Session 14: The dignitaries arrive, and they brought snacks!
An ongoing adventure of the Mary Lin D&D Club
Approaching Melville with determination and glee, Minnie stuck out her hand, “Pay me, I won.” Her wager against the odds on Indigo, Mia, and Notalotl came through, and Melville started counting out her 40 coins. In the tumult of the Kuo Toa fish people launching themselves on to the dock, and distracted by counting out Minnie’s winnings, Melville failed to notice his newly empty pocket, or Avani disappearing into the crowd with a shiny new object.
“Greetings,” one of the fish-people called out, mouth full of rows of sharp teeth, voice sounding more like, “GRAH-TEENG!!!” Some of the villagers fled, others stared in confusion, others went to go find fish hooks and spears, unsure whether this was an invasion, a gathering, or the beginning of a bar-be-que. Faerun and Mia turned to the Kuo Toa, took a guess, opened their mouths as big as they could, and likewise, shouted out, “Greetings!” The Kuo Toa smiled, and more people ran away.
What happened next would have made a linguist proud. Mia and Indigo politely pantomimed that they would be grateful for some seaweed or a fish scale, which, once they understood, the Kuo Toa provided. With the seaweed and scale tucked in their cheeks, Faerun, Indigo, and Mia, talked to the fish, who talked to the Kuo Toa, who explained that they saw the racing and thought it looked exciting and like they might be good at it. Calming the villagers down, the party and their new fish-people friends decided to have a picnic. The Kuo Toa food was outstanding, a variety of treats from deep under the lake and surprisingly, something salty. The Kuo Toa managed to explain that far away, there’s a protrusion of salted water deep under the not salted water, and that the life there is particularly delicious. The villagers, interested in any food from the lake, loved everything the Kuo Toa shared.
The Tabaxi guests, however, were intrigued by a different kind of snack. Sneaking around the edge of the crowd, the two Tabaxi diplomats first noticed the Kuo Toa when they smelled something deliciously fishy. As they crept in, trying to approach unnoticed, they became convinced that yes, the delegation of fish people were likely very delicious, that the villagers had wonderful trading items, and that the fish people were definitely a snack. They also were noticed by Faerun, who, while at first confused, quickly looked to where the Tabaxi were looking, saw the low, sneaky posture of the visitors from the desert, and took matters into her own hands which she began to wave in a quiet, sweeping pattern. While at first everything looked normal, soon, a rapidly growing fog bank started to obscure the wharf, then the Kuo Toa, then the entire quayside of the village. The Tabaxi, though great hunters in the desert, never had to deal with fog and lost track of exactly where the fish people were standing.
Thanking them for their delicious snacks, and suggesting that the party could open up a store front for them in the village — something incredibly confusing to the Kuo Toa who had no stores — Faerun said goodbye, and unceremoniously booted one of the fish back in to the lake. Just as she did, one of the Tabaxi flew overhead, leaping through the space just occupied by the fish person. Seeing their spokefishperson dive back in to the lake, the rest of the Kuo Toa delegation followed, leaving behind two disappointed cats, a party of confused adventuring teenagers, and a fog bank that put an end to the party.
While the fog had been rolling in, however, Minnie had her eyes elsewhere. Off at the edge of the crowd, Minnie had spotted another villager just a few years younger than herself. Someone she hadn’t seen in a long time. Someone who looked greener than Minnie remembered. Eyes large, Minnie turned to the party, saying, “I think I just saw a sea hag.” And with that, covered by a dense but dissipating fog, the party said goodbye to race day, and gave chase.
