Winedark, Blood and Therapy: The Frogman Cometh

General Summary

Wherein The Therapists are deputized, encounter friends old and new, and consider the amphibious duality of life.

Six Bottle Summons

The Therapists, which now included much missed member Sogorim (Selachii, druid, into sporeplay) having dealt with the Octobears (and Hottim's cultist), were enjoying a much elevated position as local heroes in Varno's when a messenger from the Waterspeaker of Awa came calling. It seems that Six Bottle has heard of our heroes success with creatures that defy description and wants to speak with them on the matter. Our gang got the sense that, while polite, this wasn't really a choice.
So they were escorted to The Thankful Whale Pub, which featured just a ponderous amount of knickknacks and flair on the walls, and offered its signature dish, a massive onion deep fried in asakori whale oil, which was fittingly called The Whale Tail. They were also offered an audience with Six Bottle. The Waterspeaker has heard of more Hottim worship throughout the Isle and is worried that it might be tied to even more dangerous and unethical monstrosities. He wants the Therapists to seek out a missing noted eccentric named Flavrekt who has been known pursue some avenues harmful to public welfare in the past, last seen meeting with some grungs in their stronghold. If, in the course of this "health and safety check," they encounter any monstrosities imbued with Hottim energy, they are to destroy said creatures post haste.
Further, if the Therapists would undertake this enterprise, Six Bottle would leverage contacts and resources to find information about their vanished ship, Evening Therapy.
To make this task easier, Six deputized them into the service of Awa and introduced them to their guide to the grungs, a barbarian named Thokthug, who carried a great axe, spoke in a thick regional patois, and was one of Six's trusted agents.
With this posse assembled, it was time to ride out.

A Problem of Grungs

It wasn't far into the excursion to the grung stronghold that our heroes encountered their first challenge as newly deputized agents of Awa--a giant crocodile hidden in the marsh. Luckily, our gang was able to dispatch the beast without overmuch effort, with both Thokthug and Sogorim proving their mettle in the fight. Artag Overdale lit things on fire, because of course. With that combat concluded, it was time to seek out the grungs.
Dealing with grungs is both unpleasant and dangerous. Known slavers, the froglike humanoids have a rigid caste society that regulates both how they view themselves, and the world. If not engaged in outright combat on sight, whatever negation that occurs will surely involve distasteful tasks for more upstanding adventurers.
This interaction proved no different. A brief parlay resulted in an agreement--our crew would take care of the "bones in the sky ship" for the grungs and they would reveal where Flavrekt is laying low. A simple bargain, even if the pleading eyes of the enslaved kobolds wished for a more martial encounter.
The "sky ship" turned out to be a boat, somehow moored in the trees. Aboard said boat where the "bones," skeletons and zombies, the undead wanderers of once alive sailors. Taking care of these presented little difficultly, but the hold of the ship revealed new challenges, as "drowned" undead--those with still some semblance of their earthly abilities--emerged from below decks and gave fierce fighting. Still, the Therapists prevailed and secured the "sky ship", for the grung. Hooray! I guess?
A deal is a deal, so one of the grung lead our heroes to a natural cavern in the marsh and said that this seems to be where Flavrekt is laying his possibly addled head.

The Cavern of Watery Horrors

Steeling themselves for come what may, our adventurers headed into the dark and were pretty much immediately set upon by a pair of concealed gricks. These cave-dwelling monsterworms left a mark, but were dealt with thanks to some help from Salty's critical successes and Rainbow's Blasting Blowhole.
Further exploration of this cavern revealed it to be some sort of old temple. Flavrekt was apparently using this place to conduct some sort of experiments--which, from previous experience with Hottim-related activities, cannot be good. The Therapists found his journal, such as it was, and Thokthug found a chest full of traps, which he adroitly dodged. He was rewarded with a Blizzard Sphere for his efforts.
Digging deeper into the warped mind presented in Flavrekt's battered journal offered some clues as to how to find the elusive eccentric. Taking the emphatic fragment PROSTRATE YOURSELF BEFORE THE CROWNED SCION present in the journal as literal, Rainbow fell to his knees before a broken statue crowned with black algae and heard gurgling from the cistern, as if a hidden passage had been unlocked.
And, indeed, a passage had--a secret underwater tunnel deeper into Flavrket's "lab," and face-to-face with the mad alchemist himself. Or whatever most-frog, little-human thing in front of them could be called. Flavrekt, somehow transformed into this Frogman, was beyond speech and instantly engaged our heroes in brutal combat. Like most fights, though, Therapy was once again in session and our explorers triumphed.
It was then time to leave this place--full of Hottim energy--and report back to Six Bottle for reward and further information about Evening Therapy.

And That's Where We Left It

We'll see what other monstrosities hide in the shadows when the chronicles of Blood and Therapy continue.

Rewards Granted

• Blizzard Sphere
• Sweet Awa Deputy badges

Character(s) interacted with

• Six Bottle, Waterspeaker of Awa
• Flavrekt Dikarn Buzzenpreft, former alchemist, now frogman (kinda)

Notes

from THESE BEING THE WRITINGS OF FLAVREKT DIKARN BUZZENPREFT, NATURAL PHILOSOPHER AND GOURMAND, VOLUME THE SEVENTH:
I WILL USHER IN A DAWN OF A DIFFERENT COLOR.
MY WORK IS UNBOUND, UNBRIDLED. IT HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO CONTINUE.
SACRIFICES MUST BE MADE, SUCH IS THE PRICE OF PROGRESS.
I REQUIRE MORE SPECIMENS, SIX BOTTLE’S AGENTS WILL SERVE.
THE PAIN OF TRANSFORMATION. EXQUISITE.
PROSTRATE YOURSELF BEFORE THE CROWNED SCION.

Report Date

20 Jun 2021

Primary Location

Awa

Secondary Location

Awa Harbor