Chapter 8

As we entered the fortress, we took in the Entrance Hall. Light from the crystal sun of the caverns shone through windows and backlit an entry hall that at one point must have been magnificent. Stone pillars carved out of the living rock held up stone balustrades that formed galleries to flank the entrance hall, even running above the doors that led into the hall. At the end of the hallway, a staircase carved of hewn rock sat leading up to the balustrades, while the balustrades overhung alcoves that had entrances to various corridors and rooms set into them.

Geometric designs belied the fact that this must have at one point been a dwarven fortress or outpost, long since fallen to ruin and infested by Sahuagin. My knowledge of History told me that there was an ancient Dwarven Kingdom in this area that fell around ten thousand years ago called Haunghdannar that would fit the bill. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to admire the architecture or craftsmanship as we were immediately set upon by Sahuagin.

A group of ten Sahuagin Warriors was just waiting for us in the Entrance Hall, along with five more Sahuagin on the Balustrades with javelins. They were being led by another Scaled Horror, this one in slick, dark, leather armor that appeared to be the normal leather version of the Studded Jack of the Electric Eel. The Scaled Horror snarled something in its flanged, incomprehensible to me, language and the Warriors formed an actual shield wall, tortoiseshell shields locked together and tridents at the ready. The Scaled Horror growled out something else in the Sahuagin Language before it faded into the shadows being cast by the flickering torchlight that barely lit the alcoves under the Balustrade Overhangs.

Almost Immediately, a hail of Javelins flew toward us, forcing me to sidestep, even as Shavariel grunted in pain, a Javelin slamming into her breastplate and causing the wind to be knocked out of her. Janessa, thankfully, managed to get out of the way, and Selima blocked one with her shield. I did likewise, swiping a fifth javelin out of the air with my buckler. However, we were now broken up from the solid formation we'd entered using as the Warriors on the ground advanced.

Thankfully, that didn't make us helpless and I managed to slip the blade of my longsword into a gap in the shield wall that opened as a few of the Sahuagin moved to try and cordon off Shavariel from the rest of us. My blade sliced into the leg of a Sahuagin and must have hit something vital because the spray of foul-smelling, bluish-black blood that accompanied the attack had to have come from an artery. I stepped over the dying Sahuagin and lashed out at a Second Warrior, carving its fish-like head from its shoulders.

Two down, thirteen to go. Fortunately, I wasn't alone here. Shaveriel managed to duck an incoming trident thrust and stab up with her own Pilfered weapon, the maneuver punching her trident into the armpit of her opponent and spearing a vital organ. As that Sahuagin went down, she lashed out at another, who just barely got its shield up in time. A smashing hammer blow from Selima battered another Sahuagin's ribs before her follow-on swing crushed its skull. Meanwhile, a slingstone from Janessa broke the neck of a Sahuagin on the balustrade with a flash of bright light.

Unfortunately, there were still more of the enemies and now they turned to stabbing and thrusting. I parried and dodged three tridents only to take a Javelin to the chest. My armor stopped the penetration, but the force of the blow bruised my ribs. To my right, I heard Shavariel cry out as a Sahuagin Trident punched into her leg between the plates where the right greave of her loaned armor met the assets even as she blocked a second trident with her shield. Janessa managed to skip away from the two javelins aiming for her while ducking the third, and Selima managed to parry the incoming trident but took a javelin to the side that staggered her and raised a bruise under her armor.

I parried a trident and lashed out in a riposte that cut down the offender with a slash that took its throat out before turning to cut down an opponent trying to hit me from the side. As I did that, Shavariel did likewise, dodging a pair of thrusts with a deft hop and bringing her blade down to bisect one Sahuagin's Skull, before she wrenched it free to cut down the other. Selima's Hammer strike was dodged by one Sahuagin, though her second blow smashed in the knee of another, all while Janessa took out another Javelin Throwing Sahuagin with a slingstone.

We were thinning out the enemies in the Entrance Hall, and I figured I could move to help out Selima, only to suddenly be snatched from behind by something wrenching my sword arm around painfully. My longsword was sent skidding away and I was spun around to see the Scaled Horror sneering at me with a mouthful of fangs. I tried to break free of the grip the Beast had on me but only received a painful wrench on my arm in return. It felt like the Scaled Horror was breaking my arm by degrees and I gagged in order to avoid screaming out in pain. I felt like I only had one more attempt to free myself before my arm broke fully.

As one of the Scaled Horror's other pair of arms reached down to draw a dagger made from some sort of fang from its side that sizzled and dripped with acidic fluid, I knew I had to do something fast. Then I remembered my new armor's ability. I immediately moved to engage the electric shield and channel the power into an attack on the asshole that was about to stab me with a magical acid dagger. The Scaled Horror jerked in place as it was hit with almost two lightning bolts' worth of electricity just from grabbing onto me. Its grip loosened enough that I was able to smash my forehead into its snout, doing further electric damage and forcing it to let go of my arm.

Immediately, I scrabbled for my Longsword, snatching it up even with the bones of my sword arm protesting at the sudden movement. I turned parried with my buckler just in time to avoid taking a thrown acid dagger to the face as the Scaled Horror tried to throw his acid dagger at me while my back was turned. Then I charged the Scaled Horror and lashed out with my longsword, sparking shield no longer going, even as it tried to claw my eyes out. I took a claw swipe to the forehead, even as it activated its own electric field that shocked me. My field of vision exploded in white from the shock, but my strike landed true and carved one of the Scaled Horror's Arms off. It let out a cry of protest and pain as I shook my vision clear of white fuzz, before trying to bite my head off like an actual shark. I managed to clear my vision and thrust up with my blade in time to impale it through the face.

The Scaled Horror convulsed on the end of my longsword once, twice, then stilled. Thankfully, its electric field switched off as I landed the killing blow. I was bleeding from a claw swipe, the bones of my sword arm were slightly cracked, and I'd taken a shock to my face, but I was alive and he wasn't. I took a look around and noticed more enemies than there had been previously. It seemed that while I'd been fighting the Scaled Horror a patrol of five Sahuagin Warriors led by a pair of Sahuagin NCOs and one Sahuagin Officer had charged in to try and salvage the fight.

Fortunately, it seemed the others had things well in hand there. Three of the Warriors and one of the NCOs were down already. Shavariel was dealing with the Officer, while Janessa and Selima kept the remaining NCO and Warriors at bay. I charged at the remaining NCO from the side, cutting out with my Longsword and cleaving its head from its shoulders, even as Selima brought her hammer down in a blow that pulped a Warrior's chest and Janessa flung a few magic missiles at the last two Javelin Sahuagin on the Balustrades, the invisible bolts of force shattering skulls and impaling throats. My blade flashed out again, taking the legs out from under the remaining Warrior, literally.

All that remained of the enemy in the Entrance Hall was the Officer. Shavariel however, was far more capable than some random Sahuagin Officer. Over the course of the next eighteen seconds, she dodged and weaved around the Enemy's attacks, parrying when necessary but remaining untouched. Each time she darted in with stabs, her trident came away covered in blueish-black blood. It was more like watching a dance than a fight to the death, though it was undoubtedly deadly. It was poetry in motion if I had to use a phrase that was maybe a tad cliched.

Eventually, however, the Sahuagin Officer sank to the floor, bled out by Shavariel in a death of a thousand cuts. One final stab finally ended it, and the Sahuagin Officer fell to the flagstones, dead. I couldn't help myself, I applauded.

"Bravo! That was brilliant!" I grinned.

"You're mocking me?" Questioned Shavariel.

"Not in the least. As a bard, I can recognize a piece of art when I see one, and the way you dispatched that Sahuagin was art. Deadly art, to be sure, but art nonetheless." I grinned.

"Ah. Well, it was a long time coming. That one's gaze always lingered too long at the tavern. Yet another humiliation heaped upon me by the Shark Men and one I was more than eager to avenge." Huffed Shavariel.

"I'll bet. However, with that one dead, that makes both Scaled Horrors out of the picture. The Baron should be without bodyguards now." I mused.

"You appear to have been wounded in the process. Are you able to continue?" Queried Shavariel.

"I'll be more than able to continue if you give me a moment." I nodded, inclining my head at Janessa.

"Here." Sighed Janessa, rolling her eyes and handing me a potion of Cure Moderate Wounds.

Drinking that fixed me right up. The Scaled Horror had wounded me fairly heftily, though not as much as it could have in the grand scheme of things. I'd imagine that maybe a third of my HP had been taken out in the scuffle in the Entrance Hall, going just based off of how I imagined things in terms of the tabletop. That Potion, though fixed me up right as rain as the cut in my scalp, the bruise in my ribs, and the hairline crack in my armbone all sealed shut or otherwise mended thanks to the magic.

"This is interesting. It appears to be a similar suit of armor to the one you are currently wearing. This dagger is interesting too. It seems to have been made from the fang of a Dire Sea Snake and enchanted to carry a corrosive burst enchantment alongside the standard minor enchantments for accuracy, cutting power, and so on. These boots and this pack are also interesting, they appear to be a pair of Boots of Elvenkind and a Bag of Holding." Called out Selima from where she was examining the fallen Scaled Horror.

"Boots of Elvenkind? I guess we know how that Guy was able to sneak up on you, huh?" Asked Janessa.

"Not necessarily. Scaled Horrors are experts at sneak attacks, hit-and-run ambushes, raids, guerilla warfare, and other such tactics." Scowled Shavariel.

"Whatever the reason is, it's done with now. Hand me that Bag of Holding, we'll stash this gear in there for later." I intoned.

As soon as we were sorted out, and had all the loot from all the dead Sahuagin stored in the bag of holding, we headed down the corridors. One led to a seemingly dead end. There was nothing there but a glowing lamp using the same reflective crystal and a few torches set into the far wall. I had no idea why the Dwarves of Haunghdannar would do something like this, it didn't make any architectural sense, which in my experience meant there was a hidden door somewhere around here. I set about to look for a mechanism.

"What are you doing?" Questioned Janessa.

"This dead-end makes no sense architecturally. I'm looking for a mechanism or a seam or something that would indicate a hidden door." I answered.

"You think there's something like that here?" Queried Shavriel.

"It's possible. I can't think of any reason for a dead-end corridor otherwise." I shrugged.

"I will help you look. We're not as adept at spotting such things as our Landwalker Cousins, but another pair of eyes couldn't hurt, yes?" Asked Shavariel.

"Good plan. I'll help too." Agreed Selima.

After a few moments with the four of us looking, we found the switch near one of the torch sconces. Pressing the vertical pressure plate, a section of the right-hand wall of the corridor slid open with a grinding noise. Gazing inside revealed a storage room that contained a number of healing potions, various goods that had been seized from passing ships, and the like. Probably, the Dwarves of Haunghdannar had used it for a similar purpose, though I doubted they'd gone raiding random ships to steal their cargoes as the Sahuagin obviously did.

Looking through the crates of looted cargo revealed that most of the stolen goods weren't the sort of thing we could grab that would be worth grabbing. Iron Ingots, clay cups, wooden plates, and so on. It made sense, the Sahuagin had a barony to run, after all, and it wasn't as if they were going to trade for the sort of things they would need to do it when their God commanded them to take what they wanted. That tended to happen when your God was a Giant Primordial Shark, things got Darwinian.

We did manage to come across a few things that would sell well. A carved ivory statuette of a Dragon Turtle that had been shipped up from Chult, judging by the Chultan Markings went into the Bag of Holding, though the rest of the trade goods it had been packed with were ruined by the rough handling of the cargo. Nobody wanted coffee beans that were so thoroughly soaked by seawater that they might as well be soup, after all.

At the same time, the Sahuagin must have hit a jeweler's trade ship at some point because we opened one crate that had Five Silver Chalices with Lapis Lazuli Gems, one Gold Goblet with Jade Inlay, one Gold Fork, one Gold Knife, one Gold Plate, five Silver Plates, five Silver Knives, five Silver Forks, ten Copper Mugs with Silver Inlay, ten Copper Forks with Silver Inlay, ten Copper Knives with Silver Inlay, ten Copper Plates with Silver Inlay, one Silver Ewer for serving wine.

We also found a pouch of perfectly cut gemstones containing a Spheroid Amber, a Square-Cut Chalcedony, a Cuboid Red Garnet, a Rectangular Moonstone, an Oblong Peridot, and a Star-Shaped Tourmaline in a hidden compartment in the crate that was behind a false bottom.

All told, there was three-thousand-nine-hundred-seventy Danter of valuable goods in these crates that we were able to grab and loot. If that wasn't all, we also found a case of twelve potions, six of Cure Light Wounds and Six of Cure Moderate Wounds with markings that indicated that they were being shipped from the Port of Kingsbay in the Moonshae Isles to Port of Velen in Tethyr to be used in the ongoing Interregnum there. I think the Tethyrians would rather we put them to use than the Sahuagin, so we took those too.

Once we'd looted everything we could from the hidden storeroom, we made our way back down the corridor and out into the Entrance Hall. When we did so, we found once again that we weren't alone here. A group of Sahuagin led by a Sahuagin in Magic Leather Armor Reinforced with Turtleshell Plates, a Magic Turtleshell Light Shield, and Wielded a Magic Longsword that hissed steam, none of which I could Identify.

However, I could identify other things on his person. He had a Cloak of Resistance Plus Two, a Ring of Protection Plus Two, and an Amulet of Natural Armor Plus Two, alongside another Bag of Holding. He also wore a Bronze and Copper Arm Ring with Azurite and Bloodstone Gems on his bicep that proved his status as Chief of a Wandering Tribe and he led a group of twenty Sahuagin Warriors, two Sahuagin NCOs, and one Sahuagin Officer.

"I will speak in your Common Tongue so you can understand. I am Ahohek, Chieftain of the Bloody Water Nomad Clan. I am he who raided ships out from under Aremag's Nose! I will slaughter you and put down the slave revolt you incited outside to prove my worth as an ally to Baron Keloss." Snarled the Leader.

Aremag was a familiar name to me, thanks to my various knowledge skills. A Dragon Turtle that claimed a swathe of territory off the coast of Chult. He frequently levied tributes from trade ships going to and from Chult. That put Ahohek's equipment into sharper focus for me. I knew stories of a number of matched suits of armor, longswords, and light shields that were supposedly crafted using bits of discarded shell that Aremag gifted his most faithful supplicants amongst the Chultan Coastal Tribes. Often, the Chultans would pass the sets of equipment to their best warriors, so they could better represent the Tribe in battle.

Aremag's Fury, Aremag's Pride, and Aremag's Wisdom, a longsword, suit of armor, and light shield that each carried some measure of Aremag's Power within them. Whether that be a steaming burst like in the case of Aremag's Fury, resistance to heat, flame, and steam along with a facsimile of the breath weapon of a Dragon Turtle for Aremag's Pride, or the ability to breathe and move about freely underwater as in the case of Aremag's Wisdom. These were powerful magic items and in the hands of someone who knew what they were doing, quite deadly to boot.

There were very few of these sets of items in existence, only twelve extant amongst the various coastal tribes of Chult. There had been others, but two had been lost during the Amnian Colonization of parts of Chult, and one had been presumed to have gone down with the ship Peninsular Wind, an ambassadorial ship going from Port Nyanzaru to Amn on a matter of colonial business. I guess I'd just found out what had happened to it.

Of course, then Ahohek barked out a number of orders in the language of the Sahuagin, drawing me out of my thoughts. The Sahuagin formed up and Ahohek bellowed out something in his flanged voice using his odd language. I put thoughts of Chult and lost ships aside, as I couldn't spare much attention for that sort of thing at the moment.

Not now that battle had broken out in the Entrance Hall once again. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here's the next part of the Sahuagin Adventure. Moving into the actual fortress this time. Of course, Chieftain Ahohek is just one of three named NPCs that I'll be having the group battle before all this is done. Baron Keloss is also here, along with his wife, Priestess Kaia. This is the center of power for an entire Sahuagin Barony, so there are a lot of magic items and loot here, the same way there are a lot of enemies to fight.

You might think I'm giving out too many, but remember, this sort of thing was going to happen. After all, there are still almost two years before Baldur's Gate One kicks off. I have something planned for Robar not being too out of place in the plot compared to everyone else.

A note on a few setting details. While a bunch of the stuff I've done for things like the Sahuagin Baronies of the Jaws of Sekolah, the Jannath's Tears Archipelago, and so on has been my own worldbuilding filling in the gaps, I am only filling in the gaps.

Case in point, Aremag is a real, by book, Dragon Turtle NPC that claims territory along the Chultan Coast out of the Jungles of Chult Sourcebook. Likewise, Haunghdannar was a real ancient Dwarven Kingdom from the Dwarves Deep Sourcebook. Both are older Sourcebooks from the nineties.

I like to throw some older stuff like that into the mix. I almost made Selima be from Zakhara, for instance, though I couldn't square that with her being a Cleric of Deneir. I figured that since I've got the Bhaalspawn this time around being from Shou Lung in Kara-Tur, and already mentioned Maztica a couple of times, you guys should already know I'm doing that sort of thing, but I figured I'd say it out loud just in case.

At any rate, the next chapter will start with the fight against Ahohek.

Stay tuned. . .