"Flaplyjacklespanglyploop!"
Which Tippy roughly translated as...............................a warning to everyone to Swim Away! Swim Away!
With a sudden roar of flames, the hypersonic dance chamber shot back up its tunnel taking the evil gang of four back to the surface world to continue their dastardly plans, leaving our heroes and heroines stranded far down in the underdark at the mercy of Kuo-Toa slavers where they would surely perish. *evil cackle*
Igoatunot cast Comprehend Languages on himself and realised that Tippy's halting translations were not quite capturing the subtle nuances of what was being said. With a telepathic nod of warning to Alber't'ickle, he declared that he was about to make a hostile move. Tippy immediately cast Protection from Poisson which had a dramatic effect; it transpired that this particular Kuo-Toa slaver had an entirely rational fear of sardine cans and the sight of Tippy and Tasha in plate armour was just too much for it to handle. It turned tail and fled down a side passage.
Then Tippy tripped over a large block of stone which somehow hadn't been there before. As he picked himself up, Tasha exclaimed "Look, everyone, it's a milestone! We are only XXIV miles from Tulsa!"
They took a short rest during which Tasha discovered a hitherto-hidden catch on her magic halberd that caused a second blade to spring out on the opposite end to the main one. She treated the others to a dazzling display of halberd-wielding maneuvers and they were most impressed. They had always thought of the halberd as a cumbersome weapon, ill-suited to close fighting, but what Tasha was doing with it was in a league of its own.
"My friends," quoth Tippy, "We are here in the Underdark in peril of our very lives, but we are not dismayed for we know that we shall ultimately be victorious." He went on like this for a good ten minutes and everyone felt truly inspired by his leadership. This was a side of Tippy's character they had not really seen before; somehow, his clumsiness became less of an embarrassment and more of a noble quality. You could respect a man who had the fortitude to overcome his physical limitations. The others applauded and felt they could take on anything.
"I have been thinking," began Alber't'ickle, "We have been fortunate so far, but we may yet encounter traps far more deadly than those whacks and, even so, I failed to notice the false ceiling that concealed them. We, that is my other brain and I, have found a way to combine our mental pathways to sharpen our awareness of traps and it will be our role to scout out tunnels and pathways ahead of you, clearing them as we go. Also, I can swim underwater."
Igoatunot put down a book he was reading called "How To Stop Going By The Book and Start Extemporising" and did what it said. "Comrades-in-arms," he began, "You don't need me to spell it out. We are going to have to depend on each other now, more than ever." At this point, he conjured a wooden box out of nowhere and from it he drew four oyster shells; he handed one each to Tikky, Tasha and Alber't'ickle and kept the fourth one himself. "These shells are magic," he explained, "If you hold your shell to your ear, you will be able to hear what each of the other three is hearing, however far away it might be. If we are unfortunate enough to be separated, we will always be able to talk to each other by speaking into our shells. Keep your shell safe and never let it leave your possession - if we can find your shell, we can find you."
A tunnel beckoned ...
Tippy (Cleric-4; Hammer, unknown potion, Oyster Shell, 17 g.p.) Inspiring Leader
Claude (Lobster; Tippy's familiar; Boomerang)
Igoatunot (was Ikidunot, was Toothpaste, was Macfeece) (Wizard-4 Conjurer with 3x/day headbutt attack; books, Oyster Shell)
Alber't'ickle (Octo-Thief-4; 3 daggers, magic club, 26 g.p., plenty of ink, Oyster Shell) Dungeon Delver
Tasha (Half-Orc/Half-Orc Fighter-3 Battlemaster; Versatile Double Halberd +1 of Dragon Summoning & Sling, Oyster Shell, 17 g.p.)
Ha! Fling! (Hobbit of The Planes; three stones, 17 g.p.)
Johnny (Human Fighter-3; magic khopesh that never misses, 17 g.p.)