Shipwrecked in Saltmarsh

The water looks too rough for easy walking - traversing the turbulent surface would be quite a wild ride, but wouldn't help a carpenter do their job in any but the most extreme emergencies. (...which this may yet become.)

Back aboard the ship and squinting into the depths from vantage of the listing deck, Fianna's darkvision can get glimpses through the murky water between waves. She sees a huge face staring back through the large open cargo hold in the wrecked ship. It is immobile, and partially covered with seaweed.

The captain nervously supports Fianna's suggestion to blow up part of the stern. "Get that wreck aside! If we can't back th' ship out, we'll blast our way through. Just don' wreck my ship!" 

     "Ok, I'm going to need some time to be sure I am careful," Fianna explains to the captain.  "Two hours, maybe?  I'm going to send my familiar down to check out the best locale to hit..."

     Fianna will then quickly tell the others in the party about the face she saw and that she's going to change Fi'Finella's form so that they can further explore and see just what it is.  Fianna then ritually casts Find Familiar and "resummons" her familiar in octopus form.  OctoFin will then be dropped in the water with instructions to go and investigate the face and try to initiate communication with it...  Well, Fianna will try to communicate through the octopus, anyway.  ((Voice of the Chain Master allows Fianna to speak through her familiar...))

Dain will nervously listen to Fianna's explanation and description of the face in the water.  He will heft his trusty maul and go to the rail nearest the face and wreck, determined to be in the front line should anything happen.  He taps his foot and hums tunelessly to himself as he waits, clearly uneasy with being able to do very little to help.

Molo taps Fianna and says “Just do it.” 

Take a d8 inspiration 

Fianna sits on the listing deck in the swirling sleet and concentrates as best she can as the anxious dwarves shout, black swells break, and the ship grinds against the rocks.

Dain peers into the waters himself. He, too, can see glimpses of a massive, seaweed-covered face looking up from the dark hold of the ship below. It's a male humanoid face, but of giant scale. Where it is not covered in seaweed it is white, as if made of stone, and completely still. For a long while, nothing moves or stirs, other than flailing seaweed, and powerful waves. But then, Dain catches a glimpse of a huge, blue, flitting tail, and something else - a polearm or harpoon, perhaps - moving just at the edge of sight deep in the hold, near the big face. There's something down there carrying something big and weapon-like. But it must be twenty-five feet down or more.

Finally, Fianna finishes her ritual. Octofin is ready to explore.

Octofin drops into the dark swells. The water pulses with power, and a slight current sways the little octopus, but it is much calmer underwater than the cacophonous and chaotic, sleet- and spray-filled commotion above.

Kelnan

Once he has done what work his cantrips can accomplish, he heads above decks and takes in whatever is to be seen. He takes some time to cast Detect Magic and sees if it picks up anything in the surroundings.

     Octofin heads towards the face to investigate, sharing everything with Fianna via their link.  Fianna, in turn, shares any and all information with the others. 

      Fianna, for her part, is keeping a lookout for more Harpies and muttering that she really doesn't want to go swimming...

Octofin gets a better look into the hold at the figure. It appears to be a 25-foot-tall statue made of marble (or something similar.) It is laid horizontally and attached to the floor with rusty chains. There is something large down there with it - a large, blue, fishlike monstrosity with humanoid arms, carrying a huge harpoon. It has not noticed Octofin, but it does seem to be preparing its weapon for use.

Fianna watches the skies. It has been over an hour, but the surviving harpies have not returned.

Meanwhile, Kelnan finishes his ritual and begins to pace up and down the listing deck. Auras of enchantment and necromancy magic radiate from the giant figure in the hold, and an aura of divination magic emanates from something in the bottom of the stern on the wreck's port (near) side.

Kelnan

Hit dice for short rest: 

4

5

6

Also recover a 3rd level spell slot

     Fianna would attempt, through Octofin, to communicate with the large blue monstrosity with the harpoon...  From in shadows, if possible, Octofin would speak with Fianna's voice - First Common, then Elvish and Sylvan, the voice would say "We do not want to intrude.  We just want to free our ship and move on.  We mean you no harm or disturbance..."  Fianna would say this aloud even as she says it through her familiar, so that the others would know she was attempting to talk to... Something.

Octofin may roll Stealth (at disadvantage, due to its booming Fianna voice.)

The little jellyfish octopus peers into the open hold. There are more than one of these strange aquatic creatures - at least three, each with a harpoon. They listen to the octopus, but give no indication they understand any of its words. They begin to train their harpoons on the source of the intruding voice...

Dain:  Short Rest HD:

10
11
8

     Octopus, not jellyfish!  :D   OctoFin stealth: 14

     "Warn the dwarves," Fianna calls out to whoever is nearby.  "Seems there is no end to our misfortune!"

(Disadvantage roll on Octofin stealth: 10 )

Initiative:

Octofin: 16
Hostile Harpooners: 20
Fianna: 21

Octofin and Fianna have the jump (barely) on the trigger-happy fishthings. They may both act before the harpooners launch their weapons at Octofin (or not.)
The rest of the party is unaware of the immediate situation.

((Sorry!  I originally was going to say just forget about stealth, with the point being to communicate it didn't make much sense anyway... But then re-figured and decided I would roll anyway.  By that time I forgot the disadvantage part :) But all good...))

The sleet continues to swirl; visibility is poor. The harpies continue their absence. The dwarves make a little progress in stabilizing the ship from further damage, although they may have to wait for the tide to clear them off the rocks and the wreck below them. And a lot of repairs will need to be made.

Fianna and Octofin may act. The massive fishy things deep in the sunken hold prepare to harpoon the little octopus any second.

     Octofin tries to shrink to as small a target as possible but does not try to further hide or flee.  While these creatures may be ready for combat, there's still a chance to avoid it? As such, the octopus remains there to see what the response to the attempt at communication is.

     Above water, instead of below, Fianna calls out what she knows to hear teammates and urges them to alert the dwarves.  But perhaps the water garbled the message...  As such, Fianna will try again with a magical Message to tell the nearest of these creatures that we mean no harm, we just want to free our ship and move on...  ((The spell message doesn't say whether or not you must speak the same language to be understood...  I'm assume you do as it only says they hear you, not understand you...  But hey, worth a shot anyway.))

     As a bonus action, Fianna casts Hex on the closest creature as well.  If things turn ugly, it'll be handy to have.  (Disadvantage on Dex checks...)

Octofin retreats slightly into the darkness above the open hatch, and tightens itself into a tight tube, but holds its ground.

The grotesque sea creatures hold their fire momentarily, as they squint at the little octopus and listen with confusions to Fianna's strange arcane message. They do not respond.

The nearest one is particularly large and missing one eye.

Octofin now counts four in all.