NOVEL WEB Chapter 14: Well at Least I Have a Solid Party
Saraneth 12, Moonday
Rosie stared out at the horizon with pursed lips for a few moments before launching into an explanation of what, precisely, we were doing out here.
“First,” she began, “you all know what a lobster looks like, right?” We all nodded in reply. I’m not proud of the fact that I immediately checked Owlbear, but he was nodding confidently too.
“Good.” She studied our anemic collection of snares, nets, and sticks with a critical eye. “There should be a lot of them around the reef, but they generally hide during the day. We should set the snares first, but let's at least try to catch a few by hand if we can later tonight.” As she started in on the plan, her eyes lit up with anticipation.
“How are we supposed to do that?” Syl asked flatly. “Anyone here have a spell to breathe water?” She and Rosie turned to look at me, and I shook my head.
“No such luck.” I admitted, “I can go without sleep, not without air.”
Rosie shrugged and forged ahead undeterred, “We just dive in turns and stay in a group, then. The water is pretty clear here. It’ll be fine as long as you guys can all swim.” She paused, “You can swim, right?”
••••••••••
We all tested the water and I discovered that autopilot was not a good swimmer. Pretty abysmal, actually; I had to take over to move much at all. It felt a small rush of pleasure finding something I could reliably do better than… whatever Autopilot was. I was noticeably weaker and tired out a lot faster, but I swam enough laps at the gym to be able to get around competently.
Despite my quiet victory, Rosie and Owlbear were keeping me humble. My halfling companion was swimming around like an otter, and I was genuinely confused at how a man with that much muscle definition could swim that well.
You have no fat on your body sir! Your buoyancy is zero! At least I can swim better than Syl. Wait, didn’t she say Rahadoum was a desert?
Having established that we could all swim competently, we set about laying out our supply of lobster traps. The chances of us being lucky enough to find a lobster in one of the little wooden boxes after one night weren’t great, but they weren’t zero either. Rosie was setting most of the traps; she had both the swim and survival skills so she was pretty objectively the most qualified for that job.
We always kept someone on the boat to make sure it didn’t drift off, so on my first boat shift I checked my party tab to find a substantial disappointment. Take an 8 hour rest to complete the level up process? What is this bullshit! With that in mind, I figured we could probably afford to hold off on hunting reefclaws until tomorrow. I didn’t know how strong they were, but I’d prefer to be overleveled if my whole new life was on the line.
(Initiative 4+2=6. Combat has begun.)
The world seemed to slow down as I processed that, immediately looking around to see if I was in danger. A barrage of messages scrolled across my vision as I moved in slow motion to the edge of the boat. They did not paint an encouraging picture.
Reefclaw has struck Rosie. Rosie is grappled
Rosie has missed reefclaw.
Owlbear has grappled Reefclaw. Rosie is no longer grappled.
Syl has struck Reefclaw.
Reefclaw has struck Syl.
Reefclaw has failed to strike Syl.
I looked down through the clear water at my friends. Time seemed suspended while I considered my actions, letting me get a better look at the enemy. I’d gotten an image in my head of huge lobsters, but they were more like small black and red sea serpents the size of golden retrievers. They had claws and antennae, but there was nothing crustacean about their thick serpentine bodies and almost draconic heads.
Owlbear had one pinned against a rock, but there were two more that syl was trying to fight off. One had latched onto her upper arm, and her head whipped back and forth as she tried to pry it off without leaving herself open to the other.
Help her. I invoked the power of the lower planes and my dark bloodline to conjure a beast from the abyssal seas. A dark grey Dolphin, honestly quite similar to a mundane one, seemed to coalesce and grow from the small cloud of blood already forming around Syl. It tackled the reefclaw that wasn’t closely engaged, distracting it for the moment.
I kept watching as the fight continued, wondering if I should jump into the ocean. I can use magic from here, but what if that’s not enough? I could already feel my hold on the dolphin slipping; I could only hold it in this world for a few seconds. Shit, what would I even do? Maybe drag someone out if they inhale water? Hit one of those things with a stick?
As I stared down, the fight continued. Owlbear was frantically bashing the serpent against the rocks while it raked its claws across his forearms, and Syl was jabbing a knife into hers while Rosie tried and failed to line up a clean shot with the Harpoon without impaling Syl. They were stubborn little bastards, and when my dolphin burst into a rapidly fading grey cloud the last of the three reoriented and lunged for Owlbear’s back.
I hexed the one engaged with Syl, judging her medical expertise to be more valuable than Owlbear’s brute strength. Preferably we could keep both, but one must plan for the worst.The cold, intrusive thoughts were distinctly unpleasant, but they weren’t wrong. If someone went down, Syl was the closest thing to a healer we had. Hopefully with all of its muscles stiff from my hex, it would be easier for the girls to take down.
A cloud of green blood plumed around Owlbear as he repeatedly smashed the creature in his hands. It was a brutal, artless way of fighting, and it was without question the most effective method any of my companions had managed so far. He practically ignored the creature clawing at his bare back as far as I could tell, hyper fixated on the one in front of him.
Syl was too closely engaged for her harpoon to be effective, so she struggled to separate herself from the reefclaw’s pincers. Once she managed to get some space, Rosie swooped in with her own harpoon, impaling the horrid creature. I felt a rush of hope that she’d be able to help Owlbear, but instead she started to drift away from the other two sluggishly, clutching at her weeping injuries.
My eyes frantically flicked between the real-time conflict and the constant stream of updates rolling up my field of view. I cursed the reeflclaw latched onto Owlbear’s back; it seemed to be the biggest threat at the moment. Next, I dug through the updates for some explanation of what was going on with Syl, eventually finding a clue.
Syl: Fortitude save failed.
Syl: Swim check failed.
The only thing I know about that asks for fortitude saves is poison. Are those things venomous, too? If she passes out underwater, the other two can’t help her. I steeled myself and dove into the water. I didn’t know if Autopilot could even cast spells underwater, but I was pretty sure I could help a cooperative woman get to the surface.
While I swam down to help Syl, I was impeded by autopilot borrowing my hands. The last of my arcane energy was funneled into a pair of conjured dolphins, each a momentary distraction for our foe. There was little left for me to do in this battle save perhaps fire rays of frost; in a fight this desperate, anything could make the difference. I lost track of the details of the fight while I swam, just hoping that the others could make full use of my distracting dolphin maneuver.
By the time I made my way to the surface with Syl, the fight was over. A quick glance down showed the mismatched pair of bruisers swimming to the surface. Holy shit they can hold their breath for a long time. While fighting, no less. Is that a character sheet thing or did I just suck at holding my breath in my last life?My mind spiraled with adrenaline while I helped Syl into the boat, latching onto any thought that sprang to mind.
Owlbear was a bloody mess, needing all three of us to help him onto the boat. A glance at his character sheet starkly informed me that he had one hit point. Shit. I basically went unconscious when I hit zero. He might have drowned. All this for a stupid mission. Wait. Shit. The mission.
I checked my log and it was definitely incomplete.
“Rosie, you ok?” I snapped at her, realizing that there was a lot of blood in the water. When she nodded I cut her off before she could answer verbally. “Look, if we can bring back one of those things it’ll look really damn good for all of us. I don’t think we’ll get another chance to salvage the trip with Owlbear and Syl in this state.” (Diplomacy 4+4=8. Failure)
She was at near full health, and a hell of a lot stronger than me. I needed her to get one of those things onto the boat.
“That’s what you’re worried about right now?” She demanded, flabbergasted.
I saw the failure note, so I didn’t try to push her. I took a deep breath and dove back down. This was all me, and it was a pain in the ass.
Please don’t be sharks. Please don’t be sharks. Would darkness even stop sharks? Do they have super smelling or something? Am I an idiot?
I was able to grab Rosie’s harpoon, which thankfully still had a shish kabobed reefclaw on it. The swim back up was a hell of a lot slower, but whether it was Besmara’s favor or sheer dumb luck I was able to reach the safety of the boat, where Rosie helped me clamber in before scavengers inevitably came for my prize.
“Thanks, Rosie.” I said, a bit punchy.
Looking around, everyone was still recovering. Syl had drunk a few of her alchemical tonics, difficult to do underwater, and was binding a facedown Owlbear’s wounds with shaky hands. She’s taking his injuries seriously, but doesn’t believe him to be in immediate danger. (Sense Motive 10+2= 12) Everything seems pretty stable. Thank the gods.
“So,” I cracked, “I guess it’s time for dinner. Who’s up for hard tack and smoked fish?”
“Me!” Came a surprisingly enthusiastic response from Owlbear’s prone form. “I’m starving!”
The tension broke, and we all laughed.
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