Pizazz's Myth Drannor

Several miles off the shores of Chult the ocean is calm under a cloudy sky...with swells moving in steady lumbering sequence. The air is thick with moisture and heat...a faint haze blanketing the water. In the distance the shore can be seen, a thin dark blue line several miles off that rides the horizon. Broken jagged points shoot up from the shoreline....distant mountains.  Its here that the universe cracks open and spits forth 7 people who all tumble awkwardly out of the air and come splashing down into the salty cold ocean water. 

Everyone comes splashing into the ocean and everything is suddenly surrounded in frothing water. Weapons that cling to belts suddenly act like rocks, pulling you downwards...while heavy bags do no better, the straps acting like the oceans deadly hands pulling you downwards.  Luckily this morning was like any other, in that Toc performed his ritual.  As you all struggle to find purchase or stay afloat your body reacts and you take a deep breath, despite the water...and feel air magically fill your lungs rather than choking water.  A few panicked moments pass before you realize you're not going to die...even if you're unable to stay afloat. 

(Anyone with more than 50 lbs of gear, or medium armor is now sinking, but you all have water breathing. You can also all speak mentally to each other as you have an active Telepathic Bond active.)

Nuzej, with most of his belongings in an extradimensional chest that weighs nothing, treads water at the surface with a little effort, and watches his companions drown. He peers down into the water with his goggles of night, and sees they are not in death throes, if a little shocked. He looks back up at the coast, scanning for anything of note.

Perception: 20

Assuming nothing alarming, he takes his bearings at the surface and swims down to about 15 feet, pausing to equalize his ears, testing the water breathing spell, and keeping an eye on the group. He tries to act as a beacon for them to walk on the ocean floor in the right direction, using the telepathic bond to give directional updates and anything he sees at the surface. He is not above swimming down and around any rock formations, through any schools of fish, delighting in the opportunity for some tropical diving. 

As everyone arrives in the jungle, Simaal mutters "fascinating" out loud and seems to absorb everything around him, looking at everything from the dirt, to the trees, to the strange creatures. He finally notices Mirica and offers a hand. If unaccepted he seems unfazed as he goes back to looking around. "Everything feels so wet here, even the trees and it's not even raining."

As he splooshes into the water, Simaal starts flailing his arms around like a madman trying to do something, it's so very hard to tell as he starts perhaps inadvertently tumbling. While he seems to be breathing fine as he's not gasping, his face which used to seemingly display a perpetual light smile now seems fixed with terror. Moments later he starts moving rapidly in seemingly random direction. He's probably going twice as fast as everyone else. 2 3

Cats do not like water... At least this black-furred one didn't. Thankfully, Thyrius managed to hold on to his lunch this time. Vomiting here would be ten times more unpleasant. Also lucky, and despite all his new gear, Thyrius belongings were on the lighter side, so he had less trouble than others when it came to keeping afloat.

Thyrius reaches for his immovable rod with the intention of offering it as an "floating device" to anyone who might need it, though priority is given to his brother should he accept the offering. That said, if Thyrius remembers it correctly, the group is aiming for the bottom of the body of water anyhow. Or was this not the correct body of water? He asks the question mentally: "Is this the right place?"

Mirica liked deep water no more than the brothers. Probably even less. And the suddenness of changing the scenery did not help much either. She gave a yelp while plunging into the ocean and began to sink. It took some time to realize, that months of Toc's dutiful cast of a seemingly useless spell finally paid off (the clairvoyance was strong with that one!). She stopped struggling and tried to follow Nuzej calling - swimming or walking on the sea floor.

Xemnez is nothing but dense muscle and begins finding himself sinking almost immediately, but a clawed hand grasps his, and drags him upwards through the sloshing water until his hand is guided to something cold, steel, and firm above the water.  He drags himself up the rest of the way, breaching the surface of the water and having his face smothered in hot humid air. He finds himself grasping the immovable rod that his brother has cleverly suspended just above the water. Thyrius holds on as well, keeping himself at the surface. Nuzej manages to stay a float, and both of the elven wizards seem to have very little gear on them as they manage to keep themselves above the water, treading there.   Meanwhile, beneath the surface, Simaal spins about in a panic as he slowly is dragged downwards by his pack. Likewise, Mirica, in her armor, sheds bubbles of air as she sinks down towards the depths.  

Toc, his hands moving in circles to keep him afloat, shakes his head, his hair spraying water, as he says out loud, and then mentally, "No!  No, this is not the right place. We are meant to be over there I think."  He manages to point towards the distant shoreline. "But, we are getting closer. I think we just went half-way round the world!  If we can make the shore, we should be able to rest and try again tomorrow perhaps..."

He awkwardly reaches into his belt pouch and then, partially sinking, manages to cast a spell.  He reaches up with a hand and grips the mid-air, then clambers up and onto a surface. A wave strikes one side of the invisible platform and washes across it.  The elf helps his copy clamber up onto the wall.  He looks down into the water.  "I'm unsure how to reclaim Mirica, or Simaal for that matter. They may be in for a long underwater walk."  He looks down into the depths as if hoping to see either of them somewhere a few hundred feet below....though they're likely both still sinking....

Meanwhile, both Thryius and Xemnez clammer onto the invisible platform and out of the ocean water, along with Nuzej.

Thryius tries to shake some of the water from his fur once up on the platform: "Endless tricks you master, Toc. Can this platform you created be moved? Either way, I am glad our companions can breath underwater. It gives us time to think. Again, you masters endless tricks." He bows a little with those last few words, displaying he meant them as a compliment in case of any doubt.

Speaking of thinking: "How deep do you gather the sea bed is here? If not too deep, then this rod of mine and a few lengths of rope might be all we need to get Simaal and Mirica onto this platform you created, Toc."

He looks around to gather if anyone has alternate suggestions. 

Another swell washes across the flat invisible platform, the water sloshing past everyone's feet with a gentle tug.  

Toc looks to Thyrius, "Thank you for the compliment, but don't get too excited. This is a temporary measure, it'll only last a few minutes and can't move. Just long enough for us to figure out what to do next. Perhaps Nuzej has something?"

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Meanwhile Mirica peacefully descends through the depths. The sparkling light from above slowly dims as she descends further and further into the ocean. She sees Simaal continue to struggle, though his fight has become less frantic and more...spasmic as his pack drags him down after her. As she and Simaal descend, the water around them seems to squeeze in on them...pressing in on their bodies in an entirely uncomfortable way.  Soon the sparkling blue of the world dims and at some point the deep becomes entirely a dark blue world of twilight, with only dark shadows visible...the light of the day all but a memory in the cold depths. Mirica's legs hit something, but it's not the smooth sandy bottom she was expecting and rather a rocky slant which she strikes at an angle sending her tumbling through a turbid fall before quickly coming to rest on a flat ledge.  Her head feels funny...her mouth open as bubbles seem to flow freely out of her nose and mouth...a prickling pressure beating inside her head.  Her whole body feels like it's being crushed by a bear hug from every spot on her body.  Still though, she seems to be alive. She sees the dark shape of Simaal come to a thud on the rocky ground near her.  Mentally, they both continue to hear the chatter of the rest of the group now far above them, in the light of the world, the mental voices speaking to them as if they were right next to them.  But they are not.  They are far above this alien landscape. It's clear "casually walking" through this twilight darkness along this underwater mountainous terrain will not be simple.  Mirica figures she must have descended several hundred feet, perhaps 600, though judging became impossible rather quickly with no point of reference but the fading light.   Small pulses of light begin to register on Mirica's eyes, and she realizes that there are tiny organisms that seem to be swimming about that occasionally flash with a dim glow....not unlike the fireflies she's seen before in forests far above the surface.

Simaal's haphazard travel through the water didn't seem to give him very good direction as he more or less circled, then looped around Mirica, and crashed sideways into the sea floor. He seems to be having trouble breathing, and not just because of the pressure. He seems to think about his situation.
"I can walk out and that's about it."

Thyrius has a simple proposal. "Well, I could swim there fairly unhindered and so could Nuzej and the elves. Between the fours of us, we should be able to descend, find them, share the load of their belongings, and swim back up, don't you think? Perhaps Toc should stay here and maintain the platform he created. Nuzej, Tic, and I can leave all of our belongings here so that we can take more on once we find our companions. As we swim down, let's make sure we are seen. Perhaps one of us can serve as a magical source of light? The best I can do is a repeating shower of sparks, but perhaps that is enough. We can hear them in our minds and communicate, so that can help us find them once they spot our light. We can tell them as we descend what color of light to look out for.... Orange?"

As he hadn't cared for the water much more than his brother -- Big Cat or Not -- Xemnez gave in to instincts to accept the lifeline of his brother. Yet once aboard the S.S invisa-platform, the golden Leonin had taken to sit near the edge, legs dangling off to the side as he sat their quietly sulking. Most would easily presume the water to be the blame, but Thyrius would know better, rare though the moments were in which his younger brother truly allowed the weight of failure to get to him.

Just as he'd know that with time... Xemnez would get over having lost the challenge of powering through the water, even if exhausted in the end by the effort. "... Depending on the with of this platform, I... could open my portable space, and either stay there for a time or leave most of my things in there... I dare not open it underwater though to aid the others, least everything inside just ends up... flushed out."

"Give me a minute". It was a relief to learn the mental link was still functioning. Mirica closed her eyes and sent a quiet call to the friend (by now) and a faithful servant of the Morning Lord. A minute later, the radiant shape of the winged snake-like creature began to form in the pitch black darkness of the debts, immediately transforming into the more appropriate form. "Take us out of here, please" asked the priestess getting on the back of the huge whale. The "animal" moved a little to pick up Simaal as well and then began to ascend back to the surface.

"We are coming up," sent Mirica the message to those above. Hopefully, they still could hold on to their platform, but even if not - it was a matter to come close enough, so they could get a hold of a fin. Enough support to stop the sinking and move forward to the shores. "Atoya can spend no more than an hour in the material world. Hopefully, this shape will be fast enough to get us to the shores."

(There is a number of giant swimming animals within the CR. The killer whale is the simplest option but it can be anything)

Simaal's attempts to work upwards against the water seem to likewise fail and he's left standing in the darkness of the depths with Mirica.  She focus' for a moment, drawing her energy, and a winged snake appears...that immediately starts wriggling and flapping its feathered wings in the water in surprise, before its body shifts and transforms, ballooning outwards and transforming into a whale.  Even so, the whale's body moves about with some concern in the dark blue....its eyes gazing upwards towards towards its source of air where it will need a breath. It quickly swims over to Mirica and Simaal, letting them grab onto its top fin, and then begins a very lazy circular ascent towards the surface. While time seems against the creature that needs to breath, it seems likewise to feel like going to quickly may be against Mirica and Simaal, and they quickly realize why. As they ascend they are forced to almost continually equalize the pressure in their heads to stave off what feels like it could be a killer headache. The slow and steady pace is relayed to those above.

Toc looks at his SS invisa-platform, "This won't last long enough, but, I can just make another for now."  With the water sloshing across the platform in an irregular pattern the group waits patiently...Xemnez's feet hanging into the cool water. Although his fur isn't drying, the humid air is still sweltering and he finds himself enjoying the cooling effect of keeping his feet in the cold ocean.  Though it is probably wide enough for his portable hole, it's not an ideal solution. Neither is Thyrius swimming really best, who knows how much gear each is carrying. Mirica's heavenly spirit that can transform seems a good way to get them to shore quickly as well.  Either way, Toc renews his invisible platform before it fails and ten minutes later a killer whale with two forms clinging to it surfaces about two hundred feet away...a spray of water erupting into the air as the creature takes a welcome breath. It swims easily towards the platform.  Simaal and Mirica, looking a bit like drowned cats seem happy enough to have ascended into the light once again on the back of their heavenly host. 

One whale seems a bit overwhelmed by seven passengers though, so Tic takes Mirica's lead and begins weaving magic, turning himself in a similar whale. With three people hanging on to each animal, the group is shortly leaving behind their platform and coasting through the water at a relatively high clip. The journey is not easy, as the water drags at everyone and holding yourself onto the rubbery back of a huge creature that is constantly flexing its body is no easy task. About a half-mile from shore you begin passing sea life in the form of grasses and plants floating about the surface.  As you near the shore you see a mountain range that reaches upwards towards the sky almost directly from the shore, the great forms covered with thick jungle all about the base and creeping down to a sandy beach shoreline that angles into the water sharply.  Even with the whales, the trip takes almost the full 50 minutes left to the celestial being...and as the passengers disembark, to sink into the sandy shallows and walk up onto the beach, Mirica's ally turns back into a flying snake, shaking the water from it's body as it hovers in the air for a moment before vanishing in a sparkling haze.  Tic's spell ends as well as he comes splashing onto the shore.  

Feeling the soft sand shift beneath their feet the party looks up the angled beach towards the jungle that perches on the edge of the oceans domain. It looks dark and thick and teeming with life.  Toc, his sopping hair hanging down over his face sits heavily upon the sand with a sigh of relief. He rubs his aching forearms and shoulders looking particularly grumpy.  "Tic must return to Myth Drannor now. But, I think it might be best if the rest of us stay here for the day and rest. Then, if we veer off course tomorrow, it's more likely for us to end up close to our target.  Teleporting so far from Myth Drannor risks us ending very far away.  The good news is, once we're dry, assuming that's possible in such a humid place, I can teach Nuzej the spells necessary to track Lichs and we'll have more options.  What say you Nuzej, once you're ready I'll make a hut that is free of insects, and this humid air, and I can teach you some spells." 

Nuzej also transformed into a creature for the trip to shore (a giant octopus) to help the flotilla. He agrees to learning spells as a way to spend the time until Toc can cast again.

"Or that..." Thyrius says upon laying eyes on the surfacing whale. He wouldn't admit it, but he now felt a little embarrassed. Of course his plan to swim and carry gear up in divided portions was too simplistic for such a magically-gifted group. 

Thyrius could not say he had experience riding whales or giant octupi, but he was more worried about his brother as they traveled toward shore. Surely those smells and movements played with the golden cat's hunting instincts. Hopefully he would not hunt Nuzej in an attempt to conquer his next culinary adventure upon arrival at the beach. 

Thyrius had need not worry so much for his brother, as his demeanor and mood appeared to pick up almost immediately at the prospect of the new experience. Or perhaps more accurately, the new challenge riding such creatures might present and redeeming himself in some small way. A far more presient concern than a proverbial ear bent listening to hunting instincts in transit.

Regardless, the lengthy and somewhat uncomfortable transition from the SS Invisa-platform to land seemed to only further rekindle his spirit. For following a hearty chuckle he'd say, "A sound plan, even if a touch unfortunate that it was necessary. But I will not be the fool who would belittle an ally far more knowledgeable in a field that he has thus far had not the inclination to study." He then took a moment to shake himself dry as much as possible, caring not one wick about getting others in the splash zone in the process. "Hmm... Though if we are to wait, would any care to join me on a hunt in the nearby area? I for one can go for something a touch fresher, and have so many new and strange spices I'd like to try out."

Drying was not a big problem. That little spell Mirica learned during group's rests around their Mythallar, was made specifically for such situations - to keep one clean and comfortable on the road. Food was another matter, though. "Keep in mind that half the flora and fauna here can be poisonous. Not to mention exotic diseases you can catch up in places like this. Do be careful." After the involuntary bath, she would rather stay here on the beach and rest. But if no one was willing to accompany the overenergetic hunter, would go with him.

With the group safe on the sandy beach, Tic bids his farewells and casts a spell...summoning a circle of glowing sigils on the ground. He steps into it and vanishes.  The sigils slowly fade away. 

Toc meanwhile has no interest in hunting it seems and spends ten minutes using his magic to create a magical dome, insisting that everyone stay nearby during the casting so that they can come and go as they please after.  Once done, the translucent dome from the inside, and sandy yellow from outside appears around the group.  The air within is cool and balanced as opposed to the moist sauna outside.  Cool, and protected, Toc turns to Nuzej and the two of them begin discussing magical theory.  (Nuzej, make a roll to learn the spells and let me know which ones you learn in which order.  You have 16 hours to learn spells.)  This leaves the others with a lot of time on their hands.  

This also leaves only Thyrius, Simaal, or Mirica to go hunting with Xemnez.  Thryius, Simaal?  Or does Mirica go because you both prefer not to?

"I would not mind coming along, but if I end up making a lot of noise and spooking away the hunt, I'll keep further back." he says in a cheery voice that is tinged with recent horror. It's quite possible Simaal simply will do anything including braving poisonous plants just to get that much further away from the water of doom...
"Oh and before we go... oh.. it looks like we're ready to leave, so I'll cut out the story for now. We may need to reconsider at least some of this hoping around... if that was say lava, that would have gone considerably less well. "

Toc raises an eyebrow at Simaal, and then looks in the distance. Far to the north of the mountain range black smoke pours from a distant mountain top. He holds his tongue and says nothing further, simply considering the point in silence. 

Xemnez, with Simaal trailing silently behind, head out for a bit of hunting. Simaal's concern about making noise is entirely unfounded, though Xemnez was already aware that this strange man was nearly as silent as a ghost....his points about spooking any game must surely have been a jest. Regardless, the two head out into the jungle. Xemnez is pleased with this wild place. The terrain is uneven and steep, arching up into the mountain foothills that barely exist before arching directly up into high mountainous terrain....but its enough space, and covered in thick wilds that make the hunt all the more interesting. The first thing he notices however is the rate at which his body is shedding water. As he pants while he moves, his fur has never dried and continues to be annoyingly matted across his body as sweat pours continuously from his body. He figures fresh water is going to be a serious concern and is hopeful these rain catchers do their job well. That said, it's with some relief that he comes across a pool of clear water settled in a crook in the land. A stream trickles into it from the jungle, while another pours out the bottom and likely down across the beach into the ocean.