Chapter 4: The Waters of Menehune

Admiral slumps against the tunnel wall (taking care to avoid any menacing-looking clumps of algae), glad that Tasya seems like she’ll be okay but thoroughly exhausted.

Cordey thoughts: Gotta love potion of healing. I can see to get that or Healer's Kit in the future for adventuring on Cordey. People do get hurt bad. Relaying on his +1 Medicine isn't exactly good. Just some thoughts later.

Huge Cordey helps recovering Tasya to her feet again.

Between Cordey's care and Regan's divine healing, Tasya's breathing steadies, and her wounds close. Her eyes flutter open, and she gasps in shock.

"I heard my mother's voice! She said I cannot perish and that I must seek her in the demon realm. My role is vital to saving those enslaved to the Demon Lord."

Jin's expression of relief quickly shifts to one of confusion. Tasya returns his gaze with her own unsure look of confusion.

...

Finally, in the present moment of calm, everyone realizes they are in the hag's laboratory. At the center of the room, a pool shimmers with a magical glow, its water swirling. Beyond the pool, a table holds seaweed, tentacles, other spell components, and a pile of ancient books. To the right, another table is cluttered with lanterns in various stages of completion, some resembling those the party saw in the arch at the cave entrance. A few patches of algae cling to the walls, but they appear dry and motionless, not waving in imaginary water, unlike the animated ones the party encountered earlier. There are a couple crates in the room as well.

A faint peep, followed by a sigh, catches everyone's attention. It comes from a glass sphere on the table near the lanterns. The sphere is corked at the top, and something small inside it stirs.

Regan will stride confidantly towards the corked sphere, intent on identifying if whatever is alive poses a threat to the weary group.

Inside the glass sphere is a very bored looking fey.

When Regan approaches she looks up at him with a over-the-top sad face.

"Where is the hag?" Regan will ask the little fey as he looks around the lair.

Cordey walks into the room more to look around. He still has his cutlass dawn. He steps up to view the little sad fey.

Admiral cautiously approaches the pool, intrigued, while Regan and Cordey talk to the fey in the bottle.

The creature in the glass replies in a dreary tone, "The hag is gone. She's making the Fossergrim play for her in her great hall. But she keeps me locked away when she's gone. I'm board." Then its mournful expression twists to that of desperation and longing. With a fierce intensity, it pleads, its eyes burning red with the forceful words, "Let me out. Let me out. Please let me out now. Before she comes back and tortures me more."

While the creature speaks Regan peers around the lab. On the next table he notices some unfamiliar symbols on the pile of old books in a stack. He also spots some movement in one of the crates. There's a strong smell of low tide in this room and not a pleasant smelling low tide at that.

Then Tasya steps up next to Cordey and Regan. The creature's eyes widen in alarm at the sight of Tasya, and it stumbles back involuntarily, pressing itself against the rear of its glass cage.

"What's wrong little one?" asks Tasya troubled by the creature's fear. "I have a friend named Petalwing, who's much like you. She's probably now happily wandering this fey forest."

The creature doesn't respond to Tasya but remains fearful of her. Instead, it looks back at Regan and reiterates its plea, "Let me out. Let me out!"

...

Meanwhile, as that interaction occurs, Admiral and Jin step up to the pool to examine it. When they do, the water's swirling glow intensifies and a image forms in the pool. It appears to be the view from the archway the party came through to enter this cave network. In the pool Admiral can see a few Sahaugin walking through the arch heading out toward the falls.

Then the pools swirls again and the image begins to morph, revealing the deck of a slave ship, nearly identical to the one Tasya, Taresh and Admiral used to escape Jahore. There are humans aboard being handled harshly by Iron Ring agents and an armored masked figure waving a blade and barking orders to the agents. Now (unfortunately) familiar with the layout of this type of ship, Admiral would guess that the view is captured by a lantern hanging on a central mast of the ship.

Cordey says, "Something is not right here. I just can't put my finger on it. But releasing the dear sad fey might not be wise at this very moment." as he looks about trying to figure out what is amiss here.

Admiral frowns over the images in the water. "Looks like there’s some of those fish creatures heading out toward our skiff," he mutters to Jin. "Do you reckon your troop will be able to handle them? Hopefully Taresh will be able to hide the skiff like he did earlier…"

Before Jin can answer, Admiral’s attention is caught by a sudden movement in the crates. Silently, he draws Reaver and stalks over to the crates, tail swishing from side to side as he prepares to pounce on the source of the movement.

Jin begins to respond but sees Admiral's attention shift. "I think Casp...what is it?"

Inside one of the crates Admiral sees squid like creatures swimming in a cube of energy that is overly crowded with them. There's a similar cube in the other crate that is filled with various types of seaweed.

Looking around, Cordey notices that on the cover of one of the large tomes on the table with the other tomes are symbols etched in Old Makai. He doesn't know how he recognizes them because he doesn't know the language, but when he sees the binding he feels his amulet vibrate with a warm energy and he can feel Lelay's gentle touch on his neck.

As other's attention is elsewhere, it seems Cordey's fall upon a books as he tries to sense what is bothering him. He walks to the where the tomes are. Carefully he picks one up among other ones. His hands graze over as to dust it off. Perhaps to view it better.

Huge Cordey, who is more of the island than any other here, says as he holds the book up to view and display it, "I feel this may be the answer. Someone more with words needs to look at it." Indicating that reading isn't one of Cordey greatest forays.

"…Just some squid," Admiral answers Jin, a bit disappointed that there was nothing to stab. Not even a rat to chase. He sheathes Reaver and takes a look at the book Cordey is holding up. "I don’t recognise the language on the cover. Is it the same inside?"

Upon Cordey's showing of the book, Tasya turns her attention away from the creature in the glass

"I don't recognize that language either," she replies to Admiral. "But I do recognize the writing on those other books," she gasps, astonished. "It's Infernal! I don't know it well, but Misha has taught me some from when I was very little."

Meanwhile the glass-caged creature keeps forcibly pleading, "Let me out, Let me out! You see, you see, the hag deals with demons! Let me out! I can help you! Don't be foolish Nul'zerebi"

Tasya turns to the creature upon its last word. The creature quickly gets quiet and looks startled as if it accidentally misspoke.

"What...did you call us little one?" Tasya asks suspiciously and inquisitively. "You speak infernal? Is that why the hag keeps you here?"

Admiral narrows his eyes at the fey. "I think this little shrimp is trying to trick us," he says, amused. "Seems like some kind of imp or demon in disguise to me."

Cordey will open the book see if he can understand anything within it.

He only glances at the jarred fey.