The Bleak and The Pearl [SoloDark] Part 9 - Bringing the Fight to the Fish Folk

 [Starting Checks and Recaps]

• Repairing the "Heart" Flow: Failed. It is technically impossible at this stage but Nat 20 should have some fun effect. Just not yet.
• Secrecy Check: Still nothing noticed from above.
• Barrier Check: Barriers actually hold this time. 

Mostly just status quo as the team preps to dive back into the Monolith of the Cyclops (which is not a proper Monolith but naming tables going to name and I thought it was funny) and this time will start out focusing on fighting Garoshen, a fish folk leader, and his tribe of fish folk that have taken up residence. Last time the team let a Sea Hag go in exchange for information about the location of the fish folk. However, her advice was for them to be a Sea Hag. So there might be some dress up involved.

Part 9 - Bringing the Fight to the Fish Folk

"Why haven't they reacted to us, yet?" Rance Uffolt wonders. The human mage takes on the role of lore master for the team and has found the rare case of a monster he does not know. It has now been ten days since the barriers were completed to block the tidal flow into the Monolith and yet the gar folk have not attacked. Surely their lair is starting to dry out. [1]

"At least we aren't dressing up like Sea Hags," quips Inar Gale, halfing priest. Checking his equipment and preparing for today's delve, Possibly the most dangerous the four have ever faced. Despite Tidepool Alice's advice to use the gar folk fear of sea hags to frighten them into fleeing or hiding, the four had a long debate and decided a direct approach is best. [2]

Step one. Try talking. Is it possible? Who knows.

Step two. Let Grusk get to chopping with his axe and Rance blasting with his spells while Tom and Inar try to keep them alive. 

Step three. Flee back up the main tunnel and keep the gar folk mad enough to follow. 

Step four. House Marius has loaned five soldiers that will take point along the various pillars and join in the fray-and-flee. They have been warned that these soldiers are to not be expended gleefully. 

Step five. If it gets to step five, the mission is considered lost. Blow the barriers holding back the tidal water. Flush the fish back deeper inside and are likely to be placated until a bigger force can be gathered to drive them out. 

Step six. "Get drunk or panic. Both." This is Spotted Tom, goblin thief. He has spent the last hour pushing forward with Grusk Obe, half-orc fighter. They have been placing bright, long burning lanterns along the walls. Rance figures that gar folk have lived in near complete darkness long enough that day-bright light will put them off. [3]

Rance has wrapped himself in mage armor. Inar tried to get a holy weapon spell to stick to Grusk's gear again and did not pull it off. Tom packs an extra quiver of arrows into his pack. At this point, it feels like they are stalling and so Grusk nods to the other three and they begin the slow descent down. They pass by side tunnels not yet explored. There's still a lot of Monolith to explore. 

Unfortunately, not far past the last the lanterns, the ground is wet. Quite wet. And very, very slippery. Stepping into the black mold on the floor, Grusk is the first to go and it is not long before the other three join him, sliding down a dozen feet and slamming into the brackish, stagnant water at the bottom. Backpacks and equipment are scattered. At they kept grip on their weapons. And Rance's staff emitting light. But it will take them some time to gather the other bits. Time they do not have. [4]

Five of the gar folk are aiming tridents at them. Their long snouts (full of teeth) are shouting back in a strangle gurgling language. 

"Tell me, Uffolt, about the steps again. I like the steps." Grusk is not amused by the sudden collapse but Inar is nervously chuckling at least. Or gagging. The water down here stinks. Tom and Inar both look quite ill. "Ah, that's it, time to die, then," says the half-orc before Rance gets a hand on him. Let Inar try the friendly approach. Unfortunately the sick Halfling is unable to figure out the language and just ends up sounding like a person puking. Which he is. The gar folk are not amused and clearly go to stab the halfling in his throat. [5]

Grusk goes for the nearest one and chops the head clean from its shoulders with a single slice. This has the expected result as the others scream and target him. Rance dives for his backpack but is unable to get to it in time. Neither Tom nor Inar can recover in time to get into the battle. 

The enraged gar folk begin trying to bite and stab Grusk as they close in on him. He manages to keep distance between him and then by swinging his axe around in wide sweeps but one of the tridents catches in on the side. [6]

Trying to press the offensive and by the halfing and goblin some time, Grusk steps forth and downs another of the gar folk by chopping through its torso. Behind him, Rance has managed to find his pack and with a quick search pulls for this Wand of Webs. Inar is still clearly struggling but Tom recovers enough to land a solid hit against one of the gar. 

Grusk's luck is clearly running out, though. One of the remaining gars bites through the plating on Grusk's arm and and another lands a spot on hit against the half orc's neck as his blood joins the corpses on the floor. 

This last injury takes the fight out Grusk for a moment who slams Bloodlust into the floor and stumbles to the side. A flustered Rance tries to focus the webs from the wand to the corridor beyond and fails to channel the proper energy. Inar is by Grusk's side and manages to get a weak healing spell off. Tom gives cover fire and drives one of the remaining gars back. Another runs forward in the opening and leaps on Grusk, biting him deeply and the two go down in a fight. [7]

"ACID ARROW!" Chants Rance, shooting off a bolt of acid that embeds into the back of the one struggling before Grusk shoves up and slams the gar into the wall, an axe in his chest. This buys times for Inar to get his mace into the stomach of another while Tom's arrows continue to ring true and fly over the halfing in his foe to land in the throat of the final gar folk warrior. The fish folk do not run from the fight, though, and now turn their attention to the halfling who is the closest target. 

Inar squeaks and pulls back into his armor as blows rain down on it but do not manage to pierce through it. 

This is the change in tide that the others need and in the next few seconds magic missiles, arrows, axe swings, and mace slams have finished off the last two. [8]

Grunts echo down the the corridor, coming this way fast. The adventurers gather up their stuff in a hurry without any real time to sort it. "Back up the slippery slide to doom or do we run into the unknown?" No thought of trying to make another stand right away. 

Rance takes the lead on this one: "We head south, screw the plan." Tom runs ahead with Grusk right behind. Inar and Rance take up the rear. They can move faster than the gar folk on land but have to be careful of wading too deep into the sludgy water. 

Unfortunately, their flight is interrupted nearly immediately because they tear through the hallway to the south they come across a giant spider feasting on another of the gar folk, and the spider is angry about the interruption, leaping at Tom! Tom takes the bite but at least resists the spider's poison and Grusk and Inar finish it off. No time to investigate further, they push further into the south, trudging through the water. The gar folk at least not getting closer. Based on the sounds, the creatures might either gathering their dead...

"...or eating them," Tom finishes a sentence no one else spoke out loud. This buys them a short amount of time and the quartet notice a door over to their right. Tom, despite the spider hit, still pushes forward into the lead, slams open the door and...

Disappears under the surface of the water.  A few seconds later he resurfaces. "What in blazes, it's some sort of pit..." [9]

"Not that one then," the deeply wounded Grusk grunts. And now takes lead as Rance helps Tom to his feet. They manage to get to some steps and start angling their way back up until they are completely out of the water and are walking across the floor when Tom stops them. 

"WAIT YOU BASTARDS!" 

Grusk's feet a few feet for stepping onto a large sigil in the floor. It's edges already starting to glow. Rance looks at it. "It's an old Barthic sigil for a sleep spell. Just out in the open!" [10]

"Yes, yes, fascinating. Gale, can you heal me?" Grusk points to the deep gashes in his arm and side. The halfing tries again and despite initial exhaustion, gets the spell off. The half-orc's skin heals quickly. 

While distant, the gar folk grunts still grow closer and closer. [11]

"I have a plan," says Tom. 

There are five of them now though none of them can count that high. The people. Driven out of the swamps to the north after generations of fighting against the catfish folk. Forced to find a new place to live. Brought here because of a familiar energy. The other creatures here being either food of foe. The sea hag feeding on them. Them feeding on the slimes. It felt a bit like home.

Until these new things washed up. And suddenly those that had gone to find out what the new noises were were gone. Chopped to bits. Delicious. The people do not let good food go to waste, even when it is each other. These things are dumb. Not like the people. Leaving their scent in the water. 

Leaving their weird finless footprints on the dry stone. Maybe they think people are too weak to come out of the water, but they will...

A bright flash as the sigil lights up, and 3 of gar folk collapse immediately. Two stand tall but are deeply confused. At least until an acid bolt flies out of the nearby darkness and joins an arrow bolt and finally a thrown axe. Now only one remains. He snarls, and charges at the darkness that took his fellow warriors. 

Before falling asleep just the same. [12]

"Is the trap sprung, Uffolt?" Grusk asks and before Rance can check the half orc grabs-his axe and finishes off all the gar folk and tosses their body down the steps back into the water pool below. 

IT. WAS. FASCINATING. 

The new voice they can all hear in their heads. Outside of language but all can know exactly what the words are. Looking back into the room they were hiding in, they see the bulk of the being calling itself Ollazelle. A massive example of the mushrom folk. Too big to leave by the doors in the room. 

THAT. SPELL. HAS. BEEN. THERE. FOR. MANY. BLOOMS. 

And then a sound in their brain that is just like a mushroom laughing. Which it is. 

While it was a shock to open a door and to find an impossibly large mushroom man with a bright red head (well, multiple bright red heads, he is quite big) it was a somewhat welcome surprise to find something that wasn't immediately trying to kill them. Because Olla is very, very bored. 

THE. OTHERS. AVOID. I. TALK. TO. RATS. AND. BUGS. AND. EAT. RATS. AND. BUGS.

When asked why the other mushroom folk were avoiding this area, Olla happily showed a ghastly series of memories of itself devouring other, smaller mushroom folk with glee. It is apparently how the people ultimately share information and learn. Just not quite so viciously. Or wholly. And not without sharing a little of yourself in return, which Ollazelle definitely does not like to do. 

Inar tried asking if it was the eating or not sharing that was the crime and Ollazelle seemed mostly amused by the question. Tom asked if he was going to try eating them and again: amusement. 

YOU. BRAIN. SIZE. OF. RATS. FUNNY. FUNNY. 

Despite this, they are a bit reluctant to stay inside the room with the giant psychic mushroom for too long. Just in case it gets confused. Grusk keeps grimacing and squinting while staring at it, obviously keeps trying to think loudly at it, to test Ollazelle it is able to read their thoughts but apparently that is a one way street. That or non-fungal thoughts are simply of no interest. 

Rance has noticed a series of levers and cables in the room, some now semi-consumed by the bulk, but it would require crawling on top of Olla to reach them. Something he is not quite ready to do, yet. However, based on the issue of aligning the flow of salt water above, Rance feels this is something important. Unfortunately, Ollazelle seems to mostly consider the levers and contraptions to be mostly a series of weeds and vines.

Still, the talkative mushroom might have its uses. Rance has tried arguing the group can rest nearby if anyone or anything approaches it can send a psychic alarm and wake them up. The rations survived the fall and most of the other stuff is dry-ish now. Though prone to stink. [14]

Grusk, however, has said the best approach is attack right now. Not Ollazelle (maybe also Ollazelle), while the gar folk are damaged and hurt. Inar is leaning towards heading back. If the people up talk think the four of them are dead or captured they might try a rescue mission and he does not see it going well. He also wants to wash off a bit after being covered in crusty mud for the past half hour. 

It comes down to Tom. Who goes back and forth. Rest can help Rance reattune to some of his spells and his wand. Let them heal up a bit. An attack makes sense because Tidepool Alice has been running population control on the gar folk for years. There cannot be too many. And going back makes sense because if he was up there and the people failed to return he might try to go in and rescue them. 

The latter moves Tom the most so he suggests going back. Which brings us back to Rance who has a rough sketch map and needs to work out the best way to go. [15]

Rance figures that one of the side tunnels they passed by on the way down the main flow path should connect up to the tunnel they are on and it might get them higher up before the black mold makes the whole surface too slippery. What's more, it gives them a path to try and come around from behind and avoid the dangers of that initial path. [16]

They get ready to head back up the surface and regroup for a second push against the gar folk. As they pack up and start walking north, they "hear" Ollazelle say,

COME. BACK. AGAIN. SOME. TIME. FUNNY. LITTLES.

And Rance, in full honesty, turns and says, "Oh, we will." At some point, they are going to have to figure out how to get past Olla an examine those levers.

MECHANICAL NOTES

1. Are the gar folk causing issues for the rest of Grunce. 10 --> A TWIST! 40 Avoid, 74 Essence + 34 Forbid, 77 Vision. So, no. The creatures are disrupted by the energies of the Lighthouse and remain staunchly below. 
2. Vote dice. First rolls were inclusive. Final roll was three 6s and one 2. So "high road" wins. 
3. "Will it put the gar folk at disadvantage?" 18: Yes and a lot of it. As a note, the gar folk are going to use sahuagin as a base but then be modified to be the following: AC13 (leather), HP 8, ATK 1 trident (near) +1 (1d6) + 1 bite (close) +2 (1d8), MV near (swim), S+0, D+2, C+0, I-1, W+0, Ch-1, AL C, LV 2 Half-Amphibious. Must be submerged in water every 2 hours or suffocates. They are very slightly less tanky but also a bit more dangerous in close combat. Garoshen himself will get +2 to basically all of those numbers.
4. Is the sloping hallway slippery, I asked, to establish some potential hazards and got a nat 20 on the oracle so "so slippery that a DEX DC12 roll would be reasonable to keep their feet" and just whiffs galore. I then did a second DEX DC12 roll to see if they kept at least their hand held equipment and at least they passed that one. They are armed but things like extra arrows, torches, etc, are missing. And they will have to do a DC12 to try and flee back up the tunnel they were planning on fleeing back up. Rance also is missing the map that makes it obvious which way to go. 
5. Why not kick them while they are down. CON DC9 to see if they can resist the heavy stench. Rance and Grusk did. Tom and Inar passed. Funnily enough, even rolling init at disadvantage, Grusk and Rance act first.
6. All attacks against Grusk missed but one which only did 1 point of damage. It could definitely be going worse, all things considered. 
7. There's the worse. Grusk gets hit with a critical attack and knocked pretty hard and then fails his next roll. He has 4 hitpoints remaining (but Inar gets him back up to 8, managing to complete the healing even at disadvantage). Rance fails to cast the spell from the wand even with a luck point, so the wand is useless for the day. Tom keeps landing hits but it'll take a minute. One of the gar lands another attack on Grusk and this one is a 6hp bite. Heh, it might still take me a minute to balance this game a bit.
8. Now they finally decide to hit. Grusk is down to 2hp. Luckily thanks to a couple of Nat20s, they have 3 luck points. But Rance has lost his web spell AND his magic missile spell and Inar has lost his Holy Weapon spell. I'm going to give them one roll to retrieve their backpack or they have to leave it behind. All make it (Rance already has his) 
9. Got a solo monster right away. Then did a check on the room and it was "minor hazard: a short fall". Rolled d20 and got 16 feet deep. Except, in this place, that's water, not a fall. I randomly rolled to see who would go first because if it was someone in plate mail, it would have been a problem.
10. Trap: Ancient. Magical. Effect is 2d8 sleep. Rance Nat20'd being able to recognize it so there you go. This actually refills all their luck tokens. They likely need it. Note: the team had been moving at speed earlier and had no chance to really check for traps. However, each roll to see how close the gar folk have shown the gar as falling back so by now the team has a chance to slow down and move more slowly. And then Tom Nat20'd the trap check so the trap is realllly obvious. 
11. A whiff with a spent luck point leading to yet another Nat 20. This team just got walloped in a fight and scored three 20s in a row while hanging out on some steps. Typical. As for "Are the gar folk still tracking them?" I got a 16 so yes. 
12. Tom got a DC12 check to help rehide the trap and to add to it (the footprints). The 5 gar folk warriors took a save at disadvantage. They did not spot the trap and 3 of them fell asleep. The other two made their morale check but one got cut down by three successful hits (out of four) and Rance got a sleep spell off on the last. 
13. This room has an NPC//Captive. "Does it make sense that the NPC is still alive?" a TWIST! So I roll on Random Realities. 2, 4 and my eyes are drawn to the the mushroom image and the phrase "corpulent". 1,2 and my eyes are drawn to the broken change and "exile". This is someone brought here by fellow mushroom folk to the south some time ago but he is not chained inside so much as too large to leave now. A great big myconid. Ollzarelle. He communicates with his mind. His initial reaction is curious. The room he is in "allow path" so it has levers and chains to open and close certain gates. Possibly part of the "Brain" or "Lungs" portion of the Monolith. He was exiled because "Consume knowledge" and "Conceal Wilderness" he has been devouring other myconids to absorb their knowledge but then also not sharing it. 
14. Did the rations survive? 20. What is up with this dice all of sudden but yes. They are extremely environmentally protected.
15. Rather than try "vote dicing" a three way vote I set Tom to be the decider. The other three have pretty definite choice paths in this situation - Grusk to attack, Rance to prepare, Inar to retreat - but Tom's tendency to try the more interesting choice does not quite easily solve. He is, however, the kindest of the four so the consideration of others will move him. 
16. Rance got passed a DC15 INT check to make a decent read on the map. I also asked "is this above the super slippery bit" and got a 18 so yes. However, they don't know that, yet. 

DOUG'S NOTES

Ah, the best laid plans of mice and Doug's characters, eh? I figured we'd have a few large fights, maybe a parley, or maybe some heroes getting captured and having to make a compromise. Still, it can be fun to ask questions like "How slippery is it?" and just...almost literally...rolling with it. The surviving but not greatly leading to the run into unexplored tunnel is the kind of thing that took twice as long to think about than it did to play and write but I enjoyed it. I had planned to NOT explore these parts of the tunnels until I had worked out some themes. I had to improvise. A jumping/ambush solo spider and then a large, talkative myconid exile. Weird NPCs and goofy set pieces like sliding down a slope are better than boring fights, any day.

Figuring out how get Ollazelle out of that room should be a fun puzzle after the gar situation is under control. I have no clue how I'll handle it. We'll get there.

CREDITS AND RESOURCES

This game is played using Shadowdark and SoloDark, both by Arcane Library and Kelsey Dionne (et al). The map in this delve is "The Halls of Amon-Gorloth II" by Dyson Logos with added annotations and colors by me. 

Other resources used in this campaign are

• Knave 2nd Edition by Ben Milton
• Random Realities by Cezar Capacle
• The Monster Overhaul by Skerples
• Bestial Ecosystem Created by Monster Inhabitation by Courtney C. Campbell and others.
• The Book of Random Tables: Dungeons, The Great Book of Random Tables, and The Great Book of Random Tables: Quests by Matt & Erin Davids. 
• The Solo Adventurer's Toolkit One & Two by Paul Bimler
• GM's Miscellany: Dungeon Dressing by Raging Swan Press.

The illustrations for this delve are a mix of elements from the game/map as credited above, Pixabay stock art (often used more for effect than precision, elements made by me, modifications of maps using Gimp, and various pieces generated using ChatGPT4o [or some combination of multiple of these things].