Cut After Noon

Walkthrough

Getting the quest

Ask almost anyone in the village "Heard anything interesting?" and you hear about Grigore's lad. Vasile and Petre gossip in the square from 10:00 to 17:00. Arik behind the bar of Blood of the Vine gives it as his first rumour, and Bildrath Cantemir has it under his news ("Grigore the woodcutter"). Any of these puts the quest at Rumored.

Grigore himself hauls wood along the west road by his yard from 8:00 to 17:00 (not in a storm). Ask "We heard about your lad.", or "Why the hurry?" and then "Somebody stayed, didn't they?", and he tells you about Luca: the quest moves to Asked.

Step by step

1. Find out what the wood is. Any one of these works, and each can be tried again if it fails:
   • The pale logs on Grigore's woodpile: [Nature DC 13] "Split one open and look at the grain." or [Arcana DC 15] "Is there magic in it?"
   • Luca, asleep on a pallet in the yard: [Medicine DC 13] "Open his hand and look." finds the splinter working its way in.
   • Bildrath's storeroom: "The wood you bought from Grigore. Show us.", then [Nature DC 13]. This works even before you've talked to Grigore.

   The quest moves to Seedwood.

2. Get Bildrath's load (needed to burn it). Once you know it's seedwood, ask Bildrath about the wood again and say "That's blight-wood. Give it to us, and we'll burn it with the rest." He writes it off, and Parriwimple carries it to Grigore's yard. The shop is shut from 19:00 to 6:00.
3. Deal with the wood. Talk to Grigore by day. You have two choices:
   • Burn it by day. This needs Bildrath's load. "We've got Bildrath's load. Burn the lot, now, while it's light." Grigore balks at burning his winter's firewood. Win him over with [Persuasion DC 12] "It's the winter or your son, Grigore." (one try) or by pressing 10 gp into his hand. The burning logs split and blights crawl out: at level 4 or higher, 2 × Vine Blight, 4 × Needle Blight and 2 × Twig Blight (450 XP); at level 3, one vine, three needle and four twig blights (350 XP); below that, two needle and three twig blights (175 XP). The quest moves to Burned.
   • Wait for dusk. "Then we sit with Luca till dark, and see what comes for him." Time passes to 19:00, Bildrath's logs roll up the street, and the woodpile stands up. At level 4 or higher it's The Woodpile (Shambling Mound) with 2 × Vine Blight and 4 × Needle Blight (2,200 XP); at level 3, The Woodpile (85 HP) with four twig and two needle blights (2,000 XP); below level 3, one vine, three needle and three twig blights (325 XP). The quest moves to Stood Up. At level 3 and up this is a much harder fight than burning. The mound is healed by lightning and resists fire and cold, so hit it with anything else.
4. Draw the splinter. After either fight, Grigore comes to you in his yard at any hour. [Medicine DC 13] "Draw the splinter out, slowly, root and all." gets it out clean. A caster with Lesser Restoration does the same, and "(Just pull it out.)" works but leaves Luca a scar. Luca wakes, and the quest ends at Luca Woke.
5. Collect. Grigore offers you the 40 gp Bildrath paid him. Take it, or say "Keep it. Buy Luca a hat for the noon sun." (Godrick +2, Wren +2, Liriel +1). Then go back to Bildrath and ask "About that firewood." He buys your silence with a pair of Wraps of Unarmed Power, +1, plus 10% off his prices if you hadn't already haggled him down (Kip +1).

Choices and endings

Burning the wood and fighting it at dusk both end with Luca awake. The difference is the fight: burning by day keeps it small. Luca tells you about a big man in a bear's hide who planted the late trees in spring, singing that "the hill wants the valley back". Unless the druids' tree on Yester Hill has already burned, this puts Yester Hill on your travel map.

If you're stuck

• Grigore is only on the west road from 8:00 to 17:00, and not in storms. After the fight he finds you whenever you're near his yard.
• If burning isn't on offer, you don't have Bildrath's load yet: burning Grigore's pile alone isn't enough.
• Bildrath only hands the wood over once you know it's seedwood.

Rewards

• Wraps of Unarmed Power, +1
• 40 gp

What your companions think

• Kip Smudgewick: +2 you haggled Bildrath down; -1 you menaced a shopkeeper over his prices; -2 you lied to Bildrath about his strongbox; +2 you paid Bildrath back what was taken from him; -2 you threatened Bildrath and his nephew; +1 you let Bildrath buy your silence
• Wren Featherfoot: +1 you haggled Bildrath down; +1 you lied to Bildrath about his strongbox; +2 you wouldn't take a woodcutter's last forty gold
• Godrick Pendlebrook: -2 you lied to Bildrath about his strongbox; +2 you paid Bildrath back what was taken from him; -1 you threatened Bildrath and his nephew; +2 you wouldn't take a woodcutter's last forty gold
• Liriel Dawnsong: +1 you paid Bildrath back what was taken from him; +1 you wouldn't take a woodcutter's last forty gold
• Thistle: +1 you threatened Bildrath and his nephew

Fights

• The logs split in the fire, and things crawl out of the splits: pale, thorned, too many legs, and very angry…, in Village of Barovia: Vine Blight, Needle Blight, Twig Blight. Scales with your level.

• The woodpile stands up. It is taller than Grigore's house, logs for ribs and roots for fingers, and the…, in Village of Barovia: Shambling Mound, Vine Blight, Needle Blight, Twig Blight. Scales with your level.

Journal

Related

• People: Arik, Bildrath Cantemir, Parriwimple, Grigore, Luca, Vasile, Petre
• Places: Blood of the Vine, Bildrath's Mercantile, Village of Barovia
• More in The Village of Barovia: Mary's Daughter, Six Feet, The Burgomaster's Hound, The Goatherd's Count, The Nursemaid's Grave, The Oat Thief, The Polite Caller, The Priest's Son