Pugmire: Origami Crocodiles

Here we are back in Waterdog Port, brokering peace between rats and mice...but first, JAWS OF SWAMPY DOOM!

The dogs are in Swampwalk, at the end of wooden path, and have just discovered that the collection of boxes they found was a trap to lure them out here. And then the crocodiles! Three of them lurch up out of the swamp and snap at the dogs, but Petunia Pibble is ready for this. She jukes to the side and throws a lightning bolt at the crocs, zapping two of them, and her fellow spellcaster Peppa Papillon conjures up a spiritual guardian to protect her. Unfortunately, the cros are pretty fixated on their next meal. 

One of them grabs Peppa and starts to drag her toward the water. Another bites into Gelert Sausagedog's leg, and a third snaps at Boomer Pitbull. Boomer flies into a rage and beats the croc to death with his mighty warhammer, and Sausagedog, thinking quickly, whacks the one biting him with a lantern! It bursts into flame and the croc lets him go and submerges.

The croc holding on to Peppa pulls her into the water and she goes under. Petunia yells for help - she doesn't have any magic that can target the creature while she can't see it, and she knows if she dives in she won't be much assistance. Dire Newfoundland, however, shows no fear! He leaps into the swamp, grabs Peppa, and keeps hold of her, trying to pull her free before the croc can death-roll her.

Peppa, thinking quickly, casts Sacred Flame on the croc, making it light up and revealing its location to Petunia, who fills it full of Magic Missile and kills it. The third croc snaps at Sausagedog again, but Boomer runs to the rescue, stuns it with his hammer. Sausagedog finished it off with a blow from his ax, and the dogs pause a moment to catch their breath ("ow" says Peppa). 

They decide not to stay any longer than they need to - these probably weren't the only three crocs in the swamp, after all. Sausagedog checks around a big, but doesn't see any evidence to indicate who might have set this trap (though the heroes figure that the mouse they met who pointed them here might well be involved). They start heading back towards town, and are nearly out of the Swampwalk when Sausagedog looks down and sees an arrow in his chest.

Fortunately it didn't penetrate much below the armor, and so Sausagedog is mostly unharmed, but the characters are being ambushed! A mischief of mice, all armed with daggers or bows, appears from hiding and attacks! 

They might have been expecting to find the characters weakened or wounded, but we'll never know. Petunia sends two of them flying into the swamp with a Thunderwave spell and lays out a third with her staff. Dire draws his greatsword and cuts one in half, and his followup swing decapitates one and wounds another. Boomer doesn't even bother raging, he just lays into the mice, and soon only one remains. Dire, consumed with rage, kills it, and the assault is over. Again, the dogs don't have a definitive idea of who's attacking them, but they want to have a frank exchange of views with Claire Mune. 

They find Claire near Harv's Hideaway, and she rushes up to them, apparently glad they're alive. They demand to know what's going on, and Claire admits that she pointed them towards the crocs, but claims not to know about the second attack. She tells them that Lady Brie is the one who's ultimately spreading the stories about violent rats, and she agrees to take the characters to see her. The dogs, however, decide that rest is the first priority, and head back to the inn to get some sleep.

The next morning, they head back to the Haze. Claire joins them as they're entering (she's been hiding all night, since she isn't sure if she's safe in the Haze at the moment). She takes them to see Lady Brie - in Underport.

Underport is the name for the tunnels beneath Waterdog Port, and, well, they're mostly sewers. A lot (a lot) of mice are living down here, and it's pretty squalid and cramped. Claire takes them to a section of tunnel that Lady Brie has claimed and cleaned up as best she can, and everyone sits down to a nice chat.

Brie tells them that while, yes, the mice have been spreading deadly rumors about rats, it's been in service to a greater goal. The rats, led by Brutus, have been snapping up all of the land in the Haze and edging out the mice, to the point that most of them have been forced to live in the sewers. Their whisper campaign, however, has gotten the attention of the monitors, and soon Brie hopes that the powers-that-be in Waterdog will actually start caring what happens in the Haze. The dogs, of course, are sympathetic to this cause, but not so much to the methods. 

Petunia puts forth that, perhaps, Brutus might be willing to negotiate? Brie scoffs, but does agree that if Brutus were willing to cease the aggressive expansion and help mice, you know, live in real houses, she'd be willing to call of her campaign of lies. 

The characters go and see Brutus, now that they know the truth about the rumors of rotten rats. Brutus receives them and is horrified to hear what's been happening, but equally disturbed to hear how the mice have been living. He claims that he didn't know that the mice were having such difficulties, and if Lady Brie had just come and talked to him this could all have been avoided. 

The characters broker peace talks between Brie and Brutus, hosted by Zanna of the Four Audacities. After a couple of days, tensions in the Haze seem to have eased somewhat, though of course it takes some time. The dogs ask Brutus about the Flask of Bobby Golden, and he rummages around in his possessions and...hands them the Flask (he thinks of it as Zanna's price for using her status as a Luminary to help things in the Haze, and he's not wrong, though it's probably just as well the dogs don't mention the massive reward for the Flask). 

The dogs stay in Waterdog for a few weeks, helping with negotiations, seeing the sights, and making arrangements for travel. Also, Boomer and Dire drag a crocodile corpse to Franz Bulldog, a local tanner, who works with his grunty brother Jermaine (an armorer) to fashion a set of hide armor for Boomer. 

They also learn the function of the Flask, before handing it over. If you drink from it, it gives you whatever you most desire to drink! Pretty innocuous, as magic items go, and so the dogs don't have any real hesitation in giving it over to Zanna (who, in turn, gives it Erwin Sharpei). 

Next time: Onto the high seas!