The Legend of the Brave

Day 8

 Kali told the party a bit about her tragic past, including being cast out by her family, and 

the subsequent death of her entire House. She eventually guided the party to a cave mouth 

and insisted that her ancestral home was through the tunnel. She began acting a bit erratically, 

and the party was ambushed by a massive black creature that stole Kali from them and loped 

away. The PC’s gave chase, tracked the creature, and encountered two similar creatures in 

the marshes and slew them. They then identified the creatures as trolls. The party chased 

the troll that took Kali deeper into the swamp, encountered a massive crocodile, druid made 

friends with it. PC witnessed the black troll threaten, abuse, and murder some lizardfolk. While 

watching this, the PC’s were surrounded and captured by lizardfolk from the village and led 

before their leader, Klaagh, a half­black­dragon druid. The druid interrogated the PC about 

how they knew the troll, who they were, and why they had come to the swamp. She stated that 

Emma Skullthorn and Tara Cloverton needed to proceed with her on a pilgrimage to “The Great 

Mother.” She instructed “Croc” Dahndii, her ranger lieutenant (who had captured the party in 

the first place) to treat the other party members to a guest feast. He invited them into the feast 

hall for some of his own croc jambalaya and flatbreads.

Meanwhile, the pilgrims left behind their gear and donned simple robes and sandals. As they 

journeyed through the swamp, the elves began to have difficulty traversing the marsh, and, 

though she seemed impatient, the lizardfolk druid directed the “soft­skins” toward another 

massive crocodile, which the druid befriended, and the two of them were able to ride the rest of 

the way.

Back at the village, the feast was interrupted by the sounds of smashing and shouting. Looking 

outside, the PCs saw a massive lizardfolk being held back by several others. He was shouting 

that he needed to see the druid, but Dahndii told him that Klaagh wasn’t there, and that the 

interloper needed to leave now, as he had been banished. The barbarian began flinging the 

other lizardfolk around in his rage, so Siegfried the Gentle, the party’s barbarian, wrestled him to 

the ground quickly to prevent further harm. Suddenly, the reptile man burst into tears, sobbing 

and dripping acidic snot all over the arms of Siegfried as he cried.

After an interminably long voyage through the fog, the two druids and the ranger arrived at a 

massive flat lake that Klaagh referred to as “The Mother’s Mirror.” She warned the PCs not to 

turn away from the Great Mother or to hesitate. They both agreed to continue rather than turn 

back. Klaagh summoned the Great Mother from the depths of the lake. After seeing her devour 

a massive crocodile, the PCs advanced with Klaagh to stand before the great lizard. Much 

to the PCs’ discomfort, she referred to them as a “sacrifice,” but stated that it was not a “meat 

sacrifice,” but a “spirit sacrifice.” The Great Mother seemed to find the PCs worthy. She told 

the PCs of a greater evil that works behind the trolls that they hunt. The crocodile explained 

that this was why she did not dare reveal herself by stopping the trolls directly. The PCs swore 

to remove the threat of the trolls so that the village could be safe once more. Klaagh then 

advised the characters that the Great Mother wished to give them a gift, and that, in order to 

receive it, they would need to be carried “as She would carry Her own children.” Laying down 

in her mouth, Tara and Emma were cradled gently by Her fangs, and the Great Mother slowly 

slipped into the lake. As she did so, a vision appeared before them, showing of the origin of the 

valley, the spread of the draconic bloodline from the ancient and powerful “Vuthasjach,” or “The 

Black Shadow,” the creation of the Great Mother’s ancestors from his blood, and hinting at the 

threat of darkness that stands behind the trolls. 

Back at the village, the rest of the party learns from the barbarian of his tragic past: how he 

challenged Parnar, the black troll, when he first came to the village, how the troll nailed him to a 

tree with his own knife, butchered and ate several of the lizardfolk for his impertinence, and how 

this led to his expulsion for the village. Siegfried swore to help his new friend take vengeance 

upon Parnar and his kind, and Zorm swore to follow them to the ends of the world, if need be. 

The party’s discussion was interrupted by a loud splashing sound coming from the north side of 

the village. Zorn stated that he would wait for them to the East of the village, since his shame 

told him that he shouldn’t let Klaagh see him.

Tara and Emma awoke to find themselves resting on the mossy bank to the north of the village. 

With Klaagh, they entered the village, rejoined with the rest of the party, and reclaimed their 

gear. Klaagh thanked the party for their help and for not spilling lizardfolk blood in the village. 

She had the party’s gear returned. Among the gear, Emma and Tara found crocodile­skin vests 

decorated with the fangs of various crocodiles and other reptiles. Klaagh explained that these 

were gifts that marked the bearer as a “skin­sister,” and would enhance their abilities to befriend 

reptiles. Dahndii was assigned to be their guide to the troll lair, along with Klaagh’s current 

mate, Kilgore the Handsome. As the PC’s left the village, they noted Zorm following them from 

a good distance behind. Their guides seemed to be aware of him, but were declining to call 

attention to the barbarian. The PCs journeyed for some time before they found a hillock jutting 

out of the marsh and rested for the night.