A Hag, a Cube, and a Promise

Our session with the adventurers standing outside a balloon factory, their heads still buzzing with the events of the previous day. They had arrived in Downfall, a town ruled by bullywugs, and were on a mission to find Bavlorna Blightstraw, a hag rumored to possess Acornagorn’s lost belonging.

Their first encounter was with a peculiar scarecrow named Clapperclaw, perched upon a bridge. Clapperclaw, they learned, was not your average scarecrow. He was a sentient being, created by the very hag they sought, Bavlorna Nightshade. However, Clapperclaw had suffered a grave misfortune—his head, a magnificent stag’s head, had been stolen. The thief was a harengon named Agdon, who had likely given the stolen head to Bavlorna. Despite his missing head, Clapperclaw possessed valuable knowledge. He knew the way to Thither, a region within Prismeer that the adventurers were eager to reach. A bargain was struck—Clapperclaw would guide them to Thither in exchange for their help in retrieving his stolen head.

Their next encounter was with the ruler of Downfall, King Gullup XIX, and his entourage, which included a pet baby alligator. The king, impressed by their bravery in saving the balloon factory, gifted them clothing befitting members of the Bullywug court. He also had a request—the return of Bavlorna’s Big Book of Bad Blood, a tome containing a detailed record of all her grudges. As they prepared to leave the king’s presence, a note was discreetly passed to Acornagorn. It read, “Find Illig, the Baron of Muckstump, at once. The revolution lives!” The note hinted at a brewing rebellion within Downfall.

Leaving the king’s court, the adventurers continued their exploration of Downfall. They crossed a narrow strip of land to another island where they discovered a small prison. Inside, they found a female bullywug named Morgort unjustly imprisoned. Morgort, they learned had aided the escape of their old friend, Sir Talavar. Overjoyed to hear of Sir Talavar’s newfound freedom, she shared valuable information with the adventurers, including the location of the hag’s cottage and the existence of a secret escape route from Downfall. One of the adventurers, Filbert, decided to free Morgort. In return for her freedom, she agreed to help them escape when they were ready to leave Downfall. As a temporary hiding place, Morgort chose the balloon factory, where she planned to lay low and count to 5000.

Their path led them past a battlefield, scarred with the remnants of past conflicts, and towards a grand, partially submerged palace. Instead of using a back entrance, they decided to approach the palace through the front gate. Donning the bullywug clothing gifted to them by King Gullup and wearing Duke Ikrind’s brooch, they were granted entry into the palace. Once inside, they decided to use a clothesline to reach the hag’s cottage, a plan suggested by Clapperclaw. While most of the adventurers navigated the clothesline with ease, one of them, Zahala, was not so fortunate. She lost her balance and plunged into the water below, taking damage from the fall and the subsequent attempts to climb back up. Eventually, she resorted to using her pixie dust to safely reach the bottom of the cottage.

Reunited beneath the cottage, the adventurers took a short rest to recover from their ordeal and plan their next move. Before entering the cottage, Filbert cast a protective spell, Mage Armor, on Clapperclaw, increasing his armor class to 14 and enveloping him in a fuzzy purple robe.

The interior of the cottage was a sight to behold. The rooms were in a state of disarray, filled with strange and unsettling objects. In one room, they found a cabinet with an hourglass perched precariously on top. In another, they stumbled upon a room littered with rags and two pincushions crafted in the likeness of Bavlorna’s sisters. As they explored, Filbert, overcome by curiosity, reached out and touched a seemingly innocuous hat. To their surprise, the hat sprang to life, transforming into a Darkmantle and making off with Filbert’s own hat.

Undeterred, they pressed on, their curiosity outweighing their apprehension. Their exploration led them to a large room filled with taxidermied creatures, each one a grotesque amalgamation of different animal parts. There was a horse head sewn onto the body of an eight-legged reptile, its scales shimmering under the dim light. The room, like the rest of the cottage, was a testament to the hag’s peculiar tastes and the chaotic nature of her magic.

Acornagorn discovered a staircase. The stairs, however, were treacherous, with two of the steps rotten and a wasp nest blocking the doorway at the top. On a nearby balcony, hundreds of frogs sat perched on the railing. In the center of the room, a well, filled with a foot of water, stood beside a mirror and a lilypad. Filbert, using his arcane knowledge, determined that the mirror was magical, but its exact properties remained a mystery.

Ascending the staircase, the adventurers found themselves surrounded by portraits of unhappy individuals from various races. Heeding Filbert’s warning, they chose not to investigate a mirror hanging on the wall. Acornagorn, emboldened by their progress, pushed open a door, revealing Bavlorna herself.

The hag, a formidable presence, greeted them with a mix of curiosity and amusement. Using her magic, she compelled them to reveal their names and introduced herself and a peculiar companion—a darling elder named Charm. True to their word, the adventurers presented Bavlorna with her Big Book of Bad Blood, a gesture that seemed to please her.

When questioned about Acornagorn’s lost possession, Bavlorna confirmed that she possessed something of his, recognizing his scent. However, she was not inclined to simply return it. Instead, she offered a deal—complete three tasks for her, and she would gladly return what she had taken. The tasks were: fix the Preservation pool, return her book, and pick up a package of taxidermy-ready animal parts from a bullywug hunter. Having already returned her book, the adventurers agreed to undertake the remaining two tasks.

Downstairs, they debated whether to help the hag by cleaning her pool. Acornagorn remembered that the pool was no ordinary pool—it was a Restoration pool, vital to Bavlorna’s survival as it prevented her from drying out. Their clandestine conversation was overheard by lurking Lornlings, who promptly reported their defiance to Bavlorna. Using a combination of persuasion and veiled threats, Bavlorna convinced the adventurers to honor their agreement and cleanse the pool.

With Zahala and Acornagorn maintaining a safe distance, Filbert hurled a fireball into the murky depths of the well. The magical explosion had an unexpected consequence—it awakened a gelatinous cube that had been clinging to the well walls. Startled and injured, the cube lumbered out of the well, but the pool, now free from obstruction, began to flow again, its water level rising to three feet.

A fierce battle ensued. Acornagorn, with a well-aimed arrow, landed a critical hit on the cube, dealing significant damage. Filbert, using his magic, misty-stepped away from the creature and towards the safety of the staircase. Zahala, after inspiring Acornagorn with a bardic song, followed Filbert up the stairs.

The cube, enraged by their attacks, lashed out at Zahala with a pseudopod, inflicting acid damage. Zahala retaliated with her rapier and a psychic blast, but the resilient creature continued its assault, attempting to engulf her in its gelatinous form. She narrowly avoided being engulfed, but not before suffering more acid damage.

Filbert, reaching the top of the stairs, informed Bavlorna of the situation unfolding below. Amused by the unfolding chaos, Bavlorna used her magic to polymorph Filbert and send him tumbling back downstairs to confront the cube.

Back in the fray, Filbert launched a fire bolt at the creature, while Zahala, after narrowly escaping another attack, healed herself and peppered the cube with crossbow bolts. The tide began to turn when Acornagorn, with another critical hit, weakened the creature significantly. The battle reached its climax when Zahala, with a final, well-placed crossbow bolt, defeated the gelatinous cube, ending its reign of terror within the cottage.

As the dust settled and the echoes of battle faded, the adventurers stood victorious, the gelatinous cube vanquished. Their task complete, the pool was now clean, its restorative waters flowing freely. However, their encounter with Bavlorna was far from over. The hag, true to her word, awaited the completion of their final task—retrieving the package of taxidermy-ready animal parts from a bullywug hunter. With two tasks down and one to go, the adventurers prepared to venture back into Downfall.

• You started standing by the balloon factory, in front of a wooden bridge, heads chattering away on sticks and Clapperclaw sitting on the bridge bemoaning his lost head
• You met Clapperclaw, who told you he was made by Skabatha Nightshade and his head—a magnificent stag’s head—was stolen by Agdon and given (probably) to Bavlorna
• Clapperclaw agreed to guide you to Thither if you get him his head
• You met King Gullup XIX and his entourage (including his pet baby alligator). Gullup asked you to wear clothing that shows you are part of the Bullywug court and to return Bavlornas Big Book of Bad Blood to her (the book records all of her grudges)
• Someone passed a note to Acornagorn that said, “Find Illig, the Baron of Muckstump, at once. The revolution lives!”
• You moved across a finger of land to another island where you found a small prison holding a female bullywug named Morgort, who helped Sir Talavar to escape. Morgort is distraught to learn that her friend Wigglewog is dead, but delighted you helped Sir Talavar escape.
• Filbert frees Morgort, under the condition she hides herself and agrees to help you all escape when you are ready to leave. She agrees to go to the balloon factory, hide there, and count to 5000.
• You looked at a field that looks like it might have been used for battle, at a back entrance to a big sunken palace, and then decided to go through the front entrance, where you were let in because you are wearing bullywug clothing and Duke Ikrind’s brooch.
• Once in the palace, at Clapperclaw’s suggestion, you attempted to get to the cottage using a clothes line. Everyone was successfully able to find their way across the clothes line except Zahala, who fell in the water and failed several athletic checks (taking damage along the way) before using her pixie dust to safely find her way to the bottom of the cottage.
• You and Clapperclaw spent some time underneath the cottage, taking a short rest and plotting.
• Once you were ready to go into the cottage, Filbert gave Clapperclaw mage armor, which increased his AC to 14 (from 12). It looks like a fuzzy purple robe.
• Inside the cottage, you investigated several rooms, finding a cabinet with an hourglass on it and a room with rags and two pincushions shaped like Bavlorna’s sisters. Then Filbert went an touched a hat, which turned into a Darkmantle and stole Filbert’s hat.
• You investigated a large taxidermy room and discovered a horse head and some kind of eight-legged reptile with scales on its back, and several other mixed-up animals taxidermied. This room, like every room in this place, is a disgusting mess.
• Acornagorn discovered a staircase with a wasp nest at its top, blocking a doorway. Two of the steps (he also discovered) were rotten.
• You opened the door to a balcony and saw hundreds of frogs lining the balcony but did not go outside.
• There was a mirror, a lilypad, and a well in the center of the room, which also was filled with one foot of water. An arcana check on the mirror told Filbert that it was magic but did not reveal anything about its magical properties.
• Up the stairs you went, discovering a lot of pictures of quite unhappy people of all kinds of races. 
• You declined to investigate a mirror hanging on the wall at Filbert’s suggestion.
• Acornagorn opened a door and Bavlorna invited you out to meet her.
• She forced you to tell her your names, and introduced herself and a darling elder named Charm.
• You gave her her book, which she seemed grateful for.
• You told her you were looking for Acornagorn’s lost item but not what it was. She said she recognized Acornagorn’s smell and that yes, she knows she has something of his. She said she would be happy to help you if you do three things for her:
  • Fix the Preservation pool
  • Return her book (which you’ve already done)
  • Pick up a package, south of her, of taxidermy-ready animal parts a bullywug hunter has prepared for her
• After some parlaying you agreed to do the remaining two tasks.
• Downstairs, you talked about not clearing the pool for her. Acornagorn remembrered that the pool is a restoration pool that helps her to avoid drying out.
• But some lornlings heard your plot and told her you were thinking about shirking your duty, and she convinced you with a veiled threat to go clear the pool.
• With Zahala and Acornagorn standing distant from the well, Filbert threw a fireball into the well, awakening a gelatinous cube that was clinging to its wall. Damaged a little, it lumbered up out of the pool. The well started flowing again and filled to three feet of water.
• First to act, Acornagorn crit on a longbow attack, dealing 14 points of damage to the creature.
• Filbert misty-stepped and started up the staircase.
• Zahala gave bardic inspiration to Acornagorn and dashed along the outside of the room to join Filbert on the stairs.
• The cube moved within five feet of Zahala and struck at her with a pseudopod, hitting her for 7 points of acid damage.
• Zahala struck it with her rapier and used a bardic to also apply psychic blades damage to it.
• The cube moved to try to engulf Zahala, who succeeded on her dexterity saving throw and was pushed five feet to the side of the cube. It then attacked her for 5 points of acid damage.
• Acornagorn hit the cube with another arrow.
• Filbert, upstairs now, told Bavlorna about the cube, and with a polymorph spell she forced him to go back downstairs to fight the cube in order to fully clean up her pool.
• Filber, back downstairs, hit the cube with another fire bolt.
• Zahala ran away from the cube, triggering an attack of opportunity, where she was hit for damage. She then healed herself for 10 points.
• She crossbow-attacked the cube, hitting it for 6 points of damage
• The cube moved to attack Filbert, knocking him to zero hit points
• Acornagorn did another critical hit on the cube, hitting it for 13 points of damage.
• Filbert made one successful death save.
• Zahala gave Filbert a healing word for 9 points of healing and he was restored to consciousness.
• Zahala hit the cube with her crossbow, finally defeating it and ending the battle.

You are:

• Motivated to find your lost things, and you know that Acornagorn’s thing is here
• Working on the second of three tasks Bavlorna has given you:
  • Find the book (done)
  • Fix the pool (done)
  • Pick up a package (in one of the bullywug houses to the south of the cottage)
• Trying to figure out what happened to Zybilna and if necessary, to help her.