"Frederick, please. Those trolls are part of a darker plot in these lands. They could be connected to some criminals Eitylen and I encountered in the city. They were using some kind of potion to transform into half man half monster abominations. They too had black veins and yellow eyes." Cyrus says pleadingly.
Frederick sighs.
"Do you really expect to learn anything about that from these creatures? Anything you didn't already know? Should we not complete the mission we're actually on currently without taking any more needless detours? This has already stretched out much longer than it should have taken, or what we originally agreed to do. Were a man's life not at stake I would already have left to find a less deceitful employer."
Frederick
Troll 1
Brother Cyrus
Eitylen
Jaazkara
Troll 2
Jaazkara dives into the water, attracting the attention of one of the trolls... It doesn't move yet, though. Apparently unsure of how to proceed, the creature decides to stick with eating. That has to be more pleasant than chasing humanoids around, after all.
The Will-o-Wisps show no interest in you. And stay close to the dying monsters.
Meanwhile, underwater... The lizardfolk warrior swims with surprising ease, due to her strength, training and natural aptitude. Still, Jaazkara is all but completely blinded by the mud, vegetation and debris... Occasionally, she feels something colliding with her, small animals and objects most likely, some of which have a very smooth and metallic feel.
Jaazkara notices the water isn't very deep in the area where the trolls are feasting, only about 6 ft separate the water surface from the floor. The monsters are standing in shallow waters.
Jaazkara jets through the black waters blindly, propelled by wide flicks from her powerful tail. She briefly wonders what could feel smooth and metal here in the water with her, but then quickly stops that line of thought when she gets to, "...here in the waters with me." She surges faster through the brackish waters, optimistically telling herself that it may have been ironfin, and after coming up once to correct her course, she skirts the edges of the shallower area before moving into it. She stands and draws her polearm, sizing up the foes before her.
"I would devour a meal of fresh fish right now; oh well. First the trolls," she thinks as she takes the opportunity to take a closer look at the apparently-diseased trolls.
Frederick swims closer, much less quickly and gracefully than Jaazkara.
As Frederick jumps into the bog water, the taste of mud and rust fills his mouth, and the trolls raise their heads from their meals for the very first time. One of them clumsily grabs an oversized machete by its side, but doesn't move.
As he moves, the half-orc sensate feels the same light collisions with his body as Jaazkara did. He too gets the impression they are probably small animals and objects... Including a few metallic ones.
Jaazkara uses the troll's distraction and lack of awareness to her advantage, swinging her fauchard in a wide overhead arc down on the head of the troll as her vision clouds momentarily in a red haze. She feels her inner fury fill her as she strikes!
The black water slows Jaazkara strike, but she still finds her target, and takes the closest Troll by surprise. The creature roars in pain as blood and black pus mix with the bog's water.
A few feet to Jaazkara's left, her new half-orc ally is ready to act!
Frederick hops out of the water, trailing weeds like some kind of be-wigged frog, and slashes at a troll.
Frederick's leap startles the Troll, who reflectively raises its machete and blocks the strike.
The other troll lunge forward and strikes Jaazkara with a large cleaver, rusty from its contact with the bog water...
[ooc]Lucky lizard...
...But though its strike is fierce, the monster can't quite discern Jaazkara's positioning. The lizardfolk warrior cleverly uses the mud and floating debris to her advantage, and with a quick dive, almost completely disappear from sight a fraction of a second before the troll's weapon splashes mud and water around.
"Ohhh great heavens, watch over us because this swamp is disgusting and I would really not like to fall in." He grumbles as he pushes the raft closer.
When he spots the Lizardfolk burst from the water, he begins to murmur prayers.
"Divines, let this be over swiftly! May my companions blades strike true!"
The group feels divine inspiration running through their hearts and limbs.
Eitylen decides it's best to attack from afar, so he just takes a couple steps forward to shorten the distance between him and the closest troll, then throws a flame-spilling flask at the creature...
...But the flask falls short. Though it still splashes a bit of incendiary liquid on the target.
Jaazkara flicks her serpentine tail to propel her body downward, her feet sinking into the thick mud. She waits the span of 5 heartbeats, then kicks off the bottom with all her might. She breaches the murky surface of the dark waters and slashes her polearm out at the troll before her as she reaches apex, then slinks back into the oily waters once more.
Jaazkara's weapon once again finds its target, splashing more blood and black pus on the water. However, Jaazkara feels more resistance than she expected
The other monster stumbles forward and strikes Frederick with his club...
...But the half-orc is faster and skillfully deflects the attack.
Frederick hops up and slashes again.
This time, Frederick's attack is fiercely accurate, and the troll feels the blade slashing its flesh.
The creature lunges forward, extending its arms...
But Frederick evades its attack.
After rowing slightly closer, Cyrus invokes divine power and his allies are blessed by the heavens.
Eitylen leaps forward, landing on one of the fallen trolls. He moves quickly over the creature, and ends up flanking the monster threatening his new lizardfolk friend.
Jaazkara leaps up out of the water to strike once more, swinging her long weapon at the troll's chest.
Jaazkra strikes the troll once again. The beast roars in angers and attacks her...
This time, the water doesn't protect Jaazkara, and she feels the heavy blade slashing through scales and muscle.
The sight of blood seems to entice the creature, and the monster lunges forward, jaws first.
...But its eagerness doesn't pay off.
"Just die already."
The troll in front of Frederick uses the opportunity to strike back...
...But misses.
"Eitylen help Frederick! The Lizardfolk is capable enough itself!" Cyrus offers words of tactical insight.
Eitylen draws his dagger...
He quickly steps forward and makes a grievous slash across the monster's throat before it even realizes the elf's hand moving. Red and black blood pour from the creatures neck as it falls to its knees and then on its belly... Slowly sinking into the bog's muddy waters...
Jaazkara dives into the murk to move closer to the remaining troll, then slashes her fauchard through the stagnant waters, feeling the resistance slow her swing.
Slowed by the mud, Jaazkara weapon fails to connect... But her allies are ready to strike.
Frederick keeps hopping, beginning to feel like an idiot.
"Well, at least it works half the time."
The troll roars in pain as Frederick's falcata digs into its torso... But the creature still stands. It grabs its club with both of its oversized hands and attacks the orc!
Frederick almost deflects the attack, but this time, the weapon's force is too much to resist... The creature's eyes grow red after the impact, and it tries to bite into Frederick's shoulder.
But Frederick manages to evade the monster's yellow teeth... He can evade the smell of putrid flesh coming from the troll's mouth, though.
"Annoying creature."
Brother Cyrus has difficulty implementing proper rowing technique.
Eitylen moves forward and attacks the remaining troll...
...The water slows down his attack, but he still manages to deal some damage.
Jaazkara jumps out of the sludge to swing at the troll, bringing her long-hafted weapon to bear on the creature yet again.
Frederick does the same, except with a sword because he has no long-hafted weapon.
The combined attacks of Jaazkara and Frederick finally put the second creature down. It falls unconscious and bleeds profusely... Oddly enough, none of the four trolls show any sign of regenerative abilities.
"Well, that was a waste of time. Let's go?"
Jaazkara nods at the half-orc's words, then takes a moment to investigate the metallic objects in the water, moving her clawed hands through the water slowly to try and catch one.
Or
Jaazkara fiddles in the water for a while, trying to get hold of one of the metallic objects she noticed before...
She touches a few objects of similar smooth texture, some of them slip right past her hands, while others simply float around... Eventually, she manages to grab one that was stuck to wooden branches and algae.
When she pulls it out of the water, the object is revealed to be nothing more than a small cog, no bigger than a common ring... Jaazkara can't tell much about the cog itself, but she notices it's in very good condition and shows no visible fractures or signs of rust, despite being immersed in swamp water for gods know how long and showing no traces of magic of any kind.
"That water looks gross. Hurry up and get in the raft before you catch something."