"Hey, maybe next time you can teach me how to turn back into my normal, handsome form!" Wispil tells Sigrid. "For now, we have forest business to attend to."
"Like, what even is your normal form? An egg?"
After a bit of downtime in Corazal's grove, Emorga All-Seer communes with the conrasu and provides another prognostication: "A vision in green, poisoned by ancient betrayal. Interlopers, blind with greed, tread where they should not, awakening a thirst for vengeance long left unsated. Three sisters’ tears fall like rain, and where they land, hatred spreads like a sickening mold."
This vision may have to do with the Grove of Tears. Nearly everyone in the Andoren city of Bellis and its surrounding environs knows the Grove of Tears, even if few can agree on exactly what it is or how it got its name. Whether it grew from the tomb of a fallen fey warrior-queen or from the site of a long-forgotten battle, the average person’s recommendation is the same: stay out.
The Elder Oak takes you to a part of the forest near a small lumber camp. The camp has guards, a hastily erected palisade, and barricades, converting it into a makeshift military encampment. Overhead, the Andoren flag flaps in the wind at the top of a tall wooden pole. A short distance outside the camp lie carcasses of wild animals riddled with arrows—enormous wolves, a bear, and a moose.
On spotting you, a guard calls for you to hurry inside before more beasts arrive. Inside are a mix of laborers and militia from Bellis. You are soon directed to the office-turned-command-center headed by none other than the Eagle Knight Alyce Quinley. She smiles with relief upon seeing you.
"I didn’t expect to see you again so soon, not that we couldn’t use the help. I’ll make it quick: a sanctioned Lumber Consortium operation here recently requested additional security, given the violent rumors that followed the gala attack. I arrived with my forces a few days ago, apparently a day after the Consortium bigwig set off on a grand surveying expedition. We arrived to find the camp already under attack by animals, fought them off, and fortified our position. But something’s driving the beasts—they’ve been throwing themselves against the walls just trying to break in! There’s no sign of the surveyors, and I can’t spare troops to search without dooming the whole camp. Is there any chance I could convince you to go looking for us?"
Wispil likes Alyce, as much as he likes any Andoran, but his sympathies are all on the animals' side, here.
"Working with the Lumber Consortium, huh? I hear they'll steal anything that isn't nailed down. Then, steal the nails and everything else," the goose cynically comments.
"Were did this head honcho go? Is he off desecrating some sacred shrine or just kicking some puppies for laughs?"
"And, like, shouldn't we be trying to find what's making the animals attack? If only so they stop getting killed?"
"We'll find out what this 'bigwig' has done. We will try to fix it, but if that means you should go, you go." Alyce's words at the moot give her some credit. Some. "Where does the survey's trail begin?"
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Gentle Storm seems a bit uncomfortable by all the dead animals that aren't being taken care of and he's hesitant to step foot into the camp even. But he steels himself and follows the others.
"Something is wrong for certain. We have been warned of intruders going where they are not wanted. And an ancient betrayal seeping into the world again like a poison, I fear the co sortium or those surveyors are the cause. To go so boldly into the woodlands after what happened at the Gala... I can only suspect this was a planned action for if the pact failed to be signed again."
He tuts worriedly and begins pacing, "No, no this won't do we must hurry and find the source. Any direction you could give will help us end these mindless and pointless assaults. We cannot allow the wildlife to suffer like this. Was there perhaps anything unusual brought in, under cover of night perhaps?"
“Deegs Aggraive is the man in charge. He runs the Consortium lumber yards out of Bellis. This is his operation; I’m here to make sure he doesn’t get killed.” Alcye scoffs in exasperation. “Or at least try. Aggraive is greedy and corrupt, as are most Lumber Consortium leaders. However, the Consortium is a vital component of Andoran’s economy as well as its military, and it’s my sworn duty as an Eagle Knight to protect their interests on behalf of my homeland.
"I questioned the workers here, and Aggraive thinks there’s something powerful, or valuable, hidden out there in the woods in a place called the Grove of Tears. Seems he’s basing that on its cursed reputation and assumes it must be hiding something good. And now, with the chaos in the Verduran, I suppose he thought this was his chance.” Alyce shrugs with annoyance, as though this isn’t the first time she’s had to clean up after treasure-hunters.
"Whatever’s driving the beasts against the camp gives them incredible fortitude. Biggest damn bear I’ve ever seen tried to smash the southern barricade, and it took 30 arrows just to bring him down. All the beasts drool, too, almost like they’re rabid.” Alyce’s description of the bear does not match the werebear Sigrid’s appearance, fortunately.
Alessandria sets her jaw, none too pleased with Alyce's report. "Well. Then it will be as I said. We will seek Aggraive at this grove."
Kilitsi slumps. "Maybe we should like look at the bear and see if there's anything more than, like, magic? Like making them attack?"
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Gentle Storm continues to be in a worried tizzy until they leave the camp, having little more to offer in the conversation. Once they get back out however he begins looking over some if the fallen animals, speaking small hushed prayers in wildsong while trying to determine if there is any outward tell as to why these creatures were driven mad.
Rank 1: Flourishing Flora, Gentle landing, Heal
Rank 2: Web, Hidebound(reaction for allies taking damage), Quench
Rank 3: Wall of thorns, Crashing wave, Heal
"This Aggraive's brain has been rotted by greed if he thinks the 'Grove of Tears' sounds like a place full of treasure," Wispil observes. "I suppose we'll have to go fix whatever he's done that's disturbing the animals."
As you begin to wrap up your meeting with Alyce, you are interrupted by cries of alarm from outside. A massive hodag has managed to burrow under the southern wall and is now staggering toward the center of camp, sending terrified loggers fleeing in all directions! The bull-sized, reptilian beast is acting erratically, lashing out seemingly at random and with little regard for its own safety. Black sludge dribbles from its mouth.
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"Oh, no, what will happen to the loggers?" Wispil offers, sarcastically.
Alessandria smiles grimly at Wispil, but allows, "The beast does seem rabid. We should at least stop it from spreading that foulness"
She ignites the air around her in a blazing aura, sending a shrieking flame to harry the hodag.
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Ever the one to at least try to seek peace with his fellow dwellers in the woods Gentlestorm pulls free the wand and casts the spell within on himself.
"Great sibling please hold, you are not yourself! Tell us what drives you to such lengths. Leave and we will remove what ails you, but you cannot slaughter these innocents."
"ARGH! CRUSH! KILL! DESTROY!" the hodag roars, its crazed state preventing it from responding properly to Gentle Storm. It turns away from Alessandria's flying flame, only getting slightly scorched. It roars and rushes up to the centaur, swinging its spiked tail, but the clumsy attack misses.
Undeterred, the hodag vomits forth a stream of caustic black sludge at her!
Critical Success: No effect.
Success: The target’s mind is clouded by feelings of rage and hate, causing it to be off-guard against the hodag’s next attack. It can’t use actions with the concentrate trait unless they also have the rage trait.
Failure: As success, but the target is off-guard until the end of the hodag’s next turn. While off-guard, it is unable to use actions with the concentrate trait unless they also have the rage trait.
Critical Failure: As failure, but the target is off-guard until the hodag chooses a different target for its Vitriol.
Wispil sighs in resignation and channels the energy of the surrounding forest: A branch flings itself at the hodag and a small sapling sprouts next to Alessandria, protecting the area from hodag attacks.
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Hearing the rage of this creature Gentle Storm konws it's unlikely to be saved now, and that strange black goo tells him this is far from natural.
"I'm sorry for this sibling of the forest."
Placing his thumb and pointer finger in his mouth in a loose C shape he let's out a whistle and suddenly the entire lumber camp comes to life, with ephemeral spiders of unusual size, who turn and spray great gouts of webbing from their spinners at the crazed Hodag.
HP 75/75
AC 22
Fort +12, Ref +12, Will +9; Ancestral Geometry roll: xx (Reflex/Will/Fort)
Hero points: 2
Effects:
"Ew! Grody to the max! Like gag me with noxious vapors, why don't you?" Kilitsi complains as she wrinkles her snout.
Keeping her distance thanks to her prodigious reach, she slashes at the hodag.
Alessandria rears up, flames burning out of control as rage envelop her.
She grabs at the Hodag and tries to flip it onto its back before trotting away
Wispil's blast misses. He raises a tree to defend Alessandria. Kilitsi slashes the hodag but misses with her follow-up attack. She knows the forest beasts are very good at hiding in the woods, leaving no tracks behind. They are also fierce and notoriously hard to kill.
The lumber camp guards fire arrows down at the hodag, wounding it slightly.
Alessandria sweeps the hodag's legs out from under it, tripping it before backing away. Gentle Storm coats the beast with thick webbing.
The hodag gets to its feet slowly, hampered by the web. It roars as it rips and tears with its teeth and claws, shredding the webbing between itself and Alessandria. The centaur's aura scorches the hodag again.
"Can't say I feel very sorry about it. Clear out, you lumox!" Wispil shouts at the hodag, then channels a blast at it to punctuate the remark.
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Alessandria hurls a javelin of fire at the Hodag, whistling it back towards herself to scorch the lizard again!
HP 75/75
AC 22
Fort +12, Ref +12, Will +9; Ancestral Geometry roll: xx (Reflex/Will/Fort)
Hero points: 2
Effects:
"Like, don't kill it, though!" Kilitsi says. She attacks again, smacking the hodag with the flat of her ax.
Wispil fails to demoralize the hodag, but he does hit it with his blast. Kiltisi batters it twice with the flat of her axe. Alessandria misses with her blast but singes the beast with her flying flame. The lumber camp archers fire more arrows at the hodag while Gentle Storm impales it with needle darts.
The creature is gravely wounded but continues to fight, biting and clawing at Kilitsi. The tree Wispil conjured takes the brunt of the damage before falling. The minotaur is only lightly grazed.
"So, don't kill it? You're the boss!" Wispil takes the energy that he was going to thrust at the hodag and pushes it into the earth, causing another tree to spring up next to the creature. He flies over behind Kiltisi, ready to heal her if things get serious.
HP 67/75
AC 22
Fort +12, Ref +12, Will +9; Ancestral Geometry roll: xx (Reflex/Will/Fort)
Hero points: 2
Effects:
Kilitsi continues to batter away at the thing with the flat of her blade. The awkward style makes her miss badly at first, but then she finds her rhythm again. Her blows are even more punishing after the creature managed to hurt her a second ago.
"Very well, but if this beast breaks free, I strike to kill."
Alessandria trots around to the hodag's flank with a flare of her burning aura, then seizes hold of it, trying to keep it from savaging any but her and Kilitsi.
The archers hit the hodag with more arrows, but the fierce beast doesn't fall until Kilitsi smacks it with the flat of her axe. Then it finally goes down, unconscious.
Alyce gives a sigh of relief. "We're lucky you were here. That beast could have caused significant damage if you hadn't taken it down so swiftly."
The viscous black residue oozing from the hodag's eyes and mouth radiates strong primal magic, but it is unrecognizable as any known chemical or magical substance.
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Examining the strange sludge-like substance dripping from the Hodag, Gentle Storm fears for the worst.
"Lucky indeed... Please secure it outside of the camp and tend to it's wounds. If we break whatever curse is doing this, then we shall know quickly weather or not the creatures affected by it are beyond saving or to be put down to save the forest."
He looks to the others with an anxiety not often seen on his features, "We should hurry.."
"Agreed. The sooner we get out of here, the better!" Wispil gives the hodag a pat on the side and gets ready to head into the forest.
Kilitsi nods, ignoring the small scratch from the hodag. "So I guess we go find the Grove of Tears now?" she asks dubiously. She sets out -- heading back the way the group came.
Alessandria nods grimly. "Something has filled this beast with hate."
Deegs Aggraive and his men left camp via a rough logging trail that stretches about two miles southwest into the forest. Fortunately, you can easily follow the obvious trail of broken branches and crushed undergrowth left behind by Deegs’s expedition as it moved beyond the trail’s end and pressed deeper into the woods.
After traveling for about two hours beyond the end of the trail, you suddenly become aware of the sound of rustling leaves and snapping twigs from the forest ahead. Moments later, a trio of humanoid figures slowly emerge from the forest. They appear to be Lumber Consortium loggers; however, it is immediately clear that something is very wrong with them. Like the hodag, a viscous black substance oozes from the loggers’ eyes and mouths, and their movement is jerky and uncoordinated. Upon spotting you, all three loggers utter screams of rage and lope forward to attack!
"How do a few humans make such a mess in the forest? Broken branches everywhere," Wispil complains as they follow the trail. "And we're the ones traveling with a stampede."
Wispil calls up the elements and lashes out at the lead human, then lets a wave of water wash over the trio.
Alessandria ignites her aura and sends a whirling battleaxe of flame careening across the loggers.
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"We hardly have the time to deal with all of this. But they seem to be afflicted just the same as the Hodag so we should see make an attempt to incapacitate them at least."
Kneeling to the earth Gentlestorm places a hand on her sacred loamy surface. "Aid us in securing these wayward souls."
Vines begin quickly sprouting and lashing across the path looping and coiling ontop of one another in a frenzied growth that quickly sprawls upwards into a maze of bramblethorns.
"The hodag didn't begin all this madness with its greed."
HP 75/75
AC 22
Fort +12, Ref +12, Will +9; Ancestral Geometry roll: 5 (Fort)
Hero points: 1
Effects:
"Ew! I better not look like that with the dirt you rubbed on me!" Kilitsi complains as she sees the attackers approach. As Gentle Storm calls up a wall of thorns, she takes up a guard stance.
The loggers dodge Alessandria's flame but are blasted by Wispil's water. Gentle Storm raises a wall of thorns and Kiltisi moves up alongside it, ready to attack.
The loggers plunge headlong through the wall, heedless of the thorns. As the first emerges from the wall, Kiltisi slices her with her axe. The minotaur realizes that though their minds are suffused with hate, the unfortunate humans are exhausted and ready to drop. Nonlethal damage would be particularly effective against them.
Though they have hatchets hanging from their belts, the loggers fight like animals, trying to rip Kilitsi apart with their bare hands and teeth.
Wispil wings his way over to Kilitsi, splashes her with some healing water, and fires a branch at one of the loggers.
for
HP 68/75
AC 22
Fort +12, Ref +12, Will +9; Ancestral Geometry roll: 5 (Fort)
Hero points: 1
Effects:
Kilitsi flashes a smile at Wispil, and changes her tactic, using the blunt edge of her ax again. "Like, I should just get a hammer at this rate," she says. Her aim is badly off, however.
Alessandria tetches, sending her aura to wash over the loggers in a merciless wave.
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"Just because they are affected doesn't mean they are responsible, but we shall deal with them accordingly once we know for sure."
The druid moves to bonk the men with the haft end of his spear hoping to incapacitate them. Though as he does so it occurs to him that they'll likely be worse for the wear left in the woods in this state, hopefully they aren't far from their destination then.
The loggers dodge away from Alessandria's fire blast. Wispil wings one with a branch. Kilitsi's wide sweep misses all of your opponents, but Gentle Storm knocks one out with a critical hit! As the man falls, the black residue spills from their eyes and mouths and seeps into the ground as the curse that was afflicting him releases its hold.
The two remaining loggers continue to savagely attack Kilitsi! The minotaur goes down under several critical hits! The second loggers steps up to punch Gentle Storm!
Wispil kicks up a soothing herbal brew around Kiltisi, and a healing fruit grows in her hands.