As Minos' power flared to life, the Brotherhood man started laughing. Ann glanced at him, then his eyes followed hers to his jo staff, lying at the new chieftan's side. As Minos used his power to float away, Ann and the agent both dived for the weapon. Ann barely beat him to the weapon. The lizardfolk perceived this as an attack, and the battle was joined.
Gronk formed a defensive perimeter around Triben and West, subduing any lizardfolk who approached. Triben hammered the brotherhood agent with magic missles, while West summoned tigers to chase him down. After a brief exchange of blows, the Brotherhood man fled from Ann. Meanwhile, after an abortive attack on Ann, the chieftan disappeared into the swamp.
The brotherhood man could find no succor from the relatively weak lizardfolk, and soon the party's combined efforts slew him. After only a few more moments of combat, the overwhelming force of the party pressed the lizardfolk into full retreat. Having finally reached a secure perch, Minos snatched up a lizardfolk he thought to be the new leader. The party allowed the rest to flee into the swamp while they surveyed the scene. While they had tried to be careful, a small number of lizardfolk had died at their hands. Unfortunatley, West's two waves of summoned creatures had caused significant collateral damage while pursuing the monk. Almost a score of the hundred or so present were dead, with another score disabled.
While the rest of the party made camp, West tracked the fleeing lizardfolk from the air. Once he caught up, he projected their path and found a large ziggurat surrounded by villages. Atop the ziggurat stood a lone metal brazier. Floating above the brazier was a somewhat dessicated but still-beating heart. Further scouting revealed several villages that had belonged to the lizardfolk but were now controlled by the bullywugs. They were more armed camp than proper village, and were clearly forward posts for the bullywug forces.
Minos charmed their captured lizardfolk, who turned out not to be the chieftan. Interrogation revealed that the village was actually a fake, designed to hosting outsiders without exposing the location of their main encampment. The party learned a little more about the schism between older and younger lizardfolk, and that the war with the bullywugs was going poorly. Finally, they learned that the rituals involving the Heart of Semuanya invariably involved blood being poured over the beating heart. The prisoner was released to convey the party's regret about the situation to the main tribe.
The next morning, the party broke camp and headed for the battle lines. they were avoided by several lizardfolk patrols. By afternoon they had arrived outside one of the foremost villages taken by the bullywugs. Some quick scouting revealed it was basically a square. The party planned briefly, then moved forward stealthily towards the camp. They were ambushed about two hundred meters out, well before they had intended to be discovered.
Fortunately, they plowed right over the ambush and rushed the camp. Once there, they lay down walls of magical fire around the camp, trapping everyone inside except Ann. The party proceeded to slaughter the hundreds of bullywugs inside. The bullywugs fought to the last, but were nowhere near a match for the party. Triben and Minos brought powerful magics to bear, while Gronk tore through the creatures like an orc possessed. West's creatures also wreaked havok.
The party spent the night in the smoldering remains of the village. Ann never returned, but the party seemed unconcerned. West even postulated that perhaps she was aligned with the Brotherhood, though nobody else seemed to support that thought. Minos attempted to communicate with her, but got no answer. West's scrying attempt also failed. The next morning, while most of the party broke camp, West tracked Ann from outisde the village where she had been pinned.
The trail led about halfway around the outskirts of the village. Ann had left about two score of dead bullywugs behind her, all badly mangled. West finally found her in a wet clearing. She sat, meditatively, staring at the decapitated head of a bullywug. Ann's kama sat in its skull. A trail of blood lead from the head about twenty feet to the bullywug's body. Further trails led to the other extremities. The stench of death and rot was heavy in the air. Ann did not react to West's arrival.