Brood glowers at the grindylows as their bodies bob in the water. Renewing his cantrip, he turns to look at each of the others as they recover. When Gezza then hands him Sandara's hat, his eyes narrow into angry slits and his free hand clenches into a fist, the russet skin of his knuckles blanching to white.
He stews for several minutes, his jaw clenching and unclenching as the others tend to Nim. Once everyone's back on their feet, he manages to darkly growl, "Come on. We're not done."
Cargas checks out his wounds and determines that they ain't that bad yet.
Cargas nods to Brood and lets the sullen elf take point.
Brood stalks off to the...
East.
Brood also ensures the curative potion they'd recovered alongside the potion of blur is dumped down Nim's throat. Once done, then he growls, "Come on. We're not done." and begins stalking off to the east unless something else stalls him despite his obviously building anger.
Nim slowly comes to, looking up into the protective gaze of the gorilla. "Sorry. Last I remember, a volley of spears... then nothing. That was uncomfortable." The half-orc strains a little, bringing his curative energies selfishly to himself.
He looks for a meat-shield front guard, so clasps Cargas on the shoulder. "I'm just gonna stay back for now. I'll keep one more request from Gozreh chambered, in case we get into trouble again."
Nim has to pat Magilla's forearms several times for the ape to understand he's ready to move on with Brood. "Thanks, Brood. All the more reason to get Sandara back, eh?" Nim nods at the tricorne.
Cargas looks over this shoulder, confused. He looks to the ape, then at Nimrod on the ground.
"Oh, that's weird, I thought your ape went down and you were standing over him. Strange that," Cargas says, offering hand to help the man up. "But I was mostly underwater dodging the spears being chucked at me. Not to mention the darty little freaks with their tentacles. Ha. But we killed them dead."
Cargas waits for Nimrod to recover himself before being ready to follow Brood to the east.
"Yeah, we half-orcs and gorillas all look the same to non-half-orcs and non-gorillas." Nim offers a toothy grin, and would clap the dwarf robustly on the back, if not for their current weakened states. "The darker the room, the better my odds. Now, we best avoid lagging behind." Nim lags behind nonetheless, but gestures to the ape to keep up with Brood.
As you clear the thick seaweed off yourselves before moving on, you realize it seems to have hooks floating in it, part of why it was so clingy.
Finally restored, though, you move on, through a tight passageway and another thick patch of barbed seaweed until another small cavern opens to your left. The walls of the small cavern display strangely ribbed markings.
Hidden beneath the carpet of seaweed are a series of metal bars spaced
approximately 18 inches apart, apparently forming the cavern “floor.”
"Careful" Bud growls, "Them little ambushers might be lurking at every turn." Slowly he moves through the room watching and expecting another group of spears to fly out of the darkness.
Nim manages to spot something beneath the water. He gestures at Magilla, although the ape doesn't seem to comprehend the attempt. "Guys, there's something beneath the seaweed. There are iron bars set apart a little. Almost like someone intended a floor here."
The pair tries to keep up with the others, moving slowly ahead at Bud's caution of further flying spears.
Cargas moves forward as well, taking Capt'n Budos' warning to heart.
Perception
"Ah...wut, 'Rod?" Cargas says, not seeing it, but feels until he does. "Oh. OH. Yeah, I knew that."
Cargas moves on, using the barred floor as much as possible.
Brood offers a gravelly "Hmmmp," in acknowledgment of Nim's observation, but cares little for it and presses on to get a closer look at the markings on the wall.
Gezza watches the others heal and ready and makes an impatient gesture.
As you go to move into the room, you suddenly realize that there is something moving in here! Beneath the bars, two creatures dressed as sailors, one of them in a greatcoat even, but with long, sharp teeth, and pallid flesh stretched tightly over its starved frame, reach for you.
You believe they're lacedons, aquatic version of ghouls.
One of them scratches Cargas, and he feels his muscles begin to stiffen up on him.
Gezza lets out a yelp of surprise and stumbles back, staring at the poor dead men. "Are they... are they ours?"
Round 1, Init 18
Nim doesn't waste time with those that lie below. He pushes Magilla to continue swimming, indicating the entrance to the south. "No need to stay here, especially if they're trapped below. Let's press on, find out where this tunnel leads."
Budos grabs the height challenged member of the party and drags him forward away from the creatures beneath the grate. "Cursed little buggers have undead guards? Like the swab back at the spring? We's best respect them squid-gobbos, they've more smarts than I expected."
Grabbing Cargas, you all beat a hasty retreat, leaving Brood behind to face the fury of the creatures, which bite and claw at him through the grate, rendering the elf insensate as he collapses into the water.
Gezza will rush back and grab Brood, dragging him away and out of reach of the undead cage people.
Fort Save
Cargas says nothing.
Round 2, Init 18
Nim reaches over to bring Gozreh's strength to Brood, while Magilla paws the walls, feeling for hand holds he can use to avoid swimming all that much.
"Beware traps ahead, them buggers ambushed us and keep the undead as guards, no tellin' what else they have waiting fer us."
Brood the Twice-Fevered comes to just long enough to choke down a potion.
As he sputters and wipes the back of one had across his lips, his countenance darkens as he springs back to his feet. Snatching at a spear, he looks ready to storm back into the room with the barred floor.
HP: 15/15
AC: 15 (14 T / 10 FF)
CMD: 16
F/R/W: +3/+2/+3 (+2 vs enchantment, immune sleep)
Arcane Pool used: 1/4
Tidewater Hydraulic Push (1/day): [ ]
Besmara's Blessing (1/week): [ ]
Spells Prepared:
Cantrips (2) - acid splash, dancing lights, flare, read magic
Level 1 (0+1) - monkeyfish [ ], shield [ ]
Ongoing Effects
Fevered: -3 Dex, -1 Con
Ghoul Fever: well frigg.
Cargas continues to take all this in stride, not complaining about a thing and generally being very very very docile. Ayep...not doing a thing.
Gezza stares over at Cargas. "Cargas, my father used to tell em that if I kept making faces it would freeze like that. Cargas?" He walks over to the dwarf and waves a hand in front of his face. "Huh. Da' was right. He froze like that."
Budos corrals Brood from further encounters with the ghoulish creatures. "Someone slap that dwarf a few times, we need a warrior not a raft." As the party waits for the dwarf to stop lollygagging, even by the terms of old wizards, Bud peers down the dark tunnel ahead.
Brood spins on Bud as the half-orc grabs his shoulder, his scowl dark and angry. "What? We just leave them? What if the squids let them loose?"
"Hopefully we'll be sailed far, far away by there. With Sandara. Every moment we spend here is a moment more she's in danger, Brood."
"Ok. Fine. I still need that though." He points back to where he'd collapsed and at the cutlass that fell from his grip.
Gezza murmurs a word of magic and mage hands the cutlass back to Brood.
Sicarius looks at the cutlass as it floats into his hand, then up to Gezza. He glances back to his sword for a moment before looking back up at the wizard and he nods once, an expression equal parts gratitude and determination. "Right. That works."
Cargas continues to take all this in stride, not complaining about a thing and generally being very very very docile. Ayep...not doing a thing.
Nim marvels as Gezza brings the weapon up from the depths. "Nice move, Redfingers."
He takes a cue from Budos, and shakes the dwarfplank a bit, to see if he can't get the man's muscles going all on their own again. When he can finally let go of Cargas, Nim points Magilla forward through the next corridor.
Cargas regains movement in his extremities quickly, a matter of seconds, and you continue onward -- only to realize you've managed to circle back around to where you started!
You make your way back, passing the trapped undead sailors and take the other passage this time, a shallow, low-ceilinged tunnel.
It tunnel opens into a wider cavern decorated with hundreds of leering skeletal parts, wriggling with worms. A patch of thick seaweed sits in front of the entrance, and three other dark circular openings exit the chamber.
Nim and Brood, with their better vision, also notice a purple, seven-armed octopoid monstrosity the size of a horse, with hook-lined tentacles and cold, blue eyes, lurking in the shallow water.
It's a devilfish, a dangerous aquatic magical beast.
Nim waves his arms, looking at Budos, Gezza, and Cargas, and pointing at the devilfish, while whispering. "Big ugly thing, right there. Tentacles look like pain." The half-orc nocks an arrow, and commands Magilla to stay, pending the decision of the others.
Cargas feels better when control of his limbs is returned to him. He drinks a potion to get himself above half strength.n
Pot Clw
"Damn place is chipping away at me. If I'm taking this kind of pain, Sandara is long gone, I'm sure of it," Cargas gripes as he watches for the aforementioned tentacled fish.
Cargas readies his spear, but does not engage just yet. He awaits words from those who want to go further.
Brood shakes his head in ignorance as he spies the creature. "Looks like trouble, whatever it is." He quickly swaps his sword for the crossbow again and nods to the others before taking a shot.
HP: 15/15
AC: 15 (14 T / 10 FF) (includes -1 from Dex damage)
CMD: 16 (includes -1 from Dex damage)
F/R/W: +3/+2/+3 (+2 vs enchantment, immune sleep) (includes -1 from Dex damage)
Arcane Pool used: 1/4
Tidewater Hydraulic Push (1/day): [ ]
Besmara's Blessing (1/week): [ ]
Spells Prepared:
Cantrips (2) - acid splash, dancing lights, flare, read magic
Level 1 (0+1) - monkeyfish [ ], shield [ ]
Ongoing Effects
Fevered: -3 Dex, -1 Con
Ghoul Fever: well frigg.
"We're not sure of anything, Cargas. Stow the talk of failure." Gezza sneaks a glance at Brood. " It's blocking the way. I think we have to deal with it. Any chance to lure it out of the water?"
"Damn place is chipping away at me. If I'm taking this kind of pain, Sandara is long gone, I'm sure of it."
"Sandara's got her Goddess on her side. You'd be dead four times over if we didn't have any divine energy to keep us upright. Likely, she's been able to endure injury greater than any one of us." Nim kisses a knuckle, and closes his eyes in quiet prayer to Gozreh.
When Brood lines up a shot on the devilfish, Nim follows suit. With no remaining prayers to call upon, the half-orc is not entirely confident about their chances. He tries to time his loose with Brood's.
"In for a penny.." for damage plus 1 bleed!
At Brood's signal, Budos launches his spear at the creature.