Tana made a face at the idea of being the first to go in.

"Perhaps you should row in, and I'll fly in just behind.  If they start shooting at you as you draw near, I can burn them out?"

They had witnessed the devastating power of her called fire when they were at the keep.

While those above the water discuss the details of the plan the stealth bear under the water just keeps on swimming, slowly and carefully approaching the dock as if bears were a perfectly normal thing to find swimming in caves, little more than a nose and eyes sticking above the water line.

As the others discuss their plans, Gorm swims into the large cavern, the sound of her movement quiet against the watery echos of the massive space. Ahead she spies a group of figures standing on a stone quay to the right of the flowing water. A small skiff is moored to the quay, and a torch burns in a bronze sconce by the tunnel mouth.

A canal leads to the north beyond the boat, and the lake continues west into darkness.

One of the figures, a leather-clad woman idly spinning a barnacle-encrusted shield on her arm, points into the water. "We expectin' any wildlife Eyon?" she says as she watches the submerged bear approach.

---

New Map!
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:23, Sat 31 Oct 2020.

Morg starts rowing again, trying to look friendly and like he belongs there.

Tana stayed about twenty feet behind the boat, and fifteen fight above the water.  She had no desire to learn what had been bubbling about there, or to be spotted first.

Magdrak keeps his hand on his weapon while he sits back in the boat, looking ahead while the others row.  He mutters, hopefully soft enough to only be heard by the others in close proximity.  "Wonder if they will take us for some of the group from the keep?"

'Perhaps....perhaps.  My gut tells me that this will come down to blows.  It always does...."  Durik mutters half in response to Magdrak and half to himself.  He continue to row as fast as he can to help close the distance.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:27, Mon 02 Nov 2020.

Requiring no additional effort to look like a normal bear, tired, wounded, and likely even desperate, Gorm swims directly up to the side of the tiny skiff and attempts to climb into it, getting more than a little water into the unfortunate and now most likely sinking vessel only then does she seem to notice the people, whom she greets with a surprised roar that seems to be more fear than rage, although probably more than enough of either to drive the motivations of a bear.

Several figures on the pull long javelins from their backs, alternately facing the bear and the arriving boat. A leather-clad figure whistles into the lake, then calls the boat, keeping a wary eye on the bear.

"Speak! Where do ye motley crew be comin' from?" Ripples in the lake play out, waves moving through the murky water towards the quay.

"From the keep - we're heading down." Morg says, rowing as if the place already belongs to him.

"And where exactly do you think you're going, and for what purpose?" the figure called back, the ripples from the lake approaching closer.

---

Morg obtains Inspiration for entering the 2nd of 4 underground temple areas!

"To Tyar-Besil, to shore up it's defenses."

"I'm Morg, and the bear in the water's with us." Morg says, steering for the quay.

Makari let Morg do the talking for now, since the dwarf seemed to be handling it. The names being tossed out that he wasn't familiar with made him pause but he kept his face schooled as he waited to see how the people would react to Morg's assertion, ready for a fight if needs be.

The waters just in front of the boat explode upward as a large shark bursts from below the surface. "You'll go no further, and you'll drop all your weapons and come to shore," Eyon calls from the landing. "You'll be well taken care of with the other prisoners. Or, ye will all drown."

---

What next?

"Whoa there," Morg says as he holds up one hand and slowly unsheathes his greatsword, and drops it in the rowboat. "There seems to be some kind of misunderstanding - we're coming from the keep."

"Please tell your fish friend we're more tin," knocking on his armor, "than dwarf meat."

He steers for the shore.

Makari didn't really carry weapons, aside from his staff. When Morg first started trying to talk to the people on the shore at a distance, Makari had set it down across his lap. When told that they had to drop their weapon in the water, he did not do so. If they wanted to start a fight over it, he would give as good as he got. But he wasn't about to give up his focus in to the gross water full of gross things.

Eyon alternately eyes the boat approaching the shore, escorted by the shark swimming nearby, and the large bear sitting in the other boat.

"And exactly who at the Keep thinks the Temple needs shoring up? She folds her hands curiously in front of her, crossing her forefingers overlapping her thumbs, creating an x-shape linked by a line across the bottom.

---

Make deception/persuasion/other checks as appropriate! ;)

"I don't know anything about a temple." Morg says, and rows faster to the shore.

Makari frowned at Morg. He looked at the shore and shook his head. "Honestly? They didn't tell us much. Just growled orders at us and we were expected to do as we're told." He gave a shrug. "If you don't want us here, and you want to give us a message to bring back, I mean, whatever."

17:06, Today: Secret Roll: Makari rolled 15 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 10.  Deception.

The boat reaches the shore, and the group piles out, Tana hovering in the air nearby.

"Messengers, new recruits, or spies from the Eternal Flamers," Eyon mutters skeptically. "Who sent ye? Who's sending motleys down to me?"

Magdrak steps forward, his battleaxe in his hand hanging easily down his side.  "Well, I am not sure you would call me a recruit, though I am new to the group.  I was hired;  I am a mercenary, you see, from the Bloodaxes.  No offense, but I do not believe in your cause, whatever it is.  Only believe in the gold I have been offered.  As for them blasted Eternal Flamers, last time I saw them they set a fiery beast after me, and for Valkauna knows what reason, so they can all go to Hades for all I care."

---

OOC:

14:53, Today: Secret Roll: Magdrak rolled 18 using 1d20+6 with rolls of 12.  Persuasion Roll.

Makari tried to stay neutral and almost bored looking as the people on the shore spoke back again, just after the boat finally 'landed'. He stood up and hopped out of the boat, one hand on the side of the boat as if to keep it place, the other on his staff, which he held horizontally over the boat so it wouldn't go in the water. He glanced behind him at the water to see if seemed to be lurking in it nearby.

He glanced in a slight bit of surprise as Magdrak spoke up, having been silent up until then in the conversation. He gave a small shrug at the dwarf's words, but was getting ready for a fight. "Look. Whatever. If you're uninterested in putting us to work? Fine. We'll go back. Otherwise, can we skip ahead and move along? This is boring."

18:46, Today: Secret Roll: Makari rolled 21 using 1d20+6 with rolls of 15.  Perception.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:47, Wed 16 Dec 2020.

Morg picks up his greatsword and gets out of the boat, looking around.

---

15:08, Today: Morg Danforge rolled 5 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 1.  Perception check at everyone on the shore.

"Very well, I will find some work for you," Eyon replies, eyeing her companions and nodding slightly. "If you'll just leave your weapons here and walk this way," she says, indicating the stone passageway leading east from the docks, "we will show you to your stations."

---

Map updated!

Morg ignores the demand to leave his weapons, and starts walking to the eastern stone passageway.