Nesteropetes

A flying-log piloted by talking pirate-like squirrels.

The log, however, hides a bizarre creature that occasionally feeds on its bushy-tailed inhabitants.

Use this section as a quick reference during play, or at the start of a Session to refresh your GM senses!

Sights
Dense forest on all sides

Nut stashes

Variously sized maps stuffed into the Log’s recesses and knots

Hoards of tiny trinkets

Sounds
Chirruping and squeaking of the Squirrels as they go about their tasks

Cracking of twigs & branches

Burst of wings and hoof as Nest disturbs the foraging of all manner of creature in the forests

Distant whooping, yawns, howls and cries

Smells
Rich must of old soil and bark

Unwashed fur

Droppings and urine

Over-ripe berries

Nuts; boiled, fried, or roasted

The Squirrels of Nest practice vigorous trading with all and sundry; macadamia from the Muntjac tribes, hazelnuts from the Hedge-Pigs, pine-nuts from the Pine-Martins, walnuts with the Weasels, and so on.

Having obtained their stores from the various Tribes of the forest, the Squirrels then undertake the practice of converting each store variously for creams, poultices, preparations, alcohols, insulators, extracts, and much more besides, with no part of the nut put to waste.

The creatures are alert and suspicious of any they do not expect to encounter in their vast forest home, but are quick to bargain and barter should trade be forthcoming.

The Squirrel Crew busily seek all manner of artefacts, commodities and wonders rare to their forest habitat.

Metals, particularly those from weapons and armour, are a favoured.

The Squirrels, having long ago mastered the brewing of various liqueurs, often prefer spirits - particularly grape-wine and grain alcohols - of a more distant origin, consuming it in vast quantities, and becoming rather rowdy, rambunctious and violent.

Having partaken in such liquid refreshments, and exhausting their quarrels, the Traveller will find them enraptured by stories, tales and legends, thereafter embellishing, adapting and re-enacting the adventures for many days.

Wild nuts, and the many and various preparations obtained from them (as mentioned in the "Local Economy" section above).

Nest's Crew of Squirrels have been known to take on various contracts; particularly when times are hard or the nut-harvest fails, as they are extraordinarily adept at locating that which is lost or cannot be found; including people.

One additional source of income is the sale of variously strange and interesting trinkets found lost in the forests; dropped by some hapless Merchant or clumsy Traveller, or lifted from the long dead corpse of a bested Adventurer; they do not linger long enough to define nor discern.

Nesteropetes, or "Nest", acts as both home and transportation for the Squirrel Clan.

Just as the vast forests through which the enormous hollow log traverses provide near endless material for renovation and repair, so too does Nesteropetes provide protection and entertainments for its furry inhabitants.

The Squirrels may, or may not, be aware that their evergreen home is consuming them ... one by one ... little by little ... day after day ...

At first glance, it would appear that the Squirrels of Nest are led by a Captain; resplendent in velveteen breeches, waistcoat and feathered-hat, with a sharp brass hook for a paw.

On closer inspection, however, it appears that the Squirrel beneath the Captain's garb changes from day to day.

The station of Captain is granted each dawn, upon the settling of a contest known as "Palé" that - in equal parts - combines wrestling, acrobatics and vicious verbal castigations.

The victor - having outwitted their opposite number in vaulting, violence and vitriol, thus becomes Captain ... for a day, at least.

The loser, dishonoured and disappearing into the excitable throng of its kin, is then quickly consumed by the enormous Tree, Nesteropetes, at a moment when none are there to see.

There is no hierarchy, it should be noted, between the various groups and genera of creatures of Nest - whether squirrel, prairie dog, marmot, or chipmunk.

Minute-to-minute, and moment-to-moment; this is the way of the Squirrels of Nesteropetes.

That which fascinated moments ago no longer holds sway, and the sway of the many, the throng, and the nest, spins wildly.

The Squirrels are great collectors, too, and able to find much of interest as they scout and scavenge (as much for food as for objects of interest) the vast stretched of forest through which their enormous "vessel" traverses.

Forgotten trinkets and tiny treasures, objects long unseen by the world until a tiny pair of claws scratched away at the soft, leaf litter forest floor to bring again into the light that which was lost.

The creatures of Nesteropetes are also prone to sudden and whimsical bouts of laziness and sleep; some even sleep for many weeks or months at a time, awakening to find their home in areas of the forest they have never before seen or explored.

This list is by no means exhaustive, and is intended simply to stir the pot of your own imagination.

Use what follows as starting-points, or ignore them entirely in favour of your own Adventure Hooks!

Roll 1d6 or choose from the Table below :

1 - The Squirrels are being hunted by a voracious predator and desperately petition the Party for aid and assistance.

2 - The Squirrels of Nesteropetes are vicious bandits; hunting, looting, and murdering any who tread through forests they have claimed as their own.

3 - The arcane energies that propel the enormous log "ship" are extraordinarily ancient and rare, and hint to some long-lost Druidic rituals rumoured to have once been practiced deep within these woodlands.

4 - The Squirrels of Nest are not, in fact, Squirrels at all - but sailors; lost souls cursed by an enraged and vengeful woodland Deity as punishment for the many timbers they took from the forests to furnish their sea-bound fleets.

5 - The Tree of Nesteropetes is not a tree, but a strange astral beast hiding here upon this Plane, feeding on the Squirrels in order to maintain its life-force until such time as it may abandon the forests in search of villages and towns ... and the new food that resides there.

6 - The Squirrels of Nest are hunting for a legendary Treasure. They offer to split the prize with the Party if they join in the search. They have parts of a map, and several clues, but their nut-riddled brains cannot deduce what must be "cracked".

ROLL 1d20 for a NESTEROPETES TRINKET

1 - An empty hazelnut, with two faces drawn onto the outer shell in dark ink. One face is smiling; the other frowns.

2 - A compass set into a halved snail's shell, its directional pine needle ever-spinning.

3 - A squirrel skull lacquered blood-red; holding it to your ear prompts it to whisper things in a pitch barely audible, barely understandable.

4 - A fleshy grub that, as it squirms, displays veiny innards glowing a vibrant shade of purple. Eating the grub gifts - for 1d12 days - the ability to speak a language hitherto unknown.

5 - A self-sustaining bonsai juniper, its pot a hardy macadamia shell. Each tiny berries it produces can flavour an entire litre of spirits, leaving a sweetly pine'd, citrusy after-taste that restores 1d6 to your Health.

6 - A ring of twisted willow. Should its wearer undergo an alignment change/suffer from internal conflict, it sets tiny thorns into their skin until the change or conflict is resolved, and is unable to be removed. This does not appear to inflict any damage, but is unavoidably uncomfortable.

7 - A small pouch of woven squirrel-down, in which is contained a cluster of hen's teeth.

8 - A tiny carved wooden thimble that fills with honeydew nectar every morning, a favourite of pixies and insects alike.

9 - Lairy, the Inebriated Glowbug; perpetually intoxicated on squirrel liquor. Seemingly immortal and impervious to all damage, Lairy has decided to be your best-bestest friend who will follow you to the ends of the earth. Just a little bug with a light-up behind who thinks you're neat and flies into things a lot.

10 - An everlasting mint sprig that never dries nor withers, with a refreshing aroma that never dims.

11 - A shrivelled wild blueberry with features that resemble any that hold it. When planted, it sprouts and grows a likeness of whomever planted it. This likeness lives for 1d10 hours, doing anything its likeness commands.

12 - A gnarled mulberry-arrow flighted with moth wings, that appears utterly weightless.

13 - An oversized, softly luminescent dandelion tuft which - when blown upon - slows the descent of any falling creature to that of a downy feather on a windless day. Once used, the seed dissolves into the wind.

14 - A clay jug full of undulating slugs. The creatures vibrate when within 500ft of any undead.

15 - A badger pelt with a strange map of an underground expanse tattooed onto the furless reverse.

16 - The skull of a mink that has been fashioned into a whistle. Blowing into it summons either a clan of friendly fisher-martens, or a giant wolverine hungry for Adventurer’s flesh.

17 -A large toadstool mushroom that glows in the dark. In the sunlight, however, it reeks unbearably of bear urine.

18 - The animated, twitching tail torn from a Palé-defeated squirrel. Thrown to the ground, it always points the way back to Nest.

19 - A tiny seed pod that jingles with an echoing bell that summons a giant humming bird.

20 -A golden, jewel encrusted crown, belonging to the reigning monarch of the land. The Squirrels of Nesteropetes swear they found it on the forest floor.

Roll 1d8 for a random forest encounter or choose from the Table below :

1 - Muntjac Mayhem : Disturbing their delicate foraging, they are lit by panic and scatter, attracting the attentions of a Giant Bear nearby.

2 - Leaf The Butterflies Alone! : From some distance away the trees in this grove appear fulsome in their leaf cover; upon closer inspection, however, you find a suddenly erupting kaleidoscope of magical Butterfly, sparking a ripple of strange magic.

3 - BickeringBeavers : A series of zig-zagging streams cavort across the landscape beneath the flying log of Nest, finding a lake where a number of Giant Beaver are at quarrel with a small child-like creature.

4 - Fire, Fire, Fire! : Thick choking smoke clogs the air, as a crackling red plume spits fire somewhere ahead. The dry season? Or some strange Elemental Entity gone awry?

5 - Stones-A-Plenty : A clearing opens ahead, and a ring of large standing stones can be seen; each one vibrates with a unique resonant song and colourful hue, sending the Squirrels ofNest into a rabid frenzy.

6 - Shrew Are You? : Another Tribe - of Shrews, now less - has desires of owning, and piloting, Nesteropetes! Their underground tunnel network affords the advantage of surprise attack in all corners of the Forest!

7 - Bat’ll Teach You! : Nest does not usually take flight at night, but of late a number of Squirrels - having slept the daylight hours away - have shirked tradition, only to aggravate and attract the ire of a number of Giant Fruit Bats.

8 - Pangolin Wrangling : A mother-manidae has lost all of her younglings, believing them to have been led astray by a roaming band of trapper-Marsupials. Returning the young will bring much reward (likely in the form of resplendent Pangolin armoured chest-plates … or possibly even a pint of Pangolin milk).