Abishai's Dragons of Icespire Peak

Zephyros lets out a low growl... "Errrr... Felagi was struck by something when I asked him to scout the top of the tower. Before he was struck he said he couldn't see anything... that it was too bright." Feeling the anger once again swell up inside him, Ironheart struggles to maintain his composure. His first instinct is to strike this altar as well. Instead, he vents his frustrations with words, "Curse the gods... They toy with us and expect us to bow to them." He storms back to the door leading to the tower, looking up and then down trying to decide which way to go next.

Unable to decide, the bearded warrior takes a gold piece out of his pouch and flips it in the air. Heads, up. Tails down. Catching the coin in the air, the coin lands heads first in his palm. 'Up it is then'

Not seeing anything, Meira stays back as Zephyros comments about Felagi. "I suppose we at least know there is something above to watch out for," she says, though it is not a particularly happy thought. "You guys see anything or should we just head on?"  She waits to hear from the others but is ready to simply follow Zephyros. 

After having revealed what is underneath the oily substance, Rasziel turns to the others. "I believe this was once dedicated to Umberlee but the desecration suggests this is now the home of something even worse than her followers." He explains, otherwise ready to follow the bearded veteran towards the light.

Perception with help from Azazel: 26

"Wait a moment. There's something here," Gareth says, stepping up to the altar. He crouches down to retrieve the piece of waterlogged parchment. He holds it up to show the others and then he will read aloud what is written.

Gareth,

You pull the parchment from the water. The ink bleeds and runs, but a few lines remain legible, "The sisters gather... three as one. The storm hungers for the ninth. The soul that fled must return... or the drowned bride will never rest." Beneath the writing is a crude symbol carved into the parchment. Three claws intertwined forming an upside down triangle, each claw distinct from the other two.

 [[OOC: Anyone heading upstairs, please give me both a Wisdom and Dexterity saving throws.]]

(Rasziel Religion/History/Arcana to possibly make sense of what Gareth shows: 20)

Meira is a bit startled by the words from the paper Gareth found. "Drowned bride... could that be Zephyros' wife? And the soul that fled..."   She turns to Zephyros. "How many were there on your ship that went down?"  Thinking a bit more she says, "The three sisters could be those dark statues we saw in the other chamber. I'd imagine they're behind all this. But I'm not sure the scrap of information helps us any." 

Zephyros stops dead in his tracks as Gareth reads the parchment scrap. He answers Meira, "There were nine of us on that doomed ship." The grip on his trident increasing, "Why go to all this trouble to lure me back here? I get the feeling my love is beyond saving and this was all created to lure me back here for some sick... twisted purpose. This is most certainly a trap I've walked us all into. Please forgive me."

The armored warrior begins his ascent once more up the stairs.

• Wis save: 19
• Dex save: 14

Meira will follow just a bit behind Zephyros. 

(WIS Save; 8, DEX Save: 23) 

Rasziel too would continue the ascent.

(Rolled perception above. Wis save: 19 Dex save: 12 )

Rasziel,

 As the group ascends the stairway, the eerie green light grows brighter and brighter until it's nearly impossible to see anything, almost blinding. Disturbing whispers can be heard but not discerned the closer you get to the light source. The light source itself looks like an oversized floating eyeball set into a metallic ring. The ring free floats around the eye, which appears to be staring at each of you. Lightning without thunder continues to strike sporadically around you. The lightning begins to intensify as you stand at the top of the tower. A bolt arcs at each of you as if controlled by some unseen adversary. Meira easily avoids it, but the others are not so lucky. [[OOC: DC 15 dex save or take 12 lightning damage.]]

Meira,

 Your eyes go dull, and you begin to move to the edge of the tower and climb over the guard railing.

"There is nothing to forgive old man, I believe we all came here by our own free will." The young dark-haired purple-robed man says with reassurrance in his tone. "While it seems clear now that you were indeed lured here, we will simply have to make those responsible regret their wicked ways. Speaking of, the three depicted and behind this scheme could well be a hags coven, does that mean anything to you?" 

Zephyros nods at Rasziel, appreciative of his words. "Hags? No, I have no idea what these evil monsters want with me."

Perception: 7

At the top of the tower... Zephyros is oblivious to Meira walking towards the ledge. The battle-hardened veteran instinctively casts absorb elements to lessen the effects of the lightning strike. The energy from the strike begins to channel into his trident as he thrusts his trident into the unnatural eye floating before him. 

Booming Blade Attack: 24/10 if disadvantage, Damage 7 piercing + 3 Lightning + 4 Thunder (+ 10 Thunder damage if the floating eye moves)

Alisande stays with Gareth midway up the staircase as Zephyros and Rasziel get struck by lightning. Meira is about to jump from the tower when her senses suddenly return. Zephyros stabs the floating eye, channeling both lightning and thunder damage into his attack. Everyone hears a loud shrieking as three voices pierce the din of the stormy, lightning-filled vortex. "OOOOUUWWW! NOOOOOO OUR EYES!"

The floating eye explodes into a gory mess, and the metallic ring falls to the ground with a clatter. The eerie green light fails, but the vortex above you continues to strengthen. Now that you can see better, you recognize you're standing near the center of the vortex, which explains the lack of high winds currently. However, the lightning activity is becoming more sporadic and violent, striking the top of the tower all around you.

[[OOC: Meira, Rasziel, and Zephyros, please give me new Dex saving throws. Concentration is lost on dominate person ]]

Meira,

You are about to jump as your senses return to you. Beneath you, you see jagged rocks and the churning sea battering the lighthouse island 120' below. 

Gareth reaches the top of the tower in time to witness Meira teetering on the edge and Zephyros strike a floating eyeball. Lightning strikes all around, which he just barely manages to avoid.

"Meira!" the ranger calls out in alarm. He tries to pull her away from the edge. The storm only seems to be building in intensity. "We can't stay here. We'll all get electrocuted!" 

Dex Save - 17

( I rolled a WIS save but I'm hoping the destroyed eyeball makes it unnecessary since it was a 7 lol. Also, no formatting at the moment. Posting from mobile.)

(Meira DEX Save: 12)

Meira was already turning away from the edge when Gareth had reached out. More alert now she tries to make sense of the surroundings. "Where did those voices come from?" And after a pause, "I think you're right Gareth, we should probably head back down the stair. Hopefully our answers will lie in that direction."  She starts to make her way back away from the edge and towards the steps. She then yells over to Zephyros. "Unless you see something to do here, let's get away from the lightning!" 

Rasziel nods grimly and turns to quickly return back inside the lighthouse to find the true whereabouts of the wicked hags coven and put an end to their wickedness.

(Dex save: 21)

Dex save: 17

Zephyros grabs up the metallic ring from the ground and runs back down the stairs. "Hurry! We need to get away from this lightning!"

Just as Meira gets back over the railing to safety, a bolt of lightning hits the rogue, dealing 20 lightning damage. The group hurries back down the stairwell to the relative safety of the lighthouse. You move down to the ground-floor landing of the lighthouse to catch your breath. The stairwell down to the basement and under the lighthouse looms in front of you, shrouded in darkness and forbidding. As if in contrast, the entrance to the lighthouse stands ajar, enticing you to retreat. Alisande moves to the rogue as tendrils of smoke from the lightning blast roll off Meira. She says, "You look terrible, and your hair is singed." She gives a playful smile as if to defuse the tension between the two. The witch turns to Zephyros and asks, "What do you have there?" 

Zephryos,

In your hand is a metallic ring made of copper, about the size of your fist. No ornamentation or markings adorn it, but it's covered in a gooey substance. Likely remnants of the eyeball that had been floating inside of it.

Gareth ushers Meira back down the stairwell but not before another bolt of lightning hits her. The ranger is half-blinded by the intensity of the glare.

"Gods, are you all right?" the ranger asks. He gives Alisande a look, as if to say this was not the best time for banter, before returning a concerned gaze at the singed rogue. "You nearly went over the edge up there. What the hells happened?"

Once he is sure Meira is relatively all right, Gareth looks at Zephyros and the metallic ring. "Doesn't look like much, but appearances can be deceiving. I'm guessing it's magical?" The ranger glances at Alaketh for confirmation.