As you crest the final rise of tangled underbrush, the forest gives way to a glade choked with stagnant water and twisted roots. A thick, unnatural fog clings to the ground, barely disturbed by the sluggish flow of the swamp’s surface.
The smell hits you first—sickly-sweet rot layered with the stench of wet bark and decaying flesh. You see them now: a massive pile of treant corpses, hollowed and sunken, their limbs twisted into unnatural shapes. They’ve been piled—intentionally—into a crude dam of roots and limbs. Flies swarm the surface. Black tendrils of mold creep over bark.
- One Shambling Mound comes out of the water to attack the party
- The party can investigate the site after combat and figure out where to go next (upstream to the Druid Grove)
Clue 1: Dead Druid with Sigil
- Location: Half-buried under a root system beside the dam wall.
- Investigation (DC 12): Body shows signs of battle—puncture wounds from corrupted thorns.. Has a leaf-etched wooden sigil tucked in their hand, marked with the rune of Faeren.
- History (DC 17): A torn cloak bears the faded symbol of the Circle of Verdant Flame.
- In a pouch: a short, sealed note (blood-stained but readable):
“If you find this, warn the others. They’re coming down from the grove—something’s twisting the heart-tree. We tried to stop it.”
- In a pouch: a short, sealed note (blood-stained but readable):
Clue 2: Corruption Flow
- Location: Water and soil near the shrine.
- Nature or Survival (DC 13):
- Water here is thick with dark algae and smells foul—unnatural concentration of decay.
- Trails of corrupted plant growth lead upstream, not outward—this place is where the blight settles, not where it originates.
- Small fungal tendrils pulse with a faint rhythm—like something is draining life from upstream.
Clue 3: Trapped Squirrel
- Location: Caught in a tangle of creeping vines.
- Perception (DC 12) or Passive Perception 13+ notices it squeaking in distress.
- Speak with Animals:
- The squirrel frantically describes “the tall bark-friends dying,” and “glowing roots, bad water, no birds anymore.”
- If pressed:
“The water got bad there—the stone-place under the white falls. The noise-things came, and the air got dark. They made the forest quiet.”
Loot from the Dead Druid
- Studded Leather Armor of Quiet Root
- This armor is reinforced with bark and root fibers.
- Grants advantage on checks to avoid being tracked in forests or swamps.
- Pouch with 18 gp, 1 healing potion, and a carved wooden totem (focus for druidic magic).