Tweet
Dusk fell in the Viridale, and the forest transformed into something quite alien. Sounds changed; the shadows grow long and foreign; a whole host of new creatures stalk the night. This particular evening a light shone in the darkness. A campfire with two occupants.
A tall dark woman stood at the campfire shelling nuts with a skinning knife and throwing the leftovers into the flames. The shadows around the fire caused a play of images and shapes that danced around her feet. Across the fire, a wolf paced back and forth. The calm of the coming night was only interrupted by the sound of flapping wings. A small swallow landed next to camp fire.
“Um. Hi,” the swallow chirped out.
“Who's the birdie, Nora?” growled the wolf as the swallow started growing larger, turning into a young halfling woman.
“Keen, this is Dalian.” Nora motioned to the halfling halfheartedly, still focusing on her food. “Dalian, this is Keen. He's going to be helping us track tonight.”
“Oh. Us?” said Dalian.
“Did you have something else in mind?” Nora said bluntly, still methodically shelling.
“Well. No, not really. I mean. I have enough food stored away,” she said shyly.
“We track bigger game, morsel,” growled Keen as he stalked around the halfling.
“Aye, the Blight Druid,” said Nora.
“Oh. Yeah, I guess we better deal with that.” Dalian rubbed the back of her head nervously. “Though I'm not sure druids count as game. I mean, unless they are in game form.”
“Agents of Talona do for our purpose,” Nora said, looking up from her food. “What have you learned about Talona thus far?”
“Umm. Nasty goddess. Spreads poison and disease. Not really negotiable,” the halfling woman said. “Had to burn down a warehouse infested by her the other day.”
“The crumb knows her stuff Nora,” the wolf said gruffly.
“Good.” Nora bent down and started packing up her things. “Knowing your enemy is the first step in defeating them. Talona holds great influence over this forest. The Old Grove fell to her long ago and has given her great power here.”
“Corrupted spirits. Fey who have gone mad. The whole nine yards,” Keen added.
“An active druid of Talona forest explains a lot in terms of its continued corruption,” continued Nora. “Sense the ground around you, do you feel the underlying sickness?”
“Yeah. Obviously this ground isn't as tainted as the deep forest, but there's still some,” said Dalian.
Nora looked up at the setting sun, “Come, the hour is right.”
“You ready morsel? Time for the hunt,” growled Keen.
“Um. It's Dalian,” said the halfling timidly.
“I know,” Keen said, smiling wolfishly.
The trip through the early woods was uneventful. The usual tricks were used to evade Gnolls, Ogres, and whatever else lurked in the edges of the forest. But as the group ventured deeper, past the misty valley, the forest they knew grew stranger and twisted. A wash of unease settled upon the group, as if they were suddenly unwelcome. They soon found themselves in the midst Talona's corruption. Behind them the forest they love and before them an alien place, where even the plants seem to lash out against their steps.
It didn't take long for group to find the scent of the Blighted Druid; her handiwork was everywhere. A trail of illness and malady led them straight to her derelict cottage deep within the Viridale Wood.
“This is the place. I can smell it.” growled Keen.
The three approached the cottage to find that its dilapidated door closed tightly. Gingerly, Nora tried to open the door only to be met with rusty hinges creaking before the door's advance was halted by a loud clank; stopped short by a large iron chain.
“Door's rusty, but the chain isn't. Someone must have replaced it.” Dalian spoke in whispers.
A clunk sounded from within followed by some hushed whispering.
“I think we found our Druid,” Nora said.
The crone's voice cried out, first a gasp of surprise followed by some crazed yammering to herself. Sounds of foot falls echoed, moving within the cottage. The faint sound of metal on metal, a creaking, some footsteps, then a more definite thud rang out into the night.
“So much for the element of surprise,” sighed Dalian.
“I have never been accused of being subtle.” said Nora as her form shifted, growing larger and more rocky until she stood well over eight feet tall and had legs the size of small tree trunks. With one powerful kick the door tore off its hings, snapping the metal chain, and landing with a thump in the entry way.
As Nora returned to a more familiar form, the three entered the cottage were all assaulted with the putrid stale air that hung within the decayed shack. Around them furniture lay in disuse, bones scattered among refuse has been cast to the floor.
“Why does this always happen to me?” Dalian said as she covered her mouth and nose. “Can't bad guys get rosy dungeons?”
Everywhere the three saw failed experiments. Men, women, and children riddled with disease, their decaying bodies dripping black fluid. Towards the back of the room a door stood chained shut. Nora put her ear up to the door and listened intently. Something was violently flopping on the floor behind it. Another shift, and kick later, that door too fell, giving the three access to the back room.
On the ground before them lay a zombie, flailing. Together with the strange grunting, wheezing vocalizations it reminded Nora of someone having a seizure.
“What in the in nine hells?” Nora said in confusion. “I've never seen anything like this before.”
Nora took a knee next to the maligned undead. As it lay upon its back, flailing uncontrollably, its eyes rolled back and noticed Nora. Between convulsions its jaw snapped and bit as if it were attempting to take a part of fresh flesh. However, it was unable to satisfy even that basic desire.
“How on earth did she do this?” Nora said, inspecting the creature. “Undead do not suffer from ailments like this.”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” responded the halfling, “but we should put the thing out of its misery.”
“Right.” Nora retrieved the club, more of a tree branch, that hung at her waist. With a swift blow to the head, the zombie stopped moving. What poured out of the crack in its skull was largely fluid. More visible chunks of gray matter were there, but Nora was surprised at how little. Stooping down, Nora peered into the cranial cavity. She didn’t know what did this, but even for an undead, this isn't right.
“Something is wrong here. For a zombie to function it needs to have its brain. Whatever did this, did it to the zombie after it was raised.”
“Great, unnatural magics making unnatural creatures even more unnatural,” retorted Dalian.
“I think I know what she's doing here,” Nora said as realization dawned on her. “Imagine this, your order has fallen, everything is lost, and vampires and undead roam your woods. How far would you go to save it? Would you turn to the only power that was left? She's using Talona's influence to fight a war that has long since faded into memory. She's using Blight to fight the undead.”
“Well. That's just trading one blight for another.”
“You don't have to tell me that,” Nora said as she stood back up, “but I doubt this woman sees the difference.”
“Well, we gotta stop this. Doesn't matter what kind of intentions she has,” said Dalian.
“First we have to find her. Then maybe we can reason with her. There's got to be another way out of this cabin...” Nora trailed off.
“Not to shoot down your hopes, but look around.” Dalian motioned to the main room. “This is beyond reason.”
“Enemy of my enemy. Allies in unlikely places. So on and so forth. It's worth a shot,” Nora explained.
“Well,” the halfling said uneasily, “I'll follow your lead.”
((Editing the Second Part. Stay tuned!))
A tall dark woman stood at the campfire shelling nuts with a skinning knife and throwing the leftovers into the flames. The shadows around the fire caused a play of images and shapes that danced around her feet. Across the fire, a wolf paced back and forth. The calm of the coming night was only interrupted by the sound of flapping wings. A small swallow landed next to camp fire.
“Um. Hi,” the swallow chirped out.
“Who's the birdie, Nora?” growled the wolf as the swallow started growing larger, turning into a young halfling woman.
“Keen, this is Dalian.” Nora motioned to the halfling halfheartedly, still focusing on her food. “Dalian, this is Keen. He's going to be helping us track tonight.”
“Oh. Us?” said Dalian.
“Did you have something else in mind?” Nora said bluntly, still methodically shelling.
“Well. No, not really. I mean. I have enough food stored away,” she said shyly.
“We track bigger game, morsel,” growled Keen as he stalked around the halfling.
“Aye, the Blight Druid,” said Nora.
“Oh. Yeah, I guess we better deal with that.” Dalian rubbed the back of her head nervously. “Though I'm not sure druids count as game. I mean, unless they are in game form.”
“Agents of Talona do for our purpose,” Nora said, looking up from her food. “What have you learned about Talona thus far?”
“Umm. Nasty goddess. Spreads poison and disease. Not really negotiable,” the halfling woman said. “Had to burn down a warehouse infested by her the other day.”
“The crumb knows her stuff Nora,” the wolf said gruffly.
“Good.” Nora bent down and started packing up her things. “Knowing your enemy is the first step in defeating them. Talona holds great influence over this forest. The Old Grove fell to her long ago and has given her great power here.”
“Corrupted spirits. Fey who have gone mad. The whole nine yards,” Keen added.
“An active druid of Talona forest explains a lot in terms of its continued corruption,” continued Nora. “Sense the ground around you, do you feel the underlying sickness?”
“Yeah. Obviously this ground isn't as tainted as the deep forest, but there's still some,” said Dalian.
Nora looked up at the setting sun, “Come, the hour is right.”
“You ready morsel? Time for the hunt,” growled Keen.
“Um. It's Dalian,” said the halfling timidly.
“I know,” Keen said, smiling wolfishly.
The trip through the early woods was uneventful. The usual tricks were used to evade Gnolls, Ogres, and whatever else lurked in the edges of the forest. But as the group ventured deeper, past the misty valley, the forest they knew grew stranger and twisted. A wash of unease settled upon the group, as if they were suddenly unwelcome. They soon found themselves in the midst Talona's corruption. Behind them the forest they love and before them an alien place, where even the plants seem to lash out against their steps.
It didn't take long for group to find the scent of the Blighted Druid; her handiwork was everywhere. A trail of illness and malady led them straight to her derelict cottage deep within the Viridale Wood.
“This is the place. I can smell it.” growled Keen.
The three approached the cottage to find that its dilapidated door closed tightly. Gingerly, Nora tried to open the door only to be met with rusty hinges creaking before the door's advance was halted by a loud clank; stopped short by a large iron chain.
“Door's rusty, but the chain isn't. Someone must have replaced it.” Dalian spoke in whispers.
A clunk sounded from within followed by some hushed whispering.
“I think we found our Druid,” Nora said.
The crone's voice cried out, first a gasp of surprise followed by some crazed yammering to herself. Sounds of foot falls echoed, moving within the cottage. The faint sound of metal on metal, a creaking, some footsteps, then a more definite thud rang out into the night.
“So much for the element of surprise,” sighed Dalian.
“I have never been accused of being subtle.” said Nora as her form shifted, growing larger and more rocky until she stood well over eight feet tall and had legs the size of small tree trunks. With one powerful kick the door tore off its hings, snapping the metal chain, and landing with a thump in the entry way.
As Nora returned to a more familiar form, the three entered the cottage were all assaulted with the putrid stale air that hung within the decayed shack. Around them furniture lay in disuse, bones scattered among refuse has been cast to the floor.
“Why does this always happen to me?” Dalian said as she covered her mouth and nose. “Can't bad guys get rosy dungeons?”
Everywhere the three saw failed experiments. Men, women, and children riddled with disease, their decaying bodies dripping black fluid. Towards the back of the room a door stood chained shut. Nora put her ear up to the door and listened intently. Something was violently flopping on the floor behind it. Another shift, and kick later, that door too fell, giving the three access to the back room.
On the ground before them lay a zombie, flailing. Together with the strange grunting, wheezing vocalizations it reminded Nora of someone having a seizure.
“What in the in nine hells?” Nora said in confusion. “I've never seen anything like this before.”
Nora took a knee next to the maligned undead. As it lay upon its back, flailing uncontrollably, its eyes rolled back and noticed Nora. Between convulsions its jaw snapped and bit as if it were attempting to take a part of fresh flesh. However, it was unable to satisfy even that basic desire.
“How on earth did she do this?” Nora said, inspecting the creature. “Undead do not suffer from ailments like this.”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” responded the halfling, “but we should put the thing out of its misery.”
“Right.” Nora retrieved the club, more of a tree branch, that hung at her waist. With a swift blow to the head, the zombie stopped moving. What poured out of the crack in its skull was largely fluid. More visible chunks of gray matter were there, but Nora was surprised at how little. Stooping down, Nora peered into the cranial cavity. She didn’t know what did this, but even for an undead, this isn't right.
“Something is wrong here. For a zombie to function it needs to have its brain. Whatever did this, did it to the zombie after it was raised.”
“Great, unnatural magics making unnatural creatures even more unnatural,” retorted Dalian.
“I think I know what she's doing here,” Nora said as realization dawned on her. “Imagine this, your order has fallen, everything is lost, and vampires and undead roam your woods. How far would you go to save it? Would you turn to the only power that was left? She's using Talona's influence to fight a war that has long since faded into memory. She's using Blight to fight the undead.”
“Well. That's just trading one blight for another.”
“You don't have to tell me that,” Nora said as she stood back up, “but I doubt this woman sees the difference.”
“Well, we gotta stop this. Doesn't matter what kind of intentions she has,” said Dalian.
“First we have to find her. Then maybe we can reason with her. There's got to be another way out of this cabin...” Nora trailed off.
“Not to shoot down your hopes, but look around.” Dalian motioned to the main room. “This is beyond reason.”
“Enemy of my enemy. Allies in unlikely places. So on and so forth. It's worth a shot,” Nora explained.
“Well,” the halfling said uneasily, “I'll follow your lead.”
((Editing the Second Part. Stay tuned!))