Gobdalac

The day begins with you standing in the offices of the Better Homes and Dungeon's magazine. It's a bustling little place full of writers going to and fro on their business. The editor gives you a waxed map and several bottles of blue liquid. "The place is underwater, so you'll be wanting those. They're free of charge of course, we want you guys out there exploring this place. You'll even be able to talk, but don't dilly-dally they won't last forever and we don't have any more of them. There should be a spare there for each of you in case of emergencies... we were expecting a larger group."

In spite of his words he doesn't seem that worried about sending you off anyways, so you find yourselves aboard a ship headed to this underwater destination. It's actually a long trip out into the bay, so that by the time you reach your destination (which seems to be the middle of nowhere out in the ocean) it's night time. The ship captain looks at you doubtfully. "Are you sure you want off here? I mean, we's been paid to bring you out here and await your return but... this seems mighty odd to me."

"Captain, we are here for glory! There is adventure beneath these waves. Simply have food and drink ready for when we return and I shall regale everyone with the song and tale of our heroics." Soup announces as he begins feeding the potion to his mount after drinking his own. "No, drink. DRINK." The small Gnomish knight admonishes the Dire Corgi as he tugs on it's fluff and tries to get it hack down the liquid. "Mal! DRINK!"

_Adventurers truly do go everywhere_, Seldan reflects as he studies the blue bottles, but nods his understanding and tucks his share of the bottles in a belt pouch. "Very well, and I shall remember." He looks curiously at his few companions, closes his eyes briefly, and turns to leave.

Once aboard the ship, he lays aside the surcoat as too bulky, considers the armor but leaves it on, and waits for the others. "An underwater exploration, I think," he tells the captain. "We shall return quickly enough, and before these," he nods to the blue bottles, "wear off."

Faranmidahn now on deck with her big black spider, decked out in his Funday best, has pulled herself up to lean somewhat over the railing, gazing balefully at the water. She drops down to the deck and looks dubiously at Torrent, then, "This will be... different?" That said, she looks to her other stalwart companions. Oh yeah, it's that time. She takes a smallish clay bowl with what could be the stomach, or bladder of some creature stretched and bound around the top and approaches her spider, carefully pressing it against his fangs... to the desired effect. The spider drinks after a quick lunge to embed his fangs into the skin, and, with that done, the Lucht knight sets the bowl aside, quaffs her own potion, and wonders, "Is swimming hard?"

"Yes." Soup answers Faranmidahn as once Mal has drank, the little Knight sets about divesting himself and his mount of any extraneous weight. Musical instruments, tools, bedrolls and other gear and pouches are laid in a small pile where a sudden rain squall won't ruin them. Then the Corgi is lead to the side of the ship. "Now, we shall head forth to victory and most importantly, fame and payment." Soup says as he waves his small sabre in the air. "Until we meet agaaaa..." With a leap the Corgi happily lunges out into the water. Splooshing and quickly paddling around with it's master on its back.

"Pray for our safe return," Seldan tells the captain once he's watched the dire corgi go sailing cheerfully into the water, with something in his tone that suggests he's praying for himself. In the time he's been out on the ocean, he's already acquired the beginnings of a sunburn, but doesn't seem to have noticed. He quaffs the first bottle quickly and jumps over the side into the water, testing mobility.

One at a time you head underwater, and you quickly realize that it seems that the potions do a little bit more than simply offering you the ability to breathe underwater, as you sink further and further down into the bottom of the sea you realize that you are having no greater difficulty in seeing. Which is just as well since you are drifting quite far indeed from the boat itself. The map, which you have seems to suggest that you should head to the ocean floor so that you can use the landmarks there to get your bearings. It would after all be horribly easy to get lost down here…

GAME: Seldan rolls survival: (10)+2: 12
GAME: Soup rolls Survival: (6)+0: 6
GAME: Faranmidahn rolls survival: (12)+2: 14
GAME: Faranmidahn rolls perception: (8)+4: 12
GAME: Seldan rolls perception: (11)+2: 13
GAME: Soup rolls perception: (15)+7: 22

The little Knight floats down to the bottom, the Corgi paddling after. Soup had to dismount to get the Corgi to go down. As he reaches the bottom he remounts and pauses tilting his head. "Looks." The Gnome starts to say, stops, and then continues when he's sure he won't drown. "Looks like we may have company." The thin sharp lance is drawn free and pointed in the direction of two oncoming shapes with a third floating behind. "Looks like a shark and two walkers." Soup wheels the Corgi around. "Prepare for trouble! We shall try to parlay!"

"I doubt we will find parlay with a shark," Seldan says before thinking, then surprised that he isn't drowning, looking around him and where Soup is pointing. "But what is with them?" Instinctively, his hand goes to the sword at his hip, but in the water, using it may not be so easy as on land.

Faranmidahn, with significant nudges and knocks against the spider's carapace, manages to convince Torrent to swim down after Soup and Seldan, reaching the bottom in time for her senior's announcement. She readies her own lance, looking to Seldan, then to Soup, "The shark could be a familiar. Could be a druid? Druids do that, don't they?" She squints toward the approaching trio, then, "We're ready, Sir."

"I did mention I hate the water, right?" mutters Alaryn as she trudges along, her crazily modified Thunderbelcher, complete with force shielded powder tray and such... held in her hands, "Guys. If I reach for my death ray.." The staff in the back of her belt. "Stop me. I may forget not to fire off a lightning blast in the water. That could be bad." But she grins widely, her goggles down over her eyes because.. duh, underwater.

And the Thunderbelcher is lifted and aimed to track the shark. "I'll be honest." admits Alaryn. "That thing can be the A Number one familiar of the most famous druid or wizard ever. It sttacks us, I'm shooting it."

At sixty feet out, you can start to notice a few things. Mainly how /quickly/ they are moving. You know from sinking/swimming to the bottom of the ocean that you couldn't move but half as fast as they are. They seem... to have tails? Tails, and there's something unusual about them beyond the tails, but even with the potions sixty feet is a little distant to be getting the details down. You're fairly certain though, that they have fins on their faces also. The shark behind them is moving just as quickly.

GAME: Soup rolls Knowledge/Dungeoneering: (9)+8: 17

Lance aimed upwards the little Gnomeish Knight raises his free right hand. "Hail and well met denizens of the deep! We are adventurers of the, uh, adventurers guild. Here for adventure in exploring the dangerous." There's a pause from the Gnome as his right hand travels to his chin and strokes his water logged little beard. "Is it a dungeon if it's underwater?" He looks over the oncoming creatures, then carries on. "We wish no hostilities and mean no harm!"

Moving his hand away from his sword, Seldan waits to see if the parlay call bears fruit. Clearly, Soup has more idea of what is going on than he does, so he falls silent and watches.

Faranmidahn puts her lance up as Soup begins the niceties, looking around some before focusing on the natives. That's a question for the ages, isn't it? Hm. She flits a glance to either of her other companions, keeping track of where they are in relation to her in case it becomes hectic in the immediate future.

Everyone's putting away their weapons or whatnot. Not Alaryn. I mean she's not firing. But in the water, swinging that five foot rifle around is slow. She doesn't want to lose her aim and track. But she does lower the barrel so it's pointing under the potential targets. She also doesn't say a word. Soup's handling that.

GAME: Soup rolls Diplomacy: (4)+7: 11
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+4: (13)+4: 17
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+5: (14)+5: 19
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+4: (12)+4: 16
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d8+4: (7)+4: 11

In come the aquatic people. As if you've insulted their mothers they hiss at you, showing sharp teeth like those of the shark that is their companion. They strike with dangerous-looking claws and the shark actually grabs Alaryn around the middle and bites her, shaking its head a little. Little enough that it's master misses its swipe. The one that attack's Soup has no such excuse save the little man's armor which provides him much cover.

GAME: Faranmidahn spends ONE use of CHALLENGE +1.
GAME: Faranmidahn rolls weapon2+2: (19)+4+2: 25
GAME: Faranmidahn rolls 1d6+3: (2)+3: 5
GAME: Alaryn rolls weapon17+2: (7)+6+2: 15
GAME: Faranmidahn rolls 1d20+2: (16)+2: 18
GAME: Alaryn rolls 1d12+2: (8)+2: 10
GAME: Faranmidahn rolls 1d4: (1): 1
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+4: (7)+4: 11

Sharkbit?! SHARKBIT?! Alaryn gets snagged, but her armor prevents it from being worse than it is. Mithral stretch scales and such. When the shark finishes shaking her, she hits the bottom with her feet and pushes off... lifting her Thunderbelcher and even as she drifts back away, her hair flaring out in all directions... she says, "Boom." even as the weapon barks, and somehow propels the massive bullet into the beast. "Bite me will you?!" she calls out afterwards.

Seeing diplomacy dissipate into the currents of dischord, and subsequently, one of the walkers and his shark ganging up on her friend, Faran, spurs Torrent to action, "Varlot, face -me- if you dare!" With a skittering shift to one side, Torrent rears back to deliver a bite, as Faran twists in her saddle to gain thrust on her lance. Fang and lance are driven into the fishman almost in unison. Fierce!

GAME: Soup rolls weapon9+4: (5)+6+4: 15
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+4: (5)+4: 9
GAME: Soup rolls 2d6+3: (10)+3: 13
GAME: Seldan casts Magic Missile. Caster Level: 2 DC: 14
GAME: Seldan rolls 1d4+1: (1)+1: 2
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+5: (2)+5: 7
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+5: (4)+5: 9

So much for parlay. That's about what Seldan expected, so once he's got his wits collected, he turns to look at the second walker that Soup left behind. Shouting a few words in the arcane, he stabs a finger at the second walker, and a bolt of blue-white fire bursts from the fingertip and slams into the fish-thing. It doesn't do much besides get its attention, but perhaps that is enough ...

There's a cry from Soup as he uses his shield to ward off his attacker. "WAH HAAAAEY!" Then despite the impossibility of a small Gnomish knight astride a Dire Corgi charging beneath the water. The little armored duo does so. The wide heart shaped Corgi butt swinging around and whalloping their attacker off balance. Mount and Knight drive forward with the sharp lance at the ready. With a meaty thunk it drives into the shark's side. Making the creature spasm, twitch, and once the lance slides free, roll over and begin floating to the surface. "Ha-HAH!" Soup cries as he rides off on the Corgi, already beginning his wide turn to come back.

Frothing water now the eyes of the two people go red and they rush to attack. The firt one furiously waves its sharpened claws at Torrent, trying to deshell the arachnid for eating to little avail. That carapace is harder than it looks. Meanwhile the second takes great offense to Seldan's attack and flings itself across the short intervening distance and attacks him viciously... but not very accurately.

GAME: Faranmidahn rolls 1d20+2: (17)+2: 19
GAME: Faranmidahn rolls 1d4+1: (1)+1: 2
GAME: Faranmidahn rolls weapon2+2: (17)+4+2: 23
GAME: Faranmidahn rolls 1d6+3: (6)+3: 9
GAME: Alaryn rolls weapon17+3: (15)+6+3: 24
GAME: Alaryn rolls 1d12+2: (10)+2: 12

Seeing Soup finish the shark, Alaryn grins, "Good job Malfeasance!" she calls out, hoping to hear the Corgi's menacing bark of doom. Then she cocks her head, snaps her fingers... causing her weapon to instantly reload. Then she turns and takes quick aim before another round slams into the enemy.

Attack Torrent, will he!?? The spider evades the swipe, and edges slightly back until Faran's foot double taps his shell, and he rears more fully back from the foe, whilst the little Lucht, her hair writhing about her in the currents, prepares for her own synchronized thrust. In a flurry, like a trapdoor spider seizing prey, Torrent surges fangfirst into the fishman, pulling him downward some in time for Faran's lance tip to enter between neck and shoulder and still the vital workings of nature within. The little woman yanks the lance free as she feels the body slacken and she wonders....

GAME: Soup rolls weapon9+4: (15)+6+4: 25
GAME: Soup rolls 2d6+3: (5)+3: 8

The Dire Corgi yips happily as it's name is called. Which undoubtedly sounds weird in the dark deep waters. The duo come charging back like a two headed monstrous fuzzy gnomething. The sharp lance lowered and aimed. As they dart into the combat the lance embeds itself in the back of the remaining creature's skull and dimples outwards it's forehead. The nature of the underwater battle letting Soup and Mal carry the still spasming creature off a few yards before they slow enough to let the Corgi smack the creature off Soup's lance with its forepaws. "Well that was interesting. Perhaps I didn't speak their language? Usually my oratory skills are impeccable!"

The wild flailing of angry fish-man makes Seldan look positively nimble as he dodges out of the way of angry claws, but before he can even go for his blade to defend himself, a blast and a lance later and it lies dead on the ocean floor. He straightens instead, and looks around at the others. "That was not successful. Is everyone all right?"

Well that she fed Torrent before they left, to the stablemaster's chagrin. Something about the arachnid's diet spooks the shoes off the other mounts. Anyway, Faranmidahn steers the spider away from needless calories to reform their little group, "We're fine, I have a potion if anyone's hurt?" She assures the senior Knight, "Some things cannot be helped, Sir Knight, alas, they may otherwise well have seen reason and surrendered, otherwise."

"I am fine! Nice bit of exercise." Soup watches the shark continue to float away upwards. Then turns back to the team. "Well lets see. What if I made some lights and spread them out, then we swim up a bit to get our bearings?" He motions with his lance point. "Four lights, out a bit from here with the anchor?" The Gnome looks around then turns back towards Faranmidahn. "Quite right, survivors would have been nice. Sometimes I forget my own lethal skill." He leans forward and gives the soggy fluff ball a scratch between its ears. "I have potions as well, and a few spells if there are injuries."

"I can also aid anyone who is hurt." Seldan nods agreement, then looks around. "I do not think them inclined to do anything other than eat us, and I am not minded to be eaten. All the same, we must now find our way. I can also make light."

Faranmidahn fidgets a little, which makes Torrent sidestep a bit (he's still training) and the Lucht hopes her helmet hides the blush as she is suddenly the only one without a light spell.

Your plan, after some discussion is to set up lights along the bottom of the ocean and use them to look for similarities in the map. You find them along the second axis to the anchor though... given that you're underwater you're not sure which actual direction it is. Thankfully that doesn't matter. Now that you know where you are in relation to the map all you need do is follow it. And for a change of pace it's not even that difficult. Now that you've found them the markings are easy to recognize and all of them are exactly where they are supposed to be.

You're headed down constantly. Down and down further into the water. Really the only problem you face now is that it's getting cold. Really cold, and that's one thing that it seems that your potions aren't prepared for. The soft current blows into your faces, bringing that chilly water directly to you. You really have no choice but to keep going.

Ahead you begin to make out a shape, down the slope a bit further you can see the beginnings of huge ruins. Buildings so tall that they dwarf those back in Alexandria. The largest building there would have fit comfortably inside the smallest building below you. Carvings of men and women line the streets. All of them massive in size. Every step you take is a little bit colder, and a little bit colder. And there's a noise growing. A rumbling deep, base noise that comes and goes from the direction you're headed.

-TBC