"Doctor? Me? Naw, but we can get you water."
Zòila manages to produce an effective tincture. Made of ingredients on-hand it's not enough to last a month, but "Ah! That ought to tide me over until Kupyn makes her delivery. Thanks much! We'll get you those potatoes--oh, and bring out some of that solvent! This stuff is for dissolving rocks. For most folks I don't think bottles of corrosive liquid would make the best thank-you gift, but you're adventuring types, right? I'm sure you'll come up with a creative use for 'em!"
"Hope to see you all at the Winter Week Feast!"
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Turning to Zenobia "May I call you Thea?" twinkling her eyes "I shall come to know a great great great grand-..." she pauses here to access her memory, which, it seems, stalls a moment as she decides between "-daughter? mother? Goodness!" somewhat exasperated, she recovers quickly notwithstanding "Person" she decides is the correction before seamlessly continuing "with whom I shall become more closely acquainted. Yes. It is a warm name..." smiling.
To Gerrika "A knack indeed. Let us see what this farmer had for carrots for Kupyn's brew - and to what extent her reputation had obstacled our path back- >ahem< for-ward!"
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"Thea is fine, just don't even try to rhyme it with anything", Zenobia Thea answers Zòila. Zenobia doesn't seem to be bothered in any
way by Zòila's vague connection to the normal flow of time.
"And I have experience with smug people thinking too much of themselves", she answers Gerrika. "One of our ways should get us the vegetables."
From the new paint and fine wooden carvings of the farmers’ god Erastil lining the gate, it’s evident the farmer has been doing well.
Bunwol Greetle, an elderly human, sits on the front porch with his grandchildren, shelling peas and singing about rock stew. Far from unfriendly, when Farmer Greetle sees people approaching, a smile breaks over his face. “Hail and well met, strangers! What can I do for you on this fine day?”
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Zenobia draws deep breath, concentrates a moment and then switches to her professional entertainer routine, smiling widely and using a very sweet voice. "Well how appropriate for that song! You must remember what time of the year it is!" she addresses the farmer, then shifts her focus on the children. "You know, in that song, all the people gave what little they had to the witch, who then, with the rock and her magic, made the soup grow in her pot to feed everyone. And then, every year, to remember this event, people have given the witch the ingredients to make a rock soup again, to be shared by everyone. And everyone knows the best carrots and celery grow on this very farm!"
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"Good morning, Mr. Greetle! So happy to see you and the little ones are doing fine." Granny Granitehead waves to the children. "Yeah, just like Zenobia here just said, we're helping cook the rock stew this year, and your vegetables are just the thing we're missing. Isn't that right, kinderlach? Grandpa Bunwol grows the best carrots in town! Make your eyes sharp and your bones strong."
"That's right!" Greetle says proudly to Zenobia, "In fact, this here's the farm that supplies 'em for the community's rock stew. One of my fondest memories is the year I fond the stone in my bowl when I was only six."
The children giggle, but his face sours a little when Gerrika says the party is there representing Kupyn, however, "Hmph! Yeah, I always thought the festival was about the whole town working together. But I hear that witch grumbling about how hard it is and how she has to do everything. Well, if we're not pitching in then I guess that means she doesn't want us to donate anything. That'll be two silvers."
Something seems to occur to the old farmer, and he hesitates a little. "Hang on, you're not from around here are you? You know that story? Where'd you hear that song?"
Perhaps Greetle can be convinced that Kupyn has some holiday spirit after all.
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"From Kupyn herself, actually," Delta chimes in with a vulpine grin in his face. "She even sings the song for us, let me do it for you..."
Rock stew for me, rock stew for you!
It’s the soup that helps us in all that we do!
If you want to make it, you need a few things,
Potatoes, carrots, celery, and
FIVE SCALLION RINGS
Rock stew for me, rock stew for you!
It’s the dish that helps us see winter through!
Some salt, some pepper,
a cauldron of bounty,
a few cuts of mutton
and a magic rock or three!
Rock stew for me, rock stew for you!
Have a Happy Winter Week, let’s eat some stew!
Delta ends the song with an awkward flat in the end, but with a smile of course, confident of his poor performance. "The song has carrots and celery on it." he adds while waiting for Greetle to respond about his performance.
"Did she now," says the farmer thoughtfully. He laughs and adds, "Yes, I can tell that you only just learned it. Oh, run along and get those bags of vegetables we set out for Ms. Kupyn," he says to the children, who hurry along.
Greetle stands and moves closer. "Well, I'm probably being unfair. I'm happy Kupyn is still showing enough Winter Week spirit to share our song with travelers! You can forget about the money, I'm just being grouchy and taking it out on you. I hope you come to the feast!"
The children scurry out, bringing bags of carrots and celery.
As you approach the grove, a multitude of twinkling lights begin dancing about in the shadows beneath the ancient trees. Giggles and whispers fill the air, but you see nothing. Upon reaching the center of the grove, where scallions, garlic, onions, and chives grow in thick clumps amid the dark soil, the whispering stops and the twinkling lights fade.
Several diminutive fey wearing leaves and flowers emerge from their hiding places from within the wood. One, taller than the rest, wearing a crown of woven scallions and holding a purple onion flower (several times her height) like a scepter, steps forward. “I am Nelia Starsister, the Grove’s Grand Garlicia and Alliumic Empress. Who are you to set foot in our domain?”
She's somewhat undermined by other brownies poking their heads out to stare in awe at Darb, Kupyn's dog, referring to him in hushed tones as “Lord Darbington the Golden” or “Sir Darbious the Glorious.”
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"I see. Representatives of Kupyn, the fair Witch of Scallion's Wrap. Of course we have prepared the requisite scallions, as tradition dictates and in accordion with the most glorious hymn.
"However, we didst have a recent altercation with Ms. Baro. The esteemed Master Darbworthy the Great was entrusted to our company. Seeking only to help his golden hair look ever more noble, we braided it and adorned his glorious fur with ribbons. When Kupyn came to us, we thought her amused, but nigh! She flew into a temper, she screamed at us an' an' an'--she knocked down our castle!"
The Grand Garlicia bursts into tears and points at several logs arranged as though they had fallen over after being arranged into a crude hut.
"We don't know why she got mad but we're soooorrryyyy! She's! So! Mean!" Nellia sticks out her tongue, among a chorus echoes of crying "sorry" and "mean."
The adventurers may be able to bring her back around to the topic by convincing her Kupyn meant no harm or by putting their hut back together--a matter more of hefting the heavy logs than of proper building technique . Or maybe they have another idea?
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"Oh, yes, we've heard of the mess Kupyn accidentally made here, you know, she told us all about it. I assure you, she meant no harm, but you have to understand why she got mad - did you ask little Darb here if he wants his hair done?"
Gerrika pets the dog, letting his golden fur flow. "It's very rude to give someone a makeover like that without permission, you know, and it's meticulous work to get his hair back how he likes it! Now, let's leave all that behind us and join together to make delicious rock stew; that's what holiday spirit is all about, or so I hear."
While Simon is helping with the castle ("Nooo! You're doing it wrong!"), Nelia giggles.
"Oh Granny, that's silly! Though Sir Darbington the Illustrious may have a most reputable name, he's a dog! He doesn't care! Though.. perhaps we should check with Ms. Baro.
"Yes. It is oft said by our ancestors in the First World that those who traffic with mortals must be ever wary, for your kind are both unpredictable and bound by rituals most obscure.
"In any case--bring forth the scallions!"
A trio of brownies appears almost out of nowhere, bearing a large tray holding scallions tied into neat bundles.
"Our contribution to the stone soup for the Feast, in symbolic recognition of our contribution the stone soup that once saved the town," Nelia says with a bow. "We shall make an appearance at the Winter Week feast, and hope to encounter your presence once again!"
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"Great, see you there! We have all the ingredients now! Thank you once more!" Zenobia waves a goodbye to the brownies.
She drops her show smile and grumbles to the party on their way back: "The one tradition that should bring the people together and they start bickering about pointless things just before it. What is wrong with them?"
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Delta happily receives the scallions. "Kupyn would be very happy to hear that!" he tells Nelia. "And Sir Darbington the Illustrious too!" he adds.
"That's two down, have one ingredient left. Let's go and get those... what is it again?" he asks, not minding the complaining Zenobia about people and festivities.
Kupyn's cottage is brightly colored, with a thatched roof and tall chimney merrily puffing smoke into the brisk air. A cauldron sits outside the door--the one from the story?
It bubbles and froths, and as the adventurers approach it begins to rumble and quake.
It spills over, having multiplied what was placed in it--a tiny rock. The cobblestones start rolling towards the party, hungrily gnashing their gleaming, sharp teeth.
Which is alarming, as it's somewhat unusual behavior for rocks.
The cauldron continues roiling and shaking. Something has clearly gone wrong with its enchantment, and something should probably be done about it. Someone with the right know-how might be able to set those glowing runes right, or at least turn them off .
Or someone could just disable it by force by breaking it.
Kupyn's cauldron.
Her family heirloom.
Passed down through the generations.
The object of local legend.
The focal point the town's major holiday celebration.
Someone could just smash it.
Gerrika and Simon's turns.
Initiative:
Gerrika (20/20)
Simon (21/21)
Cobbleswarm
Delta (19/19)
Zenobia (17/17)
Grandmother Time (12/12)
Simon finds that it's tricky to land a solid hit on the scrambling stones.
Gerrika has more luck, and has makes progress towards disabling the cauldron's enchantment.
The swarm of gnashing rocks surges over Simon. Under his feet, grabbing onto his clothing with sharp teeth, and knocking into his legs, they manage to knock him down as they swarm over him and try to pin him in place.
Delta, Zenobia, and Grandmother Time's turns. Slides.
Initiative:
Gerrika (20/20)
Simon (21/21, prone, grabbed by Cobbleswarm)
Cobbleswarm (Grabbing Simon)
Delta (19/19)
Zenobia (17/17)
Grandmother Time (12/12)
Cauldron (1/3 successes to Disable)
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Arriving at just the right moment amid all the excitement, Zòila skims the temporal dimension to pet Darb a couple of times, firm but slow, her motions fast-forwarded to the outside world, before easily striding over to address the malfunctioning cauldron.
”This alloy is particularly sensitive to elemental radiation - you should look into reinforcing it with...” she describes to Kupyn what different construction material might in the future circumvent magical leakage...
◇) Stride via Bend Time
◆) Stride
◆◆) Disable
Zenobia manages to redirect some of the magical energy away from the cauldron, which means that it's almost... huh. That was easier than she expected, as though the cauldron had been just a little less out of control all along. It settles down and stops shaking, filled with water and a single stone.
That just leaves the stones already expelled to deal with.
Initiative:
Gerrika (20/20)
Simon (21/21, prone, grabbed by Cobbleswarm)
Cobbleswarm (Grabbing Simon)
Delta (19/19)
Zenobia (17/17)
Grandmother Time (12/12)
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"There, that wasn't so hard. Now to calm down this rowdy pile of rocks; it's just like placating a fussy child. You know, when my son Balfour was still this small... ah, I'll tell you all about it later."
Granny steps up next to Simon and says an incantation, instilling some divine power in the allies surrounding her.
Simon is unable to get out from under the swarming stones, but he does manage to land one good solid SMACK that shatters a number of them along their crystalline mouths.
One of the rocks stops moving, dazed by Delta's spell. This is difficult to notice among their larger numbers.
Agitated, the stones begin to bounce and leap over Simon, pummeling him before rolling over towards Zenobia and throwing themselves at her in turn.
All PCs' turns.
Initiative:
Gerrika (20/20)
Simon (21/21, prone, Reflex save)
Cobbleswarm (Grabbing Simon)
Delta (19/19)
Zenobia (17/17, Reflex save)
Grandmother Time (12/12)
Punching rocks is a little painful, but it does seem to work!
Given that there are a lot of them, something that affects or splashes an area might work well--though the fact that they're under Zenobia's feet complicates that idea a little.
Zenobia, Grandmother Time, Gerrika, and Simon's turns. Slides.
Initiative:
Gerrika (20/20)
Simon (21/21, prone, Reflex save)
Cobbleswarm (6 damage)
Delta (19/19)
Zenobia (17/17, Reflex save)
Grandmother Time (12/12)
Zenobia slashes at the rocks, but has trouble landing a solid hit. Slicing rocks isn't easy.
Simon slams them with water, which is more effective--especially the way he's doing it, scattering rock fragments across the yard.
The broken bits of crystal and rock vibrate slightly as though they're going to come together once again, and then nothing else happens.
Moments later, Kupyn rounds the corner carrying parcels of meat. "Oh good, you're back al--what the heck happened here?"
"Oh no. I dropped the rock in there already--did that old thing activate?" Kupyn hurries over to the cauldron. "Oh, I shouldn't have left this to the last minute. My father always said only to use it to duplicate food. They say it comes out funny if you do other things. Well... thank you for handling it. And successfully gathering ingredients, I see!"
Several of Kupyn's neighbors start poking their heads out, lugging cookware stuffed full of vegetables and other ingredients.
"Something's wrong with Kupyn's cauldron!" someone calls, "But we can get this community stew going the old-fashioned way!"
Upon hearing what happened at Kupyn’s cottage, everyone in Scallion’s Wrap comes to help her and make rock stew in a show of Winter Week spirit, even without the magic cauldron. As a reward for saving the town, the PCs each receive their payment, along with a generous helping of rock stew.