Perched at the edge of civilized lands, the small town of Falcon’s Hollow has always had to rely on itself to solve its problems. Meanwhile, the uncaring lumber barons squeeze the common folk for every last copper, deaf to their pleas. Now the hacking coughs of the sick are heard throughout town. The plague has come to Falcon’s Hollow and the town’s leaders can’t be bothered to stop it.
Part I: An Elusive Antidote
It's been nearly a week since the first cases started coming in. Wheezing and coughing townsfolk, both young and old, have been brought down, some even laid low, by the ailment. Several dozen have contracted whatever this is, and while the local clerics have been powerless to do anything about it, a local herbalist named Laurel has, reportedly, been treating the infected from her store.
Creeping ivy and full window boxes cover the façade of the rugged-looking, two-story shop
bearing the faded sign “Roots and Remedies.” A line of twenty-some somber townsfolk—some with pale, wheezing children, others seeming to be precipitously near tears—stretches from the open door. It looks like you'd be there for an hour if you waited in line, but there seems to be little choice.
Perched at the edge of civilized lands, the small town of Falcon’s Hollow has always had to rely on itself to solve its problems. Meanwhile, the uncaring lumber barons squeeze the common folk for every last copper, deaf to their pleas. Now the hacking coughs of the sick are heard throughout town. The plague has come to Falcon’s Hollow and the town’s leaders can’t be bothered to stop it.
Part I: An Elusive Antidote
It's been nearly a week since the first cases started coming in. Wheezing and coughing townsfolk, both young and old, have been brought down, some even laid low, by the ailment. Several dozen have contracted whatever this is, and while the local clerics have been powerless to do anything about it, a local herbalist named Laurel has, reportedly, been treating the infected from her store.
Creeping ivy and full window boxes cover the façade of the rugged-looking, two-story shop
bearing the faded sign “Roots and Remedies.” A line of twenty-some somber townsfolk—some with pale, wheezing children, others seeming to be precipitously near tears—stretches from the open door. It looks like you'd be there for an hour if you waited in line, but there seems to be little choice.
"Hi there, I assume she's in?" Morganna greets those waiting warmly.
They turn to stare back at her with suspicion in their eyes at the sight of the Kelishite wizard who blinks back her humour undampened by their sour expressions."So any chance she needs a hand?" Morganna asks brightly.
"I'm a student in herbalism so I was wondering if an extra pair of hands might help her preparing this remedy of hers?" she explains but apparently to deaf ears as the locals are somewhat less than exuberant at the sight of an outsider asking if they need her help.
"Okay I'll wait, so... why haven't the local church intervened? I mean surely they have the pull to call in some of the respective champions of their faith, right?" Morganna asks now even more curious.
"You talk too much," one of those waiting sourly points out.
"Yes I do, but then I was never any good at that bardic thing you see," Morganna nods back completely blind to what they weren't saying.
The waiting crowd turned to pointedly ignore her as Morganna sighed.
~Oh well she thought, maybe if I wait a bit I might actually meet this famed herbalist of theirs~ she decides.
A crease of worry crosses Jorsic’s brow as he make his way towards the herbalist’s shop, at first when prayers had proven unsuccessful in curing the illness plaguing the townsfolk he had been content to follow the town elder’s guidance and remain patient, but now that people had begun to die something more had to be done. Clearly Iomedae’s intention is for the solution to this problem to be found through action.
Coming into view of the people queuing in hopes that the herbalist has some cure, he forces his troubles from his face and offers them a reassuring smile. Overhearing the talkative Keleshite, he moves over towards her.
“The Church is already involved,” he explains gravely, his smile fading slightly, “though curative magics have unfortunately proven unsuccessful thus far… it seems that this is a trial we must face ourselves.”
“But it is good that there are those such are yourself who are willing to offer their aid,” he speaks more cheerfully, before bowing slightly, “I am Josric, servant of Iomedae. Would you mind if I waited with you to see Laurel?”
“The Church is already involved,” he explains gravely, his smile fading slightly, “though curative magics have unfortunately proven unsuccessful thus far… it seems that this is a trial we must face ourselves.”
“But it is good that there are those such are yourself who are willing to offer their aid,” he speaks more cheerfully, before bowing slightly, “I am Josric, servant of Iomedae. Would you mind if I waited with you to see Laurel?”
"Of course!" beams Morganna.
"It must be really trying times for your faith and all, mind if I ask you some questions regarding this matter, as a wizard the curative arts aren't my forte but I am by profession a herbalist and came to see if I can lend a helping hand after all I'm sure this Laurel of yours could use all the help she can," Morganna frowns."So," she says in a much lower tone.
"Curative magics don't... work?" she asks Josric sounding a little stunned.
"Could this be the result of magic or a curse?" she asks in a even quieter voice as if having difficulty believing such a thing is possible.
"You talk too much, wizard." The rough looking man in the slightly muddy leathers stands away from the crowd, watching the line of sick people with a sort of amused expression on his face. If you've spent any time in town, you might have heard about the crazy kid who lives in the woods because he's prone to insane fits.
"So, have the gods finally decided to strike down this town once and for all, eh?"
“I don’t know,” the holy man responds to Morganna’s questions, “I cannot imagine any curse powerful enough to stand against the power of the Inheritor, but there must be some cause for this affliction.”
Turning to the wild man as he interrupts, Josric eyes him warily, “I am sure that is not the case. Whatever the cause of our troubles, the gods cannot be blamed.”
The wild man shrugs. "Suit yourself, holy man. I figure this town's got enough sins in it to deserve a plague or two. My name's Josiah. You got the plague too, holy man?"
Several of the townsfolk in line look back at Josiah in consternation, but otherwise do not draw attention to themselves. As Morganna studies one of the inflicted townsfolk, you all see two other figures approaching who do not seem to have contracted the disease.
You all see two other figures approaching who do not seem to have contracted the disease.
One of the men, clad in grey, drab garb, moves to the back of the line, stoically glances over you and the townsfolk, sighing at the length of the line. In a voice of tumbling gravel, he says,
"All I need is an un-GU-ent. For my corns."
You all see two other figures approaching who do not seem to have contracted the disease.One of the men, clad in grey, drab garb, moves to the back of the line, stoically glances over you and the townsfolk, sighing at the length of the line. In a voice of tumbling gravel, he says,
"All I need is an un-GU-ent. For my corns."
"Ah for your feet, right?" Morganna glances down at the newcomer's feet.
"Now how did that old desert remedy go?" she looks thoughful as she tries to recollect her mentor's advice on feet problems.
Josric’s eyes narrow slightly at Josiah’s words, but he otherwise remains calm in the face of his confrontational manner, “I have been spared the effects of the disease so far, I am here in the hope that I can be of some assistance… What about you - have you a reason to be here? Or have you simply come to revel in the town’s suffering?”
Several of the townsfolk in line look back at Josiah in consternation, but otherwise do not draw attention to themselves. As Morganna studies one of the inflicted townsfolk, you all see two other figures approaching who do not seem to have contracted the disease.
"Ah for your feet, right?" Morganna glances down at the newcomer's feet.
"Feet. Knees. Elbows. Shoulders. Everywhere the armor chaffs. And some places it don't.
Auh... If you don't mind my askin', what're you in line for?"
Josric’s eyes narrow slightly at Josiah’s words, but he otherwise remains calm in the face of his confrontational manner, “I have been spared the effects of the disease so far, I am here in the hope that I can be of some assistance… What about you - have you a reason to be here? Or have you simply come to revel in the town’s suffering?”
Basilfield walks past the end of line, glancing briefly at Josric, as he overhears the conversation with Josiah.
"Who most?" Basil mutters softly, quickly finding the smallest child in the line, an infant wrapped in his mother's arms. Basil approaches, whispers to the mothers, who reluctantly, then hopefully uncovers her child's head from the blanket. Basil then touches the child's head with his hand.
Basil then mutters again, pulls a hand full of berries Goodberry (2d4=8) from his side pouch. Making sure that people watch him, he eats one, then offers the other seven to the smallest children in line, starting at the front and then ending up at the back with the other new comers.
He looks up, a bit surprised, at the others at the end of the line, but quietly joins the queue as the last person.
Josric’s eyes narrow slightly at Josiah’s words, but he otherwise remains calm in the face of his confrontational manner, “I have been spared the effects of the disease so far, I am here in the hope that I can be of some assistance… What about you - have you a reason to be here? Or have you simply come to revel in the town’s suffering?”
"Oh, I suppose if all I wanted to do was revel, I could revel from the comfort of my hut in the woods, neighbor. I came to check on my family. I heard the sickness was bad, but this.. This is more than I expected." Despite his sarcasm, Josiah seems genuinely saddened at the line of the sick and dying that stretches past. "And you, holy man? Have you any answers for these people?"
"Who most?" Basil mutters softly, quickly finding the smallest child in the line, an infant wrapped in his mother's arms. Basil approaches, whispers to the mothers, who reluctantly, then hopefully uncovers her child's head from the blanket. Basil then touches the child's head with his hand. Basil mutters again, pulls a hand full of berries from his side pouch. Making sure that people watch him, he eats one, then offers the other seven to the smallest children in line, starting at the front and then ending up at the back with the other new comers.
The mother of the infant, recognizing Basil from her trips on the outskirts of town and occasionally into the woods, allows him to lay his hand on her child to receive the blessing. The children in line similarly take the berries, and their moods each improve a bit, but they do nothing for the hacking cough.
"Ooh a druid?" Morganna openly queries.
Noticing the others she blinks and looks around.
"Sorry my name's Morganna, I'm a herbalist by trade and was visiting here along with some fellows with an interest in trade. When I heard about this and that you had someone working on a remedy naturally I came along to see if I could help," she explains although most aren't listening.
"So its not a curse at least not magical, is there anything you've heard about that might be the cause of a natural based ailment causing these sort of symptoms?" she asks the person she thinks is a druid.
"Ooh a druid?" Morganna openly queries.
Noticing the others she blinks and looks around.
"Sorry my name's Morganna, I'm a herbalist by trade and was visiting here along with some fellows with an interest in trade. When I heard about this and that you had someone working on a remedy naturally I came along to see if I could help," she explains although most aren't listening.
"So its not a curse at least not magical, is there anything you've heard about that might be the cause of a natural based ailment causing these sort of symptoms?" she asks the person she thinks is a druid.
Basil looks at Morganna for a few moments, not unkindly, then smiles and says, "Please call me 'Basil'. Druid is such a blunt term, Morganna. I prefer to think of myself as a 'friend of the wild'. I've heard stories about the plague in recent days and I've come to town to see if I can help and to see what I can do to keep things from....spreading.
I've been thinking about the malady ....
OOC: I will wait for DM to interpret result
"Well, whatever you lot want to do, I reckon you ought to do it fast. Seems this line isn't getting any shorter and these folks don't seem to be getting any healthier..."
** spoiler omitted ** OOC: I will wait for DM to interpret result
"I've been thinking about the malady .......and it appears to be outside my admittedly limited experience." Basil shrugs.
IC Question: is the line moving? Do I know the person in Roots and Remedies?
You continue in such a manner for some time. Basil and Josiah both describe Roots and Remedies as an almost living extension of its proprietor, Laurel. Laurel means well: her remedies are often a variation on an actual cure, an aphrodisiac of questionable materials, and a bitter tea that makes drinkers sneeze uncontrollably. The people of the town obviously think highly of her to stand in a line like that for so long, and her cures do often work. Eventually you are able to make it through the front door.
The smell of burnt earth and spicy incense chokes the air of the cramped, mud-tracked shop. Bunches of dried herbs hang from the ceiling, along with dangling pots, presses, alchemical apparatuses, and glassware of more arcane purposes. Pouches of rare plants, jars of colored glass, and all manner of dried, preserved, and jellied animal parts fill high shelves and tables doing double duty as displays and workspaces.
In the shop’s rear, a rail-thin woman with severe-looking spectacles and hair pulled back tightly busies herself between an overpacked rack of herbs, a table covered in stray powders and measuring equipment, and a pot loudly bubbling over with thick gray froth.
Over the din of her work and without looking up, the woman impatiently shouts, “And what’s your problem?”
Josiah blinks in the smoky atmosphere, waving his hand in front of his face. "Ma'am? It's me, Josiah Carpenter. My family's got the sickness and I came to see if you had a cure."
Josiah blinks in the smoky atmosphere, waving his hand in front of his face. "Ma'am? It's me, Josiah Carpenter. My family's got the sickness and I came to see if you had a cure."
"Oh, they do, do they young Carpenter?" She calls back without looking. "Come for a cure, have you? Sure you don't need something for those headaches, young man? Look here, if they need the cure, they can come get it themselves, just like all those others you've been following in my shop today, I'm not sending anything off unless I give them the instructions myself. Don't need anyone getting it wrong and coming out worse the other end!"
She finally turns to look at you and exclaims, "Good Gozreh, there's an army in my shop! Carpenter, what the fiends are you... Basil? I never thought I'd see the two of you walk in together. Basil, I hope you're here to deliver some cuttings from the forest for me. I've been so busy here, I've not had a chance to go out and gather any myself. I tell you, this blackscour taint is an absolute nightmare."
"Seems a might, unNATral, this sickness. What causes it, Lady Laurel?"
"I just met them on the way in, ma'am. And thanks, but the headaches are gone now that... You know what happened. No more problems. Anyway, do you have the cure?"
She finally turns to look at you and exclaims, "Good Gozreh, there's an army in my shop! Carpenter, what the fiends are you... Basil? I never thought I'd see the two of you walk in together. Basil, I hope you're here to deliver some cuttings from the forest for me. I've been so busy here, I've not had a chance to go out and gather any myself. I tell you, this blackscour taint is an absolute nightmare."
With a somewhat hurt voice
"Basil? Why so formal, Laurel? I thought that I would always be 'Stick' to you.
resume natural voice
You really must be worried! Anyway, I've brought you the usual handful of moss,"
Basil gives her a handful of crumbling material from his pouch,
"though I thought I would check with you before I looked for anything more specific."
Basil looks around and notices the rest of the "army", raises an eyebrow, and decides to continue speaking.
"Blackscour you call it? What causes it? What additional cuttings can I bring for you?"
The paladin's expression softens in the face of Josiah's sincere concern, and his voice loses some of its edge as they converse during the wait in line.
Once finally inside the shop, Josric wrinkles his nose slightly at the harsh smell of incense, but quickly hides any discomfort as he surveys the various herbs, spices and other reagents that fill the room.
"Blackscour taint, Madam?" he asks respectfully, "so that what this illness is called, have you come across it before?"
To Basil, Laurel states, "Well, this sickness has me all out of sorts, Stick. Thank you for the moss, it'll be a good help to my stock."
The inquiries as to blackscour's nature causes Laurel to regain a bit of composure. "Blackscour 's just a fungus that's not good for anything. It's hard, bitter, and sharp, it likes the water and you get sick if you drink it. Never heard of it growing around these parts, though, until now.
"The taint is a sickness where the mold is growing in you. Yes, I've heard of it before - my grandmother's book of cures has a page on it, but I've not seen it in this town. It eats away in your inside - your chest, your belly - and is it ever damned determined to stay. The body wants to cough it up - thus the hacking - but since its so blasted sharp it cuts everything up on the way out, cuts it real bad.
"I haven't got a cure here. I'm giving the townsfolk what I have to ease the pain, and we'll see what good it does."
"That's not good enough! There has to be a cure!"
"That's not good enough! There has to be a cure!"
Laurel looks at Josiah sternly. "I didn't say there wasn't one, young Carpenter, only that I didn't have one here. I have a recipe that sounds more like hoojoo than real medicine. I haven't had time or the supplies to try brewing any. Now you calm down before you go breaking any of my jars again. It was damnably unsettling the last time, and I can't go getting replacements any time soon."
"Well, just make it, then. I'll try not to break anything..."
“Surely at this point anything is worth a try, even if it seems unlikely to succeed…” Josric speaks quietly, “Perhaps the supplies you need can be found elsewhere in town, and as for your time, maybe someone else can attempt to prepare the cure. I believe Morganna here,” he looks towards the wizard hopefully, “has some expertise in herbalism.”
“Surely at this point anything is worth a try, even if it seems unlikely to succeed…” Josric speaks quietly, “Perhaps the supplies you need can be found elsewhere in town, and as for your time, maybe someone else can attempt to prepare the cure. I believe Morganna here,” he looks towards the wizard hopefully, “has some expertise in herbalism.”
"If they were here in town, don't you think I'd have got them? Ah, who am I kidding. This town is as generous as a goblin's left foot. They'd be extorting me out of my last coppers for what I need, and then I'd only have the town boss coming around to say that he'll take the cure off my hands, 'Thank-ee-kindly,' he'd say, and leave me with naught but angry townsfolk. Can't make a living off of them.
"Well, if the young miss there is an herbalist, something I'd rather see to believe, she should be able to identify the ingredients I'd need if she saw them. What I need are elderwood moss, pickled rat's tail root, and seven ironbloom mushrooms. You got that? I figure if grandmother's book has them, then they've got to be somewhere in this blasted vale."
"You mean these ingredients are nearby and you haven't gotten them?!? Curse my eyes, woman!" Josiah slaps his forehead in disgust. "Wizard, Druid. You two know what these herbs look like, right? Fine. Then I've got your backs if you're willing to find them."
If the brigands and bullies of this hamlet get wind of a cure, even of those gathering a cure, there's sure to be trouble. I'll accompany you, just as soon as the Lady retrieves an unGUent. For my corns.
"You mean these ingredients are nearby and you haven't gotten them?!? Curse my eyes, woman!" Josiah slaps his forehead in disgust. "Wizard, Druid. You two know what these herbs look like, right? Fine. Then I've got your backs if you're willing to find them."
"There's nearby, and then there's on the other side of the vale that I've never seen! How many times have you gone up to Droskar's Crag? Or to the heart of Darkmoon Vale? Gorum's greaves, even Stick here doesn't live that deep in, and I can't imagine you do, either, since your folks told me that you moved out on your own. How long do you think a lady like me would last out there?
If the brigands and bullies of this hamlet get wind of a cure, even of those gathering a cure, there's sure to be trouble. I'll accompany you, just as soon as the Lady retrieves an unGUent. For my corns.
"You're right about that, young man. When a town is crooked-er than the river it sits on, you know the gods have it out for you. Best keep this quiet until we've got it all back here and know that it works.
"Corns, eh? Well, just a moment..." She rummages around on her shelves for a bit before pulling down a jar and a small vial to accompany it. She carefully measures out a dosage, then holds out an open hand to Stam. "That'll be two silver for the unguent. It should burn the calloused part down, thanks to the acid that's in it, but won't eat completely through to the bone. At least, no one's told me it's done that, but you look tough enough to take a little burn."
Stam pays the hedgewizard her two silver, nods politely at her words, takes his unguent, and waits in/near the door to see who will journey after weeds and such.
What I need are elderwood moss, pickled rat's tail root, and seven ironbloom mushrooms. You got that? I figure if grandmother's book has them, then they've got to be somewhere in this blasted vale."
Basil wrinkles his brow.
What I need are elderwood moss, pickled rat's tail root, and seven ironbloom mushrooms. You got that? I figure if grandmother's book has them, then they've got to be somewhere in this blasted vale."Basil wrinkles his brow.
** spoiler omitted **
Basil shrugs
"I am sorry, Laurel, but I've never heard of such things. But that is not surprising. There are many things in the wide world that I have not seen."
Basil looks curiously at Morganna.
"What do you think, Morganna?"
looks around the room with a raised eyebrow
"Shall we accompany these armored oafs as they stomp through the country side?"
Morganna blinks at basil's remarks.
Up to this point whilst inside the herbalist's shop she's been gazing around as if entranced.
"Oh, OH sorry, first time here,
"Black scour? So this is because of some mold or fungi introduced to the drinking water? Is there any chance if the clergy or Basil here purifies the water that will reduce the number of people effected at this stage?" Morganna asks.
Morganna blinks at basil's remarks.
Up to this point whilst inside the herbalist's shop she's been gazing around as if entranced.
"Oh, OH sorry, first time here,
"Black scour? So this is because of some mold or fungi introduced to the drinking water? Is there any chance if the clergy or Basil here purifies the water that will reduce the number of people effected at this stage?" Morganna asks.
"Bah, the clergy are just now starting to take care of the water, but there are so few of them that the water'll only get rationed. No telling how long that fungus has been growing down in the well. It'll take folks a while to get it all cleared out. Hasn't gotten around to too many folk yet, so if you're around the town, spread the word that they shouldn't drink the water from the well. I've been telling folks so far today, but haven't been able to get out and say anything to the rest.
"You're right, young lady," Laurel says, surprised. "Elderwood mold will only grow on the oldest tree in the vale, but damned if I know where that is, or how the mold only knows how to grow there. The only dark places thick with metal where the mushrooms 'd grow, near as I can figure, is that there used to be a bunch of dwarves that lived way north, toward the Crag. That'd be your best bet.
"Rat's tail is a longer shot, as it's got to be pickled first. You might try that old witch, Ulizmila. You boys remember hearing about her, don't you?" she calls to Basil and Josiah. "She's a crafty, mean thing that knows all sorts of strangeness. She might have one for one of her brews. Can't say it'll come cheap, but who knows what she'll want. Granny traded her sight to that old crone for a few pages of what she knew, and that was years ago. It's not likely she's gotten any nicer. I've never been there myself, but I'm sure some old scout or prospector around here could tell you."
"Fine then, old tree, old witch, got it. Are we ready to go yet?"
"Fine then, old tree, old witch, got it. Are we ready to go yet?"
Raises eyebrow at Josiah "I am not so eager to tangle with Ulizmila. If old rumors (OOC - meaning common folklore known to everyone) are true then there may not even be safety in numbers. Laurel, if you think that talking to her is necessary, then things must be desperate."
comes to sudden realization
"I wonder how fast this Blackscour might spread? It may also affect the local plants and animals. I think that Josiah is right. Let's get started."
"Fine then, old tree, old witch, got it. Are we ready to go yet?"
"Er Falcons Hollow is a lumber camp, right? Then we need to find out where the oldest trees might be then hopefully find this moss before looking for this Uzmilla's hut and then onto this keep," Morganna mused.
"You two obviously know the area well enough to have a good idea where this tree might be, I don't suppose you know where this keep and Uzmilla's hut are?" she asks Basil and Josiah.
"Uh oh," Morganna now raises a hand to her face pausing as if deep in thought.
"If the town uses the same well, where is the nearest water source other than that well and do we know if they're connected underground?" she asks Basil.