It could be mindless but it was still on point. Unexpected even for the mermaid, completely lost in the battle, the bolt hit!

The creature let Yusko go, opened her mouth as if gasping for air, clutching the bolt with both hands, trying to scratch it out of the pierced neck - and failing at that. The already pale skin became ghostly white, then transparent as if the flesh was turning into jello, and then a wave - invisible but sensed by everyone around, rushed out of the spot where a moment ago was a fierce fighting creature. Now there was nothing there but the rod with a crystal, that lost its light and was barely visible in the darkness. The rod slowly descended to the ocean floor, resting on top of the neatly arranged dead bodies.

The remaining undead stopped abruptly any movement and froze at places like grotesque statues. The wave shooked them up and rotten parts broke off and got lost among the corpses.

The tentacled creature proved to be the quick-thinking one. Once the fall of her boss became obvious, she shoot the cloud of ink - the poisonous one, that she used before, and, judging by the movement of water, that Nameless girl could feel, left the spot she was on.

The corals did not let their victim go. But the painful slowness died out with the mermaid. People could move freely (those, who could). The battlefield, the whole coral mountain seemed to belong to the heroes now. The battle was over.

Hansel nudges the two nearby zombies with his staff, knocking them over to be sure they are really dead. He then starts checking everyone for wounds that need healing, starting with the girl who's name they still don't know...

The poisonous cloud dissipated in a few seconds leaving behind just a bad taste on the tong, that was healed quickly as well. The rocky prison that entrapped Nameless girl was finally broken, letting her out, and the group was fully free to move around.

"Very... unsettling events," commented Vadok. He hesitated a few moments but eventually asked. "Do you plan to stay longer in this most inhospitable place?"

We came with a purpose, states Hansel. Can we be certain that this creature was responsible for the attack on Peara Tira? He swims over to where the mermaid perished, and picks up the crystal-topped rod.

"I think we need to do a full scout of this place." Davis agrees. "Likely the issue is resolved, but, I for one, would hate to have to return to this place once we leave it. That would be something I would rather never have to do again after all..." He helps break anyone free who is not already free, then would use his glaive to remove the heads from any of the undead around, hoping that would make them unable to be used as minions again.

The thing weighs heavily in Hansel hands. Well made out of something like a polished coral, with the intricate decore resembling tentacles twisted together and holding the dark unevenly cut crystal. The steel gauntlet did not let the cleric get the full sense of this weapon (?) but it felt good in the hand and inside the crystal, he notices a sparkle, barely visible but there still. And ... the presence? It was hard to describe - just the feeling of something big, incomprehensibly huge and as much alien. Traces of connection, a "smell of thoughts", if you wish - it was there, it was fading but possible could be caught, though even the idea of catching felt like madness. 

"I think this thing is dying," interrupted the delicate bonding Vadok's voice. "In fact, everything here feels very dead." (Considering you were - or could be - standing hip-deep in dead bodies the notion made sense) "But if you are inclined to search this place over, I would accompany you."

Hansel can sense the strange attraction, but it is not the sort of attraction that Sune encourages. Still, the object was clearly powerful, and should not simply remain here for some other underwater denizen to find. Hansel offers the rod to Davis, considering him the next-best person to take custody of it.

Davis looks at the rod, then nods and accepts it. Glancing to the others then he takes in the sorely wounded state of many of the group. "Shall we take a breather here, prior to scouting out the rest of this place?" He asks.

The Nameless girl free of the slow, and the coral and in some shell shock simple floats to the floor of the ocean, laying on her back. While the group hack up bodies, muck with magic wands, and make decisions, she tries to just meditate and focus on nothing and let her mind float free.  Eventually though, she pushes herself back up and numbly moves about the area, looking for crossbow bolts to scavenge. She recovers as many for her crossbow as she can before floating back to the group. 

"A rest would be good. Those invisible seals are still about, and that tentacled thing, yes?"  She is about to go sit next to a wall, but thinks better of it and floats into the center of the room, away from any coral, and floats in the water there, trying to recover from that nasty battle. 

(Reminder: you just had the long rest. No more for the next 16 hours?)

(Just considering a short rest, not a long rest.)

"The seals were delt with." Davis says with a grim smile. "They won't be bothering anyone again, I assure you." He considers though. "I suppose there could be more of them, but, at least for the two I fought, they are done and finished for good." He slips the rod into his pack and would help clear a spot for everyone to rest more comfortably.

Indeed, the seals were dead and their dead bodies decorated the floor along with the humanoid's. But the tentacled woman did escape, though, where she remained inside or went outside (after all, there were supposed to be considerable sahuagin forces and yet, you only met one patrol) you could not tell. The dark coral mountain remained silent and so lifeless (even if you do not count the literal raws of dead creatures on the floor and along the walls) you did not have to be a druid to feel it. 

For Trudie it was both dead and alive too - deeps are not wasteful, where is any organic material, there are those who can consume it. And she could feel the presence of that micro life forms, but Vadoc was growing more and more restless. "I feel like I am buried alive". He did not insist on moving right away anywhere but repeated again, that the place is dead.

(I believe there was one more use of Trudie’s spirit left. She’d use it on Nameless.)

“Ah yes, such is the cycle of life…” Trudie muses as she floats comfortably within the depths. Her first instincts were to call upon nature to restore the life back to this place, but alas, she was not prepared with her spell of choice. Nor did she think the others would wish to stick around for a long as it would be needed for her to attempt to restore it in a manner that could even outshine it’s original glory. In her minds eye, she could see it. There was potential, but it was not within her grasp. Oh well. Natural order could do so in due time. 

Having handed the rod to Davis, Hansel can't seem to take his mind off it. It's like seeing a face - perhaps in passing - an otherwise unremarkable one - but that keeps appearing again in the mind. He almost feels guilty for having so quickly dismissed it, as though having betrayed someone he had never met. After trying to put the thought out of his mind by keeping busy with healing and such, he wanders back over to Davis and asks: Excuse me, friend, but perhaps could I take another look at that rod?

If Davis agrees, Hansel will take a deeper look into the crystal, to identify the nature of it if he can...

Davis shrugs and takes the rod from his pack and hands it over as requested.

The rod remains the same - heavy, aesthetic (in its own way, the twisted tentacles look very appropriate and with a strange harmony with the shape of the crystal), and the sparkle was still inside. Maybe a touch dimmer, smaller, but still there. As well as the "presence", that, again, felt just a touch more compelling, calling to whoever gazed into the crystal, giving the dizzying feeling, like looking down from the top of the mountain, when one is both scared and yet has that temptation to jump down. A welcoming madness that could turn the cold dark coral cave littered with dead bodies into a very natural thing to live in, almost home.

"Snap out of it, boy," Vadok looked genuinely worried, so much so, he used quite uncharacteristic addressing. "I don't trust that thing. There is still magic in it and not a good kind. Come, if you want to study this place, there is a path up over there." He pointed at the most southwest corner of the coral dome.

Nameless one glances at the pretty boy standing there gripping his glittering rod, and then shrugs and followed the turtle.

"Ouu he can take command too." Trudie bobs her brow and gives Nameless a few nudges with her elbow as she struts along.

Glancing to the rod, Davis raises an eyebrow. "if that thing is dangerous, you might wish to wait to study it further when we are out of this place." He informs the cleric. Turning away he follows the others towards the path up.

The group crossed the wast, dark and cold central cave swimming above and along rows of dead bodies, until came to the path that Vadok found. By far not as welcoming as the sandy one near the nursery, it was still wide enough to swim in comfort and led first to one of the ships. The holes in both sides formed entrance and exit with the space on both sides filled with numerous objects, lying around in unsorted hips. Even in the darkness, you could recognize most of them - that "gate-ship" was obviously filled with the stuff from the ships and dead crews: small chests, some coins, jewels mixed up with simple and worthless decorations and "lucky charms" sailors often wear. There are few dead bodies too, armed just like those you fought not long ago, but completely motionless, as if the magic that kept them going, was gone. Speaking of magic, nothing here contained it.

Past "the gate" was another room-cave, this time formed properly by the sides of the few ships and coral walls. Unlit, as everything here, big with one wall sculptured in a way to form a sunken relief of a shark. Under that wall on the floor, a few dismembered corpses of humanoids lie quietly along with pieces of sea creatures. At the opposite wall, piles of simple weapons, this time sorted into categories, wait for the chance to be used again. Most are touched by rust already.

"I feel like everything that could die here did it already," noted Vadok.