S1 E2: Meet the Lizardfolk
General Summary
In which a river is crossed and social utilitarianism proves frustrating for diplomacy...
We began in a tavern, briefly, where food and drink was had and the dress rehearsal of Zeffirelli's newest play, "Pretty Pretty Peacock," threatened to break out at any moment. The discussion circulated around the major sources of trouble - and therefore, potential income - for our heroes. After weighing the relative danger and value of a trip to find the hermit, to explore the wizard's undercroft, or to plumb the mysteries, dangers and plunder of the Caves of Chaos, the party decided that the more pre-eminent threat to the stability and security of the Keep than any of these was actually the thorny problem of the Lizardfolk encampment to the south.
The Bailiff advised caution, partly because the specifics of the lizardfolk in the camp were unknown, and partly because the Bailiff didn't want the Lizardfolk removed completely; they serve the purpose of suppressing the threats that sometimes boil up into the swamp from deep and muddy places under the mire. The Bailiff also provided horses to make the trip quicker, as they were heading out in early evening to escape the dress rehearsal, and would be in the camp in the darkness of night.
The party had not even made it to the bottom of the Keep Way sloping down to the High Trade Road when it became obvious that horseback is not an advisable method of transportation for most of the heroes. Lorfel simply didn't fit in a saddle, with the bottom of his shell interfering mightily with the ability to ride. The horse seemed uncomfortable with Xi Shi on its back, the Yuan-ti having a certain uncanny aspect that dogs and horses in particular are troubled by. Mae had to decide how best she, a hoofed creature, could ride another hoofed creature, and from a practical stance she couldn't set her feet properly in the stirrups. Rongo could probably have managed it, given time. Keebler, on the other hand, showed exceptional mastery of horsemanship. He immediately bonded with his steed, and the two of them could have ridden off on any number of adventures. On this one, however, he was the only one remaining mounted. A guard collected the other horses, and after some discussion about Willow Candler, a magic user (Druid? Warlock?) who made normal as well as magical candles, but they were labeled with symbols only; she was missing, presumed kidnapped, and in return for making an effort to find her, one worth 200 gold, black with silver sparkles, was acquired on credit by one of the guards, given to the party, and tested. It was found to create magical darkness in a 15' radius centered on the candle, as per the spell, Rather than expiring in ten minutes, it seemed like it would last as long as the candle did, perhaps an hour or more.
The trip down the High Trade road a quarter mile or so was uneventful, but the turn-off into the swamps quickly brought them to the edge of the sluggish and broad waters of the river (the Mokvarni, though the name didn't come up). At over a hundred feet wide at its narrowest point, and an average of ten feet deep, it posed an inconvenience more than a danger, but the obstacle was perhaps intensified by Lorfel's determination to use a shape water spell to walk across on blocks of ice rather than simply, you know, being a humanoid turtle and swimming. Quite a bit of time went into the plan for getting everyone across and its execution, which in the end consisted of Lorfel's majestic ice block crossing while Keebler towed the others across through the water with a rope hitched to his saddle. The crossing was more or less safe for all, though many found leeches had hitched a ride as well. Mae also cleared a few from Keebler's horse.
Travel through the swamp was slow, with one horse or none; anything more than a careful high-stepping was dangerous for the horse, and everyone's clothes were dirtied to the skin by the mud over the ankles and stained as well by the tea-water of rotting vegetation. Moving vaguely south they soon saw the lights of civilization, at least of a sort, and identified the encampment, ringed with torches and with a large bonfire blazing at the center. Two guard towers, or more accurately slightly raised platforms, flanked either end of the oblong-banana-shaped camp, and the decision was made to approach openly rather than sneaking in and then popping out to surprise everyone. For their part, the lizardfolk reactions ranged from neutral to 'hooray, dinner showed up', and Xi Shi's typically deadpan translation of the culinary interests of the lizardfolk camp only added to the tension.
After some discussion, the Lizardman guard decided to summon Kresh, a higher-ranking tribe member to parley. Lorfel sent his fiddler-crab familiar Claude to follow and see where he went. The lizardman passed a huddle of woven-grass tents and went through a 30' wide stone-paved bowl area, maybe 3' deep at the middle, with a drain there. The stones were stained brown, and all signs were that they were bloodstains. On the far side of the artificial basin was a larger, more elaborate grass hut in which a larger lizardman was talking quietly to a lizardwoman, who was pouring water, or perhaps oil, over some kind of damp scarecrow effigy. Kresh asked about the evident likelihood of eating the visitors, then shrugged and followed back to the area where the party was.
The two-pronged discussion consisted of asking about the green stone tablets, as to their number and contents, and after some discussion with Kresh alone, he also brought in Orbal, the high priestess and possibly Chieftain of the camp. The scarecrow, she said, was Gorgasuul, but in translation it was not specifically a name, just a meaningless term in Draconic that Xi Shi had no equivalent word for in Common; and it could have been a name, a concept, or just an adjective like 'that's cool' or 'this is bogus'; 'the effigy is Gorgasuul'. The group gave the stolen tablet that they had brought along back to the lizardfolk (without any thought as to what the Bailiff or Serene Mistress might think when they find out the heroes just gave it back, it's worth noting). Inquiries revealed there were 5 total, so far, but 3 had been stolen by 'disgusting pig people', likely Orcs from the Caves of Chaos.
A kidnapping scheme was described, in vague terms, and evidently the Orcs were somewhat professional kidnappers while the Lizardfolk were still amateurs, and their tendency to at least try to eat the persons held for ransom might make it harder for them to succeed. Their other tablet was said to be 'More or less the same as this one', concerned with a terrible burden of arcane knowledge. The other three, Orbal said, were about the way that nightmares and dreams could fuel the idea of the Deep, the 'wet god', the source of water. Orbal then went on at length about how awful the pig people were, and that in her hatred she had crafted a weapon to specifically kill them - a dagger of Orc Slaying. In deference to the Yuan-ti, whom she considered a progenitor race and more enlightened, Orbal gave the bone-blade to Xi Shi, but Xi Shi understood the tactical value of such a weapon in the hands of a trained rogue and gave it to Keebler to use. After all, Xi Shi already has her blade.
Lorfel in particular took some exception to the lack of emotional response or social debt expressed by the Lizardfolk when their missing tablet was returned. "But it was already ours," Orbal insisted placidly, refusing to say thank you and wondering aloud exactly what the term 'favor' or 'debt' meant. Eventually the lizardfolk agreed that if they could be supplied with food and reasonable guarantees of safety, they would certainly not attack the Keep or be a bother to anyone - but this was probably already obvious before anyone talked to them. Lizardfolk don't attack out of anger or spite, they attack because their bellies are empty and their children would otherwise starve. They are circumspect about the reprisals from the Keep, because while they did lose several warriors and many huts were burned, there are now fewer mouths to feed; Orbal hinted that killing off and eating a few of their own might have been a better solution than attacking the Keep to steal beef and chickens. It just means that this next few months will be critical for survival. The heroes left without even coming close to being made a meal, returned to find their horse perfectly fine, if a little nervous, and crossed back to the north side of the river, setting up camp north of the road as well, a small distance into the woods so their fire wouldn't be seen. They set a watch, but nothing much occurred until they were well on their way up the road, having decided to head out at once to the Caves of Chaos rather than back to the keep.
On the road, a young man in stiff, priestly-looking linens caught up to them; Keebler rode over to him, saw that he couldn't speak, and road back to the party. It would appear that he is one of the acolytes of Parson Naphan Agrippa, who mentioned that he had two acolytes who had taken vows of silence. As the group started up the fork of the road leading to the caves, the Acolyte followed along, though if for good or ill, we'll have to wait until next episode to find out.
Rewards Granted
- Dagger of Orc Slaying: If an Orc takes damage from the dagger, the creature must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw, taking an extra 6d10 magical piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much extra damage on a success. If the creature is Orc-adjacent such as a Half-Orc or Ogrillon, it automatically makes the save, taking half the rolled extra damage. The dagger requires attunement to act as anything beyond a regular dagger. It has a single charge per day. Once the dagger of Orc slaying causes extra damage to a creature, it cannot be used again until the following dawn. Proficiency with a dagger allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it. (Dagger of Orc Slaying)
- Candle of Magical Darkness: When lit, causes 15' of magical darkness centered on the candle wick that cannot be penetrated by Darkvision and that blocks any natural light. The darkness spreads around corners and fills any space in range that has a path to the candle. When extinguished, the effect is extinguished. The candle appears to have a total burn time of an hour. It is marked with a symbol of a crescent moon with a line through it.
Missions/Quests Completed
- "Lizard Diplomacy I"
Character(s) interacted with
- Kresh, Lizardman guard captain and "Manager"
- Orbal, Lizardwoman high priestess of the Damp God
- Willow Candler, in absentia; missing proprietor of Willow's Candlery
Report Date
07 Apr 2022
Primary Location
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