In this session, our party made their way through the swamp and found Snapjaw

• The session started as the dragon vanished from sight.
• As soon as the dragon vanished, Zoyana went looking at the prints of the dragon who they had pledged to and other set of prints that had appeared while the dragon was visible. They looked the same.
  • The dragon had clearly been following them for a while.
    
  • There was no sign of anything else around except the dragon footprints and the carcass of the froghemoth still sinking in the mud.
  • Either there was one dragon or two dragons, but nothing else that she could see.
• Pliny piped in, “Hey, Aegar, I don’t know if you guys noticed, but I don’t love commitment. And I feel like we just committed to a lot of things…”
• Aegar: “Pliny, it is likely that you are in more danger, right now, then you have ever been in your entire life.”
• Zoyana: “But you’re alive.”And we have the chance of getting out, whereas 30 seconds ago we didn’t. We were gonna die.”
• Aegar: “Make no mistake. This dragon has no allegiances. It will move us into a trap and kill us without mercy. We cannot trust it. We cannot take anything that it says as truth. It goes by its own agenda and it thrives off of our pain.”
• Pliny: “Are we… going to look for the things it said for us to do?”
• Aegar: “We made a vow to Zoyana to see this through, and so we will.”
• Aegar: “And just so long as our… as our… plans align with it, we can continue. But… that thing means to kill us.”
• Zoyana: “It sounds to me like we should use it just as much as it’s trying to use us.”
• Pliny, to the air: “If you’re listening, we’re just pretending that we feel this way. (Because what if he’s listening?)”
• Zoyana: “Playing like. I mean. Okay.” and she started to send a mental message to the others that said, “This is how we need to truly communicate, from now on… So you write me a note if we want something that we don’t want anybody to know. And I will make sure that all four of us are on the same page.”
• Zoyana: “Aegar if you agree and understand, punch your first into your left hand.”
  • Aegar did.
• Zoyana: “Pliny go give Aegar a hug if you understand.”
  • Pliny did.
  • Aegar: “Why? Why are you hugging me?”
• Zoyana: “Fang, go snuggle with both of them.”
  • Fang did.
• Aegar looked around in mock-disapproval: “This is already going along swimmingly.”
• Aegar: “We have daylight left let us continue on…”

Rest

• Zoyana (Survival 13) led the slog through the mucking, putrid swamp, following the blazes through to when the sun started to go down.
• They found themselves a thicket where the bushes grew are tight together, and found a hole hole inside of it with enough space for a Tiny Hut.
• Aegar stayed apart for a little bit inside the tight confines of the Hut and sat and prayed for a while, taking some silence. He took the first watch.
• Pliny huddled up with Zoyana in whispered conversation: “Wow, we got to know a lot about Aegar tonight, huh? Definitely some things I’d have hoped to never learn.”
  • Zoyana: “I think it’s easy to pass judgment when you haven’t experienced someone else’s experience. But Aegar sure seems to be trying to make up for the things that he’s done in the past.”
  • Pliny: “Right, I think he’s more than atoned for it, but it was surprising to hear that, you know, my people were the ones that he was bringing down.”
• Aegar turned around: “I would that you both had never heard that.”
• Aegar: “If I had not said what I had said, the three of us would have been dead. I wanted nothing more than to strike that black dragon down. And I hate myself for the things that I have done.”
• Aegar: “Pliny, it was another person… doing those things. Another person who reveled in it. And I am. I am truly sorry.”
• Aegar: “Those people do not get… do not get to live. They do not get to make any more mistakes because of me. I want to spend the rest of my life never forgetting that. All I can do is atone”
• Pliny: “I think you…You, the man I know, have worked hard to do that, and I know you’ll continue to do that Aegar.”
• Aegar waited a moment: “We should get some sleep.”
• Parthana circled the hut while Aegar took his watch.
• Zoyana cast Healing Word on Pliny to try to help his emotional distress.
• Zoyana then went over to Aegar and told him, “I don’t judge people on their worst mistakes.”

Crashing ahead

• They slogged their way through the next day, to the point where they started to wonder “Where the fuck is this thing? The dragon was like hey just head up over there, and you’ll find a friend. And yet it’s been a day and a half…”
• And then they heard some crashing in the swamp ahead of them.
• They saw a couple of bodies appear up in the distance.
• And then a javelin came flying out of the muck, tagging Zoyana (8 hp piercing damage)
• A lizardfolk emerged from the swamp, and time slowed…
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• Pliny sent a Hypnotic Pattern at the lizardfolk and any compatriots that were still hidden.
• A pair of additional lizardfolk appeared, now yelling and making a bunch of noise.
• Zoyana cast Wrath of Nature at the new lizardfolk and wildshaped into a giant ape
• Aegar called to the party to “Hold!” and then Channeled Divinity and addressed the lizardfolk in draconic: “Ho for your lives. We have been sent by the one you call master. We look for safe passage, and to speak to Snapjaw.”
• The nearest lizardfolk looked over at Aegar and yelled, “Oh no, Oh!” and pointed back over his shoulder the way he had come.
• Pliny held his action with his bow read while keep concentration on Hypnotic Pattern and providing bardic inspiration to Aegar.
• Just then, they discovered what the lizardfolk was pointing to, as crashing materialized into a giant dire troll with two heads and four arms came crawling out of the swamp. It aimed straight for the furthest two lizardfolk.
  • 
• The dire troll swept one lizardfolk to the side and grabbed the other one with two arms and reared back before biting into it’s top half, swallowing the torso and leaving its legs to collapse on the ground.
• Fang shattered the dire troll.
• Zoyana-the-ape thrashed it with Wrath of Nature and threw a rock (38 hp bludgeoning damage) before running up close.
• The lizardfolk fucked off and hid.
• Aegar called to the lizardfolk, “Stay and fight!” and then charged the dire troll (18 and 14 hp piercing damage).
  • The dire troll missed with its claw as Aegar rode out of reach.
• Pliny sent a psychic unicorn with Raulothim’s Psychic Lance (37 hp psychic damage), incapacitating the dire troll and called out to the lizardfolk (Persuasion 16), “You can see that we are not attacking you! Join us in fighting this this beast!”
  • The dire troll turned and ran.
• Fang blessed everyone.
• Zoyana-the-ape held her action, watching Snapjaw and protecting Aegar.
• Snapjaw hucked a javelin (short) and yelled at the dire troll, “Hey yeah, run away! Run away you!”
• Aegar rode forth and dropped a smite into the dire troll.
• Pliny cast Swift Quiver and sent an arrow into the dire troll.
• Having gotten poked in the back, the dire troll turned around and started flail its arms at Aegar.
  • Aegar (Dex save 11) took 44 hp slashing damage as the claws ripped into him at the same time he saw wounds close on the dire troll.
• Zoyana-the-ape dropped Wrath of Nature, shifted back into halfling form, and cast Conjure Minor Elementals.
  • 4 magma mephits appeared and spewed fire breath on the dire troll
• Snapjaw threw another javelin, actually connecting this time.
• Aegar poked it twice with his lance.
• Pliny sent two arrows into the dire troll and gave Fang some bardic inspiration
• The dire troll flailed its arms again, catching Aegar and the magma mephits with its claws.
  • Aegar danced away (taking only 25 hp slashing damage), and luckily was more than 5’ from the magma mephits.
  • The magma mephits all exploded, and as the dusk settled the party saw only the husk of a dead dire troll.

Snapjaw

• Aegar finally interjected: “We are looking for someone named Snapjaw. That…”
• The lizardfolk: “My name is Taika, but people call me Snapjaw”
• Aegar: “Which do you prefer?”
• Snapjaw: “Well, everybody calls me Snapjaw. I’m kind of like the leader here. I’m friendly. We don’t want to intimidate you. You don’t need to be afraid, unless you’re made of paper. Or your name is Spock.”
• Snapjaw: “Just a little joke for you.”
• Aegar: “I am neither of those things. I do appreciate it, though. You javelin prowess is, I am sure, renowned in these parts.”
• Snapjaw: “You see what my javelin did? It went straight into the chest of the thing, and then fell down like. It was there, and then it was not.”
• Aegar: “I do say, we were lucky to be witness to you felling this great beast.”
• Pliny: “Zoyana, didn’t the javelin belong to you?”
• Snapjaw: “Well, it was a group exercise, and you really helped a lot. I kind of give it to you. And the little, you know, magicy thingy. Oh, where’d she go? Oh. there you are down there.”
• Aegar: “We have been sent to find you.”
• Snapjaw: “Me?”
• Snapjaw: “Are you here to join the revolution? ”
• Aegar: “Perhaps. But we were sent by…”
• Zoyana sent a mental message to Pliny: “Like what the fuck are they talking revolution right now?”
• Snapjaw: “Would you be interested in something like that? Do you reckon you be interested? ”
• Aegar: “Um, perhaps if we had time to consider it. Is there a more safe place for us to talk? We’ve been traveling most of the day.”
• Snapjaw: “No, this is, this is a swamp. Not like a normal swamp like kind of a freaky swamp. ”
• Snapjaw: “We have homes it’s over there,” and he pointed back in the direction of where they and the dire troll came.
• Aegar: “Perhaps if you were to invite us, we might share a meal and converse? We might have things in common that we can talk about. And you can tell us about your revolution.”
• Snapjaw: “Oh, ok. Then where your slaves? ”
• Aegar: “Alas, we have none.”
• Snapjaw: “You have no slaves? I well….”
• Aegar: “Well, except for this pseudodragon here. He is our slave.”
• Zoyana: “He is not our slave. Aegar!”
• Snapjaw: “You guys enslaved a dragon?”
• Zoyana: “No we didn’t. He is our friend. And our comrade has saved your ass, Aegar, more than once.”
• Aegar: “Thank you, I suppose, we should try something other than subterfuge Zoyana. Thank you.”
• Snapjaw turned to the other lizardfolk: “Hey guys, these these are our new friends, this is… What were your names again?”
• Pliny: “Pliny”
• Snapjaw reached out and shook Aegar’s hand, “That’s.. that’s a fine grip you got there. ”
• Aegar: “Yes indeed, I am Aegar. Well met, Snapjaw.”
• Snapjaw addressed to the other lizardfolk: “So we have Pliny the necrophiliac, Aegar the dick, and who are you down there?” as he looked down at Zoyana
• Pliny: “Oh, this is Zoyana.”
• Zoyana: _“I’m that guy’s helper._” as she pointed to Aegar.
• Snapjaw to Aegar: “She’s your slave?”
• Aegar: “No.”
• Pliny: “Yes.”
• Snapjaw: “So it’s kind of a special relationship that the two of you have? Sounds rather… complicated.”
• Aegar: “You’ve no idea.”
• The other lizardfolk came over and were grumbling and looking at Snapjaw like he’s kind of crazy.”_
• Aegar produced the black dragon scale: “Snapjaw, we were given this by denizen over the swamp he told us to come and find you.”
• Snapjaw: “Yeah that’s Voaraghamanthar. He’s the one in charge around here. Big, giant dragon. ”
• Snapjaw: “Yeah, nothing happens round here without his say so.”
• Aegar: “He had us come to you. We have to get into Castle Naerytar”
• Snapjaw: “Yeah? Yeah that’s just over there. I mean it’s a little ways, but not too far.”

Castle Naerytar

• After a couple hours of slogging through the swamp, as night started to set in, by the light of the moon they finally reached their goal:
  • 
  • Castle Naerytar
• They stepped past the last trees ahead stood a castle that clearly was in need of repair.
  • The walls had holes in them that would make for easy climbing and possibly entry.
    
  • Atop the central keep was a weird metal dome.
• Snapjaw walked nonchallantly into the open and straight into one of the outbuildings.
• The acrid air of the swamp and the brackish water they had been wallowing in followed the party as they entered the same hut.
  • Inside, the acrid, nasty, brackish smell of the swamp followed them.
  • Snapjaw and several other lizardfolk occupied the space.
• Zoyana could just feel that Rezmir was inside. She just just knew it in her bones.
• Zoyana looked around at her party. They were all dirty, weathered, mud covered.
• And then around at the hut, with a surprisingly ingenious design of reeds bound in long, thick bundles and bent into upside down U shaped ribs. ribs.
  • The spaces between the ribs are latticed and thatched with more reeds.
  • Everything was meticulously placed and tightened to withstand the elements of the swamp and gave a sense of saftey that they had not had since leaving Waterdeep.
  • A low croak in the nearby mud-slurry reminds her of the forboding forces at play here.
  • And the Deal with Voraghamanthar ever present in your mind. Failure is not an option here.
• They steeled themselves and began to think about the task at hand.
  • They had followed the treasure here, to this dank Castle in the middle of a rotting Swamp. They thought to themselves:
  • Could this be the end-game?
  • Was this where the trail ends?
  • What was the treasure used for anyway? Why is it so important to a Dragon Cult? They have a black dragon in their service, why do they need such a large sum of treasure? Here of all places?
• They saw the tall lizardfolk with the reinforced turtleshell shield and his spiked club open the reed flap to the entrance of the longhouse.
  • The sky was dark, the sun had set.
• The session closed as Snapjaw addressed the party: “The Large Circle of the Sky will show soon. If plan is to be made, it must be now”

Loot

• Gave the Black Scale from the Black Dragon Voaraghamanthar to Snapjaw

NPCs Interacted With

• Snapjaw

Locations Visited

• The Mere of Dead Men

Experience Per Character

Session	Task or Accomplishment	Day	Aegar	Pliny	Zoyana	Fang
62	Dire Troll	124	2500	2500	2500	2500
62	Planning the Revolution with Snapjaw	124	550	550	550	550
62	Finding Castle Naerytar	124	550	550	550	550
	Total	Total	3600	3600	3600	3600

End

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