After resting, eating and preparing the group descends the two stories of the crow to get back to the last level they were exploring. Having a general idea of they layout so far they decide to go east from the main entry room and find that after a short ways it leads them back to exactlly where they left off. Heading into the room they were about to explore when they were so rudely interrupted by devils attacking they see the small empty room has two more doors. However, yesterday where both were closed the one to the east is now open.
Carefully checking the eastern room you see the walls of this chamber have been coated in dried black ichor. Rudimentary lines and smears within the layers of gunk have been added to create crude examples of simplistic art, but there doesn't appear to be any sort of meaning behind it. With nothing else of interest the group checks the south door. The salty tang of the sea fills the air of this chilly room. Wall carvings showing soldiers marching to war are encrusted with salt, and a descending stair in the center of the room is filled to nearly floor level with sea water. A thin layer of blue energy shimmers across the surface of the water in the stairwell. There is also a closed door in the eastern wall.
Gurk hisses at the water as he makes a large pass around it to the other door.
She follows the others into the room with the seawater, looking at the blue barrier with interest, trying to determine what it might do.
Following her quick examination of the barrier, she accompanies the others to the door to the east.
Temmer seems to relax ever so slightly as he enters the watery room. Finally, something he feels almost comfortable with. Except...
"Lady Dusk, would you happen to know what that energy is? Is it keeping the room from flooding?"
"Wow--I never considered that possibility!" Lexi gushes. "Good thinking, Master Temmer! I was worried the blue light might emanate from some sort of electricity-loving creature waiting to attack...maybe a zapping turtle!"
In between fits of giggles at her own horrid pun, Lexi casts detect magic and examines the flooded stairs a bit more closely.
Before heading to the eastern door the group looks over the stairwell and Lexi is pretty sure that the magic in place does seem to be keeping the water at bay which is probably a good thing considering how deep into the pillar you are which is out in the middle of the bay.
Going to the eastern door a spiral stair rises from the center of this otherwise empty chamber leading up to a domed chamber some twenty feet above. The upper room of this underwater tower was has similar domed walls made of a much darker shimmering blue energy.
These are permanent Walls of Force.
The view is somewhat murky, and seaweed growing up from the sides of the tower serves as billowing curtains that sometimes block the view.
Looking out at the view you spot something a little ways in the distance it looks like a shipwreck at the bottom of the bay.
After reporting that Adistan's guess was indeed spot-on, Lexi stops giggling and follows the others. In the new room, she again examines the blue magical energy. This time, however, her face remains blank and she admits she doesn't really have a clue what the blue glow here does.
Temmer bows his head.
"Some poor souls out there didn't make it," he says sadly.
Gurk walks up into the new room, only to quickly back out. "Gurk no be going there. Water on head, leave us drownin. Gurk wait."
"Ooh, I see it--a shipwreck!! I wonder if I can make out its name...probably not. Could there be hidden treasure aboard like in the tales of yore? Or maybe the ragged remnants of an undead crew! I wish I could swim better than I can drown--I'd be tempted to go explore that wreck!"
Lexi again casts detect magic, half trying to see if the wreck is in range and is loaded with goodies, and half just wanting to see if--as she strongly believes--the blue energy shield is the most powerful magic she's ever encountered in her short lifetime.
Lexi tries her hardest to recall if she ever heard Lady or Lord Heidmarch--or any other visitors to the lodge for that matter--mention a shipwreck amongst the pilings of the Irespan.
"It's a shipwreck, as Lady Dusk said," Temmer affirms. "But it's hardly anything to be excited about. Souls probably went down on her, good men and women who were this close to shore only to not make it home."
Verris looks out with interest at the underwater world in front of them. When Adistan mentions the shipwreck, she spots it too, nodding in response to his statement.
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Davor begins to remove his armor. "Bixby? do you have an extra spell of magic armor I could borrow? I'm gonna try to swim over there and check it out. Verris, can you please tie that silk rope around my waist? if something goes sideways, drag me back here and share my possessions among yourselves. There could be treasure in there. Heck, another shard could be lying at the bottom of the bay right in that wreck! Any of you has something to help me breathe underwater? a minor air bubble enchantment perhaps?"
"No, greenshank! Water bad. Even big water hut be down by water," Gurk protests.
"Gee...I dunno. Exploring out there alone could be dangerous," Lexi chimes in. "About all I can contribute is a resistance spell...and maybe a light spell were Adistan to accompany you."
"Hmm...maybe we can explore the wreck before we leave," she adds after a thoughtful pause. "I mean, no one's been down here--maybe in centuries--besides those devils we battled. The wreck'll still be there if we put it off 'til later."
Still, it's easy to tell that the sunken ship's got the young aasimar's interest, and soon she confesses why. "I wonder if there might be more chunks of the Irespan stone out there on the bottom as well. If we got another one, I could give one to Lady Heidmarch and keep one for myself."
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"No, we do it now. We are leaving way too many things behind lately. I don't need light. I can see in the dark and in the murkiness of the depths. It would make me a more noticeable snack for nearby sharks I think... But thanks for the offer. I'll definitely take your resistance t though! hmm... I think I'm gonna leave the heavy shield here too actually... I'll be faster without it."
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"It's not smart to go by yourself, Riverside. No need to pump yourself up when we should be working as a single crew," Temmer says. "Lady Dusk is correct; wee can all investigate later on together, but we have a job now."
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"First, I never claimed I was smart, so you won't offend me by stating this might be dumb! he he he! However, I learned from a young age that no risk equals zero reward. I'd like to point out that it is actually our job to investigate everything here... aren't we thieves for hire on this one? am I the only one who has detected a bit of cynicism around town whenever Lady Heidmarch is mentioned? come now... a single point of failure is better than endangering the whole party. I'm the best swimmer I think. You guys stay here at the ready with weapons and spells... if I tug hard, reel me back like a whale!"
Seeing the expressions on the majority of folks, Davor relents a little...
"...although... I guess it wouldn't hurt to check if there's something right around the corner hiding and waiting to make a meal out of me. Alright... let's make a bit of noise. Sound carries further underwater y'know... I spent most of my youth underwater in the pools and eddies of the Sellen..."
Davor puts back his breastplate, readies his shield, and takes a step or two into the water, then bangs the underwater steps a little with his silver hammer to make a knocking and ringing sound underwater.
"Get ready to clobber anything that pokes its head now... and let's wait a minute or two! if nothing comes out, then you'll have to let me try to swim to that wreck. There could be gold in that hold! or the shards we came for!"
The half-orc takes his trident in a downward grip, waiting to spear any fish or aquatic creature coming his way...
Lexi physically covers her ears when Davor starts to gently badmouth Lady Heidmarch, accidentally bonking herself with her buckler but thankfully not putting an eye out with her rapier. Eventually she removes her hands and starts listening again. When Davor finishes expounding upon his plan, Lexi tries to decide what kind of bolt to load into her crossbow before deciding to go with a silvered one.
"In case of silverfish!" she quips with a bit of a chuckle.
As the group initially talks Lexi realizes that the ship is out of range of her spell, likely a good 200 feet or so from your current location. She also remembers hearing of a ship wreck a few years ago, the Liza Jane sideswiped into the Crow unexpectedly and sunk, there were no survivors.
One thing Lexi also notes is that there are some magical auras coming from a slat in the sill of the central window. Prying it up there is a hidden stash of two scrolls of water breathing.
Davor hits his weapon against the barrier and it makes a muffled banging sound but he can not penetrate it. Additionally, the sound does not appear to attract anything nearby but with the ship so far off this may not be a good indicator whether something resides there or not.
Lexi quickly reports her recollection regarding the wreck and her fortuitous discovery of the scrolls. Her initial thought is to use one of the scrolls on herself, both so she can experience what it's like to swim submerged in water for the first time and so she can conduct a quick search for more Irespan stone in the murky depths. Realizing that she's being rather selfish again, the young aasimar turns both scrolls over to Davor.
The act is made a bit easier by the fact that she's unable to use the scrolls in the first place; apparently underwater adventuring is beyond the ken of bards.
Verris is against the idea but when Davor is determined to go she agrees to help him with the silk rope. She seems relieved when there is no obvious way for Davor to leave. "Maybe we can explore the rest of this piling first and then try search the wreck. Might as well finish here first before going elsewhere. Besides, breaking those magic barriers could flood this place. Might lose the shard or something else important if we do that."
"Lady Gerdin is correct," Temmer agrees. "The wreck has been there for some time. Let's finish exploring the Crow, and then we can divert our attention. A task half done isn't done at all, after all. We have two scrolls now, thanks to Lady Dusk's perception. There's no reason we couldn't acquire more and all go together. We seem to work well."
He chooses not to dignify the thievery remark with a return comment. If Riverside chooses to bring up his base beginnings, well, he would hardly hold it against the man.
But, still, best to provide a solid example if he thinks that's what we're doing here.
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Temmer nods as Riverside agrees that the whole group should go, thanks to the scrolls Lady Dusk found. He prepares to help the others Swim as needed.
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With the ability to breathe water now made apparent, Davor puts back his armor and shield, as time spent underwater is no longer relevant, and thus walking at the bottom of the bay in armor becomes an option.
"I recommend you all use a piercing weapon underwater, such as my trident here, or a dagger, or rapier, or spear. Let's go!"
Davor proceeds to cast water breathing on the group using the first scroll.
Before embarking on her first real swim attempt in well over a decade, Lexi does a quick inventory of her possessions that would be destroyed by the seawater, leaving her journal, inkpens, and Magnimar Blue Book hidden away as best she can manage.
"Reporting for duty, sir!" she tells Davor moments later. To the others she adds, "Remember to try to watch for stone fallen from the Irespan as we make our way to and back from the wreck."
Gurk stabs at the surface of the water, unconvinced. "Greenshank be making so sense. Longshanks die in water. Now longshanks be going in water for sure?"
Verris carefully treats her bow in preparation for going into the water, trying to minimize any damage the seawater might cause. She then adjusts her dagger so it's in a position that's easier to reach, then nods at the others to indicate she's ready.
Seeing Gurk's reluctance she turns to him saying, "Might be some tasty fish out there if you come with us."
Upon learning of the fish, Gurk quickly leaps in. He panics at first, but then realizes he can breath fine. Gurk be great! Gurk have beat water! Now Gurk be best goblin ever!
Temmer nods for Riverside to take the lead, as the half-orc prefers, and decides to set up a rear guard, considering he too has a good deal of experience in the water.
He stows his quarterstaff, and keeps his shortsword out in case there's a shark or some other such creature in the water.
His armor hampers him at first, however.
The group makes their way down the stairs and into the cold water. Passing through the shimmering barrier doesn't seem to have any ill effect and the group finds themselves in a short tunnel that leads out to the ocean floor. The exit of the tunnel is covered in seaweed, making it nearly impossible to find the place from the outside, without knowing it was there already, luckily you all know it is there, so it shouldn't be difficult to find on the return trip.
It takes some time moving slowly through the water, but you finally see the wreck in the distance. Ahead, the wreck of a fishing trawler lies nearly upright on the floor of the harbor. Seaweed has overgrown its rails and deck, and barnacles encrust its broken mast that rises above the green mound of its hull.
Everyone but Adistan focused on his swimming and Bixby looking behind them for some sea monster to sneak up on them, notices movement near the wreck. At least four creatures with blood-red spines that run the length of their bodies, which resembles a lobster in the front and an eel in the back.
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"I've never seen these in the Sellen... they must be ocean creatures that need salt water to live. I wonder if they taste like lobster? anyone up for some fishing? you could all hide in the seaweeds near me as I provide the pretend-to-be-injured half-orc dance of baiting... it is quite a performance I assure you... but unlike Lexi's you probably won't learn anything out of it other than half-orcs can be fun too... ha ha ha!"
Temmer focuses on Riverside, wondering what on earth the man is thinking.
Still, he prepares his sword for the rush, studying the nearest of the creatures.
Verris also looks confused at Davor's performance. She shrugs, Maybe the dance angers them, and prepares for the creatures to attack. She pulls out her bow, waiting for the creatures to get close before attacking them.