Greener Pastures: On the Road

Road Tripping

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These are Samson’s outer reaches. There are no guards, checkpoints, or outposts. The road winds through rising grasslands and old, cracked paths, bordered by stone fences now half-buried in grass.   The next two days are spent heading south toward De’spell Falls. The land past the Crossroads is overgrown and largely untraveled. People avoid the area because fey frequently wander out of the Otherwyld.   It is early spring. The ground is soft, flowers bloom in patches, and insects are thick at dusk. Skies are clear, but the weather can easily shift.   Taking a Walk   Fey Signs
As the characters travel, the world begins to change. These signs hint at the approach of the Otherwyld and reward those who take their time.   A DC 12 Wisdom (Perception or Survival) check reveals a Sign of the fey. Characters do not need to understand what occurs, only spot them.  

• A tree has grown into a spiral.
• Insect sounds cut off suddenly and return.
• A ring of wildflowers, grown with symmetry.
• A bird overhead repeats a recent thought.
• A passing breeze smells of skunk and fire.
• A rabbit stares into the sky and flies away.
• Shadows fall against the direction of the sun.
• Moss grows on the wrong side of stones.

Additional Encounters
The following two encounters may replace a random one or provide additional experiences along the road.   Cho and Penn. Two halflings are lost and naked. They heard rumors about a castle near the crossroads and are determined to see it for themselves. They ask for help. A DC 13 Wisdom (Survival) check may provide accurate directions. At the end of the adventure, if Cho and Penn are at the crossroads, they prepare a Heroes' Feast.

Pierce Cornelius
L/G Male, Human Chosen Vendor   Pierce is a wandering merchant and a Chosen of Sithir (god of commerce, luck, secrecy, and thievery). He does not accept gold or gems as payment, preferring to trade for items of personal value. He appears when needed and disappears just as easily. Characters who earn his favor may encounter him again in the future, offering rarer and more useful wares.   Roleplaying Pierce Cornelius
Personality Trait. “I know about everything.”
Ideal. “Share. Wealth is wasted on the rich.”
Bond. “If you find me, I’ll have what you need.”
Flaw. “I enjoy being a mystery to others.”
  Haggling. To trade, a character should present something of narrative or personal value. Pierce loves anything with a good story or a strange origin. He does not accept coin unless it is part of an exceptional tale. Characters may use Charisma (Deception, Performance, or Persuasion) to influence Pierce’s opinion of the item or their story-telling. Rolls affect Pierce’s attitude more than the effective “price.”   Pierce’s Inventory
Pierce has whatever you want him to. Here are a few items to inspire:   Animated broom, carved eye gemstone, a deed to a mansion in Tao, eversmoking pipe, genie hookah (grants one of three wishes: never hunger again, perfect hair, or see through closed eyelids), immovable rod, a mother’s ring, mushroom fudge, a newspaper from the day you were born, philter of love, an unknown key, wand of gaseous form (3 charges), and warm socks.

The village called Cinder was in the unfortunate path of the growing Otherwyld. It has since become locked in a state of perpetual burning. The De’spell Falls are past the southern side.     Encounter: The Tetrad. 4x Mages with spell slots capped at 2nd level (Blake, Dinkley, Jones, and Rogers) and 1x parrot familiar (Scraps). A city-backed wizard tetrad has “taken control” of Cinder. They arrived to disrupt Samson’s distribution but quickly lost control of the situation. After arresting two performers, they accidentally ignited a stash hidden in the duo’s wagon. The resulting haze inebriated everyone except the familiar. The wizards believe they are still in control of the situation, even as they smolder and their minds meander. Scraps, the familiar, is a narc.   Dante and Tango. Tango is the sharp one, an intelligent monkey capable of speech. Dante, the human, is a fine enough musician. Neither seems concerned. The pair is entertaining the task force with an organ grinder performance. Anyone looking to pass must participate in a show.   Encounter: Simian Showdown. This challenge is open-ended. The wizards want the characters to outdo Tango in some way. Success means cheers and laughter. Failure means boos and trash talk.

The De’spell Falls mark the boundary of Tempus Nova, the forest beyond and a manifestation of the Otherwyld. If a mortal enters and doesn’t pass through the water, the fey turn aggressive.   Dispel. Touching the water casts the spell dispel magic on all spells and extradimensional spaces.   Memories. When passing through the falls, do the following: Lay out a shuffled grid of face-down tiles (see memories tokens). Each tile appears twice. Players play individually. One at a time, a player flips over 2x tiles. If they match, keep them. If not, flip them back over. Continue until they have 3x pairs or 3x failures. Success on both the way in and out means they remember what happened in the Otherwyld.   Failure means the memories fade after 72 hours.