Blight of Piper's Ferry

Written by Chrundle_the_Great

General Summary

Overview

Despite their successful liberation of the grippoli, the guild is still in dire need of a long-term food supply. Leveraging their diplomatic relations and spy networks, Kapital hears of the distant Piper's Ferry, a farming settlement famed for its beautiful pastures, magical dairy, and temporally fermented vineyards. However, the past eight months have seen Piper's Ferry falling victim to not one, not two, but three major blights.
Although adventurers had supposedly put an end to the first two blights, the mysterious affliction always returns, and the town's speaker is growing desperate. Unwilling to hire mercenaries again, the leader wants someone who will be invested in putting an end to blight permanently and might be amenable to cutting a deal. Spymaster Elri has tracked down and captured the only surviving adventurer from the last blight; he awaits questioning in the keep's dungeon.
Will Kapital be able to solve the blight of Piper's Ferry once and for all?

Fungus Among Us

As preparation for this mission, Elri contacted her friend, Zena Inaro, a druid and talented herbalist. In a rare moment of vulnerability, Elri told Azrael that if anything bad happened to her friend Zena, she would "break everyone he cares about." After introductions had been made, Koheleth, Tobias, Azrael, and Yisbel showed Zena to the dungeon, so they could get some information from the adventurer Elri "persuaded" to return to the keep with her.
Introducing himself as Gus of the Redbreasted Robins, the adventurer was covered in fungal growths, including a particularly alien stalk sprouting from one of his eyes, but he was perfectly friendly, if a little forgetful. When asked about Piper's Ferry, his voice would become "robotic" as he repeated that the blight had been eradicated; according to Gus, he had only fallen into a patch of mushrooms on his way out of Piper's Ferry.
Theorizing that Gus's mind was being controlled by whatever had attached itself to him, Zena prepared an antidote. After consuming it, Gus fell into a frenzied panic and began wildly tearing fungal growths from his body. The party knocked him out, sedated and restrained him, and finally marked his holding cell off-limits to anyone in the keep. Realizing they would need to travel to Piper's Ferry for more information, the party began gathering supplies and making plans for their mission.
The party briefly got to know Azrael's slave Floon a bit better and learned of his dreams to become a great chronomancer like the storied mage Tadeusz Sapkowski. After assigning him a room near Maximus's barracks, the party left the Caves of Chaos. Zena mentioned an old friend of hers, the outdoorsman Mulch, who may be helpful in determining the cause of the blight.

That's My Shiny Rock!

As they were passing the hills just south of Gwaylar Vale, the party heard an argument in the distance. On one side was the rakin Mulch and his goat friend Maurice. On the other side were two hill giants. The two parties were arguing about ownership of a fallen meteorite, which Koheleth recognized as irradiated starmetal. Introducing himself as MorGorGor, servant of Chief GorGo, one of the hill giants was unmoved by Koheleth's arguments and moved forward to stomp on Mulch. Using mind screech, Azrael rattled the hill giants' minds and began carving into their unconscious bodies as the rest of the party began to flee. Eventually waking, MorGorGor and his companion stayed behind to claim the precious starmetal for their ogre chieftain.

Piper's Ferry: A Town in Decay

As the party crested the hills near Piper's Ferry, they saw elements of the beauty it was known for, as well as the creeping influence of the blights it had suffered for the past eight months. Golden fields tainted by swathes of graying grass. Emaciated livestock and the corpses of scavengers, all marked by bone-white fibrous growths. Koheleth performed some preliminary experiments and determined that the "blight" was imprevious to necrotic damage, temporarily but not permanently destroyed by fire, and disintegrated by harsh light and radiant damage. From her time as a merchant in Ixwatch, Yisbel recalled the Shambling Mounds, a network of smugglers who operated in the town's tunnels and rivers. The party decided to gather more information at the town's tavern, the Three-Eyed Fish.
A collection of various hamlets, Piper's Ferry was not quite large or dense enough to be a city, but still rather sizeable for a town. Once home to a golemancer, some believe the magic from their tower spread into the land, causing curious changes to the crops, most famously the time-dilated grapes, which are said to cure hangovers when fermented into wine.
On the inside, the party saw farmers burning the covered corpses of dead livestock. As they entered the tavern, the party overheard a storyteller's tale of the imprisoned Vincent Hopik and the Wraith King. According the barkeep, a farmer named Aldwin was elected the town's speaker, and the party might be able to find him praying at the altar of the River Goddess.
Cantankerous and untrusting, Aldwin told the party they were free to investigate the blight, but he had more faith in beseeching the River Goddess than relying on "more tall tales spun by greedy adventurers." The party left the altar; curiously, Azrael was also baned by a salmon giving him the evil eye.
In need of wisdom, Mulch suggested an improbable plan: summoning a near-mythical star-nosed mole. Only through Mulch's and Zena's deep connections with nature were the party able to gain an audience with this wisest of creatures. It answered Zena's questions and gave the party a new directive:

The Blight strives for unity. To adapt. To expand itself further. Venture below the city. Defeat the Veiled Lady and transport the Fungal Heart. It must be tended to work with nature.

The Hunt of the White Rabbit must not be stopped.

— Star-nosed mole

The foresight of the star-nosed mole cannot be denied, for at that moment, a white-furred pup named Bunny snatched the crystal skull hanging from Tobias's belt and scampered off into the woods. With half the party unaware of the mole's exact instructions, what followed was a frantic chase where Azrael, Tobias, and Yisbel tried to catch Bunny, while Koheleth and Zena tried to subtly thwart their attempts. In the end, Bunny led the party to a previously unknown cave entrance and returned the skull to Tobias before disappearing into the woods.

Spores and Smugglers

The party found a boat and began exploring the cave network. Running into smuggler Bodge and the disparate brothers, Fital and Milal, they soon observed the same strange behavior in Bodge that they had witnessed in Gus. A skirmish broke out and resulted in the death of whatever was left of Bodge. While Fetal went into silent shock, Malal was completely unaware of the gravity of the situation; instead, he fixated on his misunderstanding that Tobias was a police officer and that he had just been promoted to the necromancer's deputy.
The party rowed to a nearby office and spoke with Clerk, the leader of the Shambling Mounds, who was interested in possibly striking up a business arrangement with Kapital. She gave the party free reign to investigate the caves. As the party ventured deeper and deeper, they found more corpses covered in fibrous growths, as well as different types of mushrooms, including raging hembane. Eventually, the party turned into a crypt bearing several tombs, including one for a "Finanigus Piper" and the "Humble Servant of the River Goddess." While Azrael and Zena tried to clear debris from one of the exits, Tobias's curiosity got the better of him, and he popped open one of the tombs, releasing a holy water elemental.
Before being smited by the divine torrent of the elemental, Tobias raised the crystal skull in defense, and somehow released the secret within; the phylactery of the ancient lich Denair, the undead mage reconstituted and destroyed the elemental with a wave of his hands. He confiscated Tobias's talisman and asked for Azrael's Boots of Tartarus; unable to remove them even if he wanted to, the illrigger refused and was unmade by Denair's power word kill. The lich requested a piece of Tobias's soul, so he could ensure that the necromancer would work in his interest and gather the other pieces of the talisman for him. Amused by Koheleth's legal arguments, Denair balked at signing an heiromantic contract and gave Tobias a simple choice, which he accepted. Denair disappeared, no doubt to resume plans that had been halted by his imprisonment.
Meanwhile, Azrael battled his way out of a maze, cut down five chain devils, and returned to the party through a hellfire portal. Eyes aflame, he scolded Tobias and said, if he were in charge of Kapital's decisions, "he would kill him where he stands." Tensions rising, the party marched in uneasy silence until they found the alien lair of the Veiled Lady.

Assimilate or Perish

Quite unexpectedly, the Veiled Lady was eager to communicate with the party, sending them feelings of hospitality and curiosity. She showed the world as she saw it; people eating mushrooms, the blight claiming corpses. Unsure how to argue, but determined in their guild's need for food, the party was prepared to fight, but so too was the Veiled Lady. As weapons were drawn, spores clouded the chamber and once-hidden mushrooms sprouted in rings around the party.
Bit by bit, the party cut down the fungal minions. Azrael with his infernal might. Koheleth with his mace of terror. Tobias with minions of his own hewn from half-devoured corpses. Yisbel with eldritch spirit guardians. And, finally, Zena with the primal strength of nature. However, the Veiled Lady proved resilient, healing her wounds by consuming corpses and using fungal power to disorient the party and sap their strength. Standing on his last legs, Azrael used the blessings of Moloch to blink behind the Veiled Lady and slice her in twain with a swing of his blade, empowered by both celestial and hellish magic. The floor quickly began to crumble, and the party fell into the chamber below.
At the center was the multi-colored Fungal Heart, and, standing guard, were what was left of Gus's comrades from the Redbreasted Robins: a rogue, a barbarian, and a sorceror, all overgrown with fungus. Still spent from their last fight, the party nearly fell to these adventurers claimed by the blight, but Kapital proved the superior force. All that was left was what to do with the Fungal Heart.
After such an ordeal, one could be forgiven for wanting to hack the heart of the blight to pieces. However, Zena, remembering the words of the star-nosed mole, showed mercy and understanding for the Fungal Heart. Through her connection to nature, she accepted the Lady's Veil and took up the mantle of the new Veiled Lady, protector and envoy of the Fungal Heart.

Regrowth

Clerk peered over the edge of the pit and offered to drop the party a rope if Kapital entered a business agreement with her Shambling Mounds. Koheleth agreed, and the party climbed their way up.
On the surface, the people of Piper's Ferry were exuberant, celebrating a definitive end to the blight and crediting the River Goddess's sacrifice; Denair blew up the altar before he left. Aldwin made his rounds, angrily reminding farmers that they still had months of harvest to catch up on. At this point, Koheleth suggested a long-term deal with Piper's Ferry. Still suspicious, Aldwin was only swayed when he heard Maximus would be charged with protecting the town as it builds itself back up.

He's the best man I've ever met. Why didn't ya lead with that?

— Aldwin

In addition, Kapital agreed to send some of the farmers from the Keep on the Borderlands to live and work in Piper's Ferry. Convinced, Aldwin agreed to all Kapital's investments in their town and even said they wouldn't sell any food to the Poisoned Cup.
Deals made and survival ensured for at least another day, the party returned to their keep. Meanwhile, Zena went her own way with new responsibilities to explore and the Fungal Heart in her care.

Rewards Granted

Contract (to be negotiated with Piper's Ferry)
Contract (to be negotiated with the Shambling Mounds)

Inherited from the Veiled Lady

Lady's Veil
Lichenous Shield

Report Date

28 Jan 2023

Primary Location

Piper's Ferry

Related Characters

• Azrael
• Koheleth
• Tobias Morden
• Vinny
• Yisbel Beaumont
• Zendrel "Zena" Inaro

Plight of the Blight

The crops are slowly dying,
there’s decay around the town.
Adventurers used all their skill
to track it underground.

Infectious air.
My friends, beware.

They move amongst the fungus
as its web runs far and wide.
A lady in the distance,
with her family at her side.

Assimilate to keep her safe.
Assimilate. You won’t escape.

As the lady tries to trap them,
they must navigate their way.
The heart must be the answer
so they hunt ‘til they have slain.

They make their escape.
The town is safe.