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Boom continues his conversation with the morning glory.
High Priestess Zuri looks up sharply as Bad Seed speaks. "You shouldn't speak such things about our great Robori! He is more than just a mere tree - he is our salvation! But...well, you're outsiders. I suppose I can't really expect you to understand how important he is to us."
Zuri seems quite sincere about wanting to heal Robori of his blight but there's that same lack of reverence in her tone that Sheriff Molume had when speaking of the great tree's greatness. It's a little more subtle than it was with the sheriff, but it's there...or rather, not there, just the same.
Meanwhile, Boom Sticks continues chatting away with the morning glory vine...
"Old Tree is sick? Then...maybe. Maybe that's why he's mean and won't talk to any of us!" Rivea responds, sounding curious. "But we don't know why Old Tree would be sick! The Warmth takes care of us, gives us food from the earth! We don't get sick! The others don't get sick either! Strange strange strange!"
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Odd, even the woman Zuri seems less reverent toward the tree-god Robari than one would expect of his chief priest. But she seems sincere about wanting to cure the tree's sickness.
"We're still learning your ways, including trying to understand your faith. With your blessing, we can examine the great tree and try to figure out a way to help. Do we have your approval, Zuri?"
In his peripheral vision Tacca watches, a little uncomfortable and impatient, as Boom Sticks whispers sweet-nothings with the morning glory. "Boom-Boom, you guys need to get a room?"
Hoping to get a good drink and perhaps some information to go with it, Captain C. and Motueka follow Fergus, Olivia, and some of Mercy's other workers into the nearby Hoop & Grapes. It's a small establishment, basically just a watering hole for the locals, but the atmosphere is still surprisingly cozy with orange curtains framing the windows and small vases of flowers sitting on each of the tables. A young red-headed woman is in the process of wiping down the bar when everyone walks in; she looks up with some surprise to see what must be (for this place) a sizable crowd.
"Weeeell," she drawls, "world must be coming to an end if Fergus Dukon and Olivia Rhiste are walking into my bar together! What's got you all here so...early..." the bartender's voice trails off when she spots Captain Chlorophyll and Motueka trailing in behind all of the locals.
"Some of our visitors to Mercy, Fergus? Aren't they a little young to be in here?" the woman asks, raising an eyebrow.
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"Get a room? No, we live outdoors. Wait, Tacca, was that a joke?" Boom Sticks cracks a leafy smile.
"Ma'am, it seems that Old Tree - pardon me, that is Robori - doesn't deign to talk with his fellow plants. They think him mean and ornery. Unwelcome qualities in a god, I think."
"You agree with me don't you ma'am. Very odd that a 'god' would get sick whilst the other plants around him do not. Odder still that he would mandate that local mammals eat the other plants. Also strange that a god of trees would not speak to other plants, but somehow speaks to mammals. I think you know what's really happening hear ma'am. I'd like you to tell us. We're investigating the disappearance of a friend of ours you see, and if we don't find out what happened to her, well, other folks are going to come to Mercy and just keep on asking questions till the truth comes out. You seem like good people. I think you want to tell us the truth."
"You can...speak with the plants?" Zuri asks of Boom Sticks, eyes wide with surprise. "What do they..." her surprise quickly tapers away to shocked silence as Boom Sticks continues to talk and to...insinuate...certain unpleasant things. Her expression hardens.
"You're here about Amenira? I promise you that no one here has any idea where she might've gone - we just thought that maybe she'd went back home to Alkenstar or wherever else she came from," Zuri begins, her voice cold. "But while I'm happy to do what I can to help you if you're trying to find her, I will not have you make such accusations against Robori and against the people of this town!"
She shoots Bad Seed an ugly look. "Try it and I'll be forced to call for Sheriff Molume."
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"Ma'am, we are plants. So yes, I can speak with other plants. Not every kind. It's a lot like other kinds of language, I'm sure. The other plants know that there's something not right about Robori, though they don't understand that Old Tree is sick. You know there's something not right about Robori too. Maybe that's connected to Amenira's disappearance; maybe if you told us what you really think we could rule it out? I'm sure we can help each other. That is, unless you're actually planning to eat us."
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"Hello!" Motueka says with a waving vine before pulling himself on to a bar stool.
"Well, to be honest I was drinking before I even sprouted. I guess that is what happens when you are grown by a drunk. I am Motueka and I actually do some brewing myself when I can." he talks with an ever-growing smile being in his favorite of all places and quickly tries to get the others to drink as well.
He has his fill watching his inebriation so it doesn't get out of hand while thinking of the best questions to ask. The curfew is most curious to him and he finally asks the question.
"So what is this curfew about? That has to make having a good time at this fine establishment difficult. Nice to have an all-nighter every now and then to relax."
Zuri's demeanor seems to shift as Boom Sticks attempts to appeal to her sense of decency in helping the investigation...and then her calm shatters as Bad Seed gives her a silent, menace-filled glare. She quickly looks around to make sure no one is watching.
"I, I-! V-very well, come with me into the temple where we can speak a little more privately," she hisses to the four of you, then begins to head back towards the temple entrance, beckoning you to follow. All the while, she keeps glancing around nervously, as if fearful that someone else will see or overhear.
"Oh...didn't the sheriff explain it to you?" Fergus asks as everyone is seated, most of the other workers gravitating to other tables while he and Olivia join the two of you at the bar itself. "Y'see, we all go to temple at sunup and sundown to pray and pay our respects to Robori," he explains. "And uh...no offense or anything intended but we like our privacy when we do. The bells remind everyone when the curfew starts and ends, but..." Fergus' voice trails off as he fidgets uncomfortably. Olivia sighs and rolls her eyes, setting her flagon down on the table with a *thump*.
"What he's trying to say is that the curfew's for you and anyone else visiting," she says. "So we can pray in peace, without being gawked at like we're a bunch of heathens or something."
Zuri hurries you all into the temple and ushers you into what might pass for a small office at the back - but in reality seems more like a storage room. Numerous orange robes hang on racks and there are several boxes lined along one wall, which appeared to be filled with bottles containing some sort of orange substance. A pleasant scent, similar to dried hay, hangs heavy in the air.
She glances around again before pulling a small orange curtain across the open doorway to give everyone some privacy. "Well...at least I had the good fortune of you lot showing up early while the temple's still empty," she mutters.
"Look...the little talkative one was right. I don't know what sort of consciousness might be living inside of him that you spoke with but Robori...isn't a true deity," Zuri sighs. "But there's only a handful of us in the town that know that, with Sheriff Molume being one of them." The woman wrings her hands nervously. "Oh, you're outsiders, I shouldn't even be telling you any of this but I couldn't have you just shouting such things out in the open for any and everyone to hear!"
The 'priestess' takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "It was...years and years ago, when Mercy was first settled. No one knew why but the children born to the first settlers began to...change...as they grew. They sprouted strange growths, like...well, like a plant. Of course there was a panic and some of the villagers were convinced that the children were diseased. They...even spoke of abandoning them to the Mana Wastes, before the rest of the town could be infected."
Zuri smiles, but it's a hard, bitter sort of smile. "But there was one charismatic man who invented an explanation to save them and based it around the great tree that grew in the center of the village. He named it Robori, God of Trees, and said that the changes the children were undergoing were a gift from him - and that they would flourish in spite of it. I don't know if he had some sort of special insight or if it was just dumb luck, but...it turned out that he was right. The children's strange growths eventually abated and fell off, leaving them stronger and healthier than before."
"And so in honor of their good fortune, the settlers officially named their new home Mercy...and my grandfather found himself the first high priest of Robori," Zuri finishes. "A task and a secret passed from him to my father and then from my father to me."
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"So, if your grandfather was the first 'priest', that means that you were a child here in Mercy. So you're a plant-person too! Which means it makes even less sense that you eat plants!
You don't need to keep up the lie any longer. All of you adult humans in Mercy are plant-people. If you're healthy, you know there's no reason to throw out your new sprouts even if Robori dies of his illness. The lie has served its purpose."
Zuri shakes her head. "I don't think so, because until about 10 minutes ago I wasn't aware that Robori was blighted in the first place. I'll have to have another good look, but...thanks to you I believe that it's been caught early enough to be reversed. As to what might be causing it, I..."
Her voice trails off as her eyes settle on the crates of bottles. "Wait...surely it's not...?" The 'priestess' groans loudly, shaking her head in disbelief. "Some years ago we instituted a blessing ritual that takes place during evening prayers - we douse the faithful with these oils at the base of the tree while calling for 'wood blessings' and 'flower dreams' for them. I can't say for sure that the oil is the cause for Robori's blight, but...well, I can't think of anything else that might be causing it."
"I'm such a fool..." Zuri mutters, rubbing at her temples as though attempting to stave off a headache. She gives Boom Sticks a sharp look as he argues for the abolition of the town's plant-eating ways, however.
"Look...since you don’t seem likely to leave well enough alone, I’ll say this - we all go through the change here in Mercy, it's part of how we grow up. And we come out stronger for it. But do you know what would happen if it became common knowledge that we don't even know why we undergo such a change?" Zuri asks, her voice trembling slightly as she attempts to keep her emotions in check. "That the rules we live our lives by are so much nonsense? Some, like Sheriff Molume, can live with not really knowing why. But others won't. What do you propose I tell them, then?"
And as the agitated woman speaks, Tacca scrutinizes her closely - she certainly looks very much like any other human but it's also possible that any lingering effects from this 'change' may not manifest in an obvious way.
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"Oh, that makes it much more clear. Nothing wrong with a little privacy and that just means more day drinking with the visiting vegetation." he chuckles.
I wonder how the others are doing. They might all be holed up in the Temple after curfew. Maybe I could talk them into letting me learn about Robori and join the prayers. Do they have communion wine? Hmmmmmmmmmm.
"Hmmph...glad some of you outsiders have some sense," Olivia mutters, though her tone does soften somewhat. She gives the pair a curious look.
"You might've said it and I missed it, but what brings you and your friends here, anyway? We don't get many travelers through here and the sheriff just said that we had visitors, nothing about why you're here," she finally asks.
"If you'd like," Zuri shrugs. "But we make the oil by distilling it from dried hay and adding a little dye to give it its orange color. I would guess that it's one of the two ingredients that's caused the blight on Robori."
Then, the priestess sighs. "And you are right - I will have to dispose of the entire lot of it somewhere safe. Possibly somewhere outside of town, so it will not affect any of our crops or the other vegetation growing within the town walls."
"And you put it so prettily but why don't you ask the folks of Alkenstar what they think of people with the touch of Wastes about them?" Zuri replies wearily to Boom Sticks. "I’m sure they’d be more than happy to fill your ears with hateful drivel about ‘mutants.’ We’re different than what you see out deep in the Wastes, but would they understand that?"
"You don't say?" Fergus asks, frowning. "Huh. You're right that she's not been around in awhile. I think most folks figure she just decided to go back home to Alkenstar for good."
Olivia nods, taking a swig of her beer. "Yeah, I mean she's an outsider and outsiders usually don't stay long. But she was here longer than most; even started dressing like us and making toys for the children. If she'd have converted to Robori, maybe she could've joined us some day..."
"Maybe so," Fergus nods. "Um, to be honest, if you're looking for her then I'm glad you folks are here. Amenira's been gone for two months now and some of us are starting to worry about her. No one remembers her saying anything about being gone for longer than her usual trips back to Alkenstar to send letters to her family."
"Dolls," Olivia replies as she finishes off her drink. "Some other things too like tops and wooden puzzles but the dolls seemed to be her favorite thing to make. She had an odd habit of making the dolls to look like herself, though."
Olivia pauses, giving Captain Chlorophyll and Motueka a curious look. "Is that normal where you're from? And as for 'not an outsider' well...we don't have a special ritual or anything - it's not like we get many people who want to settle here anyway."
"I guess it'd be something along the lines of what Olivia said earlier though," Fergus remarks. "They'd have to live here for awhile and get to know everyone...show that they're able to follow our rules and traditions...and certainly convert to the worship of Robori! Maybe after all of that, Sheriff Molume and High Priestess Zuri would call for a vote? I'm not sure," he shrugs.
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"Thanks for your candor, Priestess Zuri." Tacca prepares to leave. "If you'll excuse us, we should find our friends and put our heads together. I'll take a flask of the blessing oil and ask our alchemist to examine it. Then we'll take a look at the hay and dye ingredients."
Arriving just in time to hear the reference to Amenira and her dolls, Tacca says, "Hello there. Name's Tacca. What's this about Amenira and her dolls? Anything like these wooden dolls we found in the cave on the way here?"
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Somewhat embarrassed, Captain Chlorophyll says "I'm still trying to figure out what is normal for mammals."
After a pause to think on it, they add "I've seen others who make objects in their own image though."
As they finish their own drink, they look to Motueka. "We should probably find the others. Go see Amenira's house."
"You're welcome, I suppose," Zuri sighs heavily. "I'm sorry that I couldn't help you more in regards to Amenira but I assure you that whatever the reason for her disappearance, we of the village are not responsible."
"There's much for me to think about now...and I suppose I had best have a talk with Sheriff Molume as well," she continues as she follows you out of the storeroom. "Please, for now, keep the knowledge of what I have told you a secret from the other villagers. In the meantime...I will declare you and your friends the blessed children of Robori, for telling me of the blight affecting his roots. My word carries weight, as you can imagine, so do not abuse my show of good will."
Before you depart the temple, Zuri adds, "Oh! Hold one moment." She steps into a side room briefly and returns with a small cup of water. As you watch, she performs an incantation over it before handing it to Poison Oakley.
It's a Purify Food & Drink spell.
"While you're here, be sure to only eat and drink of the foods we leave for you in the guest house box - or the food you may have brought with you," she warns. "The crops and the water here seem to have ill effects on travelers for reasons that elude me. It's always been necessary to purify what we leave for them."
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As Captain Cholorphyll and Motueka finish off their drinks and talk turns to reconnecting with the rest of the group, they're saved the trouble of tracking them down as they all come striding into the 'Hoop & Grapes'. Tacca, Boom Sticks, Bad Seed and Poison Oakley find their two companions sitting with a man and woman at the bar, sharing drinks. The pair turn and gape at the arrival of the four new leshies.
"I'll be, it's like you folks are springing up out of the cracks in the ground," the man chuckles. "That's what, six of you? Or are there more out there running around?"
The woman rolls her eyes. "Pretty sure that's all of them, according to the sheriff. Well, them and that man and his dog; think they were supposed to be guides or something."
"Right, right," the man nods. "Anyway to answer your question, I'm Fergus and this here's Olivia. And say, you said something about dolls...?"
As Tacca shows off the dolls the group had found in the cave outside of town, Fergus' eyes grow wide. "Hey yeah, just like those! Where'd you find them?"
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"Hi, guys. Say, you all should take a swig from P-Oakey's mug. Priestess Zuri blessed it herself. Leaves your breath fresh as mentos."
Tacca turns to the man who asked about the wooden dolls. "Fergus, you said your name was? Found the dolls in a cave on our way here, along with some other odds and ends. Creepy lair of a mutated pair of critters that ambushed us. Had some kind of foul altar in the place, too."
Tacca hands Captain Chlorophyll the flask of blessing water that Zuri gave him. "You get some time later, Cap'n C, you should take a close look at this stuff. Maybe wait till we get back to our guesthouse," he whispers.
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Captain Chlorophyll accepts the vial from Tacca and nods his understanding.
“Yes, Norv and Ruby were our guides. I may have sprouted in the wilds of the jungle, but others seem better at navigation than I.”
They then do a round of introductions.
“Shall we go look at Amenira’s place? See if there are any hints where she might have gone?”
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"Good a place as any Captain C!" enthuses Boom Sticks.
"There's some oil you need to have a look at too. Amenira's place is private enough that we can update you on what we found at the temple, plus there's stuff in her house you have to see as well."
Once the tangle is away from the humans/mutant plant people, Boom helps explain what the "Botanical Investigation Team" discovered, and asks the Captain and Motueka to look at the blessed water and the tree oil.
Both Fergus and Olivia pale at Tacca's words. "A...an altar?" Olivia finally manages, swallowing hard. "And you said you found those dolls there...th-those are Amenira's dolls for sure..." Her voice trails off, as she seems unable to finish her thought. But there's no need to; it's quite obvious that the pair of villagers are assuming the worst from this news.
"But...maybe she got away and just had to leave those things behind," Fergus murmurs after a long moment of silence. "Amenira's plenty resourceful from what I've seen; I'm sure she could've handled herself find against a pair of mutants." There's a glimmer of hope in his tone, but Olivia's expression remains grim and even rather sorrowful as she clearly doesn't share her companion's optimism.
As you all stand and prepare to head back to Amenira's home (again, for most of you) to discuss everything you've learned further, Fergus clears his throat. "Um...if you figure anything else out, would you...let me know?"
"Yeah...me too," Olivia mumbles. "She might've been a strange one but she didn't deserve anything bad happening to her."
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Based on this report you know the following:
(1) The people of Mercy are quite secretive and impose a curfew at night (which you've all been subjected to as well). However, Amenira noted that they eventually quit caring about her breaking the curfew as long as she kept to herself.
(2) There was an ongoing rivalry between the carpenters and the blacksmiths of the town but this has since been mostly resolved thanks to Captain Chlorophyll and Motueka's way with words when speaking to their leaders, Fergus and Olivia.
(3) Amenira apparently managed to infiltrate the home of the town weaver, though she doesn't elaborate on how. She seemed to be after some sort of ointment.
(4) Amenira mentioned being afflicted with some sort of illness that continued to grow steadily worse...and somehow make it more challenging to hide when breaking curfew.
(5) Amenira noted that another mana storm passed through and split into two sections when it reached the town, sparing it. She suspects that there might be some sort of artifact at work.
When the party came across a shallow cave just off the road on their trip to Mercy, they encountered a pair of mutant creatures as well as witnessed evidence of a recent mana storm's passing - burnt tree stumps and blackened sap as well as a strange lack of debris. After the battle, investigation of the cave and the nearby area turned up the following:
(1) Poison Oakley noticed a set of small footprints exiting the cave but not entering it.
(2) Within the cave, you found an altar that Tacca pointed out had dried blood on it, with evidence of someone attempting to wipe it away. The blood was also noted to have a greenish tinge to it.
(3) You weren't able to determine anything further about the nature of the altar, such as to who or what it was dedicated, but you did find several items of interest that you couldn't identify or make any sense of. It's possible that Zuri might be able to help you with some of it, being a priestess.
Mercy enforces a lot of strange rules and practices strange customs, from what you've seen:
(1) For example, these rules posted on the sign just outside the town walls, forbidding firearms, dishonesty, and large weapons.
(2) Mercy enforces a curfew for visitors, as explained by Sheriff Molume.
(3) There are also several other strange rules that the townsfolk live by, also explained by Sheriff Molume.
(4) Boom Sticks spotted a journal in Amenira's home that listed some unspoken rules that you'd already learned and a few more that you hadn't.
(1) Several people have commented that Amenira enjoyed making toys for the children, dolls especially, which was further confirmed by the toy workshop found inside her home. Fergus also confirmed that the dolls found inside the cave with the altar are the same kind that Amenira made.
(2) While investigating Amenira's home, Boom Sticks noticed several things - a big one being that Amenira appeared to have packed and left in a hurry. There was also a spellbook.
The prevailing bit of information that kept popping up about Mercy was their worship of a so-called tree deity named Robori. Ultimately, the question of Robori's divinity was settled when the Botanical Investigation Bureau managed to good cop-bad cop a straight answer from town High Priestess Zuri - Robori is just a very old tree and nothing more. This might explain Sheriff Molume's less-than-reverent attitude when speaking of the 'deity' that Tacca picked up on.
(1) Tacca noticed some sort of blight affecting Robori's roots. Zuri seems to think the cause is the oil that the priests have been using during some of their ceremonies.
(2) Through Zuri's confession you learn that the children of Mercy undergo some sort of strange, plant-like metamorphosis when they're young before emerging stronger and healthier for the experience.
(1) While in Alkenstar, Boom Sticks overheard a rumor of a vampire that stalks the roads outside of Mercy, though you personally didn't encounter anything besides the mutant gnoll and hyena at the cave.
(2) During conversations with morning glory vines growing outside Amenira's home and along Robori's trunk, Boom Sticks learned that the plants seem quite happy to chat and that they find Robori mean because he never talks with them...or this mysterious 'Warmth & Light' they kept referring to that supposedly takes care of them.
(3) While he and Motueka chatted with Olivia and Fergus and their people in the artisan's square, Captain Chlorophyll spotted a number of small, bandaged figures watching the goings-on from a distance. They were then shooed away by another, larger villager.
(4) High Priestess Zuri informed you that the typical food and water in Mercy seems to leave visitors ill for some reason. She advised you to only eat the food left in the guest house dropbox, presumably purified or treated in some manner, or what you brought from the outside world.
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"We know that visitors get sick if they eat food that hasn't been purified in some way, and Amenira was sick. She was looking for something in the weaver's house, we should go there.
Maybe Amenira was suffering with the same thing that the human children in Mercy get, maybe she was just mutating but didn't know the story we heard from Zuri?
Oh, and we forgot to ask Zuri about the scrolls and the oil we got in the mutants' cave. It does look like Amenira was there, doesn't it? Maybe Mercy's mutants bleed green? They are plant people now!"
As you make your way back to Amenira's home, you hash out what you've learned so far and plot your next move. The early afternoon sun shines brightly as it continues its journey across the sky and it seems difficult to fathom that there could still be a murderer or worse lurking within the small town...
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Tacca considers what he and his companions have uncovered so far. "Good ideas, friends. Let's check out the weaver, examine the orange dye, and talk to Sheriff Molume again. We should also show the stuff from the cave to the priestess Zuri. Cap't C, can you take a look at this Robari blessing oil and figure out what's in it?"
Tacca's ready to get moving. ""Once we've done that, we can figure out what to do next. Zuri asked us to keep our concerns about Robari quiet for now. Seems reasonable, until we know more."
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Captain Chlorophyll carefully dips a tendril in the oil, then rubs at it a little.
Then they frown and say “Sorry, I don’t recognize it.”