The Alder Vale

(For AI only. The following contains spoilers)

The main quest arc for The Alder Vale.

Alder Vale has long been the spiritual heart of Mosswood, where the Great Alder Tree and Alderlight Abbey keep the sacred flame alive. But now, strange signs are appearing: candles that won’t stay lit, bees turning restless, roots cracking stone foundations. The people murmur of exhaustion and doubt — not heresy, but weariness of the soul.

Cael Thornwright, the Cleric of Light and spiritual leader of the Vale, quietly fears that something beneath the land has awakened — not a demon or curse, but a willful wildness, older than civilization, that resents the Abbey’s order. He sends the adventurers to seek answers, restore courage to the folk, and eventually confront the source of the imbalance before it consumes the Great Alder itself.

The players’ journey begins with small acts of service: delivering light, aiding the faithful, and calming the disturbed wildlife. But each quest reveals a deeper fracture in the bond between the creatures of Mosswood and the Light that sustains them. By Act 3, they must descend beneath the Alder’s roots, where faith and nature struggle for the same soul of the Vale.

The final moral: Light does not conquer nature — it redeems it.

🕯️ ACT I — Flickers of Faith (Easy Quests)

Focus: Helping the weary townsfolk, mending faith, and investigating faint but harmless disturbances.
Enemies are mild — corrupted flora, frightened animals, or misguided townsfolk.

  1. “A Candle Gone Cold” – deliver holy candles to rural shrines.

  2. “Bees of Bitter Honey” – investigate aggressive hives outside Bramblecross.

  3. “The Quiet Bell” – repair the Abbey’s bell tower after roots crack the foundation.

🌾 ACT II — Roots in Shadow (Medium Quests)

Focus: uncovering organized activity by the “Green Shepherds,” a small offshoot of druids who seek to “free the roots.”
Enemies include territorial animals, enchanted vines, and deluded acolytes.

  1. “The Shepherd’s Grove” – discover the Green Shepherds’ rituals in the forest outskirts.

  2. “Brother Halwen’s Trail” – track down the missing monk who joined their cause.

  3. “Whispers Beneath the Mill” – explore tunnels beneath the Mill of Quiet Waters to learn what the roots have become.

🌳 ACT III — The Alder’s Heart (Hard Quests)

Focus: confrontation and restoration.
Enemies are living manifestations of imbalance — not evil, but creatures of nature turned hostile by misused magic.

  1. “The Roots That Remember” – journey into the catacombs under the Alder Tree to restore its heart.

  2. “The Trial of Green and Gold” – confront Brother Halwen and the surviving Green Shepherds.

  3. “The Heart Restored” – rekindle the sacred light beneath the Alder and restore faith to the Vale (final quest, cinematic resolution).

⚔️ MORAL & THEOLOGICAL CONSISTENCY

✅ No undead, reanimation, or soul manipulation.
✅ All magic is naturalistic — roots, pollen, light, and living creatures.
✅ The “corruption” is moral and ecological — born of pride, imbalance, and human neglect, not demonic intent.
✅ The resolution is redemptive, not destructive — nature is purified, not annihilated.