The party had assessed the situation and took actions to move away from the leech swarms which were draining them. Before they could take action, however, the 4 stalagmites changed appearance, long tentacles came out from each and grabbed the party members. Kaylord noticed that while the tentacles should have been damaging them,he was only held in place. He took a closer look and realized that it was an illusion and shouted to the rest of the party about the illusion. Aramil heroically shook off the effects of the hold spell that had been cast on him and was able to penetrate the illusion of the tentacles. He then flew down to Coravel, grabbed hold and transported them both to dry land. Quis'Ari was also able to see through the illusion and was able to swim away from the leeches and undead which were swimming towards her.
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Kaylord moved free and to dry land where the leeches could not move as quickly. He then prepared an alchemists fire to drop on the leeches when they came out of the water. Aramil flew back, after instructing Coravel to stay put, and then used a lightning bolt to attack the leech swarms and one of the undead. The bolt damaged the leech swarms and wiped out the skum. Coravel stayed put while Quiq'Ari cast a spell to help the group.
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At the other end of the cavern at an opening, a large creature appeared, pulled itself out of the water and started to moved down the tunnel. The leeches moved towards the group while the undead moved in. Kaylord threw an alchemist's fire at one of the swarms as it went on dry land while Coravel made his way down to join the party. Quis'Ari continued to swim out of the way while the large creature cast spells against the group. In the next batch of fighting, one of the leech swarms was dispersed and another of the undead dispatched. It was noticed that one of the undead that had fallen earlier now looked different and more like the creatures the group had fought in the river.
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As the party gained the upper hand with the undead and leech swarms, the large creature moved into the tunnel and out of sight. Due to the damage taken during the battle, the group moved away from the pool that had almost become their watery tomb. Quis'Ari quickly restored their abilities and healed them of their injuries. Kaylord then proposed a strategy to go against the creature, which they thought might be an aboleth. They remembered that aboleths used illusion and they should keep a watch for illusions.
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The Strangers went back to the room and opened up their folding boat. They moved over to the tunnel, anchored the boat and cautiously moved into the tunnel. Aramil and Kaylord were detecting magic and could detect items in the other room. The room looked like a dry cavern with pulsating pods hanging from the low ceiling. Each pod appeared to contain a body surrounded by a thin membrane. The magic was detected below the floor of the room, which seemed odd to Aramil and Kaylord.. There were 3 humanoid creatures in the center of the room and one attacked with spells as the group entered.
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Aramil was able to penetrate an illusion that was covering water surrounding an island that the humanoids stood on. He could also see leech swarms and a huge leech that were making their way towards the group. The others stayed on the dry tunnel surface and prepared to attack the leeches as they moved up on land. As the leeches broke through, the other members were now able to see through the illusion and better prepare for the fight. Spells continued to be cast against the group while the other 2 humanoids moved over to the tunnel edge. A combination of Aramil's spells, Kaylord's axe, Coravel's deadly skill and Quis'Ari's spells and attack made quick work of the leeches and humanoids.
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The group explored the cavern and found some magical items but no aboleth. They also checked the pods and could see that the figures appeared to be transforming into skum, similar to what they had fought. The 3 humanoids also appeared to be like skum, but somehow merged with what their former selves, skills and powers partially intact. The group destroyed all of the pods so that no more skum would be made ready.
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The group returned to the larger room and their folding boat, still anchored. Quis'Ari cast water breathing on the group so they could search for the aboleth. Kaylord and Coravel went underwater to check for secret doors while Aramil flew around keeping watch. Aramil also cast a globe of invulnerability on the boat for protection. When Quis'Ari was alone on the boat, the aboleth appeared next to it and tried to attack her. Walls also appeared on the exits from the chamber, appearing to block them.
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Kaylord and Coravel swam back to the boat and started attacking the aboleth. The aboleth moved off, casting a spell against the attackers. Everyone moved towards it as it backed against the far wall. Aramil moved in to attack and as he reached to touch the creature, something felt off. He realized this aboleth was an illusion and warned the group. After the warning, the real aboleth appeared to the side and the attacked was moved to this creature.
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Coravel remembered his poisoned arrows and fired one towards the creature. With his extremely lucky shot, the aboleth succumbed to the poison and fell unconscious. The group then surrounded the creature and hacked it to death.
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After some further exploration, a secret room was found with magical runes inscribed on the walls. Aramil was able to decipher the script and discover that the room was a giant spell book that he could study. The group spent 2 hours in the room so Aramil could add 2 spells to his book. The session ended here.
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