The Forest Infestation

Rican ate by himself in the tavern. It wasn't that he was anti-social ... well he was, most people annoyed him. At least this place had good food and the servers brought his food and left him alone. It also had the better mead. Which was the main reason he came to town. That and the occasional provision. While he usually patrolled the woods and lived off the land, he did need to come to town for some items.

He looked around, eying his bow next to him. He did not suspect any trouble, but sometimes brawls happened in taverns. He took another sip of his mead as he saw her enter the tavern, which almost made him spit it out. He wondered what she was doing here, as she never left the forest.

Camri was loathe to enter the town except in the most dire of circumstances, and this surely counted. The forest was slowly sickening, a darkness emanating from deep within the wood was beginning to encroach on her patches of herbs, the running water slowly souring with a magic sickness she was not equipped to fight on her own. She did what she could for the creatures she came across who had made the mistake of drinking from the poisoned creek, but it was getting out of hand. If action wasn't taken soon she would be out of a home and the entirety of the forest would be overtaken by this bleak energy.

Stepping into the tavern she pulled the hood of her soft grey wool cloak off, revealing a soft round face framed by a curtain of thick, dark hair. Glancing around the room she scowled before spotting the dark table in the corner where Rican sat. Her stride was sure and in a moment she sat across from him hands folded on the rough wood of the table. "There's a sickness in the forest, ranger, and our homes are both in peril if we can't get in under control. My combat is...lacking, at best. I need your help, please." Her green eyes were hard and unwavering staring at his chiseled face, but if you looked close enough there was an unsettling undercurrent of real fear.

Rican watched as Camri approached him. It could only be him that she would be walking towards in this area of the bar. Others tended to give him a wide berth. As she took the seat across from him he remembered how lovely she always was.

Since she got quickly to the point, he responded in kind, "I've not seen anything in my journey, from where is this trouble coming from?"

Camri threaded a trembling hand through waist-length hair. "I know not where it begins, but it is encroaching on the Grove of the Unicorns...Ehlonna is only so powerful, even when aligned with Mielikki. The water in the eastern creeks and rivers is tainted with darkness." Wearily she let her head drop into waiting hands, shoulders slumping. "I am out of my depth, Rican, please. I can cure whatever darkness lurks but I cannot get there on my own." Her eyes looked pleading up through dark lashes into the hard eyes of the Ranger.

Rican knew he had no choice, he had to assist her. If things were not stopped now, it would only be getting worse. But he also knew they would need to gather provisions and not leave until the morning. "We'll want to leave in the morning. Gather some provisions, if we want to travel quickly we'll want to limit foraging, and who knows how the land might be tainted. Foraging may even be impossible."

Rican already had his own room for the night. While he could bed in the forest easily enough, the occasional soft mattress was also a luxury. He waved over one of the girls, "You should eat, drink and get a room."

Camri ordered a flagon of mead and an assortment of vegetables with a venison steak. Her inquiry about a room was met with a stuttered excuse about being full up for the night. Her glance at Rican was met with a somewhat bland expression. "Can I room with you tonight, Rican? Apparently there's nothing left in terms of board for me." A mattress would be welcome, and she was sure they could share a bed without issues, especially the night before what was sure to be an arduous journey.

Rican heard the wench exclaim that there were no more rooms for the night and then the plea from Camri if she could share his room. Before he could answer anything he heard a shout from the other side of the tavern. The first shout was followed by a second. Rican realized another brawl had happened.

But then one of the screams became blood curling, a scream Rican had heard many times in life, the sound of someone being killed. Rican stood to see better of the commotion as a body was thrown over one table and landed at his feet. Whoever threw him was a very strong.

He the saw what had thrown him. It was humanoid, but the face, it was hideous, almost melted. The man seemed to be growing, getting larger as it continued to scream in a combination of anger and pain. He massive arm swiped, sending another man back across a table and into a wall.