((So heading towards town after the pyre burns down? Stena, anything you're doing with the ashes? With Eldeth's /hammer/shield?))

Galingal Short Rest HD 1: 6 

Galingal then turns to look at Thom as he plans a killing of the priestess.

"If it helps us, then we plan how to get rid of the priestess," Galingal starts. "But need make sure not make trouble for us. Just leave, let family fight each other seem easier. Not sacrifice myself for them".

He says the last gesturing with his head to the kuo-toa village. 

((Ashes she'll let lay. I meant to have Stena get a lock of Eldeth's hair, too late for that?

Hammer and shield she's got strapped to herself now.

After the fire has burnt out she'll be ready to head to town.))

((I've added them to Stena's sheet, lock of hair too.))

As you collect yourselves and make ready to approach the city, Ploopp addresses the party in Undercommon, "Best to say you're traders, and stay clear of the Deep Father shrine, near the docks. I will meet you at The Beer Room in a few hours?"

As you approach from the north, the outer 'wall' of Sloobludop becomes more clearly visible, a tangle of heavy netting strung across a palisaide framework, with sharp bone hooks woven into the netting. It seems like it would be possible, but not fun to try to breach the town other than through the gate you see ahead.

At the gate you see four kuo-toa, each carrying a short staff with a grabber device at the end. The pincer looks more sophisticated than you'd expect for KT make, perhaps they commissioned them from the duergar?

Two of them give a garbling challenge simultaneously in Undercommon.

"Halt! State your business in the name of Leemooggoogoon!"
"Blibdoolpoolp demands to know your business in her city!"

The two who spoke glare at one another, the party momentarily forgotten.

((Thanks! I was going to add them tonight when I got a moment.))

Stena translates to common/mind link with tired disdain.

"These ones are for the deep father and those are for the sea mother. Both want to know our business."

If the link is still up she'll say,

"We don't look like traders. Someone else handle this. That speaks undercommon."

Galingal looks from the kuo-toa to the others.

<I don't speak more than the limited amount Jimjar taught us,> Galingal thinks through the Stool-Net. <Can just say that we are traders and are meeting customers at the Beer Room. But need say quickly before they get agitated.>

<Fine.>

In undercommon she echos blandly,

"We're traders meeting clients at the Beer Room."

Deception if they seem like they care: 9

((That brings up a point... is it the whole motley crew coming with you, or you leaving some/all of the NPCs and Lex behind? If they're with you, Jimjar can help with communication, and Shuushar is a KT, though it seems he may be less well regarded by those with strong religious ideals.))

(If Shuushar wants to come, he'd be good as a translator, but it makes sense to leave some outside the walls "with their trade goods" so it doesn't look odd that they don't have anything to trade with. If Shuushar doesn't want to return to the town, then sub him out for Jimjar?)

((Shuushar's willing if you ask him, but he informs you via spore-link that he's not sure what his reception will be, but he's willing to provide what prior knowledge he has. You could take both if you want, and leave some or all of Derendil, Sarith, Lex, Spore and Buppido with Ploopp to enter with him in a bit?))

Lia hadn’t even contemplated leaving anyone behind or outside.

If it came up, her mild preference would be for everyone to come in and get a good rest and stay close by.

If no one mentions staying outside, she’d just usher everyone in assuming the guards let us through. 

((We have a consensus? Full party?))

((Seems like it, yes.))

((@Spider - thank you for that clarification re: Ploopp's plan!))

Thom would've spoken up in the link but not out loud, agreeing with Galingal yeah mates! <someone tell them we're traders! Quick, the beer room, yeah?>

Thom would also want everyone to come into the village together. Unless one or a few didn't want too. If no one brought it up in game though, Thom would assume that everyone is heading in. The number of us might actually make the trader thing look more believable. We are a large group of traders. <yeah! yell them that madam Stena!>

Thom would be listening to the translations from Undercommon, and waiting hoping that these new KT's with the grabber devices buy Stena's response. 

<Oof, Stena... we'll need to work on your delivery!>, Jimjar sends through the link.

"The Sea Mother is old news! The Deep Father is the future of Sloobludop!"
"Your Deep Father is but a hatchling! Deep Father... more like Shallow Fry!"

The argument over whose god is better seems to be escalating, the sides evenly matched, with two adherents to each.

<Ummm... do we just leave the mad fish to their argument?>, Buppido inquires.

<Maybe! Let’s hurry through while they’re distracted!> thinks Lia.

”Thank you! Thank you!…”.

To Jimjar,

<I said it. Not my fault we don't look it.>

To Buppido/Lia,

<Fine.>

If they don't stop the group Stena will just walk in.

A scuffle breaks out among the guards, and it would have been translated through the link that each side was blaming the other for not handling you properly.

((At work, more to come this evening.))

((Ignore that party of drow, they certainly aren't to the southwest of Sloobludop as you enter on the far side of the city...))

The ramshackle chaos that the city implies from the outside is carried over to the inside as well, with kuo-toa milling about, swarming across rope bridges and netting that creak alarmingly as some of the piles of detritus that see to be their answer to buildings sway worryingly.

The KTs you see moving about do so in small groups, there are few that are walking about on their own, though you do spot the occasional one doing so. In fact, one of them is walking repeatedly into a wall before startling and looking around in confusion, before joining in at the back of a school moving away from you. Sometimes these groups pivot and change direction, seemingly without cause, and one such school pivots twice before one of the KT at what is now the front lays eyes on your party and approaches, the others trailing behind. They circle you, before one of them speaks up in Undercommon, which is rapidly translated via the spore-link.

<Visitors! Come to worship? Who do you bring offerings for, the Deep Father, or the Sea Mother?>

Galingal takes in the driftwood shipwreck the kuo-toa call home and the fish like behaviour of the inhabitants and just shakes his head. The Queen would never allow such a mess in her realm.

At the greetings of the kuo-toa, Galingal realizes they don't know how open the rift between the two sides is in this 'town'.

<Let's tell them we're traders here to help bring prosperity to the truly devout.> Galingal thinks via spore-link. <Unless you can tell who's side everyone is on, Shuushar.>