Chapter 9: A Primitive Sea

[Darren]

"Huh," Kal says, looking at the scowling and dripping Condign and Belarin. Then he shrugs and reaches back into his pocket to retrieve the pearl. In his other hand, he holds Skyfang. He smiles at the two (a grin without teeth, really) and shrugs his shoulders.

[Ken]

Belarin gives Kal a dark look, then he shrugs his shoulders and smirks slightly. "Clearly, Condign, Kal didn't appreciate my revelation of the stench's origin. And thank you, Good Streko, for the translation and explanation." He shakes the water out of his hair. "Fortunately, my appearance is outstanding regardless of the circumstances. Still, I would like to know how Syrdan keeps his clothing so brilliantly white..."

He turns to look at the sahuagin as they face the potential threat. "I believe some of our talents can function through the sphere," he says to his friends, "if our hosts need assistance."

[Brian]

Shaking the water from his hair, Condign grunts at Belarin's words but has nothing further to add. He is doing all that he can to banish the memory of so much water pressing down on him, filling his nose and mouth.

[Jeff]

Satisfied for now, the sahuagin turn and lead on, leaving Kal to now direct the Sphere on his own.

And maybe not a moment too soon. From the deep blue ahead you see another group of sahuagin drift into view. Eight more warriors with tridents in hand. Your escorts call out to them in their language, but it is too fast and loud for Streko to understand fully. "Why are you here?" is all he can understand of Hras'Ka's words. But something in their appearance and the tone of speaking has your sahuagin escort react severely. Anterior fins lower themselves and their weapons are bared. Mouths widen, teeth are bared.

And now you notice that one of the newcomers is larger than the rest. His scales are the same deep and pale green as our escort, but it's also severely scarred. He wears a black helmet with a opalescent sheen to its rim. More strikingly—more unnerving—he has an additional pair of arms and clutches two tridents. The sahuagin is at least as large as Adamant. The seven around him seem to exude his confidence...and defiance.

"Move aside, Sarquaa," Hras'Ka says in their language. "Your exile has not ended. You have no say in this matter."

The four-armed sahuagin drifts closer and glares at you, then looks to the other. "You believe softskins will save us? You are a fool, Hras'Kal. You invite only disgrace, and the enemy's favor!" He says this in almost perfect Common!

Hras'Ka hisses. "The baron believes in the prophecy. And your opinion does not matter."

"My father is blinded by fear," Sarquaa answers, again speaking in Common, his teeth bristling as he looks in on you, studying your reactions.

[Darren]

Kal's feet shift slightly, his stance widening a bit. His fingers curl around the hilt of Skyfang, his eyes studying the face of the newcomer and occasionally flicking to his companions, looking for any sign of an attack.

"Let them work this out between themselves," he says quietly. "We don't want to get caught up in their internal power struggles. If they attack, we fight to defend ourselves, only."

[Brian]

"Four arms and two weapons," replies Condign. "Why do I think this will not end well?"

Nevertheless, he makes no threatening gestures. But he does stand ready to act if necessary.

[Dave W.]

Adamant pulls his head back in lets the salt water drip off his jaw. "Fantastic, someone must learn this bubble spell."

Sept 13, 2011 10:21:21 GMT -4 Ken said:

Belarin: "I believe some of our talents can function through the sphere," he says to his friends, "if our hosts need assistance."

"I believe that is good advice," Adamant says quietly, "does anyone know if the bubble would survive the death of the shaman who cast it? Just a thought."

When the new sahuagin show up, Adamant stands tall, taking his full height. He relaxes into a pose that speaks of a soldier's training. He keeps his hands loose at his sides, but ready.

Adamant keeps watching the new comers determined not to be caught flat-footed.

[Joe]

Streko continues his translation, whispering it to Kal.

"Move aside, Sarquaa. Your exile has not ended. You have no say in this matter."

Streko listens as the leader of the new batch of fishy things speaks in common tongue for their benefit.

"The baron believes in the prophecy. And your opinion does not matter."

To all his friends, Streko shakes his head gently. He speaks quietly in common tongue. "This does not bode well. Although the odds are in our favor 12-8 I believe. At least for the moment. Then again, any blood spilled will bring the return of the sharks...and I doubt they care who is on whose side."

[Dave B.]

Shorak looks on as the Sahuagin confront one another. Hearing Kal's statement, he nods in agreement, but still readies his crossbow and loosens his short sword from it's sheath. He also positions himself as close to the center of the bubble as possible.

[Ken]

Belarin frowns. He says softly to Kal and his other companions, "Well, maybe it is their business, but our chances of survival are clearly better with the hospitable fishmen than with the angry fishman who despises us and has found a freakish way to solve his back-scratching problem. If they fight, lack of commitment may not be a luxury we can afford." He slowly removes his pact dagger from its sheath.

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Sorry, lost track of time and hadn't realized I was holding things up.

[Jeff]

Sarquaa tilts his head when Belarin makes his joke. Either his hearin is impeccable, sound travels much too easily down here, or he heard something else. The four-armed sahuagin snarls: "This is not their realm, Hras'Ka!"

"If you do not move aside, Sarquaa, your life's sacrifice will be accepted here and now." Even though sahuagin inflections are alien to Streko, he can tell Hras'Ka is nervous saying this.

Sarquaa bristles at the challenge, opening and clashing his wide mouth and teeth together. "You dare speak to me this way?"

"These softskins are friends of Morsha. If they have her favor, you would hinder them...?"

Sarquaa issues a rasping laugh and gestures with two arms toward the surface far above. "Morsha? That bitch is dead, or dying. The Merrow lists impotently—I have seen it with my own eyes. The Baron's alliance with her is ended, Hras'Ka."

Before Hras'Ka can reply, Sarquaa points both his tridents toward your party. "You, softskins! Do you really think you will be allowed to leave after this? Food is precious down here. To devour an enemy—which you are—is to absorb his power. Power the Blue Fins desperately need now...to combat the greater numbers which grow against them."

Hras'Ka hisses, his fins sliding in some expression you can't interpret. He speaks in broken Common now. "No. Gift of Devourer protects us."

"Not yet," Sarquaa says. "Softskins, join with me and live. Kill Hras'Ka and his foolish guards. Together we will open this 'sacred' chest and you may have whatever treasures I don't want. I care nothing for your gold...or your lives. Speak now!"

[Brian]

Before Kal can speak, Condign grasps his elbow in a deferential manner.

"My lord d"Deneith," he says, emphasizing his title. "They know not to whom they speak. I am sure this noble creature meant no offense. Deal gently with them."

[Dave W.]

Sept 14, 2011 17:06:38 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Sarquaa:"Morsha? That bitch is dead, or dying. The Merrow lists impotently—I have seen it with my own eyes. The Baron's alliance with her is ended, Hras'Ka."

Before Hras'Ka can reply, Sarquaa points both his tridents toward your party. "You, softskins! Do you really think you will be allowed to leave after this? Food is precious down here. To devour an enemy—which you are—is to absorb his power. Power the Blue Fins desperately need now...to combat the greater numbers which grow against them."

Sarquaa:"Softskins, join with me and live. Kill Hras'Ka and his foolish guards. Together we will open this 'sacred' chest and you may have whatever treasures I don't want. I care nothing for your gold...or your lives. Speak now!"

"Forgive me if I speak out of turn," Adamant nods to Kal and turns to address Sarquaa, "but you are incorrect with regards to Morsha. She is not dead nor dying. She is also not a dog, though she is female."

"It is interesting that you speak so easily of betrayal, both a possible betrayal by our host and then encouraging us to betray them. I wonder if you find it offensive or not."

"And either you or Hras'ka would find me rather difficult to consume and I promise you that you will have to break me before any of the softskins can be devoured."

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I'm assuming the stuff not in green is said in common.

[Dave B.]

"Isn't this an interesting turn of events?" Shorak says under his breath. He waits patiently to see what choice is made.

[Ken]

Belarin raises an eyebrow at Condign's pretense. He says, "Sarquaa, you label us as enemies, yet you do not know us. That would seem to be a mistake. Further, the warrior who is ignorant of both his enemies and himself places himself in danger... as my lord d'Deneith here has often said." Belarin makes a deferential gesture toward Kal.

"However, we know things about you, Sarquaa." He holds up one finger. "One, you are the child of the Baron."

A second finger. "Two, you have been cast out by your own kind -- an exile."

And then a third. "Three, you are intimidated by the power that Morsha possesses, and will display again quite soon, and so you wait for a perceived weakness before you appear."

The warlock displays a fourth finger. "Four, you issue threats at those who are strangers to you, then you somehow believe you can persuade those same strangers to become your allies. It suggests that your word or your judgment is not reliable.

"I shall pause at four. The number is appropriate. We know much about you. What do you know of me, or of my lord d'Deneith, or of him, or him, or him, or him?" He pauses for emphasis as he indicates each of his companions, ending with an ominous emphasis on Condign. "Before you provoke a fight with the Unknown, perhaps you should be the wise warrior that you seek to be and learn of us. There will be another day."

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Belarin is trying to persuade Sarquaa that picking a fight right now would be a Really Bad Idea. More of a Bluff than Intimidate. Jeff, if you think a roll is warranted, let me know. Belarin will kick in beguiling tongue. He lives for moments like this.

[Jeff]

Ken, nicely done. But I think Intimidate is still what this most resembles, despite the tricksy angle. Give me a roll!

[Darren]

Kal looks down at Condign's hand on his elbow, then arches an eyebrow at the tiefling. He shrugs his shoulder slightly, freeing his arm of Condign's grasp, but Condign can tell that Kal is simply playing the role that he has been cast into.

Kal stands and listens to Adamant and Belarin speak. Then he stares directly at Sarquaa and smiles, his lips parted and his teeth in plain view. His arms are crossed, his dragonmark standing out stark against his skin. Sparks begin to dance around the fingertips of his right hand, the hand in which he holds Skyfang. Gradually, the electricity finds it's way to the blade, arcing through the air with little snaps and pops.

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Kal will aid Belarin in his Intimidate check.

[Jeff]

Using the WotC dice roller (and therefore the DM's honor system)...

Kal's Intimidate check to assist: 10 +9 = 19 (success)
Adamant's Intimidate check to assist: 19 +14 = 33 (success)
Belarin's Intimidate check: 18 +11 +4 (assistance) = 33

Nicely done, y'all.

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Sarquaa's eyes widen in anger at both Adamant's words and Kal's display and flash of teeth. When Belarin concludes his words, the four-armed sahuagin opens his fanged maw wide as he issues a snarling hiss that sends ripples through the water. For a moment, his body surged backward—either to flee or to make room for a charge, you're not sure. The sahuagin with him react, bracing their weapons and spoiling for blood. But their leader continues to drift backwards and to one side, and they all do as well.

Hras'Ka holds his ground, and his warriors tense.

Then Sarquaa speaks something in a quick, clipped command in their language. Streko can just make it out: "Salaast, dispel the Lrishasa'varash!"

One of the sahuagin closest to Sarquaa, just over his shoulder, begins to weave one hand through the water, while the other glides his trident in a varying pattern. Hras'Ka is the first to react to this, calling out a command of his own that sure sounds like a battle cry.

One moment the water seems charged with tension from the sea devils. The next it's churning chaos. As Hras'Ka's warriors prepare to attack, he looks to your party and calls out, "Move on, softskin! Go! It not far!"

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It is clear to you that Hras'Ka's team intends to take on Sarquaa and his followers (who did not yet attack, per se) and prevent them from interfering with the Sphere of Life. Currently Sarquaa doesn't wish to take you on directly.

If you choose to obey Hras'Ka and move on, then Kal can move the bubble and you can distance yourself from the coming battle. Turn to page 37. (Moving the sphere 3 squares is a move action; outside of combat, that's decently fast enough.)

If you want to fight this battle with Hras'Ka, then turn to page 11 and we'll move into turn-based combat.

It's your call. Discuss in the Q&A thread if you want.

[Ken]

"Bonescrape's bloody jest," Belarin curses in frustration. "I hate to say this, but we can't join this fight right now. This bubble gives us no room to maneuver, and if any of us is pushed out of it, Kal, then we'll start being picked apart.

"What I said to Sarquaa holds true for us. 'A warrior who does not know his enemies and himself places himself at risk.' We can marinate Sarquaa another day."

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I was going to post in the Q&A thread. But I realized that Belarin would say the same thing as me, aside from the "marinate" part and my reluctance to abandon someone who is sticking his neck out for the PCs.

[Brian]

When Belarin is finished, Condign nods his head.

"This is not our fight."

[Darren]

"I agree," says Kal grimly, "but there are two things we don't know. One, where are we supposed to go? And two, what happens to us if he gets killed?" he asks, jerking a thumb towards the sahuagin mage.

[Joe]

"This son-of-a-baron sees US as the threat here. He seeks to vanquish our pocket of air. We have three choices as I see it. Do as our guide commands and flee towards wherever it was we were headed, flee back towards the ship and prepare for a battle there or assist our allies in stopping the enemy right here.

"As much as I despise saying this, I suggest we fight. We will never reach our goal if our allies are defeated and the enemy is allowed to attack us, and the Merrow Down, at will. And, without our assistance, our allies are outnumbered.

"Say the word, and I shall strike the first blow, Kalarian, or at least grab Mr. Fishy's attention in a way that will brook no confusion as to which side we are on and who we will fight for.

"Also, I might add, fleeing would make us look weak to the Sahuagin. We cannot afford that impression at all!"

[Dave B.]

"I assume we just continue in the direction we were heading before big and nasty showed up." Shorak suggests.

[Dave W.]

Adamant listens to his friends but never takes his eye-gems from the fishmen. He seems to almost lean in that direction.

"I am having some difficulty letting our hosts fight when we are partly responsible for escalating things. I agree it will be hard fighting like this but do we shy away from difficult tasks?"

"it just seems wrong to leave a battle behind us. And what if our hosts lose? Would opening the crate mean anything if we have no way to deliver the contents to the proper tribe? Would we gain anything at all?"

"I will abide by the group's decision but it goes against my nature to leave a battle undecided."

[Darren]

Kal looks at Sarquaa and his mage and makes a "tsk tsk" sound as he holds up Skyfang in front of him. Lightning dances along the blade, wickedly illuminating the man's features. He smiles as he flicks the blade towards the mage. There is no flash of lighting, but a sudden rumble begins. A shockwave flows out from Kal and creates ripples in the water as it flows towards the sahuagin.

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Kal will use Thunder Slam on the bad sahuagin mage.

Jeff, the dice roller is dead right now, so I'll trust you to make the appropriate rolls. Remember that Kal is channeling through Skyfang, so he gets all the appropriate bonuses for that.

[Dave B.]

Taking Kal's cue, Shorak raises his hand crossbow and let's fly toward the fishmage trying to dispel they're pocket of air.

Sly flourish (1d20+9=10)

Unfortunately, the dice roller seems to be working for me.

[Ken]

Belarin gapes at Kal's sudden attack. "But... oh by the Shadow... so be it!" He quickly directs a psychic assault at the sahuagin who was attempting to destroy their bubble of air, but caught off-guard as he was -- and without his tell-tale rhyme -- the warlock isn't unable to muster his full concentration behind the attack.

________________________________
Move: None.
Minor: If Sarquaa attacks our party, then Belarin will place the warlock's curse on him (he's the closest foe). If he doesn't attack, Belarin will skip cursing this round, unless there's another enemy who has ventured closer than Sarquaa.
Standard: Attack the mage guy with curse of the dark dream vs. Will: 1d20+7=8.
The dice roller comes back and Dave and I roll consecutive 1s?!? You've got to be kidding....
Still, thanks to the recent DDI updates, it still does damage:
3d8=14 halved = 7 psychic damage, and the mage is subjected to the dark dream (save ends).

[Brian]

Seeing battle commence, Condign calls out, "Fight right here! Do no move or move the bubble it you can help it. And keep next to one another as much as possible!"


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Minor Action: none
Standard Action: uses Form a Line on the party.

Jeff, the wall starts with Condign then goes 1 sq N, 1 sq W, 2 sq S, 1 sq W and 2 sq N. That should cover everyone.

Okay guys, as long as you stay somewhere within the designated wall, you gain a +1 bonus to your AC, and if you are adjacent to another ally, your bonus is +2. Hopefully this nullifies the sahuagins aquatic advantage.

[Dave W.]

"I'm sorry my friend," Adamant tells to Condign, "there is something I need to do first." Adamant swims from the bubble with an unusually striking grace. He moves closer to Sarquaa's mage. "You should not have threatened my friends. I am Adamant; I defend these." Adamant touches his octogram and begins to send out ribbons of light to entangle the enemy mage.

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Sorry Brian I need to move a bit closer. I want to daze the mage. Somehow I'm going first, in keeping with the hit fast and hard, I have one ranged attack with which I can daze the mage and if I hit give him a -2 AC penalty. Being dazed means he's granting CA which would mean a +2 penalty to being attacked. So if I hit that really is sort of a -4 AC penalty, right?

Challenged at Beginning of round: no one

Move Action: Swim Check (1d20+4=23)
2SE

Standard Action: Attack sahuagin-mage Radiant Delirium vs Reflex (1d20+7=23)
On a hit Radiant damage (3d8+4=14) and the mage is dazed until the end of my next turn and has a -2 ac penalty.
On a miss: half damage (7 hp) and mage is dazed until the end of my next turn.

Minor Action: Draw sword and make it a long spear. (or maybe that's two minors; in which case I'll just get it drawn this turn)

Challenged at end of round: no one

Reminder: Adamant does not have a shield.

[Joe]

Streko looks at his foes...they are, for the most part, out of his range still. However, there are those who aren't.

Streko spreads his arms wide and calls out to Olladra. His holy symbol flares and a radiant shield of energy envelopes not just his friends, but the Sahuagin who are protecting them as well.

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Streko casts SHIELD OF FAITH. EVERY ally within range of Streko (5 squares) gains a +2 power bonus to AC until the end of the encounter.