03.05 Bhal-Hamatugn - Part 1

[Deebee]

<Where do these buggers keep coming from?>

You actually travelled for a whole day into the Underdark before reaching the cavern where you found Bhal-Hamatugn.

[PM]

Travelling several hours into the caverns with come to a huge rift. A narrow path descends the cliff into the darkness below. In the rifts depths we can see the faint glow of a structure/entrance of a vaguely fish head shape.

We descend on the path without a light source for a stealthy approach. Leorn guided by 2 dwarves rather giving the game away with the loud clanking of his full plate armour.

At the base is a beach and no obvious way across the water to Fish Head Cave. Lighting a lantern we attract a boatman (well fish headed humanoid!). With the help of an Understanding Foreign spell we gain passage and are left on another beach with a slippery step leading into Fish Head Cave. Fish boys shout Halt out of the darkness and soon arrows are flying. Leorn runs forward falling over on the steps to confuse them. Fish men jump down. Hack, spell, woomph, etc things are going well until The Boatman attacks our rear and turns out to be a high level ninja death boatman! Our valiant rearguard hold on long enough until the rest return to kill the boatman.

Finally reaching the top step Leorn finds the rest of the guards arriving. Fortunately a loud bang stuns them and a well timed fireball solves that problem.

Quickly searching the guards quarters we safely set off a glyph on the doors and enter the halls of the Fish Heads.

Tune in later for "The Fight of the Golden Bull"

[PM]

Sorry about the grammar and spelling I forgot as I was a guest I wouldn't be able to edit.

I forgot that when we chatted (vaguely understood) with the boatman. He mention he had seen Zenith Windows (the dwarf we are looking for) in the "Dark beyond the dark in the darker than dark place".

I thought that vital and detailed clue would help. 

[Steve]

Sounds like it's quite Dark down there then!.

Ooooh.

[slug]

The temple doors are swung slightly open and a large area lies ahead, at the back of the space is a huge statue of Blidloop (the well known fish god) and on various platforms stand half a dozen McFishstick Priests (what are the name of these fish thingies).  Entwhistle looses a few arrows at them to see what they will do, one lightning bolt later (which the nimble rogue completely sidesteps leaving the Bard to absorb the energy), the tin can type ones decide to madly rush into the room, thereby giving the fishy archers standing on ledges above our doorway a good bit of target practice.

We now have three levels of fishes, some with spells some with bows, time for a fireball or two, unfortunately the slimy creatures are fairly well spread out, but with several fireballs at the Sorcerers disposal we have time on our side.

Xinh rushes up one side of the archery platforms and proceeds to swing wildly with a bloody great big axe, occasionally hitting the three creatures up there and eventually battering them to death.

During this extensive combat a Golden Bull materialises on the platform by the statue and snorts ferociously at the couple of remaining priests that still stand.  The party archer cannot verify the effectiveness of the bulls attacks as he is gleefully firing his now flaming arrows (cheers spellcaster types) into the archers on the platforms, but does witness the Sorcerer bravely rush up onto the platform to confront two of the fishy archers without a weapon in his hand and staggering about a bit from damage he had already taken, lashing out bravely with a fist (and missing) he was rescued from total annihilation by Leorn and Entwhistle, I think these sorcerers spend a bit too much time sniffing brimstone.

An invisible Rogan Josh lurks on a stairwell with a short bow at the ready (having been convinced to ditch the slow X-bow.

The last two archers flee through a door at the upper level and any remaining live priests have fled by now.

Positions are carefully noted in anticipation for the next round of carnage (we may have a load of hit points but we don't have a lot of spells)

[Zarniwoop]

Ah but we do have a Bard with an invisibility sphere spell to hand!
Which should render the whole party invisible to everyone but each other.