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She pauses for a moment, and then takes a deep breath, “Just what I’ve heard from the townsfolk. It’s a little contradictory, isn’t it? Some people seem to think it’s a hag, others a demon, others a priest of Ghlaunder, and others a ghost. If you’re planning to go looking for it, I’d bring cold iron along—that would help you against demons and hags—and fire to help burn away swarms of insects. And if it turns out the witch is a ghost, run and hide! Your weapons won’t do a thing against spirits, and I doubt you’ll have enough holy water to chase it away.”
Haru then whistles to recall her overly friendly dog, signalling her that it's almost time to go.
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After exchanging pleasantries, Haru bids the team good luck and continues on her way swatting mosquitoes and chasing the overly excited dog down the bug infested streets. Not another soul seems to be in sight as you look around for the inhabitants of Shimmerford.
Your investigations of the plague-like ridden town then begin at a little tavern named ‘Hart’s Brewery’. The place seems as dead as the town, and the alcoholic smells that you’re usually familiar to in such an establishment is faint. Behind the bar, the brandy brewer who goes by Rosa hart, a dark skinned woman, seems to be fairly intoxicated with what seems to be foul smelling alcohol. A quick look at the bottles suggest they look like something past it’s expiry. ”Well, if you want some of these, I’ve got a good deal for ya, 3 for 1 gold pieces, what do ya say?” While you don’t believe the drink to be tasteful, perhaps crafting it as some sort of acid like weapon could be of use against an unfriendly hoard of mosquitos. When questioned about anything unusual, she speaks of a foreigner in white clothes named Andor a few weeks back, who had an unusual interest about water sources.
The residents of the Bell Family household seems particularly annoyed at your visit and attempt to avoid any conversation. The household seems like a superstitious bunch as they cover all the windows with white covers, and tell you, ”You be gone now, the Mosquito Witch is a nasty character, she probably can see through everything everywhere all at once! If you have any trinkets on ya, I suggest you get rid of them to avoid her anger! Argh!”, before slamming the door in your face.
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"I know mosquitoes typically need pools of stagnant water to breed." Sunshine ponders.
"Maybe Andor is trying to breed mosquitoes, he must be stopped." she realizes when she connects the dots.
Looking at the offered sale, Sunshine declines. "They are expired. I am not sure they will still taste... nice." she tells the brewer frankly.
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"Well, that's not very welcoming." Sunshine shrugs after they have been shut windows.
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Gros looks at the expired alcohol and says "Gros thinks it smells yummy, but Gros has no coins to spare." as he sadly wanders out of the establishment.
"Gros hopes the dragon god strikes you before the mosquito lady can." he says as fury flashes across his face, before quickly regaining his cheery demeanor and looking for some snacks somewhere else.
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“Fine, fine. I’m looking for a friend of mine, and I don’t care to tell you her name. She sent me a letter a month ago, claiming that she intended to go to Shimmerford to investigate what was going on here. I intended to meet up with her here, but when I arrived, she wasn’t anywhere to be found.” If asked, Haru can confirm that her friend is the half-elf with black hair and gold armor that Galia mentioned had gone missing a few weeks back" When she speaks, she becomes fairly emotional and decides it's time to leave after.
The shop name is as obvious as it could be "The Tanner", and the human of Taldan descent keeps conversations simple, emotionless, and cold. "I am Tanner" The atrocious smell of urine and the loud buzzing doesn't bother him in the slightest way. When asked about current events, Tanner notes that they met with a half-elf in gold armor who called herself “Hunter,” and that Hunter was attempting to identify a peculiar shiny, crystalline rock. He brings a sample of the rock.
At the door of this household, you are greeted by a young Tian man who goes by Regis Toshida. He rolls his eyes at your arrival, and annoyingly raises his voice"You lot? Again?! This is the third day in a row that you've come to bother Mrs Lyons, haven't you done enough! He doesn't slam the door in your faces, but he is seemingly convinced that he shouldn't let you into the house a third time.
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"What is that silly noise?" Sunshine is somewhat bothered by the buzzing. "Where is it coming from?" she asks Tanner. When Tanner shows them a rock sample...
"I recognize this. It is a magnetite, a highly magnetic iron ore. Do you know why the Hunter is looking for this?" she asks again, air-quoting the word "Hunter".
"Do we take the missing half-elf in golden armor named Hunter as one of our leads for this investigation?" she turns to her allies, air-quoting again the word "Hunter".
"Hey! We just arrived here." she retorts back but is glad that this time, they aren't slammed with the door.
"We are here to help you, actually."
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Sadly, the attempts at convincing Regis has failed, while thinking of a plan, the group investigates the rest of the town.
At the door you're greeted by a rather unfriendly Varisian woman who stares blankly as you make your inquiries, but before you could finish she splashes a vial of cold liquid, one would assume is holy water, at the group and then closes the door while chanting prayers to desna.[/ooc]
The inn of the town has seen better days, but the innkeep, Callum Shay, a tanned skinned human, isn't too unhappy at the state of events granted he's been making a fair wages of gold of the adventurer's or so he claims. He isn't particularly helpful as he's seen a fair bit of faces, and none really more memorable than the other. "Are you all looking for anyone in particular?" He ask. Near the desk, hunched to the side near the walls, a haggard looking human with dark messy hair, stubble sparsely forming a goatee, and gaunt cheeks, mutters something under his breath while playing with a paper doll drench from his sweaty hands. The deformed doll looks so ugly it has become deformed and unrecognizable from what it used to be.
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The innkeep informs you that the "Hunter" was talking to him not too long ago, it would seem the plans for the half-elf in gold armor was to go into the forest northeast of here. Before saying anything else regarding the haggard looking fella, he blurts out loudly “An idiot. An absolute idiot...” while sadly laughing to himself, before jerking himself upright. “Oh, wait, you’re... where are my manners? Sorry. Introductions. I’m Quintus. Quintus Chevunier.”
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At first Regis hesitates, but realizing the seriousness of the matter with Gros's growling's, he grudgingly and reluctantly lets the party into the home of Mrs Lyon's. At first she thinks you've come to call her crazy, but realizing that your intent to investigate the mosquito witch was all the seriousness, she sits deep in her chair. “It was all just a joke to them,” the old woman says, her voice pinched thin with bitterness. “They pretended to care, a little, when they were all scared that they would be next. Not much, even then.”
“It was up on Witchtop Hill. Up to the north, a little left of the three boulders and past the bend in the stream. We thought it was a dead animal at first, lying on the ground. It was when we got close that it sprung up, tall as a full-grown man. Came after us on its thin little legs. Didn’t matter howfast we ran, it was right behind us. I thought my heart would burst with the running. It was only when we got to town that we dared to look back. But we didn’t find it. Just sharp footprints in the mud, and smears of sicklysweet blood.
“And them, with their masks and their dolls and their festivals. They didn’t know what it was like. To have it in their dreams at night, to wake up with its little paper dolls by the bed. If they’d seen it, they’d never have dared. They don’t know what it’s like to see its eyes in every filthy little bug, for the whining of those insects to be like screaming in my ears.” Mordha clams her mouth shut, before speaking again, in a trembling tone. “It took something from me. And I don’t
remember it. I don’t remember it. No one will ever remember it.” She remains in shock, and after this declines to speak further.
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Quintus squints his eyes as he examines each of you individually, "truth?" he mutters, and then blanks off into space for a moment to fall back at Kimmo's behest. "It’s following me. Ha...hah hahaha! Of course its following me. I’m being stalked by a doll!” Quintus crushes the paper in his hands. “’The iron cave will fall’... what is that supposed to mean? What do you want from me?!” he shouts hysterically at the paper doll.
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Unsure what to make of the presumed mad man's ramblings, the party decides for the Pathfinder's best interest, the investigation would continue into the woods of Witchtop hill. As you journey past the ghost-like town, the incessent buzzing and insects in your face ever continue to annoy you in the silence of a usual town.
At the gates of the town, in the distance sounds of thumping seemingly come grow louder followed by screaming drowned by the buzzing, without skipping a beat, the pathfinder's rush off to witness a wooden carriage, pulled by six horses without a driver, mout of control whilst it moves at dangerous speeds. The carriage sways dangerous from side to side ever balancing of two wheels at any given time. The horses seem to have an appearance of having multiple brown patches, but upon closer inspection, the colouring is clearly coming from blood coming out of hundreds of mosquito bites. The screams grow even louder as the carriage grows more out of control with every second, and it's passengers are at a great risk.
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With a little bit of sheer strength, Kidron is able to slow one of the horses down enough with some form of a makeshift barricade using his scabbard and body to help one more passenger jump off. Before the team is able to react further, the carriage and horses careen off a sharp ridge, shattering the conveyance and killing the last passenger still aboard. The saved passengers are visibly shaken and in shock, but have some form of gratitude that they provide you with any valuable jewelry they have and insist that you take it with you. As you question them about their presence in the town, the indicate they are clueless about the plague and just happen to be travelling in this direction.
Following the ordeal, the team decides the next course of action would be to continue on the investigation into the woods. As you traverse further out of the town, the buzzings start to soften as the density of mosquitoes decrease with a thickening fog. Trekking through the misty woods evidently becomes a challenge to keep track of your orientation at any given time.
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The party struggles at first, branches after branches through the mist unable to get their bearings. But Kidron keeps a keen eye on the boulder set and river trail that Ms Lyon's indicated would be the path leading the Pathfinders to Witchtop Hill. At the peak of the hill, you find a dimly lit grove, through a few rays that penetrate the thick fog, of uncanny, bare-branched trees, with thousands of the townsfolks’ Mosquito Witch dolls nailed to the bark. Curiously investigating the dolls reveals contradictory and confusing information, the dolls are in pristine condition but a patina of grime surrounding them suggest they have been there for a long time.
The woods give an eerie atmosphere, but there seems to also be more to find in the woods.
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The Varki circles the trees, senses keyed to a high level. At one point he pauses, then takes a few steps back and goes over an area of ground, squatting down to look more closely before rising to his feet and walking slowly to the northeast. He bends down every few feet and examines the ground, eventually stopping where the foliage grows thicker.
"Two things: there's a small sword on the ground there. I didn't pick it up. Second, a small humanoid approached here, then ran away into the woods. I lost the trail here. Someone needs to find out if the sword is magic."