Helswane Dungeon

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[size=+1]Lindon's call to stand firm is somewhat reassuring, even as the remaining goblin plays havoc with our escape route. I ignore the instinct to panic and instead reload my crossbow, taking careful aim at the triumphant greenskin.

The bolt sings across the gap between us and slams into the side of the creature's head. The squawk is cut off suddenly and the goblin topples. A grin splits across my face.
"GO ON, MY SON! THAT'S HOW YOU FUCKIN' DO IT!"

My second's triumph is cut off by the sound of splashing below, and I remember the plight of my companions. Swearing like an angry sailor, I sling my crossbow and run for my pack.

I have a cunning plan.

It involves more rope.[/size]
 
Lindon turns, looking to the levers. They got them into this mess, maybe they could... His mind interrupts itself. No, they got themselves into this mess by coming to this island willingly. He frowns, turning and deciding to take out his frustrations on the shark. Loading a bolt into his crossbow, he moves to a better position on the platforms taking what little careful aim he can...

He let the bolt loose, feeling a bit of satisfaction as the bolt shot through the water into the beast. "What was that saying again? 'Fish in a barrel'...? Might be having more fun with this if our companions weren't down there." He shrugs, taking aim once more...
 
The shark reeled as it was struck by the bolt. But this only enraged it. The goblins had been starving it for weeks and now, finally, a rich-blooded morsel had been tossed its way. It circled for another attack as the paladin thrashed. Getting its teeth around his arm, it bit into his scale armour but could not pierce it. With a savage shake the paladin pushed the shark away and it circled once more.

 
[size=+1]Scrambling over to my pack, I tug the length of rope from it and race back over to the edge of the bridge. Down below in the tank next to the one Darius has fallen into Jace is struggling against the weight of his armour in the water as the lack of air begins to take effect.

I have to trust that Mallow and Lindon can aid Darius. Right now Jace is needing my help as well.

Tying the rope off securely on the bridge, I snatch up my crossbow again and reload..
"Keep shootin'!" I call to my companions who are not currently in the water.

Time to try and kill a shark.[/size]
 
His breath was fading as his hand finally grasped around one of the knots of the rigging that lined the walls of the tanks. With an urgent pull, he submerged and took a breath. Catching his breath while looping his limbs in the net, he hoarsely shouts to the others above: "I'LL BOIL THE WHOLE DAMNED OCEAN BEFORE THIS PLACE DROWNS ME AGAIN." The water dripped from his armor with each movement as he placed hand over hand quickly, climbing the net wall with a burst of energy and rage.

Watching the rope from Garrick above fall down, Jace steeled himself and continued to climb. It might take him a little bit longer, but he was on his way back up.
 
As Jace rose, Darius fell. The weight of his armour and the strain of his thrashing had exhausted him. With the shark shaken off from its third attack, the paladin's strength gave out. Darius sunk in the blood-dark waters, and as he hit the bottom he felt the blunt edges of the warhammer snagged beneath his legs.
 
Boiling oceans. Now that was a thought that put a smile to Lindon's face. Or rather, the thought of all those fish in a somewhat-cooked manner made him smile. He wasn't sure why, but he was hungry. He clicked another bolt in place, taking aim once more. He fliched, the armor he wore pinching a little. He disliked the damn stuff, but it was better than going around unarmored, right?

Rolling his shoulder to remove the pinching feeling, he looked down into the water. The mighty splash that Darius made caused him to reconsider his action. Raising his hand to his helmet, he nods - "This is all I have left today, but so be it!" Pointing at a spot in the water, he brings a spell into motion, "The depths are no secret to your kind. Come, let us see why your kind still evokes fear!" With that, he reached through the planes of existence using the power given to him by the spell, looking for a certain monster in particular... [Lindon casts Summon Monster I. On his next turn, a Fiendish Octopus will appear.]
 
[size=+1]I turn my attention back to Darius as Lindon begins to chant beside me; the soldier has sunk to the bottom of the tank, the water starting to turn a deep crimson colour.

Not a good sign, I would wager. I don't think Tall Folk are supposed to bleed that much.

The shark's dived low into the tank; getting a good aim at the damn thing is even harder than it should be. Snarling I snap the crossbow up. Somehow I manage to line the shot up just in time.

Slamming into the crimson water, the bolt sinks into the head of the creature, just a few inches above it's right eye. It doesn't stop it's attacks, but the water begins to turn an even deeper red from blood that wasn't recently in Darius.

We're taking it down.

I just hope we do it in time to save our companion.[/size]
 
Before Jace can start the second half of his ascent, he notices Darius disappear beneath the bloody waters of the parallel water tank. With a great sigh, he straddles the rope rigging and begins a descent down into the tank to retrieve Darius from the shark. At half way, his foot slips and he falls a foot, his arms and one leg becoming entwined between the different sections of the net. With a few more worthy damnations, he starts to unwrap himself from the mess.
 
The tear in reality that preceeded Lindon's summonings apepared under the water. On the opposite side, the waters of the Abyss mingled with the water in the pool, which became colder for just a moment. Reaching into the pool, tentacles spilling over tentacles, came the bright-red octopus. The near-mindless creature at first turned to look at Darius, wishing for his demise. Only with the mental control over it from Lindon did it turn towards it's true target: the shark.

The creature shot forward, tentacles wrapping itself around the shark. Squeezing it tightly, it attempts to puncture it with it's beak... grabbing a cruel bite out of the terrestrial creature. A sinister look appears in the abyssal creature's eyes as it feeds off of the pain and body of the shark - if it could laugh, it would.

Meanwhile, Lindon turns and nods to his roguish friend. He reaches down, steadying the rope as well. [Aid Another action].
 
The shark thrashed and twisted, wrestling with the octopus in the nightmare waters. It got loose of its tentacles and bit down hard on the fleshy pulp of its body. Teeth tore through tentacles and flesh, shedding the minion's life blood.

Both creatures were fading fast, and Darius was drowning beneath them.

 
[size=+1] Two monstrosities from the deep battle for survival as Darius drowns under them.

We're running out of time.

The tangle of tentacles and teeth is almost impossible to aim into; I'm starting to sweat as I try and place my shot from apprehension. Beside me Lindon is watching intently, looking for a shot.

Lindon spots it first.

His arm shoots out and I hear him yell,
"Garrick, there!" I level the crossbow to where he's pointing and fire, the bolt driving into the water. The currents from the two warring creatures knock it off-course, sending it swirling off into the crimson depths.

I curse furiously and reload.

Darius doesn't have long left.[/size]
 
After seeing everyone trying their best to help, I became fed up with my uselessness. Enough was enough! I had to do something other than stand around holding a rope. "Someone else hold this rope...bah whatever!" I dropped the rope before taking my armor off.

I paid no heed to my nudness, Someone's life was on the line and they needed help. I ran with all my might to jump and hopefully make it into the pool with Darius. The edge of the plank became closer and closer until finally it was too late to turn back. I was airborn, falling and falling...praying to the gods that I made it. Upon looking down, it didn't seem like I would have jumped far enough, but by the grace of the divines, I made it alive and into the pool, staying afloat without any problems. Now I needed to sift through these bloody, shark infested waters to find Darius.
 
Managing to untie himself from the rope net, Jace descends into the bloody depths of the tank. He lunges at the water, taking a slice with his longsword but missing the shark as it wriggles under the dark surface. Containing himself, he manages to avoid his previous fiasco in the other tank, watching for signs of the shark or the octopus.
 
For a moment there was blackness, swirling oblivion, flashes of shark teeth and fiendish flesh. He felt the water slipping into his airways, and memories flashing. The faces of his wife and children, their laughter making chorus with the roar of water. Then something broke the nightmare. As Mallow crashed into the pool the surge of water stirred the sunken Paladin. Darius's eyes snapped open and his hand curled around the hilt of his warhammer. With a push on the floor of the tank, Darius lunged underneath the swirling shark and octopus and reached for barrier rigging. His fingers snagged the rope.

Hand over hand he scaled, till the blood parted and he saw something coming down towards him. His hand locked with Jace's and the Cleric hauled him up. And with a great gulp of air and splutter of water Darius's head broke the surface.

"OH SHIT! SHIT!"

He grabbed the rigging higher up and pulled with all his might.
 
Lindon snaps his fingers, looking down into the water. He raises his own crossbow, trying to get in a good shot - coordinating with his summoned monster on where to hit. With a smirk, he realized that the octopus was pretty much the only thing here he considered expendible. As such, he didn't really care if he accidently hit it. Still, it made sense to wait until the octopus was done attacking...

The octopus, for it's part, did not seem overtly concerned with the shark's biting. It's tentacles were still wrapped quite firmly around the shark - all it needed to do was continue to bite into it. Which it continued to do, quite masterfully. It's viscious beak sliced through the shark's flesh, dying the waters a crimson color. Which is quite simply what it wanted to do - the creature was quite enjoying itself.

Up top, Lindon takes aim and fires. The shark thrashes in the throes of pain, setting his bolt speeding through the water. Well, at least his summoned creature was distracting the shark... and quite effectively killing it. Lindon considered that for a moment, before deciding that it didn't really matter - once more, he loaded his crossbow.
 
[size=+1] A naked dwarf has just launched himself down into the water, Darius has finally surfaced and Jace has finally managed to untangle himself from the rope.

Where it not a matter of life and death I would imagine this situation would be pretty hilarious.

Lindon's last shot went wide, but the shark's looking worse for wear to say the least. I drop to one knee and lean through the ropes that act as handrails for the bridge, aiming down at the shark. Much better angle, better shot is my thinking.

Good thinking, really.

The bolt flies true, surging through the water and into the shark. The aquatic beast goes into spasms, flailing around in the bloody water in a death rage. Then it finally gives up, it's body finally becoming still.

I let out a whoop and punch Lindon on the leg in victory.
"Fuckin' shark-slayers so we are, friend!" I yell.[/size]
 
Lindon smirks as he sees the shark perish to the rogue's shot, nodding as Garrick showed his usual cheer. He smiles, "Pity there won't be much left for soup." He gestures down, motioning at the octopus which was feeding gluttonously upon the deceased shark. Before the spell got of out hand, Lindon banished the creature back to the Abyss with a wave. The only evidence that the summoned creature was there at all was the gore in the water.

Tilting his head, Lindon looks towards Darius. Placing the crossbow back onto it's belt-holster, he strides forward towards the paladin. "You alright? I could have sworn you blacked out down there for a bit - not that I blame you. Sea creatures are awful - I've had nightmares about them ever since my..." He hesitates for a moment, "...Friends showed me a picture of a 'dragon turtle'." He shivers visibly.

"In any case - I'm all out of magic. Falazure only grants me so much - he reserves greater power to those who are more important to him." Lindon shrugs, "I'm not that important," He admits, "So I'll need to rest and pray if we expect to run into any more fights. I don't feel comfortable going anywhere without magic to back me up... that, and some of you look like you could use a little more patching up."
 
It seemed like Darius had helped himself to the surface of the water, that was good. The shark was taken care of too, also good. He now clung to the netting along the side. I decided to give him a hand climbing up. I swam over to him and I would help steady him while he steadied himself on the rigging. Jace was a little farther up, so he could help as well. Darius was hurt from the shark bites, it looked like he could make it up the rigging, but I stuck close with him just in case.

Once on steady planks again, I patted Darius on the back, making sure he was ok. "Do ye have any more healing left in ye?" I'd ask the Cleric simply before clothing, retrieving my axe, and doning my armor once again.
 
Slowly taking his time to get back to the top of the precariously placed netting, Jace rolls over and onto his back once reaching the top, heaving sighs and small amounts of the bloody water out of his lungs. Stabilizing himself with one arm, he sheathes his long sword and places his shield on the ground next to him, moving to face Darius as he ascended back up beside him. Taking notice of the shark bites that nearly finished him, it left him with little to think about as Jace guided Darius onto the ground, slowly placing his hands with fingers spread over the largest wound, chanting lightly.

"Return stamina to your warrior this day, bind your will onto his flesh and stay away the ravages of time. Let wounds become whole" [Heal Minor Injury for 4 hp to Darius]. With that last action, Jace shrank away, picking up his shield and wandering over to the lever that had dunked him, eyeing it with distaste. "Lindon is right, my magic is gone and I need to pray to Heironeous before we are to carry on any further. We need to make camp soon otherwise any engagement like this one will be out last."
 
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