Episode 14- Turn the Tides! Fight against Shatterkeel

Henry, having finally awoken found himself back in the boat. Frustrated with his allies and not knowing where they went, he basically gondola'd the boat around the waterways.

He found a large open underwater lake.

And as he dangles from the mouth of a dragon turtle...Henry reflected on his short life. And what he missed out on.

The party called up to Bronzefume, claiming that he was with them. Carefully, she put Henry down. She apologized and sunk back into the water.

Henry was safe! Wet but safe. Their boat, a goner.

Henry starts berating the party about how dare they leave him without a note, and all the troubles he'd been through to get there.

Thok stood there, arms folded as he listened. Then grinned. They decided they would bring Henry to meet their friends...

They head back to the Nothik's room, who are more than happy to answer the questions.

"Who's responsible for my sister's corruption, and how can I fix her?" After some clarification about who his sister was, they answered. 

"Ah the Air witch...She is under Aerisi Kalinoth, an Avariel. She does not know the secrets, if she knew...that would be the thing that brought her back or at least tear her away..."

(History check on the Avariel revealed a race of flying elves, haughty and refused to crossbreed despite needing to. They have not been seen for a millennium)

They grin. "Now...secrets. Two secrets." A pause. "This one works with the flying serpent, he does not know what power he messes with but is willing to do whatever it takes. He is a dagger in the dark, and speaking of dark..." A toothy grin. "If you spank the monkey before bed, you won't have those...nightly emissions..."

Henry was mortified. Thok was amused. "Do you have a card?"

"We have a hand." They gave him a severed hand, which Thok handed to Vega. Vega stared at it. 

"What, not fresh enough for you? We can get another one."

Henry noticed Theamen's shifted demeanor, watching Vega carefully. The two of them speak.

Vega moves to speak with Menelwen. He tried explaining that it was an inside joke with his circle. "Did they take me seriously?"

"Yeaaah..."

The party walks back towards Bronzefume's room. Menelwen tells Henry the joke about double-teaming the spell caster...

From here, they decide where to go. A perception check of the room reveals a hallway and another door. 

Vega and Henry roll poorly and end up staring at their teammates. Vega stared at Thok's crotch, Henry at Menelwen's chest.

The door turned out to be a kitchen with people working, some sleeping on bunks to the side.

Vega prepared to cast a spell on Thok.

"Do you want to live?"

Vega moved his hand.

"What would it have done?"

"Nevermind."

Roll Iniative

Henry snuck up, knocking one of the people on the head. 

(Menelwen facepalmed and looked at Theamen, who smiled in return).

He knocked the first one out.

Vega stealthed over, attacked the second one with the quarterstaff. The person turned, screaming in pain since it wasn't enough to drop the old woman outright. 

Thok rushed in, using the pommel of his sword to knock her out.

The people were wearing collars. They were slaves, brought down to work in the kitchen.

The party agrees that they want to free them, but how? The either needed to return after defeating the cult, or get a boat. Vega offered to turn into a crocodile, but Theamen in particular did not trust him to not eat them.

Vega went to the lake, transformed into a shark to go and retrieve a boat.

The Party has split.

Vega used Invisibility, but was attacked by a Hunter shark,

Better that than the giant squid...

It was a  shark on shark fight. And Vega was on the losing end.

~*~

"Wait, Vega's a cannibal?" Henry gasped.

Menelwen tried to explain what Vega said to her. But no one believed that. Theamen made sense with his argument.

Vega returned, drenched, injured and boat-less. 

"What happened?"

"Another shark."

So they tell the slaves that they'll come back for them when they had a way out. And onwards!

Down the hall, they cross a quay, and a bridge with a large door that pulses energy. Menelwen manages to recognize it as a Glyph of Warding.

Unsure what to do without the password or what it would do, they looked for another way in.

There were two large culverts in the form of stone Dwarf faces. There was water coming from them but not enough. It was theorized that there was enough room to slip through them to the next room. 

Henry gets tossed like a shotput towards it by Thok. Slipping through, he was able to see the next room.

There were five lizardfolk standing guard, an altar with a water genasi that must have been Shatterkeel. Henry watched him dive into the water, under a wall. He disappeared and reappeared. 

Making his way back, he filled the party in on what he saw. Vega suggested going back to ask Bronzefume for help.

"You know she could eat you, right? I know you're used to it being the other way around, but she can. In one bite." Theamen quipped. 

Henry looked at Menny. "Wow, Theamen's vicious tonight."

Throwing a rope over to Henry, it was secured at both ends. Theamen looked at Thok. "You and I should be last then."

Menelwen went first...and failed to cross. She fell but was caught by Theamen.

"Looks like I'm last."

"Sorry. ><"

Eventually, everyone (Menny getting carried by Theamen) gets across.

They observe the room and form a plan.

Menelwen summoned her earth elemental, keeping him under ground.

Theamen and Thok were going to drop and get the guards, and everyone else was to go for Shatterkeel.

Roll Initiative! 

Menelwen dropped a fireball on Shatterkeel who failed the save.

Vega used Moonbeam on him.

The Earth elemental reared up and attacked him. Both attacks hit.

Thok attacks the lizardfolk who are just staring with shock at what was going on. He drops one, then looks back up to where the others are.

"For the love of god, move!"

Theamen used Spider climb and ran along the wall. He used his flaming sword to attack the guards.

Henry rolled his eyes. "He's trying to show off for Menelwen."

Menelwen dropped a second fireball on Shatterkeel, taking him down before he could even attack once.

Vega used Haste on himself. He dropped down, shillelaugh his quarterstaff to back Theamen up.

He used Produce flame, throwing what looked like a flaming coconut at a guard, taking off his head. 

The earth elemental moved over, standing behind Thok. 

The three remaining lizards give up. Menelwen hadn't actually moved yet so Theamen came and helped her down. 

Drown was retrieved.

The lizards were bound and questioned. About the current going under the wall. about the glyph on the door....about Bronzefume. How she deserves better. And Phil...that seven foot tall lizard folk. The lizardfolk told them that Phil's daughter was about to graduate...and they knew that the party had killed him.

The current led to a vault where Shatterkeel was keeping his treasures. "I'm wearing plate mail and would sink like a stone." Theamen said. "and you," to Menelwen. "can't hold your breath very long. This we know."

So it was decided the two of them along with Scruffy (the earth elemental who was thumbing through rock nude magazines) would stay behind while Vega, Henry and Thok retrieved the treasures. But after they checked out the priest's room at the end of the hall first. Scruffy went through and came back.

"What did you see?"

"Dead guys." He shrugged, returning to his magazine.

Thok and Theamen exchange looks. They investigate.It was a bloodbath of a room, clearly killed when the earth elemental walked through. One man was still alive though his neck was twisted. Thok put him out of his misery.

They informed the rest of the party to not go in there.

To the vault!

Inside was: 820 gold pieces, 2 scrolls, silver ewer, waterproof bags containing 50 heavy old tomes written in Dwarvish, and a box that turned out to be a folding boat.

After regrouping, they make a deal with the lizardfolk to free the slaves. The leader tells that to tell any other lizards to clear out. That Phil was dead and Gary said to clear out. They are released and head off.

The party moves on to the only other door in the room.

A completely dark one with stairs going down. A hunched figure clutching a bident sits there.

As they move, so does it.

"Who do you serve?"

Before anyone can stop him, Henry answers. "Water."

It bowed, stepping aside.

Menelwen also cautiously answered "Olhydra." It bowed again, stepping aside.

The party continued on down the stairs...

~To be continued...~