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Alzar agrees to seek out Kron and then, after that, to Colhador. They may gain more info on Colhador and the powers inside. They spend the night in the palace, and then head out in the morning for Kron, three days away by undersea boat.
Three days and two nights pass. Alzar uses his Mud Ring once a day each day to give them actual air to breathe so that he can pull out his spellbooks and study. Luckily, Carum knows a lot about boats and ships, so he can, manage the basics and make sure they are going to the right place, although he is not an expert in navigation. They run into just one major encounter on the first day out.
They come across a giant octopus and it moves to attack. Alzar’s skulltrap damage scares it away after it expected an easy meal.
They have arrived at Kron, and they still have their Suthus necklaces which show they are allowed to enter Suthus, and they should get the party into Kron. The “city” of Kron is built on 14 large barges and they are surrounded by a bunch of smaller rafts. Ropes and chain lash everything together. They are under the level of the sea water but underneath a reef. They are floating basically underground/underwater, and there are large number of torches for light. They have put the torches in the water away from the city, so there is a ring of bright light all around, and then a few signs of Continual Light spells on fake torches inside.
On each of the large barges are several buildings. The small rafts sometimes have buildings, and sometimes just have some supplies or a few chairs, and such. There is even a dock here. There is no shore nearby. The reef is just above and a cliff to three sides, and the sea to another. There are several openings in the reef up to above sea level and it brings down fresh air. There are also two freshwater streams that run off and then rip down into large water troughs. The reefs leak the rain water down to this level, after being helped along by the appropriate cut here and there by hand. There are ropes and chains lashing the city to the cliff faces in various places. All in all, it’s a very precarious place, but it looks like it’s been here for a while.
As they approach, a boat launches from Kron to meet them. They say they come from Suthus and show their necklaces. The five guards, allow them passage and escort them to the docks. They have a large fleet here, from fishing boats to row boats to trading vessels. Alzar asks how they have so many ships, when just a short way away they are underwater, and on points to a watery cave they had not seen before, because it was on the other side. Apparently ships can sail up and down the cave and after a few miles, emerge out the side of a reef above them. Alzar has more questions. If the tunnel drops, how does the sea water not flood it up, but they don’t know the answer to that.
The result is a highly defensive position away from prying eyes and knowledge from the regular world. They send up trading vessels, and they trade heavily traded areas, and then they return with no one knowing where they came from.
They pass by people carving up the day’s catch of fish and drying and cleaning kelp for dinner. The city is waterproof. There are no loose objects anywhere – even the furniture. Cups and bowls have lids, mugs have lids, and tables have depressions and slots in them.
The ropes and bridges connecting the rafts and barges are flexible, and allow stretching with the tides. As it is late at night, they find a tavern for the evening. Unlike the tritons below, they have communal drinking areas up here. There are even a few spare rooms, rarely used, but available. In the morning, they head out and ask to speak with Morak. They claim they have a message from Ulobon. After asking around, they find out where his rooms are.
Alzar’s spells slide into more inconspicuous with ESP and Dire Charm subbed in for Searing Serpent and Blastbones.
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