Since Fenna can identify Razor positively she figures anything else moving is fair game. She thrusts her pike at the nearest grindylow .
Razor swims in a turn and lashes out at the nearest Grindylow, ripping into its midsection. It leaves out a painful growl that lingers as an echo through the cavern while its entrails slither snake-like in the dark water.
Malakar feels his energy returning thanks to Kowal’s healing magic, but his muscles are still strained from the earlier wound and does not quite connect with his spear.
Fenna sees her intended target go down thanks to Razor. She gages the closest living enemy through the darkness, but her pike strike sparks off the cavern wall.
The Grindylow nearest Brannart strikes out with his spear. Brannart deflects the blow easy enough, but as he does, he feels writhing tentacles navigating around his legs. The seasoned warrior takes a defensive posture and pushes the creature away before it has a chance to grab hold.
The remaining Grindlows throw or thrust their weapons to no avail. As a spear flies wide of Fenna, she barely makes out her attacker swimming away into the darkness. As it disappears, it sounds like it is screaming something.
"Ohmygosh, I'm so sorry Brannart!" Kowal calls as he darts back into the boat
"The monsters call for aide of their queen! Be ready!"
Queen?!? Vexas exclaims, before gulping.
The abrupt revelation causes him to fumble with his cross as he reloads it to fire over his companions.
Brannart will move back 5' (this will provoke an AOO from Gold as Brannart cannot 5' step in the water since he lacks a swim speed and it is difficult terrain for him) and then stab at Gold.
If he drops Gold, he will shout to Malakar, "Fall back and we'll take them as they come!"
Now having some room between him and the Grindylows, he is ready to skewer them as they approach.
Edit: If Sho already dropped Brannart's target, then Brannart will instead fall back 1 square more (to be NW of Fenna), Ready to attack the next one in range (using the rolled attack if possible), and still be prepared to take AOOs.
Fenna echoes Malakar's warning.
"Looks like things might get worse before they get better. Should we try to break out and go for the mouth of the cave or stand our ground?"
Since the shark has taken care of her original target she switches to the next one coming and stabs at it with her pike.
"We've got them, Fenna. Let's stand our ground."
Brannart sounds confident, the reach of his Ranseur having proven a significant advantage so far.
Malakar will trust in Brannart's tactics and strike at the Ajacent Grindylow before backing up to create a phalanx with Brannart.
Razor will continue his frenzy.
While Vexas cannot find rhythm with his crossbow, Sho’s arrow punches through the skull of her enemy, dropping it to the water’s surface. The tentacles from its lower half rise up to float with the rest of the body. A few still twitch as nerve endings surrender to darkness.
As Brannart steps back to position his ranseur, the nearest Grindylow thrusts its spear at him. In a single motion, the attack is deflected away as the ranseur's point slides down the spear shaft and into the creature's chest.
With the Grindylows near the entrance defeated, Malakar swims toward Razor and spears another foe.
Fenna stabs at her enemy, puncturing a tentacle as it gets to close. With the scent of blood in the water, Razor completes a lunge attack but fails to connect.
Hearing the cavernous echoes of its fleeing companion, the remaining Grindylow takes one last thrust at Razor then attempts escape.
Fenna lunges at the retreating grindylow but doesn't follow.
Fenna stabs the remaining Grindylow as it attempts to flee. It falls to join the rest of its tribe.
Growls are heard in the distance, echoing off of the cavern walls. The dark water has taken on a pinkish hue as bodies and entrails lap around on the surface of the water.
Vexas un-tenses as the last one falls, and briefly lowers his crossbow.
Is this the calm before the real storm?
He reaches for the good crossbow bolts, fully expecting that they're not out of the woods.
Watching as Fenna removes the only visible threat remaining Kowal quickly looks around at his companions before asking "Is anyone in desperate need of healing? We ought be cautious, I haven't much left."
"Thank you, Kowal, but I am uninjured."
"Fenna, good work with the longspear. We should form a front rank together."
Brannart moves through the water to be in front of Malakar.
"Vexas, do you have one of those boxes we were given as a reward earlier? Marked with the symbol of Desna? I think it carries a powerful blessing. We may need to use it when fighting this Queen."
Vexas gets a quizzical look, setting down his cross and patting on various places over his clothes pockets looking for it. When it fails to turn up there he reaches into his pack for it...
Brannart holds steady and listens for the movements of the Grindylows.
Also, Kowal, Malakar, Fenna, or Sho can all use the Wand of CLW. But your UMD also works! Brannart is the only one who can't.
Brannart holds steady and listens for the movements of the Grindylows.
[dice=Perception]1d20+3
Darkness awaits as you look into the cavern beyond. You can barely make out the echoing growls of Grindylow somewhere in the darkness. From your previous excursion, you remember a side cavern up ahead to the right while the main tunnel seems to follow deeper into the cave system. You also remember that the boat will not fit through the next passage.
"We've thinned out their numbers considerably. I think we should advance.
Vexas on Kowal's shoulders?"
"Fenna and I in front with our reach weapons?
Sho ready with her bow?
Malakar and Razor guarding the rear?
Does that sound good to everyone?"
If that sounds good, Brannart will take the lead, following the main tunnel.
Darkness departs and moves around you as Brannart ventures forth leading the way with his glowing ranseur. Shadows and drips of water add tension in the darkness beyond. They tease your senses as they mix in with the echoing growls. The Grindylows are up ahead but seem out of reach.
You continue on down the dark, cold tunnel. Now that the battle is over, most of you feel a chill in the water. Your water-logged clothes and the damp sweat that pastes hair to your face sends a chill up your spine.
The tunnel curves slightly. The jagged rock walls, usually less than ten feet from each other, encroach on your soul. And the cold pervades.
Perception Rolls: DC 20 (circumstance penalty used if not in the lead)
When Fenna sees the oddity she tries blocking Brannart's path with her pike.
"Hold on, that looks funny..."
Fenna's warning stops Brannart just in time. The warrior looks down into the water in front of him. At about waist level is a type of translucent seaweed stretched across the tunnel. Using his ranseur as a light source, Brannart follows the path of the well-hidden seaweed through the water and up the wall. When his light source reaches the ceiling, it reveals loose rock covering the whole area held together barely by the translucent filament. With a simple tug on the seaweed, a large chunk of the ceiling would have come crashing down.
"We've thinned out their numbers considerably. I think we should advance.
Vexas on Kowal's shoulders?"
Vexas looks hesistant.
Uh... okay?
He looks to Kowal for confirmation, and if given hops on up, shrugging.
-----------
From up on shoulders Vexas is able to keep an eye out much more easily.
Yes, good eye Fenna. Can we avoid the trap or do we want to trip it deliberately to let them think they can come claim easy pickings? Maybe it would give us a chance to isolate and take out a few more.
"Hmm... I am not an expert in these things, but I think I would rather not trigger a collapse. It could be these Grindylows built it poorly and the vibrations from the trap could bring the whole cavern down on us.
Maybe there's no chance of that, but like I said, I'm not an expert in such things.
I'd rather just avoid it if we could."
"I know naught of how these devices function? Is it possible for us to move past, or should we go around the other way?"
Fenna swims very carefully under the trip er,... weed. When she's on the other side, she places her pike back underneath it and asks for someone to take ahold of the other end.
"We'll keep this down low Vexas. Use it like a handrail to walk along the bottom. It'll keep you from bobbing up too hight at the wrong time."
When Vexas gets near the trap, he briefly investigates how it is set. Nimble fingers slowly manipulate the filament on both sides of the cavern. He tests his work and lets out a sigh when nothing happens, then he cuts the filament, disabling the rock-fall trap.
Up ahead, the tunnel continues and then banks to the right. Shortly before this another tunnel reveals itself opening to the right, as well. This new tunnel slopes down adding to the depth of the water by roughly another five feet to an average total depth of ten feet.
This place is cold, and wet the halfling complains while he "re-mounts" Kowal's shoulders.
I think I need to learn some magic to keep warm. The mages have the right of many situations...
As Brannart sees the other tunnel split off, he notes, "Gets deeper that way. We'd all be swimming. I could do that, but let's keep going this way for now."
"Deep water is no problem for Razor and I, however I agree with Brannart that we should expore the other way first."
"Sure Brannart, sounds like a plan."
Fenna joins Brannart at the front.
Continuing along what appears to be the main tunnel, you navigate around a sharp switchback and notice a gradual upward slope in the cavern floor. The depth of the water lessens to about three feet when you reach a fork in the tunnel.
"There's some lighting from both of those tunnels up ahead..."
"looks like it just loops around back to where we came from anyways" Kowal says as they pass the deeper tunnel.
"Any preference then" asks Kowal