To the Sanctuary of Albahith, Jigow Township
Greetings to the Masters of the Pilgrims, and hail to The Luxon:
Mission Report from Childe Raymonde (Part 2)
We were in the swamplands between Urzen town and the forward outpost of the Empire, looking for the Goblin-witch Bollbarra, who had been missing for some time. I don't know how we can find one person in all these miles of swamp, especially when we have no tracks to follow, but we are doing our best.
We had taken a short rest after our encounter with the snake swarm, and then continued to the southwest. A rudimentary map carried by Morgid, our Hobgoblin guide, indicated some sort of landmark -- bones? -- to our southwest, so we trekked that way.
The landmark was some distance, and we camped for the night before reaching it. It turned out that the place was a giant bone-yard, an area of swamp littered with the skeletons of giant tortoises. In the center was a huge mound of bones. The place was eerie and forbidding, and we made our way towards it carefully. Remembering that Urzen town was built on the back of living giant tortoises, I asked if this could be a dead neighborhood formerly belonging to Urzen. Morgid recoiled from the idea and refused to acknowledge that this was even possible.
Suddenly! The swamp ground erupted in wooden spikes, like gargantuan thorns. Some kind of magic spell was afoot. We found ourselves under bombardment from stones hurled from the center mass of bones.
It turned out that this was the haunt of a tribe of Lizardfolk, all festooned in macabre bone-jewelry, and ruled by a spell-casting shaman.
At first, I spoke in Draconic to them, attempting to be friendly. I told them that we meant them no harm and were sorry to trespass. We would leave them in peace, but we did want to ask them about the missing witch. Bell the Kenku attempted to amplify my diplomatic efforts with his mimickry and miming. They ignored my words and continued to pelt us with rocks. The spikes were replaced by grasping tendrils of vines -- I had heard of the spell Plant Growth, but had never seen it before.
My comrades sought cover and gave the Lizardfolk a chance to resolve our encounter peacefully, but it was not to be. The shaman began to animate humanoid skeletons to come attack us, and some of the rocks began to hit home on us. Not only that, but some of the Lizardmen began to advance on us with clubs.
We had given peace a chance, but now it was war. Bumi, our Goblin mystic, launched a cloud of debris at one of the club-wielders, obliterating him instantly. Things got even more violent after that. We could hear the Lizardfolk screaming in Draconic: "Die, heretics! Begone, unclean!" and things of that nature.
Bell seemed very focused on destroying the undead skeleton, no doubt part of his religious ethos.
As the fight progressed, some of us began to be seriously wounded, and the shaman was proving particularly troublesome, but Lizardfolk and skeletons continued to drop.
The shaman was finally dispatched, and the party turned the tide, eliminating our foes.
Afterwards, we searched the environs. Apparently, this bone-yard was holy to the Lizardfolk, for they had created it as a tribute to their demon-lord Sassenach. They were homicidally enraged by our mere presence. Too bad! There was really no cause for us to fight, but if death was their destiny, then so be it.
Not much treasure was found, just some gold teeth. Nor did we find any trace of the Goblin-witch Bollbarra. Weary and wounded, we rested on the battleground.
(Level Up! Everybody gets 6 Hero Points!)