S15: Visiting Jeb. Smartest Move Ever? Probably…

After a few more clarifying answers from Jebediah, the group departs with a long journey ahead and their eyes set on the mountain front property of Tezlo -- Grimshackle’s premier mapmaker. The road was quiet and danger free -- one of the best ways to travel. Making sure to pace themselves our crew stops for a good night’s and succeeds with Fey increasing her fletcher skills, Nom finding the party ecstatically happy with her hunting prizes and thinking about the useful aspects of puppy armor, Glug wondering how a neck orb will fare against the cold, Mokon trying to figure out how to make a shield and immovable be awesome, and Alora setting some perfectly placed rabbit traps but never bothering to check if any rabbits were caught (Don’t worry Alora if any rabbits were caught in those pristinely placed almost invisible traps, I’m sure they will just let themselves out and not starve to death -- or worse -- so many worse things). 

As the crew proceeds with their journey, they receive a family-friendly message from their pal Savi’ir asking them to make good on their promise of a great fighting swamp beast. With a swamp only a hop-skip-and-a-jump north they agree through the muck. After hours of slow going in an eerily quiet swamp, the group stumbles upon a group of froglike people chanting the word Mugglub. Most of the group goes incognito and begins to move forward, all except Mokon who decides to go in with a bang -- clanking his shield loudly announcing his presence. Nom stands vigilantly by his side. The frog-folk are curious as to this distraction from their religious ceremony offering for Mokon to join their ranks in recognition of their deity. Alora quickly notices a smaller frogling and (oh why not) fishling bound and tied as an offering to the great Mugglub. Mokon returns the offering with an emphatic NOPE and begins to deftly balance on his fancy new immovable rod. Alora and Glug forge a plan to distract and save, unfortunately, the plan fell a little flat. The leader of the frog peeps never before hearing Mugglub speak, flash lights, or throw manacles, questions the true nature of the event hopping around to see a not-very-well-hidden Glug, and instantly calls for the sacrifice to commence. Not on Fey’s watch as she lets the fanciest arrow she has ever created fly hitting the exact target she wanted in the most roundabout way, droopy the frail frogman to the ground. Alora jumps in for a quick wrist break (frogs have notoriously weak wrists) and stops the sacrifice cold-froggy (see, instead of cold-turkey, yeah I’m sorry about that one). Alora unties the captured as Nom makes her way forward unknowingly gently caressing a tree-trunk-sized tentacle below. Alora then charms the frog leader who agrees totally that a dead sacrifice kinda sucks and opts to send in live bait.

Enter a colossal frog/octopus -- a giant frogtopus quickly eating the clueless fishman. The group commences (along with a handful of miniature-sized frog people) to systematically destroy the oversized amphibian bringing it to its proverbial knees with smites, blasts of fire, and deep weapon wounds.  Alora thinks about sending the froggy-big-wig along for the ride with gigantor, but opts out with the insight of Mokon (but not before the word “treasure” pierces Nom’s ears). Nom heads to the tower and bashes her way inside to find a lower level of hallways and gates. Once victory was theirs most of the group (sans Mokon and Alora) decide other religions are stupid and pretty much murder a bunch of non-combative and scared frog people. All except the leader -- they just kill the followers (you know the old expression to stop a group just cut off pieces of a snake's tail but let the head go -- yeah, that’s not the expression at all).

Feeling left out the smaller frog-folk wander off into the trees and the small fish-fellow swims away. Nom makes her way to the surface and lets the group know of her find as they all follow her underground in the hopes of treasure.