The settlers and locals
The party comes across a human settlement in the jungle. There they hear that the humans have been attacked and brutally killed by the local lizardfolk tribe. Any attempts at communication and diplomacy have ended in death. Now, they are asking for help, with no other option otherwise than to pack up and leave and come back with greater force.
What complicates the whole matter is that the humans are mining out an area with Dawnshards. These dawnshards are holy to the lizardfolk as they are part of a vast network of Dawnshards in the jungles of Q’barra. This network of Dawnshards are creating a prison that is responsible of binding the Overlord Masvirik. But, the dawnshards are a unique type of Eberron Dragonshards and will make whoever mines them out a fortune. So, the humans are quite determined to make this work.
This creates a dilemma. Help the humans, which also means trampling on the locals traditions and values. Or, help the locals, but end up as possible enemies of the human settlers. Or maybe find a different solution.
Cassandra, the mage who went wild and killed a fellow human when going on a rampage.
Some random ideas…
- After traveling for hours, the group finds a set of tracks. After some investigation, they realize it’s their own, and they have been traveling in circles for hours.
- They hear someone crying “help” and “please” but when they go to it, there is nothing but some vines and red flowers. This continues throughout the jungle. When investigating the flowers, the flowers seem to capture the noise of the surrounding jungle. Someone at some point was in trouble in this area, but the adventurers have no idea when or why, and the only evidence the person ever existed was their last pleas for help heard by an uncaring jungle.
- The trees shift and move subtlety, causing the paths through the jungle to change and disorient travelers.
- The noises of the jungle suddenly cease. A dead quiet falls over the area. Not a bug not a bird. This lasts for 5 minutes and slowly the noises creep back up to their usual cacophony.