Winter 29, 6840 CA
Skyhorn Lighthouse
The group barely has time to react as two humanoid figures emerge from the ocean and race towards the ship. The impact rocks the boat and most of the party and the crew find themselves knocked on their back, save for the two Swashbucklers Arturo and Zed. As the Captain and her crew tries to bring the ship into port, the party struggle against two water Elementals that close in on the party. At one point, Wally is absorbed into a Water Elemental and given his second bath in a single week. Zed and Yuri have an easy time dealing damage thanks to their magical weapons, while Valia is forced to resort to magic for the same effect and Ursa is left with sad memories of that time she also had a magic sword. Ursa soon suffers the same fate of being swallowed by a Water Elemental, but is able to use her Echo to destroy the Water Elemental from outside and free herself. The group are winded after the battle and opt to spend an hour on the ship before heading towards the lighthouse.
Afterwards, the party departs with Arturo and Captain Cynthia up towards the lighthouse. It's a small island without much exploration to be done, though it is obvious that the door to the gatehouse has been ripped open by clawed hands. The strange webbed footprint that Wally finds gives the party an impending feeling of doom as they imagine the horrors of what sort of duck could have made it. The only ways into the lighthouse are the front entrance and some windows that are a good forty feet off the ground.
Fishy Fracas
The front door isn't locked, but it does appear to be barricaded. Ursa gives it her best effort but it doesn't budge. With the help of Valia, the two give it a second go and are able to shove the door open. They are immediately greeted by the faces of a half dozen Sahuagin who had been preparing for them after hearing the commotion outside. A quick brawl ensues and more fishfaced warriors rush out of the back rooms to join in. The group are able to put them down with relative ease and begin to fan out. The two back rooms lack anything of note, but Zed does spot a grate that seems to lead underground to a pool of water.
The group decide to head upstairs first and find yet another door, but this one is also barricaded. Ursa and Valia rush the door again, only to find themselves unexpectedly scorched as their shoulders collide with a red hot door. A voice calls out from the other side: "Ye'll not have me you blubbery, crab-faced bastards!" This certainly doesn't sound like a Sahuagin. Valia and Zed are able to ease his fears and the lighthouse keeper grants them entrance. He's been alone and holed up for the past few days ever since the Sahuagin attacked and has been surviving off nothing but Goodberries. Ursa offers to spice them up with her soggy spice pouch, but he's not that hungry yet.
When the Lighthouse Keeper hears about the Water Elementals, he realizes that the old family heirloom was the reason the lighthouse was attacked. The Skyhorn family kept a a Bowl of Summoning Water Elementals which was used for the purposes of helping stranded ships. He thinks the Sahuagin invaded through the grate in the storeroom. That hole leads to an old smuggler's cove beneath the island that was abandoned once the bridge went up. The group is concerned about how deep it may be and about having to fight underwater. Lucien offers up his emergency cache of Water Breathing potions, but he only has six. The group will only be able to take one person, will they choose-- oh okay, they'll take Arturo and his busted attacks. The Captain takes Lucien back to her ship for safekeeping.
Before they descend, the injured group are curious if this magic-slinging goodberry-making lighthouse keeper can provide some heals. He lights up a chalice-shaped constellation that appears on his forearm and casts Cure Wounds on the most injured of the group. Very sparkly! Wally collects the spiced up Goodberries. Just in case.
Down The Hatch
Zed ties off a rope and is the first one down the hole. She lands in the water and everything seems to be calm and quiet. The others follow one by one and start making their way across. Arturo and Zed are the faster swimmers and nearly make it across, but the others have a slower go of it. Halfway through, Wally's legs are pierced and he suddenly is pulled underneath the water. The others turn and see the outline of a shark starting to drag Wally below. Valia bravely dives down to try to save him while Yuriel fires off his crossbow and Ursa sends Echochu down to fight in her place. The shark is killed and Wally is free!
Before they can celebrate their success, two more sharks swarm in and one sinks its jaws into Valia. Wally makes his way back to the surface and uses Thorn Whip to drag the shark up close enough for Zed to shiskebob the shark's eye out. They're able to make short work of the other shark and make their way back to shore. There's a pair of rowboats at a dock and it looks like they were left there somewhat recently. The group check for tracks, but the terrain is too confused and its too dark to make anything out. They find a doorway in the stonewall, but Zed is worried about rushing in and goes to explore the southern shore. She doesn't find anything on the ground, but she does spot some reflecting light deep below the water. Loot?
Zed goes diving into the water as the group stays back as lookout. She finds a wooden chest and is able to drag it up to the surface. Upon opening it up, the contents appears to be various items such as bottles of perfume, silverware, and other ornamental items that looks like they'd fetch a good price. Zed spotted three more, so she takes a rope down and the group full a pulley chain to pull her and each chest up. Upon the third chest, the treasure chest surfaces but Zed doesn't. That's not good! The party rushes into the water. Wally again uses his Thorn Whip to drag the shark with Zed in tow close enough so that it can be quickly finished off. The final chest is opened and Zed finds a nifty dagger with an intertwined snake pattern on it. Neat!
The Ritual
After stowing their loot for later, the group notice that there's a ship anchored in the cove but is oddly still at full sail. They consider boarding it to explore, but decide it best to focus on collecting the Bowl since it's related to the job they were hired for. They return to the doorway. Ursa pushes down the door and Valia plants herself up front in a defensive stance. Inside the room, twelve sailors have been bound together in groups of four while two Sahuagin stand guard. The two guards look ready to bolt, but they're quickly taken down before they can escape.
The Captain of the sailors (as evidenced by having the largest hat) tells the group that one of his men was dragged to the room down south. There's a room up north and Ursa is mighty curious... before remembering she's a goodhearted baker woman. Zed however does not forget her roguely duty and quickly scopes out the room for loot. It's a lot of loot! But very heavy, heavy loot of the mercantile kind. Valia frees the captain and gives him a knife to free his comrades while the group ready themselves for what will be the final battle.
The doors swing open and the group rush in, but the Sahuagin are ready for a fight. Valia moves forward to draw fire, Ursa sends her echo forward, Zed and Arturo speed in to start attacking, Wally throws up a healing aura to protect his friends, and Yuri finds himself trying to play catch up. The Sahuagin aren't much of a threat to the group, but they're a distraction that keeps the group at bay while one of the sailors is in the middle of a ritual. Zed tries to race forward, but is frozen in her tracks when suddenly a larger Sahuagin steps forward and shines a light from the glowing esca on its forehead. Zed is distracted in a stupor and unable to look away.
The group advances. Wally gets close enough that he has a chance to take the sailor down, but remembers that the group didn't like it when he outright murdered people and attacks the leader of the fishfolk instead. A second flash from the Deep Diver has Ursa and Yuri out of commission, but the others are able to surround him and finish him off the ringleader. At that moment, the ritual casting is completed and the pool of water expands into a much larger and more powerful Water Elemental. The group attempts to surround it, but it ends up taking advantage of their proximity to absorb Ursa, Wally, and Valia inside it. Ursa's echo manages to land a devastating hit that leaves the water elemental vulnerable so that Yuri is able to land four quick successive blows while Zed lands the final blow with a quick slash from her rapier and dagger.
The day is saved and nobody had to die! Well, except for all the fish people. What did they event want anyway? Probably not important.
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