The Old Gods Return and More In the Latest Word Around Orm

The feast of Ostara is here once again as the latest full moon arrives! Before turn our gaze to the feast or the Procession of the Old Gods that proceeds it, let us first see what the latest word is among the people of Orm:

PakPak's ShopShop has expanded! Adventurers and the hirelings of the 111th Company are a buzz over its new offerings of including marbles, cooking pots, paper, bullseye lanterns, and more. Rumor has it that it recently received a big restock of healing items.

Atel Moory, the current reigning Lady of Flowers, has gone missing. She was last seen the night before Ostara. Her mother, Soldinick, says that it is like she just vanished into thin air. The Brothers of the Fields insist this is a most ill sign for Orm's futures.

Maybe Orm's newest residents, The Illustrious Company of Khourau, will take up the matter. The group of adventurers, are fresh off the boat from the Principality of Kouz. Funded by the Prince of Kouz's court magic-user, Klarion, the Illustrious Company were lured to seek their fortunes in 'The Complex' by the tales of the Dragon Slayers of the Drinking Crow. They seem to be currently operating out of said tavern until they can set up more permanent lodgings. The group, lead by a Vicar of the Temple of Danu, Esfir, seems focused on the uncovering magic and knowledge located deep in the vaults of 'The Complex'. The group's main members also include a bookish vat spawn named Exile XII, a Magician in the Transcendental Congress of the Aureate Precepts named Lyth, gentleman thief "Catmouth" Kurdy, and ZaWoosh the gnome. The group seems eager to share information with other adventurers and is willing to offer the following services:

Jobs and Rates for the Illustrious Company of Khourau
Rate	Sample Job
800gp/month	Watch an entrance into the Complex, speak to locate fauna and fowl
800gp/week	Camp from a hidden location in the Complex (inside a secret room, setting up hammocks in one of the elevator shafts) to monitor, but not engage with, comings and goings.
800gp/day	Use “locate object” to find an item catalogued in the tomes of the Athenaeum of the Dying Sun.
800gp	Do a job on Levels 1-3 of the Complex
1600gp	Explore the Great Cavern
2400gp	Delve into Level 5 of the Complex.

When hired to operate inside a dungeon, the Illustrious Company keeps 1/2 of the treasure retrieved. The wereguilt for a deceased party member on a hired job is 800gp.

The Feast of Ostara and the Procession of the Old Gods

The citizens of Orm somberly gather under the flickering late morning Sun as the line streets the weave their way towards the Monument of the Old Gods to watch the Procession of the Old Gods. Terrible beings, some in broken down baroque finery while others in otherworldly complex armors, ride past the crowd on hiedous mounts or extravagant litters in eerie silence.

Those that did not partake in the Resplendent Fête and are still currently in Orm must throw a Save vs. Spells. On a failed roll, throw a d20 on the table below:

d20	The dead gods of the Processional know you. They jealously see the life that still fills you and...
1.	You heard the sound of hooves outside your window at night as you fall asleep. If you look out, no one is there.
2.	Suddenly, you find that well roasted meats, baked delights, and the like taste like ash in your mouth.
3.	In the Processional, one of the gods terrified you the most. When you close your eyes, you can see its form staring at you in the darkness.
4.	You could swear that you regularly hear the faint calling of your name upon the wind.
5.	You always think you dressed properly for the day but somehow always end up with the chills.
6.	A god signalled for you to join them. For some reason, you ran instead. Everything you hear hooves, your first thought is that it is them coming for you.
7.	You will do anything to forget the feeling of the cold hand of that god on your shoulder as it led you through the streets. Your next carousing roll will cost you double but you will gain double XP. You will automatically fail the save vs. poison.
8.	The feeling of each and every one of the eyes of those gods is still with you. Why didn’t they force you to join the Processional? The anxiety over this has led you to form a nervous habit.
9.	A particularly melancholic god had you march before their mount. When they reached the edge of the Old Town, they pointed to your coin. They took all you had and let you go.
10.	You have to sleep with a light on. In the dark, you can see those dead gods sneaking towards you and moving around your bed.
11.	Choose a food. Something about it. Its shape, its texture, its smell, etc. reminds you of one of the beings that took part in the Processional. It so repulsed you that whenever you partake of that food, you must save vs. poison or get sick.
12.	When the dead gods asked for you, the crowd made a mistake and grabbed the wrong person. They are now marked for the next year but know it should have been you.
13.	During the Processional, you make eye contact with a deceased divinity that possesses a visage unlike anything you have ever seen. You lock gazes for a moment and you know it has made a personal note of you.
14.	You have had a hard time keeping your mind focused since the Processional. At the start of the next session, random roll a piece of equipment that you forgot to bring to the dungeon with you.
15.	When an old god grabbed you to join the processional, you fell and were trampled. You start your next session with 1d4 less HP (minimum of 1).
16.	Domesticated animals can sense the doom flowing from you, you just know it! Dogs whimper in your presence, birds songs turn mournful, and mounts will randomly refuse to carry you forward (a 1-in-6 chance every hour or six turns).
17.	You haven’t been able to shake this overwhelming sense of dread. You are at -2 to attacks and saves until you score a critical success and regain some hope.
18.	Your name weezed through the dead maw of an old god and the crowd responded by pushing you out into the Processional. There is a 50% chance that each new Cultivate Relationship clock you open will be at disadvantage because the NPC was there. They were one of the ones that pushed you.
19.	A god, whom you did not see, grabbed hold the nape of your neck and forced you to march alongside its mount. You followed the Processional out of Orm, unseen again for a follow week. You awoke amongst the ruins of Orm-of-Old with a strange, new mark on your body. You would swear it was a birthmark but it was not there before. You lose one week of downtime activity.
20.	An especially hideous monstrosity pointed a digit straight at you before silently beckoning you from the crowd. All of Orm saw you parade along the dead gods. For the next year, you are -2 to reaction rolls in Orm as all seek to avoid being entwined in your miserable fate.

*DM's note- This event is about a week late. Sorry for the delay!

Communal tables in Orm as filled with roasted meets, the season's first fruits, and all manner of libations that have been fermenting since the Fête came to a close.

At the settlement's most extravagant feast, local jar magnet Ivouri Vas (heavy with drink) reminds all that it has been a year since he offered a reward for someone putting an end to the affliction his son Drüg is suffering from. He loudly declares that he will increase the reward to 2,000gp to the party than can cure his child of the fate he currently suffers.