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You each receive a cryptic letter...
Makaila knows that Finadar Forest, in western Iobaria, is mostly known for its bruorsivi (or blood pines), a species of pine tree with scarlet needles that burns remarkably well and sparks small wildfires as part of its life cycle. While Finadar’s blood pines make the forest highly susceptible to sudden and intense forest fires, the many druids and centaur shamans who reside there typically keep these fires from growing out of control.
Lawrius, on the other hand, has heard that Finadar Forest, in western Iobaria, is known for its dark and ominous fey, particularly redcaps who waylay unwary travellers.
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Sprawling on a hilltop overlooking a broad caravansary, the town of Mishkar is an eclectic mix of steeply pitched Varisian houses interspersed with the occasional red-tiled Taldan roof. The scars of the recent fires are still visible if one cares to look, seen in the town’s smoke-darkened rooftops and sooted doorways. Mostly, though, you see evidence of new construction and repairs both finished and in progress; it seems that Mishkar is decidedly in favour of putting the past behind it. Today, it is a city of paint buckets and ladders, of carpenters and surveyors and masons, smelling of sawdust and sounding of workers’ cries.
The caravansary at the foot of the hill is equally bustling. A large caravan of merchants from Brevoy has just arrived, and the building’s yard is crowded with clerks and guards, horses and grooms, with curious children darting between the wagon wheels. Just about everyone seems to be at the caravansary today, except the person you need to meet; Jaldan is nowhere to be found.
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Trulin's sharp eyes prove invaluable!
Just past the east wall of Miskhar is the peculiar sight of a freckled, teenaged centaur yelling at an apple tree. Upon closer inspection, it is clear that she is actually yelling at a pair of human children who have climbed the tree: a boy and a girl, each about ten years old, with matching red hair and homespun clothes. The girl nonchalantly eats an apple while the boy rifles through a decorated leather satchel.
“You little demons, give that back!” the centaur yells, flicking her tail in profound irritation.
“Hmm. Nope,” the girl in the tree says, munching on the apple.
“Not until you show us how to make those dead squirrel monsters!” the boy calls down.
“Sure, I’ll show you! Come on down, I’ll make two dead monsters! Little devils, with red hair!” the centaur yells, then spots your approach. “... Oh no. You’re... did Urwal send you? Oh no. Um. Can you just... I’m sorry, could you come back in a half hour? Please?”
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Makaila is a short elf with short black hair. She wears cozy clothes and has a wooden shield strapped to her arm. On her hip is a sickle, and on her back is a big backpack. Beside her, is a big, orange, grumpy looking cat. It's the size of a lynx, but it looks more like an overgrown pussycat.
She smiles hello to the other Pathfinders and Jandal. "Hi, there! My name is Makaila. And this is Goose."
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"MROW."
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Goose looks up at the kids and flicks his tail in irritation.
"MRRRRROW!"
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Gullo is a physically fit goblin with a resting-stern face. He deftly moves through the busy crowd, clutching this letter, which is quite puzzling to him. Gullo murmurs the name,
Meandering around the caravansary, Gullo will do what he can to ask for Jaldan
Hands upon his hips, he tries to find a clear spot in the crowd to survey the environment.
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Sir Lawrius reads the letter, then stuffs it in his pocket. It was strange, and he didn't understand it all, but he loved the mystery.
Sir Lawrius is a chubby dwarf with a long black beard and fine armor with a green tiny. He wears a holy symbol of Kols around his neck, and bears multiple weapons -- a hammer, clan dagger, javelins, and his sturdy shield.
At the sight of the children teasing the centaur, Sir Lawrius scowls deeply. He stomps up to the tree and the kids, and asks the centaur what's going on. "Are you trying to rob those kids? Or are those kids trying to rob you?" He looks back and forth between the kids and centaur, not entirely sure who's to blame, but definitely ready to punish anyone who needs it...
"No lies, now. I'll know. I can sniff a mistruth and a broken oath a mile away!"
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“Those little twerps stole my bag! It’s got my books and my tools and my food and it’s got the money I was supposed to give you for travel costs, and... and...” Jaldan trails off, then puts her head in her hands and moans. “This is a disaster.”
The boy in the tree pipes up:
“She’s a forest witch, see, and we want her to make us one of those scary squirrel monsters. Or show us how to make a scarecrow walk.” Alayn says, as if this is the most reasonable request in the world. “Then we’ll give it back!”
“We’re not thieves.” The girl, Linnit, adds.
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"My, how cryptic!" Gimble exclaims, reading his letter.
Gimble quickly packs his gear and off he goes. As he travels, he stops occasionally to cast a spell, placing a curious mark -- a sunburst with the initials G.D. in the centre in fancy scrawl -- on the side of buildings, wagons, trees, and stones.
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When he arrives in Mishkar, Gimble pulls out a piece of parchment and writes 'Do you know Jandal???' on it. At the bottom of the parchment he places his sigil, the sunburst with his initials. Then he walks around, looking for Jandal, with his sign held up above his head.
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When he finds the centaur at the tree being bullied by children, he takes off his hat and waves it at everyone. "Well, hello there. I'm Gimble Dreadstone. Pleased to make your acquaintance." He puts his hat back on his head and looks at Jandal. "They've stolen your stuff, hey?" Looking up at the children, he says, "Children, why don't you come down. Then I'll give you a magical prize for the return of this centaur's things. What say you?"
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"Yeah, the problem is, you two are thieves. Now, I don't know about this place, but where I'm from, thieves get a hand chopped right off." She makes a clicking sound with her tongue. "Just like that! Gone."
She looks between Gimble and Trillin. "Now, I don't know about you, but I'm about to come up there myself and haul either you or that bag out of the tree. BUT, if you two come down and let the wizard give you a prize, I'll be sure to keep this other one away from you and you can scamper off with both hands intact, alright?"
She pauses, then waits for the kids. "So? What'll it be? Come down on your own and have the magic prize, or I drag you down and things take an unpleasant turn?"
If the kids don't come down, Samar shrugs and climbs the tree.
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The children find Samar just as obnoxious as Trillin, and retreat further up the tree.
Deciding to take the direct approach, Samar climbs up the tree after them.
Unfortunately, they are able to climb onto branches that won't bear her weight, and play keep-away with the bag, tossing it back and forth, and bombarding the party with apples.
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Gullo doesn't know quite what to make of these rapscallions. Or that this woman has climbed up into the tree to chase down the bag.
Dodging apples, Gullo will pick one up and take a bite. Thanks for the apple!
Gullo is curios to see how long this will go on, before everyone tires of the game...
Overhearing the conversation of the others, looking over his letter...Are you Jandal? No, Jaldan! Are you Jaldan? turning to the centaur.
Goose looks at Makaila and gives her a dissatisfied look.
He twitches his ears, nods his head, and climbs the tree.
But, he can't seem to get up!
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Gimble chuckles. He picks up one of the apple off the ground and gives it a shine. "Come now, children! Who wants this magic apple?" He waves his hand over the apple very dramatically. He tosses the apple into the air and catches it. And then again. "Who wants it? Perhaps I'll trade it for the bag and it's contents. Which of you will get here first, I wonder...."
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Samar flips through the air, grabs the bag, and lands on her feet on the ground.
The children are both disappointed, and impressed!
Jaldan spends a few minutes sorting out her pack, making sure that the children haven’t stolen or broken anything inside. Finally, she relaxes, closing the pack.
“I might actually survive.” The centaur says. “Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU!!! You just saved my hooves. Uh... when we get back to camp, could you maybe, uh... not mention this to anyone. Please?”
She pauses awkwardly for a moment, before continuing.
“So, here’s the story. Over the last few months, something really weird has happened to the local forest spirits. They’ve always been a little cranky, but now they’ve gone from ‘Auntie Kaana before she has her morning tea’ to ‘We will bake bread from your bones’. They’re not talking to the druids or the shamans, and when Cenenviel tried to do a big ritual to ask them what’s wrong, a tree animated and tried to kill him.
So that’s bad. Worse, the spirits have started making bodies for themselves. You know leshys, right? Well, normally, only druids can make one. They grow a little plant or mushroom body, nicely ask a spirit to come inside, and poof, leshy. Except now the spirits are making their own bodies, and they’re really creepy, and also violent. I had to smash something that looked like a dead skunk crossed with a thornbush when it tried to eat my face last night.
These things have been attacking people, starting fires, and trying to burn down the forest. I don’t think anyone’s gotten killed yet, but it’s probably going to happen sooner rather than later.
Anyway, that’s what Cenenviel, Kaana, and your Urwal are trying to figure out now at the Redpine camp. They seem to think you can help. So! Get your stuff and let’s get going!”
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Samar gives the kids a mock bow, then struts off with the Pathfinders. "The name's Samar," she says as they walk. "Samar Ashaad."
After the centaur tells her tale, Samar nods. Sounds creepy. Why do I always get the weird missions?" Shrugging, she stuffs her hands in her pockets as they walk toward the camp. "So, tell me more about these woodland spirits. What were they like before? When did they start acting weird? And has anything happened around then that's out of the ordinary?"
Meanwhile, Samar contemplates leshies and woodland spirits, curious if she's ever heard of leshies making themselves before...
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Gullo turns to Samar, Well caught, that bag. Those two kids might have been more disappointed if they weren’t so impressed. And while this might be a weird mission, my masters at my monastery said this is where you prove yourself. Out in the beyond, not in between the safe monastery walls and gardens where everything is known. But this does sound...weird.
Gullo turns his head to Jaldan, to listen to her response to Samar’s question...
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Sir Lawrius continues to scold the kids about breaking the law!
Eventually, he needs to leave and catch up to the others. Hearing he's working with bounty hunters, Sir Lawrius narrows his eyes. "The law must be upheld -- and not for coin! Tell me: do you uphold the law in your work? A law enforcer that breaks the law's no better than a criminal!"
Listening to Jaldan, Sir Lawius nods. "Interesting... We must get to the bottom of this."
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Jaldan shakes her head sadly.
"I don't know what the root of the problem is; even my mentor Cenenviel isn't sure what is going on, and he is the most powerful Druid in the area."
She looks at the note, and shrugs.
"No idea."
When asked about the spirits, she sighs.
"Well, I know that occasionally, one of the Druids would coax a nature spirit into a physical body; the leaf leshies were the cutest, with their little spears, like toy soldiers! These ones... they just give me the creeps."
Samar hasn't heard of leshies creating other leshies before, but such a thing shouldn't be impossible, if a leshy became a Druid...
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The bruorsivi pines make it an odd sort of forest, largely indistinguishable from a typical evergreen wood except for the fact that everything is in shades of red. The branches overhead are crimson, and scarlet needles crunch underfoot. Jaldan is an enthusiastic traveling companion, spending the trip peppering the party with questions about the world outside of Finadar Forest. For her, the trip to Urwal’s camp is the equivalent of a summer stroll in the park, so while she keeps an eye on the forest out of habit, she’s clearly not expecting trouble.
A few hours into your journey, a band of absolutely bizarre creatures crawls from the forest, chirping and hooting as they go. A moss-covered human skull scuttles along six branches like a spider. A dead raccoon slinks along on a fungal mat that bleeds sap from a hundred crimson ‘eyes’. A twisted mass of weeds topped with pulsing flowers staggers forward, leaving trails of burning sap. At this point, the leshys spot the party, and the oozing plants give out a plaintive shriek in some otherworldly tongue...
...which none of you recognise.
As the tiny monsters approach, something odd happens. One dreadful creature, a rotten gourd walking on three rabbit feet, lunges toward Jaldan, only to trip and smash itself against an upraised root. Some kind of hot sap splashes around it, and in seconds the bruorsivi needles catch light and begin to burn. “Spirits of woe and weal,” Jaldan swears softly, watching in horrified fascination. “They’re going to set the whole forest aflame!”
Makaila (-)
Gullo (-)
Trillin (-)
Gimble (-)
PL (-, -)
SFF
HL (-, -, -)
Lawrius (-)
Samar (-)
Goose follows Makaila with a grumpy look on his face.
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Makailia Strides forward, summoning her pet to follow her.
Gullo pulls out his spear, and readies to strike with it.
Trillin charges forward, causing the creature to explode!
Gimble conjures a magical ward, then moves forward.
The two up the back start throwing rotting fruit at Trillin...
...knocking him out in a hail of squelchy tomatoes.
The fire continues to spread...
The two at the front move forward, and try to bite Trillin's horse...
...landing several solid blows.
Lawrius (-)
Samar (-)
Makaila (-)
Gullo (-)
Gimble (-)
Trillin (-18; Unconscious; Dying 2)
Horse (-11)
PL (-, -)
SFF
HL (-, -)
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Goose follows Makaila.
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Gimble's eyes widen in surprise as the burly halfling falls!
"Yikes!"
He traces a few sigils in the air with his fingertip, which glow for a moment before fading. A similar glow surrounds Trillin and his wounds stop bleeding. Gimble doesn't stop, tracing a few more. A magical shield of force hovers in the air in front of Gimle. There's a strange sparkling in the air, and Gimble seems oddly invigorated by his magic.