After their expedition into the tomb, the party decided to make their way back to Gurdinford to see if Tig had returned. The lad was still missing, but there was excitement because the wind had given a message to his parents. They said they heard the wind whispering in the thatch and that it had said that Tig had been captured by the Lizardfolk at the bottom of Candlemere. The party were fairly sceptical about that, seeing as the wind doesn’t normally talk and set off across the river to search along the river and lake banks as they made their way down toward Candlemere. A couple of days later they realised that they couldn’t get all the way around the lake and decided to head back to Horcroft to get a boat. However, they hung around for a day hoping that they could slip though Gurdinford unnoticed by the residents if they went at midnight. However, during that extra time they managed to find a strange bubbling mud bowl that made them feel sick, however they chose not to explore it. When they got to the ford Arven Fisher was up with a rod in the river trying for eels – so they didn’t manage to get back undetected.
It took ages to ride up to the other ford and back to Fort Stag and they were surprised to find signs that there were signs of a small fishing community starting up here. However, there was a lot of grumbling and declarations that they should build a ferry close to the lake, because that would cut their eastward travel times significantly.
Eventually they set off in a boat looking for the Lizardfolk. Travelling down the west side of Tuskwater, they saw the Old belle dame’s cottage but passed by, then through a narrows into Candlemere, with the remains of a tower on its island. The boatman told tales that the lake was haunted and you could see strange ghost lights, and hear the screams of lost souls, here at night. But eventually they spotted a fortified island in the moth of the Murque River and (when they got close) could even hear screams of terror coming from it. That must be wearing even listening to it all day long.
A long drawn out process saw them climb over the wall (eventually) and nearly got to the Mud ‘Hill’ that was the source of the screams, before they were spotted. Ducking inside they discovered that the screams came from a sack hanging just out of reach of a large lizard that kept snapping hissing and trying to get at its dinner. They made short work of the lizard itself, but the glowing green skull that appeared was another matter. It seemed to be immune to spells and incredibly difficult to hit, then it started fighting back with powerful electrical shocks – and they realised it was one of the will-o-wisps they had been warned about. However, the noise of combat (and being spotted by the guard) had roused the Lizardfolk and their king came to join in the battle. He was more than ten feet tall and armed with a huge magic trident that he could poke at them from distance and was flanked by a couple of Blood Caimen as well.
It was an epic battle and Larran nearly fell to the electrical attacks of the Wisp, but Robert saved the day by stepping back and healing, even though it allowed the Lizard King to attack him. But eventually they won and managed to get Tig out of the Mud Hut and into the camp where they discovered most of the other Lizardfolk milling around. After a few gruff exchanges they discovered that the Lizardfolk would have been happy to eat Tig, but were less happy about the Lizard King and the Ancestor-Ghost torturing the lad. A few more gruff exchanges and the party were allowed to leave; however, it was clear that no more than temporary truce had been agreed. Tig was duly returned to his parents and then that party went back to Horcroft to check on their new kingdom.
What with administrative duties, searching for Tig, clearing out a barrow tomb and dealing with the Lizardfolk – that is another month (Erastus) gone.
The party have found
Large Leather Armour +1
Large Trident +1 Keen
A tree feather token
A ring of swimming
and about 300gp worth of coins.
Everyone has also gained enough experience to go up to level five.