Beneath the ramshackle home of Hallod, the group of teamsters were bound by vengeance. They stared at the locked door in front of them, doubtless that their foe was lying just beyond. Everyone fidgeted anxiously while Ayal worked his picks in the lock. Finally, Berk grunted and pushed the elf aside. "We're losin' time, boy," he said as set his legs into a crouch. With a sharp exhale, he heaved himself against the door, cracking it open wide enough for them to squeeze through.

The room beyond seemed to be a simple lodgings for a recluse; Hallod, no doubt. Qarxa and Twig took to raiding the thug's larder, filling their bag of holding with dried meat, cheese, and even a barrel of ale. Not long after, the gnome even found a lockbox tucked beneath a disheveled bed. Producing his thieves' tools once more, Ayal began to probe the lock. With a sharp "Crack!" a secret needle jabbed out of the paneling and pricked his hand. The elf stared at it curiously as his fingers began to swell up and blacken: poison. Berk did what he could to help, but the archer seemed disconcerted that his "bow hand" would be useless.

Nevertheless, the party pressed onward into a series of winding caves. Twig lit a strange smelling candle as the light around them dimmed. Yet as they marched along, they could see a pale blue light suffusing a cavern beyond. The source was a massive water serpent that crackled with blue electricity that eyed the four adventurers hungrily from within a small, underground lake. The group split up, wary of the beast as it shook it's tail menacingly. "It's made of metal!" Qarxa shouted, no doubt curious how such a beast would taste.

As though spurred into action, the serpent extended it's tail and let loose a streak of lightning that sent Berk and Twig to their knees. "Get it!" Twig shouted, weaving spells to befuddle the creature's mind while she played her accordion despite twitching fingers. Ayal darted around the cave, slipping between shadows and peppering the monster with arrows. With a sudden charge, the snake slithered from the water and attempted to tear into the goblin with it's electrified fangs. Thankfully, the sorceress was a step ahead, managing to hold the creature at bay with a well placed shield of magic. She paused, waiting for the moment to strike. Then, in a flash, she dropped her protective ward and grabbed the snake around it's neck, draining the life from the amalgam of nature and machine.

The little goblin promptly tore into the remains with her gnashing teeth. She spat out the oily meat and scrunched her face in disgust. "This thing tastes just as bad as that wolf from before," she complained. The gathered adventurers exchanged curious looks. Something was definitely amiss in this sleepy village.

In frustration, Twig called out to the dark fey she had crossed in the past. She summoned a gremlin known as a mitflit, who went by the name of Ggregg. The dark fey went to work stabbing at Hallod's legs, getting a broken nose in the process. Still, the wrathful creature was tenacious, even sneaking behind the human to twist his blade into the small of Hallod's back. Of course, amidst his stabbing spree, Gregg triggered once of Hallod's makeshift traps, and was hurled against the wall with a spear pierced through his neck.

In a newfound burst of energy, Hallod threw Berk through several of the crates and stalked after Qarxa. His kukri slashed out viciously across her face, dropping the goblin to her knees. Hallod barely seemed winded, even as numerous arrows stuck from his back. Berk stood up and tackled the huge man, only to get a knife into his back and a knee to his gut for the trouble. The dwarf crumbled to the ground, coughing up blood.

"I've had enough!" Twig shouted. Her normally cheery demeanor was gone. In it's place was the white hot rage of a gnome who just watched her friends be brought low by a murderer. She concentrated on the magic that flowed through her song, using her anger to focus it further, and magically hefted a barrel into the air before hurling it directly at the villain's face. He was sent flying as the wood splintered around him. The gnome wasted no time tending to her allies while Ayal tied up the unconscious Hallod.

Minutes later (while Berk prayed and Qarxa examined her face for a scar), the party questioned Hallod.

"Why'd you do it?!" shouted Twig. "Why did you have Bort killed?"

Despite his defeat, the man was frustrating calm. "Because I could," he snorted.

"Does this have anything to do with Vilree?" Ayal asked, fully embracing his deputy role.

"Never heard of her," Hallod grunted.

Then a small, sinister - hungry - voice spoke up from Hallod's feet. "Are you sure?" Qarxa was crawling up the murderer, her razorsharp teeth gleaming in the dim light. Each of her nails were like small daggers. Her eyes were burning red coals.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck...," Hallod hissed. "I'll tell you anything, just... keep her away from me!"

The truth, or at least Hallod's version of it, came spilling out. Hallod was buying corpse blood and other unsavory ingredients from Bort for several years now. He was delivering them to Vilree (at a drop point found on a crudely drawn map) in exchange for "medicine." The medicine turned out to be the juggernaut elixir that Hallod slurped down like water. Qarxa noted that there seemed to be something more to the mutagen, but Hallod didn't know what she was talking about. Hallod carried a note with him that included instructions from Vilree to kill off Bort. The real mastermind was still free.

Qarxa's red eyes narrowed. "Let me eat him."

"Not yet," Ayal said, "he may still be useful. Let's take him back to Etran's Folly and then find out what we can about Vilree."

The town was much the same as they left it. The commons was still nothing but a field of dirt with the stone pillar of the "Plaguestone" standing like an ominous sentry. However, outside of the Feedmill was a sleigh loaded with the bodies of the wolves that had attacked the caravan previously. The party dropped off Hallod, promising Sheriff Rolth that this investigation was far from over, and approached the sleigh. At that time, a hooded woman stepped out of the Feedmill and waved the group over to her.

The trip through the woods was an eye-opening one. The grass beneath their feet became yellow and brown as they approached the den and the bark on the trees sloughed off in thick black chunks. Even the ground itself seemed soft and pliant beneath their heels. Noala pointed to a copse of trees. "The tracks lead in there," she seemed tense, "but be on your guard. We don't know what these tainted animals are capable of."

They approached carefully, weapons at the ready. A massive overturned and rotting tree dominated the landscape and thick red roots -like veins - crisscrossed the clearing. Qarxa spotted the corpse of a wolf wrapped in these roots. Taking no chances, Ayal hurled a vial of alchemist's fire into the bushes, and readied his bow. To the shock of everyone, it was the surrounding plant life that began to writhe in agony.

The animate plants pulled themselves along through the soil and struck out with their razor-sharp roots, drawing blood with every whip-like swing. Berk and Ayal found their weapons woefully inadequate for hacking away at the bushes and Twig was on the verge of passing out from blood loss. Qarxa retreated backwards, calling upon her curse to patch up everyone's wounds, but it seemed almost impossible to keep up with.

"Yer dagger!" Berk shouted, his helmet covered by growing vines. "I need somethin' ta cut them with!" Qarxa threw her dagger to the dwarf who hacked away at the plants. Tense minutes passed as Twig and Berk disappeared beneath the blood-hungry flora. Heedless of his allies within, Ayal lauched arrows after arrow into the heap. Suddenly, the bushes seemed to stop moving and the blood-slick roots fell away from their meals.

Within the corruption, the group stared at every tree, every leaf, every blade of grass... as a new possible threat.

What is Vilree's plan? What lies within the corruption? How are these events all linked together? Vengeance demands blood!

-Dungeon Master