Session 33 - Chapter 6 - Frog Fricassee

Hello & Welcome!

The sounds from the stairwell leading up into the tower indicated that there were enemies upstairs.

The battered and bruised Heroes looked at each other. 

"Well, likely more Cultists upstairs waiting for the blade or we head straight downstairs and head for the teleportation device?" Chard whispered softly to his friends. 

Pipp had a worried look on her face and Torsion looked towards the stairs leading down and tightened his grip on his War Hammer and his Shield. But it was Dafnae who replied, "it would be prudent to head down and find the way out of here." 

"Right - and we can't go the way we came anymore," Pipp added.

With a low grumble Torsion looked at the stairs leading down and said, "Then let's get going before those Cultists upstairs decide to come down here as well." 

Chard gave his Glaive a twirl and started towards the stairs with a sly smile, "Ok then, the only way out of here is to keep marching through it, so down we go. Let's get ready for what may be waiting for us!"

They went down the stairs in single file, Torsion leading the way and Chard bringing up the rear just in case any Cultist wandered after them.

At the bottom of the stairs they found a cavern lit with torches. The walls were smoothed stone, water streaming down them, collecting in small pools on the stone floor. The steady drip drip of water droplets falling from the ceiling splashing into the puddles echoed throughout the chamber. The moisture from the swamp above them was slowly seeping into the cave system below it. 

There were two exits from this main room. One led forward and the other led to the left. From the base of the stairs, they could see that the way forward led to some pool but with the dim light they could not see further. The way to the left seemed solid at least and so the four Adventurers quietly moved in that direction, their footfalls splashing lightly and mixing with the continual dripping from the ceiling.

The corridor was much the same - smooth cave walls, wet from the swamp water. Occasional smooth boulders were in the path. The team used these as cover as they move forward but Torsion's glowing War Hammer would give away their presence should there be anyone or anything on the other side of one of the boulders, but at least it would be some sort of barrier between them.

They continued in a line, straining to hear any sounds amongst the dripping water. Faint sounds could be heard above them, like something scratching against stone or nails lightly tapping on them. But they could not determine the source.

Slowly turning around one of the corners they found the source of the extra noise as they came face to face with a Carrion Crawler that let out a shrill SCREEEEE before it lunged at them with its insectoid body - the many legs scuttling in the wet stone, its body curling up on the side of the cavern wall to slither around one of the other stones and it lunged towards Dafnae.

Dafnae was able to easily dodge out of the way of its grasping tentacles and so she wasn't pulled towards its mandibles hungrily snapping at the air waiting for a bite out of its next catch.

Chard moved in quickly to engage. He activated the infernal flames on his Glaive as he landed his first strike, the Carrion Crawler letting out a squeal of pain as it recoiled from the additional fire damage. He quickly swung again, this time landing a Critical Hit which took several of its legs off in the process. The giant insect was looking heavily damaged from the first strikes. 

Torsion and Pipp moved in closer to help, although the two of them were still suffering from two levels of Exhaustion.

The Carrion Crawler raised up away from Chard and engaged with Dafnae whom it thought would be an easier morsel. Dafnae was able to dodge out of the way of the tentacles and its follow-up bite attack. She countered with a swift jab with her Rapier which struck true and in between two of the carapaces on the Carrion Crawler's body. The death shrill it let out was loud and quick and it slumped down into a heap,, black ichor spraying out from its deep, fatal wound. 

But in the faint light they could see that this Carrion Crawler was not alone in its search for food. And they could faintly see another one approaching from further in this cavern, its SCREEEEE just audible over the death call from the first one.

This new one rounded up on the wall and around the corner to engage Chard. The Carrion Crawler's body twisted and curled, its many feet gripping against the slick, stone surface.

He was not able to dodge from it's attack and while his Infernal Armour softened the blow, Chard could not resist the effect of the poison and he felt his body seize as he became paralysed, now an easy target.

Dafnae took the opportunity to land a strong sneak attack after climbing onto the other side of the boulder. From behind Torsion, Pipp cast Vicious Mockery, her voice becoming temporarily otherworldly as she uttered unintelligible sounds. This Carrion Crawler had taken heavy damage from Dafnae's Sneak Attack and failing the Wisdom Save against Pipp's spell, its eyes went wide as the Psychic Damage took effect and crushed its mind. It wriggled to the floor, dead, its rear half giving final twitches as it did so.

More scuttling came from further back in the cavern with additional SCREEEE noises. More hungry Carrion Crawlers. 

Torsion advanced past Chard who was trying to fight off the effects of the poison. Torsion as of yet was unsuccessful to catch any of them with his Sacred Flame from behind Chard so he was hoping to bash them in face with his War Hammer.

Pipp continued to Viciously Mock the two new ones that advanced. Their large bodies writhed and wriggled their way around corners, up on walls to reach their prey. 

Dafnae continued to dodge out of the way and land big hits. Chard managed to shake off the effects of the  Poison just as the stout Dwarf Torsion couldn't evade the Tentacle attack and he became Paralysed. Chard was next to him and he could feel his friend really straining against the Poison, fighting it with all of his ancestral Resistance but it was just too much. Torsion was feeling very exhausted from all these events so he was hoping for a Long Rest soon. Chard gave his friend a wry smile as he swooped past him and engaged the giant insect that has paralysed his friend. 

He swung his flaming Glaive in a large arc, landing a Critical Hit causing his foe to recoil with a pained SCREEEEE. Chard swung his whole body around in the momentum of his first swing to give his second swing full force. The second attack hit true and separated the head cleanly off the body of the third Carrion Crawler. The head flew to the corner in a spray of black ichor while its decapitated body wriggled uncontrollably and lurched backwards onto the stone floor. 

Torsion quickly shrugged off the effects of the Poison much to his relief. "This old Dwarf may be knackered but he's not out," he murmured to himself. He rushed forward and was able to land hits with both his War Hammer and Sacred Flame. The last enemy didn't stand a chance against all four Heroes focusing their attacks on it and it too fell into a. mass of writhing legs and pincers. 

The chittering and scuttling was gone, only the steady drip drip was left. The team investigated around this cavern and only found various bone fragments, likely previous food for what they had just defeated. 

The cavern went further and opened up into an open watery area from what they could see in the dim light from Torsion's glowing War Hammer. As they approached, they heard several loud croaks coming from slightly further back in the water. More Giant Frogs they reckoned and so they decided to double back and not engage those giant amphibians.

Back the other way they found that the pool was only about 3 feet deep and was being fed by a stream flowing from the right. They decided to try this way instead.

Chard, being the tallest, led the way first to test the water. It was cool and clear - the stones had filtered out all the muck from the swamp. 

In the shimmer of the light from Torsion's War Hammer he spotted several items glinting in the light in the water. He reached for one and pulled it from the water and was surprised to see that it was a gem. He mentioned to Dafnae who was already wading in and reaching for the other shimmering spot closest to her. 

Torsion grumbled as he stepped in, the water reaching to just below his neck. 

Pipp was about to jump in and swim when Chard motioned to her, "Come little one, I'll carry you. Torsion over there needs a bath anyway," and he chuckled softly to him. Pipp eagerly accept the offer while Torsion grumbled slightly at the joke only for it to turn into a mixed gurgle as water had splashed up into his mouth from the movement of the others.

They followed the stream and emerged onto the stony floor on either side. Chard plopped Pipp down first before he climbed out, "And there we go.". Pipp gave him a slight curtsy in thanks. He then reached to help Torsion out who gave thanks with a grumble. 

Dafnae glided through the water, undaunted by the current. Pipp was amazed how gracefully she was able to move, even in a cavern stream. Dafnae managed to pick up the rest of the glinting gems and between her and Chard they had 8 in total of various colours and sizes. 

She and Torsion decided to venture forward towards what they expected would be the source of the stream. 

Not much further up, they found the source of the stream - a steady stream of water flowing in from the swamp and it had cut the groove in the stone and was collecting in the pool they had waded through.

They found nothing else there and turned back around to join Pipp and Chard back at the entrance. But as they started to go back, Torsion was surprised to see movement on the wall. A shimmering, slimy pseudopod reached out to try to swipe at him. They had not noticed the Grey Ooze hiding on the wall.

Torsion managed to dodge out of the way while Dafnae launched a crossbow bolt at it. It found its mark. The bolt, embedded in the slime of the Grey Ooze, started to sizzle as the acidic body of Grey Ooze began to dissolve the bolt. It rapidly disintegrated into bits and clanged to the ground.

The Grey Ooze reached out again to grab Torsion. The pseudopod hit Torsion straight in the chest, his armour starting to sizzle as the corrosive residue started to eat away at his armour. Torsion let out a grunt, angry as his Armour Class was reduced by 1 due to the damage. He swung back, hitting it. It quivered and slopped to the ground dead. Stepping back quickly, Torsion tried to wipe the remaining ooze off as best he could and grumbled as he stoped back towards the other two, grumbling which he step.

The Adventurers went back the same way through the pool to the other bank to go deeper into cave. They wound their way through the path. Still just the sound of dipping echoed through the tunnel.

The end of the winding tunnel opened up into a large open cavern.

Chard led the way and he heard slight murmuring echoing through the walls which sounded similar to the language the Bullywugs had spoken - the sort of BLEHP BLUHP BLIHP language. There was dim light within the cavern. Chard decided to rush in with the hopes of gaining the element of surprise. They had no real option otherwise he thought as surely they would see the glow from Torsion's War Hammer.

He rounded the corner, swung his Glaive to the side in one hand and reached out his other hand and launched two purplish / whitish beams of Eldritch Blast at the first enemy he could see.

The two Blasts hit the unsuspecting Bullywug squarely in the chest and instantly killed him. The other Bullywugs scrambled for cover. The Party also rushed in as quickly as they could and took cover behind the columns of stone.

The fight ensued. Javelins were tossed and Chard and Dafnae advanced giving chase to the retreating Bullywugs. The Heroes charged forward, moving from one stone or column to the next to keep their cover and continued to counter attack. 

On the far side of the cavern, the exit narrowed down to another tunnel. The remaining two Bullywugs tried to retreat through but Chard and Dafnae continued their chase. Their hope was to prevent them from alerting others. Dafnae spied an opening in the tunnel that led into another smaller cavern. While Chard gave chase, she ducked through the hole in the wall to investigate. 

She found nothing immediately but ventured deeper to see if she could find something. She climbed over a boulder but much to her surprise, the boulder began to shift and move and a mouth opened and stony tendrils tried to reach for her.

The boulder was not boulder but in fact was a Roper. Dafnae quickly tried to stab out with her Rapier, her attack bouncing off of its thick, stony hide. The Roper's mouth landed a hit, but Dafnae was able to reduce the damage with her Uncanny Dodge. Thinking this was a fight she would not survive, she Disengaged and Dashed out back through the hole she had entered. The Roper didn't pursue. 

Torsion and Pipp caught up to Chard and Dafnae in the tunnel. Chard manage to dispatch one more Bullywug but one managed to get away and it dove into the water and swam away. This was the water where they had heard the croaking. 

Chard continued to explore quickly through the winding tunnels. As he neared the end of the tunnel he saw that this tunnel opened up into another large cavern. Above the dripping, he heard the same Bullywug language but this time it sounded somehow more melodic. He crept forward as quietly as he could.

He saw a circle of Bullywugs dancing in a circle with one Bullywug in the middle who seemed like he was singing and blowing a pipe.

In the back there was a separate Bullywug that seemed to be lording over the rest and dressed in ceremonial garbs. This must be Parblex Spatergoo he thought to himself.

Chard decided to invoke his Glaive's Wall of Fire ability. He held his Glaive straight out directly in front of him and he waved it in a circle and the flames erupted in a ring engulfing many of the dancing Bullywugs.

The dancing Bullywugs quickly changed from melodic chanting to croaks of sheer terror. Those in the flames were instantly incinerated. Those on the outside and inside were mortified by what had erupted around them. Chard smiled to himself as he maintained his Concentration to keep the flames burning. He laughed a little to himself thinking of Bel suddenly being surrounded by a horde of gangly, croaking, hopping, Bullywugs. The thought of one of those Bullywugs jumping on his head tickled himself especially.

Pipp was closest to Chard and saw this all unfold. She sang the song she wrote about him when they thought they had lost him to give him some Bardic Inspiration. She was amazed and slightly mortified by the destruction he wrought with his Glaive. 

The surprised Croaker with his flute shifted his attention towards Chard. He sang a different song. Chard could feel the assault on his mind. He was able to shake off most of the damage thanks to the Bardic Inspiration from Pipe but in doing so he lost his Concentration and the Wall of Fire was extinguished. 

Dafnae and Torsion followed him through the tunnel to aide Chard, passing Pipp.

Meanwhile, behind them, the one Bullywug who had escaped had marshalled and army of Giant Frogs to advance on the attackers.

Most of the Bullywugs were instantly incinerated. The remaining warriors were cut down by Chard, Dafnae, and Torsion. Chard shifted his attention to the Croaker while Dafnae and Torsion shifted towards Pharblex. 

The Croaker sang another song to give Pharblex some temporary hit points. But Chard quickly cut him down quickly, leaving just Pharblex to deal with.

Pharblex waved his staff and pointed it towards Chard. The ground around Chard started to churn and rumble. Chard held his ground and the Infernal Armour helped keep him from getting more hurt. But the ground around him was heavily disturbed and moving around it was difficult.

But by this time the army of Giant Frogs descended upon Pipp.

Pipp cast Thunderwave to push the Giant Frogs back down the tunnel.

Meanwhile, Pharblex, enraged by the assault, addressed them.

In a wet, croaking, and deeply arrogant voice, Pharblex bellowed, "Hold, dry-skins! You track your dusty blood into the sacred mud of Pharblex Spattergoo! Lord of the Mere, Voice of the Swamp, and the doom of all who cross him!"

The fight continued, strikes hitting him. He cast Tidal Wave, the water crashing down upon Torsion and Chard. Torsion held his ground but Chard was knocked Prone by the crushing wave.

Pharblex continued his speech. His throat pouch inflated angrily, turning a dark, bruised purple, "Insolent little flies! You think because you smash some weaklings with heavy metal that you know power? You know nothing! The swamp consumes all. It rots your boots, it rusts your steel, and it will digest your bones!"

Pipp meanwhile had her hands full with the Giant Frogs - they were trying to grab her and swallow her but for the time being she was able to keep them at bay.

The fight with Pharblex continued. He raised his staff, which began to glow with a sickly, pale-green necrotic light and he assailed the team with a poison attack which the three were able to dodge. "You seek the magic circle? You will find only the belly of my pets! The great Spattergoo does not bow to dry-skins. I will boil the blood in your veins and add your skulls to my collection!"

Dafnae rounded behind him and lunged forward with her rapier. She landed the killing blow, her Rapier bursting his bulging throat mid croak, splattering Chard and Torsion with goo. He fell to the ground, blubbering unintelligibly as he died. 

The three turned their attention to the Giant Frogs who were getting the better of Pipp. One Giant Frog managed to grapple and swallow her. She tried to stab back but couldn't get enough movement to cause damage. 

The one that swallowed her tried to jump away and the spat her out pm the wet floor. But before she could get up, another one grabber her from the floor and swallowed her again. 

Her friends engaged the Giant Frogs to try and rescue her. The three were making short work of them but Pipp was in trouble.

The second on that swallowed her spat her out again. She was able to get up and swing back but then a third one grabber her from behind and swallowed her again.

Giant Frogs were cut asunder by the three heading towards Pipp. Pipp finally managed to strike back and injure the third one that had swallowed her, killing it. Emerging from the dead Giant Frog, covered in slime, she stood up from the cold wet floor, raging fire in her eyes. "Never again am I going to be swallowed by any of you horrid things!" and she lunged toward the closest one, killing it. 

Finally the last of the Giant Frogs was killed and the last Bullywug Warrior was killed. Silence. Just the dripping of the water.

They regrouped and checked Pharblex's body for any items. Nothing. He was just a middleman it seemed, not really anyone of actual importance to the Cultists.

They moved forward towards the far exit and saw the Teleportation Circle they had read about earlier.

They all looked at each and discussed next steps. They decided they could not go back where they came so the only way forward would be through the Portal.

They were not sure where this would lead but it would be in pursuit of the Cultists. They hoped there would be no ambush on the other side and that they would be able to have a rest and recover.

And so they all stood in front of the Teleportation Circle and readied themselves to step through.

Until next time ...