Country: Shintapoor
Ruled by: Sei Kulavaben
Population: 1000
Primary Business: farming, care of old battlefield
Alchemist: no
Magic Shop: no
Sage: Sei Kulavaben
Wizards' School: no
Notes: Jinan is a small town that is next to a battlefield.
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In 1165, the group travels to Shintapoor at the request of Iblis.
Iblis receives a letter from his clan superior, a request which cannot be refused. The note states that one of the villages that pays tribute to your clan is in need of aid, and your service is required. More details were provided upon their arrival in the province of Guangxi, to the town of Nanning. They are to meet with a clan member named Nuwa.
Nuwa met with Iblis and his companions. They were invited to a dinner, where it was seen that most of them have no conception of Shintapoori social mores, which will be critical for the mission that Iblis is being sent on. At least one out of four members of the party must learn Shintapoori etiquette, before they can proceed. Nuwa can teach this, this took a week.
Iblis was sent further to the west, about three days travel, to small town named Jinan. As they rode into town, they passed through a field where many, many bones are visible, poking up through the soil. Bits of broken armor and weapons were seen, also, mostly steel (plate and chain), but some leather, some made of turtle shells, and quite a bit of shredded, rotten silk. Much of the armor showed bits of red or black lacquer. There were some broken bits of chariots, and horse bones also.
The town is ruled by a strange couple – a huge, burly, hairy man named Sei Kulavaben, and his wife, a petite beauty named Fong Jenjunfua. While she looks like a native, he is obviously not – he looks more like a very tall dwarf than anything. The village has about a thousand inhabitants. The village shows signs of disrepair, poor nutrition, disease, crop failure, and few domestic animals. Most males are elderly, or very young, as those of soldiering age were called off to war and few returned.
Sei welcomed the strangers, and treated them to a sumptuous feast of bread, fruits, milk and butter, honey, and a vegetable mix. Wild animals (foxes, squirrels, a few deer, a few small wildcats), living in apparent harmony, were seen all about the village. Sei explained, after dinner, that the village suffers from a great lack of balance, and that the villagers are too in touch with the earth to learn the complicated concepts, and that he and Fong wield too much heavenly power, and they scare off the spirits that must be placated. Sei explained that the balance of the village, and the surrounding fields and forests, were destroyed during the war, and someone with the appropriate skills must work to set things right – restore the features of the nearby lands, stream, and so on, and communicate with the tiny spirits of the land, called Lifespren. He can teach, in a week, a non-weapon proficiency called Feng Shuai, that will allow this. He will explain that the village contains few Lifespren, and many Deathspren, spirits of decay which are killing the village.
The villagers showed fear of the group, especially those who wear armor or carry weapons. They will often fall to their knees and bury their face in fear. They are essentially Barbarians, and will detect the vast amounts of magic on the party; this is something they have been taught to fear, from the war a few years ago. However, the next step that the party must take is a formal meal with the elders of the village, so they must figure out a way to earn their trust. This could be by putting aside weapons and armor, and other strong magic; also by helping the villagers with food, health, and so on. Note that there are quite a few sick people who could use cure disease, cure wounds, etc.
They manage to overcome this, and they are invited to a formal meal. This was a very spare affair, as the village has little to spare. Some of the courses will be purely symbolic, with no actual food on the plates. No conversation of real substance will happen during the meal. The final course was a tea ceremony. The elders sent the servants away, and begin to discuss business.
The elders explained, in detail, what is wrong with the village and areas around it, and ask the players for their help. This will require those who have learned Feng Shuai to move slowly about the village and surrounding areas, speaking with the Spren, and then spending time making things right – planting trees, arranging rocks, building earthen features (small hills or ravines), correcting the flow of the nearby stream, and so on. They are, however, told to leave the dead where they lie, as this needs to be dealt with by local custom. They can instruct others without the skill, or who do not speak with the Spren, in what to do.
During this process, the group will was often attacked by Deathspren; these creatures can only be harmed in the same way the Lifespren can be communicated with – very difficult to harm with magic or magical weapons. They can be fought with bare hands, as they only have 1 hit point, AC 10, and when struck, are actually only dispersed for a few days. However, as the land is set right, they will appear less and less often. They hit automatically on living creatures, and attacked all those working to fix the land’s harmony. During the second week, one mounted soldier from the capital will arrive, and observe, then leave after the third week.
During the third week, a small caravan arrived, consisting of twenty men, young to middle age, who have been given the honor of helping the village by marrying the locals. They began the process of collecting and reburying the dead from the battlefield, with their armor; this is a religious ceremony, with symbols of a fist holding a shaft of yellow light to be seen (the dead deity Shang-Ti; most Shintapoori have not adopted new gods yet, and almost none from the provinces). The bones are burned on a mass pile, along with the bits of armor and weapons, and numerous offerings, mostly symbolic. The villagers wore white, or light colored, clothes for this.
Most of the villagers are Lawful Neutral, with a strong desire to obey their overlord, strive for the good of the state, and they tend to be subservient to authority. They lean somewhat towards the Good side. If anyone wanted to try to set up a temple of their deity here, it might eventually gain some followers, but it would take time.
After the fourth week, the village will be noticeably healthier, the fields will begin to produce stronger crops, and the herds will be healthier.
After this was complete, and the characters received some magical gifts as thanks, they departed for the Wizard's Isle (see Eliste).