Chapter 1

Grimnir, it turned out, was a large, blonde, bearded mountain of a Northman from Greystaad in the Kingdom of Norheim, one of the many, many Kingdoms that made up the Moonshae Isles and one of the Northlander Kingdoms that refused to pay homage to the Ffolk High King in Caer Callidyrr. You might think that would make him surly and standoffish, especially given how the majority of the population of Caer Jannath, including the ruling Cadfael Family, were descendants of Ffolk who had fled the Moonshaes after the devastating loss to the ancestors of the Northlanders at Whitefish Bay in Eight-Fifty-Two DR.

However, despite any ancestral enmity between Grimnir's Ancestors and those of the majority of Caer Jannath's inhabitants, that couldn't be further from the truth. I found Grimnir to be a bluff and amiable fellow. Of course, I could be biased, given how the body I'd been given was one of a Northman, albeit one from Ruathym rather than Norheim.

Mind you, we weren't just waiting for Grimnir. Janessa needed to wait until a point when one of her siblings could take over the running of the Selkie's Lament. Given how the tavern filled up more after dark, that was probably a wise decision. Fortunately, the Ffolk, Halflings, and a smattering of merchants and sailors from the mainland gave a wide berth to the pair of drinking, armed, and armored Northmen seated at the table closest to the bar, so Grimnir and I were free to have a drink or two in peace.

I had just wrapped up the story of an introductory adventure I'd once played through as Robar the Red back when this had been a game. The character had been shipwrecked and found his way to a small fishing village on the Coast between Neverwinter and the Mere of Dead Men when it had been attacked by a War Party of Orcs. He'd been forced to fight off the Orcish War Party while leading a group of half-trained and scared militia made up of the crews of a few fishing boats that had been given whatever equipment the town had on hand in a sort of super-condensed version of the plot of Seven Samurai.

The DM running the game hadn't really been putting as much effort into everyone's intro sessions as he might otherwise have been since he'd just gone through a breakup. I couldn't really blame him for lifting plots from other stuff when I took that into account. At any rate, Robar had gained a level out of it, though and it had led into a larger adventure that required the whole party to meet up and deal with in the first proper session which had more thought put into it. Of course, I only used the solo intro adventure in the fishing village for my story. Grimnir seemed to enjoy it, though.

"Hah, that's a good one, Skald! I'll bet that glorified rabble would have pissed themselves and run if you hadn't been there!" Laughed Grimnir.

"They weren't that bad. Captain Shelby was actually a decent hand with that spear of his, but then he was used to using harpoons on whales, so he would have to be." I frowned, thinking back to one of the NPCs who had somehow managed to crit three of the group of thirty orcs during the battle for the village.

"Aye, except the whales don't hit back." Snorted Grimnir.

"No, they don't. What of yourself? Do you have any tales to share?" I questioned.

"One or two, though I'm unsure if they'll be appreciated in present company." Answered Grimnir, looking over at one of the Ffolk Tavern Patrons who had ambled up to the bar past us.

"I see. Well, there's none of that happening here." I mused, taking his meaning.

While the Darkwalker War would have ended twenty-two years ago and Grimnir couldn't be older than that himself, the raids on Ffolk Settlements and shipping never truly stopped for very long. Not unless there was a powerful enough Ffolk Monarch to enforce the peace. Given how that hadn't been the case until two years ago, I was willing to bet that Grimnir had earned his stripes in a raid a year or two before that, in his teens, and had sailed off after Alicia Kendrick had proven her might by slaying a Dracolich.

"Aye, just a few Toadmen who need a good thrashing, eh?" Grinned Grimnir.

"Exactly." I nodded, returning his grin.

"If you two are finished, I just need to grab my equipment and then we can head out." Came Janessa's Voice from behind the bar.

I looked over to see her approaching, another, male, Halfling in more subdued clothing taking up her position tending the bar. The curly brunette hair however gave him away as a sibling of Janessa's.

"Your brother?" I queried.

"Yes, Jandon. He's a few years older than me, my Father's already teaching him how to brew the Family Belbuck Recipe. He'll likely take over the Selkie's Lament when Mom and Dad are gone." Confirmed Janessa.

"Wait, Jandon? And you're Janessa? What are your parents names?" I asked.

"Jankin and Jayfira. The J-Names are a family tradition." Huffed Janessa.

"Of course." Agreed Grimnir, sagely.

"It's not funny, it's a tradition." Insisted Janessa, cheeks coloring a bit.

"We didn't say otherwise." I pointed out.

"Well don't even think it, either!" Grumbled Janessa, before turning on her heel to head into the back rooms.

I chuckled at that and so did Grimnir. I was coming to learn a bit about my current companions after the last several hours spent with them. Janessa was interestingly, fairly easy to wind up if you figured out what buttons to push.

"You shouldn't do that, you know. My Dad says she needs to get a better handle on her embarrassment issues." Remarked Jandon, tying on an apron as he prepared to start his shift bartending.

"If that's true, why should we not help her to do so by teasing her in a safe environment?" I questioned.

"I agree with the Skald. It's how you learn such things." Affirmed Grimnir.

"My sister is a Sorceress like our Mother is. The power's in her blood and you don't want to tempt it to blow up on you. Or don't take my advice, I can't tell you what to do." Shrugged Jandon before turning to take the drink order of a visiting Wool Merchant from Orlumbor.

"That can happen?" Queried Grimnir.

"Not usually. Not unless things go awry in the worst way imaginable." I frowned.

It wasn't impossible, I supposed, but the only times I'd ever heard of something like that happening had dealt with Wild Magic, and if Janessa was a Wild Magic Sorceress, well, sorcery was passed down through the bloodline and if that were the case, I'd expect there to be a lot more scorch marks in the Selkie's Lament's floorboards than there actually were. to say the least.

Regardless, Janessa emerged, ready for battle with a dagger belted onto her waist along with a pouch of sling stones, a leather sling, and a pouch of spell components. She nodded at Grimnir and I, no trace of her prior embarrassment to be found on her face now. Janessa was all business at the moment.

"Come on, we should get moving. I know an entrance to the Old Sewer Tunnels underneath the Temple of Valkur. It's a bit of a hike, but the High Captain there will let us in if we tell him we're going down to handle the Bullywugs." Nodded Janessa.

"There's a Temple to Valkur here?" I asked.

"There is. Tearheim is mostly Northlanders, and those of them who Worship Valkur come here to do it. The Temple in Jannathsdaad is to Umberlee thanks to Jarl Finehair's family worshipping her, so none of the Northlanders that worship Valkur can do it there." Responded Jannesa.

My bardic knowledge supplied the fact that Tearheim was the second-most populated of the three Islands that made up Jannath's Tears. Its town of Jannathstaad on Tearheim was smaller than Caer Jannath by around five hundred people, but when you added up the various smaller villages and homesteads of Tearheim compared to the fewer people living in the Hills around Car Jannath on Cadfael Island, Tearheim only lost out to Cadfael Island in population by around a hundred or so people.

Of course, the Third Island, Seahearth, was populated largely by the original settlers of the Archipelago, a Clan of Lightfoot Halflings called the Islandwarden Clan made up of several extended families that had settled the Archipelago in One-twenty-three DR, back when Baldur's Gate was still a small fishing port called Loklee whose Gray Harbor was an occasional stop off by river pirates that plundered the upper reaches Chionthar River. Apparently, Jannath's Tears were a later, Balduurian Name for the Islands, though I couldn't figure out what their original name had been, apparently I just wasn't well-versed enough in history for that.

Regardless, we made our way to the Temple of Valkur. It stood on the landbound side of town, where the original shore had been. It was now separated from the less-well-to-do part of town by one of those pseudo-canals that was used for fishing by the locals. The construction was entirely made of stone, with a large tower attached to an L-shaped Longhall that used to function as a lighthouse but had since been supplanted in that duty by the Beacon Tower of Castle Jannath.

Janessa knocked on the door and exchanged a few hushed words with the Sailor, or senior brother, in charge of the Gate, who sent one of his initiates, or Swabs, to go wake the head of the Temple, also known as the High Captain, and tell him that an adventuring party was here to clean out the sewers of the Bullywugs that had taken root in them.

We waited for a few, long, moments before we were hastily ushered into the Temple by a tired looking Sailor and led down a flight of stairs, into a cellar that was stocked with a number of casks of ale, beer, and mead, and down another, shorter, flight of stairs. We came out into a series of stone tunnels, overgrown with moss and with crumbling stonework, lit partially from the outside and partially by flaring torches.

"The tunnels down here are mostly clear, the Bosun's got a group of Sailors and Seamen on patrol duty once a day to clear 'em out of anything untoward and top up the oil in the stone torches. Once you get closer to the Harbormaster's Lockup, though, that's where the Bullywugs are. It's all dilapidated out there and parts of the sea have gotten in. The last of our Brothers what went down that way never came back. If you can find Brother Argyle's Holy Symbol, the High Cap'n says there's a reward in it for you if you bring it back to us." Informed the Sailor, pointing further down the tunnels, toward a less well-lit area.

"How will we know the symbol if we see it?" Questioned Janessa.

"It's a piece of oak carved from the keel of his old ship back before he joined up with us. It's got the stormcloud and three thunderbolts of Valkur carved into it, dyed blue with woad dye and strung up by a leather cord. If the Bullywugs have it, the High Cap'n says they wouldnt've touched it. Their God don't do much for 'em, not enough to risk the wrath of Valkur. Likely it's lying about in whatever pile of treasure their lot keeps about." Answered the Sailor.

"We'll keep an eye out." I agreed.

"Aye. Safe Harbor to you and good hunting." Nodded the Sailor before heading back up the stairs.

"Right, let's get on with it then, aye?" Queried Grimnir.

"Right, I suppose we should head down the way we were shown." Agreed Janessa.

"I'll take point. If they've set up any traps, snares, or alarms, I can disarm them." I offered.

"Aye, and I'll keep close to you Just in case. Janessa ought to hang back in case of combat to take potshots with her sling and mayhaps fling a spell or two." Concurred Grimnir.

"We should try sneaking up on them too. If we can get even the first shot in on the Bullywugs, that will help a lot." Insisted Janessa.

"Then it sounds like we have a plan." I smirked.

"That being so, what are we waiting for?" Asked Grimnir.

With a chuckle and a shake of my head, I said, "Fair enough, let's get moving."

Then we began making our way down the less well-lit and well-maintained section of Sewer Tunnels. We stuck to the shadows as best we could and for most of the way, we managed to do just that, avoiding being noticed by a pair of Dire Wharf Rats that were hanging around near a section of partially collapsed tunnel on the way to our destination. The pair were gnawing on the carcass of a dead Ffolk Man who looked like he had been one of Harbormaster Daffyd's Harbor Wardens. It looked like the man had been down here when part of the stonework had crumbled above him and his skull had been smashed in by the collapsing masonry. He couldn't have been down here for more than a day, judging by how the corpse looked fairly fresh.

Of course, we had to take out the Wharf Rats to proceed, and our sneaking gave us just the edge we needed to deal with the Dire Wharf Rats fast. From out of the shadows, I blurred into a lunging cut at one, my longsword biting deep into its spine, even as it turned to let out a squeak of surprise, the blade severing the spinal column and killing it instantly. At the same time, the second Dire Wharf Rat turned to face me only to get a Thrown Axe from Grimnir buried in its leathery hide from behind, followed swiftly by a flung slingstone from Janessa that cracked its skull open, killing it.

The whole fight didn't take more than a few seconds and as Janessa and Grimnir moved to recover their flung slingstone and throwing axe, I turned to regard the corpse of the Harborwarden. The man was wearing an intact chain shirt which nonetheless hadn't helped him against the sudden falling stonework from above. Nor had the leather skullcap he had been wearing prevented the stone from dashing his brains out for the Dire Wharf Rats to feast on. I looked around for weapons and came up with a Shortsword, Masterwork Cudgel, Dagger, and hand crossbow, but only ten bolts, with the rest presumably lost in the growing stream of water present in this part of the sewers. He did have a pouch on him with around thirty gold pieces in mixed coins, mostly Amnian Danter or Baldurian Double Eagles, but also a handful of Moonshae Crowns and Waterdhavian Dragons.

I immediately claimed the Chain Shirt for myself along with the Hand Crossbow and Bolts. I got no objections to that, as Grimnir already had a Chain Shirt and Janessa couldn't wear one, while neither could use the Hand Crossbow. Neither wanted the shortsword either, but Janessa claimed the Masterwork Cudgel for her own. It was a stout, polished, blackthorn, club whose head had been loaded with molten lead and capped with steel fittings to maintain the structural integrity. The skullcap, however, was worthless, ruined by the collapsed stonework that had killed its owner. That just left the dagger and shortsword which nobody wanted.

"That brings up a good point, though. What do we do with the loot nobody wants?" Questioned Janessa.

"We should wait until we're back in town, sell it off, then split the proceeds evenly. How does that sound?" I queried.

"I was about to make the same suggestion. It is common practice in raiding parties, though in those the proceeds are split by share according to rank, injury, and seniority." Remarked Grimnir.

"Really you two? Raid etiquette?" Asked Janessa.

"We are both Northlanders." Grimnir pointed out.

"Not that we enjoy adhering to strict stereotypes, mind you. It's just more efficient in this case." I added.

Janessa simply rolled her eyes at that but didn't make any further objections. The gold, dagger, and shortsword disappeared into our collective packs, along with my old Studded Leather as my new Chain Shirt took its place and Janessa's Dagger which was swapped out for the Masterwork Cudgel. With that done, and new gear secured, we continued on our way.

Once more, we moved through the Sewer Tunnels using the Shadows. This time, as we got closer we began to notice a few crude images painted on the stonework in red ochre paint. These showed massive toads, depictions of Ramenos, the Sessile God of the Bullywugs who lay dreaming and inactive in the Abyss, slowly withering away from his own insensate predilections. Once powerful in ancient days, Ramenos barely granted the Bullywugs Shamanic powers these days, and true Clerical Abilities were rare for him to grant due to how much he husbanded his remaining power. In another hundred-plus years, he would be dead, joining the ranks of Gods such as Myrkul, Amunator, Bane, and Bhaal in that they had all died, though many of those would return in some fashion or another. Ramneos would not have the power to do that much, unlike the others.

Ramenos was mostly dead, and thus unable or unwilling to use depictions of himself to do anything. It was, however, a sign that we were entering Bullywug Territory. Not too long after the first, crudely daubed, red ochre wall painting of Ramenos, we came upon our first trap. This one was a simple snare-net combination attached to a tripwire made of a looted fishing line. Tripping the tripwire would cause a net made of salvaged cargo netting to fall on you, which was weighted with crude ballast via the simple expedient of tying enough stone weights to the net to pull the first two grown adult humans into the murky water of a nearby cistern to drown. Mind you, disarming the trap was rather simple, you just had to cut the tripwire from a distance, something we accomplished with Grimnir's throwing axe.

Once the net had gone into the cistern, we were free to move ahead, Grimnir grabbing his throwing axe from the floor as we did so. The next trap we discovered was similarly primitive, though no less deadly for it. A tripwire of looted fishing line connected to a trio of looted light crossbows which were cunningly camouflaged behind a crude wooden idol of Ramenos. Once again the solution was Grimnir's throwing axe. The trio of crossbows discharged their bolts harmlessly into the wall opposite. Grimnir retrieved his throwing axe and we moved to loot the crossbows for later sale. A bitter smell like almond as we looted the trio of crossbows revealed that the bolts had been coated in a crude form of cyanide made from a mixture of mold and fungus distilled down by a Cleric or Shaman of Ramneos.

The next trap came just a few rooms before we entered the Bullywug's Main Lair. This was a more complex trap that I suspected was a holdover from back when these sewers had first been built over four hundred years ago. It was a fairly standard spear trap that worked off pressure plates, with the spears camouflaged behind a moth-eaten banner that had been defaced with another Red Ochre Image of Ramenos. I was able to not only jam the pressure plate but also to find the switch that was used to swing the spear launcher out of the wall for reloading. Doing so allowed us to retrieve a trio of masterwork javelins and also three vials of Giant Wasp Poison. All of which were claimed for later sale.

The final trap was one on a locked door that led to the main area where the Bullywugs laired. It was a simple poison needle trap with a single dose of Blue Whinnis Poison that was less difficult to disarm than the lock it was protecting was to open. I was even able to retrieve the vial of Blue Whinnis Poison for later sale, but it took me multiple attempts to open the lock it came with, I finally managed it on the third try, the lock being more complex than the simple ones most often used in these sorts of things.

As the lock clicked open and we strode through the doorway into a short tunnel, as soon as we were most of the way through, we were immediately forced to press ourselves back into the shadowed tunnel and stay very still as a pair of Bullywugs in Masterwork Breastplates with Masterwork Clubs, and masterwork heavy steel shields that had all clearly been looted from somewhere were guarding the doorway. Luckily, they had their backs to us, so it allowed us to avoid notice as another trio of Bullywugs in Masterwork Leather Armor with Masterwork Halfspears, and Masterwork Heavy Wooden Shields made their way through the corridor the doorway opened up on.

Just where they were getting all this high-end gear from was a mystery for another time, however. Right at this moment, we were going to take them out as best we could. Starting with the door guards in the heavier armor. I kicked off the fighting with an attack from my Longsword on one of the Door Guards who had their backs to us. With the element of complete surprise on my side, I managed to rush through the tunnel and plunge my Longsword through the armpit of the Rightmost Door-Guard's Armor, thrusting deep into his chest cavity and killing him. As his companion turned and made to draw his club, however, he received the full brunt of Grimnir's battleaxe to the face. That alone wasn't quite enough to do him in as it burst one of his eyes into goop and creased his face but deflected off the skull at the last second, however a slung stone from Janessa managed to finish off the second Door Guard.

Now the patrol came rushing back, croaking like madmen, or mad frogs, rather. They rushed down the corridor toward us and the frontmost Bullywug Leaped at Griimnir, attempting to impale the Northlander on the plunging tip of its spear. Fortunately, Grimnir was prepared and put his roundshield up in defense, the spear glancing off the light wooden shield while gouging a chunk out of the face of the wood. The second Bullywug leaped for me moments afterward, forcing me to duck aside as its lunging halfspear whistled past my ear to strike sparks off the stone of the wall. The last Bullywug moved for Grimnir again in a leaping thrust, which once more skidded off the larger man's armor.

Now it was our turn and we struck back with a vengeance. My Longsword cleaved the head off one of the Bullywugs as it reacted too slowly to put its shield in the way, while Grimnir's battleaxe took the legs off another one, leaving it practically bisected and bleeding out on the floor. Janessa's slingstone however bounced off the shield of the Third Bullywug, who breathed in deeply and let out a massive croaking bellow as it tried to stab Grimnir with its spear. Grimnir put his shield in the way again, but the light wooden shield was rapidly becoming beat up. I doubted it would last beyond this little adventure.

Just as I struck for the last Bullywug, blade plunging into its throat, however, a nearby door slammed open, and suddenly out poured a sextuplet of Bullywugs armed and equipped in the same Masterwork Gear that the trio of prior Bullywugs had been geared in. They were being led by two other, Larger, Bullywugs, one in a Slightly Magical Chain Shirt, with a Masterwork Spear held in two hands a carved ivory symbol of a bloated frog hunt from his neck next to a black pearl on a gold chain that registered as moderately magical. The other was an even larger Bullywug in slightly magical chainmail with a slightly magical longsword and a Slightly Magical Large Steel Shield.

This had to be the Bullywug's Priest and Chief, though whether that Priest was a Shaman or a Full-On Cleric remained to be seen. Of course, just as I thought that the Priest began to croak out an oddly melodic incantation, and suddenly, a human-sized, Black Carapaced, Red Glowing-Eyed, Fiendish Monstrous Centipede appeared out of thin air. Summoning Magic, that meant we were dealing with a full-blown cleric.

As the Fiendish Monstrous Centipede let out a screech and scuttled forward, I immediately began muttering an invocation the spell Duellist's Parry taking form as I snapped off a textbook parry that batted the Fiendish Monstrous Centipede Aside just before its mandibles, dripping with venom, would have latched onto my arm. The Monstrous Centipede crashed into the stonework, curling up before slithering away and allowing me to Riposte through the opening it had just given me, my Attack of Opportunity cleaving it in twain and causing it to discorporate in a puff of brimstone, much to the Bullywug Priest's visible annoyance.

The Chief didn't waste any time, after seeing that happen, ordering his minions forward even as he advanced behind them. Nor, it turned out, did Grimnir, who resolved to strike first, launching a punishing strike with his battleaxe at the first of the Bullywug Warriors to reach him that spattered its brains over the ground. Janessa moved to cast a spell, launching a cone of scintillating colors into the midst of the advancing Bullywugs, sending four of the remaining five Bullywug Warriors to the ground unconscious, stunned, and blinded, but still alive. The Fifth somehow miraculously managed to avert his gaze from the shifting colors in time to avoid being hit by the spell, while the Chief also avoided looking directly into the shifting colors.

Then the last of the remaining still conscious Bullywug Warriors and the Chief moved forward and clashed with Grimnir, the Warrior missed, Grimnir dodging the thrust of his half-spear, but the Chief managed to slip a blow past Grimnir's Defenses that tore a huge gash across Grimnir's Thigh under the shortened fauld of his Chain Shirt. The chief laughed at that, a throaty, croaking, cruel thing as Grimnir struggled to keep up with his wound.

In the meantime, the Priest's next attempt was to breathe in deeply and begin croaking an ever-rising crescendo of croaks. I had just enough time to unsling my guitar and start a Countersong, plucking out a series of descending notes in the opposite register of the Priest's Croaks. My Countersong managed to counter the Priest's Incoming Soundburst spell. If that had hit us right now, it would have been bad. I wasn't sure Grimnir could have taken another blow and keep fighting after that if it had. Once again, I managed to counter the Priest's attempt to alter the battle and he Did not like that one bit.

Meanwhile, Grimnir put down the last remaining Warrior still standing with a Battleaxe strike the the back of the knee that hewed its leg off in a spray of arterial blood and left the warrior bleeding out on the ground. As Jenessa pointed with her off-hand and intoned a mystical syllable, a bolt of blue-white force struck out at the Chieftain, the Magic Missile smashing into his warty face and sending him reeling a bit. In response, the Chief Leaped for Jenessa, only for Grimnir to catch him in the back of his trailing leg with his battleaxe, using the opening provided by Jenessa drawing the Chief's Ire to strike a telling blow. The Chief landed hard on the stones with a croak of pain, standing with a similar level of wounds to Grimnir now.

As he did that, however, the Priest began to croak out another summoning, this time more powerful than the first. Suddenly, a wild surge of magic occurred and the Priest's eyes glowed a dark crimson for a brief moment. When the glow faded, two Human-sized, Vipers with crimson and black scales and eyes glowing with Fiendish Light appeared. One of them moved to strike at me, but the other seemed to have slipped its leash, instead moving to strike the Priest.

As the one Finedish Viper lashed out at me in a bite, I pulled my hand away just in time to avoid getting my fretting hand bitten into, but I took the bite to the meat of my triceps instead. It seared me with fiendish power and I also felt slightly woozy for a brief moment as the poison was injected, however, I managed to shake off the effects just in time to redraw my longsword and strike for the Fiendish Viper's Head. My blow cut the head off the snake, quite literally. It discorporated in a plume of brimstone and I turned to see how the rest of the fighting was going.

The Bullywug Chief was on his last legs, being hemmed in by both Grimnir and Jenessa. He managed to avoid Jenessa's Ray of Frost via the simple expedient of dodging, but Grimnir caught him a telling blow with his Battleaxe as the Chief Landed finally cutting his swordarm off at the elbow. The Chief let out a pitiful bleating noise as he attempted to withdraw back to the Priest for healing, but Jenessa managed to crack him over the head from behind using the opening provided by the Chief turning his back on her to flee. Her Masterwork Blackthorn Cudgel spattered the Chief's Brains across the floor, killing him.

Meanwhile, the Priest was trying to wrangle the second, unexpected, out-of-control, Fiendish Viper and just barely managing. He'd taken a bite to the calf in the process but he'd put the viper down with a casting of inflict light wounds, slapping the Viper across its maw and forcing it to discorporate into yet more brimstone.

Now was our chance and it seemed that Grimnir knew it too, we both rushed forth for the Priest with me taking a position to his flank. My longsword slipped a blow in on whatever passed for an Achilles Tendon for a Bullywug, cutting deep and lopping off a webbed foot even as Grimnir struck the Priest's arm off with his Battleaxe. Those two blows were enough to send the Priest to one knee. In a last-ditch attempt to take one of us with him, the Priest thrust out with his spear carving a line across my thigh with a glancing blow that I barely turned aside from in time to avoid being impaled through the meat of my thigh. Grimnir ended the Priest when he struck next with a descending chop of his battleaxe to the top of the priest's head.

Both Grimnir and I were wounded, but still able to fight, and we joined Janessa in putting down the last of the still-unconscious Warriors. That was only thirteen of the twenty Bullywugs that were a part of this pond, or tribe, however. Where were the other seven? I got my answer as a snarling voice came from over by the door the Bullywugs had entered through.

"Fucking Toads won't stay and fight! I'll have to deal with this myself! To think we killed that Harper and his nosy Priest of an Ally only for it all to end now. No matter, once I handle the lot of you, I can return to the ship and we can plot our next move." Spat a recognizably human Voice.

We turned to spot a Black-Haired, Black-Bearded, Man in Slightly Magical, Blue and Green Robes, embroidered with the symbol of Umberlee in damask patterns along the edges, with a pair of moderately magical Bracers, a moderately magical ring, and a moderately magical shortsword step forward.

"Who the Hells are you?" I demanded.

"My name is Simeon Seaharrow and I work for Commodore Oxall of the Skaug Corsairs. You've just interrupted one of our operations and now you're a loose end that needs to be taken care of." Huffed the Clearly Piratical Sorcerer.

"It matters not. You are in our way. Move or we will move you." Intoned Grimnir.

"You think you can handle me? You're welcome to try, but it won't end the way you want. On second thought, please, do try me." Smirked the Sorcerer, Simeon Seaharrow.

And with that, we charged forth. I began casting a spell as I called out, "I think you'll find we're more than up to the task. We handled your Bully Boys, now it's your turn to croak!!"

As my punning taunt was suffused with mystical power, Simeon was struck as if by a blow, my words having a physical effect and cutting him up. Simeon was sent sprawling from the Cutting Words, bleeding from a number of lacerations across his arms and face. With a snarl, he incanted a spell, and where once there was one Sorcerer, now there were six completely indistinguishable Sorcerers. Mirror image, and we had nobody capable of casting Faerie Fire to help bypass it. As Grimnir struck out with his battleaxe, one of the images winked out with a crack of thunder, leaving five Sorcerers. Janessa's flung slingstone also popped one of the images instead of the real Simeon. I followed that up with a cut from my Longsword that did the same.

"Be still!" Intoned Simeon, his hand limned in black light as he lashed out at me.

I was struck with a slap and felt my body lock up. Ghoul Touch, a nasty spell and some pretty dark necromancy, Grimnir swung with his battleaxe, fighting the supplementary stench the spell caused, but winked out one of Simeon's Mirror Images instead, while Janessa spent her turn casting Magic Weapon on Grimnir's battleaxe. Simeon then turned toward Grimnir, miming shooting an arrow at him as he incanted a mystical phrase. A sizzling arrow of Acid struck Grimnir, burning through his chain shirt and searing into his flesh, sending him stumbling to his knees. I could tell that had hurt, him badly and the arrow was still stuck in his shoulder. Grimnir was forced to leap into a nearby pool of foul, murky, water, to avoid the arrow burning him further and possibly killing him. The Acid Arrow was neutralized, but it had left Janessa alone against Simeon for a moment.

That was when Janessa got lucky with a spell, her Ray of Frost struck into Simeon's Chest, not dispelling an image as had previously happened. Normally, it wouldn't do much damage, slightly less than a dagger used by the average peasant. Something about the robes that Simeon was wearing however conducted the cold twice as well as normal. His shoulder frosted over with crackling hoarfrost as he roared in pain. I tried to move again but found myself still paralyzed, though I would likely be able to throw off the effects of Simeon's Ghoul Touch in a few more seconds. Simeon, in the meantime, cast a spell grabbing the hilt of a sheathed knife and suddenly four silver razors whirled into being around him. I finally threw off the paralyzation just in time to take a knife to the shoulder, an ethereal blade punching through the chain shirt and wounding me.

I grunted, gritting through the pain as Janessa's next ray of Frost struck home on Simeon's thigh, wounding him even more. Grimnir was climbing out of the pool of stagnant muck water, but he didn't look so good, I was on my last legs too, and another of those ethereal blades struck Janessa sending her to one knee, even as Simeon incanted another mystic spell at forced tears to well up in Grimnir's eyes, blinding him so his next swing of his battleaxe missed completely. All three of us couldn't take much more of this. Simeon still had two more of those ethereal blades to use, and each one he hit with would kill one of us. His back was to me, though, and I had one shot to end this before that could happen. Surging upward, I lashed out with my longsword cutting toward the back of his neck. By some freak miracle, my Longsword bit home, severing Simeon's spinal column and killing him.

For a few, brief, moments, that was all that happened. Simeon lay on the floor, dead, with the rest of us huffing and puffing, badly beaten, but alive. Then Grimnir made his way over to the corpse and cut the head off, just to be sure. That seemed to break the spell, and I used my one Cure Light Wounds Spells to heal Grimnir some, just in case another fight was going to break out. It didn't, though, and we soon moved to gathering loot. There was so much of it that we couldn't carry it all. The salient points, however, were as follows.

From the Bullywug Priest, a slightly magical, Chain Shirt Plus One, a Slightly Magical Spear Plus One, and a Moderately Magical Periapt of Wisdom Plus Four. From the Bullywug Chief, a Suit of Slightly Magical Chainmail Plus One, and a Slightly Magical Longsword Plus One. From the Bullywug Door Guards, two Masterwork Breastplates, Two Masterwork Clubs, and Two Masterwork Heavy Steel Shields. From the Bullywug Warriors, Nine Suits of Masterwork Leather Armor, Nine Masterwork Heavy Wooden Shields, and Nine Masterwork Halfspears. From Simeon Seaharrow, One Moderately Magical set of Robes of the Wavemother's Favor, One Pair of Moderately Magical Bracers of Armor Plus Five, One Slightly Magical Ring of Protection Plus One, and One Slightly Magical Shortsword Plus One.

Finally, on a further search of the Bullywug Lair, we found an open crate marked with the stamp of the Waterdhavian Municipal Armory containing another seven suits of Masterwork Leather Armor, Masterwork Heavy Wooden Shields, and Masterwork Halfspears, a cache of ten gems each of no more than two-hundred gold pieces in value, a few smaller caches of various coins of all dufferent denominations from all different nations totalling no more than one-thousand gold pieces in value.

We also found two corpses, one wearing a Harper Pin attached to his cloak. He had no blade or armor on him but did have a slightly magical Hand Crossbow Plus One, as well as what appeared to be an actual Fochlucan Bandore, neither of which would be of much use to the Bullywugs. Next to him, similarly stripped of most armaments, was the corpse of Brother Argyle, easily identified by the holy symbol around his neck. Brother Argyle had a Slightly Magical Sling Plus One and Slightly Magical Buckler Plus One that were untouched and I couldn't figure out why with spellcraft, forcing me to actually use the Identify Spell on one while Janessa did the same with the other. It turned out, the sling had a holy enchantment on it that made the Bullywugs not want to touch it. The Buckler didn't, having a Blinding Enchantment instead, but that, plus the Sling being holy, along with Brother Argyle being a priest must have fooled the Bullywugs into thinking it did.

Aside from that, we found a rusted chest that looked like it had been salvaged from underwater. The lock was filled with rust, forcing us to smash it open. Inside was a Slightly Magical Light Steel Shield Plus One and a Slightly Magical Battleaxe Plus One. Along with it was a locket with an engraving dedicated to someone named Isolde Rourke, from someone named Hrothgar, Son of Halleck. My bardic knowledge helped to identify both as local. It told me that Isolde Rourke was a noble Ffolk Lady from the well-to-do part of Caer Jannath while Hrothgar, Son of Halleck had been a famed Northlander Captain from Jannathsdaad. They'd been engaged around forty years ago, but Hrothgar had vanished at sea one day and never returned. Isolde still lived in the Land-based side of town, high up near the Castle. She'd never married and was now in her sixties. I'd bet she'd appreciate the locket's return.

All told it was more than enough for all of us to upgrade. I took the Priest's Chain Shirt, the Chief's Longsword, the Harper's Hand Crossbow and Bandore, and Brother Argyle's Buckler. Grimnir took the Chief's Chainmail, Hrothgar's Axe, and Hrothgar's Shield, along with the Ring of Protection from Simeon. Finally, Janessa took Simeon's Bracers of Armor, Shortsword, and Robes, along with Brother Argyle's Sling. We took Hrothgar's Locket, the Harper's Pin, and Brother Argyle's Holy Symbol for potential quest turn-ins, and stashed the Priest's Spear and Perapt of Wisdom, along with the Gems, Coin, and as much of the remaining masterwork gear as we could carry. Likely, we'd have to make multiple trips to fetch it all for sale.

Then, I picked the lock on another door on the opposite side of the Bullywug Lair, and it led out into a bunch of other Sewer Tunnels. This time, it was smooth sailing all the way to the cellar of Harbormaster Daffyd's Consignment Warehouse, where the lockup for confiscated goods lay. We'd only had to kill three more wharf rats and disarm a single, simple, spike-pit trap to get there, which I did by jamming the mechanism in place. Inside the Consignment Warehouse, the Barrel of Luskan Stout was easily found with Janessa guiding our search. Between Grimnir and I, we carried it back through the Old Sewer Tunnels, stopping off at the Temple of Valkur to drop off Brother Argyle's Holy Symbol for a five-hundred Gold Danter Reward. Then we made our way back to the Selkie's Lament just in time for last call. We were given the honor of the first pours from the Luskan Stout Barrel. The thick, black, invigorating beer tasted to me like nothing so much as victory.

I didn't know it then, but in just three days, that Victory would turn to ashes in my mouth. . .

XXXX

AN: Super long chapter, but I wanted to get the first adventure done with in one go. There's going to be a lot of sheet updates I'll need to do before the next chapter. Everyone will be hitting level four and have gained a bunch of new gear.

The Bullywugs and Corsairs are part of a larger scheme being played by various parties that will effectively be forming the plot of the first year or so before Robar meets with Mei the Bhaalspawn. Suffice it to say that he's been plopped right down in the middle of Interesting Times, but then, Tymora is the Goddess of Luck, and the Gambler's Creed is in play here. Easy come, easy go, and all that.

To give you some indication of what the adventure stats were like, Simeon was a Level Four Sorcerer, slinging second-level spells. The Bullywug Chief had one Monster Level of Bullywug and three of Fighter, giving him Four HD in Total, plus Fighter Stuff, while the Pries was a Level Three Siv Cleric of Ramenos. As Baldur's Gate uses the Second Ed Lore, Sivs are still Advanced Bullywugs and haven't broken off from the wider race yet. The two Door Wardens all had one level of Fighter and one Monster Level of Bullywug, while the Warriors just had the one Monster Level in Bullywug. Together, they almost put the Party out of commission.

And these guys were underlings of underlings. Things are only going to escalate from here. Commodore Oxall is actually about two-thirds as powerful as Sarevok is, and the people pulling his puppet strings are roughly on par, level-wise with Sarevok. It's gonna be a hell of a bumpy ride for Robar and Company.

At any rate, I'll have sheet updates and more art stuff as well at some point before the next chapter.

Stay tuned. . .