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Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 121691" data-attributes="member: 143">Heh--it would have been funny to see Varrus's reaction if Benzan had suggested that the sailor be the swimmer... clearly there's no love lost between those two!Aargh!  Work's insanely busy this week for once, but luckily this relatively brief (for me) update was just about ready to go...  We're approaching the big finale of the Isle, and Kelemvor's crew is going to be busy!* * * * * Book III, Part 29Elly swam quickly toward the exit, but weighed down by her clothes and the tunic of mail she wore, she made slow progress through the dark water.  Suddenly, she lurched, and let out a cry of pain as something slammed into her side.  “Something bit me!” she cried, thrashing as she broke the contact and lurched for the open portal now just a few feet away. While the others tried in vain to detect the submerged attacker—or attackers—Benzan darted across the surface of the water to where Varrus stood by idly.  “Give me that!” he said, tearing the lighted spear from his grasp.  Rushing to Elly’s side, he stabbed the spear into the water.  The light revealed a dark shadow twisting through the water toward the bleeding woman, and without hesitation Benzan thrust the spear into it.  “There’s more of them!” Benzan warned the others, detecting several other shadows in the murky water.  One he saw, was swimming swiftly upward through the water, toward… Ruath.“Watch out, Ruath!” he yelled, but Lok, with his darkvision, had detected it as well.  The snub-head of a shark erupted from the water, seeking Ruath’s legs with its snapping, tooth-filled maw, but it caught only air as the genasi lifted the halfling from the air and placed her down behind him.  He tried to slam it with his axe, but by the time he could get the weapon into play the shark had already sunk beneath the surface of the waters.  Delem, his own powers useless against an underwater adversary, moved to Elly’s aid.  Grabbing onto her arms, he lifted her up out of the water—and sank into it himself for every inch she rose, for their combined weight exceeded the power of Ruath’s spell.  Cal saw what was happening, and even as he quietly admired the young man’s bravery he was rushing to aid him against the attacking sharks.  As he caught sight of one shark charging the final distance toward Elly and Delem, Cal bent low and plunged a wand under the water, firing a color spray into the oncoming creature’s face.  The shark twisted around in the display of colored lights, and then swam awkwardly off, confused.  Benzan, meanwhile, continued to press his target, stabbing the shark again by using the full length of the spear as it tried to detach itself and swim deeper away.  The shark shuddered, twisting in the water while its blood formed an obscuring cloud around it.  That blood drew the attention of one of its fellows, the one that had tried to bite Ruath, and it darted eagerly for its crippled ally as it bled out its last from Benzan’s spear. Apparently there were only the three sharks, for there were no more attacks as Dana and Delem helped Elly through the doorway back into the corridor outside.  Dana cast a spell of healing on the injured sailor, who had not been too seriously hurt in the brief confrontation.  Benzan guarded the narrow opening of the doorway once they had all retreated, but apparently the sharks had decided they’d had enough—or maybe they were satisfied to feed on their slain fellow—for they did not approach again.  “Well, now what?” Varrus asked, with a covert look at Benzan, though he did not request the spear back.  “Looks like we head back the other way,” Cal started to suggest, but Benzan forestalled him.  “Wait a minute,” he said.  “I caught a glimpse of something in the corner of that room, and I’d like to check it out.”“What, go back in there with those sharks?” Varrus said.  “You’re crazy, warrior.”  The look that briefly crossed his face after he spoke suggested that he almost regretted his hasty words, but Benzan paid him no heed.“The spell of water-walking isn’t going to last much longer,” Cal said.  “And Varrus is right—those sharks are still a threat.  I only stunned the one, and the other might consider the one you killed just an appetizer.”“I know,” Benzan said.  “But I’ve got a feeling that there’s something important in that room that we’re missing.  Just give me a few minutes.”“All right,” Cal said.  “Delem, you, Ruath, and Varrus stay here with Elly, and watch the door.  Lok, and I will go with Benzan and check out his ‘feeling’.”  The others nodded, and as they prepared to reenter the room Ruath cast a light spell on a coin and dropped it into the water by the door, so that any sharks trying to make it through would be visible.  “Come on, couldn’t you have used a pebble?” Benzan said with regret, as the glowing coin fell beneath the surface of the water.  His friends only exchanged a wry look and shook their heads, following the tiefling, still clutching the glowing spear, back into the room.  The surface of the water was quiet, the sharks apparently content with their meal as Benzan led them along the wall toward the northwestern corner of the room.  He dipped his spearhead below the surface of the water, and they all could see that the floor rose in that corner, with stone steps rising up until the floor was only five or six feet below the level of the water once again.  “Ah, see it?” Benzan said, poking the spear a little deeper into the water.“It looks like… a giant clam?” Cal said, trying to resolve the object resting atop the dais under the water.   Once the ripples caused by their passage across the water’s surface began to fade, he could see that it was in fact such a creature, it’s great shell easily a man’s height around, sitting half-open beneath the waters.“Odd, for such a thing to just be sitting here,” Lok said.  “Hey, I didn’t put it there,” Benzan said.  “But I’m going to check it out.”“What do you mean?” Cal said, but it became clear what Benzan had in mind as the tiefling handed the spear to Lok and then tugged off one of his gloves, revealing the hand holding the ring of water walking.  “I don’t generally agree with Varrus, but are you crazy?”“I say it’s not a clam, but an oyster,” Benzan replied.  At Cal’s perplexed look, he added, “What, don’t you know where pearls come from?”“Careful,” Lok said.  “If that shell comes down on you, there’s no way you’ll be able to break free.”“I’ll manage,” the tiefling said with a grin.  Then he removed the ring, and handed it to Cal. Immediately the tiefling sank beneath the surface of the water, his mithral armor dragging him rapidly down to the floor of the dais.  The top of his head just cleared the water, and he took a deep breath before ducking underwater and moving in the direction of the clam.  Lok, meanwhile, took the spear and pointed it in the direction of the sharks, in case they decided to return.  He saw nothing moving out in the room; however, he did observe something out of the corner of his eye, something unusual about the stonework along the wall of the room.  He noted the place but kept the information for later, focusing his attention for now on the risky adventure of his friend.  The water suddenly stirred around the submerged clam as its massive upper shell snapped suddenly shut.  Cal and Lok ducked low, trying to see beneath the rippling surface of the water, and let out a combined sigh of relief as Benzan’s head appeared above the waves in front of them. “Well?” Cal asked.  The tiefling grinned, and held up his hand. Cradled there was a massive black pearl, easily the size of his fist.  Benzan took back his ring from Cal, and again rose above the surface of the water.  Lok, however, had already turned toward the wall of the room, and was examining the stonework there.  “What is it?” Cal asked, noticing his friend’s distraction.  In answer, Lok tugged at the edge of what looked like a solid stone block—and a part of the wall reluctantly pulled away, revealing another water-filled passageway beyond.  “Secret door,” Lok said.</blockquote>

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