Thousand Teeth the Devourer - Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Chapter 6

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

Special Guest Stars
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.

1. I as DM had misinterpreted Marlin's player's offer of alliance. Marlin's player actually enjoyed this twist and it made total sense!
2. 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. 
3. Given this new information, the players now understood what they had to do and made a plan of action.

Shaman
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! 

Danger at Dunwater - Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Chapter 5

Annor woke when he heard his brother's door close. It was late. He heard footsteps and whispering. That was odd. He heaved his muscular form out of bed and grabbed his ridiculously long sword. He opened his door an inch and looked out into the hall.

In the gloom, he saw his brother Marlin standing with two other men. His brother had a hood over his head. The two men were wearing hoods with eye holes. His brother was being led away but seemed to be going willingly.

Annor burst through the door and into the hall. He leveled his sword at the two men and challenged them to release his brother.

The trio froze. Annor, clad in nothing but his nightshirt, assumed a menacing posture while he brandished his mighty blade.

Marlin blindly held out his hands and appealed for his brother to remain calm. "Hey! Hey! I've got this under control. Go back to bed!"

"Are you sure?"

Marlin, sightless in his blindfold, awkwardly reached out in the wrong direction and gave a thumbs up, "Don't worry!"

CHAPTER 5

"DANGER AT DUNWATER"

• 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

Special Guest Stars
This week we were joined by a special guest star!

• Alot Aname - Warforged Soldier and Fighter

Initiation

Annor went back into his room and waited for them to leave the house. He then crept out after them, following them down the cobblestone street and towards the warehouses of old town a few hundred feet away. 

Annor saw the men take Marlin into an old dilapidated storehouse. Annor crept around the outside of the building and found a section where the ancient wood planks had rotted away. He could see a group of six or seven men on the other side of the large room, dozens of feet away. They were wearing dark robes with pointed hoods and carried candles.  Marlin was brought before them robed men. The robed men said some words but they were too far away, Annor couldn't quite make out what they were saying. 

Marlin made some kind of affirmative reply.

The leader of the group asked a question of the other men. One of the men removed his hood - it was Gellan Primewater! Gellan gave another short affirmative reply. Gellan and Marlin exchanged a silent acknowledgement. The leader said some more somber words. 

A man approached Marlin with a bowl and a knife. The leader gave some more solemn instructions. Marlin nodded. 

Marlin took the knife and cut the palm of his left hand, collecting the blood in the bowl. The attendant then took the knife and gave Marlin a small card to hold. Marlin touched the card to a candle and set it alight. 

The leader then began reciting an oath, pausing after each sentence to allow Marlin to repeat. Marlin repeated the oath as the card burned in the fingers. When the oath was completed he put the burning card in the blood collected in the cup. The attendant gave Marlin a strip of cloth with which to wrap his hand. 

The attendant took the smoking cup to a nearby table. Several other vials of dark liquid were added to the cup. Marlin was directed to sit on a nearby bench. Another hooded man took the bowl and sat on a stool next to him. The man produced a small set of tools, dipped one of them into the liquid, and began tapping the tool into Marlin's skin. They were giving Marlin a tattoo! 

When they were done, Marlin once more stood before the leader and was given additional warnings and instructions. Marlin acknowledged his understanding and assent. In the end, the hooded men extinguished their candles, plunging the room into total darkness. The hood was once again placed on Marlin's head.

Sensing an end to the proceedings, Annor raced back up the street to return home before Marlin and his escorts. Annor dove back into his bed and pretended to be asleep.

He heard the door close and Marlin walk, alone, back to his room. There was a pause as Marlin checked on Annor's door, then he heard Marlin's bedroom door close. 

DM Note-

I role-played Marlin's entire initiation into the "Organization" in private with Marlin's player, basing it heavily on the initiation rituals of the Cosa Nostra mafia. I had Marlin's player draw a card from the Tarokka deck - meaning I rolled randomly. We didn't like the result so I allowed Marlin's player to choose the card with the most symbolic meaning for his character. The burned card and blood was then mixed with ink and made into a tattoo.

Getting Ready to Go

The next morning, the party prepared their gear for their excursion to the lair of the lizardfolk. Marlin noticed that Annor's demeanor had become cool and distant. When asked about his problem, Annor accused Marlin of betrayal, corruption, and possible devil worship. Marlin made a blanket denial and told his brother everything was under control. 

Annor then noticed Marlin's new boots. They were fancy green felt boots with curled toes and silver trim. 

"Where did you get those?!" Annor demanded.

"These? I bought them from Captain Xendrik." replied Marlin.

"WHAT? I thought she didn't carry magic items!"cried Annor.

"Oh, that's just what she says. It turns out, if you pay her, you're joining her 'secret society'" Marlin made finger-quotes, "and she shows you what she has. I bought these fancy boots! They were made by elves and they're very quiet!"

Annor was very jealous and refused to talk with his brother while they finished packing.

DM Note- 

I had do some flashbacks to the previous week (last session) to shoe-horn in some plot details and retroactively take care of some housekeeping. 

Travel to Dunwater

The party, along with the newcomers Alot Aname the warforged and Oceanus the sea elf, set out west towards the Dunwater river. They took a barge across the Janustream river and hiked up and over the hill overlooking the Tower of Zenopus. Their route would take them into the eastern edge of the Hool marshes towards the Dunwater River.

Marlin looked down upon the ruined tower and thought about its storied history and downfall. He found it fascinating and wanted to some day explore it. Only the many admonitions of his wizard mentor Keledek kept him from seeking its mysteries.

As they hiked over the hill covered in boulders, small trees, and tall grasses, the party once more went over the plan.

They were taking two mules carrying the weapons that the lizard folk had purchased from the smugglers. They were to approach the lizard folk lair in peace and ask to speak to their leader. Their mission was to find out what the lizard folk planned to do with the weapons. If their intentions were hostile towards a human settlement, they'd fight their way out. If they meant no hostility towards humans, they were to learn what they could about the threat they faced, give the lizard folk their weapons, and return home.

Comfortable that the team planned no hostile action towards the Lizard folk, Aella told them about an encounter she had with Eda Oweland after last week's council meeting.

She said that Eda approached her after the council meeting and made her a secret offer. Eda said she'd pay a bounty of ten gold coins for every lizard-folk head they came back with. Eda explained that she considered the lizardfolk occupation of the old sea-cave an incursion and a prelude to invasion. Eda said that a few weeks ago she had secretly hired a group of mercenaries from Seaton to attack the lizardfolk and drive them out, but they never came back! Eda feared that they were all killed!

Aella said that she waited to tell the others until she felt confident they weren't planning on massacring them all. 

Bullywug Ambush!

The party trudged through muck of the lowland swamps approaching the Dunwater river. They were surrounded on all sides by tall grasses as high as a man's shoulder and the occasional small copse of trees. The sky was grey and breezy. They were a few miles inland so there was no sign or sound of the ocean. The air was filled with buzzing flies. The party followed a muddy game trail through the high grass.

Suddenly, out of the grasses leaped six large humanoid frogs carrying spears! They had been ambushed by the dreaded bullywugs of the Hool marshes! Two bullywugs attacked Annor, one attacked Alot, and three harried Aella. As each amphibious attacker struck with its spear, it would inflate its massive throat and croak a horrible bellow in the face of its victim, wrapping its mouth around the victim in a grisly bite.

As soon as the melee began, Marlin dove off the path into the tall grass.

A second later, the sound of half a dozen armored troops could be heard approaching from behind. Alot looked over his shoulder but saw nothing but the sound gave the bullywugs pause but they continued to attack.

Aella waved her hand and a magical gust of wind blew against her attackers, pushing one bullywug away. Marlin appeared out of the grass and killed one of the bullywugs.

Oceanus launched several quarrels from his new crossbow while Annor and Alot hewed a bloody swath through the bullywugs that beset them.

The bullywugs were soon  defeated. One survived and hopped away down the path, loudly croaking. Alot gave chase!

Alot chased the fleeing Bullywug down the path about sixty feet and emerged onto a clearing. The tall grass had been cleared revealing a muddy open circle approximately thirty feet in diameter. There were three bullywugs standing in the center of the clearing as if waiting for Alot to appear. The center bullywug had red skin and four arms!

The Bullywug Champion
Alot paused and the fleeing bullywug ran towards and joined the trio in the center. Alot looked around and saw about a dozen other bullywugs standing at the edge of the clearing like guards. A large and powerful bullywug wearing an impressive headdress - evidently some kind of leader - sat atop a massive frog the size of a horse on the far side of the clearing.

The four armed bullywug glared menacingly at Alot before turning to face his leader. He made some kind of boastful declaration while slapping his chest and inflating his throat sac and bellowing. He turned and pointed his spear at Alot as if offering  a challenge.

Alot understood and stepped forward to accept the challenge. He could hear his companions running up the muddy path behind him as well as the sound of a mysterious force of armored warriors somewhere in the grass. Annor, Aella, and Oceanus stood stood behind him.

Alot charged the bullywug champion. To his surprise, the bullywugs flanking the champion attacked! This was not the one-on-one challenge Alot expected! The bullywug champion danced around Alot, flanking him. The champion inflated his throat sac again and bellowed a war cry that sounded like fingers on a board of slate. The grating sound caused Alot and Annor to cry out in mental agony.

Annor and Aella joined the battle while Oceanus stayed near the edge, picking off bullywugs with his crossbow. As soon as the sound of the marching squad of troops could be heard, the leader of the bullywugs sent most of the others standing guard around the clearing to go investigate.

The Bullywug champion once again bellowed, this time invigorating the bullywugs around him. The bullywugs became enshrouded in a glowing nimbus resembling a giant tentacled frog creature - the froghemoth!

Despite the magical assistance, the champion was quickly defeated. Seeing the defeat of their champion sent a shock through the remaining warriors. Suddenly a hail of arrows streaked through the sky and landing into the mud around the clearing, causing Alot and Annor to flinch. The remaining bullywug warriors surrendered.

Upon seeing the defeat of his champion, the hail of arrows, the surrender of his fighters, and the sound of marching troops, the bullywug leader decided to flee, croaking out an order to his guard to do the same. The remaining bullywugs scattered into various directions. The two warriors dragged the unconscious body of their four-armed champion with them.

After the battle, Marlin emerged from the tall grass. The sound of the marching troops disappeared, as did the arrows in the mud. "Did you like that?"

Annor looked around, confused, "Was that you? How'd you do that?"

"I've been studying to cast magical spells. I've learned a few illusion spells from Keledek."

Annor winced, "Quit saying his name! You know he can hear you whenever you do that."

Marlin scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Pfft. Whatever."

A quick search of the area revealed that the bullywug leader had abandoned an old human helmet filled with dozens of platinum pieces!

The clearing was high enough to be dry and the hour was growing late. Although they were very near their destination, the party decided to camp here for the night.

DM Note- 
The players LOVED bullywug champion. Annor's player said, "I want him to join our group! Please tell me his name starts with an 'A'". I looked, "Yes, his name is 'Arrp'." He was ecstatic. Annor's player instructed the others to let Arrp live. 

I ruled that Marlin's illusions gave him an Intimidation check with Advantage. He rolled a 16 which was enough to overcome King Gulpa'Gor's morale, as noted on page 66 in GoS.

The Lair of the Lizard Folk
The night passed uneventfully. Alot, who, as a mechanical construct, had no need to sleep, stood guard all night.

DM Note- 
I use a house rule for camping and sleeping rough. At the end of the long rest, each PC makes a DC 10 Survival check. Success means they get the benefit of the long rest. A failure means they did not get a long rest but could take up to eight short rests instead. There's actually a rule similar to this on page 25 for resting in the Hool Marshes. Except the DC is 15 and applies to short and long rests. 

Dawn revealed a cloudy morning. A strong breeze blew in from the south. Before them the Dunwater river flowed into the Azure sea. The water here was wide and shallow with many sand bar islands, making it easy to ford. Beyond the river rose a rocky prominence covered in large boulders, clumps of beach grass, and small trees. A muddy path led up the prominence and split into two.

The party crossed the Dunwater river and climbed the path. Where the path split they found a dozen severed heads impaled on long poles. The heads were from humans, half-orcs, and half-ogres - no doubt they were the mercenaries from Seaton.

The path leading right led into a wide cave. The cave was flooded and dark. The water rippled as something large slipped beneath the surface. The party decided to turn back and take the other path.

The path to the left circled around the east face of the prominence and led to a large stout iron-bound door set into the side of the hill. The door was at least ten feet wide and large enough to admit entry of an animal-drawn cart and heavy enough to withstand all but a heavy battering ram.

"Odd," thought Marlin, "Lizard folk are not known for their architecture."

Annor knocked on the door.

A few minutes later, the door opened to reveal a reptilian guard with a humanoid posture. The guard carried a primitive spear and wooden club. He spoke in a strange hissing language. His demeanor was threatening.

Aella said, "He speaks a dialect of draconic. I speak draconic, let me talk to him."

Aella told the others that the lizard man told them to go away, wondering aloud why we approached in spite of the warning placed on the path below.

DM Note-
The lizard folk referred to everyone in the party as "Man-People", making no distinction between male or female, human or elf or warforged. To him, all non-lizard-folk were male and they all looked alike. 

Aella told the guard that they were delivering a shipment of weapons that the lizard folk had purchased. She indicated the two mules bearing their bundles. She told him that they would deliver the weapons under the condition that they speak with their leader.

The guard hissed with annoyance and closed the door.

The party waited outside the door for fifteen minutes before it once again reopened. This time the lizard man guard was accompanied by an entire squad of half-a-dozen warriors.

A lizard man who appeared to be the squad leader now addressed Aella. He told to leave the weapons and go.

Aella refused, reiterating her demand to speak with their leader. The squad leader made an intimidating lunge to test Aella's resolve. She did not flinch. He bared his many pointed teeth and hissed. He finally acquiesced, instructing her and the party to follow him and to not deviate. He would lead them to Princess Othokent. Aella relayed the message.

As they entered, the squad leader instructed a subordinate to run and alert the shamans of the development. He turned and dashed off with the message.

Audience with Princess Othokek

The party was led into some wide tunnels dug under the hill. The tunnels were crudely excavated from stone and supported by primitive wooden beams.

They were eventually led to a set of ornately carved wooden doors - finer craftsmanship than one normally associates with lizard folk. The squad leader opened the door to reveal a large chamber, sixty feet by fifty feet, with a high ceiling supported by six wooden pillars carved with what appeared to be totems.

On the far side of chamber, a mattress had been propped up against the wall along with a practice target dummy shaped like a fish-person.

Within the room was a tall humanoid lizard wearing armor and sporting a magnificent headdress. This lizardfolk was consulting with a burly lizard. Scattered throughout the room were eight other lizardfolk practicing hand-to-hand combat and throwing javelins at the target dummy.

The party's escort announced their presence and introductions were made to the tall lizard - Princess Othokent.

Aella spoke in draconic and addressed the Princess with deference and respect. She explained their purpose in coming to the lair and presented their delivery of the weapons. To everyone's surprise, Princess Othokent thanked her in the common tongue, using eloquent and erudite language uncommon among the lizardfolk. Othokent introduced her lieutenant Irhtos before asking him to continue training the soldiers while she met with their guests.

Before they could continue their conversation, a group of robed lizardfolk wearing tall headdresses burst into the room.

Princess Othokent apologized for the intrusion. She explained to the party that these were the tribe's shamans.

A few moments later another lizard man ran into the room. He wore a necklace laden with various medallions and sported a different style of headdress from the shamans. He wore human style glasses and seemed rushed. He could be heard crying out in common, "Princess! Princess! I must inform you that... Oh. Drat. They got here first." He looked at the shamans with disdain and annoyance. They, likewise, considered this new arrival a pest.

The princess looked slightly embarrassed, "This is my minister of state, Sauriv."

The spokespersson of the shamans spoke up. He expressed the displeasure the shamans felt at the intrusion of these "man-people" into the depths of the lizardfolk lair and demanded they be captured, put to death, and prepared as food for the hatchlings.

Sauriv interrupted them, claiming that the humans presented a valuable opportunity and could be useful in the upcoming war.

Princess Othokent stopped them both in order to explain the situation to the party. She told them that her tribe had been recently evicted from their home by a race of evil aquatic humanoids known as Sauhuagin and that they were forced to relocate here. The sauhuagin were expanding their territory and posed a threat to the entire coast - both underwater and along the shore. She had purchased the weapons from Sanbalet to use in retaking their home and defeating the sauhuagin. To that end, she ordered her attendants to pay the party the remaining balance of what they agreed to pay Sanbalet - two ingots of electrum.

Marlin immediately offered the assistance of the party and suggested forming an alliance with the land-dwellers of Saltmarsh. Orthokent thanked him but explained that she has already formed an alliance with the other races of the sea.

Marlin asked Oceanus if that was true. Oceanus confirmed that the sauhuagin were indeed a dangerous threat but said that the sea-elf tribe of Manaan had received no such offer of alliance.

Othokent looked ashamed. She said that she purposefully did not seek the aid of the sea elves. Instead, she requested audience with representatives of the merfolk, the locathah, and - she trailed off and paused before looking Oceanus in the face - the koalinth.

Oceanus' face became a sneer. He shouted in aquan before declaring that Othokent was dangerous for only an enemy would ally with the koalinth!

Marlin and Annor restrained Oceanus and attempted to calm him down, but the sea elf was livid beyond consolation. Othokent apologized and explained that the sea elves and the koalinth were bitter enemies and would never put aside their differences to fight together in an alliance. So she chose the stronger of the two sides for her alliance. That was why she did not reach out to the sea elves.

The shamans pointed to Oceanus' outburst as further evidence that such an alliance was a bad idea and that any contact with outsiders was dangerous. Orthokent acknowledged the concerns of the shamans but considered Marlin's offer of aid.

She told Marlin she acknowledged that the aid of the land-dwellers would be helpful but, pointing to the shamans, she illustrated the resistance she faced among her own tribe. She said that any potential alliance would have to overcome th innate hatred and distrust the shamans felt towards land-dwelling outsiders. She seemed pensive and said that she had much to ponder. She told the party that she would consider the party's offer of alliance.

She invited them to stay as guests of the lizardfolk, to meet those skeptics among her people and, by their actions and behavior, convince them that the land-dwellers would be worthy allies. She invited them to return at noon the next day, at which time, after having taken into consideration the consultation of her various advisers, she would render her decision.

To be Continued...

Next week: the Goodwill Tour!