Battlemap
Roots of the Blight-Oak
Vines coil like snakes around the decaying remains of an ancient druid's legacy.
A sunken earthen complex hidden beneath the massive, necrotic roots of a dead oak tree. The air is humid and smells of wet loam, stagnant water, and the copper tang of blood.
The walls weep thick, black sap that stains everything it touches. The sound of grinding wood echoes through the dark, and bioluminescent fungi cast a sickly green glow across the mud-caked floors.
☠ Threat
Malchor the Blight-Speaker, a druid who underwent a dark ritual to become a Wood Woad, seeks to expand the forest's corruption. He draws power from the decaying Heart of the Wild, directing his plant thralls to kidnap locals to fuel the growth of the forest's hungry roots.
History
Centuries ago, a circle of druids built this sanctum to protect a Heart of the Wild. A corrupting influence from the Shadowfell eventually seeped into the soil, twisting the flora and the resident druids into monstrous reflections of their former selves. The once-sacred site now serves as a nursery for malevolent plant life.
Encounter Table
CRA dryad with grey, peeling bark skin and hollow, weeping eyes.
Spiders that have grown bloated by feeding on the corrupted sap of the roots.
Rumours & Whispers
The creek flowing from the Whispering Woods has turned thick and black like tar.
A local woodcutter claims the trees near the Great Oak move their branches when no one is looking.
Old Man Gerrick went into the roots looking for his lost hound and never came back.
Quest Hooks
Quest giver: Elara the Weaver
A local weaver needs rare amber found in the ancient shrine to complete a commissioned wedding gown.
250 gold and a Cloak of Protection.
Quest giver: Archdruid Hylas
The local druid grove is dying. They task the party with entering the Blight-Oak and destroying the source of the rot.
A Potion of Greater Healing and a Ring of Animal Influence.
Corridor Notes
A patch of thick, slippery mud that requires a DC 12 Acrobatics check to cross without falling prone.
A tangle of roots hanging from the ceiling that rhythmically pulse with a faint, heartbeat-like sound.
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