Swamp Stew Part 1

Description
The Team dines on veggie stew served in homemade bread bowls as they venture further into the swamp. Margarine finds a creative solution to a problem, Fletch leads the way, Flak makes some new friends, and Zabbas really wants that robe.

Dinner
Veggie stew in homemade bread bowls that Graessle made himself. Joel tells Graessle that he’s better than Panera which the others agree with. Graessle originally wanted to make sourdough bread but discovered how long it would take and went with regular bread instead. Beth manages to sneak a compliment to Graessle’s dish into the campaign when Juno asked Margarine what she likes to eat, answering she likes a good vegetable stew.

Campaign
With Flak stuck in the mouth of a giant toad, the Team takes action to save him. Margarine tries to stab the toad but slips and falls into the river instead. Fletch runs up and attacks the toad with his dual short swords. Casting Prestidigitation, Zabbas creates fake food for the toad, making it so that Flak isn’t swallowed just yet but falls unconscious in the toad’s mouth. With Margarine almost drowning, Juno jumps in a saves her. Out of the water, Margarine flips on top of the frog and sticks her finger in the toad’s butthole, shocking the toad enough to let go of Flak. Fletch charges at the toad with his short swords, blinding it in an eye. Zabbas shots at it with his crossbow, adding more damage. Blinding the toad jumped into a tree by mistake, knocking Margarine off, before turning around and jumping into the swamp in order to flee.

Even though the giant toad was dealt with more croaking is heard. In order to create some cover for themselves, Zabbas casts Fog Cloud. The croaking recedes, giving the Team some time. In the cover of the fog, the Team makes camp where they stabilize Flak, waking him and healing him a bit. While Flak suffers from PTSD (Post Toad Stress Disorder) Margarine flirts with Juno who doesn’t seem to mind. Come morning the Team continues through the Swamp in search of the wagon. Fletch leads them to the center of the Swamp, the most equipped to navigate, with Margarine on his back. As the air starts to feel slightly acidic and fog grows thicker the sound of frog croaks become increasingly louder. Flak asks a small frog what’s going on to which the frog informs them that the Masters are coming.

Suddenly a spear flew out of the Swamp and hits Juno, sending the group into battle with an unseen force. Fletch moves through the fog and discovers their assailants to be six humanoid frogs carrying spears. Drawing his longbow Fletch kills one of the frogmen, shooting it right between the eyes and earns a high five from Margarine. Flak charms one of the frogmen, turning it to their side. Unable to speak to the frogman directly Flak uses a small frog to communicate with the charmed frog to find out what’s going on. It’s revealed that they’re being attacked because the Team is intruding. The charmed frogman walks up and touches  Flak’s face trying to figure out what Flak’s deal is. The other frogman throws its spear at Flak, injuring him. Three frogmen try to attack Juno and Zabbas but fail. Margarine sneak attacks a frogman with her short sword and kills it, stabbing it in the back of the head. Zabbas casts Magic Missile, sending three darts at the remaining aggressive frogmen, dazing each of them. Fletch tries to shoot a frogman with his longbow but misses and hits Zabbas by accident. Flak tells his charmed frogman to call off his friends. He then thanks the frogs for helping them to which the frogs and him banter over a dislike of lizards. One of the frogmen lobs a spear at the charmed frogman, impaling him in the gut and breaking Flak’s charm over him before the remaining three frogmen try to flee. Zabbas kills one of the fleeing frogmen and Flak stabs the impaled frogman, no longer an alley, with his rapier and kills him.

Flak loots a gator teeth necklace and a spear from one of the bodies. Juno collects a gator teeth necklace as well before stabbing at the frogman body several times with his short sword. Zabbas discusses with Fletch and Flak about how he thinks Juno is kinda scary while Margarine looks down at the mutilated body and questions her choice in men. Flak talks to the frogs more, revealing that there is a Croak Lord which causes Flak to have a small PTSD episode. He then asks the frog if they’ve seen the wagon, describing it as a log with four lilypads on its sides. The frog points them in the right direction and leaves feeling empowered after the Team tells it that a frog can make a difference. As they walk deeper into the Swamp Margarine asked Juno why is the way he is, i.e: liking milk, starting bar fights, desecrating bodies. Comfortable with her Juno tells Margarine that he comes from dairy country along with that he has a bloodlust that he fills with violence against those who are oppressive from others.

Fletch gets the sense that something is close and peering through vines sees five frog people crawling all over the wagon with a frogman wearing a gator headdress and cloak, the Croak Lord, observing the rest. Zabbas makes the Team costumes to help blend them into the Swamp. Camouflaged, they cross the river to where the Croak Lord is. As Flak casts his charm on the Croak Lord a volley of javelins erupts from the other side of the marsh, hitting three of the frog people. Through the vines emerge four lizardmen, letting out a battle cry before running to attack the frog people.

Trivia

 * Fletch is the first to call the group a Team. Although he called them Team in the first episode it is in this episode that the others take to it.
 * Beth and Chelsea are vegetarians which is why the dinners that Graessle makes are vegetarian friendly.

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