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I think we should, Lanel. Let's go check the cabin. Stay behind me, I'll take the lead. He says quietly to the young sorcerer.
Piotr walks slowly towards the cabin with his weapon pointed forward. The stillness of the clearing gives him an eerie feeling and makes his heart beat faster. When he gets within a few paces of the front door, he uses the tip of the polearm's blade to gently open the creaky wooden door.
Mouteka asks the vines why they are covering the man. But gets no response. These vines look like they are slowly wilting - perhaps they are dying or dead.
Elm's farmhouse is small, only one room. Piles of dirt and leaves and other pieces of nature are piled around the house. Through one of the windows, the Pathfinders see it contains a bed, a desk, a table, two chairs, a chest of clothes, a shelf of food and cooking supplies, and a fireplace. The house seems tidy and well kept besides a few piles of dirt and leaves. The only thing that seems out of place are two pieces of paper on his decks and a pen nearby.
Lanel senses one faint aura in the house. Other than that, there is nothing else that he notices.
Lanel sees an object on the table. It was hard to see initially but it's glowing magic now, though faint. Lanel notices that it looks like a small token or pendant in the shape of a wheel of cheese. It's purpose though? He has no idea.
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"seems there's a bit of magic here... hold on... you might want to check as well... to be fair you might want to check yourselves as well..."
"Really? The wonderful thing about magic is one never truly knows where it may be found. Let's take a look, then..." Saturn declares as he and his doll stare intently through the windows....
Saturn stare through the windows. Not the most settling sight. Their eyes focus in on the little cheese wheel token and they can sense the magic coming right off it.
It is a feather token (tree)
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The poor leshy looks saddened as the vines never reply.
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"Imagine if it is a tree MADE OF CHEESE!" Motueka chimes in peeking into the house with Dauswil maneuvering his head above the leshy, staring intently.
He then waddles over to the table and points up with one vine, Dauswil holding him up to look at the papers with Edric.
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Piotr steps aside to let his companions enter the cabin so they can search inside. He turns to face outward and stands stoically at the doorway to protect his companions within and keep watch on the cabin's surroundings.
Hearing that they found an enchanted item, he turns to speak.
A cheese wheel pendant that can turn into a giant tree? That's very... interesting.
A tree made of cheese! Good one, Motueka!
He gives a slight chuckle then goes back to keeping watch.
The note is a transcript of a conversation that Elm had with the [i]speak with plants[i] spell and you notice that the number of X's on the map matches the number of times that the word "whisperwort" is underlined in the note.
Whisperwort is a colloquial term for a species of red peat moss
The X's surround the town on the map but form no discernible pattern.
You can trace a curving line through the X's to form a spiral pattern radiating outward from one of the farms east of the village center.
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Piotr looks over the note and map.
Note - DC 14 Spellcraft:
Map - DC 16 Wisdom:
The note is a transcript of a conversation that Elm had with the speak with plants spell and you notice that the number of X's on the map matches the number of times that the word "whisperwort" is underlined in the note.
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"'Whisperwort?' I don't believe I have ever heard of such a thing..." He looks over to his doll - but if he knows anything about it, he's not telling.
"Well that's strange; there's actually a pattern here..." With a single long, spidery finger, he traces a curving line through the X's, ultimately revealing a spiral pattern radiating outward from one of the farms east of the village center.
Elise stutters. "That's... that's Bertinard's farm. You need to go there. I'll head back to town to gather guards to set up a perimeter. There's enough evidence to raise serious concern. "
Going to one of the X's on the map shouldn't be too hard and not much of a detour. In fact, they can follow it in a virtually unbroken line in a spiral pattern if they wish.
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Piotr turns to Lanel and tries to jog his memory.
Bertinard Dupris is the head priest of Shelyn here in Rosehaven. He was the gentleman that offered a blessing to the town to mark the official start to the festival.
We also heard the story that Bertinard had a special lantern that revealed the coven of witches for what they were. They caused the townsfolk to turn against each other, but, after the witches were destroyed, the community came together to forgive one another.
Elise nods. "Bertinard is the least evil man I know. He'd die for this community..." she trails off and shaking her head.
The Pathfinders head off in the direction of Bertinard. . As they walk along, they pass several farms growing various crops: pumpkin, corn, cabbages, among other things. The sun starts to set as they walk and eventually stars come out, shining brightly. They see almost no one - either they have gone to sleep or are still at the festival.
Elise heads back to town to find guards to set up the perimeter, leaving the Pathfinders to meet with Bertinard.
Without knowing that he was looking for red peat moss, Lanel would have a hard time pinpointing the exact locations of each X. But Lanel knows what to look for and easily spots some moss right where an X is. Continuing on to the next X, he easily finds more red peat moss. The group could continue following this trail in a spiral pattern all the way to Bertinard's house. This would take more time or they can go directly there.
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"Why not take the scenic route? As a great Groetan prophet once said, 'no one can ever know for sure what a deserted area looks like'...."
The red peat moss doesn't respond to Mouteka. His dialect is too foreign and they can't understand. But the Pathfinders are able to grab a sample and head to Bertinard's farm.
By the time they arrive, it is after dark. The stars are shining bright. The air is chilly. Time to bundle up!
The group knocks on the door and Bertinard takes a few moments to open it. He's in his bedtime robes. "Huh, oh, the Pathfinders." Seems like he was in the middle of engaging in extended prayer after a long day at the festival. He rubs his eyes. "Did you find anything related to Elm? Can it wait? I was just about to sleep. Perhaps you want to come in. Want some tea?"
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Forgive the intrusion, Mister Dupris...
Piotr pauses momentarily after hearing the offer for tea. He kneels by the fireplace to warm his hands and turns to Bertinard.
Actually, I think we are all a bit parched and would enjoy a spot of tea, thank you.
Wringing his warmed hands together, he stands away from the hearth and continues in a hurried tone.
Bertinard, we believe you may be in danger. Elm was killed by some sort of plant creature. We believe witches or plant creatures may be coming this way.
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Once they are inside, Edric pulls out a bit of the moss and holds it out toward Bertinard. "Have you seen any of this around your house? We found some outside of Elm's place and at a few other places that are marked on a map we found there. I think it may have something to do with what happened to Elm."
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We believe witches or plant creatures may be coming this way.
Saturn looks from Bertinard, to Piotr, to Motueka, and finally down to the two teacups set before him, one of which is much smaller than the other.
"I thought they already had," He says flatly as a plateau, punctuating his remark with a deep sip of tea from the larger cup.
"Yes, yeeeees. It cannot wait. Death is coming." Dauswil moans as he is pushed inside. He reaches for the tea before realizing it did not matter...instead he looks at the mugs in his hands and sobs quietly.
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"It was like Elm was counting something. He counted two batches of five... Something about Life to soil to life, taken to soil again... I don't suppose you have an idea of what that might mean??"
"Isn't it obvious? The cycle of life and death...in its simplest configuration, that is. He was grappling with his own mortality, perhaps in poetical form. Odd how slow most Humans are to face that, considering...."
Bertinard looks at the moss Edric holds out. "Hmmm. I don't think I have. Though I'm not a druid - I don't know my plants.". He hands everyone a glass of tea as he speaks. "What do you ..."
Before Bertinard could finish speaking, two of the windows explode. Three creatures crash through. Two of them look like tiny floating pumpkins. The larger one is a plant creature similar to Mouteka, but with a pumpkin for his head.
One of the gourds attempts to belch fire onto Lanel, but it seems momentarily disoriented after crashing through the windows.
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Round 1
Gourd 1
Dauswil
Saturn
Motueka
Gourd 2
Edric
Lanel
Piotr
Pumpkin creature
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Saturn backs away from the shattered window swiftly, but with an odd calm, seemingly more worried about not getting detritus on his robes than about any possible pumpkin-fire to the face.
"I apologize, this is a private party, I am going to have to ask you to go away," He addresses the pumpkin-monsters, those last two words somehow carrying a soul-chilling resonance, as he lifts a coldly shimmering silver icon of a moon etched with an eerie hint of a skull, from which radiates a sudden burst of raw entropy!