The Plaguewood Spider
The party can see a humble storefront at the base of a great poplar tree. On the boardwalk in front of it, a portly dobber woman with long braided blond hair Marge Pebblerest, leans on a broom. A thin goblin Splugg wearing a tailored purple velvet overcoat is talking to her, gesturing with exasperation. Wild, unkempt hair dances on his head as he gestures to a wagon across the road from them. The wagon has a few open crates and a number of jugs and barrels in the back. A single fox is comfortably harnessed to it, pawing the ground.
Pebblerest General Store
DC 15 to listen :
Splugg has a standing order for milk and cheese from Harold. Marge was just explaining that Harold isn't available and won't be until he can retrieve his goats. But she assured him that Harold would get the order together as soon as possible. That's not good enough for Splugg.
When the two see the you approaching, they abruptly stop their conversation. The woman forces a smile toward you. The goblin grins manically, seeming to have just won an argument.
"See," the goblin exclaims, "you have customers! If Harold can't make the cheeses
The Trail
As you follow the trail, it begins to rain. The forest becomes uncomfortably dense and damp. Wet leaves hang low, crowding and obscuring the path. Wet fog hovers above the soft earth. Just off the trail, a Rot Squirrel struggles to pull itself free of an odd smear of mud. The mud has a grey, stony look to it. The squirrel is strangely lethargic.
Upon closer examination, the characters will see that the squirrel is in the midst of turning to stone. Players can easily free it or attack. DC10 Nature check : Though petrifying mud can be cleaned from the squirrel, freeing it, if it has rot poisoning it will not live long.
DC16 perception check : The party avoid a surprise round.
While the party is distracted by the squirrel stuck in the gray mud, 6 rot squirrels drop out of the trees. Four of the rot squirrels focus their attacks on the one character that was closest to the squirrel that was stuck in the mud. The other two attack the next closest.
The Trail 2
The trail becomes more difficult to follow as the rain washes away the mud and tracks. A successful DC15 Wisdom (survival) roll allows them to easily follow the path, leading them on to The Cave.
If they fail, the party is temporarily lost. Their wandering leads to a shallow pond less than 45 feet across. The sounds of croaking toads mixes with the loud patter of heavy rain.
A number of large Rot Toad sit along the bank of this pond, seeming to pay no attention to you or the rain pouring over them.A character can see that these toads have rot poisoning without approaching if they succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom (Survival) check at disadvantage.
Rot Toads attack if a player gets within 5'. Once the first toad attacks proceed with initiative : 9 (2d6+2) rot toads join the combat. If the party flees the pond, the toads do not pursue. If the party explores the whole pond, they find 2 more groups of rot toads, each with 9 (2d6+2) toads.
The Cave :
DC 10 Investigation : The party stumbles upon a fresh smear of gray mud and have found the trail again.
Your clothing and gear is now saturated from the rain. Your feet are caked in mud as it becomes more and more difficult to step around pools of water on the trail. A rocky outcropping rises in front of you, the path coming to an end. Wet vines and moss are draped down the rocks like a curtain. Gray mud clings to the rocks, particularly at the base. Some of the leaves appear to be gray and brittle, like stone.
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