Unearthing the Shrine (Erastus (VII) 15th, 4712 AR)

Skaldwood

Very few Shoanti actually reside in Korvosa. Skaldwood is a copse of trees just outside the city proper. The Shoanti who call the Skaldwood home have worn numerous trails through the wood, connecting the many clearings where they have established semi-permanent campgrounds. The Shoanti living in Skaldwood are wary of outsiders, but direct inquiring Pathfinders to the local sage named Telmayne Fire-Eyes when asked.

Telmayne is young for a shaman, and her tall, athletic appearance often surprises those who seek her out. She is shaved bald in the custom of many of her people, and wears a scarlet bandanna tied around her head. She seemed indifferent to the heroes' problem, and studied them with a dispassionate eye as they described the conflict between Zeeva and the Aspis Consortium. She perked up at any mention of the supernatural events of the previous encounter, especially when the heroes revealed that they suspected a Shoanti connection. "I suppose I could tell you some of the history and stories of my people," she said in Common. "Maybe it would help you. Maybe it would not. The telling is free - but answer me this: After my people were driven from our lands, why should I?"

The heroes persuaded Telmayne to assist them. The heroes are non-Shoanti but some of them spoke the Shoanti language, which impressed Telmayne with the effort to learn the tongue of her people. Telmayne revealed the following information:

"There was once a great shaman who dedicated himself to unity and peace among the Shoanti quahs. The Chelish invaders executed him centuries ago, and buried his shrine to remove any memory of the peace he once preached.

The shaman was known as Galdron Greenheart, a name he adopted when he set aside the warlike ways of our quah. History recounts that he was moved by an ancient legend that spoke of unity between the clans to lay down his weapons and provide a place of peace where all Shoanti were welcome. Without weapons, however, he could not defend himself against the Chelish invaders who saw him as a potential threat for his ability to inspire and unite his people.

Galdron Greenheart's shrine was located near where the Green Market now stands - likely buried beneath the current marketplace. I have felt his spirit there even today, and his rage at the violence between yourselves and your rivals is likely what motivated the strange events you described. Only by calming him can you restore balance in the Green Market. Locate his shrine and place upon it a Shoanti symbol of peace; seven broken klar blades in the shape of a star is traditional among my people.

When you uncover his shrine, Galdron will likely lash out at you as he did before. If he manifests with fire, he has forgotten that he left the Sklar-Quah, the Sun People. He wanted to be of all quahs and none – the Green Heart. You see, he left this world a man of peace, not a man of war. Your best hope might be to make him remember that."

The Pathfinders inquired from Telmayne where they could get klars to use in the ritual to sate Galdron Greenheart. She offered them seven of the traditional Shoanti weapons - a blade mounted to a giant lizard skull, which can serve as both a weapon or a shield that her people no longer needed. These old specimens were damaged or ceremonial rather than functional, and had both the broken condition and fragile quality.

Unearthing the Shrine

When the heroes returned to the Green Market, they located and uncovered the shrine of Galdron Greenheart, which was buried 5 feet under the floor. After a few hours of labor (Zeeva offered several shovels from the cart of one of the market's vendors for the heroes to dig with), the heroes uncovered a low stone altar under which lay a bare human skeleton. The remains of a rusted spear head penetrated the skeleton's chest and ribs, with a rotted wooden spear haft still attached.

Once they uncovered the shrine, the heroes had to place the symbolic klar blades on the altar in the shape of a seven-pointed star. When the first blade was set upon the altar as part of the ritual, several crysmals burrowed out of the earth. The elementals attacked the heroes indiscriminately and fought until destroyed.