Synopsis[]
After Tuk and Vyng convinced one of the thugs they beat up, Nori, to help them get inside the Clearwater in exchange for helping him get out of Mudlark, he leads them to the mud-stuck ship. Vyng transforms into a hummingbird and flies into a port as Tuk follows while Nori distracts the other thugs. Inside the Clearwater, Billie spies on Maggie Cole through a hole in a wall and it's revealed that Maggie helped Etienne Boggins get his position as mayor, but now she believes he's double-crossing her because he had the stone box she has been looking for and his halfling pipeweed case was found in her room at the Wallowing Sow. After Caroline the orc takes Etienne out of the room, Billie sees Maggie stash the stone box underneath a floorboard. Caroline re-enters the room and Maggie tells her they must get the stone box out of Mudlark and into "The Vault.” Caroline the orc and Maggie leave the office and Billie sneaks in. He pulls the floorboard up and finds a stepladder leading down into a secret room underneath the deck. He finds the stone box but he triggers a trap that slams the entrance shut and locks him inside. Meanwhile, Tuk and Vyng are sneaking through the halls of the ship and hear the slam of the door Billie triggered. Hummingbird-Vyng distracts a guard so Tuk can break into the room where the slam came from. In the room, Tuk notices the floorboard hatch and rips it open, finding Billie. In another room, Vyng transforms back to his regular body and attacks the guard he lured away, but the guard breaks Vyng's unbreakable spear and Vyng surrenders. Other guards arrive, followed by Maggie and Caroline, and Vyng is tied up. Maggie recognizes him from the Wallowing Sow and asks what he's doing on her ship. He says he wants his friends, accidentally revealing he isn't alone, he wants to know why she wants the stone box, and he wants to know what it is. She pretends to not know what stone box he's talking about, so he turns into the same kind of stone the box is made of. With stone skin, he's easily able to break the ropes that bind him but he doesn't attack; he wants a peaceful exit with his friends, and says he will not turn back to normal until he knows they're safe. Maggie cautiously agrees and takes Vyng to her office where they find Tuk and Billie in awful hiding places. Our heroes discuss how they got the box. They ask her what it is, because everyone wants it, so it must be of some kind of value or importance. Maggie explains that Magic and wizards left their world in an event called "The Exodus,” but there are places where the barrier between the dimensions are thin and magic seeps back through. She says she is a part of a group that aims to mitigate disaster when those thin dimensional barriers tear open, and that there are magical items that were left behind during the exodus that are dangerous, and she believes the stone box is one of them. She believes the magic seeping out of the box caused the river that once flowed where they now stand to dry up, and her goal is to put the stone box in The Vault where the ward-seals can be strengthened and whatever magical thing is inside the box can stay locked in. Tuk explains the bulywogs were acting odd when they had the box and asks Maggie how long they’ve been around. Maggie said the bulywogs appeared about 30 years ago, and Tuk points out that its odd a whole race of frog-people appeared out of nowhere, hinting that the bulywogs were created and/or being controlled by the magic seeping out of the box. Billie gives Maggie the stone box as a sign of trust, but Maggie asks if they would be willing to take it to The Vault for her, because she needs to remain in Mudlark to keep up the Muckraker operations. Our heroes agree, and Maggie pricks a finger of each of our trio with a copper needle, and explains that it is an "insurance policy.” She tells them to show the needle to her people when they get to The Vault so the people there know they can trust our heroes, and Billie takes it. Tuk asks what the name of her group is and Maggie tells them they are called "The Menders.” Our heroes try to decide what to tell Colonel Dan now that they have this more important mission, and won't be able to escort him back home when Greg (also known as Gary) bursts through the door to tell Maggie the bulywogs are coming. Maggie gives our heroes a cat in a cage and tells them the cat will lead the way, and rushes them outside. Vyng shapeshifts into an elk and Tuk and Billie climb onto him with the caged cat. They head back into Mudlark proper to find Colonel Dan as Maggie's crew prepares for a battle with the bulywogs. Back in the center of Mudlark, they find Colonel Dan, tell him to leave his cart and all his stuff, get on his horse, and go with them. As an army of bulywogs march over the hill, our group begins to ride toward the nearest city, but Vyng, who can speak with and understand animals, hears the caged cat say they are going the wrong way. Vyng explains this to the group, and that the cat's name is Wicker, and turns to go the way Wicker suggested. A small group of bulywog soldiers breaks off to attack them and our heroes fend them off, eventually making their way into the swampy forest.
Characters[]
Player Characters[]
NPCs[]
- Colonel Dan Fossey
- Maggie Cole
- Caroline
- Bulywog
- Etienne Boggins
- Greg (Gary) Adams
- Wicker