Journal of Reiah Aisari – Beyond the Oljatt Sea

Log Date: September 14, 2024

We decide to stay on the Stalwart Mermaid for the night as we felt we could defend it easier than the beach.  Brother Genasi and I took watch along with some of the crew while the others slept.  The night was quiet except for the bird and monkey calls from the forest.

In the morning the remaining officers met to discuss what to do next.  I took a swim, while Jasidin Roku polished his shield.  I dove deep and found what I was looking for.

When I came back aboard, Truf was named first mate, and Lockjaw went back to his Quartermaster post.  From what I gathered, this made Truf in charge.  He asked Jasidin Roku and I to be part of the “rescue” party to find the rest of the crew, including the captain.  We all knew where they were, but we weren’t sure what, or who was waiting for us.  Lockjaw and the rest of the crew stayed aboard to start the repairs.

I handed Truf a large pearl and asked him if that would do for what he needed and he thanked me.  He was about to launch into a tale of some port or another, but I went back to my room to change.  When I came up Truf handed me a spyglass as if he felt he needed to repay me.  We gathered our supplies and headed back to the hole we discovered yesterday.

We arrive and found a partially skinned crew member lying next to the pool.  Brother Genasi healed him and recognized him as Raja, one of the deck crew.  Raja said he was tortured, and he had escaped.  I asked him what waited us down there and he said the hole opened into a cavern – the caverns are huge and there were many, lizardfish down there. Taller than me – so the ones we fought last night we’re young.  He didn’t know if the other crew were alive or not.

We told him to head to the ship.  We did not think it was too far for everyone to swim except for Pew who could not hold his breath, being he was a bird.  Apparently, this had come up before as Brother Genesi took a bucket he brought and turned it upside on Pew.  He would have enough air inside to get him through the hole.

Brother Genesi and I went first – taking a rope with us and swam down and through the hole.  We fell out of the water onto the rocky floor of a large cavern – the water suspended above us.  What trickery was this?  I checked to make sure we could easily climb the cavern walls if we had to escape.  We pulled on the rope and the rest came down and joined us.

We stood looking around the cavern.  We heard the dripping of water and the faint sound of screaming far into the cavern.  It was very dark, Pew and Jasidin Roku cast magical light so they could see.

We did not get far when a lizard – a four-legged large lizard – attacked us.  I was jabbing it with my spear with Truf and Roku next to me.  A harpoon came out of the dark and hit Roku in the chest knocking him back.  “Against the walls,” I yelled, falling back to hug a wall as I was sure more harpoons were on their way.  Truf, was not as fast which is not surprising since he’s old and has one leg.  The beast grabbed hold of his leg, biting hard. He stumbled back behind me. We kill the beast, and the clerics heal the wounded.  Truf grumbled that I left him defenseless, and I pointed out he should not have been up front anyway, he was too slow.

I tell the others to wait and sneak down the hall and come to a wall made of seaweed.  I gather the others, and we peek through and see two large crabs guarding the entrance.  Pew creates an illusion of a fish basket, and I part the seaweed curtain so they can see it.  The crabs fall for it, and we slip into the next room. 

There are three lizardfish looking at a broken makeshift ballista.  They come after us.  Behind them in a cage is another four-legged lizard – but a different species than the one we just killed.  Brother Genasi calls on his god and I swear those lizardfish had a harder time hitting us.  The air cracked with magic as my four companions caused illusions and distorted sounds and mind splitting pain hit them.  I poked them with my spear, which they didn’t like much.  Pew – who is smarter than the average bird kept them from opening the cage and by the time the crabs discovered the illusion, we had dispatched the lizardfish and easily killed them.  I took the best meat for our meal that night.  We also found a shell ring and 15 gp.  We left the lizard in the cage.

As we were about to head down the next hallway I noticed an odd stone, and when pushed revealed a hidden door.  We entered inky blackness and not even my honed senses could help us.  I told everyone to hang on to the one in front of them and we walked out of the darkness into a smaller cavern that was a bed chamber.  A user of magic came out from behind a stone wall, his hands starting to weave a spell.  Jasidin Roku called upon the pirate coin and slewed the priest where he stood.  He had on a silver ring that Truf said was a ring of fire resistance, 20 gp and 10 pp.  We also found 3 gems (100gp); small bag of silver wire and a journal in a chest. Brother Genasi said was written in primordial.  It said that several travelers were imprisoned and taken below, so there is a lower level to the caverns!  It also talked of a plan to raid a port town in the near future…a town close to here?

At the back of the room were two levels and a curtain.  When we pulled it aside it was as if someone had put the jungle in a cage.  Animal sounds came deep within in the cage.  On either side were levels.  Being a curious bunch we had Truf pull the first and the cage began to open, and the growling got louder…Truf pulled again to close it.  The second level cause a faint glow at the back of the cave as if a moon had risen.  We decided not to find out what was in the cage and headed back to the other room.  We moved down the hallway and came to a fur curtain – what was it with these lizardfish and curtains!  We hear a loud gong…then everything becomes strangely quiet, too quiet. Truf orders us all back to the secret door room to regroup and rest.