She shrugs.
"I do not care!" and starts taking care of the other fare visitors.
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"Yeah, let's let Mathilde get back to running the barrels, it's a fun day!"
Tam reaches out for Eranahu's hand and pulls him across the town square.
"I saw you wanted to talk to the kids by the boxes earlier," she remarks. "I may be a decent judge of character, but you're the charmer."
She winks at her companion. Did her eye ring birthmark just get deeper?
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Elu's thought is too occupied by the business proposal she is drafting in her mind to notice anything.
The owner of that tarven, Mr. Toshi, might be a good candidate. If he's in charge of all the food stalls here, he won't be a nobody.
After she's done mentally drafting the business proposal , Elu then approach the woman with white hair, "Greetings and happy holiday! Could you tell me where Elu can find the mayor? The mayor's friend in Absalom sent Elu here to find her."
Ekadan starts the sack race and suddenly the whole crowd starts cheering - the competition is without any chance and the dwarven lady comes over to him!
The well-dressed dwarven woman shakes Ekadan's hand.
"Wow! I am Yarla Bowhammer and that was quite a race! My assistant Tolwin would have been jealous to see that performance ..." and suddenly she becomes a little sad.
"Yeah, let's let Mathilde get back to running the barrels, it's a fun day!"
Tam reaches out for Eranahu's hand and pulls him across the town square.
"I saw you wanted to talk to the kids by the boxes earlier," she remarks. "I may be a decent judge of character, but you're the charmer."
She winks at her companion. Did her eye ring birthmark just get deeper?
Eranahu blushes slightly, knowing that he's not really that charming....yet. wait, was she charging him? He'll take it.
To the boxes!
A1. Youths on crates
You arrive at the storage boxes.
Tall wooden storage boxes are haphazardly arranged everywhere here except for a grouping of four, which form a diamond.
Rowdy youths pump their fists and cheer on four kids who each stand atop one of these boxes. The standing youths kick a bean-filled sack back and forth.
Each time a youth kicks the sack, they all shout a word of the following phrase: "The! Devil! Man! Knocks! Don' t! Let! Him! In!"
[dice=Perception]1d20+7
Elu's thought is too occupied by the business proposal she is drafting in her mind to notice anything.
The owner of that tarven, Mr. Toshi, might be a good candidate. If he's in charge of all the food stalls here, he won't be a nobody.After she's done mentally drafting the business proposal , Elu then approach the woman with white hair, "Greetings and happy holiday! Could you tell me where Elu can find the mayor? The mayor's friend in Absalom sent Elu here to find her."
He is really busy taking care of his customers but he points at the large golden dragon statue.
"She's there most of the time during festivities!"
A boy approaches Sirius.
"Hey you, you wanna play??? Really? I think you are too old!"
One of the boys hops down from their box and but another girl takes his spot in the game.
Two youths are laughing, though there’s a bit of fear evident in their eyes.
“We all saw him; he had skin as pale as a sheet and these freaky little horns!” a girl says.
“He was skulking around until the watch came and scared him away. Now people pretend like he was never here—don’t want to scare away visitors, I guess. Oops!”
The woman looks at the Elf with a smile.
"Well, I am Winette Qarl, Highdelve’s mayor." she says and greets them heartily.
"What can I do for you exactly?"
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"Scare away? No, no. See, look, You're getting more customers now.". Eranahu will give the two youths a devilish grin and give them both a copper piece. "We're adventures you see. We would love to see this person with freaky horns. We have another friend who's pretty good at tracking. Where did you see him before the watch scared of them away?"
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"Ahh, it is a great pleasure to meet you, Ms. Mayor. The name is Elu." Elu points to herself, "And this gentleman here, *tilting her head toward Nistivo* is Mr Nistivo Cirek. We are Pathfinders sent here by venture-captain Drandle Dreng. There are more of us, of course. Elu has three other teammates that are...she quickly looks around the plaza to locate her friends, "...currently gathering information out there. Elu was told that there are two young troublemakers that we might need to take a look at. May Elu borrow a moment of your time to discuss them?"
Elu look at Nistivo to see if he has anything to add.
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"Exactly as my ally says, we may be able to assist with the town's problem with juvenile delinquency. In addition, we'll need to speak with Aurelliax about a separate matter of some urgency. And finally, I understand Highdelve has a robust economy but limited trading opportunities due to its remoteness. I may be able to assist in that matter." Nistivo speaks confidently, even if his self-assurance comes across as smug to many listeners.
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Ekadan starts the sack race and suddenly the whole crowd starts cheering - the competition is without any chance and the dwarven lady comes over to him!
The well-dressed dwarven woman shakes Ekadan's hand.
"Wow! I am Yarla Bowhammer and that was quite a race! My assistant Tolwin would have been jealous to see that performance ..." and suddenly she becomes a little sad.
"Nice to meet you Yarla Bowhammer, my name is Ekadan Joshi and it's a pleasure to meet you. Tolwin is your assistant you say? What's this about some type of trouble he supposedly found himself in?"
Ekadan puts his hand on the dwarf's shoulder to show compassion (he hopes that's what it does anyway)...
[dice=Perception]1d20+11
Tam smirks. "Oh, don't worry, we still have fun playing. Adults like to play, too, they just often think they can't or shouldn't. My name's Tam, Copper Tam, and my friend here is Eranahu. We aren't afraid to play."
She tosses a wink to the girl in back. "Or of the Devil Man."
[dice=Perception]1d20 + 8
"Scare away? No, no. See, look, You're getting more customers now.". Eranahu will give the two youths a devilish grin and give them both a copper piece. "We're adventures you see. We would love to see this person with freaky horns. We have another friend who's pretty good at tracking. Where did you see him before the watch scared of them away?"
When the children hear that you are talking about the Devil Man, a boy runs to you!
"Yes, he was really scary! But some people were not afraid of him! Richelle and Tolwin went after that guy!"
The other two kids are a little frightened when you approach but one of them has the feeling that something needs to be done.
”I do not know if we can really talk about it because we actually have no idea but maybe Richelle and Tolwin are in trouble because of this horned guy! And Tolwin is really a bully so ...“
Aother youngster jumps in and looks at Copper Tam.
”Stop it! Tolwin is not a bad guy! Of course he was really talking to the Tiefling a little longer than I liked! And somehow Tolwin managed to convince Richelle to follow the guy ... but I would not worry that much! Appearances are not important! Tieflings can be kind persons too!“
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Aother youngster jumps in and looks at Copper Tam.
”Stop it! Tolwin is not a bad guy! Of course he was really talking to the Tiefling a little longer than I liked! And somehow Tolwin managed to convince Richelle to follow the guy ... but I would not worry that much! Appearances are not important! Tieflings can be kind persons too!“
Tam nods to the youngster. "That's right! It's not how a person looks that makes them good or bad, it's what they do. Sure, some people can be scary, but they can be good. I've got a friend back in Absalom who looks like a big scary lizard person, but she's a sweetheart who's happy to protect smaller folk like you and me, so she's really a good person."
She looks away for a moment, shielding her left eye. "Anyway, what was the tiefling doing?"
"Yes, yes!! The Tiefling ... well ... he was not doing anything ... only talking with Richelle and Tolwin. And then they left!"
The Bloomgivers return
Murmurs of alarm from the western end of Protectress Square soon become shrieks of shock. Two people stumble into the square-a young dark-haired man and a light-haired woman, half walking and half relying on the shoulders of friends. Winces of pain cross their bloodied faces.
Somewhere, someone shouts, "The Bloomgivers have been attacked' Someone get Aurelliax!"
The crowd around the Bloomgivers hushes and parts, and the mayor strides purposefully toward the injured youths. A grim look on her face, she reaches a hand lovingly toward the Bloomgivers.
Mayor Qarl addresses the crowd in a commanding voice. "Silence! Aurelliax left minutes ago due to an urgent matter. She did not trust me with the details."
She turns toward the Bloomgivers. "Kameer. Kara. Young ones, what has happened here?"
The Bloomgivers pause to catch their breath before answering. " We' re so sorry, Mayor Qarl ," Kara says.
"We were picking the brightblooms when those bullies set upon us. They took us completely by surprise, and they stole the Golden Pendant right from Kameer's neck! We barely got out with our lives!” Kameer nods. "It was Richelle and Tolwin! They're up on Dendra's Slope, and they've still got Aurelliax's amulet!”
At this news, several individuals, including the proprietors of the jubilee's events- emerge from the crowd.
The town's mayor visibly bristles with anger. "I've had enough of those two! Clearly we should have punished them more harshly!" she says. "We have to retrieve these misbehaving kids? We have to get Aurelliax's amulet back, and those two will get the justice they deserve in our stocks."
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Elu speaks to the mayor, "It seems like captain Dreng have the foresight to sending professionals to where troubles might happen. Elu assumes you wouldn't mind the Pathfinders run this little "errand" for you, would you?"
If the mayor agree to let us help, Elu will claps loudly to gather her teammates. "Ok folks, we got work to do now. But before we rush off and save the day, we need a plan, and information." she then turn to the mayor, "Is there anything you can tell us about the kids, Dendra's Slope, or any foreseeable danger along the path to there?"
A man in the crowd looks at Copper Tam and Eranahu and shouts "We do not need you! Who are you?! We have to get Aurelliax to help!"
The mayor looks at the man ruefully. "These bullies are two of our own!"
The people in the crowd give a regretful nod.
"You all know the rules! I'm terribly sorry," Mayor Qarl continues, "but I'm afraid that Aurelliax can't directly help. You see, Aurelliax promised our forebears that she would never interfere in the town's interpersonal matters. She cannot turn her wrath against any of our town-not even if they might deserve it."
She turns to the crowd and especially looks at Elu who she talked to earlier and Copper Tam and Eranahu who already talked.
"Are there any among you who are willing to be heroes for Highdelve? Could you retrieve these bullies and Aurelliax's amulet? I assure you all that I will award those successful most generously! We can give you directions to Dendra's slope but we do not have more information. There is shack there that we sometimes use when harvesting the flowers. And Tolwin and Richelle are kids!”
”Thank you, visitor! Please here is a map, travel up Dendra’s slope, directly west of town about 3 miles." the mayor says gently to Ekadan.
"It sounds like the bullies are still there. The brightbloom patch is just past an old abandoned shack-that's where you'll want to start looking."
”Find these wayward youths, and return them along with Aurelliax's amulet to the people. We'll bring back the brightblooms to the square, and Kameer and Kara here can hand them out as planned. We'll commence the Brightbloom Ball and put all of this unpleasantness behind us!"
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"What do the brightblooms and the pendant do, anyway? Who would want them? Black market value?"
Tam adjusts something on her goggles and continues to muse, "There's something we're not being told. Dreng's wards by proxy pull multiple shenanigans to get access to the brightblooms. Could have been the pendant, but no, given the chance, they take the blooms too. Not as easy to make a clean getaway with a bunch of flowers. But like, they also couldn't just hike up there a couple days before the festival and harvest the blooms themselves. Whatever their plan, it only works with both blooms and pendant. And with the gold dragon conveniently unavailable for the actual festival, someone has been planning this for a while."
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"What do the brightblooms and the pendant do, anyway? Who would want them? Black market value?"
Tam adjusts something on her goggles and continues to muse, "There's something we're not being told. Dreng's wards by proxy pull multiple shenanigans to get access to the brightblooms. Could have been the pendant, but no, given the chance, they take the blooms too. Not as easy to make a clean getaway with a bunch of flowers. But like, they also couldn't just hike up there a couple days before the festival and harvest the blooms themselves. Whatever their plan, it only works with both blooms and pendant. And with the gold dragon conveniently unavailable for the actual festival, someone has been planning this for a while."
"Yeah dragging a cart around is slow, hard work; trust me, I know. As for the brightblooms maybe they have to be harvested at a certain time? I don't know that much about plants but I am familiar with foraging in the wilds."
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Nistivo whispers to the other Pathfinders: "And let us not forget the cult of Kostchtchie and their agent, Gilda Korgren, may have malevolent plans for Aurelliax. Could this be part of some ruse or distraction?"
Trying to whisper, but not doing it well, Ekadan leans towards Nistivo and says, "Maybe we'll find out when we find the kids."
The mayor thinks for a moment.
“We do know that the amulet is magica and that it was given to us to protect this town and its people by our protectress!! We don’t know more!! Please get it back for us! And the flowers are a medicinal component we use for healing.“ she says desperately.
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"Yes, yes, of course," Nistivo tells the mayor in soothing tones. "We'll depart now. While we're gone, I suggest contemplating a suitable reward for the 'Highdelvian Heroes' or whatever appellation for us you prefer."
Seeing as their destination is up an untracked slope, Nistivo regretfully leaves his carriage behind. He does outfit himself in a beautiful chain shirt, every link of which looks to have been individually polished until it gleams! Once that's done, he thrusts his arms through the straps of a backpack that is itself a work of art, with masterfully-done pyrographic images on the leather. And finally, he carefully loads a bolt into a crossbow with hand-carved designs on the stock.
"Shall we?" he asks his allies.
Turning to the assembled townsfolk, the mayor asks "Do any of you have things you might loan to this group?"
Yarla steps forward with a smile. "I just so happen to have a crate of items in my inventory right now, bound for a bodyguard firm in Port Ice. I'm sure they wouldn't mind a little quality control testing on one or two."
Looking at you, she adds "I might even have some blunt arrows, too."
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Elu will keep her pistol in hand after the team leaves the town. Guarding the rear, her long legs make keeping up with the team an ease. Once the team completed half of the journey, she will take out the fried doughs and share them with the team. "Here, have some! Trust me, they're very, very tasty!"
After the trail snack, Elu will take out a bore brush and brush up her pistol.
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You are starting your journey to Dendra's Slope
After a quick trip to Yarla's warehouse, you head toward Dendra's Slope, about three miles away.
As you approach the slope, you see a wagon full of already-picked brightblooms, and remember the mayor saying they would come pick it up once you've dealt with the bullies.
You see the brightblooms in more detail and know these flowers under a different name. But you know that crushed brightblooms confer a +2 bonus when used as part of any Heal check.
You can see a dilapidated hut, a nearby slope covered in flowers, and a cave entrance a little ways away.
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"Healing herbs, interesting." Elu comment on the blightbrooms.
"A campfire and a hut is the ideal set up for those who wants to stay in this field for an extended amount of time. Elu think we should expect having unwelcomed companies soon. Stay on your guard." She holds her pistol in hand, scanning the surrounding.