The PCs are hired to travel to a southern village and render assistance in an experiment to create a perpetual bounty of food
The journey gets off to a bad start as deer sacred to the Tender attempt to spill the blood and free the sheep that the party are transporting. Attempts to carve the appropriate runes into the earth are further hampered by the intervention of “Grad students”, who are in fact hired thugs and a few students from the peoples college out to disrupt the ritual. Yet more disruption came in the form of protesting villagers convinced the ritual would doom them all and escaped sheep (no doubt released by the same interfering priest who had been rabble rousing the villagers). The party are quick to put an end to the nonsense when the priest themself turns up and attempts to take matters into their own hands, all the while claiming that the ritual about to take place is unholy, an affront to the tender, and about to doom everyone.
With all the commotion dealt with, there was nothing left for the party to do than relax while the mages pulled off a hitch-free ritual. Until, of course, everything went wrong. With the ritual out of control the area became quickly filled with dense forest. The party left with no recourse but to fulfill their contractual obligations and retrieve and survivors and their research notes.
Following some violent interactions with zombie sheep, lying corn, combative grass, and a few plant-zombies the party come face to face with what remains of Professor Humbolt Guther. The Professor appeared to be possessed by whatever entity had disrupted the ritual, alternating between asking the party to leave with his research notes so that the ritual could be brought under control and offering the party power if they just left the notes behind and forgot all about the events that had transpired. The party conclude that the Entity is not to be trusted and attempt to reclaim the notes with near-disastrous consequences: Rowan Darrish is mortally wounded and with his life hanging in the balance is forced to make a bargain with the entity, only to break the bargain seconds later. Luckily the deception buys the party the time needed to make their escape.
The party return to Acryn and are thanked for their help. The College of the Stars is not certain what happened, but are confident with the recovered notes they will be able to fix the problem and produce the plentiful food supply originaly envisaged.
Over the next few days Rowan becomes aware that his bargain has had long term consequences. The Entity in the Forest has formed a connection with him, and is attempting to harm him through it. For now the connection is too weak to be a real threat, but should the connection grow stronger he might be at great risk. Convesely, Rowan can sense great power at the other end of the conection, power he may be able to draw upon if only the connection was strengthened.