With a perfect Moonstone holding the attention of the servant of Talos in thrall, the group scrambled up onto the top of the building without issue, however in one of the first instances of the group being at odds with each other, the question of what to do with the cultist was in contention. While Pine was set and encouraging both Siax and Falcon to cut the woman down while she was otherwise held by his spell, Idris, who had been far more determined to deal with things peacefully, stopped Siax as he drew his bow. It was Falcon who ran past and did the deed, stabbing her, but it was not enough of a blow to finish the fight before it started.
Idris ran into the fight, but held true to his beliefs and attempted to restrain her, as did Siax taking with a spell to ensnare. But it did not go according to plan.Falcon became stunned as lightning had coursed through him at touching her and remained so despite Zenari's quick thinking to transport him away while he recovered. Grappled and ensnared as she might be, the servant of Talos had her own tricks, and teleported away to the top of the lighthouse, summoning forth not only a tsunami, but also a flock of harpies who managed to charm a couple of the group with their songs, luring them towards their deaths in the swirling ocean below. Some of the group more aware than others, due to the song, Siax shouted to the group to get into the lighthouse to avoid the tsunami, before trying to gain entry while dragging Koraliki Verque with him, even as Zenari managed to shake off the charm an instant before she plunged off the edge of the building with the help of Idris nearby. Pine, adept at climbing, scampered up the side of the lighthouse and called forth the swirling mass of deathly shadows that were the calling card of his spirit guardians as he moved past to the stairs, shattering the glass heart that seemed to be the focus of the growing storm that was luring the ships from the depths and onto the rocks below.
Shrieking with outrage, the servant of Talos followed him down, even as he flung off the bar from the door, allowing the group entry. Then the wave hit.
Taking shelter behind the lighthouse the majority of the group was able to hold on however both Zenari, who was too far away, and Falcon who was still stunned, got caught up in the vast wave and sent crashing into the shark infested waters below, both of them barely clinging to life. Zenari was able to manipulate her shape in order to breathe underwater, avoiding drowning and instead searching for Falcon's unconscious form. Alas, all she saw was the monstrous form of a hunter shark. Bloodmaw the crab had warned. Despite trying to sneak in the seaweed the beast saw her and lunged at her. Using her aquatic adaptations she was able to dodge and land a raking dagger wound at the passing creature, it's blood forming like clouds in the water.
Meanwhile, Idris heroically jumped clear off the building and into the water hoping to find Falcon. Some moments passed before he burst out of the water, spectral wings beating and bringing him and a newly healed Falcon out of the water, a shark stuck to his leg. Falcon, now conscious, kicked the shark off his leg and then shot another one while Idris's wings brought them back to land.
As Pine fought the servant of Talos, Siax had been focusing on taking down the harpies, but luck was not on Pine's side, for although he dealt a palpable hit to her, he was taken down moments later when she used the daze of her touch to then cleave down with a huge battleaxe, rendering him unconscious at her feet. With devastating precision, Siax nocked a phase arrow and took her down while Pine's armor managed to resuscitate him, Siax finishing off the last of the harpies in short order. Against the odds, the group had survived.
From the top of the tower Pine found small necrotic looking vines like those that the half-orc Grannoc had summoned in Phandalin , and incinerated it, while Idris noted one of the ships on the rocks below looked familiar. It was a Doryu ship. After a search through the building Idris got zapped by the lightning rod and was apparently blessed by the violent thunder god, sparks flying from his eyes. He chopped the rod down for safety but after discovering that it was connected to a shrine below he prayed and apologised.
The group took a short rest to recover from their exploits. Before they left, the group gathered items of use that they could see, while Siax too went up to the top of the lighthouse to view the place where the vines had been. Setting the magic bow he'd taken from Grannoc down on the ground where the vines had been, tendrils reached out, and from between cracks in the flooring tendrils from there grew up and entwined with it. Not liking that, Siax pulled his bow free, and uprooted the small vine from the floor, storing it in a pouch for safekeeping. It seemed the bow and the roots were connected somehow.
Meeting up with the Giant Crab afterwards, it searched the Doryu ship and brought back a chest where evidence of Idris' cousin Jean Doryu had been the captain of it was found, including his magical cloak and log book. Pine, still irritated by Idris' earlier behavior, despite the apology given, was eager to discharge their agreement to the Giant Crab and hand over the conch to the crab's mistress. Unfortunately for them they found out that not only was she dead, but that the entire cave system was filled with necromantic energy. The cave itself looked like it was heavily used by smugglers, judging by the sheer amount of barrels and chests.
It wasn't long until they found evidence, not only of a Frost Giant having taken severe damage and squeezed its way into a long narrow corridor, but also a ghost who was unable to speak to them, nor able to be put to rest despite her bones being evident. Pine's plea for aid went unheeded except for a feeling of slightly mocking amusement, however Idris had better luck in the caves, and was quick to uncover a substantial trap on a chest marked 'gold'. The group, not wanting to trigger something untoward due to lack of information if the spirit was even the crab's mistress, or indeed what might happen when they did hand over the conch, decided to explore further into the cave system to try and find out more about the situation here, the pained look at the spirits face fading in the darkness.