Innothule Swamp

Grobb exists no more. In this very swamp a new race of Froglok evolved, blessed by Mithaniel Marr, and moved into the ancient village. The trolls scattered to Feerrott, the Sands of Ro, and into the evil city of Neriak. The Frogloks renamed their conquest Gukta and now reside peacefully in the swamp although troll raiders and invaders still scout the area. I travelled through the desert to the swamp to see these amphibians and their village and, of course, to fish.

The swamp is a dark and dreary place filled with the noise of beasts and gurgling water. The remaining trolls are very dangerous and I found the place full of young undead, skeletons and zombies; I assume as a result of the recent battles. I carefully made my way to the tunnel leading to Gukta and spoke briefly with the guards. They were fairly indifferent to my presence and freely gave me permission to fish in their vicinity, which afforded me protection in these wild lands.

It took me a while to find a good spot, much of the water is too shallow or too muddy to be able to use a rod. However, it was not long before I'd made myself a comfortable seat on the moss near a deeper pool of water and began to fish.

I'd only just settled in when a young froglok crept closer. She'd never ventured out of the swamp and was intrigued to meet her first halfling.

"You are smaller than me," she said.
"I'm smaller than most," I replied in a friendly voice. "Come and join me."

She did. Her name was Lapfrog and she was a devout follower of Mithaniel Marr's principles of truth and valor, adept both in priestly abilities and in battle. To my surprise she pulled out a fishing rod, apparently fishing is a common sport in Gukta and most Frogloks are taught the basic skills at a very young age. I excitedly asked her about recipes, but quickly dropped the subject as she told me she enjoyed eating the fish raw. It seems these frogs are not as evolved as some would have it; raw fish! Ugh!

She was, however, very interested in my fishing rod, which I proudly showed her. I explained that I had received it as a gift from a barbarian fisherman who was researching aquatic specimens from the planes after helping him retrieve some of the rarer fish. The conversation naturally drifted to the planes and other interesting places; she had spent her life in the swamps and was just beginning to be interested in exploring more. Oddly she seemed quite interested in passing through the desert to the north, which I would not think would befit a creature who spends half its life in the water. I recommended travelling to the moon of Norrath and exploring the dank caves on the dark side, but she had heard of an oasis in the desert with plenty of water and shade and seemed committed to finding this place. I suspect her naturally pink skin will go bright red with sunburn, but there is no point in lecturing to the young, they must find their own way.

Life in the swamp is abundant and that is true of its water as well. I'd caught a few Thulian Mudskipper almost immediately although sadly they are too slimy and thin to do anything with. Even Lapfrog seemed uninterested in this fish, proving the frogs do have some discrimination when it comes to food. Much rarer was the fish I was looking for, Rujarkian Chub, which I have sampled before and is excellent when prepared very simply with a jug of sauces. At the water's edge I also found a local mushroom and some strange small vegetables, which Lapfrog informed me were used in trollish brewing (they do seem almost as obsessed as dwarves when it comes to alcohol, although I daresay the dwarven recipes are more palatable).

With the abundance of fish there I soon ran out of bait. Lapfrog told me that I could easily purchase more within Gukta and I happily followed her through a stone tunnel into the froggish enclave. which oddly enough still looks very trollish and is all above ground. She introduced me to a friendly merchant there called Geewuk (which I found quite imaginitive for a frog. Have you noticed they all seem to have names announcing that they are amphibious, as if we couldn't tell?) who was very interest in my tales of fishing around Norrath.

"My dream is to fish in the Ocean of Tears," he told me. "Wouldn't that be great?"

I agreed and offered to take him with me, but he seemed to grow distant and that point and stopped responding. Perhaps he is nervous of the broad expanse of ocean having lived with these shallow waters all his life. He did have a basic supply of bait, which I happily purchased from him, and I was intrigued to see that in addition to fresh fish he offered fish cakes! However, they were much cheaper than raw fish so I suspect they don't sell well.

Although the village was very intriguing, I began to feel weary and decided it was time to head back for home. I bid Lapfrog a fond farewell and wished her luck with her travels. I gave her a Halas Meat Pie, explaining that it was made with cooked meat which had a very different flavour to the raw chunks she'd been eating in the swamp. She peered at it oddly but I suspect she will be very surprised when she gets around to eating it, there is nothing like a warm meat pie to invigour you before battle!

I think I will travel to the Ocean of Tears soon and try my luck at deep sea fishing. Perhaps bringing back some souvenirs will convince Geewuk to travel there with me!