The Taint

"It seems that this Vamari was the source of corruption and the origin of the fabled octopus sighting. I must admit that I am far less acquainted with sea life than I am with the creatures that inhabit fresh water, but it was obvious even to me that the Vamari was something stranger and fouler than what was reported. I still carry the piece of it with me, and intend to at least determine what it was that we slew.

Though it was beyond the scope of our quest, agitation of normally sedate Grauladons from the swamps have been attacking  Kobolds of the Watchers' Tribe, and they do not know why. Alas, we did not find a definitive answer to that mystery, and I have been unable to decide whether the appearance of the Cythnigot Fiend, the Vamari at the source of the pond corruption, and the Grauladon agitation are merely coincidental or related in any manner. It is worth investigating, if only to confirm whether or not the elimination of the Vamari has improved the situation."

"As per Khuk's words, those with scales are immune to it. The Kobolds may be vetting certain adventurers from First Landing on the absence or presence of this mysterious malady, and is likely at the root of their fear of outsiders. Understandably, this has been my first interaction with a local Kobold, so I do not know if the Explorers' Guild already has more information on the subject."

- Observations reported by Kodzak

As they entered, they were ambushed by a bunch of white Kobolds, which included Snikka, and were brought to Mother Blizzard, where they explained why they were there and were told about the voiceless god that is trapped in the moon, the Changing One (presumably Monday), and another called the "Teacher of Teachers". She then taught Geld the spell (note, this is a ritual) to detect if a person has been influenced by one of these voiceless gods.

"It began millennia ago, in a more primal era. Our creators lived and worshipped the very entities that we now keep sealed. Upon learning ritualistic power from the entities, our creators continued to grow and innovate, eventually being seen as a threat. Upon noticing this, the entities quashed them, but not before our primogenitors were left in their eggs, lying deep beneath the earth. Time passed, as other insignificant races rose and fell, and our enemies grew complacent. They spread themselves thin and as they placed all their pieces on the board, our primogenitors hatched to spoil their plans. A great war proceeded, and after many years of conflict, our enemies were weakened and sealed away. Those who assisted in the conflict were evacuated to another world, while those who stood against us were left to rot. Upon closing the portal, the planet was put under stasis so that time would pass slower inside than out, and only a few of us remained to watch the seals, well suited to do so due to our natures being anathema to our enemies' beings. In Our instance, Our ability to turn the greenery into desert prevents the sealed one from regaining any influence. Without any support, the remaining societies of the fools who stood by our enemies began to collapse and break apart, and we soon met a similar fate thanks to Livinyas' treason. Now we live in a pale reflection of what we once were, keeping track over beings that continue to plot our demise as their chains break one by one. We know little of the other dragons. They live far away, either on other continents, or in one such case, the moon. Or... They used to live on the moon. They have surely perished by now. The only other dragons that should have been nearby are Lagamal or his descendants, but as We mentioned before, they have never materialized, not in the past and not now. If they do exist and have not perished, then perhaps they followed Livinyas' example."

I have found in my time on this island a much greater mystery. The Elemental Portal Shrine served as an ‘escape’ for a group of people who described a plight where ‘Twin Dragons’ aided them in escape from their ‘Pursuers’, using the portal to renounce the land. Escapee’s Tongue, which I have documented extensively, was a language used broadly by this group. They speak of “Tyrants bound in a prison” and that they had traitors among them who listened to “wordless voices” and stopped being mortals and became Aberrations. They had a sword designed primarily to detect aberrant creatures.

The The Watchers' Tribe of this island speak of ‘The Taint’, a voice, oft without words, that speaks directly to the heart of people and corrupts them irrevocably. Warps them into something destructive that a Dragon seems to have given them a moral imperative to fight against.

The Oracles of Saqqara depicted various tragedies of a void-like thing that Dragons fought against and sealed away. There is a prison specifically full of aberrations that the Oracles knew of. Khafre described their religious beliefs as being areligious, for the “gods” they saw were not ones worth worshipping. These Gods presented themselves in disguise, to hide their true intentions from mortals and all spoke without a voice. He said they were depicted as a void because they will destroy everything given a chance.

I have heard accounts from many people about strange experiences where some dark entity contacted them and attempt to bind them into an agreement. Those who have agreed were all… physically warped in some way, I suspect if they were to go deep into it they would be warped even more, as the changes were gradual and ramped up. These experiences were often with those who spoke without voices, right to the afflicted hearts.

One of them expressly desired its victim to kill Rydess, the Dragon who cultivates a tribe of zealots to hunt down and kill anyone showing these changes or allegiances. They are associated greatly with plants and verdant-cy and life, seemingly, and indeed Rydess struggles according to other reports with an overgrowth of plant life that she keeps in check+. 

I have reason to believe all of this is connected. That there is an epidemic of strange, wordless voices touching the hearts of those around us, hoping to bind us into their wills and have us – if they were sealed and imprisoned as the Oracles imply – perhaps free them? Whatever it is, history shows us that these entities were deeply dangerous and destructive. We as a community should be strong against them.

That is all for the report. I ask that anyone who has similar experiences of this nature inform me about them so that I may gather more information on the subject. 

- Vhel's summarization of the Taint

Discovery: The Green Goop is a potent mind altering agent which is seems to assert some sort of control/suggestion on those who come into contact with it  (infected a large centipede: spreading), acquire for study. This seems to connect with a hive mind of some way. Member Swampy ingested the goop (willing for scientific research), in order to gain a grasp of what it would do and made contact with some Otherworldly Entity which claims that he is their 'Champion' and must "The Strong survive - The weak nourish the cycle". Swampy was able to overcome the suggestion, but will need to be observed for any alterations to himself, he shows normal behavior and wishes to finish the hive. We also found the hatchery for the Queen, which is a heavily guarded sanctuary, which had 4 eggs. 3 we destroyed and 1 egg was brought back for study, even though it is damaged, it will hopefully yield results.