The Blight

# The Blight - Background

The Blight is an ancient forest, part of the old primeval virgin woods that formerly surrounded all of Oloris and Fallingwater. It is the last refuge of the forest animals, and its trees span back centuries - but now, it has been recently taken over by a Green Dragon, a chromatic and evil beast. Its armies of Blights and colossal Ettins stalk the woods' perpetual green fog, with the moss-covered trees growing close and heavy with vines. Thickets and shrubbery grow dense in the emerald green forest.

Ettercaps also serve Parth, in their own wretched and wicked way, in their lairs and hovels of refuse and grey dust.

In a cave, deep in the forest, the Young Green Dragon Parth dwells, in a concealed cave strewn with vines and the bones of adventurers. His hoard is filled with chained philosophers, beautiful paintings, wood-carvings, and rare musical instruments. Wood sculptures of humanoid subjects are favored.

# The Blight - Hook

Rumors are heard throughout the city of The Blight, and the terrible monsters that lay siege to the Noble District every night. A guard captain asks the Heroes to do something about it if he suspects their identity and he is in the Noble District.

# The Blight - Entrance

*The light of the noon sun shines down on the entrance to a thick, tangled forest. The air here is breezy, but from what you can see there is no wind blowing in The Blight's pungent, stale air. Entering, you feel the crack of sticks and rustling of leaves by your feet, smelling floral smells in the emerald-tinged environment. As you continue down the thin trail, cutting through vines and plants, you see a fallen tree ahead of you.*

This fallen tree has been intentionally pushed down by the 2 ***Ettins*** who lurk nearby, ready to attack. The tree can be moved with a combined Strength of 30+, by three or more characters, or by a successful Strength check with DC 20.

The Ettins will jump out at the Heroes after a few moments, yelling "DEATH TO THE INTRUDERS!" Their voices are curiously monotone. They both hold a sack of Bat Guano, useful only to the best of Alchemists.

If closely inspected, their brains are revealed to be charred and blackened under their skulls.

# The Blight - The Path

*The dank dark of the forest pitched with green is dense, and the trees surrounding you are denser. A sound of trickling water echoes unnaturally loudly through The Blight, and ahead you hear animal-like screeching. 6 hunched, green-skinned creatures with the eyes of spiders and a humanoid form are rushing towards you, as the poison gas swirls in the air with its green hue.*

The path goes on for a few hours, getting denser and denser. Due to the poison gas, all Heroes must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution check or take 1d4 + 2 damage.

A few miles up is a patrol of 6 Ettercaps, all with their skin tinged green and sickly. They will attack, throwing themselves at the Heroes unorganizedly.

The path goes on for a few more feet, until the trees clear.

# The Blight - The Temple

*An ancient temple sits before you, its battlements, formerly gleaming, heavy with vines and thorns. The bricks of the temple are mossy, and two statues of a winged serpent, similar to a couatl, sit on top. The doors to the temple are closed, and wrought with stone. There is a thin space between the doors, perhaps a centimeter.*

Trapped Doors. The doors are locked (DC 15 Dexterity check to pick with thieves' tools) and trapped.

Opening the lock disables the trap. Forcing the doors open can be done with a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check, but the act causes a glass sphere on the other side of the doors to break.

This sphere is attached to the doors just above the lock, and opening the lock pushes the sphere aside, putting it out of harm's way. Someone who examines the door closely with a light source notices the glint of glass in the seam between the doors with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check. Even with the lock still in place, the lever on which the sphere rests can be moved by someone who succeeds on a DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves' tools. The painstaking process in the narrow space takes 5 minutes, and if the check fails by 5 or more, the sphere breaks at the end of the attempt.

Sleep Gas. If the glass sphere breaks, it releases green, swirling gas throughout the area. The creature must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become diseased.

A creature diseased in this way feels small maggots crawling in its stomach. Every 3 rounds, the creature must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or take 2d4 damage. On a success, the maggots are expelled in a spew/vomit/barf/regurgitation of black bile and white maggots.

If magic is used to cure the poisoned condition, the recipient is immune to the poison for 1 hour.

# The Blight - Temple Antechamber

*Compared to the crumbling facade of this ancient temple, the interior is luxurious and well-appointed. Beautiful artwork and wood carvings decorate the room, and fine carpets from the Seastone Isles line the floors. A colossal statue of the same winged serpent outside sits in the center of the room, and a grand staircase goes up to a balcony level.*

The Heroes will immediately be attacked by Yuan-Ti - 2 Yuan-Ti Malisons, and 3 Yuan-Ti Purebloods. These Yuan-Ti are willingly serving Parth, who took over their temple and claimed to be their reptile god.

= The Blight - Temple Balcony =

*The stairs, stone and well-hewn, lead to a second story, overlooking the first. There is a door ahead, made of stone, and a door to the left and a door to the right. 5 of the same creatures you fought on the path stand there in the bright green temple light, snarling and pulling their claws out.*

5 Ettercaps are here.

*Opposite the room are relief carvings of a strange mythology, full of serpents and the same monsters you saw in the antechamber to the temple. The carvings seem older than most of the temple. On the edge of the balcony there are wood-carved statues of adventurers and Heroes.*

Left door -

*This door is made of wood, and behind it you can hear splashing in water.*

Right door -

*This door is made of iron, and is unlocked when you test it. Behind it you hear nothing.*

Central door -

*This door is similar to the one you entered, but this door is slightly ajar. It is inlaid with gilded designs that appear wrought in the shape of a dragon.*

The door is untrapped. If taken off, the gold is worth 25 gp.

# The Blight - Pool of the Salamanders

*The room is curiously still as you enter. More carvings of that strange mythology are on the wall, and the water is strangely bright, illuminating the room in blue. You notice that the poisonous gas infiltrating the rest of this damnable forest is not present here. The air is fresh. There is a second door in this chamber to the north, with a carving of*

If the Heroes look in the water, they see two strange, naga-like creatures with red and yellow scales. In reality, the water is scalding hot and will do 2 damage to any who step in it. The Salamanders will emerge to kill those who disrupt their rest, and there are 2 of them.

There is a raised flagstone nearby. Upon closer inspection, there is hidden within it is 1800 cp, 1000 sp, 10 gp, Ceramic Figurine (of a wolf) (25 gp), Small Bag of Spices (25 gp), Gold Cloth Talisman (25 gp), Rabbit Fur Ribbon (25 gp).

# The Blight - Fomorian Chamber - Past the Pool of the Salamanders

*A heaving hulk of bloated flesh and misshapen head sits here, breathing deeply. The room is otherwise bare, and lit by a single candle in the corner.*

If the Heroes disturb the hulk, they will awaken the Fomorian, who will instantly attack them.

# The Blight - Hall of Statues - Right Door

*This hall has a gleaming white tile floor and a series of alcoves along the east wall. Each alcove is lined with black velvet to highlight the beautiful golden items there.*

All of these statues represent plants that Parth's benign blessing helps to nurture. Each contains an amount of gold equal to 50 gp, but the workmanship of the statues makes them worth 50 gp each. From north to south, the niches contain replicas of a stalk of wheat, a potato, a cluster of oats, a cornstalk, a large carrot, three turnips, a bunch of grapes, a cluster of barley, and a pile of beans—intricately molded statues of pure gold.

The fact that the reptile god's minions have let the exquisite items remain in their traditional spots should suggest that it is best not to tamper with them. This is true, since Parth's curse will immediately befall anyone who touches one of them.

The effect of this curse is equivalent to that of the earlier disease, but it also will bring nightmares every night to the toucher of the statue. The room is otherwise bare.

# The Blight - Parth's Lair - Temple

*This huge cavern is lit by a ghostly green glow emanating from the eight columns supporting the vaulted ceiling. Beautiful mirrors and expert-crafted carvings and paintings decorate the outside of the chamber, while musical instruments and tapestries of forest scenes are hung on the wall. A huge reptile with a curved jawline and a crest that begins near its eyes and continues down its spine, reaching full height just behind its skull. Leather spiked plates run down the side of its neck, and its scales are green, with its wings dappled with black. The creature is clearly a dragon. Its eyes are closed.*

The dragon will open its eyes if a single treasure is touched. It will pull itself up, and announce itself as Parth. It is angry at the intruders.

Parth is motivated by greed for expansion - his forest is growing, and he seeks new Heroes to add to his army, as "living treasures" as he puts it. He has the statistics of a Young Green Dragon, and can use lair abilities. Parth will use his abilities to his fullest extent. Scale down if necessary. His hoard contains -

1. 500 cp, 4000 sp, 2700 gp, 110 pp, 3 x Bloodstone (50 gp), Carnelian (50 gp), 2 x Jasper (50 gp), 3 x Quartz (50 gp), Star rose quartz (50 gp), Hat of Disguise, +1 Weapon (trident). The fog will disappear if he is killed. His hoard also contains 8 tiger furs, worth 200 gp in total.

He can be reasoned with, and will be willing to deal with the party. He will attempt to intimidate and manipulate them.