AD&D Session 101 - Festering Woods

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26th of Horisal, 835 PD

With Bibi’s reclaimed farm serving as a temporary base, the party headed into the nearby woods in search of a settlement reportedly founded by refugees and deserters who had fled Daestok’s decline. Lacking precise directions, they aimed instead for Whisper’s former home village, expecting that anyone living in the forest might know more.

They found the new settlement surprisingly close to the forest’s edge. After knocking at one of the dwellings, they were welcomed inside by a friendly local and questioned them about what had happened in Daestok. During the conversation, they also learned that Whisper’s village had apparently helped the refugees construct their new homes, suggesting that circumstances there might have changed since Whisper last saw it. The party therefore decided to continue toward her old home after all.

That night, while camped near the settlement’s huts, they noticed an unusually organised group of boars circling both the buildings and their campsite. The animals continued their strange patrol until they suddenly charged the sleeping party. The night watch raised the alarm in time, allowing the group to dispatch the boars swiftly, though several of them were struck by their tusks during the attack.

27th of Horisal, 835 PD

By morning, the party realised that the wounds inflicted by the boars were not healing properly. The punctures continued to bleed long after they should have closed. Using her divine senses, Koro discovered that the boars’ carcasses emanated necrotic energy, offering a likely explanation for the unnatural injuries.

Without any clear means of treating the affliction, the party pressed onward in the hope of finding a healer in Whisper’s village. They reached it successfully and were directed to someone who might help, but the healer’s response was far from reassuring. After hearing their symptoms, the healer showed them another patient suffering from similar wounds. Though the injuries were already several weeks old, they had continued to fester until the victim’s arm had become useless. More disturbingly, the patient themselves now behaved less like a person than a frightened, wild animal.

What had initially seemed like an isolated attack was evidently part of a longer and far more dangerous affliction already spreading through the forest.