Animate Vegetables
Gary wants to go interview the Vegepygmies that Captain Ardent mentioned when they spoke with her but their last encounter with a Vegepygmy was both brief and violent, they’re not sure how to communicate with them or whether they can somehow avoid fighting long enough to try. They go to speak with Tobias to see if he has any suggestions and after offering a few Tobias points out that if the Lizard King encountered the Vegepygmies, it’s quite likely the Vegepygmies are no longer alive and communicating with them wont be much of an issue. He suggests finding the village and hoping to pick up the trail of the Lizardfolk there if possible.
The group sets out and camps at Dwarfoe’s Bridge, where Gary improves the campsite a little further, then heads toward the coast and backtracks east to try to find the location of the Vegepygmy village. Gary meditates and speaks with a small alligator named Albert who is able to give them a general direction that the village is in and Reg climbs a mangrove tree and spots a game trail headed in the right direction. They travel a ways down the trail and spot the roofs of some small huts that comprise the village. Reg tries to sneak from tree to tree jumping amongst the branches but manages to fall into the swamp as he does so. The rest of the party follows a more traditional, albeit cautious, land based route and arrives at the village. They make for the largest hut and Gary knocks politely on the wall before entering. Not seeing anyone inside or hearing any movement from the village at all, he punches a hole in the thatched roof to let in more light and discovered the decomposing corpse of a vegepygmy chief in one corner next to an altar and a small chest.
Reg checks the chest for traps and then Gary opens it, finding a substantial amount of gold coinage and a masterwork Dwarven waraxe that Elmer takes. Searching the village turns up some more coinage and small bits of jewelry, as well as a lot of vegpygmy corpses, several weeks old. While searching, Nahala finds a bunch of crossbow bolts embedded in various huts and Gary confirms they’re of a design typical to Lizardfolk, confirming that the carnage is likely due to the Lizard King. They investigate the area more carefully and are able to pick up the trail of the Lizardfolk despite its age because of the soft ground and slow growing plants in the swamp.
The follow the trail for several miles, making camp as it gets dark and marking the trail for themselves as they go so they’ll be able to return to it later if need be.