The Gaming Den

The water "wall" reacts like the surface of a still pond, dimpling inward away from the path.

Archimedes looks and sniffs around, before attempting to cast detect magic, focusing on the pearl.

Orr will focus for a brief moment (recover water token) and then push back the water next to the pearl, trying to clear the water around it.

Darth Rabbitt wrote:Archimedes looks and sniffs around, before attempting to cast detect magic, focusing on the pearl.

Archimedes is briefly distracted as her scent still clings to him, but manages to shake this off. Detect magic does not seem to work beyond the surface of the "wall."

Orr will focus for a brief moment (recover water token) and then push back the water next to the pearl, trying to clear the water around it.

Orr's power pushes back the water; as it retreats and exposes its shell, the great clam closes.

Orr will maintain concentration on keeping the water back, and attempt to nauseate the clam (DC 17, Fort Negates, Sickens no save). If nothing unusual happens, he'll try again a few times (once every other turn).

Orr has no idea what a nauseated clam looks like, but it isn't opening.

From around the bend, there is a scream.

Orr will cease concentration on keeping the water back, and try to get a glimpse of what's going on around the bend.

The "wall" plops back into place; through the shimmering water that marks the bend in the path, Orr gets a flash of tentacles...big tentacles...

To Archimedes and Malogos, "Tentacles around the corner here. Big ones."

To Drowning Squid, if within 100 ft, "What's going on?"

Drowning-Squid appears to be out of range.

Malagos opens his witchsight (See the Unseen) and scans the area for invisible items or creatures.

Malagos:

As Malagos' witchsight comes into focus, he sees...that this place crawls. All manner of living things crawl and scrape and swim through the air; strange heavily armored crustaceans, long eel-like things that swim overhead, silently snatching up tiny wriggling worm things. The whole path, that looks to airy and clear of life, teems with a silent ecosystem all around you...

But none of it seems directly threatening to you, yet. Nor do you see the giant tentacles, except in the reflections on the walls from farther up the path.

Archimedes will head forward, attempting to locate Drowning-Squid's scent.

Archimedes surges forward, and smells Drowning-Squid in what might be distress...a peculiar mix of musk, brine, and ink. Another scream comes, this from just around the corner, perhaps fifty feet ahead. The half-minotaur can already see some of the tentacles, mauve with blue spots, some as thick as his thigh, with big suckers.

"Guys...there's a lot of wacky stuff down here, be careful."

Orr flies behind Archimedes, staying around 10 feet behind him. He'll also keep an eye out in the ethereal plane.

"Any idea what these tentacle things are Malogos?" (Knowledge check?)

He tries reaching Drowning Squid again. "What happened? What are these things?"

Drowning-Squid doesn't answer. You race around the bend and suddenly know exactly what has your guide in its clutches:

Drowning-Squid hangs limply in one tentacle, apparently unconscious.

Archimedes power attack pounces (spending a swift action to activate his Fighting Style) the creature holding Drowning-Squid, assuming that it's within charge range (30 ft for Archimedes):
(not factoring in attack or damage bonuses from his iron body or the keymace, because the specifics on those are unknown, but factoring in the penalty from the negative level.)
(Edit: holding off on the keymace to avoid collateral damage.) So it's slam +12 melee (2d6+18), gore +10 (1d8+13), 2 claws +10 (1d6+13 each), bite +10 (1d6+13), tail +10 (1d6+13) First hit forces a DC 19 Fortitude save vs. stunning (assuming creature's not immune).

If not within range, he risks losing the element of surprise and moves into position first.
double edit: fixed some math errors.

Malagos opens his mouth to try to intimidate the creature, but is dissuaded after Archimedes gpes charging in.

He tries to remember anything he knows about the critter as he starts to cast a color spray.

CapnTthePirateG wrote: He tries to remember anything he knows about the critter.

Malagos recognizes it as one of the Witches of the Sea - a Morkoth Hag. They are morkoth that have made a pact with some dark force, and become powerful warlocks; the combination of their eldritch powers and innate spell reflection and hypnosis abilities make them dangerous foes... made all the more so because they often organize in covens.

Assuming Malogos mentions the spell reflection and hypnosis abilities, Orr will stick close to Archimedes as he pounces and try to get within 5 ft of the creature (so that a reflected fire burst would still hit the creature without hitting Drowning Squid if possible, and both Orr and Archimedes are immune to fire), power channel water at it (sickens no save for the duration of the combat, nauseates for 2 rounds on a failed fort save, DC 17) and power channel fire at it (6d6 Fire damage, Reflex halves, DC 17). If it doesn't seem to be possible to fireburst it without also hitting Drowning Squid, Orr will instead channel water at it (sickens no save) and then power channel water at it (as above).

Orr will try to do the above 'before' Archimedes so that it's more likely to also get stunned by Archimedes.

The Morkoth Hag makes a gesture and shouts an incantation in an arcane tongue.

Alvoki malbonkondutaj nigraj tentakloj!

Tentacles burst from the ground and watery walls of the path, black and sinuous as smoke. Several of them grasp at the charging Archimedes and pouncing Orr, and though they burst through several with brute strength or evade them with acrobatics, more and more grab at them until both are effectively grappled.

Malagos' color spray bursts towards the target - and then is reflected back, as though by an unseen barrier around her! He becomes awash in the terrible rainbow, and is stunned for 2 rounds.

The witch laughs...and then looks vaguely ill. Bending over she vomits copiously. You see a good deal of dead fish and...somebody's half-digested arm...emerge from her gullet. She no longer looks happy.

Orr smirks a little at the sight before remembering his current predicament.

(Expend fire token to boost blinking fly speed to 40)

Orr will blink through the tentacles and use a run action (as there'd still be a half movement speed penalty from moving through black tentacles, I think) to move outside their reach.

He glances at his teammates. "Well that's just great..." He looks back at the witch. He almost firebursts her before remembering that he'd probably hit Drowning Squid too and then swears inaudibly as he instead hits himself with it (Gain water token).

Archimedes will attempt to break free from the grapple, roaring as he does so.

Archimedes, feeling tentacles going where no tentacle has gone before, successfully bursts free from the tentacles and moves forward...about ten feet, before they grapple him again. The sea-witch is so close that he can smell her. One more charge should do it...

The Morkoth makes a series of arcane gestures at Orr.

Tiny invisible fish seem to swim through the air from her fingertips, and rip through Orr's flesh [-5 hp].

Malagos is still stunned for 1 more round, and mumbles something about the pretty colors.