With nothing further to investigate you make your way back to Noala. You find the ranger burning a pair of mangy wolf bodies —stragglers that she caught trying to sneak out of the area.
"You're back," she says looking at your battered state. "Tell me, what did you find? Caught these two trying to run off a few minutes after you went in." She says gesturing at the burning wolves. These too, are albinos, yet runts compared to the vicious ones you encountered moments ago.
"There seems to be some sort of corruption in the water inside a burrow under the large tree," Gamble says. "I do not know for certain, but I would wager it is what mutated the wolves and plants around the area."
Noala furrows her slim brows. "The water... that makes perfect sense! With the trees and the plants being affected, too, after all. There is another blight. Larger and older than this one. The only problem is that it will take at least one day's journey through unforgiving wilderness and quite frankly," she pauses to look at you bedraggled state, "you are in no shape to continue today."
"I agree. We could definitely use a rest!" Gamble says with a smile. The large blood stains on his armor scattered acid burns in the leather belie his good spirits.
”Deerslicer, can you find us a—relatively—safe place for us to camp?” he asks the goblin woodsman.
"There's no need to camp. We can be back in Plaguestone for the evening if we get going." Noala says as she unhitches the horses.
The trip back to Etran's Folly is uneventful, except for the aches you feel while ridding the horses. They're well-behaved animals, alas, even their gentle jostling brings pain, not to mention the hurt of having to sit in the saddle if you are unused to it.
Just as Noala said, you arrive back to Etran's Folly in the evening to the familiar sound of people drinking at the Feedmill.
"I'm going to hit the shops before they all close," Gamble says. "I'm in better shape than most of you thanks to Sinan and Valor. Meet up at the Feedmill?"
You arrive home and as you reach the entrance, the smell of a delicious stew fills the air. Cooky serves each of you a bowl. "The twins went out hunting while you were out. It's rabbit with turnips. Lots of those around here."
Renovations at your current home continued while you were out for the day. Another wall fixed, another less dreary draft of air to deal with. You probably fall asleep quickly, tuckered by the fight with the plants and the wolves.
"Rabbits, turnips, or both?" Gamble asks with amusement. He lays the healing potions out on a table. "In case Sinan has tapped all of his lady's blessings for the day or decides an elbow is an adequate poultice."
Cooky raises a slim eyebrow "Mostly turnips. Wildlife has been scarce around here." The meal is filling and perhaps welcome after your day.
The next morning you ride again past the Plaguestone and into the Etran's Folly's outskirts. Delma, being considerate and lending more credence to Noala's worries about the blight prepares some jerky for you all for the trip. She waves you off as you go. Sheriff Garley rolling his eyes as you leave.
The journey to the blight is long and challenging. It is deep in the forest and far to the north. "If you want to arrive before nightfall, we'll have to keep a quick pace. Eat fast and move fast."
Riding this way you cover ground as quickly as possible. Your body is sore from the saddle and your meals are hurried. Even with these measures you arrive to your destination with only an hour of daylight remaining.
You set up camp and decide on a watch. Noala volunteers the first watch. As you sit around the campfire before the start of her watch, she comes over and offers you a satchel. The satchel contains two dark, chocolate colored potions and two others that have a golden hue.
"You might have better use for these as you're heading into the blight. Got them from an alchemist over at Falcon's Hollow. Plaguestone doesn't have an alchemist, bunch of superstitious fools! The bitter ones, those are 'barkskin'. They toughen you up, but you're more susceptible to fire, so be careful. The other two are healing potions."
"I'll be honest with you folks. You seem alright and not like that idiot Garley. We're about 20 minutes from the beginning of the blight. It's why things are still normal here. It didn't extend this far a couple of months ago, but it keeps on growing. Head north and you'll find the start of it. I've gone there, pretty much the same as what you saw in the previous blight, but if you head in deeper it gets worse. Haven't gone there. Too much for just one person to handle. I'm hoping you all have better luck with it."
"Thank you for these, and thank you for the warnings," Gamble says as he finishes clearing a spot to lay his bedroll. "I suppose I'm in front as much as anyone. I'll take one of these. Deerslicer, you ought to take the other."
He removes his lute from his pack and begins to quietly pluck at the strings, trying to set a peaceful mood before the night begins.
The night passes by uneventfully.
Early the next morning, Noala bids you goodbye, several snares tied to her belt and backpack. "I'll be patrolling the perimeter and setting up these traps. I'll be back here in the evening. You lot be careful out there," she says pointing towards the north and the blight.
Gamble gathers his gear, stows his staff and draws his bow. "Thank you. Watch your back," he replies.
As you advance you discover the blight in this area resembles the blight surrounding the wolf den. The plants on the perimeter are sickly and dying with rotting trees and muted wildlife. Deeper in, the blight takes a sinister turn: all the plants have died; they are limp and rotten, and the air stinks with sweet decay. There are no birds or insects here, only the remains of creatures desperate enough to eat the poisonous plants. It takes just over 20 minutes to traverse between these two areas.
Finally, as you head further in you enter the third area, where smaller trees and plants seem to have returned to twisted life. Their leaves drip with an oily sap, their branches are gnarled yet strangely pliable, and their bark looks like scales. Many of these plants are covered in odd pustules that emit a faintly glowing light, and biting gnats swarm around them. Swatting these gnats causes them to burst into tiny flames that do no damage but emit a terrible smell.
"I realize that I am stating the obvious, but this is not good," Gamble comments after swatting somewhere around the dozenth sulfurous gnat.
Gamble would notice faint humanoid boot tracks in the grass. Following them for the next 30 minutes takes you deeper into the heart of the blight.
Deeper into this massive aberration of nature, the plants take on unnatural shades, and their branches seem to shudder and quake at the sensation of something passing. Up ahead is a wall of thick brambles with some sort of thorny iris in the center.
"Do you think someone came before us?" he asks as they begin to follow the boot tracks. He stops short and reaches for his sword hilt. "What is that?"
Sinan says little as the signs of blight become more apparent, except for the odd "Even the Dawn's light is absent this place." or some similar foreboding intonation. The mosquitoes and other biting flies in the area have done much to sour the priest's mood.
With a hushed prayer on his lips, Sinan draws his holy symbol from around his neck and rests his other hand on the pommel of the blade at his waist. He gestures towards the brambles and the motion of the plants. "See? This is why civilized peoples live in the desert."
You all notice that the wildlife here is also alive. There are three bushes you can see with long vines that could tear you to pieces.
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Deerslicer mumbles, "Some of these plants is weird." He points them out, identifying the ones with X's on them. "Probably good t' steer clear o' d'em. Maybe go around, 'stead o' down da path?" He and Gracie move through the difficult, unpleasantly overgrown terrain. Gracie seems particularly displeased, but advances ahead a bit as Deerslicer stands behind a log, peeking out toward the plants.
Gamble makes a series of strange gestures while canting, "Up the airy mountain, down the rushy glen we daren’t go a-hunting for fear of little men; wee folk, good folk, trooping all together; green jacket, red cap, and white owl’s feather!"
He summons a fiery sprite in the middle of the path.
The sprite darts into the air and hovers. Then it flings fire off of its sword at the first of the strange creatures .
"Sneaking hasn't been much of my forte, my friend. Not since I was your height at least." Sinan replies as he stalks forward, drawing his blade and preparing to unleash the fire of the Dawnflower.
Deerslicer moves into position as Gamble's fae ally burns the vine lightly , but unlike their previous experience with plants, this one seems to not burn so easily. Simon darts in and his dagger misses its target as the vine shakes and twists.
With everyone in position, the vines shudder...
Their roots rip out of the ground, dirt falling on the tall grass as from behind the iris you hear some commotion as the red and pinkish tinged vines use their large purple vine to drag themselves forward. As they get close to the colored flowers Deerslicer saw, the roots settle on the ground and their vines twist and spring out towards Sinan!
Both vines snake towards the priest only to strike against each other, tangling up momentarily and giving Sinan time to get away from their reach as the remaining green tinged vine whips its tendril at him from behind! Reflexes sharp, he too, parries the attack with his sword! Confounded, the green tinged vine strikes at Simon instead! Failing that, it pulls it's way towards the iris, clumps of dirt trailing behind it.
Sinan grins a bit as his eyes fill with holy flame. "Burn." he commands as flame erupts in an arc from between his scimitar and holy symbol to engulf the creatures advancing on him. He then calls on his goddes to create a glowing shield in front of him... just in case.
"Keep at it, my fae friend!" Gamble calls out. "They're running away but be careful, they might be up to something. Keep your eyes sharp and blades ready!"
He draws and arrow and fires at what appears to be the closest plant-beast.