The Withermarsh Ruins

Once a shining beacon of science, now the lair of the most dangerous Shade of the world

We've been looting those ruins for four days now. Ash is still missing - I don't know what happened to him. Ginger is losing her mind, swore yesterday that she heard Ash screaming like a banshee. The others laughed. Said we weren't near the Moaning Cliffs, and that Ash must have simply gotten cold feet. "There's no Shade here" Nosey said. "Nothing but us and some mutated rats." I don't know if I believe them. There's... Something about these ruins. About the whole damn swamp. Sometimes... I feel like we're not alone here. And I'm not talking about rats.
— Extract from a lone journal page, found near the entrance of the ruins.

When you walked into the Withermarsh, the Sprites told you to turn back at once. You didn't listen. When you walked into the ruins, dozens of eyes were on you, watching, waiting. You didn't notice. When you walked into the ruins, you trespassed into the lair of a powerful creature. You didn't care. When you walked into the ruins, you were hungry for adventure, knowledge, power, treasure. You didn't watch out. When you walked out of the ruins, it was because you were frightened, because a voice was screaming - run, run, run. You weren't careful enough. You never walked out of the Withermarsh.

Adze is watching and it never let a prey escapes. Beware.

Purpose / Function

Nowadays, the ruins barely stand, covered in moss, vines and poisonous flowers. The wildlife of the swamps has made its nests into the cavities of the buildings, using the rooms, stairs, roofs and other collapsed walls to hide from unwelcome visitors. But the main purpose of the ruins, and the reason why few dare to trample its ground, is that it became the lair of the terrifying Deviant, the Flying Shade. Before the Disaster, back when magic was rediscovered, the organisation ██████████████████ built numerous research labs to look into the secrets of magic and, if possible, to mix it with science. They called this one, Projet H.O.M.E. Both a laboraty and an orphanage, Project H.O.M.E's goal was to welcome, study and help grow orphans from all around the country. The project, funded by the organisation and the local government, lasted about fifteen years and then was abandonned to the profit of looking for a solution against the Shades. Several years after the Disaster hit, Project H.O.M.E had been completely forgotten, and its buildings left to rot, slowly overtaken by the local flora, and by the Shades.