[PbP Gameday VII] GM Ladile & the Pathfinder Society Present: The Twisted Circle - Leshy Mania! (Tier 1-2) (Inactive)

Game Master Lady Ladile

Uproot perks up at the explanation of the 'God of Trees.' A smile craking the fine moss of his face he exerberantly approaches the captain. "You worship a plant god too! That's amazing! I follow the Green Mother myself, but us plant supporters have gotta stick together, eh?" He extends a branch to shake the man's hand. "You know I think I'm going to enjoy staying here! And I'd love to go talk religion with your high priestess tomorrow!"

He gives a slight nod at the response that Molume gives about Amenira. "She sounds awesome and all, but, seriously, who is she?"

When asked what they're doing here in town, Uproot starts off on another spiel like the one when he first found you guys. "Well, I'm a Pathfinder, a new one! I signed up and then got given a mission to trek all the bloody way up through Geb from Holomog, meet up with and then help a group of Pathfinder leshys, but I couldn't find them anywhere! This Mother Damned dessert's just too big. But I did run into these guys and it was nice to have company other than the big love over there. He's great to hug and all, but he's the absolute worst conversationalist I've ever met! But, yeah, right, I ran into these guys, we ran into something that'd work for dinner, and I thought, this is the best company I've had for days, why not stick along with them for a couple days before striking off and finding the group I'm supposed to be helping. They didn't seem to mind me following them here. As for why we're asking after this 'Amenira,' I have no bloody idea, and as for who they are and if there's something you should know about: Meh, you know about as much as I do, outside of them being some great people!"

I just realized that no one ever answered Uproot as to the group being Pathfinders or not. :-P But it also served as a great excuse for Uproot's tendency to share EVERYTHING not potentially screwing over the mission.

Sense Motive the First: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
Sense Motive the Second: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

Plum gives the Sheriff a long look, but says nothing about his lack of details. "Thank you for your hospitality. I'm sure we'll get along just fine. We were asked by her family to check on her. That's all. They haven't heard from her in a while either."

Sheriff Molume listens to Uproot's tale with a surprising amount of interest, nodding here and there. "So...you're from Holomog? Not these parts? I see. For a minute I thought that maybe...Robori's influence stretched farther than we thought. Ah well."

His expression shifts to surprise as Plumeria elaborates on their purpose for visiting Mercy. "Really? I...well, that's troubling for sure. To be honest I've not tried checking her home - she's been gone before, like I said, so it seemed rude to just barge in, even after her absence began stretching on," he remarks with a worried frown. "Feel free to go have a look around her home tomorrow then, if you like. If her family or these Pathfinder people sent you then they probably told you more about her than anything we'd know here."

Sheriff Molume glances up at the sky once again and then beckons you to follow him. "Almost time for curfew. Follow me and I'll show you to our guest house." Assume you follow, he leads you to a large, lodge-like building near the edge of town. "Alrighty, here we are. You’re the only visitors to Mercy right now so you’ve got run of the place," Molume explains. He gestures to a large box with an orange flag in it that sits near the front door of the guesthouse. "I know we might seem a bit strange but the folks of Mercy always provide for any visitors we have. They’ll deliver plenty of good food here three times a day - sunrise, noon, and sunset. Beyond that, if there’s anything you need outside of the curfew just set that flag on the box and me or one of the others’ll come over to see what we can do."

The sheriff tips his hat to the group. "Well, I think that’s everything. Just remember what I said about the curfew and weapons, alright? Stay here until an hour after sunrise; after that feel free to come out and have a better look around the town if you like. Until then, hope you folks have a good night."

And with that, he turns and heads off back towards the front gate.
____________

Regarding the weapons, anything that's a light melee weapon or quarterstaff you'll get to keep but all other weapons are confiscated while you're in Mercy. Otherwise, you've heard the rules of the curfew and you have a place to sleep tonight (and the promise of food). What do you do next?

Vintner nods at the sheriff and waits til he is out of earshot to share a theory.

Well, how convenient that she should just so happen to go missing as the only outsider in town....I am sure this "robori" is a real god and everything. Totally not a cover for worship of Azathoth. Has ANYONE here ever heard of this god, because I sure haven't. We can't trust these people, we need someone to peak outside and see what is really going on here

Uproot hands over his scimitar and sling with minimal complaining, but balks a bit over his club. "But it's a bone! Just a knobbly bone! And it's not anywhere near as big as a human sized bone! Can you let me keep this one? Please?"

If the sheriff even looks askance at Prickle's arms, though, Uproot flat-out says, "No!, Do you know how long it takes a cactus of his type to grow even one? Longer than you're probably going to be alive. His arms stay or we go."

After the man leaves, Uproot nods a little at Vintner'S worries. "Eh, I don't really kow many gods... But getting out of here and seeing the tree sounds like fun! I can be a little stealthy if I want to be. but I don't know about Prickle outside of him knwing how to look like a non-moile plant."

"We're not going outside when we're not s'posed to, are we?" Seedy peeks out the windows nervously, just the touch of anxious excitement in his voice at the prospect of being so deliberately naughty!

"I only know Gozreh and the Green Faith. I don't know if their god is real or not."

She looks at Seedy. "Of course we are. Don't forget we can turn into plants if we need to. Maybe not the first night, but we will figure out what is going on over night."

sense motive: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (8) - 1 = 7

sense motive: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (6) - 1 = 5

"Look, I'm not trying to be rude or anything myself but who are you folks, exactly? And why're you here asking around about Amenira? Is there something I should know?"

"Hi! I'm Sticky. Put 'er there." Sticky says holding out a small, glistening hand. "Uh, I just got some sticks.* Is that okay? When does the beach open to the public?"

* Sticky has a stave and 4 javelins.

+++++++++++++++

Later.

Vintner nods at the sheriff and waits til he is out of earshot to share a theory.

Well, how convenient that she should just so happen to go missing as the only outsider in town....I am sure this "robori" is a real god and everything. Totally not a cover for worship of Azathoth. Has ANYONE here ever heard of this god, because I sure haven't. We can't trust these people, we need someone to peak outside and see what is really going on here

"Hey man, Don't be down on their religion man! I mean even the Last of the First Humans had to be human first right? Maybe this Rory dude is like a beginning god."

Slightly Earlier

Although the sheriff is gentle but firm about which weapons need to be handed over, he actually chuckles a little when Uproot glances worriedly at Prickles.

"Whoa now, don't worry about that," he says, raising his hands in a placating manner. "I do my job but I'm not an ogre about it - no need to disarm your uh, Prickles. Just be sure to keep him out of trouble, okay?"

He gives Sticky's viney hand a cordial shake but gives the leshy a strange look when he asks about a beach. "A beach? Like, an ocean beach? Um...hate to tell you this Mister Sticky but if you're looking for the ocean then you'll have to travel several days east of here to reach the coast. And there's not really any roads that lead directly there from Mercy so I don't recommend just striking out across the wastes."
____________

Present

Safe and sound inside the guest house, the tenacious tangle ponder the situation as it stands and try to decide how to proceed. Everything you've learned so far seems like too much of a coincidence to be ignored...most notably, the mention of this 'Robori' that the people of Mercy pray to. Because, try as you might, none of you can recall having ever heard of such a god or anything that sounds even remotely similar...

So, there's talk of snooping about after curfew - will you try that tonight or will you all bed down for now and wait to see what you learn tomorrow, first?

Uproot glances at the meat that is slowly but surely on the way to a state of inedibility, and comments, "Hmmm, I say let's get to know this house tonight! There must be someplace we can cook things, or else the town's gonna have to deal with rancid meat come morning. And I swear there's got to be something to do for fun in this place. They can't expect to keep people locked up in this place for over 12 hours a day with nothing to do!"

I vote not going out tonight.

Uproot searches the place for a kitchen or grill or something, and then takes the meat off Prickles, giving the cactus a good washing and letting him soak up the pink water after wards. He then sets about to making some nice grilled hyena steaks with some thin seared slices of liver flavored with some cheese he'd been carrying. He finishes the meal off with a blood gelatin for desert.

Untrained Profession (Meat Chef): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22

It turns out tasting pretty good. "It's so nice to have a place to prepare food again! I'd been thinking of all these Hyena and Gnoll based recipes for weeks now, but I've had no chance to actually make anything! Thanks for letting me tag along with you."

Dang it's hard to think of a meal that doesn't use some plant matter.

Slightly Earlier

Although the sheriff is gentle but firm about which weapons need to be handed over, he actually chuckles a little when Uproot glances worriedly at Prickles.

"Whoa now, don't worry about that," he says, raising his hands in a placating manner. "I do my job but I'm not an ogre about it - no need to disarm your uh, Prickles. Just be sure to keep him out of trouble, okay?"

"Uhhh, maybe some wine corks? You know to sort of peace bond him."

He gives Sticky's viney hand a cordial shake....

Yeah, the sheriff will want to wipe that on something. Hey, the little fellow plainly introduced himself as being 'Sticky' right?

"A beach? Like, an ocean beach? Um...hate to tell you this Mister Sticky but if you're looking for the ocean then you'll have to travel several days east of here to reach the coast. And there's not really any roads that lead directly there from Mercy so I don't recommend just striking out across the wastes."

"So how do explain all the sand?" asks Sticky through his snorkel.
____________

Present

Safe and sound inside the guest house, the tenacious tangle ponder the situation as it stands and try to decide how to proceed. Everything you've learned so far seems like too much of a coincidence to be ignored...most notably, the mention of this 'Robori' that the people of Mercy pray to. Because, try as you might, none of you can recall having ever heard of such a god or anything that sounds even remotely similar...

So, there's talk of snooping about after curfew - will you try that tonight or will you all bed down for now and wait to see what you learn tomorrow, first?

"Sure, whatever man."

Plum eats dinner. "Let's not break the rules the first night out. We can check things out in the morning. We might not have to break the rules at all." she looks sadly at her trident.

"Sure, let's stay inside tonight then. Probably safest."[b] Seedy seems a little disappointed that they'll be behaving themselves tonight. [b|"Talk the High Priestess lady tomorrow, then? I bet she'll be nice. Maybe she'll even let us check out this church of ours and won't keep us locked up inside?"

Vintner looks a bit disappointed, but to some extent lacks the skills to be effective going out on his own.

Well, I do not really respect the laws of a place that maybe probably murdered a Pathfinder He spits that last word like it's the highest possible crime. As though killing pathfinders is the worst of all things that a person could do.

But I will abide by your decision for now. Cooperate....cooperate

Uproot jerks right up at Vintner's words, looking about anxiously. "Wait they murdered a Pathfinder!?! Do you think they'll try murdering me? Should I leave? Are you guys at risk cause you're haning out with me?"

Plum eats dinner. "Let's not break the rules the first night out. We can check things out in the morning. We might not have to break the rules at all." she looks sadly at her trident.

"That's cool."

"Sure, let's stay inside tonight then. Probably safest." Seedy seems a little disappointed that they'll be behaving themselves tonight. "Talk the High Priestess lady tomorrow, then? I bet she'll be nice. Maybe she'll even let us check out this church of ours and won't keep us locked up inside?"

"Shut eye sounds good to me, man."

Vintner looks a bit disappointed, but to some extent lacks the skills to be effective going out on his own.

Well, I do not really respect the laws of a place that maybe probably murdered a Pathfinder He spits that last word like it's the highest possible crime. As though killing pathfinders is the worst of all things that a person could do.

"You're totally right, man! Down with the whole Suidae family, man! Suidae! Suidae! Suidae!"

But I will abide by your decision for now. Cooperate....cooperate

"Huh? Well okay man. Maybe I'll try and come up with some resistance songs for tomorrow then. Wish I brought my guitar."

Uproot jerks right up at Vintner's words, looking about anxiously. "Wait they murdered a Pathfinder!?! Do you think they'll try murdering me? Should I leave? Are you guys at risk cause you're haning out with me?"

"Stay cool man. Don't go losin' yer cabbage, man. It's your cabbage that separates you from the rest of the vegetation. They want you to lose it, so it's easier to mow you down, man. Here take a lick of my arm it'll calm you down. People have been after me for years, man."

Slightly Earlier

"So how do explain all the sand?"

The sheriff gives Sticky another odd look as he glances down at his hand and absently wipes it against his orange pant leg. "Um...first time to a desert or something? Sand don't always mean there's water nearby, son. Don't they teach you folks better than that wherever you come from?"

Deciding to behave yourselves - for now - everyone settles in for a nice dinner of grilled hyena steak, cheesy livers, and blood gelatin for dessert. It's a surprisingly good meal, aided by the freshness of the ingredients and the modest but well-maintained kitchen. After a bit of chatter on what to do in the morning, everyone beds down in whatever manner they see fit - the guest house has several bunk beds but there's also plenty of room to spread bedrolls on the floor if you wish. Watches may or may not be set, but either way the night passes quietly and without incident.

The next morning you all begin to stir as hints of the morning sun peek through the closed curtains. Remembering that curfew lasts until an hour after sunrise, you mill about and go through your usual morning routines until the sound of the triple bell ringing out signals the end of curfew. When you peek outside one of the windows or open the front door, you notice that there are several baskets sitting outside next to the message box - presumably the rations that Sheriff Molume had said would be provided to you. Closer investigation reveals that the baskets are filled with onion bread, fresh raw vegetables, berries, cashews and cashew milk, as well as jugs of fresh, clear water.

A few other early-risers can be seen passing to and fro on their way to work or whatever other business they might have for the day but otherwise the village is still relatively quiet. There's 10 hours until the bells will sound again to signal the start of the town's curfew - surely plenty of time to have a look around and hopefully learn more about what might have happened to Amenira...
____________

We're going theater of the mind as far as a town map goes but there are several places you can go and different things you can do. You may attempt to simply Gather Information in the town, you can go visit the temple, you can go investigate Amenira's home, visit the artisan's square, or do any number of other things that I've probably not even considered - but you might have! What do you wish to do?

Sorry to have fallen behind with the game. I just read through everything and got caught up and will try to post more regularly moving forward.

When the talk turns to the possibility of sneaking out the following night, Skarlit points out that she can move while in plant form, so she could possibly reconnoitre. (This is the leshykinesis basic ability of her archetype, which allows 10' movement and 10' climb speed while in vine form). As the group moves around the town, she makes note of the existing plants that are found in town to see whether she could move around in vine form without attracting suspicion.

"So, perhaps we should start out at Amenira's house? She may have left notes or other indications that can help us figure out what's become of her..."

"Sure, we can start there if you like?" Seedy agrees with Skarlit. "...but we'll go everywhere eventually, right? I'd hate to say we came all this way out here and didn't get to see all the sights!"

Seedy is excited to follow along wherever the group decides to go, just as long as they don't expect to go up and talk to strange people all by himself.

Slightly Earlier

Sticky wrote:

"So how do explain all the sand?"

The sheriff gives Sticky another odd look as he glances down at his hand and absently wipes it against his orange pant leg. "Um...first time to a desert or something? Sand don't always mean there's water nearby, son. Don't they teach you folks better than that wherever you come from?"

"If there's no water then how do you dudes surf?" Sticky says cutting to the most important consideration.

+++++++++

The next day, Sticky goes out to press the fronds.

"Hey there! I'm Sticky. Put 'er there, man! Are you--you know--herb-friendly?"

diplomacy (gather info): 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (16) - 1 = 15

Previous Evening

"If there's no water then how do you dudes surf?"

"Ah...'surf'? What does that mean, exactly?" the sheriff responds, actually sounding a little curious in spite of himself.

While a couple of you discuss paying Amenira's house a visit first, Sticky decides get out and pound the proverbial pavement for a bit. A short way down the street from the guest house he comes across a small cottage. Three sets of orange robes hang from the clothesline outside of this simple cottage; two of them are sized for adults, while the other one is sized for a child. The orange flag on this house’s message box is raised and orange curtains cover all of the windows. A small, fenced-in garden lies next to the cottage and Sticky (and anyone else that accompanies him) see a woman who looks to be in her early 30s working within. She looks up, startled, as Sticky calls out to her - then her expression changes to shock and worry.

"What are you doing outside??? Don't you know-" but then she stops as she realizes that the leshies are, well, not whoever or whatever she'd expected. "Oh! Oh. Um...I'm sorry, I thought...well, never mind." Although she regards Sticky & Co. with something of a guarded expression, she rises to her feet and dusts herself off before stepping up to the fence.

"You must be some of the visitors that Sheriff Molume talked about at worship," she remarks, staring down at Sticky. "I don't really know what you mean by 'herb-friendly' but we're vegetarian, if that's what you were wondering. Is there...something I can help you with?"

By the way, splitting up is also an option if people wish :)

Skarlit accompanies Sticky on his rounds. She shivers at the mention of vegetarianism but says nothing.

GM, do all of the houses have orange flags and orange curtains, or only this one?

She tries to engage the woman in friendly conversation, overlooking, for now, her vegetarian savagery. "Those are very nice robes and curtains you have. Did you know that orange is my favorite color too? Maybe if I stay here long enough I can wear orange too. What do you think, would that be a good idea?"

She glances up at the sun and stretches her leaves in the sunlight. "Not go outside?!? Seriously? Why would you want to stay inside when there's such beautiful light to gather? And you are outside! You're not trying to hog it all for yourself, are you - that's silly, the sun has enough light for all of us! Doesn't your child - " she glances at the small robe - "like to play outside in the sun?"

The woman relaxes a little bit as Skarlit joins in on the conversation and even offers a small smile. "Orange is your favorite? Then I think you'd fit in well enough. It's...well, it's our color, I guess you'd say. We get the dye from one of our local plants and use it for our clothing."

As Skarlit and Sticky listen, they notice as they look around that the woman speaks the truth. All of the nearby houses sport the same sort of orange curtains and orange flags on their little message boxes. What they see of other villagers confirms that they all seem to be wearing the same shades of orange - and you recall that even Sheriff Molume was dressed in orange when you spoke with him yesterday evening.

Efua seems taken aback when Skarlit jokes about hogging the sunlight - and inquires about her child. "Wha...n-no, no, I wouldn't hog the sunlight! And I couldn't, even if I wanted to. My...my daughter, she helps my husband with his weaving but she very much loves to play in the sunlight when her chores are done. Don't all children like the sunlight?"
____________

Not ignoring your inquiries about the plants around town; I'll address that very soon :)

Vintner decides to split off from the rest of the party and to do some observation. He tries to find a place close to the middle of town where this is a bit of vegetation he can blend in with and then turns himself into an unassuming little berry-vine near someones house before the square gets too busy. Simply wishing to observe their behavior when they think they aren't being observed.

He is just so sure they are all evil cultists.

Plum heads out to Amenira's home. She nods in greeting to anyone she sees on the way. Stopping suddenly she realizes she doesn't know where her house is. "Excuse me. Can you point me to Amenira's house? I need get her a message, and I think leaving it at her house is a good start."

Diplomacy: 1d20 ⇒ 11

Leshies About Town - Vintner

Deciding to head off to do a bit of solo recon, Vintner casually begins making his way south from the guesthouse. He gets several strange looks from passing villagers and a few even stop and whisper to each other, but no one gives him any trouble. After a short walk he wanders into an open square lined with various shops, most of them smithies and woodworking shops judging by the signs out front.

Deciding that this will do for now, he ducks into some nearby bushes next to one of the small houses and transforms into a little berry-vine. It isn't long before you notice two groups of citizens step outside of a tavern and into the square, apparently engaged in some sort of heated disagreement. Oddly enough, all of their clothing - tunics and slacks with scarves and belts - is of the same orange hue. You recall that Sheriff Molume also wore orange.

"Oh yeah!?" one of the men from one group bellows at the second group. "Well you wouldn’t even be able ta’ sleep at night iffin’ it weren’t for us, making your houses an’ your furniture an’ patchin’ up all the holes in your walls!"

The second group offer boos and hisses of disagreement. "Stuff it, Fergus! You’d not be able to do any of that if it weren’t for us making the tools and nails you do it with!" screams a woman in reply. The first group grumbles mutinously and the whole situation seems very tense...and Sheriff Molume currently is nowhere to be seen.
____________

If you wish to interject into the disagreement, please make a Diplomacy Check to try and calm everyone down. Or you can continue to watch, if you like, or do something else!

Leshies About Town - Plumeria

Plumeria also decides to strike out on her own and heads out to find Amenira's home. Although she remembers that Sheriff Molume said it was on the western edge of town, Plumeria finds the array of dusty streets and buildings a bit disorienting and stops a random passerby to ask for directions.

"Amenira?" the wizened old man repeats, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Yeah, she lives in the painted house on the western edge of town - just keeping going down this street, make a right at the corner, then a left at the next corner it'll be the last house at the end of the street. Can't miss it!"

He starts to amble on his way, but then pauses and squints curiously at the little leshy. "Awful young to be wandering out alone, ain'tcha?"

Vintner is a bit surprised that the supposed feud between Carpenters and Blacksmiths seems to be just ....a feud between carpenters and blacksmiths. Theyre strangely passionate....MAD PERHAPS!?!?!?!

Vintner is sure this is about to get good and stays put, maybe creeping around to get a better view.

While a couple of you discuss paying Amenira's house a visit first, Sticky decides get out and pound the proverbial pavement for a bit. A short way down the street from the guest house he comes across a small cottage. Three sets of orange robes hang from the clothesline outside of this simple cottage; two of them are sized for adults, while the other one is sized for a child. The orange flag on this house’s message box is raised and orange curtains cover all of the windows. A small, fenced-in garden lies next to the cottage and Sticky (and anyone else that accompanies him) see a woman who looks to be in her early 30s working within. She looks up, startled, as Sticky calls out to her - then her expression changes to shock and worry.

"What are you doing outside??? Don't you know-" but then she stops as she realizes that the leshies are, well, not whoever or whatever she'd expected. "Oh! Oh. Um...I'm sorry, I thought...well, never mind." Although she regards Sticky & Co. with something of a guarded expression, she rises to her feet and dusts herself off before stepping up to the fence.

"I'm the out doorsy type. You know, I work on my lower trunk strength and such. I walk a lot and keep keep track of it on my 'fit bark'."

He shows off a bit of soft bark wrapped around his wrist notched with hundreds of little, tiny hash marks. "See?" He adds about a dozen more marks with a small knife. The arm holding the knife seems a lot more developed than the one with the 'fit bark' on it.

"You must be some of the visitors that Sheriff Molume talked about at worship," she remarks, staring down at Sticky. "I don't really know what you mean by 'herb-friendly' but we're vegetarian, if that's what you were wondering. Is there...something I can help you with?"

Sticky looks shocked at the woman's declaration. He presses on. "You wouldn't happen to know where all the water is would you?"

As the others head off without him, Seedy looks around to whoever's left, with a slightly hurt look in his eye. "Anyone want to go for a walk with me? I'd like to go check out the temple. See if we can get an invite for tonight's meeting, maybe? I don't really want to stay locked up all night again. Whaddya think?"

Leshies About Town - Plumeria "Awful young to be wandering out alone, ain'tcha?"

"I'm a full grown Leshy. I know I'm not very tall for one. Are you ancient? Usually the humans stand strait up like an oak, not bend over like a Fildbert tree."

Leshies About Town - Vintner the Creeper

Finding himself wishing he had some popcorn handy Vintner settles in to watch the two groups of artisans continue to scream and bicker with each other. As the volume of the yelling increases - along with the swear quotient - the idle thought that there'd be plenty of people willing to pay to watch such shenanigans crosses his mind. Too bad there's no easy way he can think of to broadcast any of it to a larger viewing audience...hmm...

Leshies About Town - Sticky & Skarlit's Excellent Adventure

"A...'fit bark'?" the woman asks, leaning a little further over the fence as Sticky shows off his totally rad 'fit bark' and his beefy knife-arm. The corners of her mouth begin to twitch and she quickly covers her mouth with her hand, almost as if trying to keep herself from laughing.

"That's quite the little invention you've made," she finally manages, shoulders shaking slightly. "Is it waterproof? You might want to ah...waterproof it, since you're asking about water. If you're thirsty, we have a well or two that we draw water from. Otherwise...well, I guess someone could draw you a tub if you want to have a bath. You're guests here and we try to take care of our guests."

Then, almost as an afterthought, she adds, "But please don't go swimming in our wells. We drink from those, you know."

Leshies About Town - Plumeria the Persistent

The old man throws his head back and laughs, apparently and thankfully unperturbed by Plumeria's remarks. "Haha! No, I ain't ancient but sometimes I feel like I'm a hunnert years old or somethin'. What a life of farmin'll do t' a body I reckon."

"Anyways, you're a...leshy? Don't know what one'a them is but I'll take yer word for it. Huh. And here I thought Sheriff Molume was pullin' our leg when he said y'all were actually visitors and not...huh."

Leshies About Town - Seedy Gets Religion?

His pride slightly injured by being left in the dust Seedy rallies himself and decides to go check out the local temple, along with anyone else left that decides to tag along with him.

With the temple being the largest building in Mercy it doesn't take Seedy long to make his way there. An enormous, twisted tree with vanilla orchids sprouting up and around trunk sits in the center of a larger clearing. So massive is the tree that it takes up the entire north side of the building that sits next to it. A pleasant walkway snakes around the tree up to the temple opening, which has no door. Wooden pews line the east and west side of the building, with a garden on the south. Animals made of twisted twigs adorn the branches, and vanilla orchids flourish in the shade. A pleasant scent, reminiscent of dried hay, lingers in the air.

”Not what Mr. Farmer? I’ll tell you about Leshys if you tell me about what you thought I wast.” she tries her best to give a bright smile.

Diplomacy: 1d20 ⇒ 5

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

Vintner decides that this has gotten a tad boring and shapes back into himself and comments Carpenters rule, metal workers drool! before going to find religion himself.

Leshies About Town - Sticky & Skarlit's Excellent Adventure

"A...'fit bark'?" the woman asks, leaning a little further over the fence as Sticky shows off his totally rad 'fit bark' and his beefy knife-arm. The corners of her mouth begin to twitch and she quickly covers her mouth with her hand, almost as if trying to keep herself from laughing.

"That's quite the little invention you've made," she finally manages, shoulders shaking slightly. "Is it waterproof? You might want to ah...waterproof it, since you're asking about water."

"Oh, it floats."

When the woman mentions their vegetarianism Skarlit shudders but does her best to conceal it. "Really? You eat plants? What kinds? Doesn't it bother you when you think about the young fronds?"

Trying to change the subject to something less charged, Skarlit inquires about her husband's weaving. "What does he weave? Can we see? We might be interested in buying something. It's always good to bring souvenirs back from one's travels, don't you think?"

She idly looks at the orange flag. "I notice every house has one of these. What do you use them for? We were told to use ours if we needed any supplies, but surely you who live here don't need to communicate with each other like that, do you?"

When the woman mentions the wells, Skarlit smiles brightly. "Of COURSE we won't go swimming in the wells! My goodness, just because we are foreigners doesn't mean we don't have manners. But, please, tell me, just so we can be sure to be as respectful as possible, which are the wells or other places that we should avoid to make sure that we don't cause any trouble?"

Leshies About Town - Plumeria the Persistent

"Not from 'round here, Little Missy," the old man replies, his expression now guarded. "That's all. Now you best run along since you seemed t' be in a big hurry t' get somewheres."

With polite tip of his hat, the old man then turns and begins to amble away down the street.
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Continuing on to Amenira's home as planned or is there something else you wish to do?

Leshies About Town - Sticky & Skarlit's Excellent Adventure

"Oh...right. It's so small I guess that it would," the woman remarks, blushing with embarrassment. "Silly question on my part, huh?"

As Skarlit steers the conversation towards more immediate curiosities, like the orange-flagged boxes, the woman seems to relax a little more. "They're like little message boxes and we actually do use them for the same sorts of things as the guest house box. If you want to deliver a gift or a message when someone's not home or sick, then you just drop it in the box and they'll get it when they can! Maybe it seems silly to outsiders but it's always worked really well for us."

"As far as places to avoid, um...well, visitors are usually welcome to move around most places - the shops, the temple, the tavern, the guest house," she continues, shifting from foot to foot. "Just don't go poking around private property - which should be common sense but you'd be surprised..."

When Skarlit inquires about her husband's wares, the woman shoots a glance over her shoulder towards the house behind her. "Um, well, that's very nice of you to ask but we don't sell directly from our home...but Kato does have a shop over on the square if you pass that way while you're out. I'm sure he'd be happy to show you what he has for sale."

Leshies About Town - Vintner the Creeper

After watching the square for a bit and deciding that there's nothing happening of any real interest or relevance to him or their mission, Vintner resumes his normal form and nonchalantly sidles out of the bushes and makes his way towards the local temple.
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Feel free to reference the earlier post for Seedy and proceed from there, Vintner. The two of you are now at the temple together :)

Wanting to be at his most alert as he approaches the temple, Seedy pulls out a handful of coffee beans from his pack and mixes them up with a bit of water and a squeeze of sap from one of his leaves. Downing the extract as he looks around the temple, the little leshy's pupils expand to about three times their size and his little mind races with all sorts of knowledge.

Heightened Awareness - 10 min duration.
Kn.nature (take 10): 10 + 6 = 16

At first Seedy is overawed with the beauty of the temple, walking around the path and taking in the sights. As he takes a closer look at the great, twisted tree, however, he notices that the trunk isn't as healthy as it first looks. There's some sort of blight affecting the tree's roots.

Hoping to fine the High Priestess to try and get an invite to the night's ceremony, Seedy is a little disappointed that no-one seems to be there. He looks around for a friendly vine to speak to, intending to ask it where everyone was and maybe what went on during these ceremonies that was so secret and stuff.

Any vines to use plantspeech with around here?

Uproot heads outside to convince Prickles to blend in and act like a normal cactus in hopes that the lovable oaf will be overlooked as just part of the secenery, make sure no one breaks into the house and maybe even get to stay out past curfew. Handle Animal to get Prickles to Root and then Pass as Scenery. Should auto pass the DC

He then grabs the baskets of food and hauls them inside, noting that everyone but Seedy went out while he’d been working with Prickles. With a slightly out put sigh he starts going through the food. “Unusable… Good Mother, this was picked this morning! The Bastards! … Wait this looks like Uncle Moonlit, I hope that this isn’t him! … Dangit the only good thing in this basket is the water! These people obviously have no idea the amount of murder they’re committing! I should go proselytizing! ”

Part way through worrying over what to do for dinner, Uproot jumps up at the idea of going to the temple. “Perfect! I’d been wanting to see the temple and the tree that the sheriff talked about yesterday, and meet the priestess, and talk theology, and visit a meeting, and I could give a few speeches, and maybe we could even connivance the priestess to stop sending us the bodies of dead distant cousins and give us some real food!”

Uproot tags along to the temple, dragging something from the guest house that looks suspiciously like a soapbox, nattering Seedy’s ear off the whole way. “You know we haven’t talked much. I gathered that you like to be called Seedy, right? So why’d you pick that name? And where are you from? Do you follow a religion? How do you feel about …Veganism? What do you do in life? Have you ever thought about joining the Pathfinders? How’s…”

At the temple he quiets down for a little bit awed by the scenery and amazed at the giant tree. He gladly clambers all over the thing looking for people, a priestess or even a regular person to talk to, kinda sad he brought the box and didn’t get a good chance to use it.

Survival: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Prickles can take root in soft soil assuming there is any in the area and then Pose as Scenery. He gets a +8 on disguise vs. a perception check to appear as a mundane plant.

Prickles, with an aura of supreme boredom, slowly burrows himself into the ground and tries to stay stock still.

Disguise: 1d20 - 2 + 8 ⇒ (16) - 2 + 8 = 22

Within a few moments, he finds a rather large rat and smooshes the thing flat before serruptiously moving over top the dead beast and replanting himself. Slowly savoring the treat, he stays surprisingly stock still and, despite the I <3 Hugs! sign, looks for all intents and purposes like a regular cactus.

Plum nods to the gentleman and continues on to Amenira's home. She doesn't go inside, but looks around the outside area carefully. If there's a convenient window to peer in, she will do that as well.

That's why you don't talk to people Plum. You aren't good at it. You almost had some information, but you looked just a little too interested.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

Knowledge Nature: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (4) + 15 = 19

Vintner approaches the tree directly and looks it over This tree has no blight on it and looks....healthy! How strange!

Vintner looks at how old and gnarled it is Hmm, you really do seem to be healthy if a bit sinister and twisted...whats your story friend....

Vintner recalls the scroll he found Yo Seedy, wanna talk to this tree?

Leshies About Town - Seedy, Vintner, Uproot & Happy Tree Friends?

Although no one seems to be milling around outside of the temple at the moment, both Seedy and Uproot and then Vintner when he comes trundling up, have plenty to occupy their attention as they marvel over the great, gnarled tree that stretches high into the sky.

But what's this...? The leshies realize that the healthy-looking tree is actually anything but...but why? Perhaps someone in the temple will know? Or, as Vintner suggests, maybe the pair could simply ask the tree itself...or the vines and orchids that creep along its trunk.
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There are indeed vines growing on the tree that you can speak with or you can make use of the scroll you found if you want to try speaking with the tree itself!

Leshies About Town - Plumeria & the Painted House

With a resigned sigh, Plumeria continues on her way to Amenira's home, which isn't too difficult to find with the directions given to her by the old farmer. Of course it also turns out to be the only painted building that Plumeria has seen in Mercy, just like Sheriff Molume had said it would be.

Amenira's home is a well-kept wooden building, painted in festive shades of orange, that sits on the western edge of Mercy. A pair of cashew trees flanks its front entrance and you can seen an overgrown garden running the length of the house's eastern side. A cursory check of the front door reveals it to be unlocked and though the windows are mostly covered with orange curtains, Plumeria catches a glimpse of what looks like a cluttered workshop through a small crack between said curtains.