Natsume looks between the two as they speak. She has a little trouble determining if that's suspicious or not. She settles for being suspicious that it may be suspicious.
She slips back into the caravan, working on getting suited up: hide wrappings, a hefty new shield, her trusty flail, a dagger in her boot. At the insistence that they may be making a journey into the forest, she grabs her backpack as well, and heads into the inn.
She sniffs it for any trace of poison before tucking in!
Natsume has the distinct impression the newcomer and Delma know one another and respect one another.
Giggett interrupts, a bit too late, the conversation between Natsume and the newcomer:
"We are all four investigating Bort's murder. I can come without weapons if you prefer, as I'll greatly like to know what's happening. I mistook you for Vilree, and I want to understand what I've missed."
Noala looks at Giggett: "I have no idea of this Bort's demise. Didn't know him well. No idea who this Vilree you think I am, is. But I would rather, quite the opposite, that you come fully armed."
Giggett nods, and gets all her stuff before getting into the inn. She tells Delma while she serves the party:
"Maybe you could tell us a bit about this Noala. I don't think anyone of us ever met her, and she's quite enigmatic."
Delma feeds you: "Eat up, eat up, I have some bags you can take to have food for the day.
Noala?
She's a ranger. People do not know her much here, or care. She comes now and then for supplies, so I know her. And I value her work, protecting the community.
A few months ago she asked Sheriff Rolth, with my blessing, to request aid from the Baron. Unfortunately, the sheriff has no time for "tree problems". He pointedly refused to help her or even inform anyone else of the danger she feels comes from the blight out in the forest, or some fields.
Here, have some more bacon."
Natsume tears into her breakfast with an enthusiasm normally reserved for halflings.
"I've met a couple of rangers before," she says around a mouthful of omelet. "Good folks. Tend to be quiet, tho'-- I figure they're more used to talking with animals, and that's usually kinda non-verbal."
Giggett takes a monotonous tone, that she's not much used to take these last days:
"Can you tell us more about that? It looks like you know a lot more than you say..."
"I don't know much. She's been saying that over the past several years there has been an ever-growing blight in the region. From a single group of sickly trees it is supposed to have become a series of seemingly unconnected pockets of dead and dying plants.
But she's getting no help investigating.
Because, here, it’s just a bad summer, or maybe a pig died in the stream a few months back, is what the villagers say.
For all I know they're right.
But if wh... if I were Mayor, I'd get the Baron and Sheriff to investigate."
"You may feel I'm a little impolite, but why haven't you told us that while we were investigating Bort's death. You were in the tavern while I was speaking about strange behaving wolves. And you've been the first one I've interrogated after the death. It would have been a good moment to bring that up, don't you think?"
Dragh spends the downtime working on the potions. He works somewhere behind the carts, and a few times he made small explosions happening. But at the end of the week, he came back with a set of bottles.
When discussing the fox marks Dragh comments:
"It could be Vilree, or someone completely different. We made enough of the effect to draw attention. One more thing came to my mind if what the bard was singing is right Vilree might want to look for vengeance on the town. Her mother was an elf, and she is a half-elf I wonder who her father is and how involved is he in the story."
When the hooded person comes Dragh only observes letting others speak, he joins the team on the breakfast passing the potions to everyone:
"Here is my first elixir of life and an eagle eye elixir. These are the names used among alchemists, first one will heal you while the other will make you more observant. Take 1 each, use them as you wish."
Dragh has his crossbow, bolts, backpack with his traveling gear and a staff that he uses while walking.
"And I give you this Alchemist's Fire back, Dragh, now that you learned how to properly use it."
Delma tells Giggett that "strange behaving wolves has never had anything to do with this blight.
Nor any kind of animals.
So I do not see what your so called wild animals have to do with dying trees that has been going on for years."
Dragh spends the downtime working on the potions.
So, Dragh does not see how, at first, to make such items.
Then he sure gets the hang of it and makes a fine batch!
You have used 1 batch of components (tell me how much) and have four potions or elixirs of one group.
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You finish breakfast, get your last gear, and are ready to head out to meet your hooded ranger in the forest.
You move into the woods, arriving very rapidly to a clearing amidst the trees, not far from the town itself.
A small fire is already burning in a carefully kept fire pit.
Seeing you arrive, the mysterious woman tosses back her hood to reveal long, elven ears and deep, emerald eyes.
With one hand, she begins to drag the wolf corpses to the flame.
She avoids the use of her right hand, which is entirely covered in that oddly shaped leather gauntlet.
"Delma knows I have been trying to figure out this blight for years, why groups of trees are dying. When she heard about the wolves, she was smart enough to wonder if it might be linked, and got news to me. She did not know that these wolves aren’t the first--"
She looks at you, one by one, peering into your eyes with her rich green stare.
"--nor, am I afraid, will they be the last.
Worse still," she grunts, as she begins to drag the body of the big caustic wolf to the fire, "the forest itself is turning sour.
Plants and trees are withering, bearing bitter fruit that sickens and kills those who eat it. If you’ve been out to the old orchard, you’ve seen it.
The blight is growing, and I imagine your help is all I have to stop it."
To your first questions, the woman confirms that she is Noala Kessir, an elven ranger, who has actually been tracking these beasts, including their mutated leader, and is relieved to see them put down.
She felt that those responsible for killing the wolves might be hardy enough to help her root out the cause of these corrupted animals. Thus she is approaching you. Though she knew nothing of Bort or poison, and she does not know of any place that could grow the plant with which to make the deadly mixture that killed the caravan master.
"I do not see where it could grow naturally in these parts.
But maybe someone is growing it in some hidden garden?
Things have slowly been getting worse and, the crisis is beyond my ability to solve alone.
Since the Sheriff will not call upon anyone to intervene, I hope that you will help me get to the bottom of the blight that has taken hold of the wilderness around Etran’s Folly."
Once the wolves are all burning away, and she has finished emptying her sled.
She explains that: "For the past several years, there has been an ever-growing blight in the region. What started a few years ago with a single group of sickly trees has become a series of seemingly unconnected pockets of dead and dying plants.
Worse still, some of the animal living near these areas have started showing strange mutations and have turned hostile to travelers and locals alike.
There is no obvious cause.
The only common element is that in each afflicted area, the blight seems to start in a grove of very large, old trees."
She nods, sadly, and looks into the flames, where the distorted carcasses of the wolves are consumed.
"Now, things are worse than ever.
Some of the blights are showing signs that the plants themselves are changing, becoming... something else."
She looks back at you, one by one.
"My proposition is simple. I would ask you to accompany me to these dying parts of the woods and get to the bottom of it.
I imagine you might not want to take on this mission merely out of... generosity.,
I can offer to repay you by training you in wilderness survival skills, and ranged combat techniques...
Or you might discover this is linked to your Master Bort Bargith's demise.
For the fact that there is someone working with vile reagents strikes me as unlikely to be a coincidence.
Finding the cause of the blight might help track down the person behind your friend's death."
She waits to see if you agree, what further questions you have.
"My plan was to take you to a nearby blight right now. Some--"
She looks you over, assessing how well you will manage the trek through the forest.
"--three hours away.
Then, if necessary, perhaps moving on to a larger one deeper in the forest.
I hope you did pack for a lengthy journey, for that second, largest, blight is located deep in the woods and is hard to reach on foot."
"My plan, is to first reach the nearby blight, though, which you would enter and explore while I will roam around the site, setting up snares on common trails and ensuring that any stray creatures flushed out of the area are contained.
What say you?"
Natsume listens intently, a finger on her bottom lip, flail chain wrapped around her shoulder; she's prone to playing with it while listening to particularly long stories.
"I've been walkin' for years now; what's three hours more?" she asks. "I'm happy to come along with you. Especially if it will lead us further along the trail of who killed Borty."
The ranger smiles at Natsume.
Looks at the others.
"It can be quite easy to make a link between the blight and Vilree. We have found a creature that was related to her. We have brought here it's mutated part. Maybe can you determine this is the same kind of mutations the blight generates?"
Giggett turns to Natsume for her to show the rattle-tip.
"Anyway, I have nothing to do right now, so exploring a pocket of withered vegetation is ok for me. I'll follow you."
"That sounds like a fair deal, our experience here is that all of the things are connected so probably solving the problem of blight will take us closer to capturing the one responsible for killing Bort. I will join this mission."
After taking a moment he adds:
"While arresting Hallod we fought with one of his pets. That seemed to be somehow modified." Dragh describes what they fought and how it used electricity for its advantage.
"It made us believe that those changed animals are modified by the alchemist. We heard a song by the local bard who said that the Silwyth
which died during the plague was actually an alchemist, is that true? Was she accused by the townfolk and left to die?"
Tamerius was lost in thought, thinking a lot about what was going on in this place where some of his ancestors belonged. It was his duty to be sure that his family Legacy was not lost and forgotten and that his Name will bear great things for Plaguestone in the future
He listen carefully to the elven ranger and says.
I'm a good hunter, and I was not please by the "warm" welcome we received at our arrival. I'm not a man letting go any offense and I will help you find the culprit of this attack.
If helping give me the revenge I'm looking for, so be it. I'm your man.
Noala looks at the metal-rattle tip, and listens to your explanations... answering Giggett:
"Well, I do not find it easy to make the link between the blight and anything.
There seems to be no origin to the blight in the trees. No origin I have found I mean.
It happens in various groves, quite far apart, close to nothing suspicious.
And always the oldest of trees.
Animals started only recently, and with no pattern I could find.
I had never found such strange additions as were in that wolf you said spewed acid.
It seems that someone, this Vilree maybe, has been adding things very recently.
Like this metal rattle.
Things that enhance the mutations. And channel them.
But I know not the origin of the blight... thus not how it mutates and such.
I hope we can figure it out together."
She shakes her gauntled hand - and you see her arm is somehow wounded or withered.
"Alone I have only done so much."
She smiles and nods at Dragh too.
"The mutations could be harnessed by elemental alchemy... acid, electricity.
As for Vilree, as I said, I came here after the Wars, but, what I heard is that Silwyth, one of my kin, was a herborist, thus an alchemist, yes.
That she did a lot to help, avoid, and cure people from the Plague.
But, when she fell ill, the local priest, one Father Bolgrist, then tried to make her the scapegoat, blaming her, as if she were a witch.
Thus she and her daughter were shunned, and the mother dead of disease, the daughter disappeared..."
Once you all have gathered and talked--
--the leads you off into the forest, guiding you carefully, and indicating elements to help you navigate back on your own were this to be necessary.
You walk for about 3 hours, on trails that are little more than winding game paths.
On the way, she explains her general plan again:
"I will lead you to the nearest blight, which you can enter and explore.
I will roam around the site, setting up snares on common trails and ensuring that any stray creatures flushed out of the area are contained.
My wilderness skills allow me to excel at hunting, not close combat.
Once the area is cleared, and stragglers eliminated, I hope to investigate it fully with you to see if there is anything to be learned."
Three hours now that you have been moving, in single fire, through the wounds.
Noala speaks very little, pointing to signs that you try to remember - a specific formation of branches ; some yellow lichen - in order to better move around this path alone.
It is nearing noon, you believe, but the sun is not to be seen that well, hidden by the canopy.
The trees have been getting older and bigger for the last half hour.
Also, you have seen the first signs that you are approaching the blight.
The plants in the area are a sickly shade of green with spots of brown.
And, now, the forest smells of sweet rot.
The old trees look, not majestic, but entirely... unhealthy.
Their bark is peeling off in sticky black strips!
You look at one another.
The presence of rot increases with every step you take.
Noala slows to a stop, turns to look at you, saying:
"This is where those wolves came from, I am sure of it, for I tracked them here and no further. But I had not known of this place as corrupted.
Somewhere ahead is their wolf den, but I will leave that for you to explore.
If you need my help, you will find me out here
I am going to set up snares and make sure nothing gets out of this rotten copse."
After exchanging any last words--
--you see that you only need to follow the trail into the heart of this small blight.
Arms at the ready, and well prepared, you move in.
As you travel slowly and carefully, the ground softens and squelches underfoot due to the sticky black runoff from all the dying plants.
Soon after, the trail opens into an area with tall trees but little underbrush.
The path continues toward the rotting remains of a truly titanic tree and, under its roots, there appears to be a small cave.
There is bright light coming down into what is like a little clearing
What do you?
"Are you hurt in your hand Noala? You see Tamerius is a very good healer maybe he can take a look." Asks Dragh genuinely concerned, and wondering if the mutations can influence Elves.
"Natsume can you hold your spiked shield towards me? I was working on a poison that I should be able to put on your spikes. Gig, prepare an arrow and keep it separate from the others. Take care of how you handle it." Says the dwarf as he reaches for some dark fluid in a flask and gloves.
After that Dragh is ready to go in with loaded crossbow in his hands.
Natsume readily offers her shield to Dragh when asked, and watches as his surprisingly-nimble hands carefully dab poison onto a couple of the more protruding spikes.
She walks at the back of the group, shield on her back and flail wrapped around her arm again; the way she sees it, Noala is unlikely to walk into an ambush in her own woods, so if anything were to sneak up on them, it would have to be from behind.
Once they reach the cave in the tree's roots, her face screws up and she tilts her head this way and that.
"I wasn't expecting it to be good, but this is more gross than I thought it would be," she mumbles, moving back toward the front of the group and moving her combat equipment into her hands.
"Are we ready?"
Giggett smiles at Dragh:
"Poison... I never used it. Let's give it a go, then."
She draws an arrow from her quiver and give it to Dragh. When she puts it back she makes sure it's protruding more than the others to choose it if needed.
When arriving at the grove, she draws her bow and takes a small vial in her right hand. She then position herself between Nat and the other.
"I'll try to position myself as an archer, Natsume. Take care of you and don't hesitate to go full defense, we cover you."
Natsume offers a small grin. "That's why I've got this," she says, indicating the big ol' tower shield.
Noala smiles at Dragh: "Alas, healing has been attempted. But... for nothing."
You see that the custom leather gauntlet over her right hand must allow her to use her hand and arm when they seem to actually be quite out of order...
Around you, the dark drip of the icky plants seems worse than the poison pearling on the end of Natsume's spikes.
In front of you... the clearing.
"So how do we want to play that? We should have brought some meat and throw it to that middle ground and fight on the open ground. Do we want to go in as a team?" Ask Dragh
Natsume shrugs; "I've got some smoked fowl and honeyed rabbit in my pack," she offers, "but I'd hate to waste it if they don't go for it."
"Plus... I mean, maybe fighting in a narrow corridor would be better? The rest of you can stay back and I can plant my shield between us and them."
"I have salted meat and hard biscuits. Nothing that wolves would go crazy about, but there might be other animals here. Let us try to go in then."
"And some gale!"
Does any of you other three, or even Dragh himself, try to go in?
Natsume will, of course, take the lead position, shield raised.
As for the rest, it's simply a question of how far back they follow.
Natsume starts to lead in, walking very carefully, looking ahead.
Moving just a bit, some 10 feet , she looks around the clearing, and sees, in the center, that the trio of small, sickly-looking thorn bushes, appear to have wrapped their tendrils around the corpse of a wolf carcass on the ground between them.
"Well, that's a downer."
She frowns. "Unless anyone has a better idea, I'm gonna give that spot kind of a... wide berth."
Lets me take a look my Lady.
Says Tamerius with a certain authority.
He looks at the elf's hand trying to find anything that could help him understand the way the taint works.
After loading his crossbow, Tamerius follows, looking for tracks of any kind.
Lets go further. This place is different of anything I've already see.
Despite Tamerius' authority, the elf-lady keeps her hand away from him.
"I am fine, thank you for your goodness."
Tamerius only sees that this leather installation is at least a few years old, well used, and serves some purpose, like enabling certain things to be done that the hand should no longer be able to do.
In the clearing, Tamerius moves up behind Natsume--
Looking around the clearing, his feeling is that a good number over wolves lived here.
But for the past fortnight or so very few are left.
Nearly none...
"Guys, let's spread a bit, all the modified animals were spitting elemental things."
Giggett slips silently into the nearby woods, taking cover from the trees.
Giggett slips silently into the nearby woods, taking cover from the trees...
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Natsume makes slow, steady steps around the brambles.