Death Save ( Without Bless for now)- 6

DM: Forgot you changed back when I was writing up the post, Ylis. My bad! Adjusting. 

Quote from Erik_Soong >>

DM: Forgot you changed back when I was writing up the post, Ylis. My bad! Adjusting. 

 No worries =)

Joy’s heart lurches as she watches Ayo fling herself into the maw of death without hesitation, pulling Randa free with a recklessness that could only be called courage. For a breath, guilt stings...perhaps she had been too harsh in her judgments of the water genasi. Maybe there was more to her than Joy had let herself believe. Relief steadies her as she sees Vaz already working his healing magic on Randa, and that relief hardens into fury as her eyes snap back to the circling predator. Just an animal, yes, but one that has left too much blood in its wake already. She lets out a sharp, venomous hiss in Sylvan, words black as deepwater, and feels the magic coil around the beast as her hex latches onto it. Without hesitation, she draws a javelin and stabs it at the shark's hide, having noticed that piercing seems easier underwater that swinging her sword.

Bonus Action: drop concentration on shield of faith, cast hex on shark. Gives it disadvantage on dex ability checks.

Action: javelin to hit 6 -.-

Seeing that Randa is now free and Vazo'yn has given him some healing, Berk will continue to focus on the shark threat!

Eldritch Blast: 14 dmg: 10

DM: The Exhaustion is bad but dang, you have been plagued by bad rolls, Emile lol. That just means an epic crit is on the horizon though. Just you wait. :P

Ylis heats the magical spear that is once again wedged into the body of the great shark. The silvery spear now has a reddish hue added to its radiance as the sizzle of cooked shark flesh can be heard bubbling up at the shark's midsection. It writhes but is unable to pull the spear free. Joy lances out with her javelin, and though she is much much faster with the spear, the agonized squirming of the shark dodges the jab without even knowing it. 

Berk follows up with a powerful blast that opens the creature up fully at the belly. Its innards becomes its outtards and eventually, it would surely die, but it has far too much fight left in it to die soon. Vazo'yn brings his judgement to bear and assaults the shark's mind once again and once again, the dim mind yields to his words. The shark becomes manic and uncoordinated in its struggle with an enemy it does not understand. The fragile, small mind shatters, and the creature bleeds from a wound that is not physical. 

The dying shark spasms hard and throws itself to the side, slamming into the stone pillar in the south end of the cavern. The pillar cracks under the force, teeters, then crashes down against the south wall, right on top of Ayo. She is slowed severely by the many teeth still in her feet, but she manages to dodge the pillar just in time as it collides with the wall. The wall fractures and collapses in turn, revealing a passage awash with golden light.

DM: Combat has ended, Vazo'yn gains Heroic Inspiration for the killing blow. 

Ylis looks askance at Ayo, then shrugs. Backstabbery is part of some competitions but that cave-in business was pretty hurtful. It was hard to tell if going after the shark was to help or just to gain the amulet.

'Bah, do the right thing' Joy would say.

She looks again at Ayo and murmurs a prayer to the Moonweaver casting Healing Word at lvl 2 for 8 healing. 

The bunny girl looks at the light to see if it a new danger or an added part of the race..

PERCEPTION check 24

Joy exhales a long, shaky breath as the shark finally collapses in its madness, the waters still churning with blood and golden light. Her gaze finds Ayo being healed by Ylis, and a faint smile of pride in both of them tugs at her lips despite the ache in her chest. “Thank you,” she says softly, voice warm with sincerity. “You saved Randa, and you didn’t have to. You’re well on your way to being a true hero.” Her grip tightens on her shield as she glances toward the passage, her gaze sharpening with a playful, competitive edge. “That said…we’d be doing you and your team a disservice if we went easy on you now.” With that, she swims toward the fallen Emerald Eye, picking it up and adding it to her empty pouch (which looks exactly like her Ghostgrass pouch) before releasing a pulse of divine power, her channel divinity spilling out in a swirling marine layer that cloaks her movements and those near her in misty shadow. The corners of her mouth curl upward as she disappears into the haze.

Action: Channel Divinity Marine Layer. You channel the sea to create a thick cloud of fog that surrounds you for 20 feet in all directions. The fog moves with you, remaining centered on you and making its area heavily obscured. You and each creature within 5 feet of you instead treat the area as lightly obscured. This fog lasts for 10 minutes, spreads around corners, and cannot be dispersed unless you choose to end this effect (no action required).

(Joy told the party about this ability in character before, so they know how it works.)

Still in a great deal of pain Randa nevertheless looks saddened at the death of the massive fish.....she began to slowly swim down toward where she last saw Joy.

She doesn't waste time looking about for the others or the other group for that matter with gritted teeth she simply kicks her way through the water...

Ylis does not see any danger from the golden light. It it seems to simply be a tunnel that is somehow illuminated from deeper within. The cramped passage bends upward until the tunnel becomes vertical. Golden light radiates from the upper end of the shaft. Definitely not part of the race.

Ayo grunts as the teeth are forced out of her feet and her wounds closed. She smiles and gives Ylis a thumbs up.

After Joy finishes speaking, Ayo begins with a response of her own, but it is cut short by Joy’s disappearing act.

“I wouldn’t have it any other w-” She tries to peer through the haze, but finds it impossible. She watches Randa's labored efforts to swim with her badly beaten body, then her mouth falls open as Randa disappears the moment she reaches the haze. An impressed grin spreads over her face. “Sheesh, that’s so cool. Dermot, Gal, you got anything for that? We… wait, do you hear that?”

Ylis certainly does, and anyone sparing the energy to listen does as well. A light melody and the sound of someone quietly sobbing. Those who have proficiency in either Performance or Religion would recognize this melody as the Song of Sehanine, a whimsical song that, like worship for the Prime Diety, is banned in the Dwendalian Empire.

“Someone needs help.” Ayo says, and as she is the closest to the newly revealed tunnel, she leaps right into it and swims out of sight.

Dermot’s eyes bulge and his mouth drops to the floor. “Ayo, come on!” he says as he chases after her. Maggie, and the rest of Ayo’s crew begin to follow, with Irvan’s eyes lingering on Ylis as he swims along after. Entropy spares only a salute to the hazy cover with an expression that says she surely would have liked to see if she could batter her way through it to find the Fellowship.

After a few short seconds, the Fellowship is alone with the Emerald Eye.

"Hey guys, that is the Song of Sehanine, it's like banned. There's also somebody that needs help, let's go!"

Ylis, always looking out for others...almost always looking out for others, swims ahead to see who needs assistance. She's kinda pretty sure the other group would be helpful but still, they're not on the 100% trust list.

Joy reaches out a hand as if she could grab Ylis by the arm, but the harengon is already a blur of fur and bubbles darting into the gloom.

“Ylis, wai--ugh, of course not,” Joy sighs, words drowned in the water as she lets her hand fall. Her brows knit in worry, the edge of her usual warmth dimmed by the sting of uncertainty. Somehow she doubts it’s just somebody in need down here. Nobody normal would be tucked away in a place like this. And the party…well, they’ve been scraped thin already. She isn’t sure if they could weather another fight, especially against Ayo's team. They even have the emerald eye...And yet, she knows Ylis is right to check.

Kicking hard, she pushes forward, trailing after her friend. Her mind is already calculating the time limit of her marine layer. It won’t last forever. The safe escape she hoped for is slipping away.

Looking around, Randa and the others seem to be in decent shape, so Berk will immediately follow Ylis, ready to help.

Randa runs a hand over her impressive new scars and kicks off after Joy, she looks around for the boys realizing she lost track of everyone except Berk, Ylis and Joy during her time as a ragdoll.

Her spell is still in effect so she easily keeps pace with Joy....

Vazo'yn's eyes intense, golden eyes survey the cavern once the tumultuous battle ends, straining to peer through the misty fog that surrounds Joy. He is constantly searching for a way out of this trial for the Fellowship. The battle had been dangerous and hard-won, and he isn't sure they could withstand another like it.

When the sobbing reaches their ears and the others leap immediately to action, the Drow instead takes half a moment to listen carefully. He lets the sound of the weeping wash over him as he tries to discern its meaning. And perhaps its veracity.

Insight to tell if the sobbing sounds genuine: 21 (using his Heroic Inspiration and Guidance

The sobbing seems very much sincere to Vazo’yn’s keen ears. It is the sound of someone trapped in deep, inconsolable grief.

The Fellowship pursues Ayo and her crew. Traveling through and then up the tunnel, the Fellowship notices that the intensity of the light grows, and the chill of the sea water transitions to a comfortable warmth not natural in this region. As they ascend, they can see their own distorted reflections approaching in a mirror-like surface, where the sea meets air.

The watery environment gives way to a conical cavern dotted with trees and pools of water. The walls are covered in vines of green ivy interspersed with colorful flowers. Part of the cavern is open to the sky, clear and blue. A breeze rustles the bright green trees.

In the middle of the cavern is a sphere of pale light surrounding a crystal pedestal, upon which rests a golden pendant attached to a fine golden chain. Ayo and her friends stand by the entrance where the Fellowship breaks the surface of the water.

“There’s no one here.” Ayo says, her eyes fixed on the pendant. She seems hesitant, spooked. “That’s all there is. I know I heard someone crying. Have you guys seen anything like that before?”

Ylis gasps, "The crying is coming from that thing! It's just like the girl souls back at Clovis! Joy, remember how they would kidnap young girls and suck out their life and trap them in gems!?" The bunny girl looks at the more righteous/holy/religious members of the group "Somebody faithful has to grab that thing and save the soul inside!"

Long ears laid flat, she pleads to the Fellowship.

Joy’s gaze lingers on the pendant, the pale sphere of light catching in her wide eyes. The memory Ylis stirs makes her chest ache for those poor girls, their laughter stolen, their souls bottled like trinkets. She swallows.

“…I remember,” she admits, sorrow curling at the edges of her words. She drifts a little closer, then stops herself, exhaustion weighing heavy on her limbs. She knows she can’t be the one, not this time.

Her eyes flick to Berk, then to Randa, warm and searching. “Berk…maybe helping this spirit could stir something in you, something of your god, or yourself. And Randa, you've always been there for us. It's so comforting...I think it would be for this spirit too."

DM: Forgot to specify this, but the moment you broke the surface of the water, the sobbing ceased for your ears. Spooky!