1) The Beginning

The night is blustery and wet in the town of Aradia's Folly, a town with far less activity than the name might suggest. The persistant driving rain forces one traveller after another into the small but mercifully dry and warm Goat & Chariot. Typical of a one-horse town it is the only inn for miles, but the fire is blazing, the beer cold, and the stew passable. Just avoid asking what's in it. The barkeep as well as the semi-inebriated men sitting on the stools as though they've been there for their entire lives give the travellers sideways glances as they enter. Clearly this town is not used to strangers.

First to enter is a young and merry looking young man wearing clothes that were an amalgamated patchwork of dozens of other garments. He sits in front of the fire and begins to play a strange 6-stringed instrument. His name is Silva Mandolin, a traveling storyteller. Next to be blown in by the storm are Marvin Mort and Lucan Forelle. The former is wearing a sodden bathrobe and little else, a crossbow strung across his back. Lucan surveys the interior of the Goat as one might inspect a messily squashed insect, but hurries to the fire to dry his finely crafted clothes. Behind them a middle-aged man with salt & pepper hair shuffles in, carrying a large book under his arm. His eyes dart around the room wildly and he mutters his name - Garel Melnar - hastily as he crowds close to the welcome warmth. Lastly is Kestrahl, who doesn't exactly appear to be female at first glance but rather a walking assortment of goods and equipment. She clatters as she approaches the fire and introduces herself with a stammer.

The travellers converse over stew and beer, their bellies slowly and mercifully warming. As they finish their dinner the door suddenly bangs open, admitting a profanely cold breeze from the outside and a cyclone of color and noise.

An Artiste's Woe
The tornado of noise and color slowly coalesced into the wailing form of a man, clad in a flowing garment made of scarves. A collective sigh of irritation seemed to pass over the townspeople in the tavern, but he pointedly ignored them and flounced over the group of newcomers.

"Friends!" he shouted, "Hardy adventurers, brave slayers of beasts most foul, you must help me!  My plight is most severe and dire."

Marvin looked for a moment like he was about to point out that saying "severe" and "dire" together was a bit gratuitious but closed his mouth at the last second. Silva and Kestrahl both looked at him sympathetically while Lucan's nose seemed to raise so far into the air it was in danger of migrating off his face. Kestrahl asked in a soft stammer what the problem might be.

"Its the rats!" exclaimed the man, who claimed to be one Fritz Hugsbottom, "I simply cannot work in these conditions.  I am an artist you see, a sculptor of sublime talent.  But my muse is wasted when these dratted beasts befoul my working space.  Please, I beg you, rid me of these creatures!"

While Kestrahl appeared quite sympathetic, and Silva was enjoying the spectacle before him, the rest of the party looked at Fritz askance.

Rats.

"Yes, RATS.  They skitter into my outdoor studio and destroy the meticulous order I have established." Perhaps sensing the reluctance of some of the travellers, he eyed them shrewdly and reached into his garish scarf/robe. "I can pay you."

With that statement he pulled a small carving from a pocket and held it up for inspection. Lucan recognized it as made of jade with rubies inset, while Silva was certain that it was a rendering of a kobold fertility totem. Both these pieces of information made the statue irresistable to the two, and seeing their excitment (or, in Kestrahl's case, the opportunity to help another) the rest of the motley group agreed to the task.

Upon travelling to Fritz's cottage, they found his work area in the back and indeed it had been disturbed by scrabbling feet and not-so tiny droppings. These were apparently rats of an unusual size. Marvin and Kestrahl quickly located their trail, which led into the forest behind the cottage. The wind was still blowing rain into their faces, so they made for the treeline quickly to resolve the situation.

Into the Woods
The rodents' trail let the adventurers deeper into the woods bordering Aradia's Folly, where the trees quickly blocked the moonlight and the night grew even darker. Eventually they came to a small clearing where they found the offending dire rats and set upon them. The battle was quick and decisive, but Kestrahl seemed very worried about catching a disease from their filth-laden mouths.

The battle over, Lucan was keen to get back to the inn to claim their prize from the eccentric sculptor, but before they could leave a figure appeared at the edge of the forest. She was not tall, slight of frame but had an imposing air. Her slightly pointed ears protruded from a tangle of ash-blond hair and seemed to twitch with every movement of the forest. Her attention was focused on the rat carcasses littered about the clearing; upon seeing her face twisted in rage.

"What have you done?!" she cried, lifting her hands and voice in an incantation. Roots and brambles began to burst from the ground, wriggling menacingly at the battle-stained figures but not attacking. "Explain yourselves, why have your brought this destruction to my sacred forest.  Speak quickly, or more blood will be spilled in these woods!"

Somewhat shocked that the townspeople hadn't mentioned a protective druid guarding the forest, Lucan stepped forward and utilized his court-trained silver tongue to explain to the woman that they had acted in ignorance at the request of Fritz the sculptor. The woman rolled her eyes in frustration at the mention of his name, but banished the vines back into the ground. Apparently Fritz had been coming to the woods for some time to take cuttings of the trees for his "art". Tera (as the woman introduced herself) told them the rats had sensed her anger and gone to wreak havoc upon the offending artist. Tera herself was interested in remaining unknown to the nearby village and so did not venture there herself.

She offered a solution in the form of a seemingly inert piece of wood from one of the trees. She explained that it would not harm Fritz, but once he began to cut into it he would find himself overcome with the urge to seek his fortune elsewhere, away from Tera and her forest. She offered a reward for this service, beyond whatever trinkets Fritz had promised them - or so she said. Her reward would come in the form of information, but she would not reveal details until her request had been acted upon.

Some of the party were understandably reluctant to expose the man to magical influence whose only sin appeared to be vanity and silliness, but they agreed. Mollified, Tera disappeared straight into a large tree trunk, leaving our heroes to their own thoughts and conversation.