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My Fellow Travelers,
Strange weather has taken hold in a part of the Verduran Forest, south of the town of Bellis. Falbin, a gnome herbalist who serves our interests in the region, has reported tropical winds and abundant floral growth. I invite you to explore and record the phenomena to the best of your abilities. I’ve arranged passage for your party on the riverboat Freewind, and sent an operative ahead so Falbin knows to expect you. Falbin can be hard to spot, since he’s shorter than the average gnome, but his voice carries like a church bell. If all else fails, use your nose—I’ve never seen the fellow without a fat satchel of herbs at his side.
Safe Journeys,
Venture-Captain Brackett
The little dinosaur seems content to snuggle up against his pet elf. He loves his Koani, and will protect her from all the bad things that try to hurt her.
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With a mix between a Meow and a Yawn, Ayla stretches, arching her back as she crawls out from a cave made of Cargo Boxes. ”Ayla here, punch things. You friend? Ayla no Punch!”
Offering a Pawed Hand, the muscular Woman reaches out to Koani and her Dino Buddy. ”Ayla people Ride lizard. Lizard have name? Good Lizard?”
Reaching into her (Bulging) backpack with her other paw, she pulls one of numerous apples out, before crunching happily into it. ”Ayla have MANY apple. Ayla share!”
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A young woman with straw-colored hair and pale blue eyes yawns, stretching out and propping her feet up on the nearby railing. Though she's dressed in what looks like a new suit of leather armor, an enormous hammer resting against her chair, she doesn't really look like the warrior type. At her feet, a small white fox races around in circles and underneath her chair.
The woman grins and looks over at the elf and her dinosaur, and at the furry cat-person. "At least he'll fight for you. All I get from Blanca is a buncha butt-chewin'!"
As if on cue, the little fox looks up at the woman and gives an indignant-sounding yip.
"Yeah yeah, I know. Still think you worry too much but you wouldn't be you if you didn't," the woman laughs. As she shifts in her seat, the tiniest hint of pointed ears peeks out from under her hair. "Anyway, name's Minna. Nice to meetcha. You too, Blarg."
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As the party begins to gather about the ship into a common meeting area one of the potted bushes on deck noticably shakes loudly. As if seperating from the planted pot a small shrubbery shakes and begins to form into the shape of a smal humanoid like creature.
Two eyes and a mouth appear on what could only be the head of this little plant thing. "Hello." It says with a gracious bow "The names Herbert, Herbet Shimmmer Leaf, Herbalist by trade. It is a pleasure to meet all of you." taking the meaty catfolks paw he shakes it adamently. "Apples are a wonderful piece of fruit." he moves about greating each other member in attendance with a personal handshake.
"So I guess we are all here for the same thing? Venture-Captain Brackett has called on each of us." he winks strangly with his berry like eyes and leafy lids.
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Bellis is a small but thriving town whose inhabitants produce
lumber, honey, beeswax, and mead. PCs wishing to purchase
goods here can readily find any items costing 1,500 gp or less.
Aſter the PCs disembark, they can quickly find Falbin with
either a Diplomacy check to gather information (DC 15) Perception (DC 18) or Survival (DC 15) check to track the aromas of
his bundle of herbs. PCs who spend more than 4 hours in
town bump into Falbin regardless of any skill checks.
A male gnome, Fabin, stands on the steps of
the Bellis Library, arguing with a stately female humanoid, Jamila,
with gold eyes and intricate henna tattoos. A bird with
magnificent plumage perches on the woman’s shoulder. The
PCs overhear part of their debate before either NPC notices
their approach; specifically, they hear Falbin insisting, “The
druids are to blame, I’d bet anything,” while the woman
shakes her red mane, saying, “Think bigger!There’s more to
this than your old grudges.”
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Minna blinks as one of the potted plants comes alive and begins speaking with them. She rubs her eyes, squints, and then laughs. "Well, I thought I'd seen a lot but this is uncharted territory right here!" She kneels down and shakes the little plant-man's viney hand, perhaps a little harder than she should but not hard enough to actually cause any damage.
"Never thought I'd be working with a plant-man but hey, why not? Good to meet you, uh...Herbert," Minna grins. "Not meaning to stare or anything but I've never seen one like you before...or Ayla over there, truth be told. Where do you folks come from, if it's not being too nosy?"
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The little plany man smiles and gives a rather strong grip back to Minna "Why thank you for the kind words feel free to call me Herbie ... I don't think I caught your name. But to answer your question I am known as a Grapevine Leshy and I hail from Merab in the great nation of Thuvia. That is where I learned my way about a lab although I tended to find myself more in the fields watching over the many vineyards I called home."
As blarg sniffs Herbert the leshy picks a small grape from his person and gives the dinosaur a little treat.
Blarg takes the treat into his mouth, being careful not to bite the nice vine creature who seems to be a friend of his Koani. Any friend of his Koani must be a good thing, so not to be hurt.
Then Blarg looks at the little frog. Frogs are tasty, right? He gets a particular look in his eyes that Koani has learned to look out for when meeting new friends.
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"Well I'll be," Minna gapes as Quon joins the party. "It's been a long time since I've not been the most eye-catchingest thing in a crowd," she laughs. "The more the merrier, though! Nice to meet ya Quon. I'm Minna and the fox is Blanca."
"Thuvia, eh? Seems we're both a long ways from home Herbie," Minna continues. "Except mine's further north...a lot further north. Haven't been there in awhile, though." Her expression seems to cloud somewhat. "Easier that way."
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An elven woman with short brown hair peeks around the corner at the commotion. A serene smile spreads across her face. Gliding across the deck with an easy gait she bows slightly to the assembled Pathfinders.
"Greetings, comrades. I am Narissiel. Am I correct in assuming you are here with the Pathfinders?" With a twinkle in her eye she adds, "Why else would such an eclectic group be on their way to Bellis?"
She offers a delicate--but surprisingly calloused--hand to each of the others in turn.
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
Narissiel strode through Bellis with a serene smile. This seemed to be a relatively comfortable place, at peace with its surroundings. She paused to sniff the many flower gardens and watch each lazily drifting bee that crossed her path.
She gave a sniff at the air...
Then looked around...
...Finally hearing the sound of raised voices on the breeze. She followed the sounds to the library, and raised an eyebrow at the argument taking place on the steps. She waits there for a moment, listening to the conversation.
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Minna glances at Narissiel, the woman's change in demeanor hard to miss. "Well hello friends, what seems to be the problem?" she asks of the gnome, presumably Falbin, and the red-haired woman. "Pretty spirited debate you're having here for everyone to see! But we need more details before we start placing bets," she says with a wink, trying to be friendly and lighten the mood a little.
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Jamil greets you. Ah, I see you have arrived. I am Jamila, a friend of Ashahar. I work as liaison between the Pathfinder Society and the Concordance.
Falbin interrupts, [b]I saw it, clear as my own nose, and felt it on my gooseflesh. About 3 miles south of Bellis—a fine spot to gather pokeroot, even in autumn—everything suddenly gets hot. Summery. I dare say, even tropical! The flora overflows. It’s a jungle out there!
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As Jamila greets everyone Herbert reached up to the foliage atop his head which slight takes on the shape of a hat as he grabs the 'brim' he nods to Jamila "Jamila pleasure to meet you. After reading through the request I had recieved I thought nothing more than to rush off to meet you here in Bellis." turning to Falbin Herbert asks the plucky gnome as rather excited question "Poke Root you Say! I have not had a chance to use any of that for some time!" his expression grows dower as he hears the mention of unruly weather change especially for the middle of autumn. "The weather is odd some might even say strange. Do you know what could be the cause of this meteorlogical phinomia? Has the Verdan forest always had unexplained weather patterns?'
Thinking to himself the Grapevine Leshy trys to recall some useful information.
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It was Fabin starts, before Jamila cuts him off, We don’t know enough to hazard a guess. That’s why you’re here—although
I hope you don’t mind if I accompany you. An extra pair of eyes can't hurt..
Fabin starts up again. Now wait just a minute. I’ve tangled with a rank crop of druids from Briar Henge, east of here. It’s just like that rotten lot to go mucking with the seasons.
It’s a riſt. A portal between planes. I lack proof, but I’d bet good money that’s what we’re dealing with. counters Jamila.
Now, about those bets... add Fabin with a gleam in his eye.
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Ayla, ears perking up at the mention of the Jungle, grins widely. "Ayla from Jungle! Tall Tree! Many Plant! Much Food!"
Ayla asks around town for a bit, seeing what information that she can gather. While sometimes difficult to understand, she is charming enough to get some information.
"Jungle have Many Trees. Jungle No like Axe man. Axe man in Lum Bar Kin Shore Tum. Pri mud eye al ones scare Axe Man most, new clan in Spiky Plant Fence get big, scare Axe Man."
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"The jungle, huh? Pretty well outta my element, considering where I come from," Minna muses aloud. "But hey, it can't be any worse than the frozen north, right? Not that I think I'll be easy, I mean. Every place's got their fun and games, eh? Eh?"
"...really? And here I thought that song was popular; I mean Janira made me listen to it and everythin' on the way back from my Confirmation," the half-elf sighs after no one laughs at or seems to get her reference. "But yeah, like Koani and Narissiel say, we'll go check it out, sure."
Minna then looks askance as Ayla offers her own two copper on the matter. "...whut?"
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Narissiel nods along with the catfolk, but gets lost somewhere near the end.
"The denizens of the Verduran Forest don't get along with the Lumber Consortium. That's an Andoran based lumber company." she explains to Minna. Then she looks at Ayla askance. "Then she said, the Primordial Ones scare the Lumber Consortium the most... Something about the Spiky Plant Fence clan...? I'm sorry. I don't understand that last part. I've never heard of the Primordial Ones, or that clan."
Turning her attention back to Fabin and Jamila, she asks, "Is it a long journey? We can set out as soon as we're properly supplied."
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Fabin says The edge of the weather phenomenon is 6 miles south of Bellis. If we stick to the well trodden hunting runs, it'll be a 2 hour walk.
Watching as her colorful pet bird circles overhead, Jamila pulls aside Shimmerleaf, Meloriel, and Koani
“But there’s more at stake here. Now that the Concordance is settling in on Golarion, Ashasar craves knowledge about the elemental forces that form this world’s atmosphere. To those native to the Elemental Planes, the seasons that are so familiar to you are a symphony of mysteries. This strange region of Falbin’s, with its bizarre weather, promises insight for us, especially if a planar portal is involved. “This mission is a chance to impress Ashasar,” she confides, her gold eyes glittering. “Anything you can recover pertaining to the four seasons would please him immensely. He's...he’s very hands-on; he prefers physical evidence to mere theories.”
After roughly 4 miles of walking, Fabin and Jamila begin their "discussion" again.
Fabin I know it was the Briar Henge Druids, who else could do this? I am so sure that it was them, that I'll put up 150 pieces of gold to prove it.
Jamil pulls out a large tourmaline gem. Done! This will cover my stake that it was NOT the druids.Somehow I doubt druids have the capabilities to open the veils between the elements.
Jabin then looks at the group. I'll wager this tangleburn bag against 50 pieces of gold. Any takers?
At the end of the discussion, but before we begins walking, the little dinosaur walks over to Jamila and Fabin and sniffs at them and offers his head for a scratch.
Blarg happily accepts the treats and pats. He even gives Jamila a little nuzzle on the arm. Then he happily returns to his Koani.
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"The primordial gang she said. It is a feral gang of druids from Briar Henge, wherever that may be that has made life more difficult for the local loggers. They change into giants and then ambush the loggers. As if humans aren't big enough on their own." Quon translates for Ayla, although it helps that he had already asked around in town.
He turns towards Fabin "Do you have directions to Briar Henge? Might be a good place to ask around, although I am not sure they will be friendly"