Hello, Everyone!
Last time, our heroes had a discussion about how they were going to get to the Swamp of Agony before the Order of Falka, as well as whether they could prevent the whole free-the-dragon thing from happening by contacting Tiriel Elaire and trying to convince her to back off. Agatha and the rest of the party had an argument about Dynatos Perres and his way of ruling the poorer communities of Pamagos, but in the end they agreed to disagree.
"So, who goes where?" Tesaya asked.
They had just packed up and were preparing to head out.
"Bruno and I, we'll go to burn down the toy factory?" Agatha suggested, as-a-matter-of-factly. "Let's not leave any unfinished business in the city."
The others laughed, and the tabaxi joined them, but Mary wasn’t quite sure whether she was actually joking.
As for herself, she was going to look for Driko. Agatha joined her. Bruno headed towards Dynatos Perres, to give him the letter and the flyer.
"That leaves the supply run," Tesaya said. "I'll take care of it.”
She stood up and clumsily started throwing her Bag of Holding over her shoulder.
"You need a hand?" Aurum asked with a grin.
Tesaya gave him the finger.
'The Salty Bitch' was busy when Mary and Agatha arrived. Bundles of schoolgirls and schoolboys were sitting at the tables, eating sandwiches and drinking juice. The air was bustling with chatter and laughter, and Lilly and Vlad were moving back and forth between the tables and the kitchen.
"Sorry," Vlad said. "It's recess at the school next door. I'll be with you in a second."
It didn’t look like it’d take only a second. Mary waved her wand and cleaned a few tables to help the man out.
"Oh!" he said. "Thank you! That saves a lot of time. So, what do you two need?"
"Driko," Mary said. "We have to find him and use his services."
"Oh, well, he'll be here in the evening, as usu–"
"We can't wait that long. We are in a hurry. It's a matter of life and death."
That felt like a lie… but who knew? That magical tattoo could be the difference between surviving or being eaten by a dragon.
"I can't just give you his address, it's not–"
"Please! It's really important!"
Vlad sighed. He leaned towards her and told her the gnome's whereabouts. Luckily, it was just across the street.
"You haven't heard it from me," he said.
"Of course. Thank you!"
Driko's apartment was on the second floor of a tall but narrow building. They climbed up the stairs to the long hallway and immediately recognized his door.
It had drawings all over. Fairy tale paysages morphed into abstract portraits. Pictures of flowers and animals changed to humanoid figures, mostly nude. Sprinkled among them, there were some cynical drawings and rude words.
Mary knocked and waited. She knocked again. On the third time, there was a groan from the inside.
"What do you waaant?"
The door opened an inch and the dishevelled, tattoo-covered head of the room's inhabitant peaked through. He was in his underwear.
Mary felt an impulse to say sorry and turn around but she didn't have time for that.
"We need a special tattoo," she said firmly.
"Are you kidding me?"
"No. It's urgent. We'll pay more if we have to."
The gnome groaned. "I need materials."
"But you can get them, can't you? It's urgent.”
"Ugh! Can't you just let me sleep?! I've been working until two last night!"
“Yeah,” Agatha chimed in. “And I got stabbed around that time. Everyone with their own problems, I guess.”
“I was in a dragon’s claws yesterday!” Mary beckoned. “I need that tattoo!”
Driko looked at them up and down and, after a long pause, gave out a resigned sigh.
“Come around two,” he said and slammed the door in their faces.
“All right!” Agatha said. “That was a success!”
“Yeah… but what do we do until then?”
They went to the library. This time it wasn’t dragons that they looked for, but instead, the Swamp of Agony and what might be waiting for them there.
It wasn’t a nice place. There was a near constant rain storm there, accompanied with lightnings, so Bruno and Tesaya’s metal armour was going to put them in danger. There were tribes of lizardfolk and yuan-ti living there, but apparently they were fighting among each other. There was a monster made out of vines and shrubbery that swallowed people, another dangerous creature that wore a cloak and was weeping, and something that was 'feeding with waste'.
Wouldn’t that last one have been useful in Ekoba’s sewers!
Last but not least, the veil between the Material Plane and the Shadowfell was thinner in the swamp, and so there were creatures moving in from the other side.
“I don’t like that,” Mary mumbled.
“Yeah, well, you didn't think it was going to be rainbows and roses, did you?” Agatha said. “Let’s go get that tattoo of yours.”
Ooh! So many things to look forward to! (/sarcasm off) Which monster description do you like the most? Do you think we're going to meet them all?
See you next time when Mary's finally going to have that tattoo and we'll head out to Orswald.
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide, the Glossary and the Map for the series. You're welcome!)
An important disclaimer: Mary Windfiddle's story is my notes from a D&D game turned into a narrative. All the worldbuilding and NPC encounters belong to our DM, and all the actions of the other main characters (Aurum, Bruno and Agatha) belong to my co-players. My contribution to the story is only everything Mary-related (actions, reactions, inner thoughts), as well as the writing itself.