The party started off this session on wooden walkway in the Brigand’s Tollway, leading to the central stump where Agdon Longscarf was supposed to be
The stump was shrouded in a thick mist, obscuring their view
Barnabus did some scouting and it seems that there aren’t anymore guards patrolling around but it is definitely possible the creatures in the stump might had heard the scuffle from taking out the patrols
They decided that they should at least investigate the stump and see if they could take care of Agdon to help the residents of Hither
They snuck up to the entrance and Agdon said the party must be the ones who have been causing trouble and then they broke into song (see the song on Agdon’s page) accompanied by one of the other harengons playing the bagpipes
It seemed that Agdon was going to fight the party himself and wields a hot branding iron and dagger
He bounded across the room and almost took down Melina in one swipe of the iron
The iron seemed to cause some sort of knock on effect that made it harder to perceive him
He speedily raced around the room taking pot shots at the party as they did their best to strike him
They managed to nick him several times and hit him with magical means and in the end Melina hit him and then he slammed his head into a sharp spot on Gary’s shell
The other harengons in the room dropped their weapons and seemed dejected
They said the Rule of Ownership dictates that the party owns Agdon’s stuff now
They took his scarf, armor, and weapons
He had a chest with carved bone statue, three embroidered silk handkerchiefs and none with Agdon’s initials, 2 greater healing, 1 poison, silver ewer, scroll of catnap, gemstone (100gp)
The harengons told them that Agdon paid tribute to Lorna and it as collected by Lornlings, some miniature versions of her
They also said there were some skiffs nearby they could use
Barnabus told one of the remaining harengons to go to the Inn at the End of the Road and tell them that Agdon was killed and no longer in charge and then made them sing their apologies
They decide to rest in the stump before heading towards Downfall
They hop on the skiff and make their down the river to the west
After a while, the current slows and the river widened, the sound of croaking is heard in the distance
Two rowboats with bullywug on them are in the middle of the waterway
Amrynn called out “Hello there” and they responded in Slyvan saying “Welcome to Downfall”
“Our King Gullop the 19th would like to meet you, head to the dock at the balloon factory and through to the gazebo”
The party docked in the town and another bullywug said to head to the king by passing through the Balloon Factory where “Duke Ickrind is the boss and a traitor (Sir Talavar) recently stole a balloon to escape”
They started towards the factory but had to cross a series of stepping stones
A marrow raised out of the water and asked that they pay the toll of a magic item
Amrynn asked how people pay such a steep price and they showed the mirror and that someone else had given them
Amrynn gave them a candle telling them it was a magic item that would light a room for several hours if lit on fire and they let the party pass
They then made it to the factory and the inside was burned and charred with smoke curling from the wreckage
A distressed bullywug rushed in and out with a bucket of water trying to put out the embers but they seemed to hop out of the way just as he tried to put it out, Amrynn noted that the Feywild can cause certain things to act alive but aren’t necessarily sentient
The bullywug introduces himself as Duke Ickrind, the supervisor of the Balloon Factory, and blamed the king for not standing up to Bavlorna Blightstraw
He thanked the party for helping put out the fires and said that the king wasn’t fit to rule and would may be able to help them if the king was gone
He said that he had a plan to get rid of the king secretly, he said to take a balloon up above the gazebo and drop large rocks onto the king
The balloon is staged but needs an experienced pilot but the only pilot is Mugwort who is currently imprisoned for helping Sir Talavar escape in a balloon
He said they should go see the king anyway since he knows they are there
They could see a row of bullywug heads on pikes leading to the gazebo where the king was