---
tags: Indith
---
Secrets of Vasterly
===

The town of Vasterly, long secluded from the rest of society, has been particularly silent as of late. Being the backwater that it is, no one would ordinarily mind. However, their yearly tribute to the arch-druids is now late, filling the realm with unease. If the arch-druids are not appeased, they may return again and destroy another town.

After reaching Vasterly, the adventurers discover that the townsfolk are all in a deep sleep from which they cannot wake them. Several of the townsfolk have already starved to death, and the others are wasting away.

Falling asleep inside the town drags the adventurers into a dream realm that is deeply bizarre- coming from the frozen steppes of Vasterly to a jungle entombed in night, lit only by the temple itself and by vines which have a faint blue glow. Here and there, the villagers can be found, but not brought back to the waking world. Spirits that live within the Eddernath attack villagers and adventurers, devouring their dreams. Deep within the darkness of the jungle, an ancient temple grows brighter with the passing of each villager.

While the creature is of the dream-realm, it has a physical tether in one of the children, a half druid who has dreamed it into being. Their power of dreaming attracted the Eddernath, who will consume the whole village if not stopped.

Adventurers must choose between dangerously attempting to stop the Eddernath- the temple itself- and sacrificing the child to save the village. This act, coupled with the lateness of the tribute, may be enough that the arch-druids reappear.

Secrets of Vasterly is meant as a weird sci-fi alternative to the other stories. Unsettling, disturbing, and strange, it is the black sheep of the collection. This adventure focuses strongly on dungeon design, mystery, and the bizarre.

## Characters
Theo (Rachel) (he/him) (narrative, expression): 21, Karhu, from a military family, carrying on legacy working for the city. Don't have to use violence to get what you want.
- druids can't be negotiated with

Zippy (Caroline) (fantasy, fellowship): 98, treefolk, gnarled and stormy, family were guides. If people lived in harmony with nature the world would be better. Witnessed Osla performing a jewel heist and decided her skills were good.
- eddernath is natural, but can't be lived with

Osla (Kaitlyn) (challenge, : 22, goblin scoundrel, tiny and unassuming, family were buskers. Belief is that coin buys anything. Not a big fan of the group yet, still learning to trust others.
Intrusion:
- offer to pay a higher amount for their services
- ask if they want money to get their family out of poverty

Dirth (Matt): 37, Middle aged salimar smith, bald, believes in duty. Indebted to Osla.
- offer to unlock slime secrets
- will offer to pay of Osla if they join

Gywn (Yasi) (fellowship, discovery): 34, Fay, family of glass blowers, believes in beauty in everything, even the ugliest of swamps. Has a slightly slimy sword that Dirth made. Has great respect for forest creatures, frequently gives Zippy glass figurines.
- ask if something clearly ugly is beautiful
- fill forests with creaures that are somewhat nice
- test

## Summary
5/2/2020:
- defeated a jellyfish creature and 2 ghasts
- found Mayor Monwin in the temple, along with Storin
- discovered there are 4 people in a room upstairs where the humming yellow light gets louder and brighter
- uncovered a notebook containing the last account of the survivor of a similar attack
- described the creature as an Eddernath
- came back to Enrom to find Monire was attacked and unconcious
- poured a potion that Monire had crafted to attempt to wake villagers down her throat
- Monire recovered and revealed to them that the eddernath:
- is somewhere between a place and a creature
- required an anchor, whose dream shapes the reality
- plants two eggs in the remaining survivor who then perishes
3/30/2020:
- made characters
- fought off attackers from killing the matriarchs
- discovered an armband on one of the attackers that was captured
- didn't reveal anything about who he worked for
- found some small glowing marbles in his pockets
-

## Strong Start
Opening:
For almost 65 years now the principality of Indith has been ruled from afar by the arch druids. The druids themselves have not been seen by most in decades, and their rule is only felt from afar by 2 things:
1) Special abilities given to the Order of Krain, allowing them to seek out enemies of the people and the state
2) The tribute given to the druids every 5 years.

Every 5 years Uldorf gathers tribute from each of the cities within the region, passing it on to someone else. No city has resisted thus far, which is why it is surprising that Vasterly has now not sent any word or tribute.

While no overarching government exists for Indith, Uldorf, as the largest city, has largely taken responsibility for collecting the tribute and delivering it. While most cities have delivered the necessary tribute, Vasterly Outpost has yet to do so. Reclusive at the best of times, they haven't answered any summons in almost a month, and traders to the region have not been seen by anyone locally in some time.

The characters, special operatives of Uldorf's matriarchal council (name decided by characters), are tasked with visiting Vasterly Outpost in person, discovering the reason for the lack of response, and bringing home the tribute. Should they fail to bring home the tribute, it is possible that the tribute may be small enough that the arch druids themselves return and destroy Uldorf as they did with Azuul before it.

## Scenes

graph TD
subgraph Uldorf
meeting[meeting with council] --> blades[attack on the council by the blades]
blades --> road[road travel to vasterly]
blades --> river[river travel to vasterly]
end

subgraph Vasterly

road --> vasterly[Town square]
river --> vasterly
vasterly --> casino[Folsun's Casino]
vasterly --> enrom[Enrom Outpost]
vasterly --> ledar[Ledar Mines]
enrom --> patients[Investigate Patients]
patients --> thugs
thugs --> enrom
thugs --> Stth
ledar --> deep[deep mines]
ledar --- casino
enrom --- casino
ledar --- enrom
end

subgraph Eddernath
eddernath[jungle] --> temple
eddernath --> Dapha
eddernath --> ghast
ghast --capture--> temple
ghast --rescue--> Dapha
Dapha --mission--> temple
temple --rescue--> Dapha
temple --escape--> vasterly
end

Stth --> eddernath
enrom --sleep--> eddernath
deep --sleep--> eddernath
vasterly --sleep--> eddernath
casino --sleep--> eddernath

### Uldorf
Descriptors: dirty, cosmopolitan, segregated
Players start and end the adventure in Uldorf, which begins with fending off an attack on the council
**Yelda Hospital** High end hospital in one of the nicer areas of the city
**Belthor the Conqueror's Flower Conservatory** A common meeting place for courting couples, features a small greenhouse in the middle of the field.
**Oddo's Oddities** A curiosities store, specializing in magical item repair and couch reupholstery.
**Crater of Uldorf** Crater in center of the city with a raised center where the capitol resides.
**Tower of Astrue** University in Uldorf, famous for only having one classroom per floor and over 50 floors without an elevator

Players are tasked with discovering what's holding up the shipment from Vasterly.
- not getting the shipment in time may result in dire consequences for Uldorf
- Concerned that Vasterly hasn't been responding at all, no trade from the region in awhile

In the middle of the meeting, 6 blades (5HP, 3 with bows, 3 with swords; swap after taking damage ) fire potion bottles through the windows and attack. Blades retreat in and out of the gas, players must resist gas or take stun status.

If one of the blades goes down, they will try to crawl into gas and leave.

If captured, blades will only talk about the unfairness of the tariff and how people are starving because of it. However, searching them reveals 3 unidentified glass baubles and a note saying that the experiment is proceeding as planned and signed with a ornate symbol.

If blades escape, an armband is left behind in the scuffle with the symbol on it. This symbol resembles a tilde combined with a 6 and an uppercase T. It is drawn with elegant, flowing lines. Researching this symbol reveals that it belongs to a secretive organization that has only come into power in the last few years called the Blade of Azuul.

Researching Azuul reveals that the town of Azuul was destroyed in a cataclysm some 45 years prior, at which point Uldorf took over the collection of the tribute.

Failing to win the fight will result in two of the council being killed. The blades will attempt to retreat if successful in killing one of the council.

Players can travel to Vasterly either by boat (which is faster going to Vasterly, but may be slow or require walking on the end journey- a distance of 3 there, 6 back) or by wagon (which is more even, 4 there 4 back).

### Vasterly
Descriptors: frozen, desolate, eerie
Vasterly would be a useless wasteland were it not for the mines outside the town, which are a frequent source of magical artifacts for the rest of Indith. Enrom, an outpost of Astrue, spends extravagently to ensure that Astrue gets the first picks of what is found.

Upon arriving in Vasterly, characters are met with a completely silent town.

To the north lie the mines.
To the northeast lies the casino.
To the west lies Enrom.

Sleeping in the village at any point will cause the player to enter the Eddernath. After 1 day, the casino will be consumed. After 2 days the mines will be consumed.

**Research outpost of Enrom**
Small collection of buildings on the outskirts of Vasterly.

Monire works at Enrom by day, but goes to the mines at night. She knows that some magical artifact underlies this, but isn't aware of what it might be. She's working on isolating the source of the outbreak, but feels she should have found something by now- her requests for further research materials from Astrue should have been returned weeks ago.

She asks the players to assist her with taking notes on some of the patients she hasn't made her way around to yet. Visiting the patients, players are attacked by local thugs, who try to scare them out of town. Searching the thugs or talking to them after defeating them gives players a lead that a local dwarven researcher gave them the funds (Stth) just a few days ago. They were told to scare off anyone poking around from outside the city, aiming to knock them unconscious. Confronting Monire about this will lead to denials by her, but access to any notes he had.

Hints:
Notes around the lab reveal that a large discovery of two mysterious eggs was uncovered at the Ledar Mines.
A key in Stth's pocket can take you to his home, where he has a desk with a large number of notes. There is also about 10 of the small marbles found on his person.
Notes in Stth's home show
- the same symbol that was found on the attackers in Uldorf.
- mention that there were two eggs of power of dreaming discovered
- it can only be controlled within the dream
- the anchor must survive
- the marble allows exit

**Fort Vast**
Fort Vast was one of the first building consumed by the Eddernath. Many servants and caretakers sleep inside, along with the mayor of Vasterly (Monwin).

Points of Interest:
- mess hall with cans of small rations and bread. Can recover d4 rations if quickly searched or d6 rations if slowly searched
- armory with large array of siege weaponry and barrels of oil
- court physician's office has large array of medicinal herbs and 2 potions of minor healing (d4)
- mayor is asleep in bed along with most guards and house staff
- mayor's office has notes and books

Hints:
Notes reveal that Enrom had taken possession of a powerful magic artifact a few months prior. They noted it was odd, as they hadn't seen a shipment to Astrue, where the artifacts normally go.

**Ledar Mines**
Most of the population of Vasterly that hasn't fallen asleep has taken refuge in the mines. Much of the town was already employed by the mines, and know many places to hide.

Dicke leads the rest in the central chamber. She knows that many of the miners have taken their families deep into the mines and worries that they could be in danger further down. She is also worried about their dwindling supplies, and believe some of the miners may have been stealing. She asks players to take some of the supplies remaining and attempt to negotiate a truce.

Miners deeper down in the tunnels are defending the tunnels, blocking off entrances, exploding gas pockets and using various uncovered magic artifacts.

Hints:

Miners know that falling asleep too close to somewhere in town causes people to fall into a deep sleep they can't awaken from. Miners complain of horrific nightmares of a jungle.

Deep miners know that two eggs were uncovered by miners earlier and were delivered to Enrom for inspection.

Points of interest:
- Central chamber: most of the remaining population (~500-800 people) is housed in here. By day they are heading out to farm and take care of family members asleep in the city, but are returning to the mines at night. Morale is poor and supplies are running thin.
- Deep mines: some of the miners have taken their families further down into the mines. This area is treacherous and contains many traps
- chasms with thin rope elevators descending
- miners will attempt to fire crossbow bolts as players descend
- conjurer summons tentacles onto the platform
- miners throw flaming bottles onto the platform as it reaches bottom
- pockets of heavy gas
- if players pass out here, they will be taken captive by the miners

**Folsun's Casino**
A number of individuals, primarily employed by Folsun, have holed up inside Folsun's casino. Folsun's casino is filled with highly paranoid, aggressive individuals- and that's at the best of times. Now unable to sleep peacefully at night, people are filling their days with gambling and alcohol.

Points of interest:
- gambling pits: players can bet on a variety of activities including
- drinking game: players first roll a d12 down to a d4, each representing a drink. If at any point they roll a 1, they are unable to hold their alcohol
- Bloody Bones: Roll 4d6, keep them hidden. Pick one out of the 4 that you don't want to use and reveal that dice on the table in front of you. Everyone does this. Betting starts, poker style (1 round) with the person who put out the highest dice - progressing clockwise.
- high roller: a grizzled karhu in the corner wants to play only one game- high roll. She rolls a d20, then you roll a d20. Whoever has highest wins.
- backroom: if players gain sufficient reputation, they will be invited to the VIP lounge- a small cigar lounge at the back. Deep within the cloud of smoke sits Folsun who offers to sell some pills that will keep the players awake. He reveals he's been taking them ever since the contagion started, and has yet to have any issues. He knows the contagion only affects people who go to sleep- and he aint gonna get it.
The pills will keep the players awake and resist the effects of tired, but they must roll each time they are taken to fight off irritable.

Folsun knows of the Blades of Azuul. He doesn't know what they're after exactly, only that they seek revenge for crimes against Azuul and they're political extremists.

### Eddernath
Creatures:
**Ghast**: 4HP, very dumb. attacks with claws and will attempt to pick up players, dropping them from high up
**Achor**: 3HP, intelligent but mute. Attacks with a slime that it secretes from its hands (takes a round to charge). If it lands on a player's head, they become controlled by the Achor to attack friends, but have a chance after each attack to shake off the jelly's influence.

The eddernath is a dream realm mainly dominated by a dark, foreboding jungle. The sky is a dark purple, with no stars whatsoever. Staring too closely at the sky causes a sensation of the sky receding and moving about like its boiling.

Illumination in the jungle primarily comes from a sickly, pulsing yellow light from the temple at the center. Other light sources include the vines wrapped around many surfaces, which glow with a frosty blue light. The whole jungle smells of mulch and rot.

If players move away from the jungle, they will quickly find that there isn't anywhere to go- the entire construct appears to float in the air. Down below is only more of the strange purple sky.

Contains ~20 villagers, trapped in the dream. ~10 have been captured by ghasts, another 10 are trying to mount a resistance, led by Dapha.

3 Blades researchers, who worked under Monire, live in the temple and are working with the ghasts. They know the secret of moving from the Eddernath via a reflection. Their notes reveal that they
1. Created the eddernath in Vasterly
2. have 1 other egg
3. are planning an attack on Uldorf

Kenle is also sleeping in the center of the temple, anchoring the Eddernath.
- leaving her and escaping with the villagers will leave her in a permanent slumber, with the Eddernath paused in growth
- she won't perish while anchoring, as the notes will reveal
- killing her will starve the Eddernath, killing it
- pulling her from the light will cause the temple to begin collapsing

If players are captured by ghasts in Eddernath they are taken to a prison cell in the temple, where haunts consume their dreams and they begin to waste away (1 hp per night). After 1 night, if players haven't escaped on their own, then they will be rescued either by the villagers or by Harden who wants out of the plan.

**Jungle**
From the small clearing in the jungle, there are 3 paths leading away.
To the north a sickly pulsing yellow light flashes out in 10 second intervals, briefly illuminating the area.

To the east the faint sound of shrieks can be heard. If players go this way they will stumble upon 3 villagers attempting to fight off the ghasts. 3 ghasts are present. 1 villager is already unconscious and floating in the air next to one of the ghasts. The ghasts look approximately like [this](https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/024/136/114/large/alexander-ostrowski-5-as.jpg?1581434170). The ghasts primarily attack by either striking with tails or attempting to grab, fly up in the air, and drop players (doing 3 points of damage if all three actions are successful). They have 6 hp each. If any ghasts are killed, the other two will try to retreat with the prisoner. If any remainder drop below 3 health they will retreat without the prisoner in the direction of the temple.

To the west are a large set of footprints leading away to the camp.

**Camp**
Several of the remaining villagers have made a small camp in a clearing in the jungle.
It's a ramshackle setup, made with mostly branches and tied with some small bits of torn smocks. Villagers will provide the players with food, supplies, and weapons. They are planning an assault on the temple in about 10 hours or so.

Following the footprints in the jungle leads to Dapha's camp where Dapha can be found attempting to lead a mission against the temple. If the three missing villagers are not recovered, then someone will spot them being carried away by the ghasts to the temple in the center. She can wait up to one day if characters are injured.

**Temple**
The temple dominates the center of the jungle.

It is shaped like a [ziggurat](https://www.ancient-origins.net/sites/default/files/field/image/Great-Ziggurat-of-Ur.jpg) and appears to be made entirely of some kind of black porous stone. A moat of waist deep brackish water surrounds the ziggurat. If players approach the ziggurat, a ghast will appear from an upper window when they are halfway across any of the three bridges leading into the structure. It won't spot them immediately, but is starting some kind of guard patrol.

Points of Interest:
- cells: prisoners are kept here, along with the players if they are captured. They appear to be asleep here too, with a pale blue orb surrounding their heads. Should the orb be attacked in any way it disappears and the prisoners awake
- ghast alcove: empty room from below, appearing to almost be a religious chamber of some kind. It is almost completely dark, save for a few candles in the corners. Players may add whatever light sources they like, but if they remove the candles the ghasts will awake (also if they are too loud). 20 ghasts are hanging from the rafters asleep.
- center altar. On a pedastal floating in a column of pale patchy yellow light sleeps Arendr, who anchors the Eddernath. Every 10 seconds, a pulse of yellow light courses through the column and out beyond.
- research station: the researchers have setup a small station where they are working on some notes if interrupted. With them are two ghasts and 3 pale orbs. The orbs will attempt to attach to players heads if they see an opportunity, rendering them unconscious on a failed will save (required each round it is attached). If either of the ghasts are defeated or if they take damage, the researchers will attempt to summon portals to get them out of the Eddernath, using the glass orbs players may have found thus far. It takes two rounds for them to leave. Ghasts will protect researchers with their lives until the researchers have left.

## Important NPCs
Leaders of the Uldorf Council
Daleri: 65, female, 14 grandchildren, 4 children. Surprised to be here, but her children found her overwhelming when at home and encouraged her to run.
Renelae: 70, Lizardfolk, nonbinary, a powerful business owner and skilled craftswoman,
Menwit: 45, human, female, wife to one of most important guild leaders with ties to Uldorf's seedy underbelly (Wanene)

Wanene: 55, human, female, runs Finance Guild and has ties to organized crime in Uldorf
Brrya: 60,
Storin: 10, salimar, boy, mother fell asleep and was met by Osla
Wanwto: 50, lizardfolk, female who uncovered the eggs
Liton
Wanni
Folsun: 35, male, lizardfolk, owner of Folsun's casino. Highly paranoid and delusional.
Monire: 45, female, salimar, head researcher at Enrom.
Dapha: 37, female, fay, leader of small tribe within the Eddernath
Harden: 25, female, goblin, researcher for Monire, studying the Eddernath from inside
Arenke: 35, male, Karhu, researcher for Monire, studying the Eddernath from inside
Stth: 52, male, dwarf, researcher for Monire, studying the Eddernath from inside
Monwin: 43, male karhu, mayor of vasterly
Dicke: 32, female fay, over her head but trying her best
Wiuitton
Vanent: 35, male, human, attacker on the council
Dande: has weird dreams
Wiannt: has weird dreams
Wiuc: has weird dreams
Dicict: 54, salimar male, father to Storin
Kenle: 8, dwarf female, daughter of Stth
Brkeder
Waltor
Janesa:
Alvele: fey
Chasod: lizardfolk
Kenwerm: human

Darico is a thankful and bratty blue female goblin with 4 hp. She has the heritage trait Goblin Agility. She also has the traits Shield Bearer and Strong. She works as a farmer. She does so out of obligation to her a close friend in the form of familial pressure. She spends her spare time drinking. She defends herself with a bow and will trip foes when in combat. When cornered she will plead for mercy.

Istton is a lecherous and upset female karhu with 7 hp. She has the heritage trait Powerful Claws. She also has the traits Quartermaster and Spell-Touched. She works as a stablehand. She does so out of obligation to her heritage in the form of gratitude. She spends her spare time collecting faeries. She defends herself with a sword and will tackle when in combat. When cornered she will flee.

Avaran is a aggressive and lying orange female salimar with 5 hp. She has the heritage trait Cryothermic Healing. She also has the traits Nimble Fingers and Defender. She works as a fisherman. She does so out of obligation to her sibling in the form of money. She spends her spare time watching sports. She defends herself with a club and will trip foes when in combat. When cornered she will plead for mercy.

Weddic is a dishonest and careful orange female goblin with 4 hp. She has the heritage trait Goblin Agility. She also has the traits Cleave and Alchemist. She works as a mason. She does so out of obligation to her children in the form of guilt. She spends her spare time arms collecting. She defends herself with a net and will lunge when in combat. When cornered she will flee.

Isenwe is a groovy and frugal pine female treefolk with 9 hp. She has the heritage trait Ancient Heart. She also has the traits Diehard and Sneaky. She works as a cobbler. She does so out of obligation to her local guild in the form of indenturehood. She spends her spare time baking. She defends herself with a axe and will lunge when in combat. When cornered she will flee.

Joneri is a genial and unbending female dwarf with 8 hp. She has the heritage trait Dark Vision. She also has the traits Healer and Charismatic. She works as a fletcher. She does so out of obligation to her direct inferior in the form of an oath. She spends her spare time drinking. She defends herself with a sling and will tackle when in combat. When cornered she will babble nonsense.

Brkent is a discerning and warm red male salimar with 5 hp. He has the heritage trait Pyrothermic Healing. He also has the traits Beastspeaker and Insightful. He works as a stablehand. He does so out of obligation to his mankind in the form of familial pressure. He spends his spare time painting. He defends himself with a sling and will brag when in combat. When cornered he will fight to the death.

Dantthe is a witty and tyrannical red male lizardfolk with 6 hp. He has the heritage trait Cold Blooded. He also has the traits Diehard and Dungeoneer. He works as a brewer. He does so out of obligation to his a personal oath/code in the form of contract. He spends his spare time toy building. He defends himself with a bow and will lunge when in combat. When cornered he will flee.

Ranic is a clean and passive red male salimar with 5 hp. He has the heritage trait Pyrothermic Healing. He also has the traits Diehard and Armor Master. He works as a farmer. He does so out of obligation to his a close friend in the form of indenturehood. He spends his spare time playing games. He defends himself with a axe and will lunge when in combat. When cornered he will flee.

Leicon is a contrarian and dissolute male karhu with 7 hp. He has the heritage trait Powerful Claws. He also has the traits Fleet of Foot and Nimble Fingers. He works as a fruit picker. He does so out of obligation to his family in the form of indenturehood. He spends his spare time gossiping. He defends himself with a club and will lunge when in combat. When cornered he will bargain.

Erscono is a fascinated and splendid female dwarf with 8 hp. She has the heritage trait Dark Vision. She also has the traits Berserker and Acrobat. She works as a furrier. She does so out of obligation to her hometown in the form of societal pressure. She spends her spare time baking. She defends herself with a sword and will tackle when in combat. When cornered she will bargain.

## Secrets and Clues
1. Many of the citizens of Vasterly have fallen into a deep slumber as the result of the effect of the Eddernath
2. The region of Indith is ruled from afar by the arch druids, who collect tribute each year and fund the Order of Krain
3. Blade of Azuul is attempting to delay the shipment of the tribute in order to force the arch druids to return, believing themselves to have a weapon capable of killing the druids
4. The Blade of Azuul has gotten ahold of multiple Eddernath eggs, planting one in the city of Vasterly.
5. Blade of Azuul are in possession of 2 Eddernath eggs
6. If the shipment is delayed enough, the Blade of Azuul will plant the second egg beneath the city of Uldorf, hoping to kill the Druids when they sleep
7. The Eddernath isn't a creature so much as it is a place that anchors to a person, rendering them incapable of waking. The anchor is present in both the Eddernath and the waking world, and is asleep in both
8. To defeat an Eddernath requires reaching the geographic center of it and awakening the person asleep inside
9. As the anchor sleeps, the Eddernath feeds on their dreams, consuming more sleepers as they feed. Eventually an Eddernath becomes bloated on dreams and creates an egg, spawning new Eddernath. These eggs lie dormant for centuries, waiting for other creatures to start new cities atop them. These eggs can be found, but require special hidden rites to be able to see them.
10. The Eddernath can be left only through the use of a special glass bauble.

## Antagonist Plans
Blade of Azuul is attempting to kill the druids by luring them to Uldorf from the lack of the tribute, then consuming them through an Eddernath. To do this, they planted an Eddernath beneath Vasterly months ago, waiting for the outbreak to form. This whole time they have been researching the effects of it.

A few weeks ago they planted the second Eddernath in Uldorf. To hide the effects of the Eddernath, they are attempting to sow discord by assassinating the council.

## Potential Treasure

| | Reward
| -------- | --------
| 1 |A kraken's tooth scorched by flame. When held and activated, the cypher grants you advantage on attack rolls until the end of combat.
| 2 |An iron fragment warped by magic. When thrown at a target, the cypher explodes with a thunderous bang (1d4 thunder damage and deafened, Con save half and negates).
| 3 | A rowan fragment withered by magic. When held and activated, the cypher animates a nearby object for 2d6 rounds into a small creature that is loyal to you
| 4 | A slender spindle of yellow crystal containing a flickering shadow. When impaled into flesh, the cypher dissolves and grants you advantage on Charisma checks until you take a short rest.
| 5 | A broken hawthorn idol scorched by flame. When held and activated, the cypher grants you advantage on Intelligence checks until the end of the session.
|6 | A broken rosewood wand smeared with iridescent ichor. When held and activated, the cypher grants you advantage on your next charisma check.
|7 | A mangled scrap of copper chainmail damaged by flame. When worn and activated, the cypher grants you advantage on your next intimidation check.
|8 | A mangled scrap of orichalcum chainmail engraved with alien symbols. When worn and activated, the cypher allows you to alter your appearance until you take a short rest.
|9 | A mangled platinum segment warped by magic. When worn and activated, the cypher allows you to alter your appearance until you take a long rest.

River:
1. Gryphon (1x hp12) Bites for 2 damage, but can only bite once per turn. Will leave if given food.
2. River Salimar travel the waters, looking to sell. They have cyphers, potions, and spices. They also have several more small glass baubles that they were traded by a man a few weeks ago who was also heading to Vasterly.
3. Old man (Ern, human) is struggling with his broken wagon. Give food if assisted (+1 food, difficult trailblaze)
4. An enormous egg in the riverbank. Unclear who it belongs to or what might hatch.

Road:
1. Warg Pack (2x hp4)
Will leave if given food
2. Travelling potion salesman who is with his 4 daughters. They are clearly bored and he is clearly exhausted. He has only discount potions left.

Potion of Speak with Animals

Brown potion with small particles that settle out of the solution. Allows you to communicate with animals for 1d4 hours in the animal's native tongue. You only know a few words or phrases in that language and find the animals' accents very difficult to understand.

Potion of 5% Chameleon

An iridescent, color-changing potion. Grants the user one chameleon-esque trait for one full day. Roll 1d6: 1 - Grants the user the ability to move their eyes independently of one another. 2 - The user now has a partially prehensile tail. 3 - The user has an overly long and very quick tongue, but it can only be used for catching insects. 4 - One of the user's bodyparts can now change colors to match the background. 5 - The user's hands become mitten like, with two fingers and a thumb-like appendage, perfect for climbing branches. 6 - The user's head fully transforms into a chameleon head, granting no bonuses besides getting to look like a chameleon from the neck up.

Potion of Exchanged Growth

A clear, bubbling solution. The bubbles seem to float to the surface and then sink again repeatedly. Your torso grows by 10 inches and your legs shrink by 10 inches.

3. Starving boy on riverbank (Oshek, Karhu) asks for food, will point out a shortcut if given food (-1 food, +1 destination)