Creating for dotting.
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A dwarf with leaves in his beard and a crossbow with an axe strapped to his back enters the room. A second later a badger follows behind.
"Harsk here.." he says with a dour look. He looks around. "There's an awful amount of water here..I guess Valsin sends us anywhere"
What am I now a damm fish? At least I'm not a gnome.
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A very compact tiefling looks up. "Do you have any problems with dwarfes?"
Tytus Umbraleyes is a stocky young man of clearly dwarven blood, about 4`8`` with maybe 240 pounds. His heritage is obvious, as he has blackest orbs for eyes, a long tail and maw to make a shark proud. He dresses usually in brown leather pants and coat with an embroyeded red and black vest. If on a mission he wears a mithral breastplate of best dwarven craftmanship dyed in gray and gold, embossened with the hammer of Torag on his shoulders.
His belt of woven steelwire has the dwarven rune of strength engraved on his mithral buckle. On his left hip is a strange looking gun and on his right a block of adamantine carved into a angry dwarven head on a long chain. Two crossed bandoleers holds a few potions a mutagen and extracts.
Tytus vanity are cigars, whenever possible he lights one and gently savors it.
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"No tea for me. Did they say anything about a priest?" Liam says looking around. He is a man of mixed heritage. He seems more experienced than his age suggests with his sandy brown hair, scruffy stubble and tattoos on his face. He wears plain clothes with a very expensive looking holy symbol of a mask.
As the six of you sit in a cafe, awaiting the arrival of the one that sent for you, conversation is occasionally difficult over the the din of the aquatic metropolis of Vialesk filling the giant air bubble encasing Splendor’s Docks. Smells of fish, salt, and strange spices waft through the air while traders unload their cargo and hawk their wares. Outside the air bubble, a pod of whales lazily circles the city, tended by an ocean-giant shepherd.
A blue-skinned Marid wearing gossamer robes approaches through the bustling crowd.
“Hail, Pathfinders!” the woman calls, waving excitedly. “Welcome to Vialesk, greatest city in the Plane of Water. My name is Zahra; I am the Pathfinder currently organizing our interests on this plane. We have much to discuss."
She grabs an open seat at your table and motions for a server to come over with another drink. The Marid takes a moment to look each of you up and down, then nods.
“So, let us get to it. Over the past several years, I have slowly pieced together rumors and legends pointing to the location of a hidden font of elemental power. I believe an artifact is stored away inside a giant seashell hidden within the Lambent Bloom — a forest of jellyfish. I set out to inspect the shell recently, but my expedition ran afoul of a spy working for the shell’s current occupants. It seems that it is currently inhabited by a tribe of sahuagin under the rule of a cunning leader named Baron Zemdar. With the help of other Pathfinders agents, I discovered that Zemdar is using the power of the shell to control the tides.”
The waiter finally arrives with a drink for Zahra: a sludge-like concoction with a pinkish hue. She nods in thanks to him, then waits for the sever to retreat before continuing. "Needless to say, that is not a weapon that should be in the hands of such a creature even if this artifact weren't potentially key to the Society's current...resotration project. So I have organized a new expedition to the shell And am hoping that you can accompany me."
Zahra nods to the halfling. “ We have roughly twenty-four hours until the expedition departs, so there should be plenty of time for you to prepare or inquire around the city. I and our partners have done our own diligence as well, and so I may be able to advise if you have any specific questions. This new expedition has been organized in partnership with the city guard and the brine dragon Razethka. We will lead the expedition to the shell and help deal with the sahuagin threat. Baron Zemdar is a vicious creature, and his current power over the tides poses a looming threat to the Vialesk. Then, once Zemdar is defeated, we will be able to freely explore the site and locate the artifact hidden inside. Additionally, I believe the shell acts as a magical amplifier of sorts, so once we remove the artifact, we might be able to redirect the shell’s energies to more useful purposes.”
“Razethka will be able to provide you with unlimited water breathing spells, but you should be able to find whatever additional supplies you need in the markets of Vialesk” The marid looks pointedly at Mr. Hammerfist as he hefts his crossbow. ”I suspect as it is your first time on the plane you may not be used to adventuring in such aquatic envirnments. There will be no air once we leave the city, ‘Material-folk’ tend to underestimate the difficulty required to move about the seas, and some of your weapons may not be as suited to the open water as they are in the air. I would strongly advise making sure you stop by the Azure Armory; I have arranged for the city guard to loan you weapons designed for underwater fighting from their stockade, if you desire.”
Zahra sits backs looking at each of you with interest as you process the mission’s outline.
Zahra looks a bit surprised at your surprise. "Well, yes. Vialesk tries to make comfortable spaces for visitors and traders with air-bubbled districts like this, but most of the Plane of Water is...water. And the Lambent Bloom is quite a ways away from here. Again, Razethka will take care of your breathing, but sword and maces might be a bit less effective than you'd think. The Armory should be able to lend you some gear to assist."
The marid takes a deep drink of her tear before scrunching her face. "Perhaps you would also think about some magical means of maneuvering. In a tight fight, spending your energy flailing about in the currents could be...unfortunate."
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Nodding towards Zahra. "To aid my companions here I have a wand with some charges of touch of the sea in my possession. Also there will be another accompanying us in case of aid if drowning." Marlow nods towards a lizardfolk blending in poorly at the back of the room.
[] [] [] Shathva's Aid:
You can direct Shathva to rescue an unconscious, drowning PC within 30 of you, using her 15' swim speed and her swim bonus of 15. It takes her one round to reach and grab the PC. Once she has a hold of the PC, she drags them to the nearest pocket of air or solid surface.
"Yes, though any of those other spells you speak of should be obtainable in the Sea-Witch district. Scrolls and oils and the like should be plentiful: Vialesk is not un-used to catering to non-swimmers."
Zahra finishes off what is left of her drink and signals for the meals' check to arrive. "Now, if you have any other questions about our objective, the site, or anything else I will answer as best I can. Otherwise, I have many arrangements to finalize before our departure tomorrow."
Zahra composes herself for a moment before responding to Tobias, choosing her words carefully.
"The terrain in which we will be fighting with Baron Zemdar and his sahaugin is...somewhat uncertain. If the combat is within the shell, I know little of exactly what is inside. The place is warded against divination magics. The shell once belonged to a massive nautilus named Riam the Unyielding, who was a chief servant of Lysianassa, the good elemental lord of water. Kelizandri, the evil elemental lord of water, defeated Lysianassa long ago, but before her defeat, Lysianassa entrusted Riam with a portion of her power. Riam fled with it into the wilderness, but he was eventually overcome and fatally wounded by minions of Kelizandri. I believe Riam’s shell was lost within the Lambent Bloom, however, so Kelizandri never discovered the artifact inside it. After that, I believe the shell was used as a pilgrimage site for a time and then eventually became inhabited by tribes of bloodthirsty humanoids."
She forwns. "If battle does spill into the shell itself, we should do our best to be careful. I suspect that the pilgrims of Lysianassa viewed the shell as a holy site and they have probably hidden away the artifact we're looking for somewhere within. To find it, be respectful and pay special attention to the religious symbols and traditions that you might find inside.”
The check arriving, the Marid signs it with a generous tip as she muses. "Of course sahaugin are a frenzied species, warlike and aggressive and riled up further if blood is in the water. It is highly likely that if we approach they will meet up out in the Lambent Bloom - a forestlike field of poisonous jellyfish that is nearly one hundred miles wide. Many sahaugin tribes have lived amongst there long enough they have mutated to become immune to the jellyfish poison. As we are not, we'll just have to navigate it carefully."
Though she has never ventured to the plane before, Alektara recalls learning that much like its Air-y counterpart the Plane of Water has subjective gravity. The density of the water composing the plane makes it slightly less impactful here, but in a pinch in addition to swimming, a creature can s’sink’ tin the direction of her choice by willing her personal gravity to shift . Magic is subtly altered as well: firey spells are impeded and require concentration to even be able to be cast, while water magic is enhanced .
As the six of you set out towards the Azure Armory (with some making shopping pit stops along the way) Tobias gets to chatting up several undines and locathahs along to way. Recent rumors of an increasingly aggressive sahaugin tribe dominate the latest gossip around Vialesk, but a merfolk also chats up the halfling about one of your groups patrons. Apparently Razehtka “The Scarred” – though best not to call her that in person – used to rule and run a locathah tribe before a kraken dethroned her years ago. She still bears the scars of her defeat, and since then has been carefully sponsoring and investing in ventures in order to rebuild both her lost wealth and her prestige.
Eventually, the Azure Armory – a blue-stoned and shelled barracks that houses the city’s guard – rises up to greet you as you stride down the streets. Navigating towards the quartermaster’s offices, a grizzled cecaelia looks up from a sheet of records in front of him and gives a kurt nod.
”I am guessing you are the foreigners of Zahra’s. Is that correct?” Without turning away, several of his tentacles stretch behind him and begin grabbing a series of oddly-balanced crossbows which he sets on a counter before him. ”On behalf of there being some merit for the public good in your trip, I am authorized to lend you each a ranged weapon that will actually work down here. Standard stock of course, but if you have collateral I can see if we have something more appropriate.”
The quartermaster gives Liam and Tytus another once over even as his tentacles continue to exchange weapons with the dwarves.
"Those? City resources that would be better used not wasted on people who've never swam in their lives."
With a glower, he turns and reverts to a neutral expression as her looks as Harsk. "Ice, bolts, or acid? That should be enough 'wallop' for you."
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... Apparently Razehtka “The Scarred” – though best not to call her that in person – used to rule and run a locathah tribe before a kraken dethroned her years ago. She still bears the scars of her defeat, and since then has been carefully sponsoring and investing in ventures in order to rebuild both her lost wealth and her prestige....
Hmm... What do I remember about this Razehtka?
I wonder if this Razehtka could be persuaded to help us?