Quest Start
Loose threads: A remaining Rockfolk Scout in Nested Point, details on how they are communicating with their commander located in the Old World, the fate of missing The Watchers' Tribe members
Participants: Rhuz, Ultima, Purpureus, Felmire, Mechorn
Locations: Nested Point
Short summary:
A group of adventurers went to Nested Point and defeated four Rockfolk scouts. During their journey inside the tunnels, they encountered members of the The Watchers' Tribe that had members who went missing in the tunnels and blamed it on the Explorers' Guild Nyktera scout. They also rescued three Scouts of the Explorers' Guild who were separated from their teammate and were being brainwashed to betray the Guild. They managed to capture the fourth Rockfolk Scout and learned the Rockfolk were being commanded by someone in the Old World. They also learned there was one remaining Scout that escaped their notice. A communicator in the Scout's head triggered, killing the Scout and the group returned home.
Full Report
Our group met Dourdruck Druckdoor in the The Blinking Pug. He provided useful information on the best ways to damage the Rockfolk (bludgeoning damage to crack their tough shells) and mentioned how good at hiding the Scouts in particular are. He also stressed the importance of being quick once the Rockfolk knew of our presence and to try and take them on one at a time. We traveled to Nested Point, which was their last known location.
Once there, Purpureus and I were able to use our Empathic Sense to spot a Rockfolk by the entrance of a cave. Ultima is able to crack its shell and Felmire lands the finishing blow on the Scout. We are able to learn some useful information about our foes as we quickly recover and enter the caves.
Using Rhuz expertise, we quietly enter and make our way through the tunnels. We spot a room with a large boulder in the center and perform a quick sweep of the room to look for any disguised Scouts. We spot one and work quickly to take them down. We struggle to weaken their defenses but are able to land a number of solid blows nonetheless. The Scout moves to the boulder, which they call a signal, and attempt to activate it. Rhuz shatters it's shell and I land the final blow. I quickly investigate the boulder and learn it is a piece of complex machinery with some sort of light projection used as an interface. While the symbols were not decipherable, it seemed to be counting down every second. Despite my best efforts, the countdown continued to its apparent conclusion and another more complicated screen appeared.
Fearing the signal went off, we do our best to recover quickly and continued our travels through the tunnels. We came upon a Nyktera Explorers' Guild Scout arguing with a Kobold member of the The Watchers' Tribe. It seemed a number of kobolds went missing and Kobold was blaming the Nyktera Guild Scout. We did our best to convince the member of the The Watchers' Tribe that it was most likely the Rockfolk and fault, but they refused to listen and ran off. The Guild Scout mentioned their team members were missing and recalled back to First Landing.
We continued forward and Purpureus spotted a secret entrance that had a strange buzzing noise. Looking more closely, we saw three Explorers' Guild Scouts staring at the buzzing wall, seemingly in a trance. Felmire went to investigate more closely and was able to resist the strange wall, learning that it was trying to brainwash the Guild Scouts to betray the Guild. Before dealing with them, we search the room and encounter another Rockfolk Scout. Ultima quickly broke the Scouts shell and Rhuz and Felmire took the foe down, with Purpureus mending wounds and providing guidance. Once the dust had settledI found a strange onyx rock that seemed to control the wall as long as it was intact. I broke the device and we broke the Guild Scouts out of their trance. We sent the Guild Scouts home and continued our exploration.
Unfortunately, we were ambushed by a Rockfolk Scout, who seemed to put up a better fight than the others. At Felmire's suggestion, we knocked them out and restrained them for questioning. Thanks to Ultima's coercion, we were able to learn the scout, named Stone, was part of a team of five that snuck into First Landing by hanging on the bottom of carts that traveled through the portal. They report to a commanding officer in the Old World by implants in their heads, though doing so takes time. Right as Ultima suggested we kill the Scout, the Scout's head exploded, presumably by the implant.
Having reached a dead end, we all return to First Landing and inform the Explorers' Guild of the Rockfolk threat, and their methods of sneaking in through the Portal.