The players were approached by a bald man with a cat (who immediately tried to rob them). The man was carrying two letters for the party, each bearing a Triskelion member's seal. One, from Eliana Verdon, the other from Thomas Verve.
My New Favorite Contractors,
A tax increase, a town back in operation, and an artefact recovered! Consider the death of that pesky interloper pardoned.
Stop by East Valley on your way back to the keep, Prefect wants you to investigate a sudden change in leadership.
Keep your spoils, Madame Peace
New Contractors,
What happened to diplomacy!? The town was in fear, already putting eyes on us and now they think our "enforcers" murdered someone in the street!
Next time you'll heed my advice.
Go immediately to East Valley, the seat of power changed suddenly and they haven't been honoring our trade routes. See to it that the road through is not impeded: this route is essential for the minerals coming from The Spires.
Let's not kill anyone this time, Thomas
The players then began heading to East Valley, following a slight scuffle about being robbed by Dr. Evil.
Caption
East Valley
Arrival
The party arrives to East Valley to see that it has completely changed since they passed it just a couple days prior. It seems as if nature is reclaiming the town, but faster than would normally be reasonable. Val Verhen succeeds an Arcana check to identify that powerful magic is at work on the town. As the party approached the town the extent of dilapidation became clearer: roads/buildings/walls are completely overtaken by vines, grasses are encroaching on the limestone brick roads, and the people themselves are detached from the world around them. The townsfolk are mechanically going about their life without lucidity.
Entry
The players entered the town through the south-western most road through the partial wall and immediately saw the town to be completely normal: bustling streets and markets indicative of the successful trade and commerce that passes through East Valley. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, to everyone except Johnny Tsunami. Who quickly sought to resolve the stupor his party had contracted. Choosing violence, Johnny Tsunami punched Sprocket, breaking the charm. The party travelled to what was once the community garden and found some herbs to resolve the charm on the rest of the crew. Recognizing that the charm felt by the party is that of a weakened Modify Memory spell.
Noticeboard
The town's noticeboard, just like the rest, had been overtaken with vines and crawling bark, with the exception of two notices. One, displaying the seal of the Triskelion, the other the seal of Madame Peace. The Triskelion notice displayed a request to deal with a pack of wild dogs bothering the local AEI (Adventurer's Equipment Inc). Verdon's displayed a request for help at the Prospector's Prospectus (another local shop) dealing with some rats.
Frank
The party took it upon themselves to cure a member of the town of his affliction. Frank as he introduced himself, twice, was not entirely cured of the charm of the city and told the party that something was awry in the center of town, twice.
The Old Well
Following Frank's advice the party immediately went the center of town where the city's well has sunken tens of feet into the ground with a few entry points to the pit. Entering the pit around the well, the party observed green and thriving vines that when struck by Val Verhen become odorous, releasing toxic gas. Immediately surrounded by some rats and an odd melting man, everyone but Sprocket fell under the city's charm again. Sprocket recognized that the man was in fact a Mud Mephit, not a little guy with a skin condition. Combat ensued, the party coming out on top of the rats. Deeming ready to explore the underbelly of this corrupted town, Flop performed an excellent backflip into the well, followed shortly after by the rest of the party.
Back Here Again?
Upon touching the boundaries of the well, the party awoke standing back in front of the decrepit noticeboard. It appears as if little time has passed, but the noticeboard's encroaching bark has taken on a more structured, orderly shape and the Triskelion's seal has been replaced with that of a large, hairy scale.
