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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 317764" data-attributes="member: 1210">Why could a killer whale possibly need help from a party of surface adventurers?  It’s a good question, and one the party puts to the orca right away.  “Err, it’s kind of embarrassing,” the whale, whose name is Madriel, admits.  “I was waylaid by a group of sea trolls and they stole something from me.  There’s an air-filled cavern they’ve taken it into, and well...” He pauses to waggle his flippers.  “I don’t have legs.”Hmm, true.“Why not?” asks Horbin rhetorically.  After all, whales have a reputation for being honest and helpful.  Horbin’s a good guy, even if most of the party members, strictly speaking, aren’t.  And they’ve been on this ship for a while.  It’s boring- not to mention loud, what with the shriekers.  They’ve explored part of the ship in their spare time, but they keep finding sealed hatches, inactive metal bugs, and not much to do.  There’s no holodeck or anything...  About the most fun they’ve had is catching Bolfol, a halfling stowaway who had hidden aboard for some time, and playing with the chain the human mistress of chains had.  It zapped Spukoni when he picked it up, and eventually the group had determined that only Sith could really handle it with impunity- another clue as to what happened in the Bastion of Law- so he’s toyed with it, trying to figure it out.  Bolfol seems a nice enough fellow; he claims to have been the last survivor of a shipwreck and to have washed up next to the ship and climbed on it.  He’s helpful and amusing.  But that’s it.  Nothing to do but kick shriekers off the top deck.  The group has been growing snappish at each other with nothing to kill and loot. So, sea trolls?  Sounds like something to kill and loot!  Titus, bemused, agrees not to move the ship until their return; he doesn’t have anywhere in particular to go.  He’s learning to drive.A water breathing spell later, most of the party, including Bolfol, prepares to descend into the water.  “You can’t miss the cave,” the whale promises.  “It’s down there and full of air.”“What did they take from you?” Horbin asks.  Again, Madriel pauses, looking embarrassed.  “Err... it’s kind of embarrassing...”  Pause.  “It’s, uh, sort of a, um...”  Pause.  “Well, you see, I have this lovely lady waiting for me.”  He winks.  “And the thing is, they stole, umm, something for her.”“Well, we can’t find it if you don’t tell us what it is.”It’s amazing to see an orca blush.  Who’d have thought it was possible?  But blush he does as he replies, “It’s sort of a... marital aid.”The party is stunned to silence for a moment.“It’s a, uh, a ring.  But it won’t fit you,” Madriel adds.Laughter bursts out from the group as they realize what he’s asking.  But the killer whale just smiles a toothy but sheepish grin, since after all, these guys are gonna help him- right?Right- except for Vito, who is a little seasick as it is and elects to stay on the ship “to make sure Titus doesn’t take off anywhere.”  Into the water they go, bubbles rising around them as they descend into the green depths.  They swim down, moving over coral reefs, swimming through clouds of silver fish.  Deeper they go, until the only light comes from Horbin’s continual flame.  Yes, that continual flame sure helps them see......and helps things see them from afar.  Emerging from the darkness with dazzling flashes of light come three strange, bulbous creatures with lobster claws and a single huge eye in the center of their bodies and two eyestalks sticking up above their spherical bodies.  The party has seen a beholder before, and these are definitely some kind of beholder-kin- but aquatic!Out of their element, the party does their best to battle the monsters.  Bolfol and Horbin are both stunned by the flashes of light, and Sith immediately discovers how difficult it is to cast spells underwater: very.  Clambake, too, makes a discovery: his mace- in fact, crushing weapons in general- sucks under water.  The water resistance makes it useless.  Bolfol, meanwhile, recovers from his stun and stabs one of the monsters in its vitals from a flanking position with Sith.  More flashes of light stun Spukoni just after he turns one of the eyes of the deep into a carp, and things are beginning to look grim when Horbin, shaking his head clear, manages to cast freedom of movement on himself.  Able to move freely, he finds his holy mace is more effective against the monsters than they would like.  Finally, the party drives off the beasties and, shaken, continues on.Soon they see a cave entrance... can the orca’s penis ring be far behind?Next time:  Orcas don’t have hands, either; or, “You want me to do WHAT??”</blockquote>

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