Intruder
A reptilian guard burst into the training hall as the shamans were departing. The guard stopped short when he saw the unexpected "guests": two humans, elf, warforged, and a half-elf. He regained his composure and addressed the leader of the reptilian host in low-Draconic, "Princess Orthokent! We have captured an intruder lurking outside the stronghold! It is a- man-person, we believe!"
Princess Orthokent looked at her guests, "We have captured a man-person lurking around the stronghold. Is this man-person with you?"
Marlin and Aella looked at each other and shrugged, "Maybe?". Marlin looked at Annor but the warrior simply looked into the distance, drooling. Marlin signed, "Your highness. My brother has become afflicted with a temporary disease knows as the 'brain jellies'. He may be out of it for a few hours. Is there somewhere safe to- ah-"
"Yes, I understand. Yes, we shall put him in a store room. But what about this intruder?"
"Possibly one of ours. May we see them?"
"Of course. Aryte is one of my greatest warriors. He speaks your language and will be your guide and assistant until we meet again tomorrow. Aryte, please take our guests to the holding cells."
CHAPTER 6
"THOUSAND TEETH THE DEVOURER"
- Avastana "Aella" Kádár - Neutral, Half-Elf Outlander and Sorceress from Ket.
- Annor Whalerson - Neutral Good, Human Marine and Fighter from Saltmarsh.
- Marlin Whalerson - Neutral Good, Human Seeker and Rogue.
- Auric Ravenson - Neutral Good, Human (?) Shipwright and Cleric.
- Oceanus - (NPC) Neutral Good, Sea Elf
This week we were joined by a special guest star!
- Alot Aname - Warforged Soldier and Fighter
Auric Misses the Boat
Auric Ravenson had spent the last week building and preparing his new altar to Tristan, the Guardian of the Afterlife. He returned to his temporary home at the Whalerson house. No one was around. He couldn't help but think he had forgotten something. Where was everyone?
There was a note - "Auric, we've gone to the lizard-folk lair west of town. Meet us there."
Wait, was that today? No! That was yesterday! Auric hastily gathered his things and set off west!
He rented a rowboat and crossed the Janustream River. He followed the track past the ruins of the tower of Zenopus and over the hill. The trail of muddy footprints and the cleared path through the marsh was clear and easy to follow.
He came across the scene of a battle and a nearby campsite. The footprints led across a shallow ford where the Dunwater river met the sea and ascended a rocky promontory near the beach. There he found the severed heads of humans and demi-ogres impaled on pikes as a warning. The heads were several weeks old. Luckily it was no one he knew.
He heard a soft thipping noise and felt an insect sting his neck. He swatted it away but found a small dart. He began to feel drowsy and collapsed, unconscious, into the mud.
The Prisoner
Aryte led the party through the winding tunnels of the lizard-folk stronghold. As they passed through a checkpoint formed of a door made from intricately carved wood, someone in the party commented on the artistry of the carving. Aryte proudly declared himself the carver. Marlin told Aryte how impressed he was and asked if he would ever sell his work to the humans of Saltmarsh. Aryte answered that money had no value to him. He lived only to serve Princess Orthokent in whatever capacity she needed. It was only for her that he learned to carve wood. Marlin shrugged.
The party arrived at the holding cells which were guarded by a squad of lizard folk led by the jailer, Kothar. Kothar had little patience for these man-people outsiders and it was evident he looked upon them primarily as a source of meat - a fact made clear when he asked Aella for her hand as a snack. She refused in disgust, which only confused Kothar. After all- it's only a hand! Do they not grow back?
Marlin appeased Kothar by promising to prepare a feast of donkey meat for the warriors. Kothar asked, "What is this 'donkey'? Is it some kind of man-people?"
"No," replied Marlin, "But it's the next best thing! You'll love it!"
Kothar, intrigued at the prospect of this "don-kee", showed the way to the new prisoner. On their way they heard a voice in one of the cells calling out for help in different languages - Aquan, Keolish, and others. The voice claimed to be a triton envoy that had been captured and tortured by the lizard folk. It implored the party to free it and to not believe the lies of the lizard folk.
Ultimately, they were shown the captured man-person. It was Auric. Auric was reunited with the party and brought up to speed on the current situation. Auric was confused regarding why they were still there. Their mission had been to determine what was going on. Technically, their mission was accomplished and they should leave. They had no business offering an alliance to the lizard folk. That was a decision for the town council.
Marlin clarified that he only offered their own services to the lizard folk.
Aryte interrupted, explaining that it was Princess Orthokent's understanding that they were offering an alliance with the forces of the man-people.
Marlin, startled, said, "Wait. WHAT? We don't have that authority!"
Aryte looked worried, "Oh, this may change things. You should probably speak with Minister Sauriv immediately."
Minister Sauriv
Aryte took the party to Minister Sauriv's chambers. There they found the elderly reptilian in a comfortably appointed cavern complete with rugs and an upholstered armchair of human design in which the minister was seated reading a scroll to the light of a glowing brazier. A book on politics lay on the table within arms reach.
The minister greeted them warmly in Keolish.
Marlin told the minister about the miscommunication and asked what they should do.
Sauriv explained that Princess Orthokent was weighing whether or not to accept the offer of alliance with the humans based on what she perceived to be the offer made by Marlin. If this was not the case, she would be offended and embarrassed. Indeed such a mistake would embolden the shamans, who are against forming any alliance, and would jeopardize the current alliance negotiations being made with the other tribes.
Sauriv provided additional details on the proposed alliance with the other tribes. He told them that envoys from the Locathah, Merfolk, and Koalinth had been summoned. The sea elves had not been informed because he knew they would never participant in an alliance with their mortal enemies, the Koalinth, so they chose the stronger faction.
He explained that the humans were not contacted because of the traditional mistrust humans had for the lizard-folk - so it was assumed they would not participate. However, he explained that a human kingdom in the alliance would ultimately be a great benefit to the humans. Should the undersea alliance fail, it would be a matter of time before the Sahuagin raided the coasts, not to mention all the shipping that would suffer due to Sahuagin attacks.
Sauriv made it clear that no single undersea faction could stand against this violent Sahuagin expansion. Only an alliance could stand up to them. He also made it clear to Marlin that his misunderstanding has now put the alliance in jeopardy, and that should the alliance fall, the human coastal settlements would suffer greatly.
Armed with this new understanding, Marlin, Auric, and Aella agreed that they must keep the alliance together and do what they could to convince the town council of Saltmarsh to join it.
Marlin asked Sauriv about the prisoner who claimed to be a Triton. Sauriv replied that it was, in fact, a Sahuagin spy that was caught trying to infiltrate the compound to observe the alliance proceedings. He would be put to death after the alliance was secured.
Marlin and Auric asked Sauriv for his advice on how to go about strengthening the proposed alliance. He suggested convincing the shamans - a difficult undertaking to say the least - and convincing the various envoys that man-people would be a worthy addition.
DM Note-
Three facts were becoming clear.
- I as DM had misinterpreted Marlin's player's offer of alliance. Marlin's player actually enjoyed this twist and it made total sense!
- The players had no idea why they should join this alliance. The stakes had not been adequately conveyed to them and the players were getting bogged down in figuring out what to do next and why. In fact, they were about ready to just walk away. So I used Sauriv to explain what they had to lose.
- Given this new information, the players now understood what they had to do and made a plan of action.
The party decided to at least try and speak with the shamans. They asked Aryte to introduce them. Aryte led them to the temple of Semuanya. There they found a lizard-man shaman worshipping at the altar. The shaman was visibly annoyed at the interruption. The party attempted to make their case to the shaman but were unable to overcome his resistance. He ordered them to leave immediately and they complied.
Merfolk
The party decided to split up. Aella and Auric would meet with the envoys while Marlin and Alot would prepare a feast of donkey meat for the warriors.
Aella and Auric decided to meet first with the merfolk. Aryte took them to a flooded grotto and called forth the merfolk envoy. A creature emerged with a humanoid torso and the lower body of a large fish. The merfolk envoy verified the stories of both Sauriv and Orthokent. The merfolk confirmed that any single group would probably fail to defeat the Sahuagin so they decided to join the alliance. The merfolk were receptive to the idea of human membership in the alliance and pledged their support to any negotiations regarding the proposal.
Locathah
Aella and Auric moved to an adjoining grotto to meet the envoy from the Locathah. The Locathah were human-sized lion-fish with humanoid arms and legs. The envoy from the Locathah spoke in a strange dialect of common. It warned Aella and Auric that, should the alliance fail to unite against the Sahuagin, each of the individual tribes would be defeated in turn and eventually even the man-people cities along the coast would fall. The Sahuagin would raid surface shipping and all trade would cease. However, the envoy from the Locathah failed to see what benefit humans could provide to the alliance.
Hours had passed and Aella and Auric were becoming tired. They decided to bypass the envoys of the Koalinth in order to check in on Marlin and Alot's feast.
skip Koalinth
Donkey Feast
Marlin and Alot were taken to their pack animals. There they slaughtered and butchered one of the two donkeys. Although neither of them had any experience in cooking for such a large group, Marlin was able to prepare a worthy feast for the warriors of the lizard folk.
The warriors were impressed. Kothar showed his gratitude to Marlin and the two became friends, after a fashion. Kothar confided with Marlin that the warriors were in a foul mood. Not only had they been forced to flee their home, there was a real possibility that the shamans would prevent them from returning and retaking it. On top of that, they had lost several scouts and warriors outside of this new stronghold to a threat they could not fight.
Kothar told Marlin and Alot about Thousand Teeth the Devourer, a reptilian beast that lived about two leagues away in the swamp. Thousand Teeth was a holy beast of Semyauna, protected. No lizard-folk warrior was permitted to harm it. But Thousand Teeth had already taken nearly a dozen of his best warriors and scouts! He had no desire to cause harm to a holy beast, but he found the losses intolerable. Princess Orthokent didn't know what to do.
Marlin and Alot promised to help Kothar and deal with Thousand Teeth, for they had no such taboo.
That night they rested comfortably in a storage room filled with items purchased from Sanbalet's smugglers. Marlin examined the brass helmet recovered from the bullywugs the previous day and determined that it was magical. Casting a spell of identification, he discovered that it was an ancient "Helm of Underwater Action" which allowed its wearer to see in darkness and breathe underwater.
DM Note-
I could tell that Aella's and Auric's players were becoming bored with the political negotiations, so I decided to throw in some action with a side-jaunt to find and defeat Thousand Teeth. This got everyone jazzed up. The original module said its an eight-hour journey but I reduced it to two so they could go there and get back before noon. Plus it made the threat posed by Thousand Teeth feel more immediate and nearby.
A Gift from Aryte
Having spent the last twenty four hours underground, the party had no idea of the time. Aryte woke them from their sleep and informed them that it was dawn. The party then prepared to journey through the swamp to find and deal with Thousand Teeth. It was their intention to return to the lizard-folk stronghold in time for Princess Orthokent's decision at noon.
Aryte said he heard what they planned to do and thanked them. He had lost a brother to Thousand Teeth. He told them directions of how to find the lair of Thousand Teeth and gave them a gift - a foul smelling potion in an earthenware jug. He told them it was a potion of healing. They thanked Aryte and left through the main door into the morning mist of the swamp.
Per Aryte's instructions, they followed the Dunwater river north for over an hour until they reached a series of animal and lizard-folk skulls affixed to pikes in the river mud - a warning. They turned west and began climbing a low hill.
Reptilian Hillbillies
The party made their way through a series of ancient ruins covered in loam and swamp vines. Suddenly crude javelins streaked through the sky at them. It was an ambush! Four lizard-men covered in dry white mud decorated with crude warpaint and wearing necklaces adorned with animal bones and crocodile skulls, charged the party with stone-tipped clubs.
Assuming these lizard-men were affiliated with Orthokent's tribe, the party tried to communicate with the lizard-men. The lizard-men ignored their entreaties and attacked the party. The party was forced to fight back and soon defeated the four primitive warriors. It was clear, in retrospect, that these lizard-men belonged to some kind of primitive cult that worshiped Thousand Teeth and were not, in fact, associated with the stronghold.
Marlin noted three nearby small ponds and deduced that they might connect underground and serve as the lizard-men's lair. He suggested Alot, who did not need to breathe, and Auric, who wore the ancient Helm of Underwater Action, investigate. They did so and recovered ten gold pieces worth of various coins and a potion labeled with a small flame.
Auric looked at the bodies of the four lizard men, "Aella, do you see what I see?"
"No?" was her quizzical reply.
"I see forty gold! You said Eda would pay us ten gold for each lizard man head? I see four lizard man heads."
Marlin grinned and began decapitating.
DM Note-
Honestly, I hadn't planned on the pools being anything. But Marlin suggested they might be tunnels to a lair and I went with it. I like to encourage and reward that kind of improvisational imagination. I rolled randomly on the treasure table for some minor loot.
Thousand Teeth
They crested a low ridge and noticed that the ridge formed a bowl - or crater - about two hundred feet wide. The bowl was filled with fetid water and swamp. The air within the crater took on a strange multi-hued radiance that smelled of ozone and decay. The vegetation could only be described as "wrong". Small trees grew in strange twists and were covered in sickly multicolored leaves. Dangerous looking thorns grew from plants and trees that normally would not. At the bottom of the bowl was a pond about sixty feet in diameter. Twisted purple and green trees draped in black moss surrounded its bank. Thick wafer-like growths of white fungus sprouted from the purplish-black tree trunks. The still pond was covered in a thick layer of pale yellow algae.
There was no movement in the pond. No one wished to go near the water. Marlin picked up a small rock and threw it into the pond. It landed with a small splash and ripples but there was no other action.
Alot went back to the site of the lizard man ambush and hacked off a few limbs. He returned and threw one into the pond. It floated on the algae-covered surface. A moment later, Auric caught an imperceptible ripple followed by a small gulp as the limb disappeared beneath the surface.
Alot threw another severed limb onto the bank near the water. Nothing happened.
Alot moved closer to the bank and dangled a severed limb into the edge of the water. The snout of a massive crocodile emerged and snapped at the limb. The crocodile was strangely colored with rows of bony thorns growing from its back. Within its alabaster white maw were multiple rows of glassy transparent teeth. A strange multi-hued glow emanated from deep within its throat. The jaws grabbed at Alot but missed. Alot plunged his sword deep into the beast's head and strange purple blood spurted forth.
The crocodile quickly retreated beneath the opaque surface of the water, providing no target for the members of the party armed with attack spells and crossbows.
Suddenly two venomous snakes with strange twisted bodies dropped from the branches of the trees surrounding the pond. Auric was able to quickly dispose of one of the snakes but the other attacked Aella.
A moment later the crocodile emerged again and attacked Alot but once again retreated beneath the water. Auric recognized the pattern and told Aella and Oceanus to aim and prepare their attacks. This time, when Thousand Teeth emerged, they were prepared and were able to target the creature with their attacks.
Oceanus suddenly had an idea. He told the others to hold their attacks. He ran down to the water's edge and plunged his face beneath the surface. He spoke in Aquan, apologizing to Thousand Teeth for their transgression. He begged the beast to become calm and promised to help it.
Thousand Teeth once again attacked Alot but Alot was able to deflect the lunge. The others held their attacks.
Oceanus tried again. This time the massive crocodile slowly emerged from the water before Oceanus. It opened its giant maw and revealed a glowing metal shard lodged deep in its throat. Oceanus would have to climb into the beast's mouth to remove it.
Marlin pushed Oceanus aside, "I got this." He cracked and wriggled his fingers before casting a magical spell. The metal shard shifted and removed itself from the inside of the crocodile's throat. It floated outside its maw and hovered in mid air. Marlin opened his backpack and added the shard to his collection of severed lizard-man heads.
Thousand Teeth exhaled a sigh of relief and slowly descended back into the water.
Marlin looked at the others with a huge grin of self-satisfaction.
Auric scolded him, "You're not keeping that!"
Marlin looked offended, "No! Of course I won't! What? No!"
Aella called out in distress, "Hey! I'm still fighting a venomous snake over here! A little help?"
Marlin cursed and jumped to her aid. The snake was quickly dispatched.
The party turned and began their journey back to the lizard-folk stronghold.
To Be Continued...
DM Comment-
First, as soon as they climbed the low hill, I had a vision of the pond at the bottom of a shallow bowl, and I thought- "Crater!" At that very moment, right as they approached the lair of Thousand Teeth, I got the idea of making Thousand Teeth the victim of a "Colour out of Space" style affliction. My other immediate inspiration was the alien swamp and giant mutant alligator in the movie Annihilation.
Second, I had given Marlin's player the sheet for Oceanus. Marlin looked at the sheet and saw the following:
Friend of the Sea. Using gestures and sounds. Oceanus can communicate simple ideas with any beast that has an innate swimming speed.
Marlin's player thought, "I bet Thousand Teeth has an innate swimming speed." so he made his play.
I thought, "Genius! I love it!" so once again I had to reward such ingenuity. He still had to make a high DC Persuasion skill check, so it took him a few rounds, but it worked!
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