Braddon sniffs the air.
"Smells like trouble," he whispers to the others.
In the confined space, he manages to slide his bastard sword from its sheath and holds it before him in both hands.
He looks round to the others, nods and slinks forwards carefully trusting to his elven sight.
What passes through his thoughts is smells like sh1te... we all do... but the halfling understands the actual focus of Braddon's hushed tone warning, and doesn't put vocalisation to his musings.
Braddon charges and brings his bastard sword down at the closest creature.
Braddon charges the nearest halfling-sized lobster-like creature and cleaves deeply through its shell.
One of the creatures further back in the water propels itself quickly to the edge of the pool.
Another drags itself awkwardly into the water; these creatures are clearly less mobile on land.
Yet another lurches into view in the dim light in the back; there are more than four.
Braddon's certainty fades somewhat when the creature before him survives the blow. He smashes at it again, before taking a wary step back and drawing out his magical short sword with his off hand.
"These things seem even tougher!"
Tendal waits for a few more bodies to interpose themselves between himself and danger.
The battered land squid takes the opportunity to dive into the pool and make like Tendal.
Another of the creatures drags itself out of the water and waits, claws at the ready.
Phillip makes ready his crossbow, ensuring it holds a fresh quarrel.
Phillip moves up to where he has eyes on the enemy, keeping his crossbow at the ready in case he gets a clear shot.
Snake waits for Gristav to move up before moving forward himself.
"Steady, Braddon. Let them come to us, and wait for the light. That one, sets like a trap against approach. Let us do the same..."
"Braddon, take the step back, and let them fight through the narrows..."
Smirking, Gristav calls out, "Aziz!"
The tall man moves a few feet before realizing there's no where to move to that he can give aid. "There's no room. We are stuck in a bottleneck. Not sure who the advantage goes to but I'm putting my money on pretty boy over the bug creatures," he deadpans.
"But he needn't fight alone. Step back beside me, Braddon, we'll double our front, and with light, I can spell them away or goad them in."
"Can we retreat to a point where we might have better terrain for our melee?" Tendal asks curiously. "It seems a waste to meet the strength of the enemy on their own advantageous field."
Snake moves a little closer.
The lobster-like creatures seem as loath to close with the party as the party is with them. The one in the back lurches a little closer to the rest of the group.
"They have the advantage, in their lack of care for whether or not we get to explore their space. If we wish to explore, we'll have to drive them out, or goad them to battle. I don't imagine there's any negotiated right of travel to be had. But my freezing rays are inexhaustible; there will be some resolution..."
Gristav continues to hope Braddon will withdraw a pace, to deny the creatures any but the narrowest front.
Braddon glances briefly at the red welts still on his arm from his earlier encounter. The sting seems to have tempered his bloodlust somewhat and he takes a step back beside Gristav.
"Put 'em on ice," he snarls. "I'll keep them back."
"Tendal, Snake: Press them with light. If this darkness was comfort, perhaps light is pain."
Tendal nods agreement to Gristav’s suggestion. He picks up a small tide-smoothed grey stone from the floor, places the light cantip on it and throws it overhand as far down the passage as he can.
Tendal scoops up a loose stone and causes it to radiate light.
The creatures continue to wait.
Phil keeps a weather eye to the frontline with loaded quarrel, but doesn't risk a perilous shot through limbs to the prey... yet.
"Now to explain to them, the light is unpleasant. And hope, they have no habit of charging..."
Gristav silenced shortly, a mere heartbeat, while frost formed and forged and flew forth...
"Shoo."
Snake moves up and then moves his lights right in the midst of them.
"Well, if light and cold won't press them away, nor goad them to charge... and we should perhaps give that a bit of time... then our choices are two: Press them in melee, and take our lumps; they all look half-ready to me, to make us regret the press... Or, leave them to their possession of the place, and never know what their wildness wards. But this might be where a woman, habituated to these tunnels, might leave a corpse to moulder. There's the question of how she'd get it here; labor doesn't seem her way, but there may be the current, in the flood and ebb. It might have moved the victim to a narrows, and trapped these clawthings to guard it, all at once..."
Snake comes around the corner and directs his lights into the midst of the creatures.
Braddon and Gristav can now see that there is something small, raw, and bloody in the pool with them; it's possible they are defending a meal. At any rate, they seem disinclined to leave the water to engage the newcomers.
Braddon stays ready, but gestures briefly with his short sword.
"Keep blasting them till they're all dead. Is that a halfling in there?"
"Perhaps once. If I thought this a rescue, I'd risk pressing. Even with it merely a recovery, we've some duty to prevail."
Tendal moved forward, the brightly burning stone pushing back the stygian darkness of the tidal tunnel, moving into the midst of his companions. The moment he saw the beasts skulking in their flooded tunnel, he tossed the stone overhead towards them, hoping to place the rock between them, flooding the room, and their pool with bright light.
Tendal's inexpert throw ricochets unexpectedly off a projection in the stone and rattles into the corner.
With a lifted-brow glance at the bug on his shoulder (which brought an answering flutter), Gristav again incants, and a coruscant cold cracks crabward...
Gristav's ray contacts the lead creature, leaving behind a tiny patch of frost.
Seeing the creatures remain where they are, Snake waits to see what they do.
"Get'em!" Braddon urges his companions, pointing with his short sword. He seems to notice the weapon, raises it for a second then frowns at it. His eyes suddenly grow wide and he grins.
Casually, Braddon tosses the short sword aside and smoothly pulls forth a dagger from his belt. He flips it once, lines up the closest creature and hurls the blade hard at anemone. ;-)
"Yea, ware ye well, ye wolves of wild", Gristav recites,
"Strong arm of slightest shepard-child"
In the half light flickering in the sodden chamber, the creatures form spurs a recollection in Tendal's memory.
"Gentlemen, beware. I think that these creatures are reefclaws...note the blood red spines across the dorsum. These creatures are known for going into a frenzy just before the moment of death. We would be wise to be wary. Furthermore, we may be able to use this quality to our advantage if the creatures are closest to one another when they are mortally injured."