You are up-and-coming members of the Pathfinder Society! Having recently completed your initiations, you are ready to head out into the world on missions from the organization's higher-ups. And recently, you received a letter from Urwal, the iruxi leader of the Verdant Wheel. You know Urwal by reputation. He’s one of the newest leaders of the Pathfinder Society, an iruxi stargazer who simply showed up at the Grand Lodge the previous year and made himself at home, correcting labels on Mwangi artifacts, sorting insect collections, and painting murals of the night sky as seen from central Garund. He’s considered odd, even by the flexible standards of the Pathfinders, but he’s clearly committed to the Pathfinder cause, and he and his supporters have proven their worth where the preservation of nature is concerned.
The letter read as follows: Three months ago, the Green passed briefly beside the Stranger, the two in confluence for a half-turning of a moon. In Finadar’s heart, the spirits run riot. Flesh and flower flow together, and bones walk on limbs of wood. Soon, the Child shall pass beneath the aegis of the Mother. The time is auspicious for the Pathfinders to fix what was broken.
Journey to Iobarian Mishkar. At the caravansary beneath, amid the stalls, you will find Jaldan, a shaman of Redpine. She will wait for you there until the moon turns once more. Do not dally.
As Pathfinders, you are aware that the Pathfinder Society was involved in a major operation in Finadar Forest in the last year, 4718 AR. An ancient cyclopean ritual was accidentally triggered by a group of goblins living in a dragon’s graveyard, causing a massive fire. With help from the Pathfinders, the local centaurs and druids managed to stop the fire, and since then have been working on the forest’s recovery. The goblins in question have since emigrated west.
Thus, you began your journey through the River Kingdoms and Brevoy, towards the distant land of Iobaria, far to the north. The weeks-long trip has given you ample time to get to know your companions, fellow Pathfinders all! You can't wait to begin your first mission together!
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"I've never been this far east before." The dark-haired woman says conversationally. It takes a moment for it to be clear that she's speaking to her companions - Sarianna seems to reserve about half her conversation for her raven familiar Corvax. "Neither of us have. From what I hear its cold."
Not that that will bother her. The woman wears short sleeves all year round and has never bothered with a coat that any of you have seen.
With her skill in the occult, Sariana is able to interpret Urwal’s peculiar comments and references to rituals in the note.
The Green is the planet of Castrovel, associated with fertility, while the Stranger is one of the constellations of the Cosmic Caravan, associated with ill magic and typically depicted as a single, staring eye. The Child is another name for Golarion, while the Mother is another of the Cosmic Caravan, associated with protection.
The Stranger has a particular place in the iconography of Old Koloran, the pre-human empire of cyclopses that included much of modern-day Iobaria, thousands of years ago.
"Theres nothing wrong with the cold Sariana. It just means you need to dress more appropriately, maybe even a coat?" Summer Grove lectures.
"Well Primrose here is always my source of warmth!" She says, laying a hand on the large feline with a slick black coat, two flaming orange stripes running from its head to the top of its tail.
Summer Grove can parse Urwal's references to spirits and primal worship. Iobaria’s dominant religion is the worship of various nature spirits, who protect harvests, prevent forest fires, and so forth. Most religious figures are druids.
Crystal snorts, letting out a gust of misted air. "At least it's not Nidal."
Up front, a heavily muscled and equipped young human man with purple-reddish hair and freckles looks back. In contrast to his build yet true to hhis still present boyish features, it was clear he wasn't very experienced, often calling for unnessecary stops over perceived non-existing threats.
Yet he always continued that same vigilant behavior. Perhaps he was just natrually overprotective, perhaps it was technically his first day on the job, and perhaps he felt a bit awkward in a team with three girls of roughly his own age. Maybe all three?
"Would you like my cloak?" he asks Sariana, then averts his eyes at the woman's show of skin. "I, ah, always found gambeson pretty warm, especially under chain mail! The more and more we head out, the easier it gets to believe dad when he said he never bothered with cold weather gear."
When Nidal is mentioned, however, he whirles around to Crystal with wide eyes. "You've actually been there? Is it true that's is as horrible as the rumors say?"
Crystal looks straight ahead as she responds to the young man's question. "Been there? I was born there, I'm afraid."
"Why do you ask? What sort of rumours have you heard?"
"Oh! I'm sorry, Miss Crystal," he bows his head apologetically. "I... guess it's the kind of things you can expect to be said of a country under forced Zon-Kuthon worship? Set against stuff relating to diabloism from earlier Cheliax rule and how elements of that survived there? All the tortune and oppression of the people makes it sound like a pretty bad place to live and grow up in. At least, to me, as an outsider. Is that incorrect?"
Crystal goes silent for a while.
"...it's not incorrect. It's not called 'the Land of Shadows' for nothing." She sighs. "A lot of nightmare-inducing things hide in those shadows."
"What about your family? I mean, not that they're nightmare-inducing! ...I hope? Do they still live there?"
He looks around to the others, wondering if he was asking too much or if this was the time to stop talking.
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"You're talking too much." Sarianna says, offering the boy a sly smile. "Let a girl keep a little mystery and then she can choose whether she wants to open up to you. Ask too many questions and you become annoying."
She carries on walking and then calls over her shoulder. "Thank you for the offer, but I'll be fine. I like the cold air on my... shoulders."
Crystal looks rather uncomfortable as the paladin presses her with more questions, but gives Sariana a thankful look when she admonishes him.
"Thank you for the offer, but I'll be fine. I like the cold air on my... shoulders."
...you do? Back in Nidal, cold air is something to be avoided at all times.
"You're talking too much." Sarianna says, offering the boy a sly smile. "Let a girl keep a little mystery and then she can choose whether she wants to open up to you. Ask too many questions and you become annoying."
The boy nods slowly. "Right. We'll just get to know eachother by forcing mortal danger instead!"
Seemingly happier at such a prospect then talking any further, he redirects his attention forward.
"Girls and their weirdness... why couldn't I just have a drinking buddy along to share cool stories with, or something? It's so awkward being on a journey with three strangers and every time I try to talk to someone I get either one-word answers, someone who wears way too little or a huge cat that keeps glaring at me every time I look at Summer. I guess she seems nice, at least?"
"Oh come now Kyle, we have all been vetted by the society, so its not like we can't trust we all have decent motives as a base minimum." Summer says, running her hands through the bush she's walking alongside.
"Let's enjoy the outdoors even if just a little. What do we know about where we're heading anyway?"
Summer shares what she knows about the druids of Iobaria. None of you can recall much about the area’s culture or history, though. Nevertheless, you continue your journey, and eventually you reach your destination.
Sprawling on a hilltop overlooking a broad caravansary, the town of Mishkar is an eclectic mix of steeply pitched Varisian houses interspersed with the occasional red-tiled Taldan roof. The scars of the recent fires are still visible if one cares to look, seen in the town’s smoke-darkened rooftops and sooted doorways. Mostly, though, you see evidence of new construction and repairs both finished and in progress; it seems that Mishkar is decidedly in favor of putting the past behind it. Today, it is a city of paint buckets and ladders, of carpenters and surveyors and masons, smelling of sawdust and sounding of workers’ cries.
The caravansary at the foot of the hill is equally bustling. A large caravan of merchants from Brevoy has just arrived, and the building’s yard is crowded with clerks and guards, horses and grooms, with curious children darting between the wagon wheels. Just about everyone seems to be at the caravansary today, except the person you need to meet. Jaldan is nowhere to be found.
Your first task, then, is to find your guide!
Crystal starts heading into the crowd to ask some pointed questions.
"Oh come now Kyle, we have all been vetted by the society, so its not like we can't trust we all have decent motives as a base minimum." Summer says, running her hands through the bush she's walking alongside.
"Huh? But I was just trying to-"
Big cat glaring daggers.
He lets out a pained sigh and throws up his arms in surrender as he ceases all attempts at small talk for the rest of the way.
Fortunately, they arrived not too long after, and he was all too glad to get down to the first assignment!
Gathering intel is not one of Summer's strong points, and she instead watches as the other three get to work.
Kyle finds success in his information gathering. One of the grooms mentions that he saw a teenaged centaur girl out by the east wall perhaps 20 minutes ago.
Just past the east wall of Miskhar is the peculiar sight of a freckled, teenaged centaur yelling at an apple tree. Upon closer inspection, it is clear that she is actually yelling at a pair of human children who have climbed the tree: a boy and a girl, each about ten years old, with matching red hair and homespun clothes. The girl nonchalantly eats an apple while the boy rifles through a decorated leather satchel.
“You little demons, give that back!” the centaur yells, flicking her tail in profound irritation.
“Hmm. Nope,” the girl in the tree says, munching on the apple.
“Not until you show us how to make those dead squirrel monsters!” the boy calls down.
“Sure, I’ll show you! Come on down, I’ll make two dead monsters! Little devils, with red hair!” the centaur yells, then spots your approach. “... Oh no. You’re... did Urwal send you? Oh no. Um. Can you just... I’m sorry, could you come back in a half hour? Please?”
Arriving at the scene and noticing the shaman seemed to need help, Kyle nods at her and looks up the tree. "You realize she's trying to be nice, don't you? As a shaman, she could hex in any manner of ways, and bad luck is one of the *less* nasty ones. Are you really sure you want to keep taunting her and see just when she stops holding back?"
He winks sideways at the shaman girl to play along.
“Yes! She’s a forest witch, see, and we want her to make us one of those scary squirrel monsters. Or show us how to make a scarecrow walk,” the boy says, as if this is the most reasonable request in the world. “Then we’ll give her bag back!”
“We’re not thieves,” the girl adds.
“Yes! She’s a forest witch, see, and we want her to make us one of those scary squirrel monsters. Or show us how to make a scarecrow walk,” the boy says, as if this is the most reasonable request in the world. “Then we’ll give her bag back!”
“We’re not thieves,” the girl adds.
"Really? 'Cause you sure are acting like ones," Kyle says to the girl. "Think about it. How would you like it if I climbed up there, took your apple and held it away from you until you did what I said?" He then looks at the boy. "Or your allowance? Do you want others to treat you the way you treat her? This wrongdoing is the sort of thing that gets you into trouble with your parents too."
"I imagine your parents wouldn't be happy to hear about this." Crystal adds.
”Aw, you had to bring our parents into it? That’s fighting dirty!” the girl says. Both kids look at each other, and the boy sighs. ”Fine! We’ll give back the bag. But we still want her to make a squirrel monster! It’s like, a dead squirrel, with a bunch of branches stuck in it, and it moves kinda like a centipede, and it’s got burning eyes with bloodpine sap, and it’s the awesomest thing I’ve ever seen!”
“I think they maybe saw one of the polluted nature spirits,” Jaldan says to you, quietly. “And before you ask, no, I can’t make one. Not that I would. If I could.”
The kids climb down and return the bag. Jaldan spends a few minutes sorting out her pack, making sure that the children haven’t stolen or broken anything inside. Finally, she relaxes, closing the pack.
“Cenenviel might actually not kill me now,” the centaur says. “Even if he didn’t, I might have died of embarrassment if I didn’t get my bag back. Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!!! You just saved my hooves. Uh... when we get back to camp, could you maybe, uh... not mention this to anyone. Please?”
“Cenenviel might actually not kill me now,” the centaur says. “Even if he didn’t, I might have died of embarrassment if I didn’t get my bag back. Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!!! You just saved my hooves. Uh... when we get back to camp, could you maybe, uh... not mention this to anyone. Please?”
"Sure! Us freckled ones help eachother out, right?" Kyle smiles and offers her a hand. "I'm Kyle - we're from the Pathfinder Society." he points behind himself to the others. "The scary girl is Crystal. Actually... it's the scary girl on the left. The other one on the right is Issi, but she's a bit nicer. And that's Summer. She misunderstands things. And between you and me, I sometimes think her cat wants to eat me..."
”Nice to meet you all,” Jaldan says. ”So, here’s the story. Over the last few months, something really weird has happened to the local forest spirits. They’ve always been a little cranky, but now they’ve gone from ‘Auntie Kaana before she has her morning tea’ to ‘We will bake bread from your bones’. They’re not talking to the druids or the shamans, and when Cenenviel tried to do a big ritual to ask them what’s wrong, a tree animated and tried to kill him.
“So that’s bad. Worse, the spirits have started making bodies for themselves. You know leshys, right? Well, normally, only druids can make one. They grow a little plant or mushroom body, nicely ask a spirit to come inside, and poof, leshy. Except now the spirits are making their own bodies, and they’re really creepy, and also violent. I had to smash something that looked like a dead skunk crossed with a thorn- bush when it tried to eat my face last night.
“These things have been attacking people, starting fires, and trying to burn down the forest. I don’t think anyone’s gotten killed yet, but it’s probably going to happen sooner rather than later.
“Anyway, that’s what Cenenviel, Kaana, and your Urwal are trying to figure out now at the Redpine camp. They seem to think you can help. So! Get your stuff and let’s get going!”
Jaldan gives you some money and supplies, telling you that the journey to the Redpine camp should take about a day and that you should prepare for the troubles ahead. These supplies consist of 5 gp in coins, a lesser cheetah’s elixir, and an owlbear claw.
"I was wondering why the children were so fascinated with the idea of dead squirrel monsters..." Crystal muses.
"...what sort of weather should we expect en route?"
"Cool breezes and sunny skies," Jaldan says with a smile. "It will be a pleasant spring day here in Iobaria."
"Not really." Issi says with a grin. "He's a bit stringy to be a good meal. It's nice to meet you." She adds and her black raven gives a caw that might be agreement.
Kyle sweatdrops. "'Stringy'...? Wait. Wait a moment! Are you a cannibal, miss Issi!?"
Fortunately, by the sheer volume of information subsequently dumped on him by Jaldan, Kyle is sufficienctly distracted to not ponder this revelation any further.
"Right! We'll go and travel to the camp and see how we can help. Thanks, Jaldan! Will you be all right from here?" he asks the centaur girl.
”I’ll be fine. I’m going with you, after all!” Jaldan smirks.
After making any purchase you desire, you head out into the forest. This far out from the Abyssal pollution, Finadar Forest looks much as always. The bruorsivi trees make it an odd sort of forest, largely indistinguishable from a typical evergreen wood except for the fact that everything is in shades of red. The branches overhead are crimson, and scarlet needles crunch underfoot.
Jaldan is an enthusiastic traveling companion, spending the trip peppering you with questions about the world outside of Finadar Forest. For her, the trip to Urwal’s camp is the equivalent of a summer stroll in the park, so while she keeps an eye on the forest out of habit, she’s clearly not expecting trouble.
Despite her nonchalance, though, trouble awaits. A band of absolutely bizarre creatures crawls from the forest, chirping and hooting as they go. A moss-covered human skull scuttles along six branches like a spider. A dead raccoon slinks along on a fungal mat that bleeds sap from a hundred crimson ‘eyes’. A twisted mass of weeds topped with pulsing flowers staggers forward, leaving trails of burning sap.
Spotting you, the oozing plants let out a plaintive shriek. As the tiny monsters approach, something odd happens. One dreadful creature, a rotten gourd walking on three rabbit feet, lunges toward Jaldan, only to trip and smash itself against an upraised root. Some kind of hot sap splashes around it, and in seconds the bruorsivi needles catch light and begin to burn.
“Spirits of woe and weal,” Jaldan swears softly, watching in horrified fascination. “They’re going to set the whole forest aflame.”
On its turn, the fire spreads into a number of additional squares equal to half the number of squares the fire currently occupies, minimum 1 square. The GM determines the squares the fire spreads into. Any creature that ends its turn next to the flames takes 1d6 fire damage, and any creature within the flames takes 2d6 fire damage (DC 13 basic Reflex save for both). A creature can take damage from flames only once per round.
"That will never happen on my watch! I've got the fire!" Summer yells, as she rushes forwards to smother the flames.
Summer extinguishes about half of the fire, but it flares up again, slowly spreading.
The hogweed leshy rushes up to Kyle and batters him with its stalk, splashing him with burning sap. The plum leshys circle around Summer and hurl rotten fruit at her, landing one hit.
"I'll help with the fire! I know magic," Jaldan calls. "Well, I know a magic. A spell that makes water. Usually. One time I made weak tea!"
The centaur casts her spell, conjuring water and extinguishing some of the flames.
Crystal studies the nearest plum leshy, noticing a slight limp in its left leg.
I can exploit that.
Then, she moves up with her sword at the ready and stabs at the creature!
"Argh! Do it, Jaldan! Everything helps right now!" Kyle cries out, trying to ignore that he is, in fact, on fire and attacks the source of the flame twice!
With his final action, he assumes a defensive stance with his shield, hoping to block further incoming attacks.
Summer yells out as the fruit impacts her. Primrose, now not so frightful of the fire that is lessening leaps forwards to aid her companion.
"We can't let the fire spread any further! Prim, defend me!" She shouts, ignoring the leshies as much as she can.
Primrose snaps her jaws at a leshy.
Kyle swings his flickmace at the hogweed leshy, landing one good hit. Crystal moves around to flank the plant creature and stabs it. As it dies, it releases a burst of toxic natural energy.
Issi maneuvers to get both of the plum leshys in her color spray. She stuns one of them and dazzles the other!
Summer extinguishes some of the flames before commanding Primrose in to bite the dazzled plum leshy.
The wounded leshy lashes out at Primrose with its claws, landing one lucky critical hit, while the blinded one hurls rotten fruit at Issi, missing her completely. Kyle intervenes to protect Primrose, though the leshy is too far away for him to retaliate against it.
The fire starts to spread again, but Jaldan keeps it in check with her water spell.
Crystal manages to avoid the worst of the burst before turning her attention on the remaining leshy.
Kyle grits his teeth and bears it, then moves closer to the second attacking creature and attacks it, ust before raising his shield!
Crystal moves to flank the wounded leshy with Primrose, slicing it apart, while Kyle smashes the last leshy. Both release a trickle of noxious energy as they die.
Issi moves beside Summer and finishes extinguishing the flames, ensuring they will not spread throughout the forest.
”Yes! We did it!” Jaldan cries! The centaur is absolutely ecstatic, hugging any of you who comes within reach and promising to make you honorary Redpines.
Crystal winces as she's picked up into a bone-crushing hug.
Still smoking from the fire, and wincing upon being hugged with severe active burn wounds, Kyle still manages to laugh and hugs her back. "Sweet, we did it! Our first actual fight together, everyone!"
He then wonders if it was appropriate to hug a girl who was both cute, a centaur and technically their client on the job. Thus, he lets go a little quickly and awkwardly.
"I... should heal myself!" he swiftly follows, summoning divine power for just that.
He touches the part blackened and part new pinkish skin underneath and grimaces. "I guess the powers of Iomedae and Estivas weren't enough... can anyone help out a bit?"
”The shamans at camp will be happy to tend to your wounds when we get there,” Jaldan says. ”We should keep moving!”
After the encounter with the leshys, Jaldan sets a hard pace for the camp, determined to get home before anything else goes wrong. You shamble into the encampment just as the Redpine centaurs are setting up for the night.
The Redpine camp is located at a bend in a small forest stream. Hides stretch from branch to branch, making for a cluster of oddly shaped but surprisingly large dwellings. A few trenches have been dug to reroute part of the stream and form a kind of moat or firebreak around the camp, and several decorated banners hang from spears driven into the ground. The smell of roasting meat wafts over the camp, and you see several rabbits cooking over a fire.
Jaldan hails a sentry as you arrive. You are promptly welcomed into the camp, allotted a patch of ground, and given roast rabbit and wild greens. Jaldan steals a rabbit leg from you, then trots off to report to the camp’s leaders.
About an hour later, you are approached by a golden-eyed lizardfolk with coppery scales. “Stars move more easily than minds,” the lizardfolk observes to no one in particular, sitting down on a log. “I am Urwal. Jaldan spoke to us. You have seen Finadar’s problem in flower and flesh. Tell me what you have seen.”