My doubts have been quelled and my fears stoked. It is all true. Everything I read and surmised. As we were surveying our way across the west we found a few interesting things but the most important event was our encounter with a Yuan Ti Abomination. We had camped for the night on a dry island with two small wooden bridges granting access and flood waters surrounding the site. In the night a figure approached and called out. It was a Yuan Ti that had somehow recognized that our rouge scout Shyrene was of the Uthgart clans. The beast wanted to know if she was from The Clan, and then if she wanted to serve as a war leader for the Yuan Ti for great reward. I barely contained myself from attacking immediately in order to gather more information even though my trident yearned to spill Yuan Ti blood (an for which it has been especially enchanted). By it's own words it admitted that the Yuan Ti had recently awoken and planned to reconquer the region. Many centuries ago they had human and other servant races supporting them. When I challenged it about changing us into mutant monstrosities it said that only the worthy would be changed. But I assume any that serve them are considered worthy for mutating. The point is it confirmed that the Yuan Ti have the ability to do so. Talking turned into fighting moderately fast. It took down our mage Omlilo with one shot of a shadow bow then missed a shot at me. We ganged up on it and after two or three exchanges took it down. I have his falchion as a battle trophy. There were ruins under the water around us that might have been an old temple. There was a snake motif etched into parts of it. We found a tube with some spell scrolls but while they excited our mages it meant nothing to me. There was no way to date the wall segment but it reminded me a little of the stone work in the codicile built by the Ancients we visited. I can not prove it, but I believe what a few other sages claimed that the Ancient civilization fell apart when parts of it mutated and became Yuan Ti and Minotaurs and who knows what else. Presumably they warred with the Ancients that didn't want to change. What power, philosophy, or entity was behind this change is unknown. But I believe it is still out there, guiding the Yuan Ti and creating random creatures like Displacer Beasts as an object lesson that shows the mutations are superior to natural creatures to those that might join the thinking of the Yuan Ti and change themselves. The ruins I was in was full of Uthgart undead and statues of Minotaurs. An intelligent force has it under siege and when we get more experience we plan to return. That force might be related to the universal creature of monstrosities. Something from the Outer Realms perhaps? A crazy deity or ancient fey spirit now twisted? I cannot say. After that we mapped a few more areas and fought some mud mephits that were spilling out of a magic gate point. I stuck my trident in it and speared a chest I could not see. When I pulled it out the gate point closed. I guess we stole it from a magus somewhere but my companions seem to feel it is "finders - keepers" as we have no way to return it or identify who it belongs to. Then we detected bad storms rolling in so we went to a liazrd man village we saw on a lake. This is the village of the Deepfisher's tribe. Across the lake is the Mist Monkey tribe. (Apparently named that as the mist monkeys are their favorite snack food). Oh yeah, we found a ranger Codicile tower for Gloomstalkers. Met two tabaxi there for business. Lazy-son and Butter-Lick. I finally got some gold (from the Yuan Ti) and I am told all this mapping we are doing will allow us to get paid more gold.