It takes a few seconds to fill each cup, the metal heating up to an uncomfortable but not harmful temperature. Right before it reaches the point she can't stand, Lash dumps the water back onto the pillar, aiming for drier areas. From her point of view, the water splashes down the rocks, trickling back down to the bottom and disappearing back into the ground with the other water.
From Amestri's point of view, directing her Detect Magic at the pillar, as the water trickles down and over the stacked rocks, a number of them light up in shades of blues, greens, and red, quickly returning when the water leaves, creating a beautiful twinkling pillar. When Lash splashes the water back onto the rock pile, Amestri can see two rocks light up more than the others and stay that way slightly longer before fading. However, from down here, it would be difficult to direct Lash to which exact rocks were affected before the glowing ends. Amestri is definitely unable to make out if any of the etchings match the symbol for Dispater.
Nothing happens other than that and the water continues to flow down and over the rock pile.
"The water seems to play into the riddle as you thought, but it will be difficult for me to direct you to the correct symbols while down here. Would you be able to aid my ascent?" Amestri calls up to Lash while watching the scene unfold. She does not want to mislead Lash in the following steps as this place seemed likely to punish them if something was done incorrectly. It seemed they would likely be punished even if they succeeded.
With a sigh, Lash will pull a rope out of her pack and lower it down. Assuming the pillar is sturdy, she will use it as leverage to allow Amestri to climb without too much strain on the monk.
Kahli watches with interest. When the request is made to help Amestri climb she calls out to pause them. "Does it have to be water from up there? I can create water at a short distance. Just tell me where?"
"That may work if you can manage it from here. It's worth an attempt, though for finer details, I may need to ascend," she says agreeing to Kahli's idea.
Kahli channels her divine power to call forth a stream of water that pours down and over the stack of rocks. A plume of steam erupts forth and up, disrupting Lash's vision. However, Amestri is able to pierce the steam with her magic and can see the various rocks that light up. With the amount of water pouring down, one rock, different from the first two she detected, stands out glowing much brighter red than the rest.
After the water finishes pouring down and the steam subsides, the glowing slowly dissipates. Lash opens her eyes and sees the rock pile returned to its normal state of water trickling down.
Repeating this method eventually allows Amestri to guide Lash around the pile to a non-descript rock with just a single point of a pentagram barely visible.
With the help of the others, she will find the rock and dump a cup of water only on that rock and no others.
Lash focuses her pouring on the one stone. The water steams and flows over the stone. From Amestri’s point of view, the glowing becomes even more intense, and, for the first time, Lash sees something. The rock shakes slightly, rattling in place. When Lash’s cup runs out, the rattling continues for a few seconds before dying off, the rock becoming still again. Amestri sees the the glow slowly fade and everything returns to normal.
Lash will use her silver kettle and fill it up if just one cup isn't working. If that doesn't work, she will have to find something to move the rock to the water without hurting herself, either a large stick or kicking the stone over with her boot.
Kahli watches from below wondering when they'd see another beam of light. What direction was next?
"Careful. Don't want to fall. Is there anything we could do to help?"
Swapping her kettle for her cups, the rest of the party watches on as Lash fills the kettle with the trickling water, the handle easily allowing her to hold it until it's full. Lash tips the kettle so the steaming water pours over the targeted rock. Soon, the vibrating begins again and Amestri detects the glowing even stronger. Just as the kettle is about to run out, the rock cracks. An intense red beam of light shoots out and Lash has only a fraction of a second to react...
But her worst fears don't come true. The rock falls out of the pile and clinks to the base of the stack, the light from the rock quickly dissipating. A moment later, the rest of the pile begins to fall, the top rocks first, quickly followed by the rest, crashing down.
Before Lash now stands a pillar similar to the one in the swamp, but smaller. The beam of light gets absorbed into the pillar, a whining sound getting louder until a blue light beam erupts forth and shoots southwest towards the peninsula.
The air around the blue beam is particularly frigid, creating a nice moderate zone right next to the pillar where the lights combine as the sun continues to fall towards the horizon.
As the beam of light begins to stream outward, she dodges back. Thankfully, now there before her stands another pillar.
"Good..."
Lash settles her nerves from being in such an unknown situation, empties her teapot, puts it away, and replaces her rope. When finished, she calmly moves to the edge of the rocks and jumps down. As she falls, her hand seems to move in a wave-like pattern as she descends near the surface of the rock. In a strange way, it seems to be slowing her fall so that she lands without harm, despite the height.
"That is that," she silently states with a brief look toward the grave of Ko'Toa. She takes in a breath and looks in the direction of the light and where it leads, and slowly will begin walking that way.
Kahli sighs and speaks one last quiet prayer over Ko'Toa's grave, then turns away. "We definitely don't want to stay anywhere without cover. Drakes he said...."
With a momentary pause near Ko'Tua's grave, the group grabs the rest of their gear and makes off back down the way they came, wanting to avoid the wide openness of the cliffside as the daylight is quickly leaving.
Knowing the path, they make quick work of traversing the multiple caves, making it most of the way down before the sunlight gets dim enough to give them pause about moving forward. Looking up, the party sees the steak of blue cutting across the quickly darkening evening sky. Standing at the entrance to the first cave, quickly estimating, they figure about five hours of travel to get to their destination, but that would be moving through swampland in the dark.
Lash and Kahli can travel in the darkness without problem, but those who cannot see would likely be terrified. Her heart and mind could use some rest anyway, and she is more than willing to set up camp just on the inside of the cave for the night. She would take the first watch and let the priestess sleep. If possible, she'd spend the time in silent reflection and just mindful watching of the area.
Kahli looks out across the dimming open area ahead. While there is still a bit of light elves, and others like them could see slightly better. But once the light was gone they'd need to carry lights for those without darkvision. "It did mention Drakes. While I don't like the thought of facing them anytime, outside in the dark would be worse. I think we should camp here. We can start again in the morning, with spells and other abilities recovered."
Not wanting to risk traveling at night, the party steps back into the mouth of the cave. Cool and damp, they settle down early compared to the previous night. There's not much talking, the remaining members reflecting on losing two allies so quickly. Perhaps there's light discussion of tomorrow's travel plans. Regardless, even on the hard stone, sleep comes quickly.
The watches pass without incident, the occasional nocturnal animal scittering by and paying the group no mind. A shooting star passes overhead during Kahli's watch, flashing a yellow streak across the dark night sky.
Morning comes and the party rouses from their sleep, preparing for a day of traveling, hoping to meet back up with the light. The early morning air is cool with a light breeze making it almost chilly in the shade but pleasant in the direct sun; an almost perfect day anywhere but here.
Lash will attend to her needs in the morning, including tending to her teeth, hair, and even shaving, which may seem pointless in such a place, but it is a habit. While the priestess prays, she will use her gear maintenance kit to tend to each person's gear and ensure it's in working order. Something in her looks seems broken as she does this.
In times, in the past few days, she has been sad, glad, sorrowful, or even happy. This morning, she looks like she's had as much as she could take and for lack of a better word, seems broken. Despite that fact, that morning she makes a smokeless fire as best she can and cooks up some beans with basil, over salted, garlic rice. She will serve up some coffee as well with sugar or just black if people prefer. Her acts seem robotic and meant to distract her from herself.
When they are finally settled and well-fed from the march and combat of the day prior, as well as the one to come, she will put away her gear and ready herself to descend mostly back the way they came. Then it is off in the direction of the shining light.
In morning Kahli follows her routine prayers, stretching, cleaning and packing, then helps with the breaking of the groups fast. She thanks Lash for coffee, taking just a bit of sweetener to take the edge from the bitterness.
She looks up for the light and direction to whatever their keepers have next for the group. "There was a shooting star last night, off in that direction. Don't know if it was significant, but it was there." She points.
Taking a moment of reprieve, coffee and a bit of breakfast is had before the party sets back off to their next objective. The first bit of the journey is quiet with Lash leading the way, the blue beam of light guiding them back into the swamp towards the southern coast. After a bit, Hamley breaks the silence. "Tenney, yesterday...you were about to talk about your family's farm..." Tenney's head stays hung and he heaves a deep breath.
"It wasn't much, just a few cows and chickens, but it let my mother and I have an excuse to travel into the city to sell things." He glances at Hamley. "The guards were always...they've always looked down on us 'lesser-folk', if you were wondering." His gaze returns downward with a slight shake. "We never got as much coin as we should. My mother wasn't a great salesperson. So, what's a kid to do? You start stealing from those bastards who wouldn't give you what you're worth...." He shrugs with a grimace. "...that's enough." Tenney continues walking in silence.
The terrain becomes somewhat familiar; slightly swampy ground and tall trees, but nothing of note happens over the course of the hour of travel.
Lash holds her bow against her waist as Tenney speaks. His experiences were not alone, unfortunately. Many of the young boys and girls she came to know in the underground were like him. It didn't take her long to see the inherent bravery in those youths. She was sure that Tenney had it too.
"Where I was kept...was like a dungeon....for a while..." Gulping, she swallows the lump growing there as this is hard to talk about. "..and a 'lesser folk' found me and set me free. I would have died there if not for him. I think many people in the world don't understand what others go through and how hard things can be. So many that I knew tried to just balance things out; to just get what was fair...some tried to get more than that. Those who threw me in that dungeon or here in this place would call all of them unrighteous, or criminals, but I saw them as loving, kind, and full of bravery and in some cases, true justice. I have seen these others as unrighteous, and if I have to, I will help any others I can by taking them out for justice's sake, regardless of what they brand me as."
She doesn't look for responses or people to agree or disagree with her. she just keeps trudging along with her eyes open. If she sees food for their future meals, she will not hesitate to bring something edible down. Otherwise, she'll keep moving along. As they near the large body of water, she will turn northwest to follow the coast, unless it is passable without being too deep.
Kahli listens to the others, glad to learn a bit more about her friends/companions. This.... place would be even harder to handle with uncaring strangers. She thinks about her life and realizes that it hardly compares. "I can't say that my life was that hard. My mother was also a priestess of Calistria. I was conceived during an extended mission that she and her companions were on. I've wondered at times if Calistria involved herself in my mother's life, specifically considering my father. Calistria is an elder deity that is a bit hard to understand at times, being neither good nor evil, but frequently siding with good deities. My father was an undead monster that my mother destroyed after my conception.... But, other than that bit of weirdness, my life was really good. Maybe that's why the creature ruling this gauntlet drew me in?" She shakes her head obviously wondering about her words, like she had only just thought through this thread....
If only for a minute, there's an unspoken understanding between Tenney and Lash, despite any headbutting they've had otherwise so far.
At Kahli's revelation of her past, Hamley drops back to walk next to her. He gives her a long look, slightly slack-jawed. "I...didn't grow up with religion, so I don't know nothing of 'elder deities' and things. And you said something about an undead monster?!" Hamley presses Kahli for more details.
As this conversation continues, the party itself continues through the woods, eventually finding themselves near the wood's edge with the shore beyond. They're about to continue along the edge of the woods when something catches their eye...a big cat and a very disoriented looking Halfing towards the water.
Kahli looks at Hamley with a pained look. "Yeah.... The creature that provided the material to my mother and caused my conception, was a vampire! It charmed her, was charmed by her.... and she destroyed it once she escaped from the compulsion."
When the great cat is spotted Kahli calls a halt to watch. "The drakes attacked on sight. If that cat attacks the halfling we may need to move fast to save him."
4 ranks +3 trained +1 wis
1 rank +3 trained +2 wis
It quickly becomes apparent that the halfling doesn't need rescuing from the cat. Rather, sharp eyes spot the party, and he swings up into the saddle on the beast, and grabs a lance. He calls "Ho, so there are inhabitants on this island. Be ye friend or foe!"
"A vampire! Even I've heard of those!" Lash tenses at Kahli's words. There was something pretty, charming, and yet undead seeming about her companion. Yes, she could see how the dhampir definitely was her father's daughter. "That must have been hard. Your mother must have gotten lucky, or was quite the warrior."
-----------------
Having wandered quite some time without finding much in the way of danger, Lash had almost started to relax. When her eyes catch movement, she tenses right back up. Her bow is at the ready but not drawn and she quickly is ready in action for whatever may come, yet it is only a halfling. "Sim?" She thinks, hoping beyond all hope. Strangely, the young halfling mounts a large cat and she drops to a knee. With him raising his lance and preparing a charge, she readies her mind to grab an arrow if needed and then answers him:
"Friend, as long as you, like us, are a poor soul placed here."
The woman who addresses you is clearly an aasimar. Irridescent, blue wings are displayed behind her in the sunlight from where the halfling stands, like the intense head of focused flame. Her wild look is appealing, and if generalized, is of a theme of fire, metal, and smoke. Her hair is that of crimson, metallic ribbons, giving her hair a flaming look in appearance. Her skin looks as though it is blackened with soot until up at her shoulders, flames seem to ascend toward her neck. She does possess a bow made of darkened wood and of high quality. She has no companion except those standing nearby her.
”Friend then, I think.”, the halfling rests the lance across his saddle and continues ”Although I don’t know about being placed here. She-ra “ he strokes the tiger gently ”and I were on the Hadrian’s Bounty, sailing for Absalom. A storm chased us off course and we sighted this island. Then things went bad, first the currents are treacherous around the island, or so the helmsman said, then we were attacked by two great dragonlike beasts. They spewed clouds of acid and were at home in the air and the sea. It was more of a slaughter than a battle. I went overboard when the ship was struck a great blow – perhaps it hit a reef? Whatever, but loyal She-ra came after me, and apparently dragged by fool self to shore here… Since then, I have been washing the salt from my equipment and my chakrams have harvested a couple of seabirds for my lady here to eat. So what’s your tale?”
Upon closer inspection, the halfling is perhaps not a halfling. He is large but halfling sized at 3’7” and has a solid, well muscled build. His hair is a brown curly mop and green eyes peak from below his bangs. Clearly an outdoorsman, he show freckles on weather-beaten skin, a hooked nose, and a long-healed scar down his left cheek. As you come closer, wisps of choral music seem to faintly tickle your ears. The tiger meanwhile is not full grown, but is already bigger than most men. She’s a beauty in the gold and black stripes.
There is a hesitancy to approach. For one, Hrolf could very well be an illusion. The tiger could very well pounce and try to kill them all. To say she is on alert is an understatement, but despite her inner pains, she tries to be civil. Her tone seems somewhat deadened, however.
"Kahli and I were summoned here, along with some others, including a halfling named Sir Calinean, Knight of the Whiterose, under the service of Queen Elaine of Almot...h..." something saddens her deeply as Lash has already forgotten the rest of Sim's title. She bites her lip and shakes her head. She then just continues, "We were set there by a devil for his enjoyment into the depths of his dungeon. Through cruel traps and hard fighting, we have managed to escape it, but now find he has claimed this island as his own to toy with us. There is no doubt in my mind he orchestrated the demise of your ship. Many of our companions have borne similar evil tales no doubt of his machinations to bring them here. Amestri here...," she voices, gesturing to their other female companion, "...herself was teleported into the bondage of chains underwater. Were I not able to see her, she'd likely have drowned. When this devil finds one of us boring to his guest's entertainment, he does away with us. Only one hopefully has gotten away. An elderly man named Marcus, who we gave a flying potion to and who took off post-haste. What his fate is, I don't know. I can only hope he made it far enough away to find safety elsewhere."
She then gestures her hand outward to the halfling to shake or do what he will.
"I am Lash Vaeledi. A farmgirl of no consequence, but I suppose now I'm something of an archer after so many fights. I have had a little training before all of this."
She then gestures to Kahli.
"This is Kahli, a priestess of Calistria. This over here is Hamley, and Tenney, who me and her found later in the dungeon. They have been with us for some days now and have fought valiantly by our side. Amestri is the newest of our group, but that is about to change if you wish to join us?" She understands what she is asking. "Right now, we are in quest to find out about a secret note left behind by someone who perished. Perhaps someone who had a key to getting out of here. This blue light in the sky, points to the next key place we are heading to."
If he remains civil, she will pull out some bread and offer it to him, along with some water. Being shipwrecked can easily tire one out.
Kahli raises her hand when Lash introduces her, then glances out at the water. "Did your ship sink? If not maybe we should try to save it? Trapped here it's not a good idea to waste resources!"
Horlf takes Lash up on her offer "I'd be happy to join your quest, I see no better offers on this deserted beach....", and turns to Khali " I am sure that the ship sank - it felt like it had taken a death blow. But as to salvaging some resources, I think that's a lost cause. We were a mile or more off shore when we hit the reef, and there was a great storm.". He turns away and survey's the sea, "Given I cannot see any remains, I expect her back was broken and she's on the bottom now. I couldn't even tell you where to look. I only didn't drown because She-ra's a much better swimmer than I am. Still, how are we fixed for food. If we need, I am sure I can find us some game if we're short rations."
"We have been making due," she answers him by handing over some of her food and water. "I doubt in this section of the island that your She-Ra will starve. There is a lot of wildlife. Now, if you will, let your friend here know we are not food and we'll continue onward."
She is cautious around the young tiger and gives it a wide berth. She had never seen a tiger before up close, let alone any of the wonderments they've encountered so far. This was one that would be traveling with them and it definitely had the look of a predator to her.
"How do you keep her from killing you?" she asks as she walks onward down the beach.
Lash gets a stare like you would give a madwoman for a second and Hrolf replies "She-ra's my best friend, she's not going to eat me. She's not going to eat you either, unless you do something really silly. She's far smarter than that."
Having met a new compatriot, the party is about to continue on their way when a familiar voice comes from Amestri's bag. "Oh, Hrolf. You are sorely mistaken if you think I didn't place you exactly where I wanted you," the Old Man says with an irritated tone. "You will soon learn that I control every aspect of this prison. See what I mean?"
With that, the sea begins to churn, the water surging forward and a wave crashing down near the party, sending water racing across the sand.
The quickly rushing water hits the party's legs, taking them all to a knee.
From the water, the party can see three 3-foot long eel-like crustaceans with powerful claws, serpentining their way through the water. The water continues to rush up the beach...
Hearing the voice, then getting knocked down Kahli just growls her response. She struggles to her feet and calls on Calistria to Bless the party for the coming battle.
Kahli pulls herself up out of the roiling water and infuses the party with holy energy.
The middle creature slithers through the water at Hrolf, swinging a claw down at the newest party member.
The claw slams into Hrolf and clamps down tight, but Hrolf is able to resist the poison that drips from the claw.
Lash can see that their newest member is in trouble and stands. She however does not retreat, presenting herself as a target for the incoming threats. With Ko'Tua no longer with them, she cannot abide to see Hamley and Tenney attacked, and so presents herself as a target.
Amestri pushes herself up and attempts to release her new companion from the creature's grasp.
The creature violently shakes its head and resists the witch's influence.
The green creature waves its tail and pushes itself through the water at a prone Lash, swinging one of its claws down at the Aasimar.
Before Lash can get her feet under her, the claw catches her shoulder, but its claw isn't large enough to get a hold of her. Like Hrolf, Lash resists the poison dripping from the claw.
"Rooaar!"She-ra is not amused that this prey thinks it's the predator around here...
vs Grappled target (-4 Dex)
3 bab +4 Dex (weapon finesse) +4 flanking (outflank, pack flanking)-1 PA
+2 str +2 PA
vs Grappled target (-4 Dex)
3 bab +4 Dex (weapon finesse) +4 flanking (outflank, pack flanking)+1 enhancement(ABP)-1 PA
+2 str +2 PA +1 enhancement (ABP)
vs Grappled target (-4 Dex)
Hrolf will use the Sic'em skirmisher ranger trick as a swift action to let She-ra take another attack
vs Grappled target (-4 Dex)
3 bab +4 Dex (weapon finesse) +4 flanking (outflank, pack flanking)-1 PA +1 enhancement
+2 str +2 PA +1 enhancement
She-Ra leaps forward to protect Hrolf, biting and clawing at the aquatic creature. After her first claw, the party can tell the creature is staggered, wavering but still aggressive. The second claw puts the creature on its last legs. Hrolf quickly calls his companion to attack again, which causes the creature to spasm as it dies.
It Hrolf quickly ducks under the water for a moment and dodges both claws as the creature slumps lifeless into the water.
Hrolf pops up from under the water with his feet under him. The water sluicing off his helm, he draws an odd, double curved blade as he steps to She-ra's side, preparing to confront another of the crustacean things...
Kahli steps back from the water and toward Lash. As she passes Amestri she mutters, "Get out of the water. Use your magic at a safe distance so these things can't pull you down!"
Continuing along she struggles with the sand trying to reach her friend.
The Red creature sees She-Ra take down one of its kind quickly, and takes a wide berth to get to Kahli, which it sees as an easier prey.
With Kahli back on her feet, she's a harder target and dodges the creature's claw.
Hamley and Tenney pull themselves from the water and split up, Hamley joining Kahli and Tenney joining Lash.