Halei steels her eyes away from the giant frogs and continues to hop atop the stepping stones. She looks at the bullywugs and their balloon, and she briefly thinks about how fun it would be to ride in one of those, before quickly remembering how she came to acquire her new favorite sword attached to her side. She attempts to wave at the busy bullwugs as she passes, but she hurries along quickly, aware of her small stature, she isn't sure if she'd be able to skip any stones and doesn't want to hold up the line on her behalf. Though she does look back once again to the brigands to see what they are doing.

Quote from NomadD2 >>

Bugs thanks the Bullywug for his help and moves across the stepping stones.  He is tempted to just rabbit leap all the way across but it seems like it might be rude - and quite a jump.  So he steps out onto the stones and moves across.  He steps on each stone except for the smallest - #5.  He can't help but look around as he carefully moves across the stones.  Wasn't Bavlorna the one that could make little copies of herself?  He looked around for little toadlike copies of the hag. They would be somewhat like the bullywugs but he'd know the difference, wouldn't he?  He'd seen one of her at the carnival after all.  

Balliol, you recall your vision in the stream and the creature you saw at the carnival. From your conversations with Sir Talavar, he was convinced it was Bavlorna you saw in the vision and it was one of her lornlings that you spied at the carnival. You don't see anything that looks like your recollection as you look around. Definitely not the same as a bullywug. You can tell the difference.

Step Stone Crossing

You can barely make out the other side of the forty-foot-wide waterway in the foggy mists of the murky lake. But you follow the directions of the nearby bullywugs (they seem nice enough), and one by one, you make your way across the row of boulders that breach the lake's surface to form a walking path.
How deep is the water beneath you? You cannot tell. Ripples and movement abound the lake as you cross, and questions about what dangers inhabit the waters beneath you enter your minds. It is sketchy and slippery.

Eventually, you find yourselves, without incident, relieved to be aground on the far bank looking back from whence you came.

• North and west are the muddy swamp, sandbanks and trees.
• South and East are the lake's waters.
• About forty feet to the northeast, along the bank of the lake, you see a wooden structure. This wooden structure stands on stilts above the lake. It is topped by a steep, conical roof made of thatch. Smoke curls up from a hole at its apex. Its windows are blacked out, and the air carries the smell of burned wood. A clothesline coming from the fog in the centre the lake is attached to one corner of the building's exterior and hung with various frayed, patchwork garments.

The journey was admittedly spooky. Halei looks at the dark murky water lapping like reaching hands just inches from her feet. If she were to slip would the water wrap around her ankles and drag her into its depths? As she hopped from stone to stone, the wild part of her urged her to reach down and touch the water. Just to see what would happen. But the larger part of her knew the train of thought was childish. Besides, the folk here were nice and that offered a bit of comfort. They didn't seem wary of potential monsters hidden in the swamp. 

Finally, Halei hops from the last stone and onto the ground. 

"Okay..." Halei ponders aloud, looking at their options of direction. "The directions were to follow the stepping stones, pass the balloon factor, and over a bridge. But I don't see a bridge anywhere. Where do you all think we should go?"

Chapley Scratches his chin. "Well I only see one thing that looks remotely like a balloon factory, and it's that building of to the east," Chapley says, pointing northwest at the wooden structure on the lake bank.

Bugs listens to Chapley but shakes his head.  "No.  Didn't we hear that Bavlorna lives in a house on stilts in the lake?  That would seem to be her house and her, aah, bloomers, hanging out to dry."    But then he paused and thought again.  "Then again, everything here is likely on stilts just like the boardwalks.  And those clothes hanging out the window could just as easily be future balloon patches as anything.  The original balloon we saw when we arrived was patchy, wasn't it?  Ok, I'm with Chumley, we go to the only building we can see."

He looked around at the rest.  "Thoughts?"

"Sounds a good of an idea as an to me. Let's go pay whoever lives there a visit!"

You decide to head towards the building to the northeast.
As you start your way, you realise the smoke bellowing out of the top of the building is becoming more.

Balliol and Resmae, your keen hearing picks up the sounds of commotion coming from inside the building. Crackling, banging, yelling.

A wood plank ramp leads to a closed door on the west side of the building, and a rickety wooden deck clings to the outside of the structure, six feet above the water, traversing the south side.

"Are we sure this is a good idea?"Wildred pipes up. "For some reason this little adventure of ours always has some perilous situation behind every corner!...or door in this case?"Wildred glances around cautiously. "You know there are other things we can do." Wildred shuddered the swamp had been taking its toll on the child wizard and he had on more than one occasion wished he had stayed at home by the warm Hearth in Waterdeep. Maybe he could have written a book on "the philosophy of the amphibious world and where to find them" or something of that calliper but he wouldn't find out anything about his brothers disappearance that way he thought and this really was the whole point of his career. It had culminated to this point walking through the muddy Hither with his new companions to gods knows where. Somehow he had imagined it being different, "but dont we alway" he thought aloud. He looked around at his friends one by one as the all walked towards seemed impending disaster. "Well if you insist" he murmered.

Chapley scrunches his brow. "Wait, at what point have we been in peril? Any time something has showed up trying to hurt us, we've just smashed it and moved on." With that, he raises a large fist and brings it crashing down on the door a few times in a  rough and simple knock. "Elloooooo! This a balloon place or a bloomers place?"

Balliol looked at Wildred.  "Got another option for Aros?"   He paused and looked at the building.  "Is that place on fire?"  

With Chapley banging on the front door, Bug zipped around (to the left) on the deck to see if there was a window or other opening.  He called out, "Is there a problem here?  Anyone need help?"

Chapley, with Aros over one shoulder, barrels up to the closed door and knocks. Surprisingly the door falls flat onto the ground startling an occupant of the building.

Before you, the room is a charred mess. Hazy smoke hangs over scattered piles of burned and broken shelves intermixed with whatever those shelves contained. Wisps of smoke snake into the air from several spots where smouldering wreckage threatens to reignite.

The distressed bullywug in a leather smock scurries around the room with a bucket of water whose contents spill out over the sides in his haste. The bullywug yells and points to a low workbench. The only piece of undamaged furniture in the room. It has three wooden buckets on it. Two of them are filled with water.

Those of you that can speak Sylvan. Please read the following spoiler.

Halei rushes into action at the sight of the smoke and the distressed bullywug. She runs to grab a bucket off the workbench. She's so consumed by the sudden panic that she almost forgets to call to her friends. "Hurry friends! We have to help them put the fire out!" 

She hurries to the smoldering piles and carefully uses the water to try and put out the flames, and cool those spots down. She tries to use the water sparingly so she doesn't use it all up and have to waste time filling the bucket back up. 

Wildred follows Halei without thinking hearing the bullywugs cry for help. Finding a bucket and proceeding to fill it with water and help fight the fire.

Balliol didn't need the Bullywog's directions to know what to do.  He jumped to the buckets and grabbed one.  He immediately looked around for smoldering flames and used it to douse whatever still seemed on fire.  As he emptied the bucket he glanced at the water - was it just lake water?  Could he see where the bullywog had filled them?  If he could see a clear water source (aside from the lake) he would refill the bucket and repeat.  If he saw no water source and the water looked like lake water he would attempt to refill the bucket from the lake.  

When the fire seemed out Bug turns to the Bullywog.  (In sylvan)  "What happened here friend?  Is there anything else we can do?"

Halei, Wildred and Balliol have entered the room, and the danger is unmistakable. There are spot fires everywhere. Much of the room is ablaze, and there are dancing coals bouncing around the room, setting alight to things.

Halei and Wildred, you both have pales of water in hand.
Balliol, you have grabbed the empty bucket.

Halei is burned as she steps on a smouldering shelf, fallen to the ground. (take 2 fire damage).

Wildred, your clothes/robe is alight (you also take 2 fire damage). You continue to feel the wrath of the flame from your burning clothing. You will need to extinguish that.

The nearest known source of water is the lake. About ten to fifteen feet from the door you entered by.

You observe several of what look to be animate coals. Skipping and bouncing around the room, causing random spot fires throughout.

Halei hisses and cries out at the searing pain, but doesn't stop for too long. The fire wouldn't put itself out. Now is definitely one of those times she'd wished she'd actually worn her shoes for once. "Hey! You!" She calls out, spotting the little dancing soot sprites. "What are you all doing? You're burning the whole place down you little devils!" She quickly puts her shoes on, and carefully tries to pour water over the little creatures. Right after pouring the water over a coal she tries to stamp on the coal like a bug. 

Wildred bursts in to action and puts the fire out on his clothing making sure to save enough water to try put the flames out that are burning Haleis clothing after this assuming all fire is out on both Wildred and Halei he hurries down to the lake to get more water in his bucket to run back and help quench the fire.

Wildred running,bucket of water sloshing around in the and his robe flying around in the wind attempts to dampen one of the animated coals!!

Balliol grabs his bucket and grunts when he sees that it is empty.  He quickly glance around and realizes that the best source of water i the lake that is all around them.  As he runs for the door he looks to see if there are any other containers that would be used to get more water.  He goes to get more water.