35: Under the Sea Part 1
General Summary
As black clouds gathered ominously on the horizon, the sea churned and rumbled beneath the hull of the Efreeti’s Fortune. Heavy rain pounded against the weathered wooden planks of the deck and lightning crackled across the sky, casting dramatic shadows on the grave faces of the Crimson Seven who stood stoically at the helm.
Between crashes of thunder, Gar Grimfang could be heard barking orders to the Fortune crew as they battled against the raging elements. The chosen heroes and their companions knew well the awful forces they were to commune with but time was running out and push had come to shove.
As the ship pitched and rolled with each dark wave, Miranda Chainbreaker gripped the wooden railing tightly, her knuckles white with tension. "Are we truly prepared to bargain with the bitch queen?" she shouted above the roar of the storm. Seasoned sailors know not to utter Umberlee’s true name while at sea.
Ulric glared at Miranda, his cloak billowing in the wind. "We do no more than we must!" he shouted.
Gar scowled as he steered the ship toward the storm clouds. "Aye, but tread carefully, my friends. Umberlee's whims are as fickle as the sea itself. One wrong move, and we'll all be lost to her depths forever!"
As they approached the heart of the swirling storm, the winds abruptly stopped. Lightning danced across the wall of black clouds that surrounded the Fortune on every side. And there, where the storm met the waves, Umberlee herself coalesced into a physical form—a towering figure cloaked in darkness, her eyes gleaming with malice, countless tentacles twisting and lurching through the waters.
Her gaze, as icy as the sea, swept across the Fortune and her crew before settling on Ulric, who, to their surprise, bowed. Umberlee grinned a wicked grin and her eyes burned.
Steeling themselves against her imposing presence, Vash, Aralia, Gabriel, Ember, Dandelion, Metztli, and Rowan, stepped forward, their resolve unwavering.
"I am here to make good on our deal, My Goddess," Ulric called out, his voice steady and strong.
For a moment, there was silence, broken only by the sound of distant thunder. And then, Umberlee extended her hand toward them, her eyes gleaming with malevolent delight.
"Very well," she declared, her voice resonating with power. Umberlee held out her massive hand and invited the party into her grasp. The Crimson Seven stepped off the deck into Umberlee’s grasp, but when the other Genasi attempted to join, she pulled back.
A look was shared between Umberlee and Ulric, the latter of whom explained, “She will only grant passage to the orb-chosen.” The other Genasi gave up their inherited genie gems and stepped back.
Umberlee swiped Ulric from the deck in her other claw and held him high above the waves, her gaze upon him in a lecherous stare. Before Rowan was able to call out to his brother in protest- the party blacked out and all was silent.
Some time later, the party opened their eyes. They were laying on the ground and the sea seemed to be floating above them. As they gathered their wits, they realized they were standing in some kind of magical bubble at the bottom of the ocean. They stood before the sunken Moon Temple of legend. Dark and eerie, the island was quiet and still, home, it seemed, only to crabs and some fish that seemed to have broken through the bubble.
Rowan looked around for Ulric but he was nowhere to be seen. As quickly as he had come back into his little brother's life- he was now gone again.
The group explored the temple and the surrounding five towers, and must solve the mystery to charge the Worldstone and restore balance to the Shatterlands. In a small forest on the temple the heroes faced a gargantuan crab with four pincers and treasure covering its body.
After solving some puzzles within the temple itself (during which Vash faced a troublesome memory in-which he blames himself for his hero and friend, Miles', death, and Rowan gave up a terrible memory and thus no longer remembers Kedar being stolen away by Shar), they found the key which granted them access to the Sun tower. In the Sun tower, they found the Sword Which Severs Shadows, which granted them access to the other towers after they used it to dispatch their own shadows, which left them feeling exhausted. Two of these towers were explored, during which puzzles were solved and fiends were dispatched. (Dragon-Aralia finished off a hag by ravaging her body like a measely chew toy!) At the top, a genasi gem was left in each.
Now the group rests in a long-abandoned tent outside of the temple.
Report Date
09 Mar 2024
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