AD&D Session 40 - Shadows in the Mire
29th Sydenstar - 4th Fessuran, 835 PD
The group skirted the mountain's edge to avoid trudging through the deep swamp, hoping to avoid hostile inhabitants. Their goal was to follow a main road, trusting any scouts they encountered would be friendlier than any creatures lurking off-trail. When they found the road, it proved far less maintained than hoped, though most waymarkers were unremarkable. However, at a fork in the path, a waymarker bore skulls ominously mounted atop it.
Uneasy, the party chose what seemed the safer path, steering clear of the skull-marked trail. The swamp proved no less perilous; one morning, Reeves succumbed to a mysterious weakness. Koro’s divine magic revealed a pervasive sickness carried by the local wildlife. After cleansing Reeves of the disease, they pressed on.
Later that day, Reeves stepped on a small talking lizard. This odd creature, fluent in Common, warned that their chosen path led not out of the swamp, but toward a village unknown even to Koro. Heeding the warning, the group backtracked to the fork and took the other trail.
On their final night in the swamp, Whisper noticed something circling the camp. She roused Reeves, whose darkvision confirmed the presence of a grey, multi-limbed creature larger than any humanoid. Despite Reeves’ shouted warning, the figure kept circling before retreating into the darkness.
The group, unsettled but unharmed, remained vigilant as they prepared for whatever dangers might lie ahead.