"I don't think so," Titaani replies. "I mean, she was a pile of goo when I saw her last. Why did the queen trust the hags? Did they used to be nice, a long time ago?"

Pud stands in silence, baffled at what he just witnessed.

"...uh, yeah that sounds good. Let's get outta here, Ben."

Pud bows again deeply to the talking heads.

"Farewell...your majesties. T'was an honor."

Ben finds a vacant stake and neatly fits the stag skull over it. Many of the beheaded monarchs roar with delight, but the majority scowl with distaste and displeasure. "Bah!"  There is a chaotic cacophony of shouts and arguing voices as Ben and Pud bid their goodbyes and retreat, leading Morning Star back the way they just arrived.

They recross the ashes of the destroyed building, and into the wall of fog on the other side. They can see glimpses of the balloon to the south, separated from them by a stepstone crossing. A row of five large boulders and some smaller rocks spaced a couple of feet apart breach the surface of the lake to form a walking path across the forty-foot-wide waterway separating them from the balloon area. You can faintly see some activity – humanoid or animals or both – on the far side, near the balloon.

"I don't think so," Titaani replies. "I mean, she was a pile of goo when I saw her last. Why did the queen trust the hags? Did they used to be nice, a long time ago?"

"I dunno," replies Morgort. "I doubt the hags were ever nice. Zybilna was mysterious, they say. Smart, resourceful, practical, but mercurial. Maybe th' hags served some purpose for her. But now they have taken over, and Zyblina is nowhere to be found. It's really bad."

Ben:

”I doubt they’ll ever agree on anything,” says Ben, looking back at the kings’ heads.  “Let’s see if we can negotiate for a boat ride, what do you think?” he asks Pud.

"Yeah, that sounds good. It beats swimming through this muck."

Ben and Pud approach the stepstone crossing. They can start to make out figures through the fog. They can see a pair of bullywug workers attending to the side of the balloon on a tall ladder with small tools, while another pair of royal-looking guards are keeping watch. Several giant frogs rest nearly motionless nearby. One of the guards has a crocodile on a leash. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the party remains resting with Morgort on the stairwell platforms underneath Bavlorna's cottage. (Not quite Short Rest... but soon!) You can hear Vansel clomping around somewhere on the creaky floor upstairs.

Ben:

”It seems both the balloon and boats are well-guarded,” says Ben to Pud, adding “We may want to rethink our escape plan.”

Pud ducks down to keep a low profile.

"We can swim back. Use that clothesline hanging above the water as a guide to lead us back to the others."

Ben:

”That’s wise.  We could easily get in over our heads here and either be overwhelmed by combat or not be able to steer the balloon to pick the others up.  Let’s follow the line as you suggest,” responds Ben, and he follows Pud back to their companions.

Ben and Pud backtrack to the burned-down factory, and then proceed to clamber into the smelly waters of the lake. They slowly swim back the way they came, following the course of the clothesline through the thick fog toward Bavlorna's Cottage. At one point a pair of bullywugs drift by in a rowboat. The rower smiles and waves; her passenger is asleep, his head nodding into the book he was apparently reading. They are too far away for conversation.

Meanwhile, back at the cottage, everyone except Ben and Pud may gain the benefit of a Short Rest. 

Titaani will have attuned to the wand, if possible!

Pud watches the boat drift on by and waves back. He slows his pace and watches them drift away to see if the rower seems to looks back and take note of them.

Perception check: 15

(OOC: He's not using insight to gauge the rowers intent, he just wants to observe and see if the rower looks back, track their direction of travel and so on.)

Pud speeds up his dog paddle and catches up to Ben.

Matilda peered out into the mist as she gathered up her treasures, " I hope they are ok."

The rowers vanish into the fog. They seem friendly enough, and not particularly curious about the slow progress of Pud, Ben, and Morning Star across the swampy lake.

Soon, the party is reunited under Bavlorna's cottage.  (Titaani: wondrous item added to your inventory.)

What next?

Ben:

Describing the situation in detail, Ben adds, “It seems their security around the balloon is quite tight.  We will have to fight or trick our way onboard if we are to escape this land using that transport.”

(Thanks. Does Titaani feel as if she has regained what she has lost?)

(Nope! But she can feel that it's here somewhere!)

The group regathers and shares information. What next?

Matilda grimaces, " Lets just go to the balloon.  Maybe we could bribe them....we have some cool stuff..."