Ea does her best to finish the eel, trying not to hit the oversized Grayface
Use your magic, Yasmin, before Grayface bleeds out!
+2 Str/AC, gain low-light vision, swim 30 feet.
Rallos' blade once more skewers the eel, a stringy chunk of meat impaled on the weapon as he pulls it back... Ea has little luck though, her morningstar dragging in the water as she drives it forward...
Use your own magic, Ea! thinks Yasmin, though she's unable to say so. Instead, she pulls out her dagger and tries to move into the room.
Ea will try to heal Grayface, putting herself at risk if the eel attack her
As Yasmin swims past the Eel, trying to put herself in a position to aid Rallos, the snake-like creature snaps at her…
Teeth rake along the sorcerer’s legs as she swims past Grayface’s unconscious form… but the eel makes no attempt to grab her. Coiling back on itself, the eel focuses it’s attention upon Rallos… the tiefling’s insistent stabbing finally getting the beasts’ attention…
Meanwhile Pertreeko, having taken the form of an alligator attempts to tug Grayface to safety… but the warrior’s mass is simply too much for the transformed druid.
Seeing Grayface slumped out cold and the water level rising, Ea provides healing to the warrior…. And, doing so, drops her defences long enough for the eel to attack her…
Rallos tries to skewer the eel, taking advantage of Yasmin's distraction.
Feeling the healing energies surging through subconscious, he suddenly became very much conscious and aware that the battle with the giant eel raged on.
Seeing the beast withdrawing from a failed bite at Rallos, Grayface seized his chance to hopefully avoid being attacked while vulnerable. The giant warrior stood up, pulled his still giant-sized flail from his belt, and swung it hard down upon the eel.
Grayface glanced briefly into the deepening waters, looking for his sword. A feeling of longing flashed in his mind, but there was nothing for it. The sword had now reverted back to its normal size and the fighter would be vulnerable indeed if he bothered to fish around for it.
Shaking his crocodilian head underwater, Pertreeko narrows his eyes at the huge python eating his team and decides to charge it!
+ grab, but the bite didn't find purchase, it seems.
As the giant eel is distracted, Yasmin tries to cast her own spell to freeze the eel!
But Yasmin fails, expending the last of her magical energies.
The rolling mass of the eel proves to be an elusive foe for the group as, beneath the water, they stab and bite at it…
Twisting and turning, it tries once more to bite at Rallos… the tiefling’s rapier being the last wound that it remembers…
The beast’s jaws clamp hard onto Rallos’ leg and, almost instantly, he can feel teeth chewing upon his flesh…
Ea misses her target, once again.
First Grayface, now Rallos...
Though unskilled at combat, the sorceress stabs desperately at the Eel with her dagger.
Seeing the beast fully committed with Rallos' leg, Gray lowered his defensive stance and swung the flail with his normal fervor.
Seeing the creature clamp down on his leg, Rallos frantically stabs at the creature to free himself.
Cursing his own lack of strength and his inability to yet cast spells in feral form, the druid abandons the comfortable alligator form and gazes to Rallos, noting his severe wounds and his blood spilling into the water all around them. Attempting to concentrate, , he turns his full attention to the tiefling's wounds. Though he couldn't heal as efficiently as Ea, and hadn't prepared for heavy healing today, he had to do what he could.
Ea's attack is wild but this time it matters not.... both Grayface and Yasmin manage to land their blows - each successive hit visibly reducing the vigour of the eel's writhing... and then Rallos, realising that it was either him or the eel, drives his rapier into the eye socket of his attacker... as the blade strikes bone somewhere within the skull, the eel becomes immediately limp, releasing its' hold on Rallos and sinking lifelessly to the bottom of the room...
Pertreeko quickly heals Rallos and, for a moment, everyone catches their breath... and then note the depth of the water rising... the water is no longer surging but it will be less than a minute before the room is filled with water....
The fighter slapped at the water, flinging 10-liter-sized splashes at his friends, seamlessly going from combat to play time. Sending a cold wave at the sorceress he said "Hya! Water magic attack!" He followed this with a massive splash at the priestess, saying "Healing waters, bless the chosen of Pharasma!"
Gray hunched his massive frame down to the rising water and reached for the floor, grabbing his discarded bastard sword. He pulled out of the water with a flourish, whipping his long black mane of wet hair back and out of his face. The bastard sword looked silly in his oversized hands and would likely slide right out of the half-scabbard leather fold across his back. With his other hand he replaced the flail on his belt, then readjusted his fold, wrapping it more tightly around the too-small blade.
How long did the alchemist say this enlarge enchantment would last, Grayface wondered to himself. Not certain but assuming that he had mere moments left with his increased stature and strength, he grabbed the massive eel's corpse and pulled it along in the water toward the corridor where they entered.
"We've should go now," said the fighter in a deeper baritone than was usual. Mere moments later he shrunk back down his normal 6'6" frame, swimming along with the fish-corpse in tow.
Yasmin gasps at Grayface's watery sneak attack. "Hey, you big oaf!" She returns fire, attempting a few splashes at the oversized man. "Glad to see you're unfazed at almost becoming dinner for this eel." She heads out of the room and back to some dry land, following Gray's lead.
Ea sends some water on Grayface too, surprised at his playfulness. Seeing the water rising, she says
"Come eel or high water", as the saying goes...
Yes, that was a joke. Not a really good one, as humor isn't Ea's forte.
When they are back to safety, Ea calls on her grim goddess mercy, to heal the wounds of everyone
Pertreeko sighs in relief as the vicious predatory eel expires. "Truly a majestic creature. It almost killed two of us!" he exclaims, agreeing with Grayface's proposal. To base camp! "I'm all out of spells for the day," he confesses as he dries off his clothing. "I won't be much use until I can rest again."
Retreating to dry land on the stairs somewhere between the Drowned Level and the ‘Godhome’ of the troglodytes, the group finally have time to rest, to dry out and, for those who are so inclined, to sample eel meat.
Setting up a watch rota, the night time (if it is indeed night-time) passes without disturbance and, waking in the morning, you feel recuperated and energised for what lies ahead of you…
A joke? Wait, let me write this down....Ea made a joke on this day....
Rallos takes out his paper and sketches the outline of the level, highlighting the portals that allowed the water to flow. He makes like he is writing down the details regarding Ea's humour.
"Come eel or high water", as the saying goes...
Grayface laughed out loud. He laughed a little bit too much when compared to the levity of the joke. There was something about the moment -- something about overcoming adversity, with companions, that gave the warrior and sense of satisfaction never before experienced. It was a good feeling and he let it wash over him as the waters had so recently.
After some welcome rest
Have we finished to explore and map this level? Should we try to to get deeper in the Spire?
Seeing that Grayface is still hurt, Ea uses the healing wand on him
I wonder what kind of creatures wait for us... Let's hope they won't ask for a joke, I don't think I'll be able to do another one.
Gray awakens early, refreshed from the night's sleep. He wades into the nearby refuse room to relieve himself and returns to the camp by the stairs. Pulling some crumbling dry bread and a bruised apple from his pack, he ponders the last several combat situations, specifically his role in them and where he made mistakes. The fighter is certain he can better his technique, but he'll need a living opponent to test out his bolstered confidence and increased skill.
While the rest of his friends are stirring, Grayface does his morning rounds of calisthenics and swordplay routines.
Seeing that everyone was now awake he said, "I feel great today, how are you all? I believe we might be nearly finished mapping this level of the spire, if Rallos' drawings are any indication."
The warrior readied his pack, his armor and his blade.
Aye...perhaps it holds more information. It seems the further we go, the more varied the experiences....
At Grayface's suggestion, it is time to explore the final rooms on this level... the rooms which, halfway along the submerged corridor, contain the feared bunyip!!! Each taking a deep breath, the group clamber down the ladder and let the flow take them... It is not very long, and easily within everyone's breathing capacity, before you arrive at the door... Pushing it open and walking through the arcane barrier which holds the water back, you find yourself in the room that Pertreeko previously described...
...it is not very long before a large shape, blubber and bared teeth, surfaces nearby... and hisses agressively at Grayface... It doesn't however immediately attack...
.
Yasmin makes no aggressive move, but does search for magic auras - in addition to the one from the visible portal.
Gray eases into the room, more blatantly than he intended, and aroused the ire of the bunyip creature. He took advantage of its momentary lapse in action to gain the upper hand.
The fighter swung his sword around in a series of flashy swipes and cuts, roaring all the while in an attempt to cow the likely foe.
Ea sees the bunyip and readies herself for a fight, if needed
There are 2 smaller shapes underneath...might be young ones. which means it might fight harder.
Yasmin casts Mage Armor on herself. She hopes that Grayface's aggressive stance will cow the bunyip into submission so they can finish their exploration of this room. But she's ready to act if necessary.
As Grayface launches into his showy display of swordplay and aggression, the bunyip hisses and spits at him… for a second, it appears ready to charge before, with a wet ‘mewling’ noise, a miniature version of the beast surfaces – it is considerably more furry than the adult beast – and, from a certain angle, could almost be considered cute. The adult beast turns towards it’s offspring and. diving beneath the surface, starts to nudge it downwards away from danger…
Deep within the murk you see it move into an opening tens of feet below your ledge… as if there is a tunnel joining the pools in the adjacent rooms.
The warrior suddenly felt ashamed. His raging display was apparently targeted at not just the bunyip, but its young. The creature had every right to defend it's offspring and now they've swam away out of sight as a result of Grayface's intimidation.
Unsure of what he accomplished, he looks to his friends.
"Heya...Pertreeko, I probably should've let you handle that one eh? What now? Should we just leave it alone and draw its escape tunnel on the map for Royst?"
Gray looks at everyone, one by one, looking for opinions.
I for one would be satisfied with leaving this creature as it is...that and the fact we are not the most adept with fighting in water....
"Don't feel bad, Gray - the kind of posturing you did is exactly how to send a message to these animals. Now it'll stay out of our way while we finish mapping this place."
Yasmin studies the forcefield that is keeping the water at bay, and anything else of magical interest in these rooms.
"I made the same error in judgement as you, Grayface. The difference is that I should have known better. Still, my skill with negotiating with members of the animal world - particularly subterranean water-dwellers like bunyips - is less than perfect. You handled it nicely, in my opinion."
He glances between Gray and Rallos, before nodding in agreement with Yasmin. "There are other avenues to explore that don't disturb the bunyips any further. I recommend avoiding unnecessary aquatic confrontation. My lightning spells tend to cause...collateral damage."
Yasmin - the forcefield that prevents water flowing into the bunyip's lair whilst unremarakable seems robust enough - there are no other auras of note here...
...and so, with the final drawings of the rooms and corridors complete, it appears that - even if it seemed, on occasion, beyond them - the adventurers have conquered this level of the Emerald Spire...
Shall we continue? We are rested, and none of us is harmed...