22. The Meeting Pools of Zassil’torr

Deep within The Rooted Sanctum, the Meeting Pools serve as a natural convergence point where diplomacy, ritual, and secrecy intertwine. These flooded caverns are a crucial hub for the lizardfolk of Zassil’torr, hosting emissaries, negotiations, and clandestine meetings with the amphibious Bullywugs from the Fens of Tor. Here, the tenuous alliances and rivalries between swamp-dwelling races unfold against a backdrop of glistening water and swaying underwater vegetation.

Location Description

The Meeting Pools are a vast, partially submerged cavern, roughly 100 feet in diameter, with clear waters that ripple with hidden dangers. At each end, low, narrow passages connect the pools to adjacent areas, creating a secluded and defensible location. Above the high-water line, the cavern ceiling rises dramatically, creating an echoing chamber of natural beauty and foreboding stillness. Submerged Vegetation: Thick underwater weed carpets the floor of the pools, its fronds rising to just beneath the surface. This vegetation conceals creatures and objects, making it a haven for ambush or stealth.

• Dual Passageways: Narrow tunnels on opposite ends of the cavern provide access while limiting large-scale invasions, reinforcing the pools’ role as a secure meeting ground.
• Natural Acoustics: The cavern’s shape amplifies sound, enabling voices to carry across the space—a potential boon for diplomacy or a threat for those trying to remain unheard.
• Underwater Hazards: Though the water appears clear, its depth is obscured by vegetation, hiding drop-offs, sharp stones, and lurking creatures.

Purpose and Role

The Meeting Pools serve as a neutral zone for negotiations and as a buffer between the lizardfolk of Zassil’torr and their amphibious neighbors, the Bullywugs. This uneasy meeting ground also functions as a defensive chokepoint and a sacred space for rituals tied to swamp diplomacy.

• Diplomatic Hub: Used to host emissaries from nearby swamp tribes, such as Bullywugs, to discuss alliances, trade, or territorial disputes.
• Military Coordination: Acts as a staging area for joint operations, patrols, or rituals involving external allies.
• Ritual Space: Occasionally used by lizardfolk shamans for ceremonies seeking Semuanya’s guidance in dealing with outsiders.

Culture and Motivations

Diplomacy in the Depths

The pools are both a tactical meeting point and a symbol of the swamp races’ tenuous coexistence. For the lizardfolk, these negotiations are vital for maintaining territorial integrity and securing alliances against common threats, such as adventurers or incursions from land-based factions.

Lizardfolk Goals

• Secure trade for swamp resources.
• Strengthen defensive alliances.
• Maintain dominance over the sacred sites of the Fens.

Bullywug Concerns

• Protect their claim over the Sacred Pools.
• Avoid being drawn into conflicts they view as unrelated to their survival.

Adventure Hooks

• A Fragile Alliance: The adventurers must mediate between the Bullywugs and the lizardfolk, ensuring that a tentative truce doesn’t devolve into open conflict.
• Ambush in the Pools: Hostile Bullywugs ambush the adventurers in the cavern, using the vegetation and their frog mounts for hit-and-run tactics.
• Secrets Beneath the Weeds: A forgotten relic lies hidden in the submerged vegetation. Both the lizardfolk and Bullywugs are aware of its presence but distrust each other enough to hesitate retrieving it.

Bullywug Riding Giant Frog by 3orcs

The Meeting Pools of Zassil’torr by 3orcs

Bullywug Emissaries Six Bullywugs, including a leader fluent in the lizardfolk tongue, are present. They have recently decided against joining an alliance with Zassil’torr, citing concerns over territorial encroachment and religious tensions surrounding the contested Sacred Pools further south.

• Weapons and Equipment: Armed with reed spears, they have six giant frog mounts equipped with reed harnesses, their slimy skin glistening in the dim light.
• Tensions: Though they respect the lizardfolk, their disdain for elves and mistrust of outsiders make them hostile to unaccompanied intruders.
• Departure Preparations: The Bullywugs are preparing to return to their settlement, increasing the likelihood of hostility if their preparations are interrupted.

Lizardfolk Presence

A rotating guard patrol of four lizardfolk warriors oversees the pools, ready to intervene if negotiations turn violent.

• Ssalissar’s Envoys: Occasionally, a lizardfolk shaman will attend these meetings to guide discussions and remind both sides of their shared heritage under Semuanya.

Type

Room, Natural, Cavern

Parent Location

Zassil'torr 'Torfen'

Bullywug Emissary Leader

Medium Humanoid (Bullywug), Neutral Evil

• Armor Class: 15 (natural armor, shield)
• Hit Points: 26 (4d8+8)
• Speed: 20 ft., swim 40 ft.
• Skills: Stealth +3, Perception +3
• Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 13
• Languages: Bullywug, Lizardfolk (fluent)
• Challenge: 1 (200 XP)

STR: 14 (+2) | DEX: 12 (+1) | CON: 15 (+2) | INT: 8 (-1) | WIS: 12 (+1) | CHA: 7 (-2)
Traits

• Amphibious: Can breathe air and water.
• Speak with Frogs and Toads: Can communicate with frogs and toads.
• Swamp Camouflage: Advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks in swampy terrain.

Actions

• Multiattack: Two melee attacks with a reed spear or one mounted charge.
• Reed Spear: Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d8+2 piercing damage.
• Mounted Charge (Frog Mount): Adds 2d6 damage to a spear attack if moving 20 feet in a straight line.

Environmental Challenges

• Limited Mobility: The pools’ submerged pathways restrict movement for non-aquatic creatures, giving Bullywugs and lizardfolk a tactical advantage.
• Surprise Attacks: Hidden beneath the weeds, both creatures and traps lie in wait for intruders.