21 - Journey Beyond the Lizard Marsh

by lichbrush

## Cast

Greg Hansen - Dungeon Master

DarcyBits - Petala

Millman - Jack Dreamriver

CoffeeTraveler - Phil Reed

Bertez - Slips

DC 10: Navigation Passed

*ENTERS Lizard Marsh*

#### Encounter 1: Minks Nest

Phil notices movement of the swamp brush, noticing a minks nest, they appear to be juveniles but at that size would be full grown. Phil says they would make a nice coat, Petala makes some notes and the party continues before the mother returns.

#### Encounter 2: Stirge Nest

The party beds down for the night. Slips is distracted by a loud buzzing and thrumming sound coming from underneath. She lights a torch thinking to scare whatever bugs there are off. Underneath the rocking outcropping they are resting on there is a cave with holes. Slips identifies it as the buzzing of many creatures and goes to wake up Petala. Petala tells Slips that they are probably stirges and they are lovely creatures as Petala goes back to sleep. A bit later 12 stirges erupt out but leave the party alone. At the end of the night the stirges return full of blood as Petala looks on.

Foraging DC 10 2 pass 2 fail

### Day 2

West at the edge of the marsh Normal pace

DC 10 Navigation failed

*Enters the Howling Field*

#### Encounter 3: 6 Frolicking Goblins

Jack Dreamriver hears the sound of splashing from the south, almost the sound of children splashing in a lake or pool. Jack says that they should go investigate, Phil says he will bang his shield and head in but is rebuffed as Jack wants to scout. The sounds appear stationary to Phil, and he heads towards the sound followed by the rest. There are 6 goblins splashing in a pond that don't notice the party approach. The party decides to ambush the goblins at Phil's insistence. Phil charges a goblin slaying it. Jack sickens another with a foul ray from his hand slaying it. Slips slays one as a firebolt as Petala turns her staff into a living branch to smash another. Slips sends another firebolt slaying the 2nd to last one.

A log floating in the pool comes to life revealing itself as a crocodile biting deeply into Jack. Phil pulls the jaws of the croc open with the help of Petala. The last remaining goblin goes to collect its things to leave. Petala gets bitten by the crocodile and is caught in its jaws, but Jack turns his attention to the fleeing goblin freezing it. Petala casts a spell beginning to talk to the crocodile but the crocodile is having none of it. Phil smashes it with his hammer slaying the beast. The party butchers the crocodile and looks for anything the goblins might have had. The goblins had no useful items but they get a 5-pound crocodile hide and 2 pounds of food. Petala finds bones of many goblins and finds a metal band in the swamp that shines even in the marsh with silver and bluish gemstones. The party takes a short rest.

#### Encounter 4: A Building on the Border

Phil notices a building to the north in the grassland right on the border of the swamp with a sagging roof covered in vines, it has a garden that has been overgrown that has foreign looking plants. Phil goes forward and bangs on his shield as the wizards hide in the tall grasses. Nothing responds to Phil's banging as he announces himself. Phil calls the rest of the party over as Petala inspects the plants around the outside taking samples of the plants. Slips spots the remnants of gardening supplies that all seem ancient and rusted. The door is falling off its hinges and Jack pulls the remains of it apart. Phil holds his shield up and goes inside. It seems whoever was here met an unfortunate demise, the place seems fairly destroyed on the inside there are human bones littered around and even they are destroyed. There was a chest in the bedroom but it has been torn into. There is a journal in the bedroom that has been left open. Jack and Petala collects the bones together Slips go to investigate the journal. Petala tries to identify anything from the bones, that is what kind of creature the bones belong to, and finds it to be too tall and slender to be human but not a fey or elf. The journal is in some kind of old common, the journal is of an old hermit discussing in detail the weather, his children who have left him, talks about plants. The hermit at some point becomes scared of something, a many-legged menace, but doesn't want to leave his home. Petala casts detect magic and finds a small cache; a silver colored box with a lock with enchantment coming from it. The lock on it is in the shape of the laurel leaf. Jack goes to bury the bones. Using the hints of journal Slip finds the key in a flower pot outside and opens the box with it. There is a bracelet with 4 large beads made of stone with a bluish black tint to them. The first sphere has the image of a small animal, the second one has the outline of a tall slender person, the third sphere is marked with a barking animal, the final one has a sleeping snake marked on it. Slips puts the bracelet on to investigate more later. Jack puts a symbol on the skull of the body he buried in his blood and whispers some words over the body vowing to avenge the dead.

DC 15 foraging 4 fails – 2 levels of exhaustion for no water. The beads on the bracelet have spells in them.

### Day 3

Find Water!

In the final part of the day Slip sends out her owl familiar and finds water as the rest of the party fails to find anything.

### Day 4

West at the edge of the marsh Normal pace

DC 10 navigation Failed

#### Encounter 5: Let Sleeping Lizardfolk Lie

As the party make its way westward Petala spots the sleeping bodies of 4 lizardfolk curled up at the edge of the swamp. Petala helps the party go around them into the fields.

#### Encounter 6: Finding the living plants

As the push on they see a big green forest rising up in front of them. They see a great mixed forest. There are both pines and deciduous trees, pockets of sunlight reach the ground. Petala and Slips enjoy the majesty of the forest as Phil speculates about cutting it down.

#### Enters the Grand Forest

Petala finds signs of a living plant and begins tracking. Petala notices the 3 shrubs around the party erupt out ambushing the party as these twig creatures spring to life. Petala fires some flame at one as Slips fires a firebolt at another which erupts in flames. The remaining blights fire thorns and twigs at the party missing the party as Jack blocks them with a shield. Fours blights come out of the woods all around the party. Jack throws fire at another destroying it. Petala gets on her horse and rides between the wizards and one of the blights. Slips hits another with a fire bolt grievously wounding it, as that one sprays thorns at Phil hurting him badly and another brings down Jack with another spray. One of the Blights puts its claws straight through Phil killing him. Petala is knocked unconscious by one of the Blight's claws as her horse flees and she falls onto the ground. Jack shoots frost slaying the one who slashed Petala as Slips hits two of them with a thunderwave. As Jack and Slips attempt to flee the blights surround them and pepper them with thorns slaying them and the whole party is lost to the mists.