📋94. a plooplooplea

session 94 • october 10 2023 • 1,138 words

🌑 DAY 29 • 📅 MARPENOTH 19

Everyone Changes

Seemingly satisfied with our sacrifices, we are introduced to the village head, Plooploopeen, whom Shuushar has told us is an old friend of his.

Plooploopeen greets us cordially and asks us to follow him back to his house. As we walk, Soren notes that Shuushar is uncharacteristically muted, for having come back to his home. Shuushar hesitantly admits that things at the village were not quite how he expected--namely the in-fighting and religious zealotry from both factions.

Shuushar remains optimistic however, noting that the conflict is surely only temporary. Soren asks Shuushar if Plooploopeen is how he remembers; Shuushar responds with "well, everybody changes."

Soren brushes off Shuushar's musings, just wanting to know if it is safe to follow Plooploopeen. Shuushar says that he trusts Plooploopeen with his life.

Fish Tunnels

We eventually arrive at Plooploopeen's house: a series of interconnecting, damp underground tunnels. The party is pretty hesitant to go down there, and Diana is pretty miserable, but they push forward.

Inside, Soren leads negotiations by explaining that they are only here for supplies. Plooploopeen readily agrees to provide us with supplies, but requests that we do them a favor first.

Plooploopeen explains that the Sea Mother's temple, on an island in the Darklake, has recently been compromised; no kuo-toa sent to investigate have come back, and the kuo-toa consider this a curse.

Diana suggests that they just get another island, angering the kuo-toa present. Will tries to explain to her by going "imagine if a temple of Sune was taken over, how would you feel?" Diana scoffs at the idea of a Temple of Sune being overrun at all (without having done something about it), but reluctantly agrees.

Soren, surprisingly, readily agrees to this quest with no further negotiation; Plooploopeen seems very pleased. He agrees to loan us a boat and guide to the island, and provides us with a sack of trinkets--seemingly what the kuo-toa use as currency--to go shop for resources at the village marketplace.

The Deep Father

We ask about the Deep Father's religious faction, which seems to be working in opposition to that of the Sea Mother's.

Plooploopeen explains that the Deep Father was a religious faction that suddenly appeared a little while ago, in worship of a deity called the Leemoogoogoon. Plooploopeen explains that Bloopblipblop, his daughter, presently leads the Deep Father's faction.

Will suggests speaking to her, but Plooploopeen sadly notes that she is "too far gone".

After Plooploopeen leaves, Nezznar infodumps his arcana special interest, informing us that the kuo-toa are a race driven mad from experimentation by mind-flayers--imbuing them with the psionic power of manifestation: they can bring deities to life simply by worshipping them.

As such, the Deep Father could be any number of creatures--but it is undoubtedly dangerous, being worshipped by so many kuo-toa.

Party Plans

After some discussion, we decide to leave the rest of the motley crew at Sloopbloodop (Sunny, Topsy, Turvy, Stool, Sarith, Buppido, Ront, Eldeth) but bring Thurmond and Grymus for their ability to cast Enlarge/Reduce.

There is concern about Sarith being left behind with the more helpless members of the party. Diana, still sore from her experience with Sarith, wonders why they are lugging Sarith around at all.

Soren, who is a proponent for killing Sarith, bitterly asks her to ask Will. When she does, Will is unable to give an answer for why he wants Sarith to stay.

Will speaks to the kids and tells them to take care of themselves. The kids ask Will to leave Glitter behind; Glitter seems reluctant and so Will tells them no :( They are sad at being left behind and asks Will when he will be back.

Ront asks Soren if he has been a "good boy" and if he will be fed while they are away--as Soren has largely been the one gatekeeping Ront's food supply. Soren is taken aback at Ront's dependency on him, but orders Ront to "wait" for him to return before eating.

Ront is devastated, but Soren's intimidation check goes Thru.

Will, witnessing this, disagrees and suggests that they should make plans for feeding the party while they're gone. Soren flares up at this, seemingly at Will for undermining his "training" of Ront, but eventually passes it off as not trusting the kuo-toa to feed the party safe food.

Noo Haha Don't Humanize The Fish

As we make our way to the marketplace, we see a ramshackle altar with a manta ray and octopus being bled dry on it. Fun!

Besides the creepy murder alter, however, we also see much of the village engaging in their every day activities. We witness a group of young kuo-toa racing each other in the water at the blow of a conch shell. They seem to be having a lot of fun.

Soren seems uncomfortable at seeing the kuo-toa--whom he has traditionally referred to as animals / crazed beasts--having a community.

The Duergar Trader

We arrive at the marketplace, which are largely dingy little straw stalls with dubious wares. We do see a duergar travelling trader, however, who seems to have a stall stocked with quality weaponry and items.

Hugh walks up to the duergar--Ragron--and speaks to him in dwarvish, seemingly striking up a sense of solidarity. We set our eyes on a Cloak of Protection and some mundane medium armor; Hugh offers up his flashbang crystals from the crystal caverns, but Ragron is unimpressed.

Ragron asks for the umber hulk carapaces as well; Hugh is unwilling to give these up as he was fashioning some armor for Sildar ("he needs these, he is very blind :/"). Soren notices that an Alchemy Jug is also on sale--he desperately wants this, as it would solve the party's potable-water issue entirely.

Eventually, after much negotiation, Ragron offers us both the Alchemy Jug and the Cloak of Protection--in exchange for Nezznar.

When questioned, Ragron notes that he needs a pack mule. While Nezznar bristles at this, Soren tries to reason that Ragron would be better off with a lizard or even a kuo-toa, and that driders are ferocious and mindless. Ragron comments that our drider seems "quite tame".

Soren snaps at the idea of giving Nezznar to the duergar, but disguises his disgust as irritation that Ragron's not offering enough in the trade. Ragron nonchalantly offers a set of full mithral plate armor as well--something extremely valuable and useful for the party to have.

Desperate for these items, Soren offers himself carnally for a discount. Ragron outright says that he's flattered, but "he doesn't fuck drow".

The party is appalled at Soren's offer, but Soren brushes off their concern, continuing to barter.

Finally, Ragron offers the Alchemy Jug in exchange for a piece of Nezznar, wanting to have a "drider trophy" to flaunt to his friends.