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G’nak kisses his biceps.
You leave Hallod howling in the basement. Now you have a name behind this mastermind, Vilree.
Guyzer earns you another gold piece over the course of your downtime (in the form of discounted gear).
Cai fen tries to think of convoluted solutions, but then he remembers his society training and that half-elves are both similar to elves, and different from elves.
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Perhaps we should ask around in town if anyone knows or remembers this Vilree or someone matching her description. Elves and elves-that-are-not-elves can live a long time, so we should not forget to speak to the older residents also.
Cai Fen will follow his own advice, though it is unlikely that anyone in town is willing to talk to him after his glorious “performances.” He would also like to speak to the nominal mayor (Kolnral?), if he is available.
After feeding Targen his turnip porridge, the old man tells his story. Vilree? Ol' Vilree? Why, must be dead by now. Daughter o' Silwyth. Silwyth Eldara, y'see. Elf woman; not much liked round here, on accoun' o'the elfen strangeness.
Was an herb-all-list. Y'know, makin' potions an' what have you. Some folks round here, they thoughts she were doin' evil magicks, what with makin' potions and lookin' different then th'rest o us human folk. Me, I never paid that no mind, an' I raised my kin right never t'judge. Ain't right! Y'ask my wife Reganna at th'feedmill. We raised our young daughter right: ain't a judge-mental bone in her body, an' when she done grows up, she'll ne'er judge nobody based on account o' how they looks!
What? What were we talkin' about? Vilree? She was a yungun back then. When the plague was here, her mammy went t'visit the sick. None else would touch 'em, but her mammy did. Gave 'em herbs an' water an' medicines to soothe the sores an' shakes. Took samples o' blood an' spit an' the like, and carried 'em back to her lah-bore-ee-tore-e. Some o' us, we thought she was doin' that t'help. T'find a cure. Thass what she done said at th'time.
But then nones got better. Not e'en them who she visited. Most, they went and done got worse.
An' then she got th'plague. Silwyth, I mean. Got it good. Old Father Bolgrist, now, (he passed on o'th'plague hisself), when he were sick, he said SHE were th'one spreadin' it. Silwyth, that is. On account o' there not bein' no cure, an' her weird herbs an' magicks an' bein' an' elf in a human town. Started preachin' it to his Gozrens. An' when th'chergy speaks, th'folk do lissen. Specially simple folk, like us turnip farmers an' such.
Lotsa folk believed that, sorry t'say. They was frightnin' times. People get th'fear, an' it spreads like a plague isself.
Most of th'village, they refused to give her succor — Silwyth, that is. An' her daughter, musta been six, seven years ol, an' none for her neither. No food, an' no water, an' no gold. E'ery time they'd come up on the ol' Plaguestone, people'd run 'em off. Throwin' stones, an' worse.
Father Bolgrist an' his congregation, they turned to beatin' any who tried to help 'em, an' accused them o' helpin' th'eevil magicks too. An' them who helped, they'd get oss-tri-sized and cut off from succor, too.
So, none left Silwyth or young Vilree no food at th'plaguestone.
Wasted away an' died, she did. Starvin an' plagued. They say she was insane at th'end. And none but her daughter there t'help her passin' on. It's said, y'see, she cursed th'town an' all 'us. He sighs sadly. Can't say I blame her. Then again, that's gossip as none were there t'hear, but Vilree.
When plague come, y'hear many a story like that. Peoples turnin' on one another, an' the like. Vilree herself, now, she was oss-tri-sized too. An' disappeared a few years later. Dead now, I should think. Prolly for th'best.
Marula perks up.
"Do you remember?
Did Bort play any roll then?
Deliver supplies?
"Did he know Silwyth?
It might help explain his death.
Her plot against him."
What's a Bort? Ain't nobody had time to play back then, let alone be rollin' about. Was plague times, y'see. Ain't no one bringin' supplies back then. We was cut off. Fendin' for ourselves. That's how we did in th'old days.
G’nak nods.
”Sure, we all know the elven strangeness. It’s on account of their magics. But we don’t generally out right kill them anymore like we used to. Any idea where the remains are for this Sylwith? Perhaps we should pay them a visit? Or perhaps they had a house in town?”
Time's different now. Better. No more judgin' peoples based on how they looks. He gives the hobgoblin a meaningful look. Better times, these times. E'en if there's goblins runnin' aroun' these days. Used to be like, they's all evil and we'd run thems outta town too, or worse. Lotta work, lotta stress. But now theys not all evil — least, I hope so as th'one sometimes come up in here ta help me. Before you lot came along. He ain't stole nothin' yet. An' don't you steal nothin' either! I gots my eye on you!
What? The ol' Sylwith place? Why, burned down years ago. After they ran her an' her daughter outta town. Burnt it to th'ground. As they do, in the plague times.
None know where the mammy's buried — or whether she were, at that. Some say she were left to th'wolves, or were burnt ta ashes an' scattered in th'river…
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Cai Fen ponders the old man’s words.
A mother and daughter abandoned to the cruelty of the elements by the cruelty of the people. The mother perished, the daughter survived, perhaps. Cruelty breeds cruelty, to be sure, which may explain Vilree’s character and actions, but it gets us no closer to her location or an understanding of her goals.
If nothing else interrupts our day, Cai Fen will continue helping at the Feedmill. He will bring Targen his evening turnip stew, open his leather-bound journal, and start telling him the story that he has been working on.
The Incredible Adventures of the Great Detective Smokehouse H’loms and his Incompetent Sidekick Doctor Wot Sun.
Little known to him, Cai Fen’s story shares elements with a dark ritual of summoning. Beneath Etran’s Folly, a great evil begins to stir. The Apocalypse draws infinitesimally closer…
The next morning, you're at the well. A woman shrouded in a heavy brown cloak trimmed with leaves marches up to you, pulling a simple wooden sledge behind her. As she approaches, she brings the sledge to one side and uncovers her cargo, a pile of wolf carcasses. She turns to you, and despite having her cloak’s hood pulled low, you can make out weathered lips and a slender chin.
In a pointed tone, she asks, Is this your work?
You see the wolves you killed days ago — including the caustic wolf.
Kyrie’s feelings on the matter are complicated. On the one hand, it sounds as though a truly grave injustice has been done to this mother and daughter and her heart strains with outrage on their behalf. On the other hand, justice should fit the crime and be limited in scope to the perpetrators. There are no easy answers and too many big questions remaining, so she sets the matter aside for the moment.
Kyrie nods. ”I believe it is our work. I hope we did not cause you any trouble.”
Marula spends a bit of time looking through what few supplies exist in the town.
They're delighted to find for purchase a coat of hardened leaves, long unused by Cooky.
To this they add an assortment of tools that make little sense as a whole: Pruning sheers, a little gardening shovel, a hammer, saw, and such.
"A living shelter
Requires utter refinement,
But is less costly."
Meeting the woman, Marula says in elven,
"I greet you, walker.
Dweller in the woods, good day.
May past struggles fade."
I hope we did not cause you any trouble.
Quite the opposite. I need your help.
She looks to MArula and nods. I hope they will, with your help.
I'm Noala Kesrir, protector of these woods. I'd ask you to come help me dispose of these unnatural bodies… and to talk in private, if you will.
She keeps her hood up to shadow her face, and the long sleeves covering her hands.
Will you accompany me?
G'nak eyes the woman and the wolves.
"You dragged these dead wolves all the way here just so we could take them somewhere else?"
Elf logic
"No matter, we can't leave them here to clutter up the well, possibly poisoning the water supply. Lead us where you want to dispose of them."
Marula nods.
"You are not Vilree.
I smell upon you sweet loam.
Not vengeful poison."
Tila flutters about the newcomer, fuchsia moon in orbit.
Noala grins at Tila and leads you into the forest. Here, a small fire is already burning in a carefully kept fire pit. She 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 you now see is entirely covered in an oddly shaped leather gauntlet.
These wolves aren’t the first, and I am afraid they won’t be the last. Worse still, he grunts, as she begins to drag the body of the 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 need your help to stop it. It's completely unnatural. No one else around here will help — either they're willfully ignorant (I doubt you heard of any "blight" in town, did you?), or too lazy to help (Rolth says he has not time for "tree problems.)
Will you help me? You can accompany me to the dying parts of the woods and get to the bottom of whatever's going on here. If saving the forest isn't your thing, I'll mentor you in the ways of the wild while we hunt.
Ranger Archetype: Noala can assist any character that is looking into selecting the ranger multiclass archetype. Furthermore, if a character has the ranger archetype, Noala’s Wilderness Spotter feat counts as a ranger archetype feat for that character (if the character selects the feat multiple times, it is a ranger archetype feat only the first time).
Retraining: Noala can serve as a teacher who can retrain ranger feats and skill feats as long as the new skill feat is linked to Nature or Survival. As long as the feat being trained is level 5 or lower, Noala reduces the training time to the minimum allowed.
Special Feats: Noala can teach the characters a special ranger feat as well as a special skill feat that can be taken by anyone trained in Survival. Note that Noala’s training does not grant characters these feats, but merely unlocks them for later selection. This training takes about 2 days per feat but can take place at the same time as any retraining performed with Noala.
”Sounds like a mystery, count me in!”
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Cai Fen is internally very grateful that the strange woman did not lead them into an ambush, and some of his wariness at her presence fades. If this had been Vilree or one of her agents, we would probably be facing a pincer attack by demon bears backed up by ballistae at this point.
He relays the events that transpired in the town in recent days, including Bort's murder, Hallod's involvement, and the presence of Vilree (including what we learned from the mayor).
Were you present in the vicinity of Etran's Folly when the plague hit, and would you happen to know anything of this woman?
He is willing to help Noala, albeit with a bit of reluctance because he has a hard time seeing how this might pertain to our investigation into Vilree and her activities.
Noala listens to the story intently. Do you think these events and the blight might be connected in some way? A person working with vile reagents such as Corpse Blood, and the spreading of this blight, is unlikely to be a coincidence.
Perhaps finding the cause of this blight will lead you a step closer to solving the caravan master's murder.
I was not here during the plague. I settled in these woods long after that.
Meet me here at dawn tomorrow; pack for a lengthy journey. The worst of the blight is deep in the forest.
With that, she strides off into the forest.
Flonk thanks Cai. At the end of the night, the strings are broken again.
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The next morning, Noala explains her general plan. She will lead you to the nearby blight, which you will enter and explore. Noala will roam around the site, setting up snares on trails to ensure creatures flushed out of the area are contained. Once the area is cleared, she hopes to investigate it fully to see if there is anything to be learned.
Traveling to the first blight takes about 3 hours. Out here, the plants are a sickly shade of green with spots of brown and the forest smells of sweet rot. The trees look entirely unhealthy, their bark peeling off in sticky black strips.
The presence of rot increases with every step you take, and Noala slows to a stop, turns to look at you, saying, This is where those wolves came from, I am sure of it. Somewhere ahead is their 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. With that, she rides off.
Ahead is a clearing. There are three small shrubs here with tendrils wrapped around the corpse of a wolf.
These are Bloodlash bushes. They are carnivorous plants and that drain blood, doing stacking persistent damage! They're weak to fire.
Plantbush! Round 1
G'nak
Marula
Plant 1
Guyzer
PLant 3
Kyrie
Plant 2
Cai
G'nak moves in and throws an alchemist fire at #3.
+1 splash, + 1 persistent fire
Marula raises a hand to caution against immediate attack.
They consider the place of the plants in the local ecosystem — are they invasive? Or merely a part of the local balance of things?
In spite of their caution and care for the local order, Marula stands ready to light the plants up if they attack.
G'nak misses, but the splash damage still hits. Marula hits plant 1 when it attacks.
The plant creeps forward and slashes at G'nak twice but only hits once; his wounds begin to weep blood.
Plantbush! Round 1
G'nak
Marula
Plant 1
Guyzer
Plant 3
Kyrie
Plant 2
Cai
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Low muttering can be heard from Guyzer. The ground ahead of him begins to move as if liquid and then begins to form a small bulge. He brings his free hand forward as a clenched fist which he opens slowly palm upward. The mound mimics the hand, opening up as if flower blooming. A ball of light pops up from the center followed by laughter.
The sprite misses twice. The plant goes after the nearest, biggest target — Kyrie!
It hits the Champion twice.
Plantbush! Round 1
G'nak
Marula
Plant 1
Guyzer
Plant 3
Kyrie
Plant 2
Cai
Kyrie takes the hits like a champ(ion), but she is definitely wishing she didn’t have to. She places a healing hand on her wounds.
She then enters her stance and raises her shield.
Thanks to Kyrie's faith and natural toughness, her wounds stop weeping!
The second plant moves towards the hobgoblin — the only one within reach whose done damage so far!
However, it's hard to tell whether this was an attack or some kind of stupid plant dance.
Plantbush! Round 1-2!
G'nak
Marula
Plant 1
Guyzer
Plant 3
Kyrie
Plant 2
Cai
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The absurdity of fighting a murderous bush hits Cai Fen hard (but not as hard as the bush hit Kyrie). Seeing his companions wounded, he will quickly draw bandages and apply them to the cuts. As he does so, he secretly appreciates the fact that he's not alone in front this time.
G'nak:
Kyrie:
Cai Fen then moves forward toward plant 3.
Cai heals Kyrie, but his tools slip on the hobgoblin.
Plantbush! Round 2!
G'nak
Marula
Plant 1
Guyzer
Plant 3
Kyrie
Plant 2
Cai
Marula cocks their head expressively.
"Blighted groves cry out,
'Slash and burn fiber's rot.
Let us start again."
Fire lances out once again.
They then take out a scroll .
Large portions of the plant wither, but it's still up!
Cai heals Kyrie, but his tools slip on the hobgoblin.
Plantbush! Round 2!
G'nak
Marula
Plant 1
Guyzer
Plant 3
Kyrie
Plant 2
Cai
G'nak throws an alchemist fire at #2, hoping to get #1 with some of the splash.
+1 splash, + 1 persistent fire
The bomb explodes on the plant, and it begins writhing in flame! The plant nearby also gets hit, taking more fire damage.
G'nak continues to bleed.
The plant lashes out at Kyrie.
The wounded plant then sends its roots through the soil — tendrils shoot up from the ground at Kyrie and G'nak's feet, and begin hungrily drinking their blood!
Plantbush! Round 2!
G'nak
Marula
Plant 1
Guyzer
Plant 3
Kyrie
Plant 2
Cai
Kyrie and G'nak shuffle their feet around, avoiding the hungry tendrils! It looks like Plant 1's time is limited.
Plantbush! Round 2!
G'nak
Marula
Plant 1
Guyzer
Plant 3
Kyrie
Plant 2
Cai
Guyzer takes down plant 1! The other plant looks badly injured.
Plant 3 spins around — vines lash out at everyone in a ten-foot radius (Cai, Sprite, Kyrie).
The wild tendril only manages to hit the sprite.
Plantbush! Round 2!
G'nak
Marula
Guyzer
Plant 3
Kyrie
Plant 2
Cai