Nearly Impossible Creature Killers

[applegater42]

The small village of Falcon’s Hollow is a wild place. Nestled in the shadow of Droskar’s Crag, the people of Falcon’s Hollow are hearty and stern. Theirs is a life of hardships, broken only occasionally by a handful of festivals and the infrequent merchant caravan.

They face constant adversity from both the wilderness and the wiles of man. Wolves nip at their heels and cutpurses ply at their pockets. It is a testament to their strength that they even manage to survive at all.

[applegater42]

Your journeys have taken you to the country of Andoran and now to the small town of Falcon's Hallow. You feel the chill wind of autumn begin to blow away the heat of summer as the leaves in the trees of darkmoon veil slowly change to a mix of reds, browns, and oranges, Painting the once green forest.

Long before seeing the town you were met with the low tones of church bells and as you come into site of the town you see why. There is a funeral on the outskirts, near the forest edge in a haphazard cemetery. A simple wooden box is being lowered into the group while a priest in white speaks to a small procession of grievers.

[Manoc]

Scout walks behind the group, He looked over at the funeral that is happening."What do you guys think? Should we go to the inn or stop and pay our respects?"Scout adjusted his backpack for a brief second before he continued walking with the group awaiting for a decision

[Psychictrain]

Moonfever looks at the funeral with a small curiosity. she cant quite make out the expressions on the peoples faces so she is wondering if this is an actual grieving processes or wonders if they are there simply because funerals are what happens when people die. "I say we check it out, maybe we can find out what happened"

[TSM Lancelot]

Adam survey's the townsfolk in the distance. His grey eyes scanning the crowd and resting on the priest, he shakes his head

Nay, we should wait until the service has concluded, we do not know the person and should show our respect and keep our distance. Best not to go snooping around at such a solemn affair.

Adam shifts his stance and strokes his beard

We can investigate when the crowd disperses

[yogitommymc]

Klien nods his head in agreement
I could certainly use an ale right now and inns are always ripe with gossip.

[Manoc]

Scout looked back at the funeral and it's patrons, Looking for some one to take notice of them watching
"We can check it out after the mourners leave. We just arrived to this town, I doubt the people at the funeral be to open telling us what happened to that person"
Scout glanced back to the other in the group as he noticed they were approaching town. He then put his hat of disguise back on his head,changing his look to be more friendly and less like a crossbow-for-hire
"Remember every one, best smiles" Scout said as a sarcastic reminder to himself

[applegater42]

As you come closer to the village you begin to see it's layout. Falcon's Hallow is a small lumber town, likely little more then 1,000 citizen population. with a wooden wall surrounding half the town, ending at the river foam. You can see lumber floating down the river to be caught at the lumber yard for processing.

Atop a hill on the eastern side of town is an area called the high market, itself surrounded by a wall. Below that is the lower market and further west is a large boarding house called the Jak'n'napes, built to house the lumberjacks without houses of there own. The houses of the regular townsfolk lie against the western wall.

In the low market are a number of taverns to cater to the large population of laborers, the least seedy looking is a pub known as The Sitting Duck, which appears to have a second story of rooms for rent. The other two taverns in town are The Rogue Lady and The Goose 'n' Gander.

Aside from the taverns there is a small courthouse/sherifs station, a general goods store, a Temple of Iomedae, and an apothecary denoted as "Roots and Remedies" by a worn wooden sign above the door. There is a long line on anxious looking townsfolk stretching from the last building.

[TSM Lancelot]

I feel as though I may be stating the obvious but perhaps we should try the "Roots and Remedies" shop?

Looks to his companions and raises his left eyebrow

And... Scout. I don't think even with your "Best Smile" you're going to fool anyone.

[Psychictrain]

Moonfever looks at the Roots and Remedies shop line and wonders what you could possibly wait for. she cant really focus on what the others are saying and repeats "I think we should go see the Roots and Remedies, i wonder what remedy is so exciting that everyone wants to wait for it" She puts on her best smile and starts to line up with the rest.

[yogitommymc]

Klien nods his head and heads over to roots and remedies with Moonfever

"Probably just some snake oil or root water someones selling to these small town rubes as "magic"

[Manoc]

"It is still worth checking out Klien" Scout commented as they approached the entrance of Roots and Remedies."Any one have any thing in mind of what they are looking for?"Scout mentioned as he looked at Moonfever. He noticed that she was the most excited of the group to enter the shop

[TSM Lancelot]

Adam shakes his head and lets on a heavy sigh

Lets look at what we know, the people look anxious lining up for a Remedy of some kind and there is an on going funeral, perhaps theres a plague or sickness about that the shop-keep would know of.

He follows Moon-Fever towards the shop and waits at her side, scanning the line

[applegater42]

the line you find yourself in is comprised of twenty some townsfolk—some with pale, wheezing children, others using makeshift canes to stand upright. After nearly an hour of watching people enter and exit the store it is finally your turn.

As you enter the room the smell of burnt earth and spicy incense chokes the air of the cramped, mud-tracked shop. Bunches of dried herbs hang from the ceiling, along with dangling pots, presses, alchemical apparatuses, and glassware of more arcane purposes. Pouches of rare plants, jars of colored glass, and all manner of dried, preserved, and jellied animal parts fill high shelves and tables doing double duty as displays and workspaces. In the shop’s rear, a rail-thin woman with severe-l*ooking spectacles and hair pulled back tightly busies herself between an overpacked rack of herbs, a table covered in stray powders and measuring equipment, and a pot loudly bubbling over with thick gray froth. Over the din of her work and without looking up, the woman impatiently shouts, “And what’s your problem?”

[TSM Lancelot]

Adam straightens himself up and looks to the Shopkeep

Greetings Madame, we were actually here to gather some information. We noticed the large line to your Shop and the Funeral down the way and though there might be some trouble in the town and would like to offer our assistance if there is.

[applegater42]

“You want to help and you don't even know what it is, I admire your neivite." she says, while continuing to stir.
“well I can fill you in but I need to keep the line moving. We call it blackscour, its Just a fungus that’s not good for anything. Hard, bitter, and sharp, it likes the water and gets you sick if you drink it down. Never heard of it growing around these parts, though, until now.”

[Manoc]

Scout nods his head as he looks her
"Do you remember when exactly the first person got sick? or even how long it takes for people to show symptoms or even die from this fungus?"
He said trying to gather as much information from her as he could before they had to leave the store

[applegater42]

"we found them spores in the well last week but by the time we shut it down half the town had it. A healthy adult can survive it with plenty of bed rest and a few cups of my urdroot tea. The problem is our old and young. Lots of them are just about on deaths door."

[yogitommymc]

Were is the source of your well water?. perhaps we could find and remove this fungi and find a way to purify the well again.

[applegater42]

"I'm not really the one to talk to about the fungus itself. I know the sherif closed down the well, didn't really need it in the first place livin' along a fresh water river. Not that it would help the folks that already got it."

[Psychictrain]

After listening intently to the conversation, and watching her stir the pot to create more tea so many questions race through her mind. she decides the old woman is not the one who can provide us witj many more answers so finally moonfever pipes up.

"Could it be possible someone introduced the fungus?? Why would someone want to do that?? who can give us that answer? Why would you build a well if you didn't need one? so the location of the well will be helpful as well. Also can we get some of your tea?"

Moonfever shuffles through her backpack and pulls out some gold for the woman.

[applegater42]

The herbalist ' brows lower in annoyance and she looks at moon fever with a puzzled expression.
"again, if you want to know about the well talk to sherif belson. But if you came to buy some tea I have some pouches right ready, that will be 50 silver."

[TSM Lancelot]

Adam nods his head and looks to the group

So, shall we investigate further? I sense there may be some foul play.

Adam then turns to the Shop-Keep

I'll take some of that tea Miss

[Manoc]

Scout reached into his bag on his back and pulled out a gold coin
"I'll take one as well"
He looked at the rest of his party
"And after we are finished here let's go find the sheriff"

[applegater42]

As the herbalist takes your money and hands you three cloth bags containing her tea she seems distracted, as if wrestling with a thought in her mind.

As you turn to leave she pipes out "wait... you said yall wanted ta' help and I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try. I think I know of a cure."

[Psychictrain]

"A cure?" Moonfever thinks to herself "if you know of a cure then why haven't you told anyone?? Why haven't you tried to pass that out instead of this Tea?"

[applegater42]

"If I had the cure I wouldn't be selling the tea to these folks But it's got ingredients I don't have, besides that I don't even know if it will work. It's a recipe in my grandmother's book, she taught me ma everything she knew and me ma taught me, she was a part of the exploration team that first mapped this area and found a use for damn near every plant around and ended her exploring days by trading her sight to the witch of the Forrest herself for a few pages for her herbalists book. One of the recipes says it's good for this kind of thing but it looks more like hoojoo then real medicine. But if you folks want to help you could go find the ingredients I'm missing out in the veil."

[TSM Lancelot]

Adam ponders for a moment, strokes his beard and nods.


Aye, Miss what exactly are you missing? I suppose we could scope them out after talking to the Sheriff, we should find out how the water was tainted before seeking out the cure. What say you?

Adam looks to the party with his right eye cocked

[applegater42]

"Let's see, I need elderwood moss, rat's tail, and ironbloom mushrooms. Says the moss grows on the oldest tree in the forrest, damned if I know where that is though.

The mushrooms grow in caves thick with metal and I hear dwarves grow em, Way north, toward the mountains, people say there used to live a bunch of dwarves. They’re not there anymore, but I’d bet their forges are. If you can find ironbloom anywhere around here, that’d be your best bet. I'll need 7 to make enough for everyone.

Rat's tail is some kind of pickled root I've never heard of, but Ulizmila, the witch of the forrest, might. She’s a crafty, mean thing that knows all sorts of strangeness. She might even have one. I don’t know what she might want for it, but I doubt it’d come cheap. My grandmother traded her sight to the old crone for a few pages of what she knew, and that was years and years back, and I don’t know a soul who got any nicer as they got older.”

[Manoc]

Scout listened to the information to think about the possible outcomes of each place
"The things i'm worried about is what had the dwarfs leave the mine, and that witch"
He rubbed his eyes thinking of the order they should try getting the ingredients in, then cracked a small smile trying to lighten the mood
"Wouldn't it great if the Witch LIVED in the oldest tree in the forest, save us a lot of ache trying to find one tree in a forrest"
He remarked humorously, then chuckled a little amused at his own humor

[yogitommymc]

Ill go talk to the sheriff and see what he knows about the well, and i'll have a friend fly out and scout the forest. That way we can at least have an idea of were this witch can be if not an exact location.

[Psychictrain]

"The witch of the forest can p[rovide many answers if not a new amount of spells. she would be more my fancy" thought moonfever.


"The witch could provide us with more info on the ingredients than the sheriff can i think we should visit her first. she can answer many questions and if we can get her to teach us some things we have a better chance of living through this illness. we need to find her as soon as possible. being a witch myself we can definitely relate and im sure we could get all the info or shake her down for what we need.

Moonfever gets a wicked smile as she grows more excited to get with a new witch besides her parents.


"Maybe we can seperate the group to go and get things faster"

[TSM Lancelot]

I say we speak to the sheriff get some information about what may have caused this before we go chasing after a cure. What is the point of curing it if we can't get rid of the underlying cause?


Thinks for a moment

If you insist on splitting up I will go with whoever wishes to seek out the Witch in the Forest

[Manoc]

"I'll go with you Klien, and once we get an answer we will meet up with Moonfever and Adam"
Scout looked at both Moonfever and Adam
"You two better not start the 'fun' with out me"
He said with a little smile, it has been a while since they got into a fight, he hoped he wasn't getting rusty

[applegater42]

"Thank ya for trying to help. this far north we don't get much good coming to us. If you need help finding anything out in the veil a good place to start might be the lumber camp outside of town. The workers know more about the forest then anyone in town."

[yogitommymc]

After we talk to the sheriff i can have my eidolon scout the forest from the sky so we can get a better layout and a birds eye view.

[Psychictrain]

Perfect! Adam Let's Go

Moonfever grabs Adam's arm in an attempt to hurry him towards the door failing until he starts to walk as well.

[TSM Lancelot]

Follows as his arm is tugged out the door with Moonfever


Off and away I suppose? I'll see you chaps later on.

Waves to the party as he exits the Shop, a nervous look on his face

[Manoc]

"That leaves the two of us, let's go" Scout motioned his head towards the door as he walked slowly outside waiting for Kilien to catch up

[yogitommymc]

Klien heads outside Alright scout lets go gather more info from the sheriff so we can meet up with the others and get this show on the road.

[Psychictrain]

As Moonfever pulls adam's arm in excitement with every word she utters she asks a million questions, adam cant get a word in, until finally the only important one comes up and she stops dead in her tracks.

Do you think the witch will be willing to help us or do you think that she wants a fight first? would she want us to prove our worth?"

[TSM Lancelot]

Listens carefully

If it's a fight the Witch will want it's one she will get, however, we should try a diplomatic route. If we can avoid bloodshed, we should.

[applegater42]

Laurel the herbalist waves you goodbye as you leave her shop. "Hurry back, every hour could be another life. Everyone who's going to die will likely go within the week and it's a big forrest."

Moonfever and Adam make there way to the lumber yard situated at the edge of the forrest 1 mile from the town. Without any heavy equipment the camp can be moved to keep up with the deforestation. Some lumberjacks are busy trimming trees to be sent upstream while others are chopping down the tall dark wood trees that make up the forrest. At the center of the camp sits a sturdy tent, a flag depicting a pair of axes hangs atop the central poll.

[applegater42]

Scout and Kilen make there way across to the courthouse. On the way they here the coughing coming from the line of people leading from the store you just left and stretching almost to the courthouse. There is an air of sadness to the line with no sense of hope at all. As you enter the courthouse you are greeted by a front desk of sorts, seated at which is a deputy sherif who introduces himself as Jaran.

[Manoc]

Scout walked into the courthouse slowly, taking in every thing that he walked to the front desk "Ok be friendly don't make him turn us away because I was rude" scout thought to himself as he spoke"Hello good sir,My name is Scout and this is my friend Kilen, and we are travelers wanting to know a little bit about what happened here so we could help"

[applegater42]

"well if by what's happening here you mean the hacking cough we got then I suppose I could be of help. It started about 2 weeks ago when people started to get sick, we couldnt figure out what it was till someone noticed mold spots inside the well. Laurel the herbalist told us it was blackscour and the sheriff ordered the well closed. It's not spreading but everyone who drank from the well has it, now everyone's worried about the young and old."

[yogitommymc]

Klien nods his head Do you know were the source of the well water comes from,and was there anyone who may have had reason to contaminate it?

[applegater42]

"the well water comes from underground, rain water seeps in and gets filtered by all the rocks so it's supposed to be safe to drink. You think someone put the fungus there?"

[Psychictrain]

Moonfever makes a quick gesture to Adam, in hopes he will follow into the camp.

"lets check out this tent. they may be able to point us in the right direction.why are they destroying the forest? to build more homes? maybe the witch is angry with them. will we have to fight for this men? keeping in mind of avoiding as much bloodshed as possible we may want to warn these men of the witch if they dont already know"

Moonfever walks up to the tent in the center and yells inside

" HELLLLLLLO IS someone in there? we have very important things to ask to help us find who we are looking for? is that too vague? we have more questions if you are interested and even if you are not, please speak with us!!! we must find this girl"

[applegater42]

The inside of the tent is brown with red drapings, there is a large table at its center. An even larger man sits at the table, a map of darkwood vale sits on the table, with many markings denoting lumber troup movement.

He looks up with a start as a young woman's head peaks it's way into the tent and as she speaks, shock quickly becomes replaced by annoyance. Before she can finish her ramblings he interrupts her. "What the hell are you doing in my office!"

[TSM Lancelot]

Adam steps into the tent behind Moonfever nodding to the gentleman


Greetings sir pardon the intrusion, I am Sir Adam Pyremont, me and my associate are seeking information about the forest, more specifically the rumored Witch that lives inside. We're here to see what we can do to help your town with the sickness that's been spreading and the herbalist told of us of the Witch that resides in the forest that may have information on a cure. Would you or your men know of where she lives?