Daire flops back... And then it strikes! Striking from the depths of the pool, the imposing otter-like creature has thick, fury skin and a massive jaw filled with sharp teeth. The nightmarish monster surprises them all when it snaps at Daire who seems too tired to put up a fight. It grabs the poor man in its massive maw and seems prepared to pull him back into the cool waters of the pool!
Seeing Daire taken by the monster, Sister Cobhlaith turns to Ruadhan – the only one of the warriors who continues to stand tall against all odds in this cursed world – and calls upon him the blessing of God.
Daire yells, somewhat more awake now:
"Dobhar-Chu, I'll wear your fur!"
Too late to prevent the attack and recognising the creature at the same time Daire does, Ruadhan snatches his blade and runs forward to slash at the creature.
"Thorun, grab Daire and hang on, Aoife watch for the creature's mate."
Cut deep by Ruadhan's sword, the monster fails to pull Daire into the depths. It lets him go and turns to face the newcomer...
Thorun tiredly marches up to the water. He grabs Daire by the neck of his shirt, throwing him back several feet. He reaches down, grabbing the creature by the neck and bringing it up face to face. "Leave."
"You think there is two?" Aoife asked before watching the creature drop Daire and Thorun's tired expression work against him.
"Right..."
Slicing away at the creature Aoife looked to Ruadhán. "I'll deal with it's mate if that one shows up."
Round 2
As the creature turns to face Ruadhan, it's movement causes Ruadhan's blade to go wide, but brings the creatures nose right into line with Ruadhan's shield punch.
"If memory serves, the stories usually mentioned a mate, let's hope not, but be prepared."
Ruadhan, Aoife and Thorun rush to save Daire from certain death, only to find themselves now its targets. Aoife's blade fails to penetrate the animal's thick armour, and it seems to barely acknowledge Ruadhan's hard hit with his shield. The monster is terrifying and they can only pray that it is alone...
It lunges for Ruadhan, grabs him in its sharp-toothed maw, and then swings its massive tail to slap Aoife into the pool. Aoife steps back quickly, realizing that the monster is not likely to miss again.
However, hearing Sister Cobhlaith's prayer gives them all courage to fight on!
"Bloody hell I hate this place." The axe comes down.
"I second that!" Aoife calls out to Thorun as she tries to be useful.
His blood afire, Daire doesn't quite stagger to his feet and yells:
"Cut down the water hound! Its pelt would make fine protection!"
As a swift action, you can expend one use of mythic power to rally your allies. This gives you and each of your allies within 30 feet the option to reroll any one d20 roll after the roll is made. The granted reroll must be used before the beginning of your next turn, and the creature must take the result of the reroll, even if it is lower.
Whenever you use bardic performance to inspire courage, the competence bonus against charm and fear effects instead applies to all saving throws. If you expend one use of mythic power when you start a bardic performance to inspire courage, you add your tier to this bonus.
Aoife's blade strikes true, as does Thorun's. Deep cuts in the monster's side suggest that the tide of battle may have turned...
But the monster clings to Ruadhan, tucks in its legs and rolls rapidly, twisting and wrenching him while continuing to bite hard into his thigh. As it prepares to drag Ruadhan into the pool, it slaps it tail hard on Thorun, whose axe cut deep into its flank.
"Raaahh, just die!"
Ruadhan struggles in the monster's grip, but the teeth are sunk too deeply.
Daire, still barely sitting up, thinks quickly - and subtly weaves an unsubtle effect, a tiny piece of wool twixt his fingers.
"The shades of the Fianna will cut you down, water-hound, trickster, hunted one!", he yells, as an cloaked warrior runs from nowhere to stab at the beast with his spear, barely missing it!
Silent Image to distract the water hound.
Aoife brought both her blade around and down calling out
Ruadhan's companions fight with all their might to keep the monster from dragging him into the depths of the pool... To no avail. Their blades simply cannot pierce the creature's thick hide and Daire's deception does nothing to dissuade it from its meal!
Aoife dropped on of her sword, taking the other in two hands and bringing down upon the creature.
Beating at the head of the creature with the pommel of his sword seems to do nothing as Ruadhan remains unable to tear himself free.
The monster recoils from Aoife's deep cut and, bleeding heavily, drags Ruadhan into the depths of the pool, which is not very wide but quite suddenly deep.
Thorun takes a breath, then leaps forward and crashes down on the creature!
Aoife screamed in anger before she dropped her sword and jumped into the well after Ruadhán and the creature.
Getting up to the creature and grabbing at it's jaws
'Give him back! You can't have him!' Aoife screamed in her head.
Daire stands, sheer excitement keeping him upright.
Daire roars, trying to scare the water-hound.
The creature's move, down into the water forces the urgency into Ruadhan's attempts to escape the bite. Wedging his blade into the creature's mouth he tries to lever the jaws open.
Ruadhan's companions jump into the cool waters to his aid. But Thorun's axe, even with the guidance of God, cannot cut the creature's thick hide; and Aoife finds herself unable to grab the thrashing beast.
Daire threatens the monster... And it seems to pause! It understands us, he realizes. But is it too late now that it has Ruadhan in its maw and is dragging him deeper into the darkness?
Ruadhan struggles hard to escape the shaken monster's grip but, despite his best efforts, his struggle is in vain. The creature's grip is simply too strong! Holding his breath, he sees himself being dragged deeper into the depths of the pool...
And then, the light of God shines upon him. Time seems to slow for Ruadhan as he sees Sister Cobhlaith dive into the water, haloed in bright light. With love in her eyes, she touches his cheek and smiles. Suddenly, the creature lets him go! It seems to have completely forgotten about him. Bleeding and battered, it retreats into the dark waters below.
It's clever enough to know when it is beaten.
With the creature retreating, Aoife moves to help Sister Cobhlaith pull
Ruadhán back to the surface. All the while cursing internally. How was this stupid well suppose to help them find the damn sword?!
Daire keeps on his feet, just about. He stares at the scene ahead of him.
Aoife sat on the grass as she breathed deeply. When she caught her breath she picked up her blades and sheathed them. "So, we found the well... now how do we get the sword?" She asked.
As the rush of danger fades, so does Daire's strength. He shakily sits on the ground before he flops down.
He thinks, eager to come up with an answer that gets them all out od this God-forsaken place.
"Daire, don't you remember something about this?" Aoife asked. "You said something about it before."
"One needs...to defeat a veiled hag with the aid of a fair maiden.", Daire says, thinking about the woman with the otherworldly singing voice.
"A veiled hag with the aid of Sister Cobhlaith?" Aoife asked. "How? I mean... where even is this hag?"
Saved before he had become too short of breath and panicked, Ruadhan is nonetheless glad to be free of the creatures grip, fighting for your life in a medium you can't breath is never fun! However the manner of his rescuing continues to reinforce his burgeoning faith. Pulling himself from the water and helping the others out, he moves away from the water's edge, before sitting down. Ever practical, after a quick prayer and binding the bite marks, he is on his feet again looking for wood to make a fire to dry out the wet ones. "Firstly, thanks to you all for pulling me clear and particularly to God for giving our sister here the power to drive it off. As we saw that our blades barely touched that thing, we really do need the sword, but we need to look after ourselves first. Let us set up camp, get a fire going and search for something to eat in this place. Then let us get some sleep. We can think while we work and start the search for the maiden and the hag tomorrow."
Daire looks to Aoife and shakes his head.
"Somehow, I thought it would be more obvious by now. Instead of a hellish trip, yawning over our graves."
He looks to Ruadhan.
"At least God is looking into this place. I was getting worried."
He says with a bleak smile.
Battered, bleeding, and bone-tired, the heroes of Largay set camp a safe distance away from the pool. Exhausted, Daire and Thorun can do little else than allow the good Sister Cobhlaith to tend to their wounds while Aoife, fatigued by the day's forced march, tends to the fire.
Despite his near drowning and the risk of being attacked by the creature that lurks below, Ruadhan approaches the well. They have run out of rations, they are starving, and the fish that he noticed swimming in the cool waters of Trinity Well are likely the only available sustenance in these god-forsaken lands. He uses a string and a hook stolen from Sister Cobhlaith's healing supplies, and the last crumbs of their food as bait.
God be praised, his catch is nothing short of miraculous. Against all odds, Ruadhan soon returns with five fat salmons, which Aoife throws on the hot coals and which they devour promptly with relish. They eat in silence, thinking upon the past and the future, wondering what hardships they will have yet to endure before they can return home…
The fish feeds the soul and confers clarity. This is assuredly the Salmon of Knowledge that they are eating! Wisdom comes to each of them not in a vision, but with certainty. It’s as if they had always known… The Hag of Beara has the sword… Aine, the maiden Queen of the Summer court at Cnoc Áine, can help… Beware Aine’s sister Grian, who manifests in the pale winter light…
Thorun practically inhales the fish the instant it comes off the fire, not caring when his throat protests from the burns. As it reaches his stomach he feels the flow of knowledge.
What must I do to be with Aoife MacMurrough?
Though hunger gripped at her insides Aoife did ensure the fish was properly cooked. They didn't need to come all this was only to die from eating uncooked fish. When it was done however Aoife tore into it without regard for manors or such. "Thank you Ruadhán, this was gutsy move but I respect it." Aoife said through mouthfuls of fish.
When the knowledge washed over her, she blinked a few times letting it settle. The salmon unlocked knowledge that Aoife could have never known... her heart pounded in her chest as she wondered.
'Who has my wolfskin cloak?'
Clarity comes to Daire, and he thinks upon a desire he had thought long-abandoned, from weakness and laxitude, but one rekindled by fighting for a cause - and for friends.
How can I become a bard of legend, never to be forgotten?
Ruadhan chews slowly on the fresh fish, savouring the taste in such a place where all other senses seem muted. Meanwhile his mind flicks over the facts of their current quest and as ever thoughts of his wife Aine intrude. As the sudden clarity floods in and he sees all knowledge laid out in front of him, Ruadhan tries to focus on the task in hand, but he just can't resist the question. How can I save Aine's soul from the Morrigan?
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To save Aine from the Morrigan, you must first find her soul, which can only be done with the help of The Morrigan herself! Then, you must lead Aine’s soul back into the mortal world and, thus, give her a second chance at salvation.
He sees her soul flying among the Sluagh.
To become a bard of legend, there are many ways. But the surest path to such immortality is finding a mystical muse… Daire knows that the magical voice that called to him will assuredly inspire in him great songs that will be forever remembered.
He knows also that she is a Leanan sídhe – a fairy who will love him truly and give him unique inspiration but, tragically, will drain his life little by little.
Think of it as a Peau de Chagrin: you get want you want, but you must pay the ultimate price!
Aoife’s wolfskin cloak is worn by the remaining heir of the O’Gallagher of Lifford, whose proud horsemen were decimated by the heroes of Largay at the Battle of Moyglass. The O’Gallagher are subjects of the O’Donnel who now rule in Tyrconnel, and who proved allies to the cause of MacLochlain’s children.
You know that Aoife loves you and that she believes that she would give it all up to be with you. But you also know that she will never turn away from her responsibilities and that her betrothal is key to her father’s plans. This is why your next night together will be your last.
Fintan also understands that destiny can only be changed by powerful magic.
To be with Aoife once and for all, Fintan must call upon the intercession of Ailbe, the dark and powerful spirit of the O’Brian in the mortal world. Fintan realizes with horror that it is Ailbe herself who appeared to him in the guise of Old Biddy and who spoke the very prophecy that troubles him now!
Ailbe is enemy to the McCarthy – the Queen of Largay’s clan. And she seeks revenge on Old Amergin, Aoife, Fintan, and Padraic for the role they played in the legendary story of the Children of Lir. As payment, she will require sacrifice…
To anyone watching, a look of iron determination suddenly crosses Daire's face. And then he seems to realise where he is, and his mood shifts. But it is to his usual cheer, and not the gloom that had overtaken him recently.
I will pay the price. It is worth it, both the payment and the reward!
His heart rising at the idea that he may be able to save Aine, but shivering at the idea of dealing with the Morrigan, Ruadhan speaks out loud.
"It is possible, I know how to save her now! If the Morrigan will give her up. First let us find the next stage. Does anyone know where Cnoc Aine is?"