Part 3: The Willowshore Curse
With the monstrous ringleaders defeated and the Eternal Lantern shining brightly once more, life can return somewhat to normal for Willowshore. In the days to come, the townsfolk will set about the grim task of arranging funerals for the dead, treating the wounded, and searching for the missing, as well as working to repair, rebuild, and restore the town from the damage caused by the monstrous invasion. Tonight, though, you settle down to rest and sleep, exhausted from the grueling first few days of summer you have had.
The next morning, as you prepare for the day, word comes that a stranger has arrived in a horse-drawn cart. He has set up a stall in downtown Willowshore. The merchant appears friendly, but the timing of his arrival makes the townsfolk wary.
As you approach the stall to investigate, you can see the merchant is a nondescript man in a douli hat. A raven is perched on his shoulder. The man smiles at you as you approach. "Hello! Welcome! I am Shinzo, at your service. And my little friend is Yix." The raven cocks his head at you and squawks.
"I am a traveling salesperson. This is my first time in your town, but I hope to make it a regular stop on my route. The other villagers have mentioned strange events happening here. I hope you are all okay. If you have need of gear or supplies, please check out my inventory. I will be here for the day before I continue on tomorrow."
Li Jie will browse the merchant's wares, although the Nagaji declines spend any coin.
Once you have concluded your business with Shinzo, you seek out the town's elders. Old Matsuki is overseeing the town's carpenters as they work to repair the damage the monsters did to the buildings. The gruff man sips a cup of rice wine as he complains about the "younger generation" of workers' lack of attention to detail. The mild-mannered Granny Hu, meanwhile, works with her nephew Zheng Peng to rally the town's guards and set up patrols and watches to ensure the monsters do not return.
Both elders essentially request that you undertake the same task. The recent events have left Willowshore reeling, and news (as well as requests for aid) must be sent to Willowshore’s closest neighbor, the fortified settlement of Karahai. Located several dozen miles to the east of town on the coast of the Sea of Ghosts, Karahai has long served as Willowshore’s most important trade partner. Word of the attack and the loss of the governor and his estate must be reported. They want you to make the journey southeast along the banks of the Duyue River to deliver news of recent events to Commander Wen of Karahai. The trip to Karahai is one many in Willowshore have made, and it’s known to be a relatively safe route. Horses will be provided for you so that if you leave at dawn, you'll arrive on the coast at Karahai just before sunset.
Xiung-Lau nods. "Yes, elders, of course I will help with this. Are we requesting that Commander Wen send any sort of specific aid? Do we need to request troops to assist the guard, or perhaps additional carpenters and laborers to repair the damage?"
"Troops, artisans, whatever he can spare," Old Matsuki replies. "I get the feeling we are going to need all the help we can get."
Li Jie nods his acceptance of their new mission for Willowshore. The Nagaji hisses in laughter at Hooli's statement.
The feel of a trusssty hammer ssstriking metal, molding it, ssshaping it isss mossst enjoyable.
The Alchemist then winks.
Of courssse, fencccce Mending isss different.
"Hmp. A little manual labor might do you good, Hooli."
You make your preparations for the journey. The next morning at dawn, you mount up and begin to ride along the road southeast towards Karahai. The journey along the banks of the Duyue River is uneventful. Though the skies are overcast, no rain falls, a good sign for a dry and even pleasant summer ahead.
A few hours before you expect to reach Karahai, not long after you leave Gourd Lake behind and are about to emerge into a wide valley that should give you your first glimpse of the Sea of Ghosts with the fortress of Karahai visible on its coastline bluffs, another strange fog descends on you. Unlike the mist that blanketed Willowshore, though, this fog quickly grows unexpectedly and almost supernaturally thick, reducing visibility to a dozen feet or so. The horses grow nervous and skittish as you cautiously ride forward. Then, a few moments later, the fog lifts to reveal you have returned to the spot you just left...
Repeated experimentation reveals that no matter how many times you attempt to push forward, the fog descends, and you find yourselves back where you started just before the fog’s descent. All Hooli can determine is that the effect is definitely unnatural...
"This is ... a problem," Xiung-Lau says, clearly understating the situation. He casts detect magic just to confirm his suspicion that magic is at work.
"We should probably move along the boundaries of these mists, to confirm there's no way that isn't blocked by them."
Tai nods at Xiung-Lau's tactics, but feels compelled to ask a question of the young man's expertise. "Xiung-Lau, what could have caused this? And so quickly? Shinzo said nothing of cursed mists."
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Xiung-Lau tries to recall any stories or legends that have strange mists that you cannot pass through.
There are references to similar things like this in old ghost stories and urban legends. They are usually the result of a powerful curse of the influence of a fell being of great power. Without more information to go on, though, it is impossible to know the source of this strange fog.
The clouds that have been gathering all day finally give way, and rain begins to fall as thunder rumbles overhead. Night will soon fall, and with it will come a rainstorm. You find a safe place to camp nearby to ride out the rainstorm overnight.
You ride south, probing into the forest nearby to try to find a gap in the strange barrier. But it’s no use—you always come to a point where the fog rolls in and deposits you back where you tried to cross. By early afternoon, the border has pushed you back to the south and west. The strange fog prevents you from going any further south here...
As you sit around the campfire, Xiung-Lau pulls out his cauldron to gather rainwater, and then mixes in some herbs, vegetables, and dried meat to make passable stew. "The stories I know of that have similar things, they come from the influence of dark forces. Perhaps our village has fallen under a curse?"
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"This isn't funny," Hooli whines.
She nods at Xiung-Lau's comments. "Maybe, but what did we do to deserve a curse?" She wonders if anyone new may have shown up in Willowshore and brought a curse with them. Or if anything happened recently -- perhaps with some unimportant Avistani deity -- that may have caused this. She vaguely thinks she remembers hearing something about that, but surely it wasn't important.
"Maybe we should go back and ask the elders in the morning?" she suggests, unable to think of any other solution to this fog. "Or see if we can find someone around here who might know something?"
Li Jie hisses in frustration at the 27th time the group is deposited backwards.
The Nagaji shrugs.
I feel like we are missssing sssomething....
"We should find out if the merchant was turned back as well. That will narrow the time that this curse began..." Nodding to himself, the sullen warrior adds, "And if the curse is a weapon of the fiends that invaded our town, I would not leave them unguarded."
Xiung-Lau nods to Kwan. "Yes, that is a good idea. Or if he even saw these mists when he came. He was leaving today, as well, right? I wonder which direction he was heading ..."
You return to Willowshore as the sun sets to find that Shinzo has already left town. The townsfolk report that he rode off to the west.
When you report your findings about the strange fog to the elders, both Old Matsuki and Granny Hu are greatly disturbed by this information.
After resting overnight, both elders request to meet with you at the Lady of Souls, the local temple of Pharasma. Here, the two elders set aside their personal grievances to thank you for the services you’ve provided to Willowshore so far—and to then request that you continue your work to determine what has caused the town to become cursed.
"Yes, a curse! There have been too many things happening in such a short time to be anything but one!" Old Matsuki says, sipping from a jug of rice wine. "While the monstrous invasion of Willowshore was certainly an aspect of this curse, it seems to have been largely solved by lighting the Eternal Lantern. Yet, there are still three other mysteries facing the town: the vanishing of Governor Heh and his estate, the strange mists that surround the hinterlands and prevent travel, and the disappearance of the stone spider known as Ugly Cute."
"All three of these disturbing developments must be resolved," Granny Hu says, hands steepled, gaze intense. "The order in which they’re tackled is irrelevant, although the disappearance of the governor seems to be the most pressing matter. If Governor Heh can be found, perhaps he’ll know more about what’s going on, after all!"
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Hooli scratches her head. She's not an investigator; if anything, she'd be more likely to try to make an entire mansion disappeared (maybe she can figure out how!). But maybe that's enough here to let her work backward and figure out this mystery. The village needs help clearly, and for some reason they seem to be trusting her.
"Maybe we should go check the mansion again? Or Ugly Cute's pedestal?"
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At the mention of the stone spider, Crawler of the Night skitters across Xiung-Lau's back from shoulder to shoulder. He glances over toward the arachnid and says, "I say that we prioritize the missing stone spider."
"We found tracks leading from..." Tai sighs. "...Ugly Cute's pedestal. They went into a river and we couldn't easily track them in the middle of the fray. Loamy riverbanks often make for good tracks though, now that we have the time to do a proper job. If we don't find the statue before the mists, perhaps the fishers can help us drag the river with their nets."
Li Jie listens intently to Granny Hu. The Nagaji taking notes. After some silence of consideration, the Alchemist's tongue flicks out in Xiung-Lau's and Tai's direction.
Yesss. We need to find the ssstatus of that ssstatue.
Old Matsuki speaks to you more about Ugly Cute. "The guardian spider has stood vigil for many years at the edge of town. Its disappearance is concerning. I have sent trackers from the Silvermist Lodges to look for clues, but so far, no trace of Ugly Cute has been found. Still, perhaps meeting with the hunters would be a good first step if you want to start tracking down the missing guardian yourselves."
***
You meet with the rangers of the Silvermist Lodges, but they tell you their attempts to track Ugly Cute have yielded no leads; the rainstorm and the amount of time that passed while the hunters were recovering from the monster invasion did them no favors. Even the old hunter’s trick of “returning to the quarry’s home” to try to pick up the trail anew hasn’t worked. Despite several visits back to Spider Gate, no fresh clues have manifested.
Xiung-Lau places Crawler of the Night onto the ground, and the spider begins moving around the pedestal in an exploratory fashion. Meanwhile, Xiung-Lau begins examining the pedestal and surrounding area as well, his eyes darkening as he looks for any traces of magic.
"I have not been trained in tracking, only it what to do when the prey is brought to bay."
The Nagaji just saddles up next to Tai.
I brought cards, as we wait. Not much for dirt and sticks and nature stuff myssself.
Li Jie then hisses.
I hatesss that name. Little Cute.
Then viewing Hooli transform into a fox, the Nagaji smiles.
He also follows within 30' of her, as they taste the air.
Kwan Tai frowns. "Do not eat Hooli while she is small."
The Alchemist frowns (as he replaces his utensils, seasonings and sodaback into a pouch).
Neither Hooli nor Lie Jie picki up anything worthwhile with their scent. However, Hooli makes the logical leap that Ugly Cute likely wouldn't return here as the gate is more a posting than a home.
In fact, the kistune remembers that Ugly Cute's materials were originally quarried from the Gorge of Fangs and Teeth to the south. Maybe the guardian statue would consider that place their home?
I knew a George onccce. He wasss a real assshat.
The Nagaji prepares to go to quarry.
Kwan Tai stalks ahead. "Dangerous places should have such names."
You head south from Willowshore, the road turning into a rough and rocky trail about halfway through the day. You head west along Dragonfly Creek until you reach the Gorge of Fangs and Teeth. Located a few miles from the edge of the forest, this escarpment of stone was where most of the materials used to pave Willowshore’s roads and build its foundations and stone structures was quarried.
Soon after entering the gorge, you hear the sound of shifting and grinding stone. Ahead, you can see two slithering carpets of animated stones and mobile grit rasping and scouring over a large shape crumpled in a narrow cleft in the stone. As you draw near, you see that the shape is, in fact, Ugly Cute!
The two swarms of stones grind off of the statue as they move to attack you! You can see that each one has a tiny mouth made of split geodes!
Investigating: Lie Jie recognize the strange creatures as swarms of cobble mites! Though indolent and harmless alone, these aberrant creatures are dangerous in large groups. They resist piercing and slashing damage.
Li Jie (slowly and with little initiative) relates his knowledge to the group.
They dislike mom jokes and act tough when in a crowd!
Kwan Tai lunges forward, battering the gnashing geodes with broad sweeps of his hammer!
Kwan Tai pummels one of the swarms with his hammer while Hooli scorches them with flames. Unfortunately, the swarms cannot be sneak attacked!
As the cobble mites move to surround Kwan Tai, the hobgoblin takes an attack of opportunity. The critical hit smashes the first swarm to smithereens!
The second swarm pummels the fighter!
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HP 26/26
AC 19
Fort +5, Ref +10, Will +7
Hero points: 2
Seasonal Boon: summer []; fall []; winter []; spring []
Effects:
Hooli thinks about dashing in to help -- but then thinks better of the idea. She casts her cantrip again, sending another ball of flame toward the mites. But she misses badly as she tries to avoid scorching Kwan Tai.
Tai is badly battered, but still swinging!
"This wretched spider had best be worth this!"
Xiung-Lau reaches out toward a nearby stone, a shimmering shadow extending from his finger to the rock. With a movement of his hand, the shadow contracts, hurling the rock through the air toward the creature.
With his other hand, he reaches out toward the creature and fires a shadowy blast toward it, trying to engulf the creature.
The Alchemist Strides behind Tai. The Nagaji then attempts to patch the Hobgoblin's wounds.
He then Commands Blue to grab an Elixir of Life and dump it down Tai's throat!
It doesn't take much longer to eliminate the remaining cobble mites. Between the large rock Xiung-Lau hurls, Hooli's flames, and Kwan Tai's punishing hammer strikes, you destroy the strange aberrations.
Once they are defeated, Ugly Cute rises up on their eight legs, a bit wobbly and bearing plenty of chips and cracks, but still very much alive.
”Thanks, friends!” the spider statue says. ”I thought I was a goner! Hooli, Kwan Tai, Li Jie, Xiung-Lau, I am in your debt. How fare things in Willowshore?”
"Very poorly, Ugly Cute," Xiung-Lau begins. "There have been all manner of monster attacks, and the village is surrounded by a strange mist that doesn't allow us to leave. Why did you leave your pedestal? Was it connected to these ill omens?"
He glances over at Li Jie's tending to Tai, but doesn't offer aid since it seems the alchemist has things well in hand.