Oh goody, sacrifices... really startin ta 'ate this place, I wonder if da Deep Father is related ta da alter we found.
Shuushar shakes his head. "My people are rarely violent. I will speak wisdom to them that I gained during my long pilgrimage."
Galenus knows that Kua-toa are often petty, bickering and mischevious. They are also odd and erratice but he's never heard of them acting in a murderous manner.
"Shuushar, then do your utmost to grant us peaceful passage."
I shall ready my blades for otherwise.
You decide to paddle forward through the gap. As soon as you are through, Shuushar calls out. "My people! I have come with words of wisdom!"
But he isn't listened too at all! Instead, the fishfolk immediately start scrambling for their weapons.
Galinndan and Eddrikk react quickly, noting that one of the fishfolk on the boat seems to be some sort of leader.
I.. er... Uh... This isn't right! This isn't right at all! What's got them so worked up? Galenus worries out.
Kanzen's eyes narrow. Shuushar had to try, I guess... He readies his blades for attack.
"We are no sacrifices!" , Galinndan shouts in undercommon, as he charges at a kuo-toa, his recently strengthened blade flashing first.
Shuushar meant well, but these are murderous foes and I must draw their attention from the others.
Eddrikk attempts to leap from the raft to the fish folks fishing ship.
The kuo toa scream out various phrases in gargly Undercommon. They are all to the effect of "Praise the Deep Father for sending us his sacrifices!" They then swim and swarm and leap and move all over to compete to bring back sacrifices.
Two scramble up out of the water on one side and streak for the back of your raft, drips streaming off them as they rush past Kanzen heedlessly. They strike at Tiberius and Irdril with their spears, wounding the strong dragon-man (3 damage) but failing to hit the dodgy Tiefling. Another charges right up to the boat and boards it, attacking Cyrus (9 damage) but allowing Eddrikk an opening to strike him. Others swim around and attempt to attack Galenus. One tries to scramble up onto the solid ground, creating an opportunity for Galinndan, but fails on his first attempt, slowing him as he climbs up. The other clambers up onto your raft and strikes Galenus (5 dam). The Dwarf's body seems entirely unprepared for the shock and his vision clouds briefly as he is unable to react (stunned for a turn). The farthest off fishfolk encircle Galinndan and Eddrikk, striking at them. The leader bites Galinndan then claws twice at Eddrikk but the tough dwarf deflects the attempts to cut him with fins.
Cyrus swipes futility at their attackers.
Galenus stands there, rocking slightly on his feet.
Kanzen swipes at one of the kua-toa as it rushes past him.
Surrounded by a swirling melee, Kanzen lashes out at the weakest target his daggers can find.
Irdril retaliates on the one that attacked her.
Bonus action Magic Stone
Cast Hunter's mark on "M"
Eddrikk strikes the lead Kuo-toa hard once but his second blow misses. Tiberius swings his pipe at the attacker in front of him.
The kuo-toa attack again, flailing with their weapons. Eddrikk deflects all blows until a very well-trained punch from the leader fells him (sorry for critting you in consecutive turns: death saves). Most of the others also take damage (can look in GM screen to find).
Irdril attacks the same one again.
She heals Eddrikk as a bonus..
"Well this is starting to not look well.. Perhaps focus one down instead of separate attacks!"
Kanzen, seeing Eddrikk fall, redoubles his efforts, trying to take down some of the fishmen around Galinndan.
Seeing Galenus stunned after the first hit, Eldeth dives in the way of the crazed Kua-tao, taking the full force of the attack, which allows Galenus enough time to recover.
Eldeth! Galenus cries out, as she shoulders him back. The force of the shove pushes Galenus back towards the back of the raft, away from the three Kua-tao.
"Like Idril said, focus on the wounded! Cut them down!", Galinndan shouts as he slashes left and right. And tries to avoid Buppido as he races through the melee, cackling his head off.
1/minute: Buppido cuts a mad caper around you, laughing maniacally the whole time. Force a single attack roll against you to be made with disadvantage.
The next attack against Gallindan is getting disadvantage.
1/day: Buppido charges madly at an opponent, screaming his odd and completely confident war-cry. His reckless charge forces a creature no more than 2 sizes larger than him to use its reaction and all of its movement to move 10 feet out of the way. The creature chooses the direction in which they move.
He will force 3 to move if 3 is still alive. Failing that, 1, 2, 4 or 5.
Cyrus redoubles his efforts towards fending off their attackers.
Working together, Kanzen and Galinndan strike down one of the fish men while Tiberius and Cyrus coordinate to defeat another. Buppido's mad screaming and antics moves one of them away from Galenus, providing him with some room. Healed by Irdril, Eddrikk leaps to his feat and swings his mighty weapon again, dealing a heavy blow.
The fish folk swarm in retaliation, striking at their objects of ritual! A particularly brutal blow hits Irdril, causing her to fall (14 dam, ds). Cyrus is also felled (7 dam, ds). Kanzen manages to shrug off the blows of his attackers while Galinndan and Eddrikk are not so fortunate. The leader fells Galinndan with a fin-strike to the neck which shocks him into unconsciousness (15 dam, ds) while one of his follower's fells Eddrikk (17 dam, ds).
Irdril falls like a sack of taters..
Gale us watches in horror as each of his friends fall, one by one. Galinndan. Idril. Cyrus. Eddrick. It won't be long under they've all fallen.
Why are they doing this? What's the point? Kua-tao have always been a little off, but this seems too much.
As he steadies himself on the raft, he mind quickly constructs the situation, Sacrifice. They said Sacrifice. They need us. They need us alive, and they're going to take us to exactly where we need to go, and they won't let anyone else harm us along the way.
Galenus speaks out in Undercommom while holding his hands up, We surrender. To his friends, he says in common, Drop your weapons. They won't hurt us if we surrender. They need us alive and they're going to take us to exactly where we want to go.
Kanzen doesn't seem to hear. He lashes out at the nearest enemy with his daggers, his combat instincts taking over. All he sees are his friends dropping around him like flies, and he fights as hard as he can to save them.
Kanzen is a whirling harbinger of death, his daggers flashing almost too fast for the eye to follow. Blood arcs through the air as he spins, slashing through flesh, his face an ugly mask of fury.
Galinndan keeps swinging his arms and blades, until he feels a thump to his head.
And feels no longer.
Kanzen fells another fish man and wounds another. As Eddrikk and Galinndan have fallen, a veritable horde of scaly assailants hurl themselves at the valiant drow.
The slippery fishmen overwhelm him from all directions, clambering up onto the boat or jabbing from the water with their spears. Eldeth, Jimjar, and the others surrender reluctantly but Buppido and Ront fight fiercely until overwhelmed by superior numbers. The fishmen chant victoriously as they begin gathering the unconscious humanoids along with their possessions into the boat. Others herd those still conscious onto the boat and begin paddling along behind on the rough raft while their comrades lead the way. "Sacrifices for the Deep Father! Deep Father!" Confident in the power of their god, they do nothing to disarm or bind their captives but simply surround them.
After an hour, everyone comes to on the kuo-toa keelboat, surrounded by the large unblinking eyes of their captors shining in the dark and their unnaturally wide mouths chanting the gargly praises of their god.
Seething with frustration, Galinndan glares at the fishmen.
Trying to keep the rage and exhaustion out of his voice, he says out loud in undercommon:
"Speak then of the Deep Father!"
One of the fish turns and jabs his fin right in Galinndan's face. In an angry, watery-sounding tone, he growls "You don't speak of Deep Father dry-man!" Then he turns back to paddling while his comrades grunt in assent.
Hey Shuushar, ask them about their god.
Shuushar nods then inquires in his gargly speech. "Who is this great Deep Father you speak of? I have been traveling a long time and have heard only of the Deep Mother."
Kanzen, his face and body a mess of bruises and lacerations, cocks a swollen eye at Shuushar as he speaks. Something has happened here to turn Shuushar's people to this Deep Father...
The leader of the fishy folk turns to Shuushar. "Then you will see the glory of the Deep Father as it far surpasses that of the Deep Mother. You will see it before you are sacrificed to him. Leemooggoogoon is his name and he is mighty. Bloppblippodd had a divine vision of his glory and he will raise us up with him in power!"
Shuushar looks surprised. In a whisper, he explains to those close to him. "Odd. Bloppblippodd is the daughter of Ploopploopeen who has been arch-priest of the Sea Mother my entire life. I wonder why has she turned from the worship of the Deep Mother in this way? And where did this vision come from? No doubt dangerous and strange illusions my people are suffering under..."
Galinndan turns to see the speakers but says nothing for now.
Unconscious Irdril dreams of better places..
You are rowed along for a while until you hear sounds coming from another boat. You see one approaching of approximately the same size with more kuo-toa on it. A prominent fish man wearing bone necklaces calls out to his rowers. "Attack!" Gargly claorings in Undercommon surround you as combatants leap off each boat and begin spearing each other in the water while the prominent kuo-toa hurls flames at his opponents. Two kuo-toa remain on your boat, steering it.
In a hushed and confused whisper, Shuushar intones "That is the arhpriest of the Sea Mother! I know not what is happening!"
Galinndan suppresses a smile, leaps to his feet and drives his blades at the remaining Deep Father followers.
Galinndan manages to land one blow in the back of a guard.
Cyrus lays a hand on Irdril, closing her wounds with a quick spell, before he slips away into the water.