Encounter

E2 — Stonecup Spring

Cedar Court · Blackgold Perimeter · Area 2

Stonecup Spring

Palakar Forest · Stage 3 Blight Node · Contaminated Water

A clear spring spills from a cracked shelf of stone into a shallow bowl lined with moss and mushrooms. Thin golden threads sway among submerged roots. The water smells impossibly sweet—fresh rain, ripe fruit, and something difficult to name. Around the basin, small footprints circle back again and again; almost none lead away. Fungal growths shiver along the bank, although the air is still.

GM — The Spring's False Gift

The blight has entered the groundwater through infected living roots. At first the water seems unusually delicious, intensely satisfying, and comforting. Repeated drinkers crave that sensation, return compulsively, and begin to regard the spring as their own treasure. As exposure continues, that devotion becomes paranoia and violent territoriality. These effects are supernatural signs of the infernal blight, not the fungus leshys' normal disposition. The golden filaments are contaminated rootlets, not gold or an ordinary fungal bloom.

Occupants — Four Spring Guardians

Two Fungus Leshys (Creature 2 each) linger among mushrooms and stones near the basin. They sip repeatedly, tend fungus growing along the spring, and jealously watch any visitor. Initially they warn intruders away, hide with Change Shape, or attempt to drive them off using spore pods and Spore Cloud rather than immediately fighting to the death.

Two Deadly Fungus Leshys (Creature 3 each) are entrenched in the denser fungi near the rock shelf, acting as the spring's fanatical inner guardians. They are especially unwilling to let anyone touch, sample, drain, cleanse, or block the water. They may emerge when the basin is threatened or the lesser guardians call for help; they need not join a minor skirmish automatically.

The creatures can speak, but their conversation keeps returning to how wonderful the water tastes and why no one may take it away. They may invite a friendly visitor to drink, then become agitated at a refusal. They are victims and vectors of the blight, not agents who understand its infernal origin.

Running the Encounter

  • Approach: Quiet PCs can observe the compulsive drinking and circular tracks before being noticed. The spring can be bypassed without a battle.
  • Interaction: A respectful approach can win a short conversation, but taking water, touching contaminated roots, or proposing purification provokes alarm. Diverting attention or withdrawing avoids unnecessary bloodshed.
  • Initial defense: The two ordinary fungus leshys block access, use cover and fungal patches, and try to repel visitors.
  • Escalation: The two deadly fungus leshys defend the source if PCs persist or damage the spring. Their arrival should be clearly telegraphed by movement beneath the mushroom shelves, allowing retreat. Their Verdant Burst can heal other fungi when a guardian dies; apply each creature's printed statistics as written.
  • Threat: All four together total 200 XP against five level-2 PCs—an extreme encounter. Do not present this as a routine light fight. Separate waves, avoid automatic reinforcements, and keep an escape route open. The creatures prioritize holding the water over pursuing fleeing PCs.

Exploration and Clues

Nature or Survival DC 18: The gold traces run through living submerged rootlets; this is an infection carried into the spring rather than ore or an ordinary mineral deposit. Many tracks loop back to drink, with comparatively few departing. A safely collected sample shows the same oily black-sap contamination found elsewhere in the blighted forest.

The spring's appealing scent is a warning, not proof that its water is safe. Do not require a character to drink to discover the contamination. If a character deliberately drinks, emphasize an unnaturally pleasurable taste and a strong desire for another sip; adjudicate any ongoing compulsion openly as a separate blight exposure rather than silently adding abilities to the existing monster stat blocks.

Objectives and Outcomes

The PCs can watch the guardians, identify the groundwater route, collect a sample, map the contaminated feeder, or warn the Cedar Court. Clearing the leshys does not purify the spring: the blight remains in the living root network feeding it. The spring is not a mandatory neutralizer destination; eliminating the upstream source is the durable solution.

Consequences / Return to Thornwatch

Reporting the addictive water, protective behavior, and root-borne contamination gives Thornwatch actionable evidence to isolate drinking supplies and warn the dryads. The guardians may be saved if the water source is cleansed and their dependence fades. If the PCs retreat, the four leshys remain at the basin and continue to guard it.

Field-treatment clarification

Stonecup is a reconnaissance and sampling location, not a required dose destination. The Watercourse Neutralizer could help contain an infected feeder only if Thornwatch later authorizes treatment, but it cannot kill individual infernal blightseeds. The Blightseed Antidote is reserved for exposed seed cores and is not poured into a spring.