Session 9: Within The Canopy Report
General Summary
The party awakens to the sound of rainfall throughout their rooms. Though their rooms are small, the beds are comfortable, made with down, and suspended off the ground. The pitter patter of rain drips constantly against the side of the inn, opening up to the lightest bit of sunshine pouring in from outside.
Naomi stretches from her bedside, looking out to the window, yawning as she fails to determine the time from the clouds looming overhead.
Ragia hides under her comfy blankets, still unused to the sound of rain on the surface. Eleanor meanwhile wakes up, snapping awake and sitting upright before pausing. "Oh right, rain."
Naomi gets up and wraps her winter blanket around her shoulders while making her way upstairs. Upon doing so, the hostess spots her, waving her down. "It looks like the mayor wishes to speak with you at his home if you are looking for a bit of work. He said he would prepare breakfast for you should you visit."
After being told this, the rest of the party makes their way upstairs, Ayame herself coming first, being carried by her companion up the stairs for her.
Eleanor also came in at the tail end of the hostess' comment, looking for breakfast she looks to Naomi, "We headin' to the mayors then Nao?"
Naomi makes her way to Ragia's room, knocking on her door. "Maaaayoooor daaay."
Ragia fixes themselves up, groggilly making her way to the rest of the group.
Ayame waves to everyone from the arms of Sebastian. "Moorniing."
"Oh! Good morning Ayame!" Naomi says, looking a tad flustered today.
"Rain and fire dun mix together, I hope things clear up soon." Ragia mutters.
"I myself love the rain, Its very calming." Ayame says, swishing her tail and wiggling in Sebastians arms.
Eleanor hums. "It's real pretty I'll give it that, just a lil weird. That and I keep thinking something's pitter patterin' on the walls."
Naomi hums slightly. "We're IN the tree right? How is the rain reaching us through the canopy?"
"Well..." Ayame says, "Leaves don't just absorb all the water, I imagine its coming down through it"
"Mhnn...I realize that, but I've been under a few trees in my life during the rain, as I'm sure you all have. And it's usually much dryer under those trees. Iunno, seems weird that so much rain is coming thru. ANYWAYS, lets... go to the mayors place ya?" Naomi says with a smile.
Eleanor hums, thinking to herself for a moment. "Mayors, sure-WAIT! Is there food there? Ellie needs something to eat."
The entire party sits and stares at each other for a long minute, not saying anything, before Ragia pipes up. "didn't the hostess say the mayor would have breakfast ?"
This was responded to by another full minute of silence before Ayame blinks, piping up. "So...are we going to the mayors?"
"Yup!" Naomi replies.
Eleanor Nods. "If they have food, for sure."
Ragia blinks as well, with a little concerned that nobody replied to her question. "Well, did you remember the hostess telling us the mayor would have breakfast for us? I just want to make sure im not imagining things."
"Ooh I think I heard that as I was coming up. lead the way!" Ayame says to Naomi.
"Free food!" Eleanor cheers as they start to walk upstairs onto the tree again.
Remembering where they were directed the previous day, the party approaches a shell shaped batch of leaves, looking like a conch shell standing upright on a branch before it descends to the water below. Even from this angle, it appears that the mayor has a boat docked at the bottom of the branches.
On entering the mayors house, the party finds that the interior is decorated in a fine polished fashion. Everything is decorated with woven willow leaf walls, and weaves of polished willow branches on nearly every surface that isn't covered with fine cloth. In the front room as you enter, there are six beds temporarily set up, with elves looking extremely sick, half of them with buckets next to their bed that are partially filled with a red substance. It doesn't take long to see one of the elves flip over from their back and using the bucket for its intended purpose, vomiting a reddish tinged bile into the bucket before laying back down.
Before the party does or says anything about the matter however, an elf in silvered robes with a holy symbol makes their way to them from a back room. "Ahh, the adventuring party I heard so much about. Welcome to Soulsaisir. Willows Reach for the common tongue. I am Chief Golv. The mayor and doctor for our small hamlet."
Ayame covers her face with her kimono sleave at the sight, but acknowledging Golv. "Ah... A pleasure to meet you!"
Naomi also approaches Golv. "Greetings! I'm Nahemah Dai'Gishkin and these are my compatriots...I notice you have some sickly Elves here. I'm a Cleric, may I look at them to see if I could possibly help? It pains my heart to see suffering such as this."
"I have them well taken care of for now." he says, giving Naomi a nod of approval. "They will be fine once the disease finally settles. They should be fine by tomorrow afternoon really. We could discuss business over breakfast however." he says, motioning to the back room, where a cloth looks to be temporarily draped over a rounded archway.
Eleanor blinks and looks around to the kind of... gross.. muttering a bit quietly to herself, "Don't like that feelin familiar", she then looks down to Naomi and speaks at a normal level, "weren't ya doin a summoning spell?"
Naomi elbows Eleanor, muttering to her, "I did that LAST night." she says in a hushed tone.
"Ah...if I might interject...how did they fall ill?" Ayame questions Golv.
"Its Bile Blood. I would assume its from the rodents I want to hire you to find and kill." The chief says.
"you must have an iron stomach to still be hungry when dealing with this in your home"
Golv turns to Ragia with a smile. "After thirty years of cuts, bruises, scrapes and the occasional broken bone, you get used to travelers being sick from time to time."
"We are able to handle such sights, it was just unexpected to see in the Mayor's home."
Ayame nods, walking by the others to the table behind the curtain.
"Now onto different business, you mentioned you wanted to hire us? What's that about?"
Eleanor stands still for a moment, "uhg, uh.. gals? While you have you're discussion, I'm going to wait outside if thats alright with yall."
"Okay Eleanor, are you sure?" Naomi says, turning to her companion. "We never got the food you mentioned wanting."
Eleanor waves her hand with a dismissive gesture and shakes her head, "If there's food just gimme a heads up, not hungry right now anyways." She says before heading outside, probably just hanging around the entrance.
Naomi shrugs and looks back to the mayor, who motions for Naomi to follow as he goes into the back room, a spread of food placed out to eat. "Mud crab Frittatas. A light meal, but delicious." he says before taking one himself and taking a bite, not quite answering Naomi's question yet. "Ill give you some for your travels for the strong armed one outside."
Ayame, is already digging in to the frittatas while Golv looks to Naomi. "So, it appears that a nest of rats has taken up residence within the tree branches. All six of my patients have been bitten and infected by them as of three days ago."
Listening carefully while eating her food, Naomi ponders while swallowing a mouthful of frittata. "So these creatures are the cause of the disease? Will your patients be okay?"
"Absolutely, they will be fine by tomorrow. Just a bit more rest and they can go back to work weaving."
"I see. That's wonderful news. So these rats, do you have an idea where the nest could be?"
"Well, I assume that they live in the newer branches, farther from the center of town, but it can be fairly dangerous there. My patients haven't told me exactly where they are at, just that there was a lot of them."
Ayame gestures towards the sick in the other room. "Are they unable to answer currently?"
"Ayame, I wouldnt force them to answer while they're suffering. Don't worry, we can find the nest without them." Says Naomi.
"Rats? Are you sure you need adventurers for that?" Ragia questions Golv.
He looks to Ragia with a nod. "The wardens refuse to enter the tree, Im just a doctor, and it will take days to get a soldier or two in to wipe them out." he points to Naomi. "The three of you on the other hand... you look equipped enough to get rid of them. It shouldn't be extremly dangerous, but Im willing to offer you ten gold for each foretooth you can offer."
"For each singular foretooth, or for each foretooth pair from a rat?" Naomi says with a raised brow.
"Rodent teeth grow pretty quickly." Answers Golv, "Ill give you ten gold each as proof of destruction. If they have no teeth... I would prefer not taking a corpse."
"Sounds fair enough" Ayame says.
"Hrn..." Naomi ponders again. "As a matter separate from payment, I need to ask something of you personally. You see, I'm an amateur Alchemist. Does this area have any interesting medicinal herbs or some other special alchemical ingredient? After we take care of the nest, I'd love to purchase some. For experimentation into new medicines, of course."
"Oooh, that is a very detailed question that could take a while to explain. How about this. If you can confirm that the rodent den is completely gone from my city, Ill treat you all to dinner and give you a lesson in Medicine as well. Is that all right?" he says with a smile. "Im a terrible negotiator, so you may have the upper hand here."
"How much of the offending tree are we allowed to count as collateral?" Ragia pipes up.
"R-Ragia!" Naomi yells out in exasperation.
"Rodents will usually bring pests, so if the branch is less than two feet thick, that entire branch can be destroyed. Otherwise, you can cut it off from the nest, and see if there is an infection. Let me know, and ill talk to the wardens about it if there is an infection."
"What should we look for to diagnose an infection ?" Ragia says, jotting this down on some parchment quickly.
"Think termites, an an abundance of bugs." Golv says with a nod.
"Well...I understand. I have some tricks up my sleeve, though I will need an hour before we head out." Naomi says to Ayame and Ragia.
"I see. Well, these things certainly seem like pests."
Golv chuckles and nods. "Yes they certainly are. This is the first time they have gotten into the tree, so we are a little unprepared. With the teeth, I hope to make a way to ease the disease in the future."
"I just remembered," Pipes up Ragia again, "Didn't you plan to summon a protector today to do that kind of protection ?"
The chief looks to Ragia with a raised brow. "I have no spellcasting capabilities. Im simply a doctor. So, if I was going to summon anything, this would be news to me."
"I mean plan as in have people who know what they are doing doing it." Ragia says.
Naomi interrupts the kobold. "Ah, Mayor let me explain. Last night some elves came to me seeking a scroll of summoning. I made it for them. I assumed they were with you? They mentioned it was for the protection of the tree."
"The wardens are a separate entity from the city, though they have been here before the city was made 50 years ago. Tomorrow is actually the anniversary, so we are hoping for a sunny day tomorrow. I know I told Wolle about it, so perhaps he needs it to ensure a clear day..."
"Wolle?" questions Ragia.
"Wolle is the leader of the wardens, a druid. He claims he planted this tree 400 years ago." Golv says, finishing another frittata.
"How comes y'all only moved into this tree 50 years ago?" Ragia questions.
There is suddenly the sound of someone coughing like crazy from the next room, to which Golv stands up. "My patients need me, perhaps another time." he says before giving the party a bow. "Best of luck," he says before going into the other room.
"Thanks!" Naomi calls as he walks out.
Ayame shrugs, finishing her food and standing up, moving to head outside. "Let me know when your all ready to go."
The other party members agree, finish eating and head outside.
During this time, Eleanor has been outside, and she spots a hooded elf making their way back to the trunk of Willows Reach after being on the outer edge of the branches. She watches him, curious on his actions as he walks down the trunk, and talks to a man at the building at the base of the town.
Eleanor hums to herself, trying to decides if she is curious enough to get a closer look at the two, muttering to herself. "It doesn't really look sketchy..." she says rubbing her chin, "But it could be..."
It was at that time the rest of the group catches up with Eleanor, still just outside the mayors home, watching her stare intently towards the base of the tree.
"Hey Ellie!" Naomi says. "Whats wrong?"
"AH!" Eleanor jumps at the sudden conversation starter. "OH... I... Nothing actually." she says, after a moment of pondering.
"Are you sure?"
Eleanor nods. "Not really."
"I noticed you left when we saw the sickly elves. Are you sure you're okay?" Naomi says, looking at Eleanor with concern.
"I'm pretty sure-" Eleanor says before pausing. "That i'm not sure... How was the Mayor food?"
"Delicious!" Replies Ayame.
Eleanor hurms to herself after hearing that. "Maybe I can grab a bite to eat when I'm.. actually hungry later."
Naomi squints at Eleanor, acknowledging Eleanors avoidance of her own question. "It was good. I wish I could've shared it with you."
Eleanor pats Naomi's head, "It's alright Nao, I'm an adult last I checked, I'll live"
Naomi pouts. "Well....we have a job from the Mayor. Hunting rats."
"See? That already solves my food problem."
"Ah... the rats caused the row of vomiting elves in there... probably don't want to eat them." Says Ayame.
Eleanor chuckles, "ya know rat kinda tastes like slow cooked pork? If you cook em well enough it ALMOST never makes you sick either!" Eleanor says, looking proud that she knows this fact.
Ayame sighs. "I hope to never have to try."
"Eeleanor..." Naomi says. "Thats... pretty gross. Lets just eat at Welni's again after. I need an hour to cast a spell anyways."
Eleanor pouts. "I swear its good! I've made it tons of times!" she says grumbling to herself, "Welni's does sound good tho..."
Ayame giggles at tthis, pulling out her pipe and gently blowing out some smoke.
Naomi grabs Eleanors hand. "Please... No rat food."
"I've eaten rat too!" Ragia pipes up. "Easy source of meat underground, but quite boring overall."
Eleanor gasps, "Not if you mix it with stuff!"
Naomi sighs, "You two can talk about rat recipies while I cast my ritual."
Eleanor nods before turning to Ragia, and spending the next hour discussing rat gastronomy.
After Naomi's ritual to create a new bond, she creates one with Basil, a snake creature. "Okay! Thats done. We should be able to hunt effectivly once I summon Basil."
Ayame smiles and nods, "Perfect."
"Oh" says Naomi. "Basil is the name of my new summon by the by. I hope everyone will like him like they liked Rufus!"
"That..." says Ayame. "Is an adorable name, was it inspired by the talk of rat herb concoctions from the cave people in the corner?"
Eleanor gasps, her eyes practically sparkling, "Didya name them basil cause of how good my recipes sounded?!"
"Sort of. He's green like basil. And it's short for Basilisk! He's a lil cutie, you'll see once we're hunting.... But y... yeah sure Eleanor!" she says, having not paid attention to the recipes in the slightest.
Eleanor now looks satisfied. "Rat huntin time?"
Naomi nods. "Rat hunting time."
Eleanor decides to lead the charge to track down the rodents in the tree. At first, it seems that the party was heading in the right direction, before ending up directly back at the Mayors house, Eleanor looking mighty embarassed. At that point, Ayame stepped up, and started sniffing around when Eleanor wasn't sure, and together, the two of them narrowed the search to some fairly thin branches that they can only walk single file on.
After some discussion, Eleanor leads the group down, followed by Ragia, Ayame, and Naomi, and come upon the nest itself. A large bundle of sticks and twigs, kept together by dirt, nestled between a split in the branches.
"Step back." Says Ragia. "I got this."
"Uhm, Ragia you're not going to burn down the whole tree are you?" Naomi says nervously.
"Of course not, I'm a professional, it will be a surgical controlled burn."
Ayame blinks. "E-Eh? I mean...if you say so"
"Woah..." Says Eleanor. "You were a professional all along??"
"Ragia, if you burn the tree down... I'm ratting you out to the authorities. Fair warning." Naomi says while Ragia smirks.
"Watch and learn." she says before casting a jet of fire at the branch, which would be strong enough to cut it... however... as soon as the spell is over, Ragia notices that neither the tree, nor the twigs on the nest have even soot marks from the flame on it, let alone the sticks and twigs, which also look to be made of willow. Unphased by her attack, it is then that the chittering and squeaking of creatures can be heard from within. One even quickly passes by the hole before anything happens. Its not just a rat... Its a nest of Dire Rats.
Character(s) interacted with
Basil, Snake of Greener Pastures has developed a contract with Nahemah Dai'Gishkin.
Chief Golv of Willows Reach.
