Ruins of Azlant IC

[Farmerbink]

As the party sets up camp, Jessica finds herself distracted, watching the fey creature watch them. She's a little sad, but waves happily as the creature flits away into the deepening darkness. She uses the dim glow from their fire to journal a little bit, inspired by their interactions earlier in the evening. Before it gets too late, she snuggles down into her bedroll to sleep until her watch.

The next morning, she's visibly disappointed. "I hoped our little friend would have returned," she offers when prompted. "She was beautiful in her- well, if the bird thing was her natural form. At any rate, I found her cute to watch and funny to interact with. It's a nice reminder of what we're fighting for- it's more than just survival or pitting ourselves against the wilds. There's beauty out here, and it's worth defending."

Her little declaration seems to make Jessica feel better, and goes a long way to quelling the apprehension she's been carrying around of late. She leaves a lot of her gear at the campsite, notably her bedroll, various care kits, and cooking kit. "That sounds reasonable to me," she acknowledges to Laurelata. "Just keep your eyes open while you're up here alone. Maybe leave the rope, too?"

When her turn comes, Jessica demonstrates her athleticism. Despite her vocation, her arms are undeniably better developed than most, and she has no difficulty lowering herself down the incline- using the rope to brace.

[DarkOne-Rob]

Henri spends the night quietly. In the morning he waits until the final decision is made on how they will descend. He braces himself to lower Laurelata down and be ready to pull her back up quickly, if needed.

[u-b]

You decide to go over the rock instead of swimming. As you make your way to the top, you see some seagulls flying above the sea, occasionally diving down into the gently rolling waters to catch some small fish. You also see another seagull, that is not flying and not fishing and stays ontop the same volcanic rock that presumably houses the cave. That one seagull looks mostly at you, but occasionally also glances at the waters below. When you approach, the seagull departs from the rock and after making a few circles lands on Jessica's shoulder. You have the impression you know this "seagull".

Spoiler

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You can try to interact with the seagull in whatever manner you see fit, but I'll speed the things up by saying that no particularly notable consequences will come out of it, so you then follow with your plan. At best, you can have it babble at you.

You lower a rope down towards what seems to be a cave entrance. Laurelata descends first. She is shoulder-deep in the water near the rock and sees that it is much deeper even one step further away. Laurelata sees a grindylow in the cave. The grindylow is completely submerged and seems to have noticed her too.

Spoiler

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Laurelata's choice of having the bow not with her, with her held in hand or with her wet. She probably could shoot it at above-water targets without it getting wet, but finding such targets now would be another matter.

Laurelate init: (1d20+9)[22]
Grindylow init: (1d20+2)[11]

Disregard the compass. I have not paid attention and
always read the cave facing west, so west-facing it is.

The rest have 30 feet to climb down the rope (or jump, or whatever). The water east of Laurelata is difficult terrain and grants cover as appropriate. The same is true about a narrow strip running north to south along the rock. The water to the west is too deep to walk and calm enough to swim.

=> Laurelata

[farothel]

Laurelata had been a bit nervous about going first, but it was the best option. She could defend herself and Henri was the better climber, even with all his bulk and his armour. She had opted to keep her bow with her and when she was almost down she noticed that it would get wet if she kept it as she had, slung over her back. So right before she would go into the water she took it in one hand, called up so the others knew it and moved on, dropping/slipping into the water from right above. Luckily the water was clear so she could see the bottom.

Quickly she spotted the grindylow, so she moved to the nearest dry location where she could move better than the critter (or at least where she wouldn't be at an enormous disadvantage). There she readied her bow and looked at the critter.
"I'm down, there's a guard and we've been spotted," she called up. As long as the grindylow didn't move, neither would she. She would keep her eyes and ears open and check that grindylow and any others that might be lurking about.

Spoiler: OOC actions

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move: to the nearest dry land where she can stand (or at least not deeper than the knee in the water)
ready action: shoot at the grindylow if it comes towards her (and above the water) or if it moves away (and she can hit it without the arrow losing too much speed in the water).

[u-b]

It was not too easy to climb the rock back up with just one hand, but Laurelata grabbed the rope, Henri gave it a pull, and very shortly Laurelata finds herself a narrow "step" where she could stand overlooking the cave entrance. She could not see any distance inside, but anyone trying to exit would be readily targeted.

[farothel]

As she couldn't see into the cave, she put her bow away (she couldn't use it at the moment anyway and as long as she stayed on dry land, it would stay dry) and moved back into the cave where she could see what was going on. She didn't take any weapons for now, but had her hand on her rapier to take it quickly should there be a need. But until there was a need, she wanted to keep both hands free to climb and hold on.

[u-b]

The cave has no artifical illumination and natural illumination is limited to the light going in through the entrance, but keen eleven senses allow Laurelata see the movement of one grindylow retreating deep into the cave. The gringylow soon moves into the area of total internal reflection, and thus out of view, but then Laurelata sees another grindylow peeking at her from behind the cave wall and trying, not quite successfully, to remain unseen.

Spoiler

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AX22..23 and east of BB19.

[DarkOne-Rob]

Henri silently supports Laurelata with the rope, pulling at the pre-ordained signals and holding steady in the meantime. His strength and endurance seem to be holding steady, for now. "Can anyone see what is happening? Any grindylows?" he asks, his voice betraying only the slightest difficulty with his burden.

[DaOldeWolf]

"Lightburn, can you see anything?" Hewitt replies hoping from its partner with great eyesight to be able to inform the details. "Should I go after her?" Lightburn asks looking expectantly at his teammates. "Actually, use your magic, Lightburn!" Lightburn nods in agreement as he creates 4 orbs of lights and sends them after Laurelata to illuminate the area.

Spoiler: OOC

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Lightburn is using its Sp. abiity to cast dancing lights and send them as close as possible to Laurelata.

[SanguinePenguin]

"How deep is it?" Taz asks wondering if diving would be worth it. Still, she grabs the rope and follows Laurelata down.

Spoiler

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Take 10 since combat hasn't really started

[Farmerbink]

Jessica waits a bit nervously as Laurelata descends. As soon as Taz clears the top of the rope, she heads down behind. "Can't see yet, but I'll let you know," she whispers to Henri.

Painfully aware that she's not very sneaky, Jessica doesn't even bother trying to hide. She makes her way into the water and draws her glaive. From the bottom of the rope, she nods to Laurelata and just waits for the rest of their party to join them.

[farothel]

"We've been spotted and they are watching us," Lauralata said to Henri, "well, mostly me for now. Move as quickly as possible so we can get in before they can get organised too much."

[u-b]

From his position ontop of the rock, Lightburn cannot illuminate the depths of the cave and the entrance is well illuminated anyway. Tazmara climbs down the rope, quickly finding that the depth near the rock is just over her head, and it was even deeper even one step further away. Jessica follows down too. As soon as she is about to grab the rope, the seagull takes off her shoulder, makes a circle above the group and lands on Laurelata's head. Then it appears to peek into the cave. "Duk wani kara niƙai?" Meanwhile, Jessica climbs all the way down and finds the water deep enough to limit most sorts of movement, but not not deep enough to limit slowly wading in it. Now the only ones ontop of the rock were Henri, Hewitt and Lightburn. It was about the time to decide whether, and how, you will get Lightburn down. The grindylows seem to be giving you time, the only one remaining looking straight at Laurelata and seemingly somewhat afraid. Still, it was not clear how much time they were giving you.

[DarkOne-Rob]

Henri looks at Lightburn with an expression that can only mean he is waiting on the outsider to either ask for help or climb down on its own. Once he is alone at the top he secures the rope to something firm nearby and climbs down, his strong grip making up for the clumsiness imposed on him by his bum leg.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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The "bum leg" is referring to the effects of his Oracle Curse. It doesn't really impact climbing mechanically. Climb is at +5, so I don't think he can fail this check, but just in case: (1d20+5)[24]. Once at the bottom he will draw his axe and move towards the front of the party, between the squishier PCs and the grindylows.

[u-b]

Using the rope is not as straightforward for a quadruped without fine manipulators as it is for humanoids with their handy hands and opposable thumbs. Lightburn could hold the rope with his teeth, but actually climbing it would still be problematic. So, ultimately, Henri had to tie the rope around the eidolon's torso and haul him down. Hewitt and Henri followed. Down at the sea level, the party extends along the rock quite a bit, lacking the way to assume a more compact formation outside of the cave. Henri makes his way to the front. Armed. He sees a grindylow retreating into the depths of the cave.

Spoiler

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Laurelata sees that too. That is the second retreating grindylow so far, and you haven't seen more.

[farothel]

"I think they know we're here," Laurelata remarked, "and unless we get some dry ground quickly, I'm not going to be able to do much with my bow. Bowstrings don't like getting wet. But let's move on. Maybe Taz can go first here. You're the best in the water and you see in total darkness."

[DarkOne-Rob]

"Time to move. No mercy to these, right?" asks Henri as he steps deliberately towards the grundylow tunnels, intent to follow the retreating monsters and remove the threat they represent.

[Farmerbink]

Jessica frowns at Henri's question, but doesn't contradict him. She glances into the mouth of the cave, obviously struggling with her thoughts. "I'm starting to think this is bigger than us," she mutters. "What is going on, on this island?" Her posture suggests that she's not expecting an answer. Instead, she glances to Taz and nods her support.

"We're right behind you."

[SanguinePenguin]

Taz nods, "alright," she states with more confidence than she feels. "I am worried about traps though. Goblins pull tricks like this, and these are basically goblins. They lure you in and then BAM the traps go off. Keep your eyes out." Taz walks forward slowly, her darkvision aiding her scan for any trip wires or pressure plates - she doesn't really know much about traps, but she is more focused on the dangers of what she thinks traps are like than on the grindylows ahead.

Spoiler

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Perception: (1d20+6)[19]

[u-b]

You advance into the cave. It becomes progressively darker the more you move inside as there is no artifical illumination. The depth remains constant, though, at about five feet, and there is enough space above it to move freely. You stop where the cave splits in two, one way leading narrowly east and one way leading to a wider area south. You see grindylows both ways. They seem to be waiting for you.

Spoiler

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The seagull keeps sitting on Laurelata's head.

Perception 15 to spot the grindylows for those without fancy vision, and they will have concealment from you because of insufficient illumination.
I want to know how these people are traveling in 5-feet-deep water:

1. Tazmara
2. Hewitt
3. Lightburn

=> Party

[Farmerbink]

As soon as the cave's dimness becomes an issue, Jessica speaks up. "Give me just a moment," she requests. Assuming enough time, she invokes a simple incantation to make her glaive a source of light. "That's a bit better," she murmurs- almost more of a complaint.

Still, when Taz moves out again, Jessica dutifully follows a few paces behind. At the intersection, she looks to both sides uneasily. "Um. Any ideas?"

[DarkOne-Rob]

"Thanks for the light. Don't want to get surrounded, have to clear out one path or the other. Can anyone see a dead end?" says Henri quietly. He carefully puts his axe away in the deep water, drawing a bec de corbin instead. "Good bottleneck here. I can hold the left path while you all check the right. Can anyone else light up weapons like Jessica? Give me one and go." he continues as he glares at the lone grindylow down the left path.

[farothel]

Laurelata had put her bow away, as it was impossible to fire in the water. She had taken her rapier, hoping that trusting would limit the issues with the water.
"Okay, but don't go too far," she said, before slowly moving towards the larger cave the the grindylows she could see there.
"Let's try to flank one so it has to divide its attention," she said to the others, "that way it will go easier. We can do that for both of them and bonus points if we can draw them onto the rocks."
She would check for any traps, as much as possible underwater, but also above the water (like 'accidental' cave-ins).

Spoiler: OOC

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I assume the rocks in cave F3 are climable?

So plan is for Henri to hold everything coming out of F2 while the rest takes care of F3.

perception for traps: (1d20+9)[22] (if there's any penalties, just substract from the final result here).

[DaOldeWolf]

I want to know how these people are traveling in 5-feet-deep water:

1. Tazmara
2. Hewitt
3. Lightburn[/SPOILER]
=> Party

Spoiler: OOC

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I suppose normally which I assume means difficult terrain, right?
Also, is the dancing lights still active. Asking because I am not sure if your description says if its working.

Hewitt and Lightburn try their best to stay with the group. "We should try to stay together. We dont want to get dragged into trouble, literally." Hewiit warns the others. Lightburn seems to be pretty comfortable, even while staring at darkness. "I can see in the dark. I will gladly go on the front."

[u-b]

The water is too deep for Hewitt and Lightburn to just wade through it, so they have to swim. Lightburn does ie easily. Hewitt... well, the water is calm enough for him to swim without the risk of drowning, but he still prefers to keep a hold of Lightburn to have the other hand free. The group leaves Henri guard the passage leading east and advances to take care of two grindylows in the southern area. The seagull takes off Laurelata's head and flies to a rock protruding from the water to the south. "Chigayo! Chigayo! Chigayo! Chigayo! Chigayo!" it says, not very seagully, turning its head in various directions. As it does so, two more grindylows emerge from the western end of the cave and one more from behind the rock the seagull has landed on. All five grindylows attack with their spears. The group's lack of experience with fighting underwater means you have trouble defending against the incoming stabs and all four attacks hit! Laurelata is stabbed in both legs for 7 and 2 damage. Tazmara is stabbed in the chest for 7 and 6 damage. The situation suddenly looks much more serious than it initially appeared!

Spoiler

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No traps seem to be present on your way, but you have other issues...
Spear charge (1d20+4)[18] for (1d6+1)[7] vs Laurelata
Spear (1d20+2)[19] for (1d6+1)[2] vs Laurelata
Spear (1d20+2)[19] for (1d6+1)[7] vs Tazmara
Spear (1d20+2)[21] for (1d6+1)[6] vs Tazmara

=> Party

[farothel]

Laurelata was surprised when suddenly more grindylows appeared and even more when they managed to stab her. Stupid water which made her sluggish. But she recovered quickly and made that she moved away to catch her breath.
"Ambush," she shouted after her scream when she was hit, "over here."
There was no need for stealth anymore. The enemy clearly knew that they were here.

Spoiler: OOC actions and rolls

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Full round action to witdraw without AoO
attack BI23 (the one right next to me and closest to the entrance): (1d20+4)[7] for damage: (1d6)[6]

[DarkOne-Rob]

Spoiler: Round 1, Henri's Status

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Henri (no last name)
Male True Neutral Half-Orc Ranger (Wild Stalker), Level 2, Init 1, HP 18/22, Speed 20 ft
AC 17, Touch 11, Flat-footed 16, CMD 17, Fort 7, Ref 6, Will 4, CMB +6, Base Attack Bonus 2
Bec de Corbin +5 (1d10+6, 20/x3)
Breastplate (+6 Armor, +1 Dex)
Abilities Str 18, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 7
Condition Power Attack

"I can't get there in the water - I'm too slow! Hold the line and retreat if you need!" says Henri, louder than usual so his words are heard over the splashing water. "I'll strike at any of them that get close enough!"

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Henri can move into the narrow spot between BE-BG/21, but won't unless the others make room so that they won't get hit from behind.

He will activate Power Attack and ready an action to attack any grindylows that get into range: Bec de Corbin (1d20+5)[8] to hit, (1d20+5)[16] (20/x3), (1d10+6)[7] piercing damage, (2d10+12)[19] critical strike damage

[Farmerbink]

Typically used to being a more metaphorical source of light, Jessica isn't really ready for the onslaught when it comes. "I've got you! Hold on!" she calls, as much hopeful as objectively true. She steps back to trade places with Lightburn, channeling energy.

Spoiler: Jessica, Round 1

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Jessica Cooper
F NG Aasimar (Angel-blooded) Cleric, Level 2, Init 2, HP 0/14, DR Acid, Cold, Elec resist 5, Speed
AC 11, Touch 11, Flat-footed 10, CMD 14, Fort 4, Ref 1, Will 5, CMB +2, Base Attack Bonus 1
Glaive +3 (1d10+3, x3)
Dagger +3/+2 (1d4+1, 19-20,x2)
Abilities Str 14, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 16
Condition +2 CL for divination spells
Augery 2/2 (weekly)
Inner beauty: 1/1
Alter self: 1/1
Channel energy: 7/8, 1d6
Touch of good: 5/5
Bit of Luck: 5/5
Talisman of good fortune: reroll natural 1 (once, then it crumbles)
Bless: 1/1
Protection from Evil: 1/1
Unprepared slots: 1

Channel energy for: (1d6)[1]
5-foot step backwards to trade places with Lightburn

Glaive at the ready for possible AoO?

[DaOldeWolf]

Hewitt and Lightburn nods at each other as they each make their move. "Go and help them fight." Hewitt casts a spell that seemingly covers Lightburn in a barrier. Lightburn then swims his way to the enemies.

Spoiler: OOC

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Hewitt casts Protection from Evil
Lightburn will move to BF 22

[SanguinePenguin]

The masterfully delivered sudden stab wounds in her chest were more than Taz expected. The two grindylows in the bay were certainly dangerous, but not this dangerous. Her blood began to stream in jets around her filling the water. She could try to retreat, but her allies were obstructing her escape. There were a lot of them, Taz was hardier than most, but she wouldn't last more than a few seconds here, and she knew it. To her side, Laurelata also seemed to be in a bad way. She was going to die here - in a cave eaten by squid-goblins - a twisted parallel to the death of Goran and the very life she left behind in the mines. This was the end.

Jessica's healing, though slight, snapped her out of her dread. It was luck - it HAD to be luck. No goblins without crowns on could be so dangerous. In an instant, her uncontrolled terror switched to uncontrolled rage. The currents around her began to flow erratically as she channeled the source, her blood and Laurelata's dispersing rapidly. She waved her pick menancingly and then searched for an opportunity to blast the squiblin with all her might.

Spoiler: Taz, Round 1

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Move: Gather power
Standard: cast defensively, pushing infusion on BF24
Concentration: (1d20+6)[25] (15+ 2 x sp lvl) or spell-like fizzles
Attack: (1d20+5)[20] (+1 vs abberations)
Damage: (1d6+6)[12]
Swift: if hits, 5ft step to BF24

Spoiler: Taz stats

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Tazmara Stonesong
F NG Dwarf Kineticist (Aquakineticist), Level 2, Init 2, HP 11/23, DR Cold/pressure - 1, Speed 20 / 20 (swim)
AC 15, Touch 12, Flat-footed 13, CMD 14, Fort 7, Ref 6, Will 1, CMB +2, Base Attack Bonus 1
PBS Water Blast +4 (1d6+6, x2)
Dagger +2 (+3 thrown) (1d4+2, 19-20/x2)
Heavy Pick +2 (1d6+1, x4)
Studded Leather (+3 Armor, +2 Dex)
Abilities Str 12, Dex 14, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8
Condition Having a swim speed grants a +8 bonus on some swim checks (most others are not needed)