Secret of the Swamp

 Now I am caught up again. So last weekend in Session 51 the heroes planned for a Wedding and learned that the Copper mine they part-own was attacked. Now reduced to 4 players and 3 NPCs the group headed to the village of Whetwhistle to investigate.

I used the Creations Edge Games adventure Swamp of Secrets by Matthew E. Kline. I made some changes to fit my campaign. I am also using some parts from module I2: Tomb of the Lizard King by Mark Acres. This is a 1st edition adventure from venerable TSR.

Session 51: Secret of the Swamps

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Alonso (human fighter), Aashdoshan (human necromancer), Domago (human cleric NPC), Lantosh (human fighter NPC), Fenris the Filch (human thief NPC).

The full Company of the Black Dragon spends a few days of relaxation in Edgerton. Lakima goes to the Church of St. Cuthbert to speak to Abbot Marta. He arrives in time for service and waits for it to end. On speaking to his old friend he tells him that he wants to get married in this Church. Marta is happy to oblige and imparts some advice. The date is tentatively set for 2 weeks hence. Lakima heads across town to tell his intended Alayna the news.

Eathwund checks on the progress at the old Ten Bells Tavern. All of the workmen have left and the work he ordered is complete. The tavern needs a lot of cleaning work to be done on the inside but the structure is stable and the major repairs are complete. He spends a few hours straightening up the tavern common room.

Aashdoshan spends some time walking about Edgerton - a town he is unfamiliar with. He finds a full cemetery near the Church of St. Aleena. Aashdoshan enters the nearby church and offers his services as a healer. The Abbot asks him a few questions and declines to accept the help when Aashdoshan does not provide information on which god he worships. Aashdoshan later finds a lonely Mausoleum in the shadows of the Keep walls and spends some number of hours working on his collection of bones (in fact the Mausoleum that houses the Everflame from an earlier adventure).

Alonso goes looking for a bookshop. He finds Pages’ Pages - a small bookshop near the Main Square. Alonso asks the owner Jordan if he has a book about Rangers. Jordan tells him they do not have anything on that topic.

Domago spends a few days at the Church of St. Aleena. Lantosh and Fenris spend the downtime relaxing.

Later in the day, Aashdoshan follows rumors of a ghost to the Ten Bells Tavern in Mirdton. There he meets his new friend Eathwund who is the owner of the tavern. Aashdoshan asks Eathwund about the rumors of a ghost and learns about the ghost of Mari Kell. He asks Eathwund if he can stay the night in the tavern and speak to the ghost. Eathwund shrugs and says he does not care one way or another.

Lakima tells Alayna about the marriage date and she is thrilled. She also asks a few questions about the size of the ceremony. Alayna tells Lakima she will invite her father despite their falling out. When last she heard he was a food taster in Uthersberg. So she pays to send a message by bird.

Lakima heads over to Clearwin’s oddities and tries to sell the Elven altarpieces he looted from Haven. Clearwin is reluctant to buy them - being concerned about their providence. He does buy a suit of Elven Chainmail from Lakima for a considerable sum. He also asks Lakima to please take the staff he worked on for Aashdoshan. Clearwin seems inordinately happy to be rid of it. Lakima meets with Naerin at the Elven Estate and gets the payment for the mission to the Feywild.

Lakima meets with members of the Company that evening and splits up the proceeds from the last adventure. Fenris mentions spending a little on better armor.

Overnight Aashdoshan performs a ceremony to contact the ghost in the tavern. Mari Kell appears and answers three questions. Aashdoshan learns that she still haunts the tavern because she wants her killer brought to justice.

The next day a tired looking (isn’t he always tired looking?) Aashdoshan returns to the Chapter House. Lakima presents him with his Staff that incorporates the femur and eye of the Ghoul King. While storing the staff Aashdoshan thinks he notices the eye blink and look at him.

An urgent message arrives from Wexley Windham in Whetwhistle. Their business partner asks for their help. Lizard Men have attacked the mine and made off with a number of miners. The company decides to leave for Whetwhistle that very day.

Eathwund takes care of some business with Issac the carpenter. Lakima has asked him if the Tavern can be used for the wedding reception and he wants it repaired.

The company of seven heroes sets out on horseback for Whetwhistle which is an 8-hour ride away. Shortly before they arrive at the village they are attacked along the road by a small band of Lizard Men. All of the heroes, with the exception of Fenris dismount, and fight. Aashdoshan animates two skeletons to defend himself. Eathwund and Alonso carry the bulk of the melee fight killing several Lizard Men. The Lizard Men attack with crude wooden spears. Lakima casts Charm Monster and enthralls two of the Lizard Men. One walks over to him and tries to spark with him. The other runs away. After a short fight, Fenris is wounded and his horse is killed, but the rest of the Lizard Men are either killed or run away. The one remaining charmed Lizard Man stays near Lakima but he is unable to converse with it so they mount their horses and leave the Lizard Man behind.

Arriving in Whetwhistle the heroes go straight to the Goose Inn. Wexley greets them and tells them about the attack on the mine. Lizard Men attacked at night and killed two miners, and captured another six. Their dwarven foreman survived the attack and described hearing a flying reptile during the attack. Wexley tells them that the Lizard Men have never attacked the mine or Whetwhistle before. They never leave the swamp. Even in the swamps they usually avoid humans. Something must be stirring them up.

They assure Wexley that they will hire mercenaries to protect the mine. They also tell him that they will track the Lizard Men to their lair to get to the bottom of this. Wexley suggests that they start by asking a strange dwarf named Bifor who lives in the swamp.

Wexley provides two boats and the heroes split up and head by boat into the Cursed Marsh. The marshlands are still because of the cold weather. They see only the occasional reptile in the water. They follow wooden marker posts erected in the swamp that lead them directly to Boggy Bifor’s shack.

Bifor greets them enthusiastically. He turns out to be a peculiar, bald and beardless dwarf who lives in a collection of shacks in the swamp. He appears to make his living selling maps, rafts, and battered (used) equipment. He seems surprised by the Lizard Man attacks telling them that the Lizard Men tribes are peaceful. “{If you don’t bother them they won’t bother you!”

Aashdoshan convinces Bifor to teach him a few words in Draconic - the language of the Lizard Men. Words like “Bres’Vak” meaning friend. They also purchase a map to the nearest Lizard Man lair and three rafts. Bifor assures them that the swamp is too shallow for their rowboats. They leave their rowboats with Bifor.

The map provided by BIfor is crude but effective. They navigate by local landmarks like “tree stump shaped like a frog”. It soon becomes apparent that they will not reach the Lizard Man lair before dark so they stop and make a cold camp on an island. Watches are set and they do spot a will-o-the-whisp during the evening but ignore it.

The next day they set out again. Before noon they spot the hill marked as a collection of buildings on the map. A large, rocky hill rises out of the swamp. A cave mouth in the side of it.