Story
The party performs a ritual to dispel an illusion and reveals the town of Hollow Wood. Upon entering, they notice various merchants setting up, including a new bug merchant named Fenneth. They visit Arden’s shop, where he’s in a quarrel with a Sunfire elf botanist. Arden casts a preservation spell on the Twilight Lilly Jassen handed him.
The party then inquires about a dragon roar heard in the area, and locals suggest it’s from Aux Lumina, a mystical guardian dragon of the town. The party also learns about Fenneth’s new critters, called mantigrades, which he brought from the north. Telemachus and Tressal each purchase one, naming them Tardi, Iron, and Lung.
Telemachus engages in some odd philosophical questions with the group, and they meet Pandine, a hired assassin investigating the town’s worm problem. Pandine dismisses the idea of using the primal well to solve the issue. Rhiana proposes that she and her pet bird, Topaz, could scout the land, while Telemachus discusses moving the crops to safer areas with Pandine.
Meanwhile, Tressal uses a Pied Piper spell to summon a large ball of worms, which leads to an encounter where Telemachus tries to feed one of the worms to his mantigrade, Tardi. The worm mutates into a dangerous creature, leading to a chaotic battle. The party manages to kill Tardi when it turns hostile, and Telemachus mourns its loss.
Tressal casts a Reveal spell on the worms and discovers that they are part of a deeper, hive-like issue. The party plans to rest before heading out to meet Aux Lumina and investigate further.