Matilda shrugged and went and knocked on the door.

The door opens at the hand of one of the tiny hyperactive toad-like creatures.

Within, two creatures are having a conversation over tea in the middle of a sizable study. The first figure is seated in a timeworn armchair. She is a tall, lean woman of gray complexion, dressed in black with a wide-brimmed hat obscuring her eyes. The other figure is a toad-like creature with bulging eyes and cracked skin – a larger version of the things which have greeted you here. It is clad in a shapeless garment and sits on one end of a love seat with its legs pulled up beneath it. Flies flit into and out of its mouth, which hangs agape when it isn’t speaking. Two of the tiny versions of the creature cling to it like pets.

The room is filthy. Dirty dishes and bits of discarded food lie everywhere. The furniture was perhaps once of fine quality, but now stains of mysterious origin mottle every surface, and the upholstery has been patched numerous times. Set with its back to the wall in one corner is a hulking wooden cabinet. Sturdy legs support the bottom of the cabinet six inches above the floor. A decrepit wooden staircase climbs up the wall in another corner.

The toad-like creature speaks to you in a low croaking voice. “What act of desperation compels you to enter my home, little darlings?”

Cadwallader:

Cad had grown used to the scent of mildew that pervaded the house, but when the door was opened he was hit by the more intense stench of rot. He struggled to keep his face impassive. Then the creature spoke, and he thoroughly confused. He had assumed the woman was Bavlorna, but the toad called it her home. Or was she perhaps the owner of the house, and under some beguilement of the hag? But she spoke with an authority that did not indicate subservience. 

Best to hedge one's bets. "Good day, gentlewomen. We were sent by the King to speak with the sorceress Bavlorna." And he bowed to the pair of them, attempting a flourish with the ridiculous cape he'd been given.

Oops! Wrong forum, wrong character! 

Titaani peers into the room, her usually cheerful face deeply serious. She squeezes past Cad and summons a ball of crackling purple energy into her hands.

"Who of you is Bavlorna?" she asks, readying her action to fire eldritch blast should any of them attack. "And don't you dare call me darling."

"Oh my goodness!" cackles the humanoid-sized toad-like creature at Titaani. "You're very angry!  And you don't even know whose house it is you've barged into? Put that away, child," she says dismissively, flicking her leathery hand in the direction of Titaani's readied spellcasting gesture. 

The tall gray woman in black puts down her tea and smiles tightly. Light streams in one filthy window on the northern wall. (Matilda quietly notices that the woman in black casts no shadow.)

"Are you here to fix my pool?" says the toad-like creature, standing to turn toward the party.

Cadwallader:

As Titaani shoves past threatening two beings of unknown power, Cad steps in and moves off to the side of the door, ostensibly to allow the others room to enter, but in fact to spread out a bit.

Ben:

Hearing unfamiliar voices upstairs, Ben moves up the staircase and into the room, though he pauses before entering the open door and opens up his mind to the presences nearby (Divine Sense).

Entering the room, he puts on a cheerful face and says, “Ah yes, time to herald.”

“Announcing the Seekers of the Lost, the Patrons of the Carnival, the Explorers of the Feywild, and duly appointed emissaries of the Soggy Court!  See before you Ben the Worker of Stone, Cadwallader the Purveyor of Magic Most Potent, Titaani the Mistress of the Archfey, and the Courageous Warrior Duo -- Matilda and Horatio!"

Hesitantly, Titaani releases her arcane energy, letting it flow back into her crystal. She wraps her arms around herself, seemingly unable to choose whether to be angry or fearful.

"Isn't this Bavlorna's house?" she mutters, leaning back against the wall. "We came here to meet Bavlorna. And to return this."

She takes out the book given to her by the king and holds it up to the two individuals, awaiting a reaction. 

Horatio:

Horatio's eyes boggle at Titaani's threat, and then he sees Cad slipping away. Cad's advice registers finally, and he too steps to the side... out of line of sight. As he does he mouths a question at Cad... "w h a t a r e w e d o i n g ?"

Matilda moves up next to her gnomish friend with her knife in hand.

Ben reaches out with his mind. Neither the gray woman in black, nor the large toad-like creature or her three little miniatures, appear to be celestial, fiend, or undead.

Listening to Ben's announcement with a grotesque smile, the toad-like creature sizes you up. "Magicians, warriors, stoneworkers - not a plumber among you? I need a plumber, not a magician. Doesn't Soggy King Whateveritisnow send useful folks these days?"

     > "Isn't this Bavlorna's house?" Titaani mutters, leaning back against the wall. "We came here to meet Bavlorna. And to return this."

"Yes, this Bavlorna's house," replies the toadlike creature to Titaani with a mocking, condescending tone, "and I am Bavlorna. Are you the Carnival Explorer or the Potent Magician? I've forgotten already." She snatches the book from Titaani's hand. "Oh, and you bring me a gift of my stolen book? What thoughtful burglars!"

Bavlorna thumbs through the book quickly. "Well, that saves me a head stake. Would you like some tea? I was just pouring some for this tiresome merchant."

"Charm," says the woman in black, tipping her hat to you in greeting, still wearing an unnerving smile.

Titaani goes pale, retreating further back into the wall. 

"I didn't steal your book, the king of the soggy court gave it to me to give to you.." she trails off, swallowing a few times as if to summon her courage. "I am the mistress of the archfey Titania. And I'm no thief, though I do believe someone else in this room is." She finishes with a glare at Bavlorna. 

Horatio:

At this point, Horatio is leaning in close to Cad, half straining to hear what is said in the room, half trying to conspire with the old wizard. In a very low whisper, "I'm just saying, we seem to be a bit unprepared. What in hells is the goal here? I mean, sounds like she's got a houseguest?"

Ben:

Assessing the situation, Ben sees what Bavlorna calls a "merchant' to be a much more stereotypical hag than innocent seller of goods...He wonders if this frog queen is under a foul influence...

Insight:  15

Cadwallader:

Cad clears his throat. "I am the magician, though I'm sure my potency pales in comparison. Uh, my magical potency, that is," he clarifies, face slightly reddening. "I have not, after all, changed the nature of a third of a realm. The least third, I'm told, but still an impressive feat."

He quickly addresses the 'merchant' before Bavlorna responds to his jab. "What wares might one peddle to a powerful enchantress who owns all of this?" he asks, indicating the squalor around them. "I saw no cart below loaded with treasures."

Ben gives the woman in black a closer look. She appears almost elven, but with gray skin. She wears all black and carries a small scimitar at her side. Ben cannot tell if she is under any arcane influence; her movements seem natural, if a little polite and businesslike. She squints to see the book from where she is sitting.

The toadlike creature's bulging eyes move independently, constantly scanning her surroundings. Stained and moldering patchwork garments hide much of the leathery, mummified flesh that stretches over her compact frame and extraordinarily long, spindly limbs. Her skin looks painfully cracked.

"Are you accusing me, young lady?" asks the toadlike creature, grinning widely, her mouth beginning to expand. "Do get on with it."

To Cad's insult, the toadlike creature scoffs and begins to respond. "Least?..."

The woman in black replies to Cad, "Did you overlook my rain cloud balloon outside the bullywug palace? No matter. I doubt we have anything that would interest you."

"What do you want?" asks the toadlike creature, with a little less saccharine. "My hospitality is stretched at the moment. I did offer you tea, did I not? What does the King want now, besides sending you back with my purloined book? If you cannot fix my clogged pool, might you be dears and fetch me the carcasses that bullywug baron promised me?"

Horatio:

As if an idea has come to him, Horatio leans over to Cad and whispers, "Hey... do frogs have teeth?"