[PFS2] 1-06 Lost on the Spirit Road (GM Watery Soup, run 2) (Inactive)

Game Master Watery Soup

Each of the Pathfinders has arrived in Sakakabe, Minkai, a prosperous city famous for its trade in silver and pearls. Venture-Captain Amara Li has summoned the group to help lay the groundwork for a lodge in Minkai, asking the Pathfinders to perform a variety of tasks that are well-suited to their individual skills.

Introduce yourselves and describe what skills may have brought you to Minkai.

Amara Li has been collecting relics from across the world to house in a new museum with a focus on relics from Minkaian history that have been kept in other nations. To this end, she has been traveling all over the nation to pursue leads. These relics have come from a combination of purchases and donations, and she has occasionally called on local Pathfinders to guard the relics.

One day, Venture-Captain Li summons the PCs to meet with her in one of the gardens of the Kiniro Kyomai teahouse, a famous teahouse by the museum.

"Lucky" Lucky Waterfield is a stout halfling, his tanned skin rough and thick and his wild black mane growing in every conceivable direction. His image ends up giving him a rugged charm more than anything, and he carries himself with pride. Though he usually goes unarmored, wearing only a comfortable jacket of Chelish design, an arsenal of weapons - a rapier on one side of the waist, a whip wrapped around the other, and a bow slung over the back - serve to threaten potential enemies of the little man, though the lute in the bag on his shoulder is his primary tool both in battle and outside of it.

Being a member of the Bellflower Network, the halfling has a penchant for making contacts, and he spends his days in Sakakabe advertising the Pathfinder Society to potential allies as both a valuable business partner and a reliable mercenary company. He tries to make as many acquaintances as possible in places high and low, perhaps learning a few key phrases in Tian-Min to present himself more amicably, making sure to spend the nights in bars and inns where he can spread some stories about the Society's glorious deeds.

"Ohayou gozaimas-ssu," Lucky greets Amara Li with a bow as he arrives at the Kiniro Kyomai. "Good to you see you again, Venture-Captain Li-ssu. Got an interesting assignment for us, is it?"

"Got some tea, you mean!" Another halfling calls cheerfully from inside. A large napkin is tucked into his shirt collar, collecting crumbs that would otherwise fall on his round belly. "And you've got to try these little cakes too! They're soft and sweet and called mo-chi!"

Ulf Ormyrson is a young Ulfen man with shaggy blonde hair and a thick beard split into two braids, tall enough to stand a full head above most other residents of Minkai. He generally wears plain, serviceable clothes with a heavy hatchet thrust through his belt, but dons armor of heavy furs and a round shield of battered steel when the occasion calls for it.

When Ulf doesn't have an actual task to accomplish for the Society, he spends his time at whichever local alehouses haven't kicked him out yet, spreading tales of the Society's exploits and engaging in friendly bar fights with anyone who calls him a liar--a fairly common occurrence, as Ulf's tales are outlandish at best. He's noticed that the approach of the halfling, Lucky, tends to garner fewer tavern brawls than his own; a better reputation for the Society, maybe, but Ulf maintains that his way is more fun.

Ulf arrives on Lucky's heels, throwing a casual salute to Amari Li and a broad grin to the two halflings as he enters.

"Good day, litlir voldugir*!

He spots the spread in front of Pepper and saunters closer, picking up one of strange little cakes to inspect it more closely.

"If anyone asks," he says, giving the halfling a conspiratorial look, "I turned my nose up at this and said something about how all Ulfen warriors eat is wild boar." Then he pops the little cake into his mouth whole.

*roughly, "little mighty ones"

A brightly copper-scaled kobold clad in a bizarrre mix of jester's motley and belly dancer garb practically bounds in, radiating excitement, glee, and mirth as she enters with a bit of a flourish, bowing to all present with a toothy grin over a quarterstaff held parallel to the floor.

"Something profound!" she offers with a robust near-bark. "This way you can always say when you met The Commediene the first thing she said was... something profound!"

"You need not fear, no-scales! The Commediene is here!" she offers with almost a chuckle in her voice. "Favored servant of The Laughing God, commedienne extraordinare and... sometime general pain in the tail! This team ALREADY seems a lot livelier than my last adventuring team -- we had two living-impaired folks and a person from Rahadoum who wasn't keen on the healing power of mirth! Why, it was almost BORING not having to bring people back to health!"

There's a brief pause, as she sweeps back up, causing the necklace around her neck with seven coins to jangle a bit. "I've found the blessing of laughter to be a game changer in battles, and the ability to have a sense of humor about things a life-saver."

She gives the halfings a conspiratorial grin. "Never forget! Short people rule the world, scales or not!"

With a bit of a whirl she spins upon the Ulfen man, teeth gleaming. "And you're blessed to have an actual Linnorm Queen in your presence, who like the White Astrid brought a drake to a town and made it offer terms, sir!" Despite the serious words, her tone is completely playful and it may very well be the sort of embellishment that Ulf may partake of in his travels.

"Hmmm. Let's see... I'm no stranger to the wilds, I know a bit about comparative religion -- just ask me sometime about the great theosophical discussion I had with a Kuthite that got them to turn from wanting to murder someone or at the very least torture them to wanting to torture their boss instead..." the kobold pauses, almost as if lost in thought.

She then tries to do a backflip, lands flat on her tail which elicits a bit of a yelp before she springs back up to her feet. "Sorry, I'm normally much better at that! Oh, and I'm not horrible at social interactions. Just remember, any time we fail at something, it's a chance for a funny story or a good joke in the future!" she finally offers as she watches the room, trying to gauge her audience.

The Commedienne is a Dragon-scaled (copper) Cleric of Kofusachi who does comedy and has a lot of energy. If her humor starts hitting buttons that aren't cool, please let me know via PM and she can dial it back some.

Character Inspiration Picture

Lynn is a Vudrani half elf dressed in plain robes and is carrying a book. Before the party arrives she spent her day categorizing the museum and its contents. After interviewing the docents for best practice on how to display exhibits she proceeds to the group.

" Hi all. I'm Lynn. Pleasure to meet you all. I'm trying to build a museum that will lack the dangers of the Blakros. A museum where kids can go without fear of being murdered by robots or other eldritch abominations. This museum will make a great model," she says while storing her notebook.

Well that was dumb luck. I forgot the plot of this scenario.

Dyner Inazuma stands about as tall as some of the shortest women in Sakakabe, her head plumes not reaching over 4' 7". She wears a coat of downy feathers that have been bleached white. Near the nape of the cloak a few feathers dyed red are woven in as well.

She quickly sweeps into the room, seemingly flustered to be the last to arrive and takes off her cloak and the tricorn hat she seems to have picked up somewhere. Underneath the hat, her head feathers seem to have been dyed a deep red, matching the occasional red feathers on her cloak. Underneath her cloak is a woven tunic in a Sarkorian style, though with surprisingly minimal fur lining, and a sturdy leather trimmed canvas dress. She's belted the tunic at the waist and then added in crisscrossing leather straps with pockets woven into everything. Every pocket is full of some bottle of dried herbs, bottle of spice or sachet of fresh herbs. She sets the cloak, hat, bag and a container wrapped in some fabric tied together behind an empty spot and flutters her self down into place.

She shifts a little settling some ruffled feathers, before giving everyone a curious glance, her small black eyes positively radiating curiosity at who she'd be traveling with on her first proper mission. The ulfen with split braids who could probably break her bones with a hug, the two halflings, one stout with an arsenal of weapons and a lute, the other more, uh, rotund and chewing something happily. Teh skin around her eyes crinkle as she takes in the copper kobold nattering away about something comically. Taking in the vudrani woman, Dyner tries to read the title of the book in her hands for a second.

She cocks her head at the food in Pepper's hand and then squawks slightly as she realizes what it is. "Mo-chi? Oooohhh, you should have some of this dried vegetable with it!" She digs into her pack and pulls out some flat, crackly dried green sheets. "These're nori, I think! Also if they're hot you need to try them with some cheese!"

She also digs out some sliced sharp cheddar and adds it next to the cakes and dried seaweed, before taking a cake herself and wrapping the cheese and then seaweed around it. She digs her beak into the cake, tears off a section and then flips it up into the beak proper to swallow. After a second bite, she stops and realizes she never introduced herself. "Right! Uh, I'm Dyner Inazuma. Apparently my family name comes from this area, or at least that's what Grandmama told me. It's nice to meet you! I'll be cooking for everyone, if you don't mind. I found some new spices and sauces I want to try!"

She then reaches into her pack and pulls out a small ball of white and red feathers. "Oi, It's time for breakfast. We've got some mo-chi again!" The ball deflates some and a small yellow beak and even smaller beady eyes form out of the fluff and gives a giatn yawnf for something so small and then gazes about lackadaisically before he focuses on the cake in Dyner's other and flutters right over. Holding the small bird and cake aloft, she comments, "And this is little Tarragon." A close look at the form, shows where Dyner must ahve gotten her inspiration for her cloak and feather dye job.
An image of what he looks like

She then gives everyone a bobbing bow, picks up a second rice cake and pauses, looking at Pepper, "These are good! Did you pound them yourself?"

The small bird quickly finishes his small bit of rice cake and then flutters over to Dyner's shoulder and gives everyone a look that, well, seems like the little thing is glaring at everyone. His puffed feathers and hostile posturing seem to be begging people to give him a reason to go over and peck at them.

”Goodness, no!” Pepper answers, cheerfully accepting some seaweed from then tengu. ”I’m nowhere near a good enough cook to make something so delicate as this! I asked Amara-Li about how to make them, but she just smiled and said I’d have to ask her grandmother who doesn’t speak Taldan.” He pauses, frowning, but his face quickly lights up again. ”Oh! Maybe when we get back I can find a translator and all three of us can make mochi together! I’ll have to keep an eye out for berries or something sweet to stuff them with while we’re out and about. What do you think would go best? And I can’t wait to try some of your cooking! What kinds of foods do you like to make?”

"I met this pleasant young woman yesterday, Kaijitsu-san I think it was-ssu," the bard pipes in as he carefully pours a cup of green tea for each of the assembled Pathfinders. "She invited me to come and see how her family makes special mochi for the New Year's ceremony-ssu. Maybe when we've finished this assignment we can go and visit them."

Lucky cradles his cup between his two hands and takes a sip of the piping-hot tea.

"Quite exciting, waiting to find out what my first real mission will be-ssu."

Ulf cheerfully greets and introduces himself to each of the newcomers as they arrive. He accepts the cheese from Dyner with delight, but only sniffs at the green "paper" suspiciously before leaving it on the table, untouched.

"Lucky, that's wonderful!" he says, carefully picking up his cup of tea. "I am jealous! None of the pleasant young ladies I meet want me to come and meet their families."

He takes a sip of his tea, makes a face, and gives their host a pained look.

"Is there any chance that we have something to drink other than hot leaf water?" His expression turns hopeful. "Something a little stronger, maybe?"

Venture-Captain Li arrives with extra nori and a bottle of sake for Ulf (served ever so slightly chilled). She looks a little distraught.

“I fear that misfortune may have struck some of your fellow agents. I hope that you can help them return here to safety, but I fear the task I have to request of you may instead center around recovering what you can from your fallen allies and, if it is safe to do so, completing the mission in their stead. I know you were brought here to help with the museum, but would you accept a small field mission of importance?”

"Of cours-ssu," Lucky sits down, folding his arms seriously. "We are Pathfinders, it is our sacred duty to cooperate. Is there anything you can tell us about the assignment you wish us to complete? Where, doing what, have our Pathfinder allies-ssu... fallen?"

“Last year, I received a donation of relics from Taldor. The route is lengthy and complicated, so I will spare you unnecessary details. A caravan carrying the relics safely arrived in Hongal to the north, where it met up with a pair of Pathfinder agents, Lin Po and Ti Lan. These agents inspected the cargo, sent me a missive indicating that all was in order, and joined a second caravan to take the Spirit Road through the Forest of Spirits." See Slide 1 for a map.

"The journey is understandably long, taking over two months to complete. Still, the caravan is late, and I fear that they may have run into trouble along the way. They were supposed to reach Sakakabe two weeks ago."

Amara taps her leg nervously.

“While it’s possible that they were waylaid in the northernmost parts of Minkai, I believe it’s far more likely that they ran into trouble in the Forest of Spirits, a mystical place that shelters departed souls and most of the world’s kami. Kami are spiritual guardians with a deep connection to certain living locations or living things. The locals pay great respect to the kami, never intruding further into the forest than their one coastal road, the Spirit Road, and a number of small settlements built around shrines. This should make tracking the caravan simple, since there’s only a single road along which they should have had to rest or resupply at some point. I need you to check each of the roadside settlements until you find the last one to have seen the caravan, then track it from there and figure out what happened.”

Amara straightens up and looks the Pathfinders squarely in the eye.

“Be sure to respect the kami and the local traditions honoring them; I don’t want you to come to harm in your journey. The kami are mostly benevolent, so long as they receive the proper respect, but there are some dangers that might have harried the caravan. Bandits, hobgoblins, and giants, among other creatures, dwell within the forest. The forest also hosts some aggressive plants and animals, not to mention malign spirits such as the oni, the sworn enemies of the kami. The locals will know more than I of what perils to expect.”

If you would like to Recall Knowledge about the Forest of Spirits, please post your Nature or Forest Lore modifier. I will make a secret check.

You are free to ask the Venture-Captain any questions.

This probably won't turn up much, but can't hurt to try. Nature +1

Ulf scratches his chin with a thoughtful frown.

"It sounds straightforward enough to me. I am guessing there are an awful lot of ways to give respect to, and offend, these spirits; can you suggest some general guidelines for us, maybe?"

This isn't anything important, just something I should've mentioned in his introduction: Ulf speaks Taldan with a strong accent, and the lack of contractions when he speaks have more to do with the accent than any intention toward formality.

Nature plus 7
Also, I've been busy but I promise I'll have her sheet up tomorrow as I should have a new computer.

" Sounds like a simple matter. All we have to do is follow the trail until we find the caravan. Hopefully, everyone is safe. As much as I enjoy museums the safety of the employees is always most important ," Lynn says while packing her backpack.

”Goodness, no!” Pepper answers, cheerfully accepting some seaweed from then tengu. ”I’m nowhere near a good enough cook to make something so delicate as this! I asked Amara-Li about how to make them, but she just smiled and said I’d have to ask her grandmother who doesn’t speak Taldan.” He pauses, frowning, but his face quickly lights up again. ”Oh! Maybe when we get back I can find a translator and all three of us can make mochi together! I’ll have to keep an eye out for berries or something sweet to stuff them with while we’re out and about. What do you think would go best? And I can’t wait to try some of your cooking! What kinds of foods do you like to make?”

Dyner stops nibbling at another rice cake, and pauses to stare at Pepper, excitement clearly bubbling beneath the surface. "You think she'd be willing to make it with us? Berries would make a great topping or maybe addition? We'll have to ask if we can add things!"

She takes a big hunk out of her rice cake and then opens her beak in a way that almost looks like a smile. "I grew up making rabbit and other wild game. Wasn't much to find in the mountains north of the Worldwound, but I love to cook with spices! There's so many! I'm thinking about experimenting with this black sauce shoyu, I think the merchant said it's made from soy beans? And some of this tofu. I had a spicy meat dish that used it a lot yesterday and begged the chef to give me a recipe! There's also this yellow-citrus fruit that has a unique scent to it!" She seems like she could chatter away about food for a long time...

"I met this pleasant young woman yesterday, Kaijitsu-san I think it was-ssu," the bard pipes in as he carefully pours a cup of green tea for each of the assembled Pathfinders. "She invited me to come and see how her family makes special mochi for the New Year's ceremony-ssu. Maybe when we've finished this assignment we can go and visit them."

... but stops at hearing that Lucky may have an in on how to make mochi. Her feathers ruffle in excitement and she spins on the halfling, clearly enamored with the idea. "Please tell me we can! I'm curious as to how they get something so smooth out of rice. Do they grind it? What do they mix the flour with? Ooohhh, I can't wait! Let's get started on this mission." After a second she realizes that Lucky poured some tea for her. She gives him a bow in thanks and then picks up the tiny cup, cradling it in her hands for a long moment letting it cool, before she opens her beak and tips the liquid in. "Mmmm, this has a good flavor to it!"

She sits up straighter when Amara enters the room and looks at Ulf with a small longing look, hoping he'll share some of his not tea juice. Dyner then pivots back to the venture-captain when she asks if they'd be willing to go on a mission. "A chance to see more rural Minkai and possibly learn some new recipes? Yes please!"

She listens to the explanation and bobs her head along in understanding. "Kami? I've always wanted to meet a Kami, Gramama told me about stories her great-gramama told her!"

Dyner has a nature of +5

Ulf notices Dyner eyeing his bottle of sake and stops himself from simply swigging from the bottle. He snags a spare teacup and pours himself a healthy slug before passing the bottle to the tengu with a muttered, "Skål."

Slightly earlier
The mirthful kobold gives a fancy bow to all the new arrivals, then blinks a few times before shrugging.

Kobold eyes appraise the party as the team gets distracted by the discussion about food, then the mission briefing.

Tough crowd. Tougher than Nidal, even. she muses as she attempts to make heads or tails out of the party dynamic and recall any information about the area in question. Of course, her absolute lack of knowledge about the area doesn't help.

Currently...

"What are common ways to entertain the kami along the path? Do they prefer humor, tragedies, long boring recitals of epic tales of old? Since we seem to have a lot of culinary experts do kami have any particular food types they like to eat? I mean, we could make up kami care baskets to leave as offerings? Maybe even with the sake or the tea?" the kobold inquires as her expression of mirth does not fade.

Dyner gives a small coo of appreciation as Ulf hands her the bottle. She pours herself the tiniest bit of the drink and hands it back. Sniffing at the liquic for a moment, she pauses then very tenderly tips it into her beak. A look of horror and not so graceful sounding spats later she comments, "Strong... I'll stick to the tea."

As a logistical note, I do not consider the spoilered information to be shared with the other party members by default - if you wish to share, please restate IC, or declare "spoiler open" OOC.

"What are common ways to entertain the kami along the path? Do they prefer humor, tragedies, long boring recitals of epic tales of old? Since we seem to have a lot of culinary experts do kami have any particular food types they like to eat? I mean, we could make up kami care baskets to leave as offerings? Maybe even with the sake or the tea?" the kobold inquires as her expression of mirth does not fade.

"Kami neither eat nor drink for sustinence, but they may do so for pleasure or amusement. They can possess willing creatures to share memories, and they experience the outside world that way. If you have the pleasure of sharing with a kami, you can share memories of what the world outside their forest is like. Perhaps you can act out your favorite play."

The kobold hops onto a chair so she can better talk to the tall part of the team with a gleam in her eyes.

"Oooh, we could re-enact An Incident at Sewer Junction Nineteen or A Midwinter Dragon's Dream..." she offers helpfully then looks to the rest of the team as she breaks off the ramble.

"Or we could do a recipe swap, some of you sound like you cook a lot and that could be very helpful! Just imagine! Spirit! Fused! Ricecakes!" With a sanguine smirk The Commedienne looks to the team and the Venture Captain, still trying to gauge the reactions of the no-scales.

Ulf's attentive expression turns wary.

"I think our group can likely entertain as well as anybody, and better than many. We have songs and tales, jokes and plays, fine food and drink to share," he says, gesturing to his companions in turn.

"Possession, though . . . I do not like the sound of that. The fey and witches of my homeland use possession and bewitchment for their own amusement, and it always ends badly for the puppet. Can we be certain that these spirits will enter only with--how do you say, samþykki--with agreement? And that they will do no harm while they are puppeteering?"

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. As I understand it the spirits will only grant travelers their memories and exert no control over the you. I have to admit Im strangely fascinated by the prospects."

"Oooh, we could re-enact An Incident at Sewer Junction Nineteen or A Midwinter Dragon's Dream..." she offers helpfully then looks to the rest of the team as she breaks off the ramble.

"Or we could do a recipe swap, some of you sound like you cook a lot and that could be very helpful! Just imagine! Spirit! Fused! Ricecakes!" With a sanguine smirk The Commedienne looks to the team and the Venture Captain, still trying to gauge the reactions of the no-scales.

Dyner's eyes light up at the prospect of seeing some of those listed plays, "I've never heard of those plays, not that I really know much about culture... You'll have to tell me about them on the road sometime! If there's any bird parts in them I call dibs!"

Her excitement ratchets up noticeably at the suggestion of a recipe swap. "Spirit ! Fused ! Ricecakes?! YES! I have to try making those some time! If Lynn's right about the kami only sending memories and not controlling people, I'd LOVE to have one posses me. Think of all the foods I could learn how to make. Comedienne, you are a GENIUS!"

"Just sharing memories? No puppeteering?" Ulf visibly relaxes at Lynn's reassurances, and he takes another quaff of sale. "That doesn't sound so bad. What about the other spirits, the oni? What kind of trouble should we be prepared for with them?"

"Also, if we're calling requesting parts now, I call the fool who becomes a donkey in Midwinter Dragon's Dream. He always made me laugh."

With no other questions, Li suggests you get moving, as you have a long journey ahead.

I'll pause here to allow everyone to put themselves in a default marching order on Slide 2, plus, fill out Perception and Initiative modifiers. Also, everyone starts off with 1 Hero Point, and if anyone is a starred GM, they can offer additional Hero Points.

Let me know in Discussion if you're having logistical problems.

Sorry, I did still have a question, as to what information Li can give us, if any, about the oni.

Sorry, I did still have a question, as to what information Li can give us, if any, about the oni.

"Oni are a race of evil spirits that manifest physical bodies based upon the shapes and desires of humanoid mortals. In pure spirit form, an oni is nothing but a disembodied evil longing for the sins of the flesh. In this form, oni are harmless and invisible. The majority of these bodiless oni were once kami who failed their wards, or more often, who deliberately abandoned them. As punishment, they were stripped of their ability to form a physical body and then cast into the void."

At the wrapping up of the meeting or slightly before

The Commedienne pointy-fingers at Dyner with both pointy fingers.

"Who said anything about culture? I know about performances but admittedly my lack of knowing how people work together is part of the reason I'm with the Society. Something something sewage something Chieftain much tragedy for Chieftain's fine clothing...." is then offered with a thin smirk as Dyner sees the possibilities of special ricecakes and dealing with spirits.

Then she glances over to Ulf. "You might not want the part of the donkey-fool... they get eaten by the dragon in their slumber? At least, that's the kobold version. No-scale version might be different we should talk about roles on the trip." she offers with a winning yet toothy smile.

On the road...

No matter the weather, the circumstances, or the mood of the party The Commedienne is always ready with either a joke, a laugh, or something else upbeat. The fact that the party may entering peril is NOT lost on her, but rather the idea that if folks dwell entirely on the negative, they don't see the positive and optimistic sides of things.

She does, however, resist the urge to prank team members *unless* someone starts it first, then she devotes an uncanny amount of attention to the effort as if she's found a potential equal or rival to play against.

Of import is that her pranks do not impair the party's effectiveness or cohesion, and when she pulls one she'll own it and accept all the fallout of said prank.

On the road...

Ulf spends most of his time keeping an eye out for trouble, be it spirits or bandits. He's not much help with cooking, and as much as he enjoys telling stories he knows that others in the group do it better, so he helps by diving into whatever menial, labor-intensive tasks come up.

Dyner gives Amara a very loooooonnnnggg look as she asks what their budget is for food on the expedition. After getting the coins, she gives a happy feather ruffle and has everyone wait for an hour, dragging any willing volunteers with her, or badgering people into unwilling ones, as she gathers food stuffs for the journey. After spending most of the food budget, and getting enough food that four Ulf's would be hard pressed to carry it all, she heads back to the muesuem and sees that they get loaded.

On the road, she spends an hour or so each morning making breakfast, packing lunches, going over the food stores and planning meals for the evening and next day. While she works on that she consults a recipe book and chatters away with Lil' Tarragon. Breakfast proves to be an odd mix of Taldan and Kellid staples, such as sausages, meats, flapjacks and fruits, mixed with some Tian foods she tried mixing in, such as rice or rice porridge, fish, and vegetables some pickled some fresh. Lunch is almost always something that can be eaten on the move, some time sandwiches, sometimes balls of rice with some kind of filling, but always with some portable fruits and dried meats or fishes.

She spends many of the days chatting with everyone trying to get to know them and how they tick. She laughs, well openly caws with a sense of mirth that might be called laughing by some, at The Comedienne's better material, and peppers the little dragon about all of the plays and performances she knows.

Dyner then takes some time to listen to some of Ulf's stories and see if she can't help him with the menial labor, though she's certainly not strong enough to be much use. She walks next to Pepper when eating lunch and tries to get his opinions on how the food was last night, this morning and for lunch, if there were any changes he'd make or things she could have done better, seeming to value his palate and culinary insights.

The afternoon she spends asking Lynn questions about what she'd have in her museum, what kind of things she studies, etc.

When the group stops for the might, the tengu immediately pulls out a complete and very well maintained set of cooking supplies, clearly a step up from the basic cookware. She asks Lucky if he minds playing while she cooks, enjoying having music while she works her art. Each night is a different dish, a different recipe she's learned in Sakakabe. One night it might be a breaded and fried cut of pork cut in slices and then quickly cooked in a sauce with eggs and onions and served over steaming rice, another she might whip up a spicy red dish of tofu, red peppers and ground meat. She does try experimenting with flavors to make them appealing for everyone in the group.

Cooking Lore: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27
So I gave Dyner a set of artist's tools for cooking. There's a cookware item, but I was hoping I could use the much more expensive and same bulk artist's tools instead (and maybe the silvered versions at a later level). However, if that wouldn'T work then I can give her a set of cookware instead (there's just no better set of items like the silvered artist's tools or better healer's kit, etc for cooking, which I find disappointing.)

Lucky happily plays along to Dyner's cooking, strumming ethereal, comforting chords and sometimes breaking into a low nostalgic hum or jovial whistle. He occasionally asks to try a little of whatever she's making, offering his own suggestions for additions to the recipe.

"I'm not a chef, though-ssu," he always appends.

Lynn is happy to answer any questions about her museum while helping clean dishes for the food Dyner prepared.

" Well you see I enjoy teaching kids and helped set up a school for the poorer kids in Absalom. My museum is going to be free so everyone can visit. I'm hoping to provide basic exhibits about the different lands in Golarion. I figured I'd join the society as an excuse to travel abroad," she says while scrubbing a dish.

"Ooo, you could have sections about the food from each land too in your museum!" Pepper adds excitedly as he chops a large white radish into paper-thin disks for Dyner. "And maybe give them recipes to take home with them so they can try things out themselves afterwards!"

" That's an amazing idea. We can start a lunch program for kids and prepare different foods for them. I'm not much of a cook myself but I'm sure I can find people to help. ," she says very excitedly.

Although Sakakabe is the closest city to the forest of Spirits, it still takes several weeks of travel on a road that winds through the Osogen Grasslands to reach the Forest of Spirits. Along the way, the Pathfinders cross paths with travelers heading south into Minkai, as well as the nomadic herders who call the rolling plains home.

No one the Pathfinders meet in the grasslands has seen the caravan.

When the Pathfinders enter the Forest of Spirits, the atmosphere changes. The forest is cool and damp, and profoundly alive. Snow blankets the ground and clings to branches of towering pine and spruce trees. Birds, rodents, foxes, deer, bears, and numerous other creatures roam through the woods, keeping their distance from the road. The density of the trees suggests that logging is almost unheard of in this forest.

As the Pathfinders progress through the forest, they visit several small villages, none of which have seen the caravan, either. They can find signs of passage from several caravans and groups that travelled on foot, and the remains of campsites right next to the trail. However, there are no indications that any of these groups came to harm.

Eventually, the Pathfinders arrive at a village nestled deeper in the forest’s outskirts.

A sign posted outside the village reads, "綾一の村"

If your character knows Tien, you may open the spoiler. Otherwise, describe what your character does.

Pepper yawns and pours himself a cup of hot tea from one of his canteens. ”Do we have anyone who can read that?” he asks softly. ”And you know the drill by now - mugs out of you want ‘em filled!” He holds the canteen ready to pour.

Ulf rummages in his pack for a moment and produces a battered tin mug, which he holds out to Pepper.

"I still am not in love with this leaf water, but I will not pass up opportunity to warm up."

He glances at the sign and shakes his head. "I am afraid not. I can barely read Taldan."

"From what I've managed to pick up in Sakakabe," the bard says as he inspects the sign, "that little circular glyph in the middle is pronounced no-ssu-- no, I mean. As for the rest..." he rubs the back of his head, looking at the rest of the group, "I still have a lot to learn."

Earlier

During the trip, The Commedienne will also combine foods in ways that are nearly gut-wrenching to try out different combinations, and seems to be keeping a log of them no matter how obscure or strange they might be. The kobold will provide more jokes for Dyner because that's how one builds a good set and a better audience.

As the weather started getting colder she definitely pulled out some cold weather gear and dons it. No sense getting sick trying to show how 'superior' kobolds are, after all.

"Ooh... I could show you all the kobold cuisine!" The Commedienne offers to Lynn briefly before considering with a mirthful tone. "On second thought... let's NOT do that. Noscales have silly ideas that don't mesh well with kobold foods -- like burning perfectly good raw meat."

As the party travels further...

"Even if the caravan was just a little bit delayed, I think we would have run into it by now. Hopefully they didn't decide to set up a small village and shrine somewhere with all their things they had with them instead of, y'know, bringing them to Amara."

The Commedienne will hold out her mug after shaking some cinnamon and pepper into it. "Alas, I only know Taldane and the True Tongue of Dragons right now. I'm hoping someday to read whatever that language is there and the language of Ulf's people. It looks kind of like a noscale flinging a rock at someone's house, though?"

The Pathfinders wander into town. The villagers mostly ignore the outsiders. A few adults look with disinterest. "私たちはあなたが売っているものは何も欲しくない!" they mutter.

A few of the younger ones stare and point at the Pathfinders, speaking between themselves in hushed tones.

Upon entering the village Lynn awkwardly smiles and waves at the villagers. She just says to the others," Unfortunately I don't speak the language. "

Lynn chuckles at the idea of the caravan absconding with the items and making a shrine. Looking at the kobold she adds,"I've had my fair share of raw meat before. It's safe if prepared correctly. Your right it's not ideal for kids but I do enjoy it. "

Sheet is updated but I'll finish it more tomorrow. At least my stats are up.

One of the kids waves back to Lynn. "彼女は私の先生のように見えます!" he exclaims.

He beckons her over and draws something in the dirt.

"I... get the feeling we aren't really wanted here," Lucky speaks quietly as he takes the environment in. He grins at the children, but makes sure not to make any prominent gesture that might not be understood correctly by a foreign culture. "But at least, it seems they are not hostile to us-ssu. We could attempt to ask them whether or not our Pathfinder caravan passed through-ssu; maybe through drawing or some sort of sign language."

If Lynn approaches the children, the halfling will follow her not too far behind, just to be safe.

Lynn looks at the picture and says,"I think they're just making jokes. I guess I look the part of a teacher too. Your idea sounds good though I'm not sure who we should ask "

"Ooo, you could try drawing a wagon and a pair of sun and moon!" Pepper adds cheerfully as he studies the boys' picture. "Then you could use that to ask if they've seen a wagon passing through here and how long ago!"

As the Pathfinders begin to draw, some of the villagers' curiosities get the better of them, and they come over to gawk.

You've got some options. You can use Deception to convey a message non-verbally, Performance to mime something, Crafting to draw, and I'm also open to suggestions. This will be a secret check, so post your modifier and if it's not one of the above, explain how you'd use the skill to convey your message.

Always beware the dark arts of pantomime! the kobold recalls from her time on the road with Guy. Body language is not consistent among different types of people, and you giving me a toothy grin looks terrifying when a human does it it's normal. So too flexing or any other indications of communication -- your audience will see your tics and your reactions and try to suss out your punchline before you deliver it. Pantomime is the Dark Art, because it becomes ALL about the body language and the chance for something to fail critically increases if folks don't understand the context.

With that sobering recollection in mind, The Commedienne looks for a nice barrel or crate to stand on so the crowd can better see her and begins a series of motions to sort of indicate what the party is doing here without frightening the new-found audience.

'Strongly suggest folks look at better options, too, just in case. Miming carries a death sentence in Galt, Cheliax and several other former Taldan countries..." she offers with a bit of a closed-mouth stage mumble.

The Commedienne's Performance is at +5 not counting any other modifiers.

Commedienne gets on a box and begins miming. Based on her flailing, the crowd assumes that she is warning them to surrender or the Pathfinders will raid the village.

The Pathfinders find that the villagers are adept hunters - men, women, and even children begin pulling out bows and shouting.

You've got more options. You can also use Nature, Survival, or Hunting Lore to indicate friendliness. This can be an open check - just go ahead and roll yourself.