The forest here was sick. The bugs were too big and the animals howled and yelped in strange tongues. Even the plants seemed to writhe of their own accord. Still, it was an interesting forest, and that was something if nothing else.

Goose crawled along the ground, darting quickly from bush to bush looking for smaller game to fill his stomach. The pickings were almost universally awful here, but it's not like he had anywhere to be. Suddenly, there came the noise of struggle; grunting and shouting coming from a clearing ahead. He ventured forth bravely (not that he knew he was being brave, it was just a matter of course). In the clearing was a massive heap of plant matter that seemed to pulse and throb. At that instant, a hand wielding a dagger burst out of the tangle, followed shortly by two figures... humans, he supposed.

Berk groaned as he pulled Twig free of the bloodlash bushes. The gnome was covered in a number of small wounds, but her disposition remained unchanged. "That was amazing!" she breathed. "Did ya see the way they were all spinning an'... an'... the way they were suckin' up blood?! Weird!"

Berk pulled out a piece of cloth from his backpack and began wiping the blood and ichor from his breastplate. "Aye, lass, I saw." His tone wasn't mocking, but he couldn't keep the exhaustion from his voice. "Thanks fer th' help, Qarxa." Berk held up the knife to the goblin as she and Ayal walked further into the clearing.

The goblin sorceress was too busy sniffing at the hacked plants to respond with much more than a grunt. "I think these are okay to eat!"

"I wouldn't if I were you," Ayal said, eyes darting nervously around at the plantlife that surrounded them. "Unless plants that eat people is a normal thing nowadays. I suppose it could be." He shivered at the thought.

Twig idly played a tune as Qarxa and Berk took to handling wounds. They still had to find the source of the corruption and they weren't about to let a few bloodthirsty plants get in their way. "Uh, Berk?" Twig cocked her head as she stared at the dwarf. "You got a little friend on your armor there."

Berk looked down and saw a small salamander inching it's way across his breastplate. He brushed at it, but the creature darted away quickly, scuttling across the surface. "Aw, come now," Berk complained. "Yer gettin' me armor all dirty."

Qarxa licked her lips and joined in attempting to catch the lizard. "I was getting hungry anyway." She excitedly darted around Berk while the small creature evaded her.

The salamander looked up at the creature that now dominated his vision. "You won't eat me?"

"We would never!" Twig locked eyes with Qarxa, who was trying her hardest not to appear too hungry. "We just want to ask you about what's going on here."

The salamander managed a very human-like shrug. "I don't know. Big bugs. Scary trees. Angry animals."

"Wait," Ayal interjected, "you aren't from around here? I thought that the corruption..." He trailed off, insinuating that the salamander was just another one of the mutants like those they had dealt with already.

"No, no!" said the tiny creature. "I'm Goose! There was a house and a big beard human and... lots of snot. Anyway, now I'm here."

"Aye, tha' explains so much," muttered Berk sarcastically, wiping salamander slime from off of his armor.

Twig ignored her friends and focused on the newcomer. "Y'know, it's really dangerous here. We were just stopping some monsters and-"

"Monsters?" Goose tilted his head side to side. "Will there be food and shinies? Can I come?"

Twig smiled and nodded enthusiastically. Behind her, Berk and Ayal shook their heads, trying to stop the inevitable. "Of course you can!" the irrepressible gnome shouted. As she pulled Goose from Berk's boot, she explained everything that the group had been through, including Bort's death, Hallod, and the mysterious corruption. The salamander nodded and followed along, but the look on his face seemed to suggest otherwise.

Ayal stood near a cave covered by a felled tree where the wolf tacks lead into, his bow held at the ready. "Well, if we're insisting on this, I think we've got our next clue." Berk took the lead, his shield held high, as they descended into the earth. Inside the darkened cave was a pool of murky, oily water with a bloated wolf corpse lying in the shallows. Before the five had a chance to get a closer look, however, two hairless and eyeless wolves lunged out of the darkness to defend their den!

Arrows and magic burst around the mutant animals while the dwarf struggled with the set of jaws clamping down around his shield arm. Goose leapt from person to person, fey magic and slime tracing her journey among his new friends. While Twig's bardic magic bolstered the group, the salamander's primal connection healed the ragged wounds left by the wolves. One wolf quickly fell to Qarxa and Ayal, while Berk struggled with the one pinning him to the ground.

"I've got this!" Goose called out and scrambled onto the wolf and into it's ear. A moment later, the sounds of furious scratching could be heard and the wolf began yelping before collapsing to the ground. The salamander crawled out from within, a satisfied look on his face. While Qarxa took to sampling the wolves, Ayal ran a finger through the scum that covered the surface of the pool of water. "This looks like runoff of some sort. It's hodgepodge of alchemical ingredients."

Twig paused for a moment, staring around at the cavern. "Then this pool has to be getting water from somewhere, right?" She clambered onto the nearby rocks and squinted at the rainbow-like sheen. "I mean, if we follow this, we can get to the source of this runoff."

"Vilree," Ayal breathed, hand instinctively going to his (homemade) deputy badge.

Up above, the group reconvened with Noala, introducing Goose and explaining their theories. The elven ranger was more than happy to lead them deeper into the forest, though she seemed to have some misgivings about the talking lizard. The party got some rest and was ready to leave at first light. The journey was disconcerting. The further they went, the more signs of corruption there seemed to be: trees that oozed black sap, bugs the size of dogs, and a horrible smell that seemed to permeate the land.

Finally, they reached what seemed to be a dead end. A massive wall of thorns grew up around a rocky outcropping near the base of the mountains. Before it, purple and pink flowers grew around in an almost maze-like pattern. Noala nodded silently to the heroes and left to secure the perimeter. Berk and Ayal readied their weapons, preparing to approach the wall.

"Wait!" came Goose's small voice. "Those bushes they... uuhhh, drag you around like-" the salamander made a number of quick motions with his hands, "-and the other ones have all this poison that makes you...," he tried to remember a word that Berk taught him that morning. "Dim! Like Ayal!" Goose pointed wildly at the confused elf.

Forewarned, the group followed Ayal as he picked out a path around the plant life. Their careful steps brought them to the thorn wall which was held in place with an intricate pattern of woven briars. The salamander skittered to the top of the wall and took careful note of what was within. "Two green humans, a four legged rock and eight legs, so... maybe twelve legs? Oh, and a big pool of bad stuff!" Berk and Ayal exchanged glances and readied their assault. When Twig and Goose solved the briar puzzle that held the gate against them, the party rushed into action. One of Ayal's arrows caught an orc in the throat, sending him spiraling to the ground, while Berk slammed the other in the chest with his warhammer and shoved him into a bubbling pool of something foul indeed. Qarxa was quick - and sadistic - enough to leap to the fore and hurl a lit torch into the chemical stew, which caught fire immediately, incinerating the orc within.

Goose darted away, appearing as nothing more than an ordinary cave lizard, and tried to spy on any potential threats within. Sure enough, two orcs were waiting, weapons at the ready, for anyone to brave their sanctum. From the looks of them, they were scientists of some sort, wearing leather aprons and goggles while surrounded by bubbling beakers and chemicals. None of that was readily apparent to Goose, who happily pushed some of the volatile chemicals to the ground. The sound of shattering glass and sizzling skin filled the room, and the gathered group outside rushed to assist.

The battle was swift and merciless. Before long, Twig stood over one of the trapped alchemists and gestured over at the bloody corpse of his ally. "We have a few questions for you," she menaced. The orc revealed that he was working for someone known as The Sculptor and that they had done alchemical work for Vilree in the past. However, she hadn't contacted them in some time, so they broke off and began to to their own experiments. They were the ones who were delivering mutagens to Hallod and picked up any reagents he dropped off. They functioned as something of an "in-between" for Vilree and the 'roided up thug. As Goose prepared to spy on the next room where The Sculptor was said to be staying, the captured orc shouted out a warning. Twig panicked, and slammed her pilfered knuckle dagger into the orc's mouth, ending his warning and his life.

This didn't change what had to be done, however. The party climbed the stairs to the next room and shoved open a set of metal doors that depicted a town burning to the ground with a towering inferno in the background. Within, a reedy looking orc demanded that they leave now, lest they ruin his masterpiece. As he did, he threw open doors further into the chambers and darted into a massive room. A man's corpse lay flat on a table with several tubes moving liquid in and out of his body. Strange contraptions wound around him in a dizzying array. Even as the group ran to stop him, The Sculptor tugged at the tubes, pulling several free as the corpse's stomach began to expand. As everyone filed in, the body exploded outward and a massive blood boil surged forth, lashing out indiscriminately. The Sculptor himself was caught off guard as his chest was caved in by a heavy blow from the ooze.

What is Vilree doing with all of these alchemical goods? Is she the one behind the corruption? We're nearing the end, heroes!

-Dungeon Master