Azatch nods meaningfully to Lennelle.

To the local he says, "Lead."

Sundos smiled at the Local hmm.. man.. "Friend, I would be grateful for your help. Are the gates closed tighter than normal, or do you always need a local friend to enter?

By and by, my name is Sundos. These are my friends and shipmates. We are heading to Deadwater."

The local looked up at Azatch with a wide grin. “You betcha! Follow me, everyone.” He eagerly took the lead, beckoning the party to follow.

When Sundos introduced himself, “Sundos, I’m Joshua, Joshua Redfern.” Joshua offered a friendly handshake. The ha d was calloused and warm, his grip firm. As they walked, he looked over Sundos’ armor. “Your armor is fancier than what we normally see in Deadwater. Except for the Baron. Are you in an army?”

His blue eyes widened. “Are you all part of a military campaign? Are y’all here to conquer Deadwater?! I’m afraid you won’t find much of value there!” As an afterthought, he answered the query posed by Sundos. He nattered on in a regional dialect that could have either been charming or off-putting, depending on the listener’s disposition. “Town’s tighter’n normal lately, what with all the...funny business just outside town. You’ll need me if you wanna get inside, though, yessir, it’d be a shame if you conquered Deadwater and brought your outsider civilized ways to us.

Yessir!”” His tone strongly hinted that such an outcome would be anything but a shame, as he guided them toward Deadwater.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:24, Tue 20 Apr 2021.

"We just need to get some supplies for our ship.  No conquering."  Cela says.  "This time." she adds, to keep his hopes up.

Cela makes sure to retrieve her javelin from the corpse of the croc (the darts are meant to be disposable)
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 12:46, Tue 20 Apr 2021.

Joshua stared at Cela in slack-jawed fascination. He nodded quietly, mouth agape, as she casually plucked her javelin from a dead giant crocodile. When she strode back, he sputtered, “Uh, yeah, um, we sell lumber and we have a tanner and a tailor. We used to see smaller ships all the time on the river. They’ll come back any day now, business will pick up again...”
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 17:36, Tue 20 Apr 2021.

Lenelle walked in silence, listening as her comrades conversed with Redfern.   She observed and watched him indirectly, looking for anything that might be suspicious.

 Lenelle Toreth rolled 4 using 1d20+3.  Insight.

And he seemed entirely trustworthy, she decided.   Just a nice, local guy trying to help some beleaguered adventurers out.

If anybody wants to sell me property in Deadwater, I'm ready!

"Is it just the reptile problem, or is something else happening in town?"

Cela mostly only cares that the town sounds like they'll have the supplies they need.  Talking with the local (who has apparently never seen a cat-person before) might keep her from having to listen to another one of Simon's stories.

"No, Joshua, I'm no longer in the army. I was once. I served my king. But now I server a higher calling. What 'funny business' is happening outside of town?"

Simon studies the sky, innocently, "You know, I have noticed, some folks, myself for instance, we talk much, but say little. Others...well, others talk little, yet, somehow, say much."

“That Croc tore up the river between here and Deadwater. It scared off the few merchants would still give us the time of day. We been having troubles with ALL kinds of lizards, cuz the Lizardfolk attacked our boys who hunted and cut timber. We barely been able to leave even in the daytime without trouble from them.” Joshua caught Lenelle watching him, and nearly turned crimson from blushing.

Suddenly, he seemed to consider what he said. He shrugged. “Oh, I don’t wanna run you folks off with my gripes and our problems. You’re the first business we’ve gotten from outside in months. The Baron would have me hanged in a gibbet if I ran off visitors. We’d better move if I’m gonna get you there by sundown. They don’t let NOBODY in the gates after dark.”

Changing the subject, Joshua pointed at Sundos’s tunic. “Your higher calling—do you follow Pelor, too?”
This message was last edited by the player at 22:40, Tue 20 Apr 2021.

Was he shy-?  She gave a friendly smile, knowing the more information they could get from him the better.

After Sundos answered about his faith, Lenelle decided to ask Joshua "How religious are these lizard folk?  We killed a shaman.   Is there more than one?   Would they fear us for that?  Or be more likely to seek vengeance?"

"Vengeance."  Grog chipped in.

((OOC: Nothing to contribute post. :P ))

When Lenelle spoke to him, Joshua perked up, head high and chest puffed out. “I don’t know about any shamans, but I know they’ve strayed outside their border to mess with Deadwater.” He stared at Lenelle with a considering eye. “You said ‘We killed a shaman.’ Are you A soldier, too?”

While Joshua bantered with Lenelle, a simple necklace momentarily slipped out from under his shirt. She, Cela, Azatch, and Sundos noticed a crudely carved wooden pendant. The pendant resembled a sun with a benevolent  face in the center. They all recognized it as a symbol of Pelos, a name slowly  becoming more familiar throughout Toril. Most still associated the still nascent Sun God with the more commonly worshiped Lathander, so it surprised them to see a religious icon for this “new” god out on the edges of The Vast Swamp.

“The Lizardmen raiders scared off our hunters, so I gotta admit that I wouldn’t hate if you scared them off for a change...”

Sundos smiled at Joshua, "Brother Joshua, if the lizardmen are a threat to your home, maybe we can help you out."

He looked back at the party, "We are in the area..."

"Does your village have a priest of Pelor? I would love to meet them."

“I would appreciate your helping my people, Brother Sundos.” Joshua’s eyes shined with familiarity, the warmth of shared faith. “We’ll be in Deadwater within an hour or little more. After y’all settle in town, I could take you to meet Sister Mercy.”

"Boy, is Redfern the name given to you at birth from your parentage, or are you adopted into it?"

Though Azatch was embiggened, the carcass he dragged was giant, he grunted under the weight.

“Redfern is my father’s name, and his father before him.”  He stared up at Azatch with a confused frown. “Do Half-Orcs get as big as you, or did your mom, I mean, was one of your parents a Hill Giant...?”

"Only when fighting giant crocs," Azatch said with a wink, "A woman of the name Redfern showed me kindness when I was an orphaned child in Deadwater. Perhaps your grandmother? Or mother. I don't know, humans take forever to become adults, then never seem to change that much until they die, so I get confused about generations."

“Yes. My mother took in what orphans she could, fed ‘em and clothed ‘em. Sometimes took better care of her orphans than she did of her own.” He laughed, but this time it sounded wistful. “Her heart was bigger than her cupboard or her coffers. She really took to the teachings of Sister Mercy when she arrived In Deadwater. Died of the same plague she tended in our village’s sick.”

"I am sorry to hear that. It is a good person who helps orphans, it is an exceptional one who would help a half-orc bastard son of a Deadwater whore." Azatch said matter of factly, without and negative emotion behind the words.

"It takes time to make repairs when we get back with supplies, if you're eager to fight lizardfolk again."

Traill, silent as always, followed unassumingly listening to the human prattle on. She had been near town and knew what he said was right...the town was clamping down on visitors, and the lizard folk were scaring them.

"We can get some good crop meat from it....cooked well and tastes like spiced fowl." The halfling walked with bow in hand.

She looked at cela with a smile. "If you and your captain need an extra bow, I'll willingly come along. This swamp and the lizards are getting on my nerves. maybe a change will be good."

"Usually can use an extra hand.  It's up to the captain, but I'll tell her what you've done for us."

Lenelle listened to the exchange betwixt Azatch and Joshua before speaking again.

"I concur with him," glancing toward the barbarian.  "Your mother sounds like she was quite a woman.  I'm so sorry that you lost her.   And no, I've not been in the army," she assured, leaving him to draw his own conclusions.   She did bear a light crossbow - backup, for when magic wasn't feasible - and a curved dagger rode at one hip.

That the town shared the same faith as Sundos was a good thing.  A foot in the door.

"So, tell us about this Sister Mercy.  Is she your high-priestess?  Did she introduce the Pelorite faith to your community?"   
This message was last edited by the player at 19:41, Wed 21 Apr 2021.

Joshua seemed only to accommodate the exotic beauty who showed an interest in his town. He held back low-standing tree limbs for Lenelle & Cela, as he led them deeper into the swamp. “Well, it happened like this...”

End of Chapter One