Cadwallader:

No answer. "I hope no misfortune has befallen our benefactor," Cad says loudly, in a very concerned voice. "Madame, are you injured? Do you need help?" He slowly climbs the stairs. "We can provide healing if necessary," he calls in his most solicitous voice.

Titaani wipes away her tears and follows Cad up the stairs, clinging to the back of his robes and hiding behind him as they advance, only occasionally peaking out from behind him to see what’s ahead. She still looks very upset, but Ben’s comforting made a big difference. 

Ben:

Still standing at the unopened door as Cad starts creeping upstairs, Ben decides to crack open the door and chance a peek before he heads over to the steps to keep an eye on the others.

Matilda put a hand on Titaanis shoulder, " Sorry about before....."

Cad, followed closely by Titaania and Matilda, begin to climb the creaky staircase. 

As their eyes adjust to the very dim light here, they can see that the walls of this dank hallway are covered with scores of portraits depicting grumpy, sad, frightened, and angry people. The figures include humans, elves, halflings, bullywugs, and goblins, among others. The portraits are rendered in a variety of mediums, including paintings, etchings, and sketches. All are displayed in gaudy, gilded frames. A door exits east, and the hallway continues west.

But before they can investigate further, or fully get upstairs, they are immediately greeted by three tiny, froglike creatures with bulging eyes and large shapeless mouths who appear suddenly out of the darkness. They dart back and forth impatiently, blindingly fast. 

"Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?" they squeal urgently. "Quick! Quick!"

Cadwallader:

Were these some sort of larval form of the frog people? Victims of one of Bavlorna 's curse? Cad has no idea. "Uh, good... morning? We were looking for the sorceress Bavlorna. Is she here?"

"Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes," the three ugly froglike things respond in shrill voices, while frantically hopping and darting, vanishing into indistinct blurs as they move. "Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? What do you want?"

Quote from cbaer8 >>

"Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes," the three ugly froglike things respond in shrill voices, while frantically hopping and darting, vanishing into indistinct blurs as they move. "Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? What do you want?"

 " Tilda Mirewater.....and yerselves?"

Ben:

Venturing out onto the balcony, Ben checks the sturdiness of the line...Just in case they need to make a quick getaway.  He sets aside a handful of garments that look sturdy enough to take his weight, but smooth enough to minimize friction should they need to ride the clothesline to freedom.

Titaani goes to reply to Matilda, only to spin around at the sound of the frog people's voices. She peers out at them with narrowed eyes, then steps forward. 

"I am Titaani Breena Annabella Evie Leelathae, daughter of the woods and mistress of Queen Titania," she declares as courageously as she can. "I desire an audience with Bavlorna, sorceress and slayer of innocent creatures. We have much to discuss." Her hands tighten around her crystal at the word discuss. 

As Ben tentatively steps out onto the frog-covered balcony, hundreds of the tiny creatures begin croaking loudly in unison. (Even upstairs in the hallway, the party can clearly hear the strange coordinated croaking outside.)

The (ordinary-looking) frogs slowly yield as Ben carefully crosses the rotten, slippery balcony. The thin clothesline looks relatively strong, but only to a point. (Make an Intelligence check to judge how many pounds it might support.) Where it leads he can't tell - somewhere south of where they entered this strange land, by his best guess.

Meanwhile, upstairs, the conversation ends suddenly. (Neither Matilda nor Titaani get a reply.) The door to the east opens abruptly and then slams shut immediately after, as three of the tiny froglike things dart into the room, blurringly fast, and three more dash out – past the party and down the stairs to confront Ben.

The three small froglike creatures appear behind Ben, from almost nowhere from his standpoint.

"What? What? What? What? What?" they shriek, impatiently, at Ben "Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?"

Cadwallader:

"Oh good," he says, then turning his head so that he can be clearly heard downstairs, "Mistress Bavlorna IS here!" He turns back to continue the conversation but the little froglings disappear.

Ben:

Puzzling about the clothesline, Ben is unprepared for talking frogs…

Intelligence:  16

“Oh,” jumps Ben, recovering somewhat quickly and saying, “Hello, I’m Ben.  We announced ourselves when we arrived but heard no response. Are you servants of the king?”

The dark hallway at the top of the stairs is quiet and empty. (Anyone have a light? It's pitch dark, except for the marginal amount of ambient light bouncing up from downstairs.)

--

Ben speaks to the three tiny frog-like creatures who have appeared on the balcony. The hundreds of ordinary frogs on the balcony begin to quiet down.

"Bavlorna Blightstraw! Bavlorna Blightstraw! Bavlorna Blightstraw!" they squeal in agitation at Ben. "What do you want? What do you want? What do you want? What do you want? What do you want? What do you want? What do you want? What do you want?"

Ben:

”Ah, excellent.  We are duly deputized representatives of the Soggy Court, here on behalf of the King.  Would you happen to know where Mistress Bavlorna is?” asks Ben.

Matilda was intrigued and confused by current events.

Ben's conversation with the strange, impatient trio on the frog-covered balcony ends abruptly as the ugly little creatures vanish inside in a blur of frenetic motion.

Upstairs, the rest of the party are left alone in the dark, musty hallway covered in portraits of sour-looking people rendered in paint, pencil, prints, or etchings. A door exits east; the pitch-black hallway continues west.

Ben:

"I'm guessing they are off to find her," says Ben to himself.  He re-enters the main room and moves over to the spiral staircase to rejoin the others.  Ben calls up, "I just met some very fast frogs that spoke on Bavlorna's behalf.  Should I keep looking around down here are do you want to explore upstairs until we can find her?"

The party at the top of the stairs can hear a muted conversation behind the eastward door - too muffled to make any words out, but they appear to be from voices other than the hyperactive froglike squeals.