An elvish curse comes off of the druidess' lips and she backpedals northward. She snaps off a hasty shot that ricochets off a wall and past the newest attacker.
"A little help here Rosanne?" They're trying to come up behind us!"
Round 3
Tobias swim over to Amuro to assist with his grindlow.
Rosanne spins at Earthsong's cry and puts a bolt deep into the Grindylow attacking her. "How unsporting of these things!" She says dryly.
"My heroine, however shall I repay you?" In spite of the perilous situation, the elf manages to giggle.
An arrow from Rosanne seriously wounds the grindylow that came from the side passage, causing it to flee back into the dark passage.
Jacques tread in place for the moment, struggling against the seaweed.
With Tobias' help, Amuro slays another grindylow.
With several of their companions gone, the other 2 grindylows at the far end of the cavern retreat.
"They're retreating. Pursue or continue on?"
"Ya Godsdamn RIGHT we pursue!" Tobias scowls. "Don't intend on getting surprised from behind or below!"
"As you wish Captain." The elf's smile is a tad vicious. "I agree with your sentiment."
"Best to end them now before they recover." Rosanne agrees. "But let us watch out they clearly are trying to draw us in deeper." She adds with a look around the tangle of dank caves.
Around the neck of one of the dead grindylows is Sandara's ebony holy symbol of Besmara. Searching the body, you find a scroll of cure light wounds.
Across this cavern is another intersection of passages that you are able to wade through. Three darkened passages, two of which lead forward, deeper into the caves, the third turns back toward the entrance.
Earthsong looks about closely, seeking signs of recent passage beyond that of the retreating sea goblins or for signs of other danger.
.
"That's Sandara's holy symbol, alright." Tobias clutched it tightly. "Mother, I hope she's alright."
You have retrieved Sandara's tricorne and holy symbol from the Grindylows and one of her scrolls of cure light wounds.
Earthsong looks ahead down the passage that the Grindylow fled down and spots a trap up ahead. A spiked grate has been lifted to the roof with some hidden ropes, rigged to drop as something walks below.
Tobias will attempt to climb the walls and deactivate the trap.
Tobias successfully disables the trap. It is safe to move under it now.
"Let's move on before they try to outflank us again."
The druidess pauses to assess their position. "I suggest a more northeasterly bearing, or eastern. It is more likely that whatever chieftain they have will be lairing as far from the entrance as possible. That entrance was due west."
Rosanne nods, "I agree. We have two routes but they are defending both and pulling back when we kill a few of them. Likely to defend their chieftain in the most defensible area."
.
Tobias stops and looks at both ways to go. "I'm gonna assume to matter where we go, more grindlows are to follow. Either way, we are likely to be surrounded soon. So, I say we go right. Deeper into the island. Hopefully we'll find Sandara alive in some alcove. Then we fight our way out of here."
You bypass the trap and come to an intersection. To your left is a small cove. The walls of this small cavern display strangely ribbed markings, simply a result of wave action.
Hidden beneath the carpet of seaweed are a series of metal bars spaced approximately 18 inches apart. These bars form the cavern “floor” and are wedged in place, requiring a DC 25 Strength check to remove.
To your right is another narrow passage that turns back around towards the previous cavern you fought through.
Straight ahead looks like the proper forward direction.
"Let's get going, captain. If your missing crew are anywhere they must be ahead." The elf woman suggests.
The landing party continues forward.
Earthsong notices more traps up high again directly above their path. Ahead Are 3 possible paths.
"More traps ahead. Can they be disarmed?" The elf woman asks. "Which way do we go afterwards? Left to right perhaps?"
Once the trap is pointed out to her Rosanne will try to disable it. "Three passages? I suggest we take the leftmost first."
Tobias nods approvingly as the party move left.
You move into the smaller chamber decorated with hundreds of leering skeletal parts, wriggling with worms. Four dark circular openings exit the chamber.
Most of you notice the traps at each exit as well as a large fish in the water with you. You have disturbed it and it emits a black liquid which clouds the water in the whole chamber, hiding it and anything under the water.
Overcome by the stench, Tobias takes a five-foot step away.
While used to the strange smells her concoctions create, the elf woman isn't prepared for this strange smell and begins retching. She staggers back five feet to the west, barely mindful of the traps but not wanting to stay close to the source of the stench.
Trying not to spend her lunch Rosanne takes a 5' step back with the others.
Jacques also is nauseated and moves back out of the chamber. Only Amuro seems to feel ok.
"What is this thing?" He says and swings at where it was.
His sword does not connect.
A tentacle comes out of the water and tries to wrap around him but he slips out of it.
Tobias takes a further 15 feet away from the smelly fish.
Earthsong backs up away from the fish as far as she can go.
.
Rosanne backs away hurriedly, looking for something to use against this thing.
Jacques follows you and Amuro backs out too, not wanting to fight this monster alone. You all watch warily and nauseated from the narrow and shallow passage but the devilfish doesn't come after you, preferring the deeper water. After a minute has passed the water clears and the creature is gone. The path ahead to your left is free (barring traps which you easily deactivate now).
You enter the passage and come to a space which can be best described as a Cauldron. Hundreds of remains float in this large bowl of water, which
churns with bones, scraps of flesh, and the carcasses of strange, almost alien fish. Just visible through the roiling stew are humanoid bodies floating in the water, wan corpses drifting near the bottom of this cauldron like sleeping guardians.
Two figures hang from the ceiling above the churning water, bound hand and foot with thick strands of seaweed and sinew and weighted with heavy ingots of silver. Sandara Quinn and Fipps! Both are wounded— Fipps looks on the edge of death, having been partially eaten alive by the grindylows.
Just below your kidnapped crew is the Brinebrood Queen, leader of this particular pack of grindylows. Beside her is another grindylow grown much larger than usual. It is an obscene, bloated monstrosity with a gaping, toothy maw, now grown more than twice as large as its mother and her followers—so large, in fact, that it can no longer fit through the tunnels exiting the Cauldron.
Behind you, dozens of beady eyes watch what is to come. Eager to see you fall. This is the place they have been leading you towards. They make no move towards you but hold their spears forward, urging you into the Cauldron.
"Sandara!" Tobias calls out. "We're here to rescue you!" The young sailor said, more as a declaration, then a promise.
Take a moment to eye the situation, Tobias swims to the Grindlow Queen and attacks.
Seeing the forces arrayed against them, Earthsong moves forward several steps towards the Queen as well. As she moves, her form shifts. "I may live to regret this," she says as her arms shrink to fins. Her head becomes blocky yet streamlined. A fin grows from her back as her legs fuse together....
Moments later, Earthsong is now a female bull shark and racing towards the Queen, cutting through water with ease.
As you enter the Cauldron the Queen lets out an inhuman shriek and cuts the rope keeping your crew mates above water. Weighed down with silver ingots tied to their feet, they will quickly sink on their own, with hands and feet tied they are helpless. Their faces are full of terror and pain.