Leaving the dwarven offices, we went over the map of the locales, 23 (22 active) of them and decided that we would walk down to the one that was marked as Tyche, Goddess of Luck (as opposed to Lord of Efreeti and King in Yellow). Hastez opted to wait at the top of the area (since he would be cut off from the divine if he left the platform), and we also left Glooskap, Connal, Knox, and both smaller cats.
The stairs were wide, no railing at the edges, but more than sufficiently able to support the party’s passage at over 50’ wide. They were designed for dwarven feet and legs so the rises were only about 7”, shallower than most found comfortable. The platform of stone below was pretty sizable, triangular shaped and about 200’ at the widest point to point. A squat keep of stone was here, 30’x 30’x15’ tall. A 5’ wide braided cable of steel was bolted to the roof somehow with a crimp collar, anchored in many places along the floor and then down into the water where it eventually made its way to the roof far above and what had been labeled the “maw”.
There was only an indistinct candle watt powered glow coming from it and looking over the entire building, there were no doors, windows, or ways in. Two of us went to the roof where they swept the grit, mushrooms, and fungi off the surface with a shovel, letting it rain to the floor around the keep. But nothing up here. Dizzy was pretty sure he could see where a doorway once was – 5’ wide, 8’ tall, but had been filled in with blocks of stone and mortared to match the rest of the structure. Dizzy’s guess? The blocks of the entire structure were easily 3’ wide and would not move. No way in.
We did look it all over and Dizzy had an idea. Taking a coin out, he flipped it and called it heads – and it was heads. Then he did it with 2 coins, then 5, and each test came up heads. The lucky effect only seemed to stretch out about 4’ from the edge of the building. We had the idea of luring Jubilex out to the area, get him to the edge of the platform, and Eoghan up here with his bow would shoot, landing shot after shot.
Why would Jubliex come to the edge of the platform at all, knowing the faceless lord would have reduced powers and strength? And a test of the shooting showed that the lucky effect stopped at 4” from Tyche’s gate keep – and the arrows fired had no special ability to hit, luck or not. It was about 10:30 at this point, an hour past all our checking over the area, and we wanted to go to the water and try to find the platform with Ahto, God of the Seas location. Thunderbird should be down there.
Eoghan poured over the map and once he was sure based upon where we were with Tyche, talked to Hiawatha about using the Native American’s canoe. He took it from his satchel and tossed it to the water where it grew large enough for Hiawatha, Eoghan, Dizzy, Shim, and Wilhelm to board. Standing there, arms folded, he plied in on the water and we sailed off into the darkness.
Wilhelm had spoken to the group earlier and going through animals he could transform into, it was Connal’s suggestion of a harbor seal that made the most sense. So he stripped off his clothes and down to his skivvies and when we got to an area in the underground lake that Eoghan suggested, Hiawatha stopped the canoe and had it settle lower in the water, magically anchored to this spot. Wilhelm got completely naked and then concentrated, green glow surrounding him before a flash of light and WHAM – 220 lb grey/brown harbor seal fat and blubbery on the canoe.
He managed to get to the side and roll over where his natural skills came to the forefront. He got used to his body and then swam down into the gloom. 30, 40, 50, 60’ down. He eventually came to a platform of stone and swimming around it found another one of those stone keeps on it. While circling behind it he was able to find the massive body, large as a Roc, of Thunderbird. The Native American god was dead here, neck twisted in a strange way. But cold and unmoving in the deep waters. He swam around it a few times, answering Shim’s telepathic questions when they arose, and once sure there was no way to lift the city bus sized deity, went looking for feathers he could pluck or remove.
It took some time, almost half an hour before he was able to find 2 feathers able to be removed. The god’s body was tough, firm, and unyielding – but 2 of them were plucked. Rising to the surface he gave them to the party, took a deep breath, and on Eoghan’s urging, went back down to try and get more. It was again some time before he was able to get 2 more – at this point he had been over the entirety of Thunderbird’s body, some hour plus, and we had gotten 4.
There was a stream of light that slowly rose from the top of Ahto’s stone keep, filling the cable and brightening as it made its way up the cable, through the water, and then up the walls of the cave and to the maw itself. Not wanting to be in the water any longer, Wilhelm swam up to the canoe, was helped in, and Hiawatha had us sail back to the shore. The druid shifted back to his normal form and the light stayed lit for half an hour before it eventually died down.
We came out of the water and made our way up the stairs to Tyche’s area and then finally to the top platform. We shared what we had learned with the rest of the party, ate some lunch, and Eoghan looked over the Thunderbird feathers. He figured he could split them and refletch one feather on 4 different arrows, imparting Thunderbird’s power (purple threads of magic seemed to infuse each arrow as he was successful). Wrote some scrolls and by now it was about 4 PM. We wanted to go and see if we could find the stone keep that led to the Happy Hunting grounds.
According to the map, it was off the northern most platform (efreeti), and then eastward 800 or so feet into the dark gloom – and from there, 100’ below the surface of the water. We each got into place again, leaving the cats, mule, Connal, Glooskap, and Hastez at the top of the platform. Canoe was cast on the water and we all boarded again, heading into the dark of the cave.
It was like being in a different world. The darkness. The stillness. Only the soft flap of water against the canoe echoed into the gloomy darkness. Eoghan did his best to guide us to where he felt the location was. There was some jockeying about and then Hiawatha stopped the canoe. He had it anchor in place, settling it a few inches in the water. Wilhelm again got naked and then transformed for the 2nd time into a harbor seal. The group had cast Light on a stone and Shim wove it into a necklace for the druid. He flopped over the side and had a harder time getting his bearings in the water before swimming deeper and deeper down.
It was hard going and at 100’ below the surface it was terrifyingly spooky. He swam around, pacing his place by an outcropping of stone before stumbling on a platform of stone deep under the water. He swam around it but there was nothing about it that stood out. There was also some light coming from the cable above it, meaning this was not the right location since the Happy Hunting Grounds was supposedly not finished when the orcs attacked. He swam back and up, finding another platform of stone and it was here that he came upon one of the 30x30x15 structures. The cable was dark. And the door…was open. A black rectangle.
Assured this was the place, Wilhelm swam back to the surface and then had the canoe move so it was over the right area. He spoke to Shim through the amulet and then was encouraged to go back and look inside. So he swam back down and went up to the door. And bravely, made his way inside. It was dark in here, his light stone helping to show the way. There was a 5’ diameter reflective surface standing up in the center, a few cracks near a corner. He crept closer and placed a flipper on the edge, where it seemed to fold over.
Looking it was a 30’ long tube 5’ diameter with a reflection of him at the other end – but the area was not the dark keep he was in, instead it was some ocean shore with a nice set of low cliffs and verdant lands beyond. Pastoral and wonderful. A voice, sounding like many layers on top of each other, asked, “Who are you?” Wilhelm tried to answer and it kept saying, “You are NOT supposed to be here. Leave!” And then as Wilhelm was trying to make his case the many layered voice said, “Sargonnas. Remove this interloper!”
And then an 18’ Tiger shark seemed to swim into the mirror view. Terrible and feral, it looked like what a perfect version of a shark would look like. It snarled at Wilhelm and he felt it ripple at him. And then it forced its way…into the tunnel! It seemed to be stretching and shoving. It bit and flexed and its flukes shoved it forward AGAIN, now more than half way down the tunnel and getting closer to Wilhelm’s face.
This is wrong. I have to go.
Wilhelm started waving himself backwards out of the stone keep as the Shark God shoved AGAIN – actually passing through the last of the disk and INTO the prime material plane. Here. Right fucking here.
"SARGONNAS!!!" It roared and the water swirled at its anger as Wilhelm turned and fled for the surface.
From above they saw bubbles rise and the water seemed to take on a strange hue. And Shim was asking Wilhelm what is going on as the harbor seal flew out of the water and beached himself on the canoe, screaming in Shim’s ear to get the fuck out of here. Shim was trying to pass the message along as Hiawatha turned the canoe from the area and started to move it back to shore. 800’ away. The closest area out of the water which at max speed was 50’/round – making us 16 minutes from safety.
And the Shark God was swimming below us.
Hiawatha was stunned. Sargonnas is NOT here and did not come through when the portal first tore open 144 years ago – most of the aspects of the mythology did not get sucked through. But now? Here? Dizzy was shouting, “What did you do?!” to the druid as Sargonnas finally crashed through the doorway of the keep below and swam to the surface, lifting entirely out of the water and snapping its teeth where we once were, Hiawatha sailing us back as fast as he could.
Eoghan shot an arrow out as Wilhelm turned back to human. The shark god charged the boat and sank its teeth against the back of the canoe, the enchanted vessel getting scored from the effort but Hiawatha’s will kept it upright and sailing along. Wilhelm called to Frey and summoned Monster 3 – and holy hell – got a shark! He sent his shark at Sargonnas and the two of them did bloody battle in the water as we raced away. The distance closed and then it came back for us and we fired and shot and more summons were made, and we got an ogre – dropping it right in the shark god’s mouth as he tried to bite us.
It held on and was screaming and Sargonnas chewed on its midsection, ignoring the blows, and dragged under the water. And we raced away, distance closing to shore. As it surfaced again more summons were thrown at it, 3 stirges and another shark! It ignored the stirges and did battle with the shark again, giving us more time to get closer. 6 mins away? It dove down and then breached again. More arrows fired off along with a trio of giant rats! Two got washed away or swallowed, but one hung on in Sargonnas’ mouth, clawing at the gum line!
As it approached Wilhelm had one more summons – and got a giant crocodile! It bit at Sargonnas and tail slapped him as it swam past. He bit it back and tore through the croc. And then the shark god hit the canoe from below, and this time Wilhelm and Eoghan were pitched over the side. Damn it! We drifted aside and the crocodile slammed at Sargonnas again. We looked over, the druid was treading water – but Eoghan slipped under!
At 250 feet from shore, Hiawatha went to Dizzy and said, “Spiritual Warrior, I do hereby give you the ownership and control of my canoe now and of my own free will!” The canoe shook a bit and Dizzy was coaxed to stand up, the magical boat following his commands as it drifted to Wilhelm, the druid hoisting himself over the side. Hiawatha looked in the distance where Sargonnas was doing battle with the crocodile and then dove off the canoe in the direction of where Eoghan had sunk under the water.
Dizzy was driving the canoe forward, controlling it as the shore got closer and closer. There was a final cry and the croc was slain and we were 75’ feet from the stairs – we were going to make it!
But Sargonnas is not just the god of sharks, he is also the god of tides…and tidal waves.
“SARGONNAS!!!” the shark roared in the darkness behind and a 25’ vertical wall of water CHARGED the canoe. Dizzy tried his best, pushing and coaxing every bit of speed out of the vessel but it wasn’t enough. The canoe leaned forward and rode the wave before Dizzy lost his contact with the floor and the vessel tumbled and rolled, driven forward and UP the stairs, smashing everyone to the stone steps and dashing the canoe to splinters. Everyone was knocked out, dazed, barely alive.
And Sargonnas growled in the dark and then turned back, Dorsal fin leading the way as it swam deeper into the cavern of Donnegarten.
As for Eoghan, he could not hold his breath before the Indian hero could get to him and he swallowed the water, it racing into his lungs and drowning him – taking him right to 0 hp. Hiawatha did find him and holding him backwards, swam him through the edge of the steps and then finally out of the water, terrified that Sargonnas would find them and come back.
The group managed to roll Eoghan to his side and let the water drain from his lungs. Pressure was given to his chest to force out more water and then finally healing was dispensed and Eoghan gasped back to life. Broken, sodden, a mess. But alive. Carrying our passed out friends, we staggered up the stairs to the platform and then finally to the rest of the group. Dizzy felt horrible about Hiawatha’s canoe but the Indian hero told him not to worry. It served its purpose well and he managed to save the 3 party members in light of Sargonnas’ assault.
We did LOTS of healing and we talked about what happened – and that for now, we would not be heading back under the water. Now with the threat of the Shark God down here.
It was 6:45 PM on Firemonth the 9th and we’ve been up for 18 hours. We were discussing what to do next and how bad things would be if Jubilex showed up now.
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