Quest: Where Field Meets Forest

Region: Eastemnet, Rohan (The Wold & Norcrofts)
Locations: River-meads of the Entwash, field edges near Cliving, Rhovaniel’s homestead

Quest Givers:

• Herd-mistress Léofwyn of the Norcrofts (worried about stock, wary of wolves)
• Elder Botwine of the riverside hamlet (needs clean water for mills & mead)
• Letters/advice from the Brown Wizard (practical, nature-first guidance)

Quest Description

After the war’s passing, the Entwash runs heavy with silt and old tar, fields creep into deer paths, and frightened hands reach for snares. Called by farmers and fishers alike, Rhovaniel takes up a different kind of hunt—mapping gentle crossings, easing predator-panic, and restoring waters the way only a Tender of Beasts can. This is stewardship in motion: where the plough meets the pines.

Objectives

• Scout the Wilding Paths: Track and mark recurring deer and boar routes between copse and water.
• Set Waystones of Kind Passage: Craft and place braided waystones (reeds, horsehair, river-stone) to guide herds away from fields at dusk/dawn.
• Rescue the Bog-Foal: Free a trapped foal from peat near the Entwash, calm the mare, and teach villagers a rope-harness rescue.
• Cleanse the Black Run: Locate the tar seep and cleanse a side-stream with ash, willow, and flow-diversion—then restock with minnows.
• Teach Gentle Wards: Replace snares with scent-deterrents and bell-lines; show farmers how to protect coops without blood.
• Parley at Dusk: Mediate a pledge between hamlet elders and herdsfolk: no traps; seasonal grazing lanes; report sightings, not reprisals.
• Quiet the Winter-Pale: Soothe a limping wolf at the ford so the pack shifts range without conflict.

Key Characters

• Léofwyn, Herd-mistress — Practical, proud, open to proof.
• Elder Botwine — Stubborn riverkeeper with a soft spot for bees and mills.
• Village Youths — Quick to learn; become keepers of bell-lines and waystones.
• The Winter-Pale Wolf — Not an enemy; a test of trust.

Setting

Braided river-meadows, oat fields nibbling the wilds, reed-choked inlets hiding minnows and tar, wind-scuffed grasslands where dusk moves like a herdsman’s cloak.

Completion Criteria

• Deer and boar begin using two marked crossings for three successive nights.
• The Black Run runs clear; minnows return.
• The wolf is observed ranging east of the lambing fields without incident.
• A signed Dusk-Pledge is posted in the hamlet: “No snares, no poison; crossings kept; warnings shared.”
• Rhovaniel places her final waystone and teaches one villager to braid the next.

Quest Rewards

• Title: Ward of the Entwash
• Housing Item: Braided Waystone (Field-Edge Marker)
• Skill Note: Calming Presence II (improved beast-lore checks near livestock)
• Reputation: +Men of the Eastemnet, +Creatures of the Wild (regional)
• Recipe: Willow-Ash Purifier (consumable for stream-cleansing tasks)