Perfectly Balanced, As All Things Should Be
Melanie Fallenbranch, on behalf of the Emerald Autumn, has asked for the party's assistance to "correct imbalances" in the natural order of the world.
Scarecrow Livestock Massacres
The first issue she brought to the party's attention is a disturbance in the farmlands outside of Brightridge. It appears that a scarecrow has been coming to life at night and killing livestock. The City Watch have not taken the matter seriously. The reward for this task would be 40gp (negotiated up from 30gp by Lyra Dune).Reconnaissance
Vathash chose to head to the Rusty Bucket farm alone overnight, to observe while the rest of the party slept. At about 3 in the morning, a scarecrow started to move. A wooden claw emerged from its hand to kill a cow, and another scarecrow then became animated to help the other drag the dead cow away to a wooded area. Vathash pursued in silence, watching from distance, and followed them to the ruins of an older farmhouse about a hour further away - perhaps 100 years old, made of stone, and overgrown with trees and foliage. To the side of this farmhouse was a tent. A hooded figure emerged to carve up pieces from the meat - appearing to carefully carve off specific portions of the animal. This figure had a hand made of gold, or a gold-like metal, with pointed fingers. The other arm bore a tattoo on the forearm, which Vathash recognized as the tattoo of a Reivan elder.Attempted Contact
The next evening, the party returned together and attempted to make contact with the Elder. They received no answer, except to be attacked by a group of animated scarecrows and fleshborne horrors constructed of putrid animal flesh. The Elder was not in her tent.A Fight to the Inconvenience!
After waiting until nightfall, the Elder returned. After a brief and distrustful attempt at dialogue, a fight ensued when she attempted to set her tent and its contents on fire. The ensuing conflict was not decisively decided, as once the tent was aflame, the Elder offerred to stand down if the party would just let it burn - an offer that the party accepted. Speaking on less confrontational, though still far from friendly terms, the mysterious elder revealed herself to be a powerful Reivan Lashan Valchek vas Koros wizard - or rather, a Simulacrum thereof. She claimed to be in the area to conduct research and experiments on what could be accomplished with flesh, and promised that she would leave the area and end this activity now that the evidence of her work had been destroyed. The party returned to Melanie Fallenbranch the next day to inform her of the task's completion, and to accept a reward.
Completion Date
2022-09-11
2022-09-11
Plot type
Quest
Subplots
Related Characters
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