The party's players can seem to all be in one place at one time.
We are walking towards the tavern when the voice of Kawg, the big scary red dragon that we work for, is heard. Dude looks like a half-elf. Invites us to all talk a walk just outside the town. N-guuk dowses himself with ale. He's probably an alcoholic by his
Kawg informs us that the plains southeast of here used to have a population of goblins. He was curious for about 10 years. Tam (Liz) mentions that he heard that they were forced out by the elves. Kawg talks about Fraelagesh (one of the other dragons) wanting the information. Kawg presents a ready-made ink-drawing of the map for the group.
The party decides to go the southern route. Dunbarton opts not to go visit his own temple en route. ('Tis is a silly place.)
We're off to see the goblins, along the roads. We see many burned down buildings. A few building still stand. We see some animal bodies, but no humanoid ones. We camp uneventfully in the ruins of the an inn at Tre Glyn.
In the basement of the inn at Tre Glyn we find 100 GP each. (Pheldran wakes up - no gold pieces - damn). But they really do have some old meat and good wine. There are other provisions available there too. We ignore DeLyra's moral dilemma about stealing food. We plan on swinging back this way.
Where are the people?
Next day, we go through woods, then plains, and finally, we arrive at Caer Cefn (which is a fortress on a ridge overlooking the sea Dylaniesin). The signs of fire are no longer apparent. The air is more humid.
Neil comments that the Buddy Jesus pose is the somatic component of Charm Person. Ha.
There are two main sections to the town. The part up on the ridge is upper to upper-middle class. At the base of the cliffs is shanty town. The metaphor is so cliché.
Tam, the priest of the god of travel visits a temple of his faith. It is empty. He leaves a little note. DeLyra and Pheldran head up to the slightly more noble sections of the town, knocking on an average door. We found out that there was bad weather and some smoke in the distance. DeLyra asks about the goblins off to the southeast. Her husband, Frank, comes to answer it. Nothing in recent history.
Others go to taverns and shops and begin to ask some of the peasants about how they handled the fire. They find success in talking with sailors (one named Stan), who tell tale of escaping the storm from the south just in time. There was dry lightning up north. The rain never really hits the ground in a storm like that. Tam asks about new strangers about. There were some folk that 7-10 days prior came from the north. Tam asked about names; they said that Cassandra (who runs the inn north of here) arrived with the northerns. Informed that people left, but no one really said why that was. The group also asked about the temple that Dunbarton doesn't want to visit. No news there. Asked about the goblins, no real leads there.
Agreed to meet at the Don't Drop Inn.
At the inn, we ask after Cassandra, at whose inn we, um, borrowed, um, permanently and such some provisions. The bartender says that she'll accompany us up to the room. We pay her what we owe.
She told us a story about a regular adventuring customer, a druid, that warned all of the folks about the imminent disaster. She mentioned that Sir Brannigan was a pompous ass.
Tam is interested with the concept of ship. Yay travel. Dunbarton may have failed his Identify Gender check Re: Tam. Some of us join her. [Edit: That should say "him". Jay failed his Identify Gender check too. Perhaps deliberately, perhaps not.] Tam asks about the coastline in the direction we're vaguely headed, and about goblins. She learnes that there are elves that don't necessarily consider themselves the same as the elves nearby here - that they are less civilized than that the nearby ones. Asks about west of here. There are some cities and such.
N-guuk, by the way, left the boat as soon as he learned that the floor of the boat rocks up and down.
We move on, the next morning.
About 2/3 of the way to Gator Swamp, 1/2 to the city, we find an inn. Peaceful night.
We need to decide to head north (to elven city) or across the plains to the east. Gator Swamp is in fact named for Alligators, although there is a road that goes through it that it traveled enough.
We march forth, holding a rope to prevent sinking without being saved. The order is Tang Zhen, Pheldran, DeLyra, Tam, Jasper, N-guuk, Dunbarton.
The path is submerged but not too badly. One foot depth at most. DeLyra begins to ride Pheldran's shoulders. Water goes to 2 to 2.5 feet deep. Pheldran is reminded that Nescarel (cat) needs to be in a Bundle O' Joy pouch.
Pheldran cast a Tenser's Floating Disk to place DeLyra and Nescarel in it, just in case.
A 2nd alligator comes from behind and bites Tam for 13 points of damage. Youch. Things look bad as he goes down. He still holds the emergency rope. DeLyra cass Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts on Tam, possibly soon to have her escape more easily. Pheldran throws the rope at the original alligator. An ax comes down on the alligator. Tam falls free of the alligator, having been greased, and stands up. Dunbarton hits the rear alligator quite nicely, spraying N-guuk with organ pieces. Pheldran Animate Rope's a rope around his snout and coil and knots it. N-guuk lifts the dead alligator and throws it at the live gator, in the attempt to intimidate. The dead alligator slips from his hands. Tang Zhen flubs his hand on the back of the alligator. The alligator withdraws, with the rope. N-guuk lounged forward and got a hit in. Jasper gives it a final whack.
It is then pointed out that techniccally these were crocodiles. Pheldran goes to tie a rope to a crocodile to drag a free meal beind him.
Back at the start of Gator Swamp. Pheldran takes whatever salvageable parts from the Crocodile before exiting the swamp.
[Edit: This was not the end of the session. We encountered an evangelist, traversed the plains, hired a guide, arrived at the former goblin village, and entered a hole in the ground.]