The party woke, and met at Grassy Goods Herbal Remedies to talk to Indy Falisyrin, the fungril druid and current caretaker of the store, about next steps to fix the lure.
Indy took the party down into the tunnel few know about, that connects the store to the forest behind where she gathers her herbs and delivers remedies to the shyer members of the greater community. About halfway between the store and the forest's edge, Indy revealed a doorway hidden behind a bookcase, which opened into an office that was obviously as old as the store, if not older. The bookshelves were lined with arcane artifacts and lots of old tomes.
Indy told the group that the office had been created by Hylaeus the Forest Mage, the original owner of Grassy Goods Herbal Remedies. The store had been passed down to her niece Breelle, then down to Breelle's daughter Fayvira, the position inherited rather than paid for. The plan had been for Fayvira's daughter Kithora to take over next, but she and her husband Ertran Cherrybloom disappeared on a trip to Ustra's capital city of Ustria. The position, and the store, sat idle for years after Fayvira passed away, until Indy, showing promise and skill, was allowed to re-open the store and discover its secrets.
Indy showed the group the books she had been looking for, searching for an answer to how to fix the lure. Records showed that Hylaeus had been the forest Mage and running Grassy Goods back when it was created. She couldn't find anything. Sev noticed that the book was softly glowing, something that no one else could see. Sev looked through the book, and the other books that glowed on the shelves, realizing that he could see what none of the others could.
In the book were notes from Hylaeus herself... Hylaeus the Arch Mage, of Ustria, born in Elmore but who moved to the big city to join the Conclave of the Sacred Vial, who specialized in creating arcane potions that featured a combination of herbs and minerals. Hylaeus had been called back to her home town after a terrible tragedy brought about by the desire to please a god.
A Forge Priestess, Valdis of the Forge God found an ore, which she named Matsrephite (after her god, Matsreph) deep in the lowest part of the Plover Caves. She had been searching for a new ore to dedicate to her god. Then, as now, there was a small mining town that owed its existence to the wealth in the mines. Dedicating her working of the ore to her god, she combined this new ore with iron to give it stability. What Valdis didn't know what that by mixing her god's or with iron, it created a sacred composite alloy that called forth her god's estranged mate, the war Goddess Baheymah.
In the chaos that followed, demons were released, the forge became slag, the surrounding forest burned, the south bank of the village was destroyed. The priestess was killed. Hylaeus, hearing of what had happened, came with her Conclave to close the gap with a combination seal and lure. This lure would draw all beasts down to the lowest cave where the Matsrephite could be found. The town would not need weapons, and so there would not need to be a large weapon making forge. The caves would become (basically) safe at the top from all but swarming or low-level beasts, as the bigger beasts would to to the lowest levels. Hylaeus left her best friend, a monster of some kind, down in the cavern to help maintain the vial's magic, although she vowed she would find a way to update the way the lure worked to free her from that duty. Records don't show that Hylaeus ever succeeded, and her friend may still be down there.
To prevent this calamity from happening again, the Conclave of the Sacred Vial and the leaders of the community agreed that there would be no more mining in the lower caverns. Only a small forge would be allowed in the town. Hylaeus the Arch Mage would become known as Hylaeus the Forest mage, member of the town counsel, and lore keeper. She and her family would open the Grassy Goods store, maintain the lore in a way that only they could read, and prevent the calamity from having again.
Over time, the reason for the lure became forgotten as the conclave agreed it would be dangerous for the existence of the Matsrephite to become known. With the loss of Hylaeus' family running the store, not even the town herbalist knew the truth. The town should be safe.
The recipe for the vial itself was found;
Lure is made in a vial:
After all these revelations, the group understood several things: Saul had dreamed of Hylaeus' friend being left behind in the cavern. There was more to fixing the lure than they had thought. And Sev had to be related, somehow, to Hylaeus.
Chantelle
