Venture-Captain Amara Li handpicked you to help build a new Pathfinder lodge within Minkai. From construction, to hiring employees, to sourcing supplies, she's kept you busy for a few months on small tasks. She's also gathering relics to outfit the lodge, calling upon you to purchase, escort and guard them against thieves.
One day you get an invite to meet her at the Kiniro Kyomai teahouse.
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"It is good to be back home for a while. At least this close to home, I mean."
The young woman is wearing full plate, but you can see her long red hair and youthful face now that her helm has been removed. A serpent is loosely coiled around her upper arm, nuzzling its head against the warm skin of her neck as she sits at the table.
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Betel had been busy setting up the library and the local equivalent off the Archives, researching what items can be got and fetching those that are under the water nearby. It has been useful that her background is 'Occult Librarian' - maybe that was why she was picked for this job.
She also acknowledges Akame's presence with a nod while cataloging a pile of library books.
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Eddie also helped with the library, often though heading in the opposite direction as Betel. Arms loaded up with unwanted, or damaged paper goods needing to be disposed of. "Mmmm these just need some water, soil, and cool air and they will be perfect." The small fungus leshy mixes them up in a pile of fresh grass clippings and tree trimmings for composting.
"Betel, can you make more of the water here? Not enough rain lately, dinner is getting too dry." Pointing to the pile of rotting books and grass. The fungal spirits are thirsty they say!
Geisha welcome soothe your ears with samisen music while the food brightens your taste buds. Of course, the tea is divine.
“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.”
Amara Li never lost her sense for drama. “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. 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.”
“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.”
“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.”
"Undead? I have not heard of any such creatures recently, but you may never be too sure." Venture-Captain Li nods. "There are spirits in the forest that can briefly share their memories to living hosts, but they cannot control the host bodies."
"Correct." Li calms the geisha serving her tea with a gentle movement of her hand. "His reach is devastating but not worldwide."
Betel is about to inform Kidron of the benign spirits, but the Venture-Captain beats her to the punch. With no additional information, she sips her tea. Akame admits all of this is new to her and simply absorbs the information.
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Fenris Lokison, a bulky dwarf magus with a ponytailed long hair and lots of beard and mustaches seems to arrive just in time for the briefing of there mission. His hide armor compliments well with his clan dagger and ordinary dagger, with whip and parrying scabbard on both sides of his hip.
"Sorry for my late arrival. Something delayed me along the way. Nonetheless, I am Fenris Lokison, ready to give help for this mission. According to what you said, we should continue what is left of the current mission done by the missing Pathfinders? That is fine with me."
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Actually, we've been sent to find them Betel corrected, with the tone of a school teacher. It appears they may be lost in the Spirit Forest so we are tasked with going on the route they were on and determining where they were last seen. They have in their possession, one or more ... erm ... relics that were on the way here.
She then turned to the Venture Captain.
Excuse me ma'am, but what sort of relics were they transporting?
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”Oh, yes.” Fenris realizes that he may have not caught that part of the briefing conversation when he arrived. Or maybe it quickly slipped off his mind, now thinking they have a mission to continue on behalf of those missing Pathfinders. ”Thanks for that. I will remember that detail.” he says as he scratches his head because of embarassment.
Venture-Captain Li smiles. "There is no shame in confirming information. Yes, I do hope you are able to find the Pathfinders and help complete the mission."
"Of the many artifacts I need you to retrieve, the most important one is a green scarf. The scholars who sold this to me said it was extremely valuable, but they were not sure of its exact significance."
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Sure. No problem she replies, getting up from her seat and dousing the pile of rotting books and grass. She then returns to her seat.
Don't suppose you're growing mushrooms for our dinner too are you?
"Why would you eat mushrooms, that is silly talk. I would be happy to share in my compost if you are hungry though." Eddie smiles, poking around the stacks of decaying material to mix the water in thoroughly.
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Eddie sits uncomfortably at the meeting. They feel odd being inside so much, everything here is so orderly and finished. So clean and processed. They missed the forests.
"These kami spirits, maybe they are really leshy by another name? Or fae.. fey? Faaay?" Eddie moves through numerous pronunciations they've heard before. "Best to be kind to the spirits of the forest and the will be kind to us."
Eddie realizes these spirits would be similar to those of the First World. Based on the local wildlife, they knows how villages will respect the forest.
"May the winter winds bless your travels." Venture-Captain Li sips more of her jasmine tea.
You plot your journey from the border village Sakakabe to the Forest of Spirits and to the missing caravan. It will take weeks of travel through the Osogen Grasslands to a village just within the Forest. You finish your preparations and begin your journey.
Along the way you find nomadic herders as well as travelers going to Minkai. Most of them have not seen the caravan you were looking for.
As you reach the Forest's edge, the weather turns cool and damp. Everything seems alive. Snow blankets the the ground and clings to the pine and spruce trees. Small rodents, birds and foxes scamper about, singing to the sky and keeping their distance. Logging is unheard of in this region, the trees remain untouched by human hands.
It isn't long until you reach a potential clue: the last village the caravan was spotted. You see a cloth sign at the village outskirts, written in Tien with a smaller Common Taldane scribble below:
"Welcome to Ayaichi"
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Eddie always seems to be in a good mood, a smile on their face and a positive outlook on the day ahead. The long journey and limited success hasn't dried out their fungal spirits in the least. They happily collect medicinal herbs and berries if near the road as they travel.
"Yes, this forest is strong and healthy. No flat stumps from saws to see anywhere." Eddie reaches down into the cold dark soil along the edge of the road "The fungal spirits are well fed here, and so are the trees. They work together you know." They put a handful of soil into their mouth and chew a minute, smiling.
Eddie waves the others towards the village "Let's meet these people."
A middle aged-man sits on a rock next to his home. He eyes the Pathfinders wearily, lowering his guard when Akame speaks to him.
The building is large enough but it hasn't been maintained well. Some of the floorboards are worn down and broken. Dirt smears the walls. The villager grunts and picks up some of the trash. He hides his shame behind a "Tsk tsk tsk..."
"Ono. Akira." He points to himself, possibly indicating his name.
The next day you find the town more active. Hunting seems to be the sport of choice. The hunters discuss animal habitats, the latest catch, and the bigger animals they've had to drive away from the village.
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Eddie watches the exchange between Akame and Akira, nodding and bobbing their head. "I am Eddie." They say, gesturing inwardly before introducing the others in the group while helping clean up the building.
"Do you speak this language too Akira?" They ask, curious. If not, Eddie helps clean up regardless, sorting anything that is compostable into a separate pile to be disposed of outside.
The following day Eddie tries to work with the villagers, curious on their views of the surrounding nature, adding in some of their own skills as well.
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Akame was a cook, not a hunter, and Oda was known for its agriculture, but she might have heard something.
Though her knowledge was more geared towards domesticated animals, she did know a few things about wild ones as well.
She did learn a few ways in which game could be better dressed in the field to keep the meet as fresh as possible and tried to share some of them.
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Fenris begins to talk to the people, but knowing they do not speak Common, he tries to engage with them thru actions to tell his thoughts or something. He watches the hunters how to hunt, learn their ways of survival, and knows how they see the nature as part of their lives. He also imparts what he knows on those things as well.
The language barrier slows communication. The distrust of outsiders doesn't help, either. Akame's familiarity with the customs gives the party a chance to explain themselves. She is unfamiliar with the particulars of hunting in this forest, and Fenris is out of his depth.
However, their overall knowledge of the animals here (and Betel's impressive catalogue of fish) impresses one hunter, and through Akame's translations she is able to give more information about the caravan. Two Pathfinders named Lin Po and Li Tan traveled through here six weeks ago, bound for Minkai. They took a road out the Eastern exit. The hunter warned them the specific road veered through thicker woodland and may disturb more of the wildlife, but the Pathfinders were stubborn.
Akame and Betel talk to a group of children who play hide and seek around the buildings, trees and plants around town. It's one of the villages favorite games, and it's used to teach children how to spot creatures who like to hide. Kidron doesn't really understand it all.
Questions for the town
Akame
Betel 2/3, 2 successes
Eddie 1/3
Fenris
Kidron 1/3
Kidron doesn't get the hide and seek actions, but he does figure out the types of animals that live in the forest. He is able to confirm the what happened to the caravan; they left east of the village, planning to use an older but trickier route.
The townsfolk are worried for Eddie as they ignore the nuts and mushrooms and instead focus on consuming fertilizer. But their preparation and foreknowledge brings an advantage, and they are able to impress the villagers.
Akame 2 successes
Betel 2 successes
Eddie 2 successes
Fenris 1 success
Kidron 1 success
Akame, Betel and Eddie find themselves invited to a meeting with some of the town's hunters. They share even more stories about their recent catches. They can hear the forest whispers and use that to guide them to find rabbits hiding around trees.
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You all reunite outside of the town square, only to hear the village bell ring. Several small, purple skinned creatures hop and dance towards the village square. One of them screams "Alright chumps, let's do this!" It pulls out a shortsword and bellows a warcry. "LEEEEROOOOOY JINKINNSSSS!" A smaller blue creature just sighs dejectedly and pulls out a dagger.
The town's hunters begin to fight multiple attackers, leaving you to deal with two purples and one blue marauder.