GoSR-Session 9: Battle in the Waterlock

The party stepped forward from the dark and dangers of the catacombs into a large, dimly lit chamber. Massive roots, glowing faintly green descended from the domed ceiling and illuminated a sward of fresh grass, well tended topiaries, and numerous grave markers. At it's center stood a ruined mausoleum, and the party caught a glimpse of movement as a strangely skeletal figure darted away from sight.
The party proceeded carefully as not to antagonize the hiding creature, and called out to it. After a moment, a clear feminine voice answered. Demanding to know what they were doing in Her home, and accusing them of being grave robbers working for the Wizard Keledeck.
The party assured that while they had met with the Wizard, they were themselves suspicious of him and that they were not his allies. In fact they were more interested to know the truth of this place and what Keledeck was up to. Their works managed to sway the illusive creature, and she cautiously came out from hiding.
The adventurers were surprised to see a skeleton dressed in a diaphanous black gown step gracefully forward. The creature introduced herself as Curdle, a grave nymph bound to the great tree whose roots grew deep into this ancient burial place. She told the party about how Keledeck and his hired muscle had been looting her catacombs for treasures and dragging away bodies for months. She suspected that the wizard was using them for some kind of arcane research and that the defilement of her home had caused her much greif. Most painful of all, the wizard had stolen the remains of Zenopus. The wizard who had built the original tower above, and Curdle's long lost love. Curdle suspected that Keledeck must have a secret place somewhere to do his experiments, and that the stolen remains must be there. She had also overheard some of the looters mentioning that their Leader, one Captain Kindly, might know how to acces this secret room. As the dungeon's longest living inhabitant, Curdle knew much about this place. It's traps, reasures, and history. She offered to tell the party all that she knew is echange for them finding and returning her beloved's remains.
The party agreed, and Curdle gifted them a scroll of Speak with Dead. Following the tracks throught the grave dust that they had found before they tracked the grave robbers back out of the cattacombs and into great well again. Working the statue mechanisms, they opend the path that Keledeck told them lead down into the sea caves and the smuggler's lair.
Molly and BowBow went ahead to scout. Stealthikly descending the dimly lit stairs they found a chamber with a roughly constructed barricade and three rough looking figures playing cards around a table. They were gruffly complainign about their hunger and accusing each other of cheating, but in a bored and resigned tone. A door beyond them seemed to lead further, so Bowbow cast a fog cloud to provide a distraction and Molly darted across the room, passing the sentries unnoticed.
Molly found herself in a large chamber containing a large water lock mechanism. The lock was dry and a large dorry rested on the floor. Numerous armed and grumbling figures sat or lay around on the other side of the lock. Molly overeard one, adressed as the first mate, mentioning that if their ship didn't return soon then they'd have to send someone after Captain Kindly. The other pirate responded with a grim look.
Molly descided that she wanted to ingratiate herself with these smugglers to get more information. Sneaking to the far end of the chamber where a large flooded cave lead away into darkness, she decided that she would act the role of a ship wreck survivor to trick the smugglers. Silently she lowered herself into the water and swam out into the cavern. She inteded to then swim loudly back, calling for help, and gasping for air. But before she could begin her act, a great dark shape moved through the water below her, and she caught sight of two massive tentacles reaching for her. Molly suddenly found that acting distressed came naturally, and she let out a yelp as she frantically swam back towards the pirates and dry land.
The pirates jumped to action, the first mate shouting that the beast was back! One man pulled Molly out of the water as a huge and tentacled monster rose from the depths of the sea cave. A giant octopus!. Back near the entrance, BowBow saw the three sentries grrab their weapons and charge away towards the commotion. Bowbow silently followed and magically sent a message back to Oceanus, Grey, and Valignus who charged down the stairs to assist.
Molly and the pirates struggled agaisnt the beast. It grabbed a pirate and dragged him screaming below the waves. The others opened fire with crossbows, and an orc bashed the creature mightly with a huge club. The thing screeched and bleed, but continued it's attack until Bowbow rushed forward a flung a catalyst. The vial shattered on the massive creature, and it suddenly shrank in size. The pirates took this oppertunity and fired into the weakend creature many biting bolts. Injured and confused, the not-so giant octopus managed to grab one more unfortunate smuggler and dive away into the dark of the sea cave.
Catching their breath, the first mate turned to appraise Molly and Bowbow who had appeared out of nowhere in the commotion. Molly claimed them to be the survivors of a longboat that had crashed outside of the cave, and that her main ship was anchored just out in the bay. That her crew would thank the smugglers all generously if they could contact or return them to their ship.
First Mate Cord told them that his men had been stranded here for over a week now. ever since their captain had gone to work the mechanism that controlled the water lock and hadn't come back. He said that none of his men really understood how to use the mechanism, but if Molly and Bowbow could figure it out then they could get a ride out of here with the rest of them.
Molly and Bowbow didn't like the cold grin Cord gave them as he hand his men surrounded the two. The large orc pirate nudged them with a heavy crossbow and inticated a shoddily barricaded doorway across the chamber. The pirates dragged the debris asside to reveal a iron bar door with a pitch black chamber beyond. They unlocked and opend the way with a screech of hinges and shoved the two adventurers forward. A terrible acrid smell assaulted their senses, and as the pirates slammed the door behind them Bowbow turned and cast splash of acid at them. The spell splashed through the bars with a his, but the cruel smugglers simply retreated with a laugh and called out that they'd let the two out after they activated the water lock.
Turnign to inspect the room, they found a smaller chamber. The far wall sported numerous pipes, valves, and several large levers. On the floor were three corpses, half disollved into pools of acrid yellow liquid. With dread Molly crossed the room to the inspect the levers. The first one pulled seemed broken, rattling in it's housing ineffectually. But the next did the trick. A great grinding of stone and hissing of steam fileld the room. Out in the main chamber the pirates cheered as the outer lock doors ground open, letting the lock fill with water and letting them board their small ship. Molly and Bowbow rushed to the bars and called out to be released, but the pirates simply laughed. As the two banged on the iron and shouted, a sound came to their ears that sent a chill up their spines.
A rustling, clicking, flappig sound echoed off the chamber walls. It started quieted and grew swiftly in volume. Turning and looking up in horror Molly and Bowbow suddenly foudn themselves engulfed in a roiling swarm of batlike creatures. Swooping out of the darkness to screech and spit. Bowbow splashed acid at one of the creatures, but the dripping lizardlike thing seemed unaffected, and as Molly struck one down with her blade it burst, raining caustic yellow bile down on the two, burning their skin and stinking their eyes.
Using his magic to see this desperate situation through Molly's eyes, Oceanus lead Grey and Valignis in a charge down into the waterlock chamber to rescue their companions. As they rushed in they saw the pirates pushing off in their dorry boat. And as they set sail they laughed and jeered at the trapped adveturers still behind the iron bars, leaving them to their fates. The brutish orc pirate saw the three onrushing adventuerers and grinned as he raised the key they needed to taunt them. With a cackle he tossed the key into the depths of the sea cave, but before it could touch the water, Silver swooped in like a blur and caught it and Grey raised his bow and struck the smirking orc a vicous blow with an arrow through the upper thigh.
Oceanus snatched up the key from Silver and rushed to release BowBow and Molly. Grey shot another arrow into the orc's other leg befor he had hit the ground, and Valignus charged forward to bind the wounded enemy. The rest of the pirates had taken up their oars and were making their escape through the flooded cavern.
Molly and Bowbow were desperately fighting for their lives in the acid splashed chamber, each vile winged thing they struck down seemed to explode in a shower of buring pain. They were pressed back into the doorway, coverign their faces to protect from the rain of acid. Oceanus quickly turned the key and swung the doors open, reaching out he grabbed his two companions and pulled them out, turning to block the assault with his own body. The screams of pain and scent of fresh blood drove the dripping swarm into a frenzy and they dove in a mass to get through the doorway to their new prey. Seveal of the thigns tore into Oceanus, scrathcing and biting before their fragile bodies suddenly swelled up and burst, drenching the elf their acidic fluids. With a scream Oceanus went into shock and collapsed.
Molly and Bowbow grabbed their downed companion and dragged him away fromt he writhing swarm as it flooded into the chamber. Steeling themselves and with them all together again, they struck down the swarming things with arrow blade and spell. As their numbers dwindled, Valignis charged forward and blasted the swarm with a wave of thunderous force. Many of the things burst with a buzzing whine and the remaining stragglers winged away out through a vent near the chamber's ceiling.
Finally able to rest a mmment in relative safety, the party tended their wounds and serched the chambers for treasure and the information they had been seeking. Questioning the orc captive they learned that their crew had been working for keledek to smuggle in arcane ingridients and research materials, but there had been a falling out between Captain Kindly and the wizard. That day they were to depart, but Kindy was attacked by the same swarm of creatures, called Meltwings and killed.
Searching through the loot and personal items the pirates had left behind the party found an odd coin of blue metal engraved with a feather motif. They also found the abandonded ledger of on First Mate Cord. Reading thorugh the journal entries they  discovered two interesting clues. Firstly that the smugglers were under employ of someone with the initials GP, who brokered the deals with Keledeck. Secondly they found the password to Keledecks lair. EX NIHILO NIHIL FIT, an Ademnian phrase meaning "Nothing Comes from Nothing".
Having gained the information they were searching for, the party bunked down in the makeshift pirate's quarters and got some much needed rest.