and thus, how it can be most efficiently crippled - the freshly-empowered Kien disables another two of the creature's limbs in quick succession. He can tell it is now having considerable trouble holding onto the ship, its claws scrabbling at the hull - but the ones that catch are gouging ever-deeper.
Again Luca's Reefclaws manage to break away and cause some damage. With too many of it's limbs functionally useless, the creature loses its grip on the ship, giving one last slap of its tail at the deck as it does.
Now able to see a foe, Luca unleases more of her power - but finds that an opposing force rises from the creature in an attempt to negate it.
Luca's attack is effectively cancelled out, and now she has some idea of what is going on. Her patron is apparently not the only power in the Void - and IT has enemies.
Combat Round 5
Ship: Grappled, Moving, Riding Lower 3/10
Kien: Underwater, by side of ship
Luca/Tyrus: On Ship
Centeel #1: Legs Destroyed 6/6
Centeel #2: Legs Destroyed 0/6
One Centeel has been cast away from the ship, and lashes the deck with its powerful, eel-like tails.
One of the crew is caught by the swipes, caught between the tail and the yardarm, smashing his skull like an egg. Another is knocked overboard. Their crewmates' return efforts to pin the tail to the deck are useless.
Kien grabs more of the creature, intent on making it nothing more than a crumpled pile at the bottom of the ocean. He soundlessly roars, bubbles coming from his mouth.
Well, it was a... life. "Good" would be too much of a stretch there.
Luca flinched as a man's head splattered, but she had no time to just do what she wanted. Taking a deep breath, she held up both hands and focused on the Centeel that they were trying to weaken. A jolt of invisible magical energy shot out of her hands a moment later - though she wasn't sure if it would actually impact the creature or not.
No longer troubled with trying to hold on to the ship, the creature is able to turn it's attention to escaping - or crushing - Kien.
It is unable to shake the half-elf lose, but does manage to prevent him from doing more damage.
Luca's spell may be powered by the Void, but the art and will behind it are her own, and this seems to make enough difference. It takes effect, slowing the creature's thrashing - but it's tails still slip from the deck and back into the water as it grapples with Kien below.
Combat Round 6
Ship: Grappled, Not Moving, Riding Lower 3/10
Kien: Underwater, by side of ship
Luca/Tyrus: On Ship
Centeel #1: Legs Destroyed 6/6, Grappled
Centeel #2: Legs Destroyed 0/6
With only one of the creatures striving against wind and wave, the ship slows to a near-halt, and no longer seems to be sinking any lower in the water. The water below churns as it attempts to carry out whatever plan it was sent on - but for now, to no avail.
Luca ducked away from the tendrils so she could focus on the slowing spell as best she could. She really didn't want to lose it if she could avoid that - slowed as it was, it would probably be much easier to beat the thing, and that was the best way she could help.
Meanwhile, the Reefclaws were probably doing Reefclaw things.
Tyrus winds the middle of the rope around a mast a few times, then runs to the edge with the other end in hand. He casts his eye over the waves in hopes of seeing the castaway sailor still swimming, ready to throw the rope to a flailing hand.
' I see his - my - paranoia was well founded. I will not be caught so unprepared again.'
Firmly grabbing onto the creature, Kien attempts to start bringing all the limbs together to prevent it from thrashing out.
Tyrus is able to get the rope close enough to the sailor for the man to grab ahold and haul himself back aboard, looking thankfully at Tyrus as he flops once more onto the deck, soaking wet and looking half in shock, but otherwise uninjured.
Beneath the waves, Kien does his best to wrestle a creature four times his size.
Kien manages to keep hold of one squirmy appendage with his legs and grabs ahold of the creatures midsection with his upper body, effectively bending it into a loop, preventing it from attacking the ship any further.
Luca's summons do more damage, this time to the second monster holding the ship.
Combat Round 7
Ship: Grappled, Not Moving, Riding Lower 3/10
Kien: Underwater, by side of ship, Grappled
Luca/Tyrus: On Ship
Centeel #1: Legs Destroyed 6/6, Grappled, Pinned
Centeel #2: Legs Destroyed 1/6
Pinned by Kien's boosted strength and skill, the injured creature struggles to move - but its enormous tails can still propel it in poor fashion with the half-elf hampering it. It moves them deeper into the water.
The other creature, realizing it lacks the strength to move the ship any more, apparently decides to simply attempt to sink it. It tears its claws free and then plunges them back into the timbers, widening the holes forming in the hull. The crew and passengers above feel the ship shudder in response.
Kien', veins throbbing in his neck and arms, holds on for all he has and tries to throttle the creature.
Kien is unable to cause any further damage, as the creature's great size and strength begin to assert themselves.
Combat Round 8
Ship: Grappled, Not Moving, Riding Lower 4/10
Kien: Underwater, by side of ship, Grappled
Luca/Tyrus: On Ship
Centeel #1: Legs Destroyed 6/6, Grappled, Pinned
Centeel #2: Legs Destroyed 2/6
Kien and his foe continue to sink deeper
With magic further robbing it of the ability to harm the ship, the second Centeel causes only minimal harm. The crew report that they have been able to stabilize the leaking hull and continue to bail water off the top deck.
Kien, seeing he is fighting a losing battle and is likely to just be dragged to the depths, releases the massive creature. He darts away with powerful strokes, going to the next creature to cripple it as well.
Luca panted slightly as she felt the energy of the second Slowing spell leave her. She wasn't really low on energy yet, but she only had so much, and it was starting to show. For now, though, she just had to hold the magic steady and try to ensure it lasted as long as possible.
With a touch Tyrus sends Torble back into the water with another surge of energy for Kien.
The battle stretches on for awhile longer, but eventually below the waves Kien is able to break the remaining monster's body enough to force it off the ship. With it fled, he and Luca's reefclaws chase off the smaller creatures that were attempting to protect them, like soldiers escorting siege engines.
The ship is battered, riding low in the water. From the crews shouts, you know that while the sails are mostly intact the rudder seems partially fouled, resulting in a sluggish journey back to safe waters (if such a thing exists).
Kien is recovered from the water, with some crew helping happily and others looking askance. The events had been strange, and while sea monsters were not unknown they rarely came in so close to land...
The captain himself gives the passengers - and especially Tyrus, Luca, and Kien - some suspicious looks as he orders his crew about the job of repairing what they can and getting the ship under way again. For the moment, he is too busy to voice anything to you.