Gared called out to Carridan and Carmina as he lined up his shots.
"Keep yer distance from 'em for as long as ye can and I'll take out as many I can!"
Once Horven is safely, relatively speaking, back on land, Carridan darts back into the waters and toward Carmina, hoping to bear her away from the pursuing skeletons as well.
HP: 36/36
AC: 21 (12 T / 19 FF)
CMD: 17
F/R/W: +8/+6/+9
Wild Shape used: 0/1
Storm Burst used: 0/7
CLW charges used: 5/50
Spells Prepared:
Orisons (4): create water, detect poison, know direction, purify food and drink
Level 1 (3+1+1*): faerie fire, magic stone, obscuring mist*, produce flame, shillelagh
Level 2 (2+1+1*): bull's strength, fog cloud*, gust of wind, hold animal
*domain
Ongoing Effects
wildshape (medium dolphin, 4 hrs): +2 Str, +2 Nat armor, swim 30ft
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Gared called Horven behind him as he launched his assault, a smile tugging on the corner of his stoic mouth as his friends made their way out of harms reach.
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Confused for rounds.
While Carridan drops Horven off at the beaches edge, Gared opens fire on one of the skeletons that made it to the shore, sending it to whatever hell it came from. The other rapier wielding skeleton is undeterred by this, as it shrugs off Horven's shot with ease.
Jasper sees the skeletons approaching the shore and his eyes bulge out as he attempts to stay focused on the impending danger. Unfortunately, the stress proves too much for him and he collapses to the ground and curls up in a fetal position, mumbling incoherently.
As the others continue to fend off the skeletal attackers, Yamyra attempts to calm their 'guide'.
Once back on dry land, Carmina wastes no time in joining the fight against the animate skeletons, snapping her teeth at them like a hungry beast, but ultimately unable to harm them.
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fail; 10' away
success, reaches shore
fail; 20' away
Sk#7 frees itself; 20' away
;
Carmina and Horven concentrate their efforts on the skeleton that made it to the shore, but are unable to damage it significantly. Yamyra's summoned elemental shatters another skeleton into inanimate bones, whilst she attempts to calm Jasper down.
The skeletons again try to make it to shore, with one of them succeeding to join its companion. The other skeleton strikes at Carmina with its rapier sliding under her defenses and drawing blood.
With Carmina safely back on land, Carridan clacks and trumpets angrily at the next skeleton nearest to shore. Darting through the water, he tries his best to shatter its skull with a powerful strike from his snout.
HP: 36/36
AC: 21 (12 T / 19 FF)
CMD: 17
F/R/W: +8/+6/+9
Wild Shape used: 0/1
Storm Burst used: 0/7
CLW charges used: 5/50
Spells Prepared:
Orisons (4): create water, detect poison, know direction, purify food and drink
Level 1 (3+1+1*): faerie fire, magic stone, obscuring mist*, produce flame, shillelagh
Level 2 (2+1+1*): bull's strength, fog cloud*, gust of wind, hold animal
*domain
Ongoing Effects
wildshape (medium dolphin, 4 hrs): +2 Str, +2 Nat armor, swim 30ft
Gared stepped beside Carmina and launched an arrow at each of the skeletons that had made it to shore.
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rounds
Carridan swerves away from the shore and swims back towards one of the skeletons, which barely manages to avoid the attack. Gared has better luck with his bow as he shatters another skeleton that just reached shore.
Yamyra attempts to bring Jasper out of his state, but he refuses to respond to her calming gestures.
Carmina winces when the skeleton's rapier meets her flesh, but does not relent her assault.
Horven pulls his rapier and goes after the skeleton past Carmina.
;
Brandishing the longspear Gared gave her, now enhanced with the addition of mountings for the Pathfinder flag currently flying from it, Yamyra continues her exhortations. "Look Jasper! In mere moments our companions have returned several of those poor souls to the peace of the Boneyard, and without much more than a scratch!"
Meanwhile, the water elemental barrels after another of the submerged skeletons.
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5' away
fails stuck, 20' away
.
;
Yamyra's words fall on deaf ears as Jasper continues mumbling incoherently. Meanwhile the elemental's charge is dodged niftily aside by the skeleton. Carmina's return blows do damage the skeleton somewhat, despite its lack of flesh. Horven scoots past the skeleton hoping to flank it and help the tiefling girl out, but his blow is wide. The skeleton ignores the halfling and stabs at Carmina with its rapier, again drawing blood.
The other skeletons nearly make it to shore, though you do see one of them get tangled up again in the same patch of seaweed.
Carridan wheels around in the water and tries to smash into the skeleton near to shore, but the waters are too shallow and he pulls aside early to keep from slamming into the rocks the rest of the group currently stand atop.
HP: 36/36
AC: 21 (12 T / 19 FF)
CMD: 17
F/R/W: +8/+6/+9
Wild Shape used: 0/1
Storm Burst used: 0/7
CLW charges used: 5/50
Spells Prepared:
Orisons (4): create water, detect poison, know direction, purify food and drink
Level 1 (3+1+1*): faerie fire, magic stone, obscuring mist*, produce flame, shillelagh
Level 2 (2+1+1*): bull's strength, fog cloud*, gust of wind, hold animal
*domain
Ongoing Effects
wildshape (medium dolphin, 4 hrs): +2 Str, +2 Nat armor, swim 30ft
Gared stepped to right up to the skeleton that had just made it to shore, trusting his allies to flank and destroy it if he didn't manage to do the deed himself with two point blank shots at the monster's grinning head.
Horven holds his rapier at the ready, waiting for the next skeleton to come ashore.
;
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Carmina moves next to Horven and slings a tiny ray of positive energy at the skeleton closest to shore.
Cheering her companions on, Yamyra waves her be-flagged longspear energetically as the elemental once more assaults one of the still-submerged skeletons.
Gared eyed his companions injuries for severity when the movement in the water finally calmed.
"Lady Carmina, would you like some healing or shall we save the magic." The dwarf looked over to Horven. "That was good technique, my friend. I'll try and give you better chances for vital strikes in the future."
Carridan swims up to the shoreline, offering a series of cheerful clicks and trumpets as the last of the skeletons tumble to the sea floor. He then swims in a series of tight circles, before coming up as near to shore as he can, inviting Horven to take a seat again.
"It will take some practice on my part, Gared," Horven says, climbing onto Carridan's back again.
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Carridan then bears Horven across the intervening distance to the wreckage once more, returning for the others if need be.
At the wreckage, Horven looks around for the Kelpie's Hair or anything else of note.
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Gared swam out across and helped his friend search the ship.
Time we have in plenty, master Horven."
Horven gestures at the seaweed and begins gathering it, coming up for air as needed.
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Once the needed seaweed has been gathered, Carridan bears each of those in the water back to shore before returning to the shallows himself and returning to his normal form.
"More undead! Pharasma take them all! Are any of you still hurt?" He draws forth his curative wand and offers its magics to any who might still be in need.
Carmina rejects all offers of curative magics, responding to any consern about her wound by claiming it is "just a tiny little pinprick".
"We should probably go take those weeds back to Maroux, I'd like to see if that soup of hers is as good as she said."
Gared swam back to shore with a long bit of the aquatic plant left in his belt. He changed into his dry clothes that he'd left behind, with the exception of his magical shirt, which he wrung out lovingly and gently before redonning it.
"Let's be on our way, then!"
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Your trip back to Maroux's is uneventful for the most part, the only obstacle being the rising tide, necessitating some swimming mixed in with wading. The sun has already started its trip to the horizon before you finally arrive at the hermit's cottage.
Announcing your presence, the ugly woman waves you inside her humble abode, her demeanor far more pleasant than it was earlier in the day. She gladly accepts the kelpie's hair seaweed from you and motions for you to have a seat. "I be gittin' the stew goin' now, should not take more than a couple o' hours ta finish up yer meal!"
As you settle in, the smells of the stew start wafting in from the kitchen. Maroux steps out of the kitchen and nods to you. "Well, dinner be ready soon. Ye have some questions fer me?"
"Yes please," Yamyra replies, "we understand you are well acquainted with the area about the Lady's Light. We were hoping you might share some of that knowledge with us."
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Maroux motions for all of you to sit down (including Jasper, who is still standing quietly muttering to himself here.) "Aye, this be a long tale so bear wit' me here." She hobbles over to a stool and plunks herself down on it.
"OK to understand this area, you first need to know about who lives 'ere. The xulgaths (who you city folk know better as troglodytes) and boggards have bickered over control of the Lady’s Cape for years. They’re pretty evenly matched if you ask me. I’ve bloodied their noses when they’ve stuck them in my business, so for the most part they’ve let me be — that’s what the skulls and artwork on my bridge are for."
She stands up to check on the bubbling stew for a moment before sitting back down. "“But then, a few months back, we had some new visitors. A troop of women knights or something, clad in plate and wearing red-plumed helms. Their leader was a woman named Oriana — pretty enough, at least till she took her helmet off and showed off her scars. She sat down to dinner with me just like you did, only she gave me a fine magic wand as a bribe, so I didn’t feel the need to send her off to gather seaweed." She chuckles to herself. "Anyway, she told me she and her sisters were from Korvosa, soldiers of the rightful queen who’d been tumbled off the throne a few years back. They’d had to flee the city once their queen wasn’t in charge, and fell into mercenary work until Oriana got the idea to plunder the Lady’s Light for the treasure they think’s hidden inside of it. Made me chuckle a bit, since I’ve heard there’s secret rooms in the Lady filled with treasure too. I’ve tried to find a way into the place before — there’s caves under the area that are supposed to connect to the chambers below the Light, but those caves belong to the trogs and frogs and bigger critters. I didn’t get far, and since then I’ve steered clear of the Light — the b*~*~ gives me the willies, anyway. Some powerful magic going on in there."
She stirs the stew pot once again, the bubbling starting to increase with the tiny hut filling up with the smell of the fish and seaweed stew. “Anyway, Oriana was intent on getting under the Lady’s skirts, and she asked me if I knew a way in. I told her about the caves and warned her of the trogs ’n frogs, but that didn’t seem to bother her. Unlike me, she had herself a whole group of ironclad soldiers to back her up, after all. So off she goes, and damned if she and her mercenaries don’t make friendly with the frogs! Got them some better weapons, gave them some fighting tips, and then helped them launch an attack on the trogs. In return, the frogs gave her permission to use their tunnels." She shakes her heads in amazement.
"But here’s the kicker. Oriana found a way inside the Lady - or at least she says so. She came my way ten days ago with a story that she’d found none other than the Runelord of Lust herself in there, and that the runelord had recruited Oriana to help her reclaim her lands and rebuild her kingdom! Oriana asked me to join their crusade! I politely refused and wished her well and she went on her way. Gods above an’ below, I couldn’t get her out of my hut quick enough!" She shudders at the memory.
She then pauses for a moment to serve you her dinner, consisting of the aformentioned stew, along with rough bread, and murky swamp water flavored with herbs.
As you all take your bowls in hand, Maroux adds, "The way I see it, there’s three possibilities. First, Oriana is lying, for whatever reason. The second, Oriana, sad child, is off her nut. And the third, someone or something in there is masquerading as Sorshen the Grand Whore of Thassilon and has tricked Oriana into being her minion. Well, I suppose there’s a fourth possibility—that Sorshen really is alive and well in the Lady’s Light, but if you believe that claptrap, there’s a bridge across the Straits of Aroden I’d like to sell ya!"
Expression growing more and more pensive with each breath Maroux takes to tell her tale, Yamyra turns what is meant to be a quelling glance to the rest of you. "There have been tales..." She trails off musing as she looks to the rest of you. "Actually," she adds, "investigating those very tales is part of why we are here. You said Oriana and the others hailed originally from Korvosa and they all wore heavy armor? What kind of facial scars did she bear?"
Carridan shakes his head at the tale, baffled by what lies in store for them what with this Oriana and her band beating them to the site. "There's- ah, there's not another way in, besides the caves, is there? It sounds like Oriana and those with her might have been Gray Maidens: a frightful bunch from what little I've heard."
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Carmina leans back on her chair as she tries to remember what exactly the Korvosans had been up to in recent times.
"Yes, but there were a lot of rumours coming out about the going's-on in Korvosa surrounding the time of the Old King's death." Yamyra chides Carridan gently. "It doesn't help that Korvosa & Magnimar have been rivals practically since Magnimar was founded." She clarifies for those companions who did not grow up in Varisia.
"If anything, I for one would like the chance to make inquiries of someone who was actually present." She muses to herself.
Gared leaned back against a wall of the hut and mulled over the Half-orc's tale. "So what should our course of action be from here?," Gared asked of the room.
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Maroux looks over to the dwarf. "Look, if ye need it, I can draw a simple map of this region that gives all the locations ye need ta know of. I figgur you want to know where my hut is, the Lady’s Light, the boggard village, and the locations of the three caves that lead to the tunnels under the region. I also can say the northern cave is the primary troglodyte den, and that the southern one is claimed by the boggards. I gots no clue what’s living in the cave between them, but it’s something big and mean, no doubt about it!"
"I think we should follow Oriana's lead," Horven answers. His limited knowledge left many questions as to the significance of Maroux's tale.
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