All sails are out as the captain turns the Whisper away from the roaring, rushing sound of a truly immense waterfall. “I’m not sure if we are making headway or not,” he sounds as if he knows and does not like the answer. A minute later, “We’re going to have to cut your boat loose, Krrathuun,” he says sadly. “Could we try to sail it on its own,” Baern asks? Krrathuun sighs and shakes his head, “It isn’t half as fast as the Whisper,” he replies dismally. Brorb offers the machete, Krrathuun takes it and cuts his ship loose. It is pulled out of sight in a quick second, and Whisper seems to jolt forward. “Still not breaking free,” he says, “there are eight oars,” he points to where they are stored along the port and starboard rail, “strongest get to rowing.” Two of the fishermen, and six of the company grab oars, with Obie and Vorkath leading the group. Pulling for all they are worth, they begin to make some headway.
“I can fill a sail with wind,” Crab offers after some thought. Brorb smiles, nodding and he gestures, “That sail, face that way,” he points. Crab conjures up a gust of wind filling the sail and concentrating holds it for a full minute. With the rowers, this is enough to pull free of a current. A half an hour water, the oars are shipped, and sails propel the Whisper onward.
A shadow clinging to a sail detaches, thick, black swirling vapor with a vaguely bipedal form, stretches out shadow arms and wraps around Tammuz, then sink into him. The claws reappear, tearing through the flesh from the inside. Crossbow bolts seem to pass through the thing, Vorkath swings but his sword does not seem to bite deep. Crab strikes true with Dawnbringer flaring into bright sunlight, cutting deep into smoky flesh. Tammuz warps time around the creature, and then Baern sends it fleeing with a psychic blast that causes the belker to flee straight away from him.
The cloud of smoke disappears into the darkness, taking a final slash from Vorkath’s sword, and the captain begins looking for a place to anchor and rest. An hour later, the captain lowers the anchor, and watches begin. Below decks there is light, a small fire is lit, and a meal is cooked. Uncommon lessons continue until one by one, all but the watchers fall asleep. One of the kuo toan crew sits with each watch now. In the last hour of Baern’s watch, an insectile skittering, chittering sound comes from the darkness above. Baern takes a strip of cloth, soaks it in oil, wraps it around a crossbow bolt, lights it, and shoots it into the ceiling to starboard, making sure it won’t fall back onto the ship.
THUNK! The bolt digs into a cleft in the rock. A whirring noise fills the air as the small green beetles, hundreds of them, fan their wings, retreating from the light. On the back of each beetle is what looks like a human eye.
“The fuck,” he exclaims in horror at seeing the things on the ceiling. “I’m waking the captain,” he says sprinting to the stairs, and heading below. The captain is roused, and Baern repeats his trick with a second flaming bolt. This one bounces off the stone, and shoots hissing into the black water. However, the captain can clearly see the beetles in the brief light. They seem to be passing by, headed southwest to the northeast. It is a long hour waiting for the sounds to slowly fade away. The rest of the night passes by quietly.
The anchor is raised and the Whisper moves out silently on the slight breeze. For the first few hours all is quiet. The new crew is quietly adjusting to their new roles. Undercommon lessons continue as the hours pass. A series of large rocks, some are small islands, jut up from the black water. Mushroom can be seen pushing up here and there on the dark rock. “Whoa,” Captain Brorb says as the ship slows as if hitting a mud bank. “Something slowing us, grabbing us,” he calls out. People rush to the railing on all sides, but nothing is visible below in the dark water. “What the fuck is that,” Jimjar calls from the stern. Two large wooden platforms appear around the side of the two large rock islands behind the ship, once from each side. Their movement makes you think they will come together sixty or so feet behind the Whisper.
Black scaled kobolds appear over the tops of the nearest rocks, flickering flames on the end of their crossbows. Dozens of flaming bolts are fired, and the kobolds are not aiming at the crew, but seem intent on setting the shit on fire. After the first volley, there are three separate spots on the bow now blazing. “CREW!!! FIRE DETAIL,” the captain shouts, and buckets of water are tossed onto the flames. The two wooden platforms have walls and towers with lots of murder slits. Flickering flames are visible through the slits as kobolds light and fire flaming bolts towards the rear of the ship. Two hit, but the fires are quickly extinguished by the crew.
“Explosive bolts,” Tammuz grins,” and taking one out, fires at the floating platform on the port side. WHUMP!!! The left side of the floating structure explodes, and fire licks up across the wooden structure. Eldeth follows his with an incendiary bolt passed to her by Baern. She hits the other side, and seconds later the floating platform comes apart dumping the remaining kobolds into the dark water. None of them will reach shore. Flaming arrows rain down on the ship from three rocks and the remaining platform.
Those onboard retaliate with exploding bolts that tear the rocky mounds apart, sending bits of kobolds into the air. The Whisper’s crew stays ahead of the kobolds flaming bolts, and the fires are put out as fast as they start. The hill to the south is blown up leaving only two surviving kobolds, both of home dive into the water, on fire. “We have to back up,” Baern calls!! Captain Brorb points, “Oars, four on each side,” and folks run to the oars. Obie and Vorkath lead the rowers, joined by the strongest of the company and crew. Two of the fishermen prove to be the next strongest after Obie and Vorkath. Slowly, the ship begins to move backwards. Sarith and Eldeth blow up and set fire to the remaining wooden platform. As it collapses, a single surviving kobold dives into the black water and swims towards the rocks.
Kobolds to the north, fire three flaming bolts, which seem to slow as Tammuz bends time to his will, delaying them. When his magic ends, the bolts suddenly shoot forward, but fall hissing into the water several feet from the bow. With both platforms destroyed, the rowers seem to have an easier time backing the ship away. Free of the trap, the rowers help get the ship out of the kobold’s crossbow range. As they sail away, it does not seem like many of the kobolds who hit the water will reach short. Swimmers are deftly plucked from the surface and disappear, most quite silently. The flaming rock mounds and cries of burning kobolds fade away as the ship moves out across the dark water.
“Krurgh,” is the odd sound Jimjar makes as a harpoon flies across the railing and impales him. He looks at the chain attached to the harpoon, and he is yanked over the railing with a scream that ends in a splash. Six merrow form a ring around the boat, and their long tails lift them to deck height as they launch harpoons at the company. Jimjar is grabbed beneath the dark water and disappears from view.
More harpoons are launched, and a larger merrow, with a larger head crest, surfaces, and begins firing some sort of dart gun that shoots three darts each time it is fired. Crab is hit with a harpoon, but resists being dragged over. Vorkath steps over and breaks the chain easily with his hands. Harpoons bounce off armor, or are ducked by the quick. Buppido snaps off a poisoned bolt at the merrow who attacked Crab, hits, the thing sinks down out of sight, poisoned. Crab casts a thorn wall around the front of ship where the most merrow are located. Obie throws a rock and hits a merrow, which fires back a harpoon, but Obie knocks it aside. Sarith is harpooned and dragged over the side screaming.
Buppido is hit with a spray of darts from the larger merrow, and drops to the deck, poisoned. The three darts all hitting him in the face, and marring it, nearly taking out his left eye. Crab is hit with a second harpoon, but once again, she stands her ground and the merrow is unable to pull her overboard. Topsy takes a harpoon and is snatched off the deck. She hits the water and is gone, dragged below out of sight. Sarith fires his crossbow, and a harpoon impales him and he too is yanked over the rail, disappearing with a splash.
Beneath the surface, Jimjar fights valiantly the free himself, and of those pulled over, he lasts the longest. Holding his breath long after Topsy perishes, he sadly struggles in vain. Tammuz bends chronomancy magics around the leader, necrotic energies draining him. Sarith breaks free and swims towards the boat. A merrow reaches for him, but is cut down by multiple crossbow bolts. Baern throws a rope over the edge and helps the drow climb back onto the deck. Tammuz loads an explosive bolt and targets the leader. WHUMP! The explosion is loud, and a huge hole is blown in the side of the creature, but it is not dead. The remaining merrow are all finished off, except the one with the dart gun, who dives as soon as the rest of his crew is defeated.
“Fuck that,” Tammuz says and dives off the boat into the black water. He finishes the fleeing merrow elite with a spell, and then grabs the dart gun and a pouch from the sinking merrow. He makes it to the surface, and climbs back aboard with help from Obie. Topsy and Jimjar do not surface. Topsy is disconsolate with the loss of her twin brother becoming even more withdrawn.
Jimjar and Topsy do not reappear after being harpooned and dragged into the water by merrow. Jimjar lasted the longest, but this only meant he was farther from the surface when his air finally gave out.