(The text on this note is written very small, though is still very legible and well-written.)

7th of Flamerule, 1502 DR

Myself, Abuh, Torva, Teelite, and Jaggle.

When I previously wished for a more serious job, I did not expect it to be this deadly.

Ario, a hobgoblin representative of Nahaunglaroth under the Blood of Morueme requested we check up on others of his troop within the Far Forest, and to clear a plague there. The way there took a while, where we saw various ruins and fey remnant, while also verbally cursing fey that aren't part of the Seelee court, whatever that all means.

Once there, we trekked through the dark and dangerous forest. As some of us cannot see in the dark for some reason, we required torchlight. It was also inhabited by many tree-like creatures, which jumped us on three occasions.

Firstly were two alive trees and a living mound of dead nature things. The first tree was quickly incinerated by me, while Torva was grabbed by the mound. Fortunately, Teelite used her whip to fetch her out of it. Them, myself and Teelite worked on destroying it, while Jaggle chopped down firewood from the other awakened tree. Abuh also managed to keep the mound from yanking me into it too.

Then, amidst bubbling puddles of mud were another living tree and two living vines, one which Jaggle quickly spotted and I swiftly took down. Unfortunately, we had not noticed the tree, and it held me hostage above a puddle. Fortunately, my size sometimes comes in handy, and it could not lower me into it. An elbow made it drop me, as everyone else wailed on it while I took care of the other vine, which attempted to flee.

Finally, we found glowing fey-like magical light. They lead us to a more plum-colored part of the forest, where more of the vines jumped us alongside a giant purple mound of skulls and fungus. It started by shooting out rot and poison at all but myself and Teelite, incapacitating Jaggle in the process. Then, it rushed to me and her, failing to slam on her and then yanking me, attaching me to it. I had trouble seeing what else went on, and so I screamed and kicked at it furiously, while we worked on destroying it. One strong kick from me finally broke it up, and Teelite dealt with the last vine thing. This is also where we found the bodies of the hobgoblins, as well as various scattered magical items.

We reported back to Ario, who gave us our payout. It was unfortunately quite small, though greater than what I received for that boring job in Loud Water.

At least it was thrilling,

Snap

MISSION REPORT: investigate the plague in Far Forest and remove it. DATE: 7 Flamerule, 1502 DR

Departure: left the Glassfang Syndicate with an armed squad of Blood of Morueme towards the location of a lost armed formation.

Directive: find evidence of the lost squad and locate the source of the plague. Note: archive updated with new fauna and humanoid customs - ERROR: fey language pack missing. - Observation: area became darker and with more fey influence the closer we arrived to the mission location.

Observation: 2 large trees and a mound of organic mass become sentient. sentient fauna turned hostile to the squad. New directive: dispatch of threats. Note: sentient fauna regenerates from electrical discharges. Result: WaLkInG fIrEwOoD tUrNeD tO sPlInTeRs iN oUr UnStOpPaBlE wAkE.

New directive: continue forward exploring the corrupted forest. Observation: 1 additional tree and 2 humanoid vine entities turned sentiend and hostile to the squad. New directive: dispatch - ThE cOmPosT sHaPeD - threats. Result: aLl WeEdS tUrNeD tO aSh AnD mUlCh. Note: wisp entity retreated into a fey portal.

New directive: investigate deeper the origins of these threats. Observation: 2 additional humanoid vines appeard and a large tree composed of skulls and fungi became sentient and hostile. New directive: LeAvE nOtHinG mOvInG oR cReAcKiNg. Result: DeAd As AlL iN oUr PaTh ShOuLd.

Post directive: corpses of armed forces found. the dispatch of the diseased sentient tree has reverted the plague effects

Post mission: new equipment received.

Date: 7th of Flamerul 1502 DR
Party: Aber, Tova, Snap, Jaggle, Myself

---

Disclaimer, all names in this summary are subject to spelling errors...

My first adventure as a member of the Syndicate.

I wasn't entirely certain what to expect, though I can now say I am pleasantly surprised by what we encountered.

Our initial contact was with a hobgoblin named Hario. While unmistakably a hobgoblin, they also bore the scales of a dragon. Through conversation, it was later revealed that Hario, and apparently many other hobgoblins, were somehow born from a dragon. I remain... uncertain as to how such a thing transpired, and I believe I am content to remain ignorant of the particulars.

A letter was delivered to Tova, who read its contents aloud for the rest of us. Hario's employer (and possibly father?) a dragon named Nahangaroth, was the true patron behind the request. Our task was to travel north into the Far Forest and discover what had begun to ail it.

"Tear it out by root and stem." I believe those were the words.

With our objective established, we began our journey.

Along the road, Tova and I found ourselves speaking at length. We both noticed the remains of ancient ruins bearing unmistakable Fey influence. Long before my time, I am assured. Upon closer inspection, I found signs that suggested the area had once been under considerable Unseelie influence. An unsettling thought.

When I mentioned this to Tova, the conversation somehow turned toward another member of the Syndicate—a fellow Fey. I confess I have become rather curious to meet them.

After what I believe were several hours of travel, we arrived at the Far Forest. Hario departed from our company there, though not before leaving us with one final request.

A platoon of hobgoblins, Platoon Thirteen, had entered the forest before us to investigate and had not returned. We were asked simply to find them. No mention was made of whether they were expected to be alive.

I quietly considered this a secondary objective. The rot consuming the forest remained our true purpose.

Into the woods we ventured.

To my pleasant surprise, our group managed to travel with a respectable degree of stealth. Unfortunately, I believe we were all so focused on remaining unseen that none of us noticed the animated flora converging upon us until it was far too late.

Combat followed.

It proved challenging...

...for everyone else.

Keeping my distance from the plant creatures was, thankfully, rather simple. It is, after all, precisely what I was trained to do. Remain unseen. I'd make for a rather dreadful spy if even an overgrown shrub managed to catch me.

I digress.

The battle was won, and onward we pressed.

After several more trials and an increasingly unpleasant walk through the forest, we discovered what we believed to be the source of the corruption.

At first glance I mistook it for a cairn. Upon closer inspection, however, I realized I possessed embarrassingly little knowledge regarding cairns.

The distinction soon became irrelevant.

It stood up.

The ensuing battle was considerably more difficult than the first. Our party was beginning to tire. One companion briefly lost consciousness, another was swallowed by the... not-cairn, and our construct ally spent a surprising amount of time being dragged about the battlefield. Tova also appeared to exhaust much of her magic.

In hindsight, perhaps we ought to have rested when we discovered that quiet clearing.

The thought came too late to be useful.

Fortunately, so did victory.

The abomination eventually fell.

It is worth noting that we also found what I can only assume was Platoon Thirteen.

Unfortunately, they were beyond saving.

The poor souls had been grotesquely grafted into the creature's form. We recovered what belongings we could, along with enough identifying effects to bring confirmation of their fate. With our task complete, we returned to Hario, delivered the news, received our payment, and departed.

I've little else to report.

The contract was fulfilled.

I suppose that means I may now call myself an adventurer.

Though, if I am honest...

I find myself no closer to the place—or perhaps the person—I truly wish to find.

Signed: Tealight

Mission Report: A Plague on Far Forest

Date: 7 Flamerule, 1502 DR
Party: Snap, Tova, Aber, Tealight, Jabble
Patron: Nahaunglaroth
Representative: Hario, Blood of Morueme
Objective: Investigate the plague in the Far Forest, destroy its source, and make the area safer for hobgoblin travel.

Hario arrived at the Syndicate with a sealed missive from Nahaunglaroth. The seal was blue and marked with a dragon’s head, with a red ribbon wrapped around it. I accepted the letter, broke the seal, and read it aloud to the group.

The message thanked the Syndicate for previous work and requested our aid with a plague affecting the Far Forest, south of the Nether Mountains. We were instructed to clear out the corruption “root and stem.” Payment was promised for successful completion.

We traveled north with Hario and a hobgoblin escort. During the journey, we introduced ourselves. Jabble showed us a mermaid tattoo that moves when he flexes. Worth noting.

The Far Forest was dense, dark, and difficult to travel through. The area showed signs of old ruins and lingering fey influence. Tealight noticed possible Unseelie influence among the remnants. Aber observed a strong presence of wildlife and signs of arcane ley lines running through the area.

I also spoke with the group about Surx and the incident where they used my face and contacted my mind without permission. Since the topic of fey came up, it seemed relevant. And because I enjoy being helpful, obviously.

When we reached the edge of the Far Forest, Hario informed us that Platoon Thirteen, a group of fourteen hobgoblins, had entered the forest earlier and had not returned. We agreed to look for signs of them while completing the main objective.

Once inside, Snap carried a torch for those of us without darkvision.

First Encounter

We were attacked by two awakened trees and a shambling mound.

The mound grabbed me during the fight. Tealight used her whip to pull me free. Snap and Tealight helped destroy the mound, Jabble attacked one of the trees, and Aber helped prevent Snap from being pulled into danger.

We learned that some of the corrupted plant creatures regenerated from electrical damage. An unpleasant lesson, but a useful one.

All hostile creatures were destroyed.

Second Encounter

We moved deeper into the forest and found corrosive pools of mud or ooze. There was also purple dust in the area that appeared to interfere with healing.

We were attacked by another awakened tree and two vine-like humanoid creatures. One vine was spotted and quickly taken down. The tree grabbed Snap and held him over one of the corrosive pools, but it was unable to lower him in properly. Snap escaped, and the rest of the party destroyed the tree and remaining vine creature.

One wisp-like entity retreated through what appeared to be a fey portal.

Source of the Plague

We followed glowing fey-like lights to a more heavily corrupted section of the forest. There we found a large mass of skulls, fungus, roots, and corrupted plant matter.

It stood and attacked.

The creature released rot and poison at the start of the fight, incapacitating Jabble. It later grabbed Snap and pulled him into itself. Snap continued fighting from within its grasp, while the rest of us focused on destroying the creature and dealing with the remaining vine entities.

The fight was difficult. Several of us were low on resources by this point, myself included.

The creature was eventually destroyed. Once it fell, the surrounding plague began to recede.

Platoon Thirteen

After the creature was destroyed, we found the remains of Platoon Thirteen. They had been grafted into the corrupted mass and were beyond saving.

We recovered identifying belongings and effects so Hario and the Blood of Morueme could confirm their fate.

Resolution

We returned to Hario and reported the destruction of the plague’s source. We also confirmed the fate of Platoon Thirteen.

Payment was received.

Results

• Plague source destroyed.
• Far Forest corruption began to recede.
• Platoon Thirteen found and confirmed dead.
• Identifying belongings recovered.
• Area should be safer for hobgoblin travel.
• Magical items recovered from the site.
• Tealight completed her first Syndicate mission.
• Snap survived being grabbed by hostile plant matter more than once.

Mission completed.

Signed,
Tova