Episode 16 - The Death of Hope in Raiford's Keep

Moxt opens his eyes to find that nothing will quench a newfound thirst. He tries the usual fancy whiskeys, rare wines, beer, and even water! Nothing will satiate him until he locates some home-brewed mead which causes a wave of warmth to roll through him as the golden liquid slides down his gullet. Moxt hires Urth Oatwillow, the barkeep from The Bedpost Queen Tavern, to locate a regular supply of mead on his behalf.
As the day progresses the party begins to note "Cheap Side" is significantly more quiet, realizing that the normally bustling temple of Pelor appears vacant, aside from a few miscellaneous shoes and blood streaks on the ground. Akorah stealthily approaches the back of the church to locate a recently deceased priest with giant gouges taken out of his back. The party follows her into the temple where they see the true effect of the druids' Plant Growth spell. Overrun with vines, tree roots, and other vegetation, the temple now stands vacant of life as the heroes look upon the now slain clergy of the church. Butchered helplessly, the holy men stood no chance against their mysterious foe, their bodies lay strewn about the floors and pews, painting the once opulent glass windows with their sanguine sacrifice.
Suddenly, a hulking collection of vines reaches out and engulfs Darla. The party begins battling the magically enhanced Shambling Mound, attempting to strike it without injuring Darla. Thinking quickly, Darla tightens her grip around the staff in her hands and calls out in a muffled voice, causing a massive tree to explode from inside the monster. Feeling compelled to assist his fellow druid, Moxt pulls out his wand of failed experiments and casts an enhanced lightening spell, unintentionally healing the monster back to nearly full health! Realizing his mistake, Moxt begins to fall into a deep depression. Finally, Darla utilizes her spell Giant Insect to finish off the beast. Enhanced by her ability to communicate with plants, the monster's death wails and screams remained etched in her mind, haunting her long after the battle.
The party is able to locate a few coins but nothing of real value is located on the dead priests. A single orange mushroom sprouts from the deceased shambling mound, similar to what happened with Arnon's thrall. Darla and Moxt attempted to weave their magical powers together to destroy the mushroom and grow an oak tree, similar to Darla's previous attempt with Thrall Pestilence. This time however, nothing grew. The magic only drained the mushroom and then began winding itself around Darla. Trying the incantation several more times, Moxt finally discerns the magic was focused on something in Darla's bag.
Though victorious, Arnon's Bane leaves the temple feeling defeated, knowing the blood of the innocent priests was on their hands. Out of rage and guilt, Darla commands the roots entangling the temple to bare down with all their might. The temple appeared to implode as the walls fell inwards, spewing a giant column of fire and ash into the night sky, symbolically hailing the death of hope for the poor and sick in Raiford's Keep. Darla leaves a small hand written note on her golden ticket, which she earned for winning in The Rift, advising any in need to seek out the female druid.
Moxt follows the party back into the Trade Quarter where they return to their respective apartments for the night, but the silent halfling instead seeks out guidance from Master Benobi or "Benjamin the Wanderer". The normally quiet young man uncharacteristically breaks down in front of the old man, revealing his true fears of inadequacy, failures as a leader to his people, and lack of purpose in life. Just as he says this, a thin layer of fur breaks out all over Moxt's body, sending the druid into a deeper fit of despair. Benobi sits Moxt down and counsels him over a large glass of whiskey, reassuring the halfling that his lot in life is not yet set. Benobi advises that maybe Moxt's darkness may only be highlighting adventures not yet known, though he may be affected by evil, Moxt is not defined by it.
Moxt then recalls all the details of the party's quest thus far and shares several key bits of information concerning this unknown fungal disease. From this information Benobi is able to discern that Arnon - The Queen of Decay is attempting to destroy all nature and rebuild it in her own image. She and The Demon Yibiyru are working in tandem to destroy the world but something else is causing the infection to spread, with specific direction and purpose. Moxt is tasked to locate a lead that may provide more information on the source of the infection, not just locating infected persons. Should Moxt find any new information concerning the fungus he should return to Master Benobi or "Benjamin the Wanderer" for further feedback.
Darla falls into a deep sleep where she sees an old man sitting on a bench, surrounded by a dying garden. A few moments later the old man falls to the ground dead, crumbling into a pile of ash. From the ash a small boy emerges, hoisting himself onto the bench. Moments later the young boy morphs into a full grown man. In similar fashion, the adult man warps back into the same old man. As this this cycle repeats over and over again, Darla notes the garden around this individual dies, buds, blossoms, and then shrivels along with the man. In the final moments of the dream, the old man looks over his shoulder at Darla and utters her name in the same voice that has been haunting her for weeks.
Lastly, we look to the little Owlin. Desperately trying to rest after such a chaotic day, the little bird paces back and forth on her perch in an attempt to find the most comfortable angle. Realizing she is kept awake by a growing compulsion to consume blood, Booty locates a small shrew in the outside garden which she kills. Not quite scratching her itch, she seeks out bigger pray. Booty slinks through the nearby apartments until she locates an elderly woman sitting in a rocking chair. The famished foul slinks into the woman's home. Booty observes that the old woman appears to be wearing a headscarf and discerns the old woman is most likely dying from late stage cancer. Without making a noise the owlin turns to face the old woman, who has her eyes closed. Booty waits for the old woman to open her eyes. Before the old crone can let out a screech, Booty pecks out the old crone's eyes and shreds the woman's chest with her talons. As she drinks the warm blood pouring from the woman's neck, Booty feels refreshed and notes that the tattoo on her arm glows orange, as if satiated. A silver wisp escaped the woman's mouth and swims into the shifting folds of Booty's dark feathers. Knowing the siphoned soul had pleased her secret master, Booty easily slips into a deep slumber.
What will come of Moxt's unknown condition both mentally and physically? How will Darla recover from the emotionally scaring events at the temple? Who is Booty's dark Patron? And what is the lead the party needs to find in order to discover more information about the spreading plague?