Bounty Hunters - Session 24

Bad Vibes in Kellee

• Without fanfare, it begins to rain.
• They keep rummaging around, but focus their efforts toward the administrative center, hoping to find some clues to fill in the many gaps in their knowledge.
  • The church in the middle (Alexandrian) has been boarded up around all its first floor. Bern notices a hole that once held a nail, and a short search finds what was probably held there: An effigy of straw, with a crumpled crown of camellias.
  • They thump around trying to ascend to get some intel, but few are enthusiastic about the prospect, and the one person (Whip) who is is too exhausted to manage.
  • Looking for tools, they go into a building to one side. It's a small manor for some muckity-muck, full of expensive stuff just lying around they were evidently too much in trouble to take with them.
    • They find a safe, and pop it open with some effort. It contains
      • [ed list here, forgot to write it down]
    • No crowbar, though.
  • More looking does eventually find something. Whip pops a back muscle getting one of the boards off. The bell starts to ring.
  • Madrin uses a 2nd-level slot to _misty step_ up, but the slickness from the rain causes her to lose footing, and she _feather falls_ down with no further intel gained.
  • Elian sacrifices a use of Wild Shape to go into monkey form. He looks into the bell tower, and is immediately struck with enough negative damage to almost pop him out of wild shape.
  • He does not see what did it, and does not hang around to find out.
  • This turns the last "soft yes" into a "hard no", so the group leaves Kellee's secrets behind.

Viktal

• They keep following the river. It enters a forest, which they avoid by heading West. Some while later, they pick it back up.
• Miles pass and stuff slowly becomes more visibly inhabited, with signs of transhumance grazing softly rolling into fields of grain.
• A village and a lake come into view simultaneously. They approach.
  • Scarecrows are common, which isn't particularly creepy. What is creepy, though, is how they all look like sized-up versions of the effigy they found, with their own crowns of camellia flowers.
• As they come to the village proper, they see activity.
  • All are human (very notably, there are zero halflings, a necessary feature of any town on the Mainland by a river even in habitations otherwise dominated by human settlement). There are also very few children.
  • They have strange bliemishes. Some have small, horn like bumps on their foreheads. Others have bumps on the back of their pants that writhe, as if they carried a frog in their back pockets.
  • Several adults are chopping meat, salting it, and weaving it into cloaks with heavy twine.
  • They regard the group with a sign of bemused curiosity, cocking their heads and looking their way as they walk in.
  • A lovingly painted mural depicts a woman's face made of moth wings, watching over an explicitly detailed scene of butchery, or... something similar. The painting appears to be reasonably fresh, with no sign of sun bleaching

• One approaches. Their left eye socket is empty, and they were around their neck a wicker doll with a necklace of hempen twine. Conversation ensues:

Greetings, strangers! Welcome to Viktal!

My name is Alaric.

(Joana: I am Joana. We're here looking for someone.)

Oh? Well, the village is small and we do not often travel beyond our borders. Tepest is dangerous outside of Mother's watch. I know everyone in town, I am happy to assist you. We love receiving strangers.

(Joana: Would that be Mother Lorinda?)

I do not know this name, "Lorinda." But, Mother is our protector and guardian.

(Joana: Would we be able to meet her?)

Indeed, you come at an auspicious time. We are preparing for our seasonal festival where we honor our Mother - the Tithe. Perhaps. She has been known to make an appearance during the festival.

(Bern: Many years ago, the Mother we seek made a deal with someone. We seek to renew that deal. May we meet with her before the festival? )

She is not at my command, I am at hers. Please, though, consider yourself welcome here. We do not often get strangers here and I am sure many here are curious for news of the world outside our idyllic mountain valley The Fisher's Rest can provide room and food for you, and many townsfolk gather in the common tavern at night to drink and carouse

(Joana: Can you tell us more about the festival?)

Indeed! The festival is called The Tithe, taking place four times a year during equinoxes and solstices. It takes place tomorrow where we revel in the bounty and celebration of life.

(Joana: We passed through an abandoned town to the southwest of here. Do you know what happened to it?)

He does not like the mention of Kellee. It was the first location that Mother offered her blessings. They did not trust her. They called her a charlatan. They rejected her. The city failed as a result.

(Bern: How is someone chosen for Mother's Blessing?)

Whoever wins the most games.

(Madrin: Were any folks here in Kellee before?)

Oh, no, mother has been our benefactor for many generations. My own father was one of Mother's Minders, like myself. Kellee failed long before I was born.

(Madrin: Ah, what does a Minder do?)

We serve as the agent's of mother's guidance in town. We marry folks, provide advice.

(religion check: "What we seem to have here is a cult, and mother's Minders act as some sort of proto-clergy")

(Whip: What's the significance of the crowns of flowers?)

They just look nice, don't you think? (laugh) Mother likes them. They are her favorite flowers. It can also be brewed into a calming tea. Additionally, the petals can be made into an oil that is used for the sharpening of blades. It grows up in the mountains. We harvest it to make oil, tea, and poultices

• Session ends there, with the group finding themselves at the cusp of a celebration that is totally not going to descend into cannibalism or some other weird thing.