The Dying Village

Donnel was an unassuming village. A small farming community that sat on the edge of a large uninhabited area of the Dominion. From the hills that overlooked the village one could see the great stretches of forest that extended to the horizon and beyond.

They arrived on the road that ran through the village to find another cart pulled up in front of one of the houses. A pair of strong looking men were hoisting a crate up onto it while a small gaggle of children of assorted ages cheered them on. They got the crate up onto the cart and turned to see The Chiming Spring. Verena tapped Mimi on the shoulder who immediately pulled on the reins and drew the lepsi to a halt.

“Lo there ladies.” One of the men said approaching the cart, “I wouldn’t recommend travellin’ these roads. Not safe.”

“Thank you for the concern. We have come from the Guild to investigate.” Verena said, jumping down from the cart.

The men looked over the members of the Chiming Spring. They clearly didn’t think that the group of young women in the cart were adventurers but they were to polie to say otherwise.

“Alright then.”

“Are you leaving Donnel?” Verena asked.

“Aye. Some talk of fightin’ but we ‘ave families to take care for. We headin’ away, somewhere safer.” Said before lifting a chest onto the cart and handing it to a woman that must have been one of their wives.

“How many are staying?” Verena asked, picking up a small box and handing it to one of the older children aboard.

“Only a few. The mayor ‘as already left. Only a few woodsmen and ‘unters are stickin’ around.”

“When we make it safe again, you should all come back!” Mimi exclaimed from her seat, beaming at the two men with all the positivity in the world.

“Can’t rightly say.” Said one of the men, “Go see the forest. You will see that even if you stop this corruption, there will be nothing left but rot.”

They said goodbye to the two families, who upon loading up their cart, departed. The adults looked steely eyed on the road as the children waved and wished The Chiming Spring members well.

The party went back on their way, moving through the center of the village. It was a depressing sight, many of the houses and shops clearly abandoned. The majority of the remaining residents of the village were men. Hard looking sorts with axes and bows who eyed the cart warily.

“This is horrible.” Verena said quietly, “This village is dying.”

“Don’t worry, Verena.” Mimi said, placing a small hand on Verena’s shoulder, “Once we have cleaned this mess up, everything will be okay.”

“We have wasted enough time.” Ilia said from over Verena’s shoulder, “If we truly want to end this village’s slow death then we must investigate the source of its illness.”

“To the grove then.” Verena said, taking a deep breath as Mimi urged the lepsi forward.