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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 1571563" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter Four, “Going with the Flow”, February 17th, 1020:Cassie lets the group out of the Bags of Holding, with them now standing upon the ledge with the river flowing by.  “Okay, how are we going to do this?” she asks.   Luekia suggests that she and Mark be hit by a Dispel Magic to trigger their aquatic forms.   Alton says that he could do a druidic transformation.  Cassie points out that she could also use the Belt of Shape Change.   “Why don’t we do all,” Mark suggests.   Cassie replies, “No, that’s risky too.  This is a rather fast river and flows to a waterfall.  More people means more chance of getting separated, hurt or seen by the enemy and ruin the element of surprise.  I should probably go alone.”   The others object to that, seeing that as dangerous also.   They eventually decide to send just the two aquatics, as they are most comfortable in that environment.    Timothy tosses a dispel magic onto the pair, with Mark becoming a sea elf and Luekia becoming a triton.   Mark had removed his armor prior to the transformation.  Luekia waits until afterwards to remove her burka, her specific transformation magically made to create for her a solid black well-oiled skin suit beneath (similar to a modern wet suit) that like her other attire keeps all but her eyes covered.  Each take a pair of party members in a Bag of Holding.  Mark sheathes his magical sword with darkness now filling the cavern.They enter the river, their eyes both adjusting to the darkness and they swim with the current keeping each other close.   They are careful to avoid various protrusions in their path as they travel the underground river, staying with the widest flow as side passageways intersect off from it, as they would have been too narrow for the giant to swim through.   They eventually reach an area where the river flows into an underwater cavern approximately 50 by 80 feet in length, with illumination coming from the surface above.   Luekia surfaces near where the river first breaks the surface, seeing a ledge area with several creatures on the opposite shore.   She heads back down and swims with Mark closer to them, to where a large rock juts out to the surface around 30 feet from the ledge area.   They surface behind the rock to use it for cover and then scout out the room.    The ledge runs 60 feet east to west at its widest point and ranges from 20 to 60 feet north to south, the narrowest section being that closest to them.   The area is lit by torches.  They see five creatures of two different races.  Two appear to be large bears, standing upon two legs a few feet into the water.  They have bags of clothing that they appear to be washing by beating them upon several rocks.   The remaining three creatures are standing around some boulders at the far end of the room.   They appear to be humanoid bears, possibly were-bears, and are wearing clothing and carrying weapons.   They cannot see part of the room from the angle they are at, so they head back below the water and swim over to another rock 50 feet further south.    This turns out to be a wise move, as from here they can see the only exit from the room, a stone staircase leading up into the remainder of the complex.  Standing on the stairs are a quartet of armed bugbears.    Luekia suggests that they carefully follow the river down to the waterfall to check out the other entrance.   This reconnaissance shows that area and the ledge above it to be filled with over a dozen hobgoblins archers and several hobgoblins riding atop large worg wolves.   Mark comments, “No good.  Those wolves will smell us long before we ever get close.”  They return to the first cave and surface behind the second large rock, opening the bags of holding enough to converse with the others.    Mark then alerts them to movement on shore.  The waiting has paid off, as the bears have now finished the laundering.  They collect the clothing in baskets and head back to the main complex, the four bugbears following them from the room.  The three humanoid bears remain, now moving back to the area near where the bears had been and inspecting it.  Mark comments “I’ll take three over nine any day.”Battle plans are made.   Luekia swims over to the first rock.   They cannot see the three creatures from here, but that works both ways, so Lannon is let out of the bag.  He climbs onto her back and she swims him the short distance to the side wall, which he begins to climb.  Cassie is told by Luekie, “Be ready to shape change if I have to open the bag underwater.”  Luekia stays with Lannon from beneath the water as he makes his way toward the landing.Mark has meanwhile swum to the far end of the room, over near where the creatures had originally been, and stays just beneath the surface behind a small outcropping that provides a minimal of cover.   Once Lannon is in position near the creatures Mark opens the bag just above the surface of the water and Timothy begins to climb out.   Timothy’s voice fills the chamber from the spell he casts, a Silence over the stone staircase to block all future noise from this room. The creatures react to the sound of a human voice echoing through the chamber.   Luekia exits the water, creating a further distraction as Lannon drops from behind and backstabs one of the monsters.   A second slash is all it takes for the creature to perish, its two companions charging towards Luekia who dives back beneath the water.    Timothy has now climbed onto the banks of the shore, and tosses a Hold Person spell onto the creatures, which fails to work.   Alton hands Mark’s bow up to him and the sea elf stands at the waters edge, firing silver-tipped arrows at the monsters.    Alton then climbs from the bag and illuminates the pair of remaining foes with a Faerie Fire spell to make them better targets for Mark.  With foes on several side the creatures back up towards the staircase and begin to run.  Luekia lets Cassie out of the bag and she uses her Wand of Force to create a Force Wall several stairs up.  The creatures collide abruptly with the wall, one falling back.   They both then pound on the wall, finding no way through.   The two decide to head back to the main chamber to fight, but the party are now ready for them and the battle ends quickly. The party decide to do further reconnaissance.   They decide to keep the Silence spell in place, but Cassie removes the Force Wall so that an invisible Lannon can now go check out the main chamber above.   He finds the room appears similar to that on the map, except it has nearly fifty occupants.   A bonfire is raging in the firepit, illuminating the vast chamber.  These include  around ten were-wolf type creatures, some larger than man-sized.  Many wolves circle the room.  Various other humanoid animals are also present, but he fails to see the creature he fought on the Kadtanach the previous autumn, although several rooms and side.   A tweleve-foot tall bald albino wolf-man with various painted markings on his body stands by the fire chanting.  One thing that concerns him most are piles of robes and horse barding lying in place around the pit.   He returns to the others to tell them what he has seen and for them to plan further.</blockquote>

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