Keri screams in pain as the creature tears into her! She tries to focus more on defending herself as she attacks again!
Vultan attempts dodging out of the way of the next attack when it comes. It comes just as swiftly despite the way the creature paled at his roar! Fortune favors Vultan, however, as the attack lands squarely on his enchanted clothing, turning the sharp attack into a blunt one.
It hurts nonetheless, and Vultan starts to feel like he's been hit one-too-many times. His eyes lose focus as he leans on the power of his faith in Titania. He can feel the subtly fae magics well up within him, relieving his injuries. He looks to Keri who had just been wickedly attacked herself; he raises a hand and sends that same Faeth (sic) magic coursing down his arm and out to her, stitching her most vital injuries back together.
"We'll get through this together!"
It's almost a battlecry, a mental banner to rally his compatriots.
Tamien was momentarily emboldened by Vultan's call and Kil's healing magic. He dodged thr first anglerfishman's attack and was only glanced by the second.
Setting himself squarely against one opponent he strikes back at the most wounded one.
But his attack was off balance and he missed. He knew things could be a whole lot worse for them right now, but there was still no telling how this fight was going to go.
Unrelenting with his strikes, Con continues to thrust at the fish monster with a guttural yell!
Kil'hara casts another spell, and a pleasant aura surrounds him. You can feel the warmth and life giving energy.
Con rips through the next anglerfishman, its guts spilling out over the floor in a sickening squelch. The foul odur of fish eminate from the corpse.
Suddenly, the anglerfishman fighting Keri screams, as a second fishman behind him appears and bites savagely into him. It's the same one who was previously charmed! He must have snuck in through the window and is now trying to protect his "friend" Keri.
The last two realize that they're out numbered, but is it enough to flee or do they think they can pull it off?
They have the courage to stay, and continue their attacks. One of them strikes out at Tam:
The one on Vultan focuses inward for just a moment, and then the light dangling from its head suddenly brightens! It's one of the brightest lights you've ever seen, and it quickly fades away. But as it fades, your vision fades with it.
Damage counter:
Gleran 1: Charmed (Outside)
Gleran 2: Dead
Gleran 3: Dead
Gleran 4: 0 (on Tam)
Gleran 5: 8 (on Keri)
Gleran 6: 0 (on Vultan)
"Gah!" Tamien yelled as he was struck and then blinded.
He knew he had little chance of hitting and instead defended himself.
Keri somehow manages to avoid being blinded by the light! It's for naught, however, as she once more stabs wildly at the air instead the foe in front of her!
Vultan feels the energy healing him overrun his capabilities. As projects healing to Keri, he can feel the overrun extend to her as well, and he notices Kil'hara casting.
"Hell yeah!! Thanks, Kil!"
He barely finishes the sentence before yet another fish man enters the fray...
...and attacks one of its own! The vicious attack deals grievous harm to the victim, and Vultan is filled with hope.
"How... What is happening?!"
Vultan says one of his favorite phrases through a smile. As if on cue, a too-bright photographic flash fills his vision.
Brief as it was, the light had a wax period just long enough for him to get his eyes closed before the worse comes. He sees it wane through his eyelids and opens his eyes. He can't see as well as before, but it was still well enough!
Vultan swings so wildly at the source of the light that he can't be sure if the attack found purchase. He felt his exhaustion sapping his movements.
That's going to beat out my will to keep moving, and it's going to do it soon.
Vultan worries briefly, but remains focused.
Con tries to shield his eyes from the bright flash but he's not fast enough! He stumbles back against the wall and puts up his spear to protect himself.
The charmed anglerfish-man chomps down a second time on the one attacking Keri, biting through its torso and arm, nearly ripping it in half. The creature falls dead to the floor with a wet shlurping sound.
It then grabs Keri's arm, as if to say, "Come this way, we must flee." The body language matches, and it's clear to tell what it wants.
The final two flee out the front door. With only two remaining in the fight, and with several people blinded - it's the perfect opportunity for them to make an escape.
Soon, the room is quiet of the sounds of battle, but the stench of dead fish-men soon becomes overwhelming.
Tamien blinked several times clearing his vision and let out a sigh as he saw the remaining angler-fishmen were gone. Then the pain began to set in as adrenaline wore off and he grimaced.
"Everyone okay? Keri?" he called back to the other room.
Keri is taken aback by the gruesome demise of the creature that was attacking her. Her stomach twists in knots as she stares with wide-eyed at its bloody remains. The elf recoils as the creature’s killer reaches for her, and it takes her a moment to remember she has charmed it.
”We’re okay!” she calls to Tamien. She looks at the charmed monster and shakes her head. ”No, we stay here. These are friends. Friends!” She points to herself, then to her companions. She spreads her arms wide in a welcoming gesture, trying to get her point across.
After your nerves calm down, you take to exploring the rest of the house.
The first room you explore is the bedroom (Room D on the map). It seems to be well kept, except for an unmade bed at the center of the back wall. An armoire and vanity is littered with the personal effects of a married couple. There's a pool of blood and other viscous fluid coming from the closet.
-------------------------
The next room is the kitchen (room C on the map). Atop the rickety wooden table sits two waterlogged human corpses, partially dismembered and decapitated.
The room is bathed in a ghastly light sourced from barreleye fish heads impaled on a chandelier covered in thick slime.
[ooc]Will challenge roll with 1 bane or gain 1d3 insanity from viewing this scene.
The search yields a small coin pouch with 5ss, and an iron ring with the family crest engraved on it.
-------------------------
The final room (room E on the map), is a guest bedroom. A cot sits alone in this mostly empty room, covered in thick viscous liquid that slowly drips into a puddle gathered beneath it. Sinew and blood is thickly smattered and smeared across the walls. Atop the bed lays a translucent mass of tissue stretched over human remains. The veiny sac is riddles with clusters of what looks to be fist-sized fish eggs.
------------------------
Storm Cellar - The entrance to the storm cellar is outside of the house, next to the wall where the guest bedroom is (room F on the map). Shoddy wooden steps lead down to the cellar below.
"Thanks for helping, Kil." Tamien said to Kil'hara, putting a hand on the Yertath's shoulders. He winced slightly as he began to move cautiously around the house.
Heading back into the room with Keri, Tamien tensed and held himself poised as Keri tried to keep the charmed anglerfishman from attacking.
"Keri, how long can you keep it?"
The sight was too much for him, even mentally preparing himself wasn't enough to shield himself from the stench and the blood and guts. He wandered off and into the kitchen.
After seeing the remnants of the bodies he squared up and checked their pockets.
Unfortunately the feeling of blood on his hands and the overpowering stench of death and decay got to him and he ended up having to empty his bowels. That said, a small pouch and a ring were his now.
Entering into the final room was another horrible sight. But now Tamien had little left to lose, or so he thought. Still it wasn't pleasant. He eyed the fish eggs, and decided he would smash them later, but first...
despite feeling sick... or maybe because of it, he spotted the key while looking down and feeling ill. He picked up an iron key.
Lastly he saw the opening to the cellar... and his curiosity got the better of him.
"It should last an hour or so, as long as nothing harms him," Keri replies to Tamien. Having calmed down from the initial fright of seeing the anglerfish-men, she follows Tamien through the house.
She doesn't look in the closet after seeing Tamien blanch. Luckily, she keeps her wits about her when she sees the horrors in the kitchen. She stays close to Vultan, holding his hand, as they explore the room.
Once Tamien finds the key and heads towards the cellar, she cautiously follows...
As his vision comes back, Con can see that the fishmen have fled. He slides down the wall and sits for several long moments, catching his breath.
"Ah, well, my arm's not in great shape."
He says to Tam when asked.
Con gets up and stumbles down the hall. He sees and heads for the kitchen in search of rags or running water or something for his wound.
He doesn't exactly register the bodies at first, they are so bloated and discolored. A chill runs down his spine when he realizes what he is looking at.
"Oh shit, shit! There are f**!ing dead people in here!"
He calls to the rest of the house. He is only distracted long enough to poke one of the bodies with his spear. Shuddering he continues his search for supplies.
Vultan leans back against a wall and sinks nearly to the floor, breathing hard. Coming down off of the adrenaline hit him like a truck. He slows his breathing intentionally and looks up to Keri. He thinks to ask how she's holding up, but she's busy with the fishman she'd charmed.
I mean she is the most charming person I know~
He laughs quietly to himself at how this must be playing out in the fishman's head.
No surprise he's head-over-heels, hah!
He admires Keri managing control of the situation.
Yeah, I can keep going. Especially if it's for her.
He hoists himself up off the wall and walks over to where the chest fell when he took it off. He opens it and begins donning the armor kept inside. He spent time practicing before they'd departed and there wasn't a whole lot to it; it wasn't a lengthy operation.
Then he withdraws a small box with straps and straps it to one leg. Finally, he withdraws a crossbow. He draws the strong back with the trigger pulled so it stretches and retracts.
Check, check, and check.
He straps the backpack to his body once more, looking a touch more formidable and feeling a touch more confident. He reaches to the box on his left hip, pops it open long enough to grab a bolt, and then slides the bolt into place on the crossbow.
He looks at Keri and says flamboyantly, "Aww, shoot. Hun, did you bring any bubble gum?"[b]
His demeanor sobers rapidly in the intervening pause.
[B]"Seems I'm fresh out."
He racks the bowstring back on his crossbow, sets it on his hip, and offers his free hand to Keri. His exhaustion takes a back seat for the time being, Vultan feeling fresh now he's armed and armored.
He preps to aim it at the closet as they slide it open.
"I don't know what I was expecting."
He does his best impression of Arrested Development to lighten the mood before they move on. Hearing Con shout from the kitchen, they move there to make sure he's ok.
Vultan draws his free hand away from Keri and covers his mouth as he nearly loses what little his stomach has left in it. The revulsion was swift and racked at Vultan's brain; he takes a few steadying breaths, but can't take his eyes off the mess.
And we're stuck on this damn island. F+#%!
He begins to hyperventilate, and the physical reaction doesn't go unnoticed. Coping mechanisms start to kick in and he steadies himself. It takes a bit longer than Vultan believes it should, but he again chalks that up to his exhaustion. He steels his resolve, blinks the focus back into his eyes, and takes one final centering breath that uses every inch his diaphragm can offer.
"Glad you're whole, Con. Let me know if I can help."
He asks just before he's finally able to peel his eyes off the fleshy mess, but he meets Cons eyes as if it were just another day back on earth. He doesn't press, though; the Prince could tell Con was hunting for some resources, and he didn't feel like stopping him with chitchat.
Finally, they rally in the bedroom. It's another gruesome site, but this was at least fascinating, and the bland viscera had lost its charm.
Vultan catches himself spacing out at Tam snags something out from the fishy mucous. Keri nearly tugs him along as they make their way to the cellar door. He knows she wouldn't force him, but he'd rather face whatever it was side-by-side with her and Tam than let them go it alone. He levels his crossbow in preparation for what they might find.
Tamien halted outside the guest room before heading to the cellar and took several more steadying breaths. It only helped a little as he still felt sick.
"Keri, uh, any more light?" he asked her, knowing it was going to be dark in the cellar.
After a minute he looked back at Vultan as he tried to remember something. "Earlier, you talked about... gum. They Live?" he asked with a half smile.
You open up the shoddy wooden door leading to the cellar. The creeeaaakk of the door sounds off eerily in th sense fog. Shining a light downwards, you don't see anything suspicious. You head on down; he steps creaking underfoot - clearly alerting anyone down here to your presence.
When all is said and done, your fears and caution seemed to be unjustified. There is no danger down here. Th anglerfishmen seemed to withe rhave left it alone, or more likely didn't even know it was here. The cellar is unspoiled.
Inside are whale oil canisters, spare lenses, nets, boat oars, fishing spears, and other similar fishing supplies. There are five or six actual fishing poles, with various lines, hooks, and bait all fairly organized.
One section is dedicated to tools and parts for lighthouse maintenance and repair.
There's even some well well-preserved food and potable water stored down here.
"Well, they didn't steal our chick, so I guess that's fine."
He gives Keri a playful nudge with his elbow as he's holding his crossbow.
He sobers once more, welds his cheek to the crossbow, and gives Tam a brief nod. The door creaks open and Vultan flexes his finger against the Crossbow's trigger. He mentally leans into the act of shooting anything dangerous, but nothing presents itself.
He creeps up to the top of the stairway and looks down. Nothing comes rushing up to meet him. He reaches his supporting hand away from the crossbow and snaps his fingers, loud.
Still nothing.
He sidesteps to allow Tam or Con to walk past and he moves down with one hand on their shoulder to keep them from stepping into his firing line.
His eyebrows gradually raise as he realizes what they've walked into. He steps back up the stairs, careful to walk up where the stairs are mounted so as to cause the least creaking, and he closes the door behind everyone.
After the echo of the door closing fades, he offers, "Obviously they haven't found this place yet, so we're safe for now."
He heaves a heavy sigh before suggesting that the other boat crash survivors were still up there.
Tamien relaxed and let out a sigh of relief as they found the cellar to be empty of more monsters and full of the supplies he'd hoped for. Food, water, ways to get more food.
"This is good. Set ourselves up. Worth trouble. Take some, then we get back to others at light house. Warn them of dangers... and deaths above."
Keri gives Vultan a smile as he lightens the mood, despite the horrors they recently witnessed. "Yes, let's explore the lighthouse. Quickly, before the charm wears off." She gives the anglerfishman behind her a dubious smile and flashes him a thumbs up.
"Won't people, you know, scream... or run?" Tamien asks, pointing towards the anglerfishman.
"I'll ensure they know he is under control, at least for the time being," Keri replies.
You head back out into the mist, following the glow of the red light eliminating from the lighthouse. It does take long to get there - longer than you'd expect due to the thick fog, but it's still not that far of a walk from the house.
The lighthouse is made of stone and well-weathered from the surrounding sea. The structure itself seems to predate the house and dock. At its top is an iron catwalk. Its red glow penetrates the surrounding fog, creating what looks like a blood mist. At its base the entryway holds a sturdy oak door, locked and reinforced with riveted iron bands.
Tamien feels some trepidation at the blood red glow in the mist, the memory taking him back to his childhood encounter with the shadow monster in his bedroom.
A chill shoots down his spine. It had red eyes too... and my room glowed like this. he thought looking up towards the lighthouse.
He shakes his head to dismiss the memory and lets out a breath as they find the door is locked. He was glad now that they'd searched the house and he pulls out the iron key he'd come across. Nodding back to the others, he momentarily wonders where the surviving crew got off to in the mist.
Weren't we all heading to the lighthouse?
Hoping they'd find them all soon enough, he tried the key on the door.
The key works. The lock moved with a loud click - the sound dampened by the fog, but you're sure it echoed inside. The door, now that it is unlocked, automatically starts to open. There's no one opening it, it simply doesn't have a latch to hold it in place, and the weight of the door naturally pulls it outwards. It creaks as it slowly opens.
The first thing that hits you is the smell. It is god-awful. Like rotten fish mixed with the stagnant sea water infused with the fillings of an outhouse after carnival night.
Inside it is pitch black. You cannot see a thing.
The mysterious fog that is everywhere floats out from the doorway; as if the inside had a thicker concentration of the stuff than the outside.
The inside of the lighthouse is a single circular room with a set of stairs along the wall that winds around the room up to the second story. The floor itself looks like a wrecking ball came through. Smashed up crates and other damaged debris litters the floor. There are tools, supplies, and other random equipment scattered everywhere. There's several large pile of crates stacked up against the wall - it seems that whoever destroyed this place only destroyed the things that were in the middle; everything along the wall was left mostly untouched.
There are also multiple large, oversized barnacles. Each one looks to be larger than your own hand, and they grow in clusters on the walls and on the crates.
Tamien grimaced as he scrunched up his nose against the sickening smell as he stared at the pitch blackness. After several attempts he finally lit the lantern he had taken from the light keeper's house and lifted it up.
He looked questioningly at the large barnacles on the wall and the pile of ruined equipment and debris.
"Door was locked. Why's it all broken in the middle?" he said, stepping inside and looking up and then starting to examine the pile of items.
Keri moves inside, breathing through her mouth to mitigate the stench. "I don't know. I don't like the looks of this place," the elf says. She peers closer at the barnacles, careful not to touch any of them, then gestures towards the stairs up if there's nothing more to discover here.
Back at the house, Con was able to dry off and change into the warmer clothes that Vultan bought for him. He was still nursing his arm but he felt a lot better than before.
Spear in hand, Con brought up the rear of the group as they traversed the fog. He was spooked for sure, but the previous battle had bolstered his confidence. Fighting to survive seemed a little more realistic now.
As Keri gets closed (but not touching) the barnacles, one of them twitches and spurts out a bit of thick vapor, helping explain where all this dense fog is coming from.
The fog is thick enough in this blast to cause Keri (and nearby Vultan) to start coughing.
Keri begins to cough and hack as the foul vapor envelops her. "Gah! Ew, that's just gross!" she wheezes, feeling the stuff sapping her already diminished strength.
Vultan wheezes alongside Keri, grunting with exertion as he tries to maintain his composure in the face of the disgusting fog. He squeezes her hand rhythmically as a show of support; it's all he can do while he's hacking up his lungs over the repulsive gas.
"Eugh, yeah, that's awful. AHEM."
He expels another chestful of foulness as he acclimates to the disgusting fog. He's not sure if it's dissipated or if olfactory fatigue is setting in, but he's thankful either way.
Tamien turned away from the random pile of debris and supplies as the others coughed and hacked from the new burst of vapor from the barnacles. Keri looked greener than before. That wasn't good. He pulled up his shirt over his mouth and began to breathe more shallowly.
"Uh, nothing... good here. Maybe we find something... else up there. Keri, stay in back. Avoid bad... plants?" he shook his head as the proper words still escaped him. He still wasn't feeling all that well himself but figured they'd know what he meant.
"Con, maybe... you lead?" he indicated to the Dragon man, pointing upwards.
Headed up the stairs, your see a room dominated by a large brass barrel fitted with a pump and contains whale oil for the lamp upstairs. Connected to the top of the barrel is a pipe that leads up to the center of the ceiling into the top level. Large shards of jagged glass cover the floor where a set of the beacon's lenses were smashed on the ground. You are absolutely certain that falling in this room would hurt with all the jagged glass shards.
Among the glass are more barnacle clusters, sinew, and seawater.
Investigating the area, you can easily discover a trail of wet webbed footprints and blood that leads up the stairs.
"Sure, I don't mind taking a look. I'll need a light though."
Con replies, nodding at Tam. He heads up the stairs spear first, light second.
Noting the disgusting barnacles, Con generally tries to avoid touching anything unusual in the lighthouse as best he could.
Once he stuck his head through the door, Con couldn't see anything that needed immediate attention so he heads back down the stairs and tells the rest of the group what he found out.
"Looks like there's just the fuel pump up there for the light, however, the ground is covered in all the glass that has ever existed so we might want to clear that out somehow... Maybe the house has a broom, or we could use some of the debris as a makeshift push broom."
Con then sifts through the debris for anything that could be used to clear away some of the glass.
Tamien nods to Con as the Dragon suggests his idea.
"Good idea." he says, going with Con to help look for something big.
"Let's use this." pointing to one of the stacked crates on the wall.
Keri looks pale and sickly as she continues to suffer the effects of the poisonous gas. She leans on Vultan, staying in the back of the group.
The charmed creature makes gestures, trying to discourage the group from going further upstairs, but Keri shakes her head and remains insistent.
You stand around debating what to do. Move boxes upstairs to sweep? Just go on up? Perhaps burn the whole place down? You look at the oil and try to figure out if it'll work to your advantage.
As the moments pass, Keri starts to feel better.
But you still need to decide what you're going to do.
Tamien frowned in thought as the discussion wound down. After a few moments he squared himself up.
"Clean up later. We must go up and stop fish men now! Con should shout at them. Then we start with range attacks. Fall back with oil on stairs, like Con says." he says emphatically.
"You heard the man. Let's go," Keri agrees.
Con nods and heads up the stairs into the room with glass all over the floor. He steps carefully around the room and stops to inspect the pump.
With his spear in hand, he heads up the second flight of stairs to where the chanting can be heard.
You make your way up past the second floor, careful to go silently past the shattered glass and to the final set of steps to where the beacon is housed. And there it is - the light itself. The bloody skin of a human has been stretched and pinned over the lens via several harpoons.
Beyond the light is the door to the catwalk, which extends around the top of the lighthouse.
Tied to the walls are several of the sailors; all beaten and bleeding in some manner, and none of which are fully aware of their surroundings.
All around the room lay trails of blood and viscera, almost as if they make a pattern. Four anglerfishmen seem to be using the bloody entrails of one of the sailors to draw something on the floor.
At the center of these strange drawings is a pool of slime and saltwater. Within the pool is the byproduct of a grisly ritual - a creature transformed into a half-man, half-crustacean abomination. What portions of its mangled body aren’t covered in gashes that seep blood and seawater, are covered in thick clusters of barnacles and corded ripples of muscle. Its entire right arm is chitinous and ends in a massive crablike pincer.
Surrounding it are four additional anglerfishmen chanting.
Creeping up the stairs behind Con, Tamien readied his trident to hurl at the first monster he thought he had a good chance at. Though his stomach still twisted and he felt sick from earlier. He was not expecting the scene before him. A body, skinned and stretched over the light stared at him, somehow meeting his gaze and pulling pulling at him.
It was too much, his mind split.
Desperately, tried to master himself!
The damage was done, but somehow he regained control and took his gaze somewhere else, anywhere else! He caught sight of some of the other anglerfishmen, the entrails, then the barely conscious sailors. His anger and maybe something else flared in him and he was able to focus on the strange symbols, somewhat.
No! He couldn't look closely at that right now, the sight and smell made his head swim.
Then his eyes focused on the abomination in the center of the room.
At this point his will was iron, he couldn't be scared by them, not by monsters, even a new one. They were already all around him as it were.
Perhaps he noticed something else strange.
Tamien absorbed everything in moments and then began to giggle, quietly, in a half mad sort of way. To anyone looking at him, it would seem like he was shaking or convulsing. Everything here was already horrible, there were so many monsters and they were still worn out and hurt from the fight before. It was almost funny now.
He was quite certain they were going to die the moment the anglerishman noticed them.
Keri somehow manages to keep her wits about her upon seeing the horrific skin stretched over the light and the frightening abomination at the center of the pool. She notes the symbol of Oceanus and tries to glean more insight into the horrid ritual...
The gruesome scene is too much for Con, his mind silently falls deeper into madness.
He doesn't recognize anything about the ritual taking, but it didn't matter to him, Con just wanted to get out of there alive!
The terrible monster put Con on edge, but he was ready to fight it! His confidence was bolstered by his allies behind him.
Vultan fades a bit with his exhaustion, keeping his eyes peeled but not really having the energy for complex thought or enthusiasm. They make their way up and, while he keeps his head on a swivel, he doesn't hear anything so crazy that he feels the need to jump in or adjust their course.
I should say SOMETHING, but I'm tired. And this all seems like an appropriate course of action.
He gets his Crossbow aimed appropriately, reluctant to pull his hand away from Keri's and get an appropriate stance for the engagement they were undoubtedly about to face.
They get to the beacon's level and...
...The great Prince Vultan narrows his eyes.
What the f!+%.
He'd seen enough viscera for one day. He finds that he's suddenly very nauseous, but he decides the nausea isn't particularly threatening and continues to assess the room.
He narrows his eyes at the mess across the floor and the angles across a couple of intestinal intersections stick out like a sore thumb.
Oceanus. Gonna be a no from me, dawg.
He wasn't sure why he was repulsed from attmpeting to look at the creature at the center of the mess, but his eyes finally acquiesced to look upon it. His nausea came back in force, but he was too tired to care.
I'll just throw up on myself while I put that thing in the ground.
His crossbow is already leveled on the thing, but he decides there's a better course for their opening salvo.
Time to spread some joy. Thanks again, Titania. And Keri~
He glances briefly aside at Keri, whose beauty truly did rival their queen's. He draws on his faith and points with two fingers at his heart, preparing to cast a spell.
You have surprised them. You can take actions and they will be forced to make a perception challenge roll to act this round. If they fail, they cannot act and will automatically fail challenge rolls.
You can choose to head back down and make further preparations, but this will risk two things: 1) They may hear you and you'll lose surprise, and 2) they may complete the ritual their working on.
What do you do?
A few moments after the shaking began, Tamien eyes focused on the strange symbols and while he didn't quite recognize something sparked a memory in his mind and he stopped laughing to himself.
"We have to stop them now and do something about the ritual directly. It looks like they're too far in and can't be stopped by just ruining the symbols." Tamien whispers to the rest of the group.
"I'll go to open the door and then we'll hit them hard and fast. We'll go to the balcony and we can fight them where their numbers mean less. Sound good?"