S59-60: The Crucible of the Mare
Taking a brief respite from their tireless preparations for the Trial, the Mudwangs made their way back into the Bloodwoods to meet with Xulivoc and undergo their next test. Through the almost incomprehensible Scottish accent of the Druid, Rucker listened to the tenets of the League and agreed to undergo the test along with his fellows.
Led by Qaleorda, they again traveled through a portal and found themselves in a dark and dour encampment. Immediately, they all sensed an ominous sensation in the air they couldn’t place. Treated as mercenaries called to Maplegard, the men noted how many of the denizens were bundling up covering their skin to protect them from the Dark Scratch. The leader of the town, a masked hierophant known as the Proctor, spoke words of warning and inspiration to the townspeople and other soldiers as they prepared to head out into the woods to find and root out an evil Mare spirit, who was corrupting the minds of the townspeople.
Warned to not get scratched by any of the corrupted, the mob split up, with the Mudwangs headed towards the Mare’s supposed hideaway. Vax ascended to thre trees above, seeing terrible winged beasts floating in the distance. An increasingly jittery Rat welcomed some other soldiers who’d come to call on the group for support. Suspicious, the Mudwangs tried to gain more information, but instead found the villagers- and Rat- attempting to force them to follow along. A warning arrow from Vax knocked off one of the assailants tricorns, revealing a sickly ichor leaching from many open wounds on the man’s face.
As the assailants move in on the Mudwangs, they react accordingly, defending themselves from the seemingly corrupted villagers. While Vax continues to rain arrows form above, Taerus and Shakan struggle to deal with a fetid assailant whose body contorts and cracks in unnatural directions. Rucker wrestles with Rat, who seems overcome by a fever of aggression. Eventually the group is able to strike down the villagers and restrain the thrashing Rat. Finally, he recovers after Rucker lays his hands upon him and purge the evil that had infected him.
Rat takes a few minutest to recover, spitting up black ichor from his lungs and washing it back with ale. The Mudwangs put together that this mare’s curse may be more than mere enchantment, and the evil may be within the air itself. As they plan their next step, the sounds of battle and desperation echo in the woods around them, hearing cries for aid and terror. FVax summons a specter from one of the fallen visitors, but it only whispers confusion and warning in the warlock’s mind.
Having been almost completely taken by this evil, Rat proposes they abandon this quest- pointing out that being thrust into deadly, otherworldly incursions is not the best way for them to help the world. Despite his points, the original Mudwangs urge their most recent ally to steel himself, for they all took the oath of the League of Terror Vigilant, that they will stand against whatever darkness arises. Though they briefly consider aiding the Proctor in rescuing the riders of the lost wagon, they resolve to continue on to the East, where the mare’s curse is said to have originated.
Moving deeper into the moonless woods and leaving the clang of battle behind, the men continue on, vigilant and wary over the threats in the shadows. The party discovers a lost young woman crying and shaking over her father throwing her out after consorting with her schoolmate, Abigail. As they approach, the Mudwangs recoil in horror as they see her flesh beginning to sprout and expand in capheads, like a mushroom.
Rucker again tries to save a soul from violation, though as the healing concludes another corrupted bursts out and tries to attack the Goliath. In the fracas, the young woman runs off and another villager appears with a spear lowered. After dispatching the threat, Taerus confronts the spearman, asking for his aid in destroying the mare. Hearing that the warriors are intending to meet whom he calls “The Queen of Sweets,” the guard runs off into the night screaming. Shakan incinerates a pulsing purple fungus, and as it cries they realize they are getting closer to whatever is affecting the countryside.
Following Vax’s directions from up high in the air, the Mudwangs are unaware the half-elf is distracted by the wingbeats of flying creatures in the sky. With Vax’s attention elsewhere, the group finds themselves in a moist bogland, possessing an off-putting sweet odor and more of the glowing purple growths. Looking closer, they see within the muck are the decomposing bodies of dozens of humanoids and beasts, who begin to awaken and reach out for the men. Rushing forward from these decaying horrors, the Mudwangs burst into a watery grove, in the middle of which is a large, serpentine growth of a creature encapsulated in spade-like flowers. With the sweet aroma of rot and putrid fungal abominations arising around them, the Mudwangs are welcomed by the Queen of Sweets to her garden.