T'chazzar nods in agreement, though he keeps his blades in hand.
RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)
A submerged wooden pier and boardwalk extend into this entirely flooded cavern, suggesting that at some point in the past the cavern was not so inundated with water. A pair of strange, barrel-shaped objects sit in the northeast corner of the flooded boardwalk, while long beards of algae hang from the cavern ceiling here and there, waving languidly in the slow current. It's a weird feeling walking on a pier while underwater.
Something about your arrival (footsteps on the pier, light sources?) triggers an ambush, as several dark forms swim up from underneath the dock. Four of the forms are more skum, but two are frightful lobster-eel hybrids armed with a pair of large claws. These creatures are quick, swimming up to Caldariel and T'chazzar and snapping away with both claws. The former manages to dodge the attack, but T'chazzar's hit by one . The claw locks around the drow's leg, holding him fast while trying to inject him with venom.
You take 2 Str damage and must make additional saving throws for the next 3 rounds unless/until you make a successful one.
Grappled: A grappled creature is restrained by a creature, trap, or effect. Grappled creatures cannot move and take a –4 penalty to Dexterity. A grappled creature takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and combat maneuver checks, except those made to grapple or escape a grapple. In addition, grappled creatures can take no action that requires two hands to perform. A grappled character who attempts to cast a spell or use a spell-like ability must make a concentration check (DC 10 + grappler’s CMB + spell level, see Concentration), or lose the spell. Grappled creatures cannot make attacks of opportunity.
A grappled creature cannot use Stealth to hide from the creature grappling it, even if a special ability, such as hide in plain sight, would normally allow it to do so. If a grappled creature becomes invisible, through a spell or other ability, it gains a +2 circumstance bonus on its CMD to avoid being grappled, but receives no other benefit.
The lobster-eel hybrids are reefclaws, small, semi-intelligent, and aggressive predatory aberrations.
Their claws can grab a target, constrict it, and deal poison all at the same time.
The things are tough, often fighting on after what seemingly should've been a death blow. Even at the moment of actual death, they spasm reflexively, snapping at nearby foes with both claws. They are slightly (5) resistant to cold.
For what it's worth, reefclaw meat is considered a delicious delicacy by many...if you're interested in eating a sentient being. (Then again, the things have no qualms about eating you!
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Caldariel grinned behind his mask, as the creatures came out of the water to attack them. Given that he was on firm footing, he was able to time his counter attack. He waited until the skum made it's move. Once it was within arm's reach, he reached out and grabbed it. Pulling it towards him, he delivered a chitin-shaking headbutt, and then brought his knee up in a further effort to crack it open.
T'chazzar struggles to no avail.
RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)
Caldariel goes off on the reefclaw attacking him, killing it in record time! Unfortunately, the beast doesn't go quietly--it thrashes in its death throes, its claws thankfully snapping on empty water. T'chazzar, however, finds himself in a predicament as his lobster-like foe maintains its grip on his leg. Falina hesitates, trying to decide what to do.
The skum press the attack. Jessibel only has to dodge one trident jab, as her foe has to swim a ways to engage her. The others are close enough to merely reposition a bit to unload with a flurry of trident tines, claws, and teeth. Caldariel's armor takes a beating but does its job, turning multiple near hits into harmless misses. T'chazzar tries to replicate the feat, but his foe's teeth sneak through his defenses, chomping down on an arm .
Jessibel gurgles another seasong of inspiration while defending herself from attack.
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Taking advantage of her steady footing, Arani targets the skum attacking T'chazzar, firing a bolt at the aquatic enemy.
RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)
Arani's shot grazes the arm of T'chazzar's skum foe, adding a small cloud of blood to the water. The reefclaw grappling the drow adjusts its grip a bit to better tug the arms off its prey, but in doing so loses its grip on its potential meal altogether!
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T'chazzar makes the best of his sudden freedom and tries to kill his attacker before it can grab him again.
Falina was not about to get in the water if she could help it. She had enough of that in the last fight. Her hesitation slowed her down a bit but she ultimately pulled a wand out and pointed it at the skum that Caldariel was actively hurting and then she did it again!
Round 1
Round 2
RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)
T'chazzar expertly stabs his reefclaw foe in the head, then follows that attack up with another thrust into its body. The first hit must've just missed the thing's brain, for it fights on, though it seems gravely wounded and is moving slower and with less authority. Between one good swing from Caldariel and Falina's two magic missiles, one of the skum threatening the masked elfling is eliminated.
The skum again attack in a fury, tridents, teeth, and claws. Caldariel dodges everything, but Jessibel's bitten on the hand and T'chazzar's both bitten and clawed . The bard maintains her inspirational song and stabs at her foe with her rapier, scoring a typically weak hit.
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T'chazzar takes the hits and stabs back in return. As long as he's not being grappled or swallowed, he can at least keep swinging.
Seeing T'chazzar skillfully dealing with his enemies, Arani trains her crossbow on Jessi's opponent, efficiently sinking a bolt in them.
RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)
Again, one of T'chazzar's blades finds a vulnerable and vital spot on the reefclaw. It snaps its claws in a wild and, ultimately, weak and inaccurate final attempt to kill its prey before the thing stops spasming and floats lifeless in the slight current. Meanwhile, Arani and her new crossbow put Jessi's foe a lot closer to death's doorway as she slams a bolt into its chest not far from its dark heart.
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Caldariel tried to repeat his earlier success, but found it hard to replicate. They were not fighting at an even level, so getting a solid blow with his hands, or the horns of his mask, was not exactly easy to do. His best bet, it seemed, as with his feet. A fighting style that wasn't what he was used to.
RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)
Caldariel connects on one strike against the last skum threatening him. Even when Falina follows that up with a magic missile from her wand, the monster still stands, albeit barely.
Jessibel's foe withdraws from the fight, gurgling something as it abandons the battle and swims swiftly through a dark tunnel opening to the west . The last two opt to fight to their dying breath. Caldariel's foe, though badly wounded, stabs his foe with his trident and rips a claw into his flesh ; T'chazzar's foe manages to connect with a claw .
Jessibel ceases her underwater song, but its effects linger . The bard pushes off from the edge of the sunken dock, gliding into deeper waters. Her extended rapier tip pierces the throat of Caldariel's foe, leaving only one skum left to fight.
"Will warn chief!"
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T'chazzar pivots to continue his cavalcade of stabbing attacks at his remaining claw-foe.
The elf couldn't speak aboleth, but it didn't bother him that he couldn't tell what they were saying. They had attacked while he had his mask on, which meant that he was not inclined to accept their surrender either way. He continued to attack without hesitation. He was only willing to stop if one of the others made it clear that it was something he had to do.
"There's probably a good chance that that one is swimming off to get help. I can probably track the blood trail in the water if we move now." Arani calls out to her companions, looking around to see everyone's condition as Caladriel hammers his foe.
RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)
T'chazzar and Caldariel dispatch the last remaining skum guard, leaving the chamber silent for now, if a bit bloody. The two fights have taken a bit of a toll on the party, with Caldariel , T'chazzar , Falina , and Jessibel all sporting lingering wounds.
Being a thorough person, Jessibel casts detect magic while the party pauses to heal. She finds a magical but empty glass bottle in each of the two barrels on the dock and also discovers some spell effect near the entrance of the tunnel the skum used to escape. Being a casual (some might say lazy) user of magic, though, she can't identify the items or the spell effect.
It soon appears that the escaped skum did not go for reinforcements, as it does not return for a second fight. It's either fled for good or is setting up some ambush further along the tunnels.
Once the healing's done and your group is ready to proceed, it's an easy enough thing to step off the submerged dock and sink to the bottom of the cavern to continue your slow exploration of the smugglers' caves.
"Falina, can you get a read on what magic might be in the cave entrance? I'd rather not walk right into a trap." Arani says as she reloads her crossbow, and the group heals up.
"Falina, can you get a read on what magic might be in the cave entrance? I'd rather not walk right into a trap." Arani says as she reloads her crossbow, and the group heals up.
"Sorry--not my area of expertise," Falina replies with a shrug.
T'chazzar says, "I got a bit squeezed there, can someone bring a healing wand over my way? I'm gonna peer down the tunnels and see what I can see."
"Falina, can you get a read on what magic might be in the cave entrance? I'd rather not walk right into a trap." Arani says as she reloads her crossbow, and the group heals up.
"Sorry--not my area of expertise," Falina replies with a shrug, "I just am magical, I never studied to learn it."
As she moves toward the entrance, Arani draws her wand, touching it to T'chazzar's shoulder as she quietly speaks the activation word.
"Thank you."
"No problem." she replies softly, slipping the wand back into her belt and resettling her grip on her crossbow.
RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)
While Caldariel heals his own wounds, Arani uses the more powerful wand to bring T'chazzar back to nearly full strength. Jessibel reluctantly uses the lesser healing wand on herself and Falina, knowing that the party is likely walking into an ambush of some sort, erasing the last of their lingering wounds.
T'chazzar uses his exceptional darkvision to scan the tunnels leading out of the chamber. He sees nothing threatening in the western tunnels--just a couple of potential side passages. The eastern one, however, takes a quick curve north, so something might lurk closer at hand in that direction. During the reconnaissance, both T'chazzar and Arani are certain they hear something like chanting coming from the tunnel to the southwest.
"^!#$^Y&. That sounds like some kind of cultist ritual or something. We need to move before they summon up some 'ancient evil'!" Arani hisses, before bringing a vial of a Darkvision potion to her lips, using her teeth and tongue to break the seal and allow the potion into her mouth without mixing with the water.
"Should we not investigate?" Caldariel said. "If they are indeed summoning an ancient evil beneath our town, then letting them finish their plans could lead to a less than ideal outcome."
"Yes! I meant move as in go take them out." Arani replies.
"Ah, good, good. Let us proceed."
RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)
With T'chazzar and his superior darkvision taking point, the group opts to explore the southwest tunnel first. As the party progresses, the chanting becomes more distinct and seems to come from a sing throat--most likely a spellcaster preparing for an inevitable confrontation! The passage is narrow, allowing folks to move in single file only. Ahead, T'chazzar can spy two skum: the bloodied fellow who left the earlier fight and a marginally larger specimen who clutches a wand in one claw.
Spotting the spellcaster just at the edge of her ability to peer through the darkness, Arani wastes no time in taking a shot.
"Take out the caster first!" she calls out, immediately beginning to reload.
RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)
Those of you who can see the skum caster notice something concerning: there appears to be four versions of the wizard in close proximity to one another!
Seeing the protective spell and expecting other magica; defenses, Arani casts another spell, in preparation for the coming battle.
RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)
Arani shouts a warning/suggestion and casts a spell to better her ability to cause greater damage with her underwater crossbow. Aware that it's been spied, the caster and his mirror images swims forward swiftly, and he unleashes a lightning bolt from his wand that catches all the Silver Ravens in its path!
Now that she's painfully aware that the fight is on, Jessibel sings another underwater war chant to inspire the Silver Ravens in battle.
An affected ally receives a +1 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +1 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls.
Caldariel moved up to attack, but stumbled as the bolt of lighting hit him head on. He still attempted a punch, but it was far from what it could be, given his lost momentum and the sudden pain.
Arani effortlessly avoids the worst of the lightning bolt, though the movement, and momentarily boiling water in the tunnel around her ruin her shot.
RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)
T'chazzar's drowish spell resistance wholly protects him from the lightning bolt, though the grunts and cries from those behind him tell a different tale for his comrades . The attacks of Caldariel not only fail to connect with the skum spellcaster, but each also misses by a wide enough margin that none of its mirror images are eliminated...meaning that the seemingly unarmored spellcaster must have one or more mystical defenses already cast upon himself.