Back To the Fishhole
Not deterred from previous expeditions that met with less than stellar results, the players were determined to return to the water-logged caverns and finally put down the fish cult. They knew they wanted to capture or kill the priestess. They also wanted to neutralize the dark statue to the sea demon/god (?). They learned that the consecrate spell would be needed, at a minimum. Tasso was not high enough level to cast that spells. After a week of recovery in Aeravir they found a low level priest of Kementari who was willing to take the journey to the fort and then on to the hyena-men village.
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| Samar the Adept |
Cleric in tow the Stormbringer/Nighthawk army again rumbled to the fort and then on to the village. They secured the well entrances and went to one of the outlying wells. Max the Minotaur agreed to be lowered down first, as he had a lot of HP to spare and the first rooms proved to be quite dangerous. As Max was lowered by a team of men, he noticed slightly glowing symbols on the walls of the well's "bottom" chamber. Instantly the players realized these were probably gluphs of warding.
The players debated what to do. None of the clerics had that spell memorized, but they started to meditate and pray to receive this spell, a process which would take some time. In the meantime Max declared he was willing to just go ahead and proceed. A section of the wall discharged and Max was struck by a blast of electricity. Not deterred, he was lowered again and again, each time discharging another section, but many more sections still had active glyphs.
A dispel magic prayer from the Kementari priest then cleared the remaining glyphs. At this point the group descended en masse. Soon they found another room which they previously knew to have a hole in the floor that led down into the next level. The decision was now made to completely explore the first level and gain a foothold before going deeper.
Eventually the players wound their way towards the center cavern, but found another glyph at an intersection. The players did the math and recognized the priestess was powerful enough to raise undead and set a multitude of these glyphs. The stakes were increasing with every step. Also, the players now realize they did not bring Samar the Adept down with them. Lots of angry words are thrown about here.
Rerouting they found again the rubble filled room with cobwebs and began to systematically work their way around the outer tunnels.
As before, a swarm of flesh-seeking fish found the group and the feast of horror began!
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| Hundreds of these lil' bastages. |
The read echelon of the group, mostly the bulk of Nighthawk infantry, are the first target. The players prepare color spray from Franz the illusionist. Other are moving in the cumbersome water to intercept the swarm, and various missile weapons are also discharged. Due to a misreading of the spell, it is rather ineffective at stopping a horde of submerged fish as only a handful are stunned. Dozens more attack and a couple of men are devoured in seconds from the legs down.
At this point the men take a morale check, but hold. There's a strong sense of immediate danger, as the players realize they have no real counter in this environment to this threat. They all move with haste to the nearest well head, which is thankfully not far. Sadly, however, this means more men are ruthlessly devoured as ropes are thrown down and a dozen men per round can begin their ascent.
Ove and Max stand a rearguard action, and suffer damage but this allows for many men to escape.
Back at the surface, the players give orders to utterly wreck the well entrances, except for the "main" cavern, which would only cause the opening to get bigger, not fill in. After 2 hours, the well entrances are collapsed, and the whole group retreats.
The players swear to never return here until they have some means of breathing water or have an effective tactic against these water borne enemies. For now, the fish cult will have to be handled by someone else.
Some XP was awarded for the carnivorous fish slain, but no treasure!
Franz rating I1, 35XP
Charles rating T2, 35XP
Tasso rating C2, 35XP
Max rating F1, 35XP
Ove rating F1, 35XP
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