Embedded Files
Campaign Journal 69 -
PREVIOUSLY - CAMPAIGN DIARIES 68 - TRAVAILS IN THE SEA CAVES
The Owlbear League, on its way to Skullport to save their wards, the three urchins of Waterdeep, were waylayed by the Kraken Society who were demanding a toll in cash and apparently the life of captain Rory Barbarossa, whom they stole away into the temple. This was not acceptable for his crew, so they are defending the ship from sahuagin attackers while The League and the crew member Lorilla Saghipe ventures into the dungeon of the Kraken worshippers to save him.
Having defeated the guards (room 12) and rescued their slaves, The League heads west where one of the guards ran off. The corridor zigzags then splits. They decide to go south then east to a door, listening first, but hearing nothing within, they open it.
The eastern room (14) appears to be a guest room still under construction. Dark green tiles cover the floor and ceiling of this room, forming an incomplete mosaic that depicts sahuagin warriors defending an underwater city from a tentacled monster. A table stands in the center of the room, with small, ornately carved benches to either side. Two coffers are propped against the north wall, their lids closed.
They detect magic and seeing nothing, Dain steps into the room and shouts "Mimic!" swinging his axe at one of the little chests. It smashes into pieces and is not a mimic.
CAPTURE 8:30
They turn to the western room. Pale blue tiles cover the floor and ceiling of this room. Mosaics on the wall depict sahuagin warriors sinking large sailing ships. A table in the center of the room is flanked by two ornate benches. Two coffers stand against the north wall sitting open, their lids leaning against their sides.
The League heads back north then west where they come to another 'T', finding a long quiet hallway leading south into the darkness with a double door some 20' away. They approach the door.
Outside the room, the air is distinctly colder than the rest of the hallway.
The wizards detect magic, while the others listen, hearing some hammering coming from south - far in the distance.
Seeing nothing magical, they open the door.
This room appears to be food storage - a larder (room 16). It contains no furniture, but around the walls hang various carcasses. Some spare hooks attached to the wall are unoccupied. White bones lie heaped in the northeast corner.
They spend some quick moments deciding whether to enter and Dain steps in. He examines the carcasses closer, finding a large octopus, two giant eels, the naked bodies of a male dwarf, a male human, and eight lizardfolk. All are fresh or reasonably well preserved.
Dain points them out and spends a moment examining them, but doesn't glean much. From the rear, Immeral calls out softly but firmly from the rear "We have company!" as a sahuagin war party of eight warriors races up the hallway, obviously alerted by the one that got away.
They pile into the hallway to meet their enemy together.
One of the warriors hurls a spear which catches Immeral as he tries to take cover and slices his shoulder.
A second throws a spear at Nowhere, but misses and the spear goes flying.
Immeral pulls a star from his robe of stars and casts a spray of seven magic missiles at the one that struck him. The bolts of purple arcane energy strike the sahuagin unerringly and he falls dead to the hallway floor.
Dain turns from a pile of bones he was examining and charges into the hallway, letting out a howl of rage as he races into the hallway swinging Bloodstorm, the great axe of Gorm the Bloodletter, and he soundly strikes a sahuagin warrior, but it still stands to fight.
Atlas leaps over the corpse of the dead sahuagin, flies past Dain and attacks a third opponent with a blinding flurry of blows. She batters the fish-man, and presses the attack, the sahuagin bleeding dark green blood.
Kronk casts fire bolt and sends a flaming mote by Dain's ear, taking out the sahuagin Dain was fighting.
Lorilla the gorgon races to the front of the battle and uses her petrifying stare at one of the sahuagin, but it fights off the magical stone-like effects.
Nowhere casts a stone with her sling and barely misses Atlas, hitting the sahuagin she is battling in the head and knocking him out. Two down.
Seraphina looks annoyingly down the hallway at the bodies blocking her way from attacking and casts sacred flame. She targets a sahuagin at the rear and the brilliant energy scorches it, but it still comes forward along with the others.
One of the four remaining sahuagin dives forward to stab at Lorilla, but the gorgon dodges.
The one battling Dain stabs at him, but it glances off his armor and he fends off the attack.
The one in the rear goes to throw a spear at Lorilla, but ends up stabbing his companion in the crowded hallway, and the one she was battling falls to the ground. Three down.
The last sahuagin holds back, unsure what to do, looking to run back into the darkness.
Immeral casts chill touch and hits the one in the rear, knocking it out with his ghostly magical attack. Four down.
Dain swings and misses the fish-man before him, but a second attack connects and downs the fish-creature with more dark green blood splattering the walls. Five down.
Atlas unleashes another flurry of blows against her opponent, and she unleashes on the dodgy sahuagin a terrible beating sending it unconscious. Six down.
Lorilla tries another petrifying gaze, so its skin starts crackling and turning to stone. Seven down, one left.
K'ronk, seeing almost no opportunity, puts on his ring of invisibility just in case.
Nowhere uses her sling again, threading the gap between Atlas and Lorilla and Dain, and striking the last warrior a sharp blow.
Seraphina uses sacred flame again and the sahuagin is knocked out from the magical radiant light.
The party quickly dispatches the unconscious sahuagin and drags them into the cold storage. Seraphina looks at the remains that were already in the locker and states to the others, "their organs are gone, like some religious rituals." Lorilla's eyes grow wide in worry for her captain. "We should hurry."
There is a note stuck to the bloody corpse of one of the bodies that was already in the meat locker that says "You will always be my best friend." and it is signed 'Helmo'.
Nowhere says "Helmos was one of the prisoners we released. He's hopefully at the ship now."
Atlas says "maybe we could bring him back the note."
Seraphina says "These corpses are likely the rest of his party."
Kronk adds "Maybe we can return for the bodies."
Lorilla firmly adds "After we find captain Barbarossa."
The League leave the pantry (16) and continues south through a winding passage and the sound of hammering becomes louder and louder. They turn the corner and there is a room with an arched doorway to their right (17).
They approach cautiously, the sound of hamming rock coming from somewhere further on.
This room contains neat piles of hammers, chisels, mining picks, sledgehammers, crowbars, spades, wicker baskets, sacks, and coils of rope. There is also a pile of light blue tiles. Otherwise, the place is empty.
Immeral says "we can either proceed stealthily, or I can go etheral to see what's ahead."
The others agree he should use his robe of stars to recon the source of the hammering, so he dons the hood of his cloak and appears in the same location, but in the grey duplicate world of the ethereal plane.
Surprisingly, Immeral is blind and deaf - no sound can be heard, no luminence can be seen, unlike the normal gray world of the border ethereal. He immediately flicks off the hood and returns to the normal world, shaking off a fright.
"Nope! Something is wrong, I can't see or hear anything." says Immeral.
K'ronk looks concerned. "Maybe we are too close to the dungeon of the mad mage."
"Halaster?" says Nowhere.
"Don't say his name" says Lorilla, sternly.
The party proceeds cautiously towards the sound of the hammering.
To the west of a large archway stretches an area of plain stone construction. Three pillars extend to the tiled ceiling. In the center of this chamber, a wide staircase leads down. An unfinished half-wall surrounds three sides of the staircase. Piles of colored tiles sit near the wall, awaiting placement. The sound of water lapping against stone can be heard coming up from the bottom of the stairs.
Ten slaves, working by torchlight, smooth and dress the unfinished exterior walls of the hall. Each slave is shackled at the ankles with a length of chain and wears a metal collar. Two sahuagin oversee the slaves as they work, chatting near the top of the stairs.
Immeral listens to the sahuagin, his comprehend languages spell still working and hears them chatter on about someone who has gone downstairs for help. They are wondering if they should leave the slaves chained up and go look, or wait for assistance.
CAPTURE 58:40
"No reason not to kill them then." says Nowhere.
"But we can use a little stealth." adds Atlas.
Nowhere looks at Dain and just shrugs, too fond of charging in.
K'ronk enters the room invisibly.
Atlas uses her elven cloak to slip into the room undetected, moving behind a pillar.
Nowhere casts disguise self on herself, looking like a sahuagin and marches towards the two sahuagin by the stairs.
"How do you say 'Hey' in sahuagin" Nowhere asks Immeral.
"Roh" whispers the wizard.
Nowhere enters the room and starts coughing profusely, and collapses to the ground grasping her throat.
They approach disguised Nowhere and speak questioning at her in sahuagin.
Atlas sneaks around as the farther sahuagin glance back to see what the commotion is.
One bends down to examine Nowhere,
The second stays in front of the descending stairs.
K'ronk invisibly approaches the one bending down and swings his staff at the creature's head, appearing visible at the moment he swings. He bashes the creature in the skull with his goat staff and the fish-man staggers, nearly knocked out.
Startled, the second sahuagin is startled for a moment, and Atlas leaps over the knee-wall onto the stairs, and racing up delivers a mad flurry of blows to the startled sea creature, battering him, but he starts to defend himself and backs away. Reaching into her ki, the monk unleashes another volley of punches and unarmed strikes upon the sahuagin. She decimates the creature, greenish-black blood flying as she knocks it out.
Nowhere grabs at the sahuagin to grapple him, locking him into place, and swinging her sturdy tail to whip her opponent, she knocks the legs out from under the green-skinned warrior and he gets knocked out from the fall.
The others move over to the slaves and quickly start unshackling them. "There's nothing to worry about, we're here to liberate you" says Atlas and the ten emaciated humanoids start crying in thanks, but Immeral tells them to save their thanks and remain quiet. They pick up their shovels and picks and brandish them as Nowhere comes over, but she states "this is a disguise", and producing some goodberries she tells them "These should refresh you a bit." handing one to each.
"We've killed the guards, do you know the way out?" Atlas asks.
One of the tougher looking ones says "Yes, up past the slave pens, but where would we go to?"
"There is a ship waiting. Tell them The Owlbear League sent you." Immeral tells them.
"Aren't you coming?" asks another.
Lorilla speaks up. "We have to rescue our captain. When we have him, we will return to the ship."
They gather together and race off.
The League ensures the sahuagin are dead and tuck their bodies behind the pillar in the back of the room.
They look down the flooded staircase and looking at each other, but before they place the shelled aquatic creatures over their mouths that can give them a few precious minutes of water breathing, K'ronk says "WAIT!"
K'ronk pulls out the Stone of Golor "Lord, what is the nature of this place?"
With his deep rumbling voice the Golor answers "It is a place of stone and water and earth, like much of the pitiful structures of mankind."
"Can you tell me about the Kraken society?" K'ronk asks.
"The Kraken Society is cell-based. Each city or region is controlled by a Lieutenant, and although the various regional cells cooperate with each other when it’s beneficial, each is operated as an independent organization and has deliberately limited contact. The local structures of the cells are not proscribed, and can vary greatly (although they tend to value secrecy and usually reflect the society’s general cell-based methodology).
The inner circle of the Society, which consists of the Lieutenants and a handful of other senior members (called Followers), refers to itself as the coterie. The coterie is privy to the inner mysteries of the cult, which feature a highly mythologized “truth” about the Krakens of the world. They wish to subjugate all in service to their Kraken masters."
"Thank you master."
"If I had a brain contusion upon my frontal cranium, your machinations might interest me, but since that is not so, my interest is not so."
"Thank you master."
"Continue to worship me, and remember to breathe today so you do not forget and die."
K'ronk puts the Stone back into his bag of holding.
Knowing they only have 15 minutes of air for each of the breathing shells, they hurrily look around.
After descending the stairs, they find themselves in a large open area. Stone pillars rise from floor to ceiling, two each to the left and the right.
There are some sounds coming from down the hallways, indistinct, but sounding like barked orders.
They go to the north and then west.
They find a long hallway heading north with double doors. They proceed quickly up the hallway and hearing nothing with a quick listen, open of them (area 34).
K'ronk decides he has more underwater options available to him, so he casts alter self and gains webbed hands and the ability to breath underwater. This should last an hour as long as he doesn't lose concentration.
The floor and walls of this room are tiled a medium gray, while the ceiling has white tiles which glow with a magical radiance. There is a small table in the center of the room with a small, matching bench beside it.
A seaweed bed covers the southeast corner. A coffer, its lid closed, stands in the southwest corner. Motes of dust in the water glow from the ceiling light.
They do quickly check the coffer, and inside Nowhere finds 70gp, an ivory-handled dagger in a plain scabbard. Nowhere grabs the contents.
They quickly move on.
Similar to the previous room, the floor and walls of this room are tiled a medium gray, while the ceiling has white tiles. There is a table in the center of the room with a small bench beside it. A single four-inch-long shark tooth sits on the table. K'ronk grabs the shark tooth.
A seaweed bed covers the southeast corner. A coffer, its lid closed, stands in the southwest corner.
Immeral opens the coffer and the unlocked chest contain 40 gp and a silver hand mirror (15 gp) which he takes.
K'ronk finds a gold flask, and detecting it is magic, casts identify on it, and finds it contains three doses of healing potion. He adds this to his bag of holding. He also finds a leather harness with platinum buckles (worth 50gp).
They move on to the third door (area 36).
The floor and walls of this room are tiled a medium gray, while the ceiling has white tiles. There is a small table in the center of the room with a small, matching bench beside it.
A seaweed bed covers the southeast corner. A coffer, its lid closed, stands in the southwest corner.
Nowhere finds a hollow space by the bed contains a ceremonial dagger with a bone handle (25gp) and a canvas sack with 50pp and a gold bracelet with pearls (200gp).
K'ronk detects magic but finds nothing magic on the chest and opens it and finds 100 gp and six humanoid skulls with uncut chunks of turquoise forced into the eye sockets. These twelve pieces of turquoise are worth 10 gp each. K'ronk scoops them into the bag of holding.
They quickly move to the open doorway (to the east of area 36), the sound of chanting can be heard as they approach, and Atlas uses her elven cloak to remain stealthy and peek in.
This large room features walls and floor covered in gray tiles, the ceiling covered in white. Tiled pillars support the ceiling and run down the length of the area on either side of the center. An altar is built against the northern wall of this chamber. Its stone base is covered in carved shark eyes that stare out in all directions. The startlingly realistic eyes are inset with dark stones that reflect the chamber's dim blue illumination.
Glowing symbols and strange designs are engraved into the walls of this place, casting an eerie light throughout the chamber. Three chanting sahuagin dressed in ceremonial robes float near the altar, their arms raised toward the ceiling, which is some thirty feet above. The gory remains of unidentified creatures rest atop the altar; blood rises like smoke upward past the sahuagin. Two large and squirming sacks flank the altar.
A massive two-headed shark, its fins adorned with bands of pearl and gold, swims in circles above the altar. The sahuagin seem to be chanting to the sharks "Sekolah, sekolah, sekolah..."
Lorilla speaks through her breathing creature and can be barely heard by the others.
"We don't have time to waste, we have limited air and the captain likely has limited time. He could be dying! We have to find him."
Nowhere casts locate object on Barbarossa's shirt and determines he is below them and to the south.
"I think we still have to take the shark out." Seraphina says "We don't want it coming up behind us and I can inflict wounds if I can touch it."
As they position to move in, a sahuagin priestess opens a sack and brings out the squirming form of a sahuagin hatchling and lays it on the altar, cutting it open, killing it, and letting it bleed out, driving the shark into a frenzy as they chant more urgently... "Sekolah, sekolah, sekolah!"
Atlas casts haste and leads The League into the chamber using her amazing speed to swim up to the closest sahuagin priestess. She unleashes a flurry of blows on the surprised fish-creature.
Atlas batters the amphibian and presses the attack with another flurry of blows, but the second attack misses, but with her magically enhanced speed she fights on, hitting the sahuagin and driving it back and hitting her two more times, releasing green sahuagin blood in the water.
Seraphina swims in towards the shark which takes notice of her meager swimming and starts to descend.
Nowhere moves into the room, swimming close to the third sahuagin and slashing with the ceremonial dagger she found. That priestess starts screetching and bleeding.
Lorilla moves in and makes a petrifying gaze at one of the priestesses and the spell starts turning the fish-creature gray and she writhes in response to the paralyzing magic.
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K'ronk casts eldrich blast towards Atlas' opponent and hits it with a beam of crackling energy that hurts the priestess greatly, but it still breathes in water.
Dain swims into the room and throws a javelin at one of the priestesses, clipping them for some slight damage.
From a distance, Immeral casts chill touch at the one Atlas is battling, and that sahuagin passes out.
Lorilla's spell finishes turning the one priestess to stone, so there is only one remaining.
That sauhuagin casts spiritual weapon, creating a spectral trident, targeting Lorilla, but the gorgon dodges the attack. The priestess attacks her again, but misses.
The two-headed shark surges in and turns towards Seraphina. He bites her with one of his toothsome maws, tearing into her side. The second head bites at her, but she dodges out of the way.
Fighting the pain, Seraphina casts cause wounds and the shark's skin splits open, visciously bleeding into the waters at the top of the chamber.
Nowhere swings Icerazor but misjudges her attack underwater and fumbles against the teeth of the second shark head, gouging her arm, but she turns for a second attack and stabs into the monstrous shark. For the first time, since Nowhere has never fought underwater before, Icerazor crystalizes the water in the wound and appers to tear open the shark's skin even more.
K'ronk casts eldrich blast at the shark, hitting it from below, and the blast of force curls the shark up in pain and pushes it upward.
With the magical effect of the haste spell, Atlas jets up to the shark and unleashes a flurry of blows despite the disadvantage of fighting underwater, but still manages to batter the side of the shark with extra damage from her gauntlets of ogre power. She presses the attack and continues pummeling the shark for two more attacks, battering its organs.
Dain swims up under the shark, swinging his great axe Bloodstorm, but he misses with his first swing. He presses on and manages to gut the shark, entrails spilling out into the water.
Lorilla moves closer to the last Sahuagin priestesses and attempts to petrify it. It works, and the sahuagin quickly turns stone-like, incapacitated.
Immeral turns upward to the shark battle and casts ray of frost at the two-headed shark, blasting with a brutal ice attack which wounds it more. If not for The League having it surrounded it might have fled, but it twists towards Dain and misses, the wild attack biting its second head in a blood frenzy! The second attack does hit Dain, chomping down on the armored dwarf, driving teeth deep into him like daggers.
Nowhere swings Icerazor to hit the shark, and she mounts the creature and stabs into him twice, killing the beast, and it stops writhing and rolls over, floating to the top of the chamber.
K'ronk swims over and grabs the two pearl and gold bands hanging from the shark.
Lorilla states firmly. "We have to go, we need to find a way downstairs. This was a waste of time."
The League retreats down the long hallway beside the temple (area 37), back to the south, then west.
They reach a 'T' and head north, up a winding passage, and find a passage heading east, with an open room (area 40) just off the main corridor.
CAP
"We should move before the sharks come back." The lobster says
"Sharks, how many sharks?" asks Immeral.
"This a shark pen that I live in".
K'ronk's eyes wide. "They try to eat me so I have to hide a lot"
Atlas asks "did you see a man in a pirate hat any time recently?
"I did! They brought him right by here, brought him downstairs." says Sherm.
"Can you take us downstairs?" Nowhere asks
Sherm "Oh you don't want to go downstairs, a terrible monster lives downstairs."
"What kinds of monster?" Immeral questions.
"I don't know what to call it." replies Sherm
"What does it look like?" asks Immeral
"A terrible monster!" says Sherm "Biiiiiiiiiig and scary, kind of white-ish."
"Does it look like a squid." Immeral continues.
Sherm says "Sort of like a squid."
Atlas says "If you want to stay here, we'll come get you on the way back, but we're in a hurry."
Sherm replies "There are two big four-armed sahuagin that rule the fortress and they're scaaaaaaaary. There are so many sahuagin down the stairs, are you sure you want to go there?"
"Unfortunately we have to go. We have to save our captain." Nowhere replies.
Sherm says "I will help you if you will take me away from here and set me free in the ocean."
Nowhere says "We can do that Sherm."
Sherm then says "There might be a way for you to kill The Baron."
"Who is the Baron?" Nowhere asks.
"One of the big four-armed sahuagin. There is a secret passage nearby that he comes out of." Sherm says, crawling up on Nowhere, "It's right by the stairs", and he climbs over her shoulder and tucks in the top of her backpack - pointing a claw in the proper direction".
They jump back into the water, donning their air-producing creature, only having used a few minutes of time.
The League quickly finds the secret passage, a short hallway that connects to this "Barron's" chambers.
This room is tiled in a rich, deep green. The walls are frescoed with representations of marine plant life. A large seaweed bed fills the northwest corner. There is a spear propped against the wall in the southwest corner. In the center of the east wall hangs a mirror with a filigree metal frame. Below it is a large coffer, its lid closed.
Sherm communicates to Nowhere "The baron isn't here."
Immeral signals to the others "grab the spear."
Atlas goes for the coffer but finds it has a keyhole. She goes to try to pry it open and a large blade swings out. She fails to dodge and badly cuts her hand.
Nowhere tries her mystery key, but it does not open the coffer. They quickly consider what to do, knowing the clock is ticking on how much air they have.
The League ponders their situation, underwater, worn out, bleeding from their wounds, no place to rest, no way into Skullport without the Captain, and no way to save their urchins. Can they get down past the "many" sahuagin Sherm has told them about and save the Captain?
NEXT - CAMPAIGN JOURNAL 70 - THE FINAL ENEMY
This adventure used material from the D&D Module "Waterdeep: Dragon Heist".
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