O&F5 Session 2: The Full Jehovah Treatment

2 Oakenfall, 103 Third Interregnum, Maremot   Having saved the town of Maremot from the incursion of the lizardfolk, the party goes to sleep. Tavi has a discussion with Rubinus, seeing if he can tell her something about the swamp. He reveals the existence of the sunken city in the Finbraccia Fens and hints at the association between Aldapal Moor and the White Raven. Before meeting up with the rest for breakfast, Bubbles goes to Ciatore's Commoditous Catch to get a description of the item carried by Lico. Ciatore regales him with a tale of how he came by it by buying it off an impoverished sailor at the docks and describes a tube-like device on which a flask of red glass can be mounted, engraved with a dragon. At the Foolish Manatee, he meets up with the rest and makes plans. Bubbles and Tavi go back to Ciatore's to buy healing potions and a pair of boots. After a lot of haggling, Bubbles agrees to buy 2 potions for 50gp, with the second one as payment for rescuing Lico. Tavi buys a pair of sealskin boots for 1 gp (Ciatore flirting with her, of course). In the meantime, Ievos reveals his identity as a spy for the Westgauic Intelligence Agency to Massimo, who asks him to find out what the Arlesians are up to and report back to him, giving him food and beer for the road. Meanwhile Oloward patches his robe back up.   The party sets out for the swamp, asking the Baublerock Goblins for directions. They deduce that the Baublerock must be Hespius's Seat and set out for the cliff formation after an unsuccessful attempt to track the lizardfolk directly. Going via the beach, the party heads inland, narrowly avoiding the quicksands when Oloward notices it and deftly negotiates a way around it. They arrive at Baublerock Hold, where they find that it has indeed been burned to the ground. The lizardfolk are also dead, however, mysteriously struck by lightning. The goblins give them general directions to where the lizardfolk came from. Following the stream northwards, the heroes find Ssaagh Refuge in the early hours of the afternoon, stumbling on an entrance to the artifically covered peat cutting enterprise.   Within the Refuge, they stumble upon two lizardfolk guards who attack them, but after Bubbles tries to distract them with the sound of a goblin incursion, they are dispatched quite easily. The monk stealths ahead to see what's up the central tunnel, again using the goblin incursion to draw out the denizens of the refuge. He succeeds at this as two crocodiles prowl up on the rest of the party. A hilarious encounter ensues which ends in chaotic fashion with Oloward and Bubbles trying to wrestle and tie up the crocodiles (one sleeping and one under the influence of Tasha's Hideous Laughter) while Ievos and Tavi try to slay the beasts. Ievos and Tavi eventually have their way and the party makes its way down the west passage, where they stumble on the fully alert guards of the prisoners imprisoned in this storeroom who are using the prisoners as hostages. They manage to defuse the bomb, securing a parley with the chief, Shilishk Ssaagh.  

Tavi: "I don't wanna do this, I don't wanna do this!"
DM: "How do you want to do this?"

    Chief Shilishk is in the central chamber, next to a cage containing the captured Arlesian Dwarf mercenary captain, Andrais Verlaux, who begs for help. The party gets Chief Shilishk to listen to them and release the hostages, and he allows them to interrogate Verlaux. Bubbles stays behind with the hostages. Verlaux reveals that he is in the employ of the Princely Company of Gentlemen Traders of Arlesia, who are helping the Baron of Fordefract, Lodo, to reclaim land to build a harbour. In exchange for his freedom, Verlaux hands the party the evidence and asks them to get Saagh to release him.   Shilishk returns and asks the party for their plans. A confusing parley ensues in which Tavi (with some help from Oloward) tries to convince the Chieftain to accept peace. The Chieftain is still uncomfortable about abandoning his vengeance, however, and when Bubbles arrives back from telling the hostages to hide, he tries to convert the Chieftain. Combined with a botched attempt to sneak around the Chief and a timely questioning of the Ssaagh Tribe's motives, he angers the Chief sufficiently for him to try to intimidate the party. A last-ditch effort by Oloward fails (even with advantage), and the Chief orders his warriors to attack.   With exceptional skill, the party manages to maneouver in such a way that Chief Shilishk can be slain in the ensuing encounter. His pet giant poisonous snake, however, sneaks up on Tavi and almost kills her with its poisonous fangs. The two lizardfolk guards who were with Shilishk fall asleep under Ela's spell and are tied up by the party.