The Open Road Pathfinder 2E campaign officially kicked off in late 2020, adding a fourth PC to the group. This session on our travels through Golarion used the module: The Moquito Witch.
Lamashan 13, 4720
My twenty-fourth nameday came and went. It was the first nameday where I did not at least spend a little time with my mama or papa. Life as a Pathfinder brings freedom, but all things come with a price. One of the other prices to constant travel? Grooming. Life between towns is dirty and the fast pace usually means quick washes in streams and haircuts with a dagger. How dirty one gets is something rarely mentioned in the stories or brought to song by bards.
We arrived in Tymon on Lamashan 4th. Our Pathfinder contact was the owner/operator of Smine’s Weaponworks, Holgarin Smine. The dwarf shared recent tales of a plague in the town Shimmerford, a supernatural infestation of bloodseekers, oversized mosquitoes. Another thing not often mentioned in tales: the bugs. Between this new adventure and our previous encounter with the chupacabra, I began to wonder if Golarion itself was plagued with blood-suckers.
I digress.
Shimmerford was suffering from a pestilence and it was our job (myself, Tlali, Skitnik, and Fineon) to find the source of the plague and, if possible, stop it. The people of Shimmerford blamed a creature called the Mosquito Witch; a popular legend dating back over fifty years but one that hadn’t been truly seen for enough time that it was more tale than truth (the last “sighting” was sixty years ago and by children). The village sold mementos of the witch, little dolls made of wheat-stalk and even held a yearly festival about the cryptid–more than likely to drum up tourism and bring money to the town more than to honor or placate the legendary witch. Smine doubted the creature’s involvement or existence, speculating the infestation was caused by Ghulaunder worshipers. Mysteries come in all shapes and sizes and this adventure would require some investigation.
We spent three days traveling down the Sellen river. The closer we got to Shimmerford, the more mosquitoes and bloodseekers we saw. In the town itself the air was thick with blood-sucking insects. We pulled our clothing tight around us to protect ourselves from the vermin and ran to our contact’s residence and place of business. Inside the building we would still find ourselves shooing and smacking the insects away, but not to the point of complete distraction.
Our contact was a gnome named Galia Farrsmith, who also served as the town’s barber and hairdresser. I promised myself, and her, that once the plague had been thwarted I would make use of those services!
Back to business.
Galia and the townsfolk had hoped the plague would be resolved when they found a Ghulaunder worshiper and killed them, burning town the cultist’s home. It evidently did not work, but the remains of the house, south of Shimmerford, could be worth investigating. Witch Hill, north of town, was where the witch was last “spotted,” sixty years ago, was also a possible lead. We decided to travel to Witch Hill first; the death of the cultist and his house being burnt down significantly decreased the possibility of clues being detected. Even if the witch didn’t exist, there could be other clues, creatures, or cultists found on the hill.
Regarding the murder of the cultist: it was clearly a reaction to the stress of the plague and that the demigod’s own symbol was a blood-gorged mosquito, but it was still an execution without proof of guilt. However, with the reputation these cultists carry, the only justice that would be delivered would be any guilt carried by the townsfolk.
As we left the town, we encountered a large, white dog and her owner. The dog’s name was Peaches and her owner was a Tian woman named Haru Kwan. Haru was looking for her friend, Lasarte Mourguy, an half-elf hunter who recently vanished during her own hunt for the Mosquito Witch. Lasarte typically wore a red dress and golden armor and we agreed to inform Haru if we encountered the half-elf during our own explorations.
We arrived at Witch Hill. Every tree on the hill had paper-like witch dolls nailed into the bark. The difference in the paper doll to the wheat-stalk doll we were given by Smine may have been based on the maker, but it was still a minor curiosity. More notably, the dolls nailed into the trees were fresh, but the nails were old and grimey, indicating a constant reuse of the nails and refresh of the dolls. The trees themselves were barren and leaking a blood-red sap. Could this be an indication of the curse? I took a sample of the pungent sap in case it would be useful in the investigation.
As I was focusing my attention on the trees and dolls, Skitnik discovered an undersized short-sword. Our newest companion, the halfling druid Fineon, then detected tracks that led to the sword (rather than away). The tracks were those of a mitflit, a mischievous type of fey who have a known connection to insects and vermin. As we followed the tracks, I speculated that it could be these gremlins could be the cause of the plague.
We attempted to follow the tracks to their origin, making our way northeast, further from the town. The mitflit’s trail eluded us at a certain point, but we were still able extrapolate its movement and made note of a grove of trees. Many of the trees in the grove were carved with rune-looking symbols. None of us found any meaning to the symbols and it was very likely they were carved to intimidate but with no real understanding of magic. Safely ignoring the runes we entered the grove and found signs of a fight between a humanoid and mitflit… and the tattered clothing and gear that matched the description of the missing half-elf, Lasarte. No trace of the half-elf’s body was found beyond indications that she was dragged north. We pressed on in a northerly direction.
Once more we came across the dog, Peaches. She was being attacked by three bloodseekers, which we quickly dispatched. Fineon was able to calm the dog and Tlali gave it a healing hand. Peache then led us to Haru, who was downed and dazed, a bloodseeker attached to her neck. Though we killed the oversized insect and I was able to give her my life potion, she was in no condition should we encounter any mitflits and we pointed her towards town.
Not far from Haru’s location was a cave. Before we had a chance to state our intentions they shouted “gwibble” and immediately attacked us. I was hesitant to kill any of the creatures if we could avoid it, but their panicked state left little choice but incapacitation, which turned fatal for some. We faced their leader and dispatched it, upon which the remainder of living and conscious mitflits surrendered.
We discovered a few things; firstly, “Gwibble” was their leader’s name. More importantly in our discoveries was that the gremlin-kin had made the caves their home, but because the cave had iron deposits, they feared the townsfolk would not only take their home but use the iron against them. So, they used the mosquitoes and bloodseekers of the region to defend their territory, hoping to drive away the people before it came to a fight. Mischievous and wily though they may be, it’s not written that mitflits are smart.
It took little effort to establish a simple truce between the townsfolk and the mitflits. A promise to leave the fey with their cave, leaving out any details of metal deposits, in exchange for the creatures no longer plaguing Shimmerford with any sort of vermin.
We checked in on Haru and gave her Lasarte’s gear. Her friend’s body was not in the cave and the mitflits could not say where she might be. Haru declined our offer to help continue the search. It seems unlikely Lasarte is still alive, but hopefully her body can be found and put to rest.
With the plague gone and the mystery solved, I afforded myself the time for a proper bath and haircut. Galia did an excellent job styling my hair. It’s always good to feel civilized.
We returned to Tymon and reported in to Holgarin Smine, who rewarded our efforts. Soon we would be off to another adventure. If we encounter more blood-suckers I may consider purchasing some form of blood replenishment magic, just in case.
Postscript, Lamashan 20, 4720: We received a report from Galia that the caves collapsed, killing all the miflits inside and leaving only a paper witch doll at the collapsed entrance.
Very pleasant read, thank you