"Oh, you have got to be joking with me," Farrina declares, recoiling back from the drop into nasty water. "You expect me to go down there?"Declan turns to Farrina and asks "What's a matter beautiful, afraid of getting a little wet?"
"Oh, Hon ... That depends entirely on what I'm getting wet with," Farrina replies with a laugh.
Don't encourage him!
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"We have funds." Adolina replies. "And don't worry Rose, there's bookkeeping and everything. We also have some friends who might be able to help us with this."
Departing the Lucky Bones Adolina lingers for a little while to start making plans - where the new buildings should go and so forth. When Farrina lingers with her Adolina smiles at her. "I got a message today." She says with a smile, "From an admirer. It's so nice that some people still find time for old fashioned romance isn't it?"
Farrina snorts. "Romance is for those soft in the head," she says. "Or it's used by people that want something and don't have a ready means to pay for it." She shrugs. "And I would rather not be considered in either of those categories. So have fun with your boy toy ... or girl toy ... or whatever fires your furnace."
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"Awww," Adolina teases. "No time for romance? That's a shame Farrina, really. Everyone needs someone to share their life with - it's what makes life worth living." She shrugs, "Anyway, I'll stop preaching now. Tomorrow, same place as normal."
Adolina returns to the Wasp's Nest, that is beginning to strain at the seams somewhat with the increased recruits and sets about checking the rebellion's books. "Hey, Farkas! What do we have in the way of ready cash and connections? I've got a lead on a new place but it's kinda underwater... need a way of dealing with that!"
To Adolina, Tanjona pauses and then says, "We're in this together. We're crew and... friends. I had to be there for you."
~~~~~~~~~~
Tanjona says, "I can scope out your lead. I can breathe water."
Lictor Octavio volunteers a special resource to help. He can arrange for the loan of one of the wands of water breathing carried by one of the seers of Saint Senex. The seers keep these wands handy for the retrieval of the bodies of drowned sailors, but their alliance with the Order of the Torrent is such that one of them agrees to loan you her wand.
When you return to the dungeon, Tanjona swims down first to scope things out. The flooded shaft opens into a large chamber. The ceiling of this entirely flooded chamber is fifteen feet high, supported by square columns of stone that measure five feet to a side and are crusted with algae. Ruined doors to the south and west provide further access, while to the north, a heap of rusting, algae-caked rubble lies below the hole in the ceiling. The water is cold and still, but only slightly murky with mud and silt.
The ranger notices five humanoid creatures resting in this room--skum! They don't immediately notice him, though, allowing him to report back to the rest of the party.
"You can breathe water?" Declan repeats, confused. "You know that's not normal, right?"
When Tanjona reports back, Declan considers the information. "Alright. How well can everyone swim? Should we try to lure them out here to attack or take it to them in there?"
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"Fun..." Adolina says, having not come down into the water yet. "So, Rose - you aren't going to be able to shoot very well down there. Some I think this will be a job for blades all round. Farrina - are you going to be able to cast down there? So, we go down, Tajona tries not to leave us slow pokes behind and we cut them down as fast as we can."
She looks around. "Anyone got something to add?"
Rose nods and pulls her sword, ready to fight with it.
"I'm happy to swim, but I'm no fish." She says, before dropping her key items at the side to free up her shoulders before heading into the water.
You swim down the shaft and into the room to confront the skum. These hunchbacked, green-skinned humanoids have a wide, frog-like head but a mouth more akin to that of a toothy fish. They grip their tridents as they swim toward you!
Beating you to the punch, they converge on you and attack! Fortunately, you fend off their blows!
Farrina arrives for their swimming expedition dressed very differently than her norm. Her colorful silks, satins, and cottons have been replaced with a sleek-looking monochrome. She's wearing tight pants under a short pleated skirt. The top is long-sleeved with openings at the elbows and shoulders revealing the skin underneath. It's laced up the back and laced tightly if her cleavage is any indication. All the pieces are of the same almost-black leather that has a sheen of wax or oil to it, giving the impression of a wet seal or something similar.
Her hair today is dark and pulled back into a tight bun and her makeup is dark as well, emphasizing her eyes and cheekbones.
"So we doing this or what?" she asks, stretching out her arms and her neck.
~~~~~
In spite of being dressed to appear as a creature of the sea, Farrina flounders clumsily as she attempts move behind the others, avoiding the trident-wielding fish men.
Rose glides through the water gracefully as if she has done this many a time before.
She slashes at one of the frog-like humanoids.
Declan pulls out his floatation device and jumps into the water. Though he's not an expert swimmer, he figures he can easily maneuver these waters and fight these creatures.
Unfortunately however, he gets tangled up in his pack when he hits the water and thrashes about helplessly like a fish out of water.
Rose goes to mock Declan's swimming attempts, but as she goes to talk she gets a mouthful of stagnant water and quickly closes her mouth again.
Adolina and Emerald Rose team up to take down one of the skum. Tanjona wounds a second one while Declan and Farrina flail about. The four remaining skum attack, wounding Adolina and Tanjona.
Declan is completely inept in the water, unable to swim.
Farrina attempts to summon magic, but the aquatic environment works against her and she does nothing more than loose bubbles into the water.
Rose lashes out again, this time slicing through the water, minimising the water-resistance.
When Declan asks about his water breathing, Tanjona just looks at him quizically and says, "What is 'normal'?" Then he twists his head to one side, making a cracking noise, and expels a loud breath. His flesh seems to widen around his neck and gills split open, while his hands become webbed and fins protrude from his loose sleeves.
"It is my nature."
~~~~~~~~~~
Swimming and fighting is, indeed, Tanjona's nature. Though he's shapeshifted to be able to breathe and swim easily, he's using a trident as well, which puts him into a position to bring the fight readily to the skum. He rockets into a forward position to fight, eager for blood!
Tanjona impales another skum while Adolina and Rose take down a third. Declan and Farrina continue to flail in the water. The two remaining try to strike back to no avail.
Superbly adapted to the water, Tanjona has no trouble pivoting and darting out to stab another foe.
Finally getting the gist of it, Declan moves up to the battle and positions himself opposite of Tanjona before thrusting his rapier to the best of his ability.
f
Farrina attempts to make a snide comment regarding 'Normal', but her struggles in the water supersede anything else.
Rose scores a hit, along with Adolina and Tanjona. One skum falls, and the last one tries to strike Tanjona again but doesn't hit!
You are able to quickly finish off the final foe. Searching around the chamber, you can see ruined doors to the south and west providing access to additional rooms. You also discover one of the pillars is hollow, opening onto a shaft that descends another 20 feet to a hallway that leads east.
The low, seven-foot-high ceiling in this completely flooded torture chamber gives it a claustrophobic feel. Two whipping posts are positioned to north and south, while narrow, rusty cages sit against the walls. A partially collapsed rack slumps in the center of the room, while a low stone well sits in an alcove to the west.
A mass of shells lying on the floor suddenly assembles into a shape that resembles a cross between a frog and a squid. Its “head” is a tangle of long limbs composed of razor-sharp edges, and its body seeps with foamy, toxic-looking slime!
Once Adolina casts her spell, Tanjona lunges to the offensive against this... whatever it is. Fearless as always!
Tanjona's trident finds purchase, stabbing into the strange construc'ts bulk. But the damage quickly starts to repair itself as it lashes out at the ranger, slicing into his flesh with razor-sharp shells!
Declan moves into flanking position with Tanjona for the Fruid? Squog? and lashes out with his rapier.
Rose rushes forwards with her rapier on this strange hybrid, trying to support her allies.
Tanjona is badly brutalized by the strange trash-monster in retaliation, but shrugs it off and keeps attacking, even as his own blood clouds the water.
Opposite of Tanjona, Declan stabs the creature again with his rapier before indicating a weak point he found to Tanjona.
The Colorful One gives an underwater shout of victory as she finally manages to cast effectively.
With the extra boost from haste, everybody swiftly stabs and skewers the strange construct. It stands no chance, crumbling to pieces!
The well to the west drops down to a lower cavern, while a hall continues to the north.
Rose gestures at the north passageway before kicking hard to propel herself in that direction.
This long, flooded corridor is flanked by staggered cells, each barred by a heavy iron gate—a dreary, depressing prison block. Five of the cells are occupied. Within each of these cells languishes an aquatic elf. There are three women and two men. All of them are nude and have been cruelly bound by having their wrists and ankles stitched together with thick strands of strong fiber. They look at you listlessly.
"And who are you?" asks one of the women. "Have we traded the ulat-kini for a new form of tormentor?"
Rose moves forwards quietly and helps Adolina to cut the elves free carefully trying not to hurt them further.
The elves perk up. "Yes, the skum! If you are here to free us, then we are grateful."
They rub their wrists and ankles once their bonds have been cut. "Thank you," the spokeswoman says. "I am Aava. We are scouts from the village of Acisazi, a settlement west of this city. We came to Kintargo to seek the aid of an ally who lives here, a woman named Shensen, but we were stymied upon discovering that Kintargo is under Thrune control and Shensen was nowhere to be found. Further adding to our misery and shame, those skum captured us not long thereafter.
"Acisazi has come under an insidious assault by what we believe to be an aboleth wizard. Our capture by the skum has confirmed these fears, for we now know our captors serve the same creature that has set its sights on their home—an aboleth necromancer named Menotheguro.
"We must return to Acisazi and report to our leaders what we have learned. We only wish we could have found Shensen to come with us and help save our village!"
"Menotheguro. Right." Declan repeats, committing the name to memory.
Looking to the elves, he asks "Do you have reason to believe Shensen is here as well or nearby?"
"She's definitely not down in these dungeons. She was supposed to be here in the city, but her music shop burned down months ago and nobody has seen her since!" Aava says.
Indeed, those of you who founded the Silver Ravens remember exploring the ruins of her shop shortly after Barizllai Thrune took control of the city. There was nothing left and no sign of the half-elf.
"Shensen?" Farrina asks incredulously. "The opera singer? That Shensen?" The Colorful One laughs. "Oh, Hon. You need to find a real hero to save your village - not some washed up, incompetent, Mariahishal-wanna-be."
Tanjona keeps a careful watch as the team frees the aquatic elves. Occasionally he glances back at them warily—aquatic elves have a long history of animosity with sahuagin, who have an alliance with sharks, and he doesn't want to wind up making new enemies inadvertently.
"Did the skum take your supplies? Clothes and weapons?" he asks, still staring back the way the group came to make sure nothing else stumbles upon them.