T8 - T9 — Woodcutter, Chicken Coop, Veggie Garden
The Homestead (Woodcutter, Coop & Garden)
Tucked against the western tree line, this sprawling homestead usually serves as the village's primary source of timber and produce. Today, an eerie, unnatural stillness hangs over the dirt yard. Sturdy oak logs sit half-split on a massive chopping block, an iron wedge still driven deep into the heartwood. Nearby, the mesh wire of the chicken coop is torn outward from the inside, and a coop door swings lazily in the cold wind, creaking on rusted hinges.
Across the fence, rows of root vegetables lie unearthed and blackened in the garden beds. A pale, freezing mist clings to the soil, smelling faintly of turned grave earth and rot. Standing motionless among the overgrown cabbages—facing toward the church with hollow, unblinking eyes—is Joran Reed, the village woodcutter, his hands frozen in mid-reach toward an iron hatchet left rusted on the ground.
Exploring the Outskirts
Joran is currently trapped in a trance-like state, caught in the psychic wake of an echo that passed through the yard days ago. He reacts with a sudden start if touched or spoken to loudly, gasping for air as if breaking through ice.
| Area / Feature | Skill & DC | Inspection Findings & Tactical Utility |
|---|---|---|
| T7: Woodchopping Yard | Athletics DC 16 or Crafting DC 15 |
The party can salvage heavy hardwood logs and stout wedges to construct makeshift barricades or reinforce doors at the church or inn (+1 bonus to fortify checks). |
| T8: The Coop | Nature DC 16 or Perception DC 17 |
Reveals the livestock weren't attacked by beasts; the planar static drove them to tear through their own pens and flee into the forest. A small clutch of 3 fresh eggs can be salvaged. |
| T9: Garden Beds | Survival DC 16 or Religion DC 17 |
Identifies that the crops weren't ruined by frost or blight, but by planar feedback leaking through the soil. The frost lines align directly with the subterranean path leading from the cemetery toward the church crypts. |
Interacting with Joran Reed
Once snap-awakened, Joran stammers out that three nights ago, while chopping firewood at dusk, he saw two translucent figures drift out of his garden beds. They ignored him completely, walking in a straight line toward the village church while whispering about "the deep seed ripening." If reassured with a DC 16 Diplomacy check, Joran gladly gifts the heroes a sturdy Hatchet and a coil of 50 ft. Hemp Rope before heading toward the safety of the Bleating Lamb.