Dawnbringer's Command & Glistenknell's Toll

Military action

The Iron Wolves take an escort mission for a diplomat that proves to be the start of something more.

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Arriving at the Phaloxil military's central hub within the Zhalvazho archepilago, the Iron Wolves were quickly situated into a sub-barracks and given their tour of Dawnbringer Command. In the process, Gregor found a friendly face, even if there was no deep connection. Within the supplies warehouse, Benito “Benny” De Benedictis Was available for aiding in purchases, sales, and postage. On the meetup, the Iron Wolves were provided with their identification badges should they need to approach Phaloxil outpost outside of direct mission orders.
  The very first evening in Dawnbringer Command, the Iron Wolves were brought before Vice Admiral Dumil Dellore, a dwarven veteran of the military with a Beard like an intricate cube of braids. The Vice Admiral was open with his disdain for mercs within his compound but honored Admiral Hall's wishes. She was due in within a week to be giving her first orders. Until then, the Iron Wolves had a choice. Take up an immediate mission he had available to them or keep your heads down and don't cause a single problem. The Iron Wolves chose the former.
  The job was relatively simple. The Navy has a deal with merfolk of the Glistenknell Atoll to accompany phaloxil vessels when then they are needed to traverse the dangerous waters amid the Romdon Isles. A few weeks back, such a voyage was necessary and the Glistenknell Merfolk did not hold up their end of the bargain. The Vice Admiral is sending a diplomat to inquire about the situation. The Iron Wolves will be acting as body guards to the diplomat. Dellore could send soldiers as the protection but if fault on the deal was due to the merfolk having new opinions of the Phaloxil presence, having non-enlisted members present may be for the best.
  The Iron Wolves were shown to the diplomat in preparation for leaving the next morning. They were presented with Specialist Jan Kocijan, a pallid, static-skinned man with completely black eyes and a bald head shaped like a bowl cut. Kocijan spoke in slow, matter of fact statements with little emotion that frazzled most of the Iron Wolves. Gregor identified the Specialist as a changeling, one of a race that could physically morph into representations of other races with little effort.
  After setting a basic understanding of capabilities and a plan of action, the Iron Wolves took their reprieve for the night. The next morning, their next voyage began. The adventurers worked on their independent projects from continued training for Kain and Zeran on their respective sailing and lockpicking skills to Gregor's celestial meditions. Lyle scanned the waters looking for evidence of other Physalia while Daniel began earnest work on a new arcane problem.
 

10th of Radiance

At Glistenknell Atoll, our heroes established themselves on a narrow band of sandbank that looked out into the calmed waters within. Kocijan took the form of a Triton for negotiations with Gregor at his back. Daniel, Zeran, and Kain stayed on the shore with Daniel listening in through comprehensive magic to any conversation meant to be public. Lyle took to the waters in the form of a shark amid others he conjured there. The merfolk Diplomat Taron was accompanied by a small set of spearwielding guards and a messenger. The first round of negotiations were filled with the merfolk usual roundabout formalities and gesturing towards problems without decreeing them outright. Kocijan picked up ques that the newfound pride in subnautical folk over aiding the landdwellers did not fit previous discussions. Any issue that was brought up enough to speak on were issues that had been adequately accounted for in the past and no additional exchanges were demanded to rebalance the deal. When an eventual break was taken for private discourse, Kocijan filled the team in fully.
  Kocijan felt that the merfok community was under some new influence, whether that be a change in power that had yet to be reported on or a major event had happened to change their opinions. Because any major event that would have changed opinions of landwellers would be visible above the water, he felt it was a change in power. It was determined that while this information was enough to return with the second, bout of negations would be used to try to dig for who this new player was. It would be subtle. No point being blunt just to cause issues. If Kocijan could get Taron to admit the situation, great. If not, no harm would be done. At least that was the plan. Halfway through the diplomat's second conversation, the phrase “Bunolsid” escaped Taron's mouth. With that, a moment of intense anxiety went through both diplomats as the guards all turned aghast at the merfolk speaker. The merfolk messenger instant turned in the water and dove deep and fast. Lyle and His Sharks attempted to catch up but the messenger out started and out enduranced them. Lyle's school of sharks pulled up at the edge of the Merfolk village to witness the messenger speak to a large fish headed, clothed entity in a hut. It pulled into the hut and a few moments later, Lyle witness the barest of oddcurrents rippled by one of his shark's gills. Lyle himself rocketed to the surface, using the speed to break, return to human to call out a warning, and the transform back into a shark to plummet into the waters once more.
    No sooner did Lyle give this warning than a trident tip burst from Taron's chest. An armored water elemental took form amid the merfolk. A flurry of moments commenced as the iron wolves moved in to deal with the entity, Grego bading Kocijan back as he empowered Taron to rise. The heroes worked in concert to deal with the threat until a rogue wave hit the shore to form another, unarmored water elemental. The elemental myrmidon focused on taking out merfolk when it could but Gregor did his best to keep them up so the guards could get Taron away.
  No sooner did the party think they were going to finish this for the best than the fishheaded bulbous man appeared around a blindspot in the water beneath the shore. Sending a water jet outward, it plasted through merfolk, and shark alike. Gregor, Daniel, and Zeran finished off the beached elemental to save Kocijan while all those in the water elminated the myrmidon and turned towards the new entity. Fish head, humanoid torso, vortext legs. It free allowed swings against itself as it sped past all of its opponenets to get to the drift, bleeding out merfolk warriors and diplomat Taron. Now close enough for Daniel to hear it's watery speech, it promised punishment for those who stood against the Bunolsid, bading Phaloxil to leave what lies beneath the waves alone. With that, his vortex underneath grew until it swallowed him and the bodies, disappearing from this plane of existence.
  The Iron Wolves promised through Kocijan to the remaining merfolk guards that they would do whatever they could to aid the inhabitants of Glistenknell from this syndicate, the Servants of Shid. The small troop would then sail back to Dawnbringer Command with their mission complete if not feeling completely accomplished.