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Whitebark Muster Ground
Palakar Forest · The Four Seasons' Rest · An old wayfarer's puzzle
A long meadow opens beside the curved road. White-barked trees stand in remarkably even rows, their roots forming a low circle around four waist-high stones. Each stone bears a different carving: a closed bud, a full sun, a falling leaf, and a bare branch. At the center rests a flat, lidded cedar chest bound with green-patinated bronze. The grass is flattened by age and passing deer; no voices or footsteps disturb the clearing.
GM — Forgotten Hospitality, Not a Battle
This is the remains of an old Cedar Court wayfarers' gathering ground, long predating the blighted perimeter road. Travelers once used its simple seasonal ritual to open a communal supply chest. Despite the location's name, there is no active military muster, blighted creature group, alarm trap, or combat objective here. The meadow is peaceful, though nearby blight signs in the wider forest remain part of the landscape. The puzzle and its reward are unrelated to the infernal blight and should not reveal a hidden conspiracy.
The Four Standing Stones
Four white stones ring a locked cedar chest. Each has a hand-sized bronze dial, bearing one carving: bud (spring), full sun (summer), falling leaf (autumn), bare branch (winter). Each dial can be rotated to face the chest. Four shallow slots on the chest lid receive their symbols in an order, and the first slot points toward the eastern sunrise. Turning a dial causes a soft musical note from the bronzework, but no damage or alarm. The lock will open when the party touches the four stones in the natural order of the seasons starting with spring: bud → sun → leaf → bare branch.
Worn words are carved along the chest's edge: “First I wake, then I shine; next I give, and last I sleep. Set the year upon its feet, and take what travelers leave.”
The four carvings are legible and identifiable without a roll. A Nature or Society DC 16 check may hint that the ritual begins with spring and follows the growing year, but checks are optional and never substitute for actually selecting an order. A Crafting DC 16 check reveals that the lid is held by a simple nonmagical mechanical interlock rather than a trap. The stones can be tried repeatedly without punishment. A wrong order merely produces a low, discordant chime and resets the mechanism; it doesn't alert enemies.
Solution and Payoff
When the party turns or presses the stones in order—bud, sun, leaf, bare branch—the four notes resolve into a clear chord and the cedar chest clicks open. The rewards are modest, practical supplies once left for travelers: a silver leaf brooch worth 15 gp, two minor healing potions, and a weathered sketch of old footpaths through the Palakar Forest. The map offers local color and may assist ordinary navigation but is not a secret route to the blightnode. Refer to the attached treasure artifact for contents.
The final note lingers in the still meadow. Bronze fittings gently release their hold, and the cedar lid rises a finger's width. Within lie a polished silver leaf, two stoppered bottles, and a folded scrap of parchment. For a moment, this small place feels like what it was meant to be: a gift left by one traveler for the next.
Exploration and Return
The group may rest here briefly, solve the stones, take the supplies, replace them with a small offering, or simply continue along the road. There is no need to sabotage thorn signals or calculate reinforcements. Reporting the old waystation to Thornwatch may help preserve Cedar Court traditions, but the central blight mission advances independently of this optional puzzle.
Do not turn incorrect answers into combat, hazards, or resource loss. The puzzle is a moment of discovery and respite after difficult water sites and dangerous defenders. Keep the reward separate from antidote supplies and infernal plot clues.