The gnome still breathes! And you have have saved his house and much of his garden from ruin.
Dusklord revives the gnome (who was at -2 hp), and he smiles as he looks up at you. "Thank you, my friends! You are friends, are you not?"
He warms up to you quickly when he discovers who you are and why you are here. He rewards you by giving you a rare flower from his garden.
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Aeleth squints as he follows the discussion, and nods slowly as he comes to understand the extent and true nature of the troubles that plague the village of Wispil.
"They turn men into beasts? But what would happen to their PANTS!? Surely they would be torn off in the trans... transber... transbumition! Or perhaps they would be thrown away, for beasts do not like to wear pants. I know, for I have asked them!"
"But if they are still men, then they would be men without pants! Ah, to deprive men of their pants in such a way is the height of villainy indeed! We must bring the righteous bootheel of our boots to the buttocks of these naughty druids! For JUSTICE!"
Aeleth makes his proclamation with gusto and concludes with a fist pumped enthusiastically into the air. He looks expectantly at his party members, confidently waiting for them to join in his proclamation of do-gooding.
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Dusklord seems torn between his study of the litheria blossom and Aeleth. He takes out some papers and makes extensive notes.
"Aeleth, would you be so kind as to inhale in close proximity to this litheria blossom? I am curious as to what effect it might have on you, if any."
Still, with a mission at hand, he reluctantly turns back to the gnome, both listening and asking questions.
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Yndra faces Dusklord and plants her fists on her hips. "What are you doing with the fellow? You aren't testing unknown magical items on him, are you?" Her scowl makes it clear what she thinks about that. "Besides, didn't you hear the gnome. It's a rare flower. What if you exhaust its power by letting him smell, even before we know what it does? That's just unacceptable. Even worse, the thing might backfire! Experimenting with magic is dangerous, and I won't stand for it. It's my sacred duty to make sure all of this is done properly." She looks disappointed in Dusklord. "I thought you understood about these kinds of things."
She eventuelle proceeds to drill the gnome for what he knows. "Hmm, so it's fortunate that we got here in time. If I understand you correctly, there's druids at Briar Henge, two days south of here. They're performing a ritual to turn men into animal-men. (We knew that part already, didn't we?) We have to hurry, because their ritual will end at sundown tomorrow. And to stop it, we have to take the Atavistic Splinter away from Briar Henge. (That's even more of a coincidence, because we were planning to take it away from there anyway.). And we can't stay too long at the site, because otherwise we might be affected as well. Did I miss anything? No? Well, speak up!"
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As Yndra dresses him down, Dusklord's expression goes from one of exasperation to sick humor.
"My dear dwarf," he says. "While I appreciate your careful attention to detail, I am a professor of necromancy, tenured at that. Furthermore, I am a Thassilonian specialist, trained to utilize heights of power attained only long ago! These magical effects I am utilizing might be unknown to you, but they are known to me and to your deity, I assure you!"
Walking up to the dwarf, he places a hand on her shoulder, and whispers "I should also let you know that I am working to finalize an agreement with Aeleth, that should he pass away unexpectedly, I might utilize his brain for studies at the university. He has a--special--way of thinking, which requires further study. I was simply taking some notes that will assist me in that eventuality."
Stepping back, he says "Nevertheless, let me assure you that I share your utmost respect for, shall we say, the sanctity of magic and knowledge. We will get along splendidly."
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Aeleth sees his companions arguing about the flower, and though the many words in their discussion confuses him a little, he feels confident that he gets the gist of it.
"Do not concern yourself, my friends. I have no need of flowers to make me smell good. The fragrance of justice that wafts from my armpits brings terror to evil and comfort to all others! Save the flower for those who stink of villainy, that its flowery scent may bring them better thoughts and inspire them to butt-kicking for goodness!"
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Yndra doesn't seem mollified by Dusklord's appeal to authority. "Be that as it may, professor or not, many before you have succumbed to the lure of power, or knowledge. As intelligent as they all are, or were, they are not always wise enough to show proper respect for the dangers inherent in magic. Trust me, I know." Her right eye twitches violently at this confession.
"Still, I think we have an understanding. That should satisfy me. And you are right, we should make haste, if we are to reach this Briar Henge before sundown the day after tomorrow."
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Serak rolls his eyes at the conversation between Yndra and Dusklord.
You studious types and your need to understand magic... Waste of time if you ask me. It's there when I need it and it works just fine. That's all I need to know. If I wanna do something new with it, I just experiment a little. No need to chalk down equations and memorize ancient incantations... I saw in a play once a long time ago in a realm far, far away, where someone said that ancient incantations and hokey magical religions are no match for a good fireball at your side... I couldn't agree more.
So, it sounds like you have collected the information you need from the gnome, and I saw no further questions, so am assuming you are ready to move on.
The first day’s journey from Wispil to Briar Henge takes you to a logging camp.
You gain the bestial simple template.
BESTIAL SIMPLE TEMPLATE
PCs who fail to resist the effects of the druids’ ritual emanating out from Briar Henge gain the bestial simple template. This template only affects humanoids, and does not affect humanoids with the wild empathy class feature. Humanoids afflicted with this template gain traits of a random wild animal from the waist up, appearing much like a lycanthrope in hybrid form. Common animal forms include those of a bear, boar, dog, lion, or wolf.
Bestial Creature (CR +0)
Humanoids with the bestial simple template are more resilient and develop rudimentary natural attacks, but the transformation dulls the mind and gives those affected a brutish demeanor.
Rebuild Rules: AC increase natural armor by +1; Attacks gain 2 claw attacks and 1 bite attack dealing damage as though the creature were one size category smaller (Medium creatures deal 1d3 points of claw damage and 1d4 points of bite damage, Small creatures deal 1d2 points of claw damage and 1d3 points of bite damage; all three attacks are considered primary attacks); Ability Scores +2 bonus to Con, –2 Int damage, –2 Cha damage.
The path runs through a small collection of buildings deep in the forest. This place appears to be a successful lumber camp—nearly a small village—but seems abandoned. A few open doors bang softly in the wind, hanging askew on their hinges.
The logging camp appears empty.
As you enter the camp, 3 bestial men come out of hiding and charge at you. They are not as stealthy as they think, and so you see them coming.
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"Oh, dear. That doesn't look good." She walks up, axe in hands and prays for Nethys' protection against these foes.
She then turns to her companions. "So, how do we handle these? They're just loggers who fell under the influence of the druids ritual, aren't they? Poor souls, more victims of the improper use of magic. We should try to just knock them out, I think."
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The beast-men all double move toward you.
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Starling whimpers as a strange magic begins tranforming the upper part of her body, transforming her into a terrifying half-wolf with enormous jaws and paws but still possessing a pair of human legs. Her brain becomes muddled as inexplicable rage washes over her. Once the others engage with their opponent beast men, Starling-as-wolf moves forward, saliva dripping freely from her open maw, her large tongue rolling in anticipation of combat and fresh prey.
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Aeleth adopts the stance of the dragon, then runs up to join Elvik in taking down the adversary to the North, hoping to reduce the number of opponents they have to face at once.
Hearing Starling's bestial snarl, he looks over his shoulder and stares at her in amazement.
"Who is this? A wolf-woman who wears the clothes of Starling? Ah, the kind songstress has given her clothes to the wolf-woman to help her feel more human than wolf! Admirable wisdom! And see how she snarls at our enemies! We must give her a name that befits her fearsome appearance!"
He thinks for a moment, and then inspiration strikes.
"We shall call her Boo!" he declares with gusto. "Go for the eyes, Boo! Go for the eyes! Raargh!"
The northern beast goes down hard!
The red one turns to flee.
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Yndra looks at her companions in doubt, first at Starling's transformation, then at the others' willingness to solvle the situation with violence. At least Professor Dusklord has some sense, it seems.. "Please be reasonable, gentlemen, these are just innocent victims of a magical ritual, remember."
She steps ahead of the line and in front of Dusklord, hoping that the transformed Starling won't consider her an enemy. She then twists the axe in her grip and stands ready to whack it at the last beast-men, should it engage her.
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Yndra looks at her companions in doubt, first at Starling's transformation, then at the others' willingness to solvle the situation with violence. At least Professor Dusklord has some sense, it seems.. "Please be reasonable, gentlemen, these are just innocent victims of a magical ritual, remember."
Aeleth squints at Yndra uncomprehendingly.
"You have lost me in your many words, for battle is no place for big sentences and long words. But fear not, for any beast that bares its fangs at us shall feel the Backhand of Justice and leave with the imprint of my bootheel on their buttocks!" Aeleth replies resolutely in an oblivious attempt to reassure Yndra.
The monstrous men try to rip you apart.
Green stands toe to toe with Starling.
Red continues to flee.
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Do you guys think we're too good at this, or is it just me? I mean, I didn't even get to do anything!
The gnomes throws his hands up in exasperation.
And what in the nine hells happened to Starling?!
Aeleth kicks the beastman between his legs, lifting him 5 or 6 inches into the air, crushing his testicles and shattering his tailbone at the same time. The creature howls as it crosses its eyes, and then drops to the ground, likely dead (or very close to it).
After seeing that, the red one shall not return.
Serak starts burning a building that must belong to someone...
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Dusklord watches the terrified one continue to flee.
"That was a particularly powerful casting of that spell," he says.
As Serak starts burning things, the wizard shakes his head and looks at Yndra. "This is one you will want to keep your diligent gaze on," he whispers. "His misuse of magic is unsurpassed. Whereas I believe magic is a tool to be utilized with great care, and only by the most skillful practitioners, this one," he tut tuts in disapproval, is like a volcano ready to erupt.
"Serak! Don't burn down the buildings before we check inside! Now someone investigate before the gnome burns down all our clues!"
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Yndra moves up to check on either of the downed beast-men, weaving a simple spell on the way to stave off the worst. If they managed to live through that!
She's about to check whether the creatures's are indeed still alive, when she fire smoldering behind her. With a angry glare for Serak, she whips around. "What do you think you're doing, mister?" She stomps towards the pyromaniac, nodding at Dusklord's warning. "Didn't we just catch some bad guys setting fire to gnome farm? And now you're trying to torch this whole village down, just because it's abandoned? Pah!" As before on the farm, she starts gating in large quantities of water to stop the fire. All the while, her roving her keeps fixed on Serak, letting him know precisely how she feels.
Both men barely cling to life, so the stabilization spell was just soon enough to prevent them from dying. They will require much time to recover naturally, though.
Whilw Serat and Yndra fight over one building, the rest of you may search the others.
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Serak looks incredulously at Yndra.
Wha-- It's just a wooden shack! Why would I waste a perfectly good fireball when there's something flammable not even twenty feet away?
He side eyes Dusklord and huffs.
Yeah. "Clues." Have fun looking at beast man dung...
He pulls out his battered coin and starts flipping it in the air again, taking great care to not do anything productive. Every now and then he mutters.
Tell ME what to do... I'm the descendant of a dragon for pete's sake...
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Aeleth inspects the damage from his latest attack with some surprise and discomfort.
"I surprise myself to say this, but I believe there might have been a little too much justice in that kick.:
However, it soons passes.
"But now the bootprint of justice is firmly imprinted on his buttocks, and whereever those buttocks sit, evil will see the bootprint and know to mend thir evil ways, lest they too face the righteous bootheel of justice!"
"Now where is Starling? She was nice to give Boo her clothes, but that is no reason to hide. She cannot have gone too far. Starling? Staaar-liiiing?" Aeleth calls out as he searches the huts nearby.
However, the half-elf is unperceptive in more ways than one, and finds nothing of interest.
As he rejoins the group, he hears Serak's rant, and one detail arouses his curiousity.
"Serak," he says, looking at the gnome with a grave and sombre look in his eyes. "I am not a religious man, but I have heard the name of many gods in my travels, and never have I heard of the one you worship and call 'Pete'. I wish to know - who is 'Pete'? Is he a god of justice, and does he give all his priests fire like he gives you?"