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Aaftaab raises an eyebrow.
”Just because they were playing with magic this does not mean that the potion brewer knows something! I would rather go through town and try to gather information with your leaflet from the mayor and go to the graveyard. Maybe with more facts we can find better clues?!“ she asks.
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Marrowtusk looks at the newest member of their party. "Friend, I know you just got here but try ta keep up, we already spent time gatherin information in town and the mayor told us ta talk ta the apprentice's masters for facts and clues. There are 4 masters left on our list and one of them happens ta deal with magic which Alcie from the tavern said they had a hunch the apprentices were gettin inta."
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List of Missing Apprentices
Betrona Pindlion—apprentice of haberdasher Petrellano Pindlion
Gellion Vazarro—apprentice at Pricknettle’s Potions and Poultices
Noemi Tauralio—apprentice at Gunty’s Hearty Breads
Nolaria Wintren—apprentice of the temple and Father Ildris Ruvarra
Pavolus Laterna—apprentice of cobbler Dependable Drummady
The haberdashery owned by Petrello Pindlion is nowhere near the most prominent or successful in the town, but it is the only one with a missing apprentice. Petrello started this business to support himself and his daughter Betrona when he and Drummady separated. He was a terrible cobbler, and he is no better as a haberdasher; the people of Saringallow cruelly comment that his hats look more like shoes than his shoes ever did.
The place is a mess, and he is disinclined to speak with visitors; his starting attitude is unfriendly, and all he’ll say to you is, “It’s that apothecary boy’s fault. He’s a bad influence, that one!”
Petrello shares that he suspects Gellion and Nolaria of getting the other apprentices into some sort of trouble. Despite strictly forbidding it, he suspects that Betrona met with her friends anyway— perhaps in the town’s orchard or graveyard—and that if she had only listened to her father, none of this would have happened.
The town’s foremost apothecary, Majara Pricknettle, hails from the Isgeri gnome settlement of Umok. Tragedy struck her family during the Goblinblood Wars, and she fled Umok to distance herself from those painful memories.
Saringallow, with its high walls and townsfolk who keep their distance, in addition to its small but established gnome population, suited her needs quite well. She settled there permanently, vowing never to return home.
After several years, as the townsfolk finally warmed toward her, Majara decided to take on Gellion as her apprentice, seeing the benefit of passing her skills on to other locals. What started as a strictly businesslike master-apprentice relationship turned friendly as Gellion charmed the gnome with his inquisitiveness and quirky gregariousness. This friendship blossomed as time passed, and now Majara is as fond and protective of Gellion as a she would be toward her own child, though she does not often let it show to the young man, let alone to others.
Majara is relatively curt but friendly, and extols the virtues of the alchemical wares she has for sale, answering any questions
that you might have about that topic. However, she tries to change the subject if you bring up Gellion, and she professes disinterest about any other missing apprentices you might mention.
She reveals that she has not seen Gellion in several days, and that she suspects that Nolaria Wintren, the apprentice at the temple of Erastil, might have something to do with his disappearance. Majara views the priest’s apprentice as a meddler who puts dangerous ideas into Gellion’s head.
The five apprentices at the largest bakery in Saringallow are afraid of nothing more than their stern master, Gunty Keronna (LN male human expert 2/warrior 2). A veteran of the Goblinblood Wars, his severe leg injury only soured his already surly disposition. After the war, rather than begging for his livelihood like so many of his former comrades-in-arms, he devoted himself to making “the heartiest damn breads this side o’ the river.”
One of Keronna’s apprentices, Noemi, has been absent since her abduction 2 days ago by Gellion, though Gunty believes she’s simply sulking after receiving a particularly vicious upbraiding for burning a pan of rolls.
The baker grouses about the time Noemi spends with her “no-good friends,” and reveals that he believes Noemi and the other apprentices are planning some sort of trick in retaliation for his strict rules. On recent nights, the baker has been hearing buzzing noises and seeing strange flickering lights, “like torches flying through the sky,” near the town’s central orchard. Whatever the apprentices are planning, Keronna is convinced that the orchard is their staging ground. He’s tried to investigate, but all he’s found so far is a bunch of trampled fruit.
Saringallow’s most successful cobbler, “Dependable” Drummady Laterna (NG female human expert 4), has a reputation for making the sturdiest footwear in town at reasonable prices, and is willing to repair any shoe purchased from her store at a steep discount. Her business truly took off 3 years ago when she split with her husband Petrello, who tried to exercise control over the business even though he is a far inferior crafter than Drummady.
Petrello and Drummady also bumped heads over their children, Pavolus and Betrona. Pavolus is Drummady’s apprentice, and Betrona is Petrello’s apprentice. Their father is terribly strict with them, while their mother is far more permissive. The largest point of contention between the parents is Petrello’s disapproval of Pavolus’s interest in Gellion, who the haberdasher believes is a distraction and not nearly good enough for his son.
When you approach the cobbler’s shop, you find Drummady in a state of grim resolve. She refuses to allow her business to falter because her children are missing. She is practical and avoids engaging in chitchat with you.
Drummady reveals that Gellion was certainly the most charismatic of the missing apprentices, and usually acted as the group’s de facto leader. She also reveals that Pavolus recently made Gellion a pair of bright yellow boots as a gift—a fact. that she emphasizes to display her son’s kindness, and to criticize her ex-husband’s disapproval of him.
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Marrowtusk's stomach began rumbling from the free meal he had earlier at the tavern, the large human requiring more than just a single chicken to energize him for the adventure. He decides to go and question the baker about his apprentice at Gunty's Heaty Breads, hoping that he might get some extra carbs to fuel the machine he calls his body. "Good day friend, my name's Marrowtusk with the Pathfinder Society and I'm here ta get some information on ya missin apprentice. Do ya need some help?"
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Marrowtusk helps the baker with some of his tasks to gain some favor with him. Because of his bad leg, Gunty has Marrowtusk carry some heavy barrels for him but unbeknownst to Gunty, even though Marrowtusk looked like he was carrying them with ease, in fact he found himself oddly struggling with the light barrels that a disabled veteran would normally be able to carry on his own and embarrassingly did his best to hide it and finish the bakers tasks for his information.
Before splitting up to their different areas of investigation, he mentions they should probably meet back up at the tavern when everyone is ready to share information and pick the next area to head towards, so he heads back there to wait for the others.
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Marrowtusk looks at the newest member of their party. "Friend, I know you just got here but try ta keep up, we already spent time gatherin information in town and the mayor told us ta talk ta the apprentice's masters for facts and clues. There are 4 masters left on our list and one of them happens ta deal with magic which Alcie from the tavern said they had a hunch the apprentices were gettin inta."
Aaftaab rolls her eyes.
”Are you saying I am not smart? And you could have told me all this before! Paahh... no gentlemen in the Society! And we should not split!! Never heard of that one?!“ she says and starts walking.
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Amused she watches Marrowtusk support the Baker but does not offer any help.
”This is not the kind of work I do! But you did better than I thought!“ she says smiling.
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Aaftaab decides to visit Petrello's Haberdashery and asks the group to accompany her.
”Hello Mr. Petrello, I am happy to find you here! This is a letter of introduction from the mayor. I hope that you understand that we are on official business here and we would very much like to understand if you know anything about the disappearance of the apprentices in this town as well as any sightings of strange insect!? You will of course support this community and help these young kids to follow the path to redemption!“ she says with concern for the kids.
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Popole follows Marrowtusk along like a dog. A big green and muddy dog. Not saying a word, he looks the large man doing an impressive show of pure strength and claps unenthusiastically.
Speaking and rumbling in open town... I hate those missions. I was never good at that.
After that, he sees Aaftaab heading towards a weird store... clothes? Popole shrugs and thinks again how humans like to waste their time. He instead heads towards the potion master instead.
Since it was some kind of magic, I'd say a potion shaman, like Ma Warts in the village, are the best at it in these remote villages...
Arriving at the apothecary, Popole is relieved to see that she's not a longleg. A grippli of few words, he introduces himself to explain the motive of his visit:
"*Ribbit.*" he says, in a respectful way.
After a small but awkward pause, he opens his mouth wide.
"I am Popole. I am with a group deputized by the mayor. We look for some younglings that disappeared. I heard Gellion was one of them. Could you tell me more about him? Do you anything about his habit with magics? Was there anything unusual about him before he disappeared?"
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The Pathfinders make their way to the Saringallow Orchard...
Rows of neglected apple trees sway in the wind, and the occasional rotting, worm-eaten fruit falls with a wet thud to the ground below. The earth is heavily trampled near the southern end of the orchard, and an overturned barrel of apples lies broken on its side, exuding a sickly sweet scent.
You observe that two humanoid creatures fought here several days ago, and the victor half-carried the loser—a very large person—away to the south. The trail ends at the edge of the orchard.
You notice thin strands of a purplish-black substance clinging to a nearby tree. A patch of bark beneath the strands has begun to decay, and all of the tree’s fruit has fallen to the ground.
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Better off in an orchard than in a cemetary, Popole is glad to head this way. He stays on his guards during the group's travel. He holds his light crossbow, loaded.
After entering the orchard, he points at a nearby tree to show the others thin strands of a purplish-black substance clinging to it. A patch of bark beneath the strands has begun to decay, and all of the tree’s fruit has fallen to the ground.
"Silence..." says the grippli.
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You notice there are these particularly large beetles on the ground. They appear to be waking up at your presence.
Fiendish Fire Beetles.
These fiendish beetles resemble normal fire beetles, but their spots shed light like torches instead of their usual greenish-yellow glow.
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The Beetles are about to attack! When a strange man wearing robes appears! He fights alongside the Pathfinders!
Battlefield Conditions: Normal Light
Reginald(-0,Fine)
Popole(-0,Fine)
Anthelea(-0,Fine)
Marrowtusk(-0,Fine)
Aaftab(-0,Fine)
Blue Beetle(-0,Fine)
Red Beetle(-0,Fine)
Yellow Beetle(-0,Fine)
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You stand triumphant over the one dead and two unconscious beetles. They appear very fiendish in nature now that you get a closer look, as though something foul here is corrupting the local wildlife. Putting them out of their misery may be the most merciful thing you can do.
A gooey snotty purple slime coats the beetles as well as a nearby tree. It appears evil in nature.
A Cold Iron weapon, Good Aligned damage, or Positive Energy should do.
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"What's this?" Reginald says as the rest of the party squishes beetles. "What a fascinating substance! Most definitely evil - do you think it would turn my hand purple if I touched it?"
A loud caw from a raven perched on his hat startles the man, and he quickly pulls back the hand reaching for the slime just seconds before.
"Oh, you're quite right Casovir. Hmm. Well, does anyone have a cold iron weapon? Or perhaps one aligned with the energy from the good planes? Or, hmm, maybe just positive energy?" He furrows his brow in contemplation.
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"Sorry, just normal metal here." Marrowtusk bangs his gauntlets against his full plate. "If it's evil I say we leave it alone and go check out the graveyard." Marrowtusk will pick up the Masterwork Sap and toss it into his bag unless someone else wants to use it. He's merely taking it because his weight capacity is like a billion pounds.
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Hundreds of small grave markers stand between a few large mausoleums in this graveyard. Crows leer from the gravestones, scattering when other creatures draw near, only to resettle some distance away.
You are able to determine tracks of perhaps teenage humanoids moving through here.
The area is particularly quiet, save for one very noisy raven by a mausoleum.
The raven is showing properties that would most likely make it a familiar to a spellcaster. It appears flustered and panicked.