Loose threads: What was the voice that reached out to us (could have it been and Ancient Entity associated with The Taint)? Was Kira really an avatar of Iōnari and if so, does she have history with the voice that wants to cleanse the island? Still no idea how to slow the spread of the fire.
Participants:
1)Xavier and Velio - Level 2
2)Adaya - Level 3
3)Ema Line - Level 2
4)Maximus - Level 2
Locations: Burning Swamp, The Unseen Village
Short summary:
Party: Xavier and Velio (me), Adaya, Ema Line, Maximus, and our guide, Kira (a Kitsune).
Mission: Investigate and potentially stop the "cleansing fire" consuming the Burning Swamp island.
- Day 1: Met Kira, a young Kitsune, who guided us through smoke and fire. Spent the day preparing.
- Day 2: Began traveling. Uneventful day; camped overnight. Wolves (Lethracas) ambushed us during Maximus’s watch. Fought them off with injuries but no casualties.
- Day 3: Traveled cautiously. Rain made it easier, no ambushes, but Adaya sensed we were being watched during her night watch.
- Day 4: Reached “The Verge” near the Burning Swamp. Kira led us inside a massive, magical tree. Camped safely inside but had strange dreams urging us to let the fire spread. We refused.
- Day 5: Entered the Burning Swamp. Intense heat and towering flames. Fought Boggards and burning corpses. Suffered burns and injuries but survived. Fire became too dangerous, so we retreated. Camped outside the flames.
- Day 6: Visited a hidden Kitsune village. Observed their rituals but found nothing suspicious. Kira vanished without a trace—no one in the village even knew her. Decided to return to the guild for reinforcements and report our findings.
Report By; Xavier
Day1: The Beginning
So, we started this whole thing by meeting our guide, Kira. She’s a young Kitsune—white and black hair, kind of short—and she seemed confident about leading us through the “Burning Swamp.” Apparently, this whole island is on fire because of something called a “cleansing fire.” That sounds ominous, doesn’t it? Anyway, she was supposed to help us
get where we needed to go, navigating through smoke and flames.
The group was settled. And the everyone in the group was;
Adaya
Ema Line
Maximus
And my Self Xavier and Velio. And my Trusty companion Velio.
We spent the rest of the day getting our supplies together and preparing to leave early the next morning.
Day2: Off we go to Adventure!
At sunrise, we met up south of town—well, what I think was south; I’m still learning my way around. Kira turned into an actual fox, which was... not something I was expecting, but apparently Kitsunes can do that. We followed her lead and started walking.
The day was pretty uneventful. We talked, covered a lot of ground, and estimated we were about two days from the island. As the sun was setting, we debated whether to keep going or set up camp. Some of us were struggling with the distance, so we chose to stop and rest.
Setting up camp went smoothly. Ema suggested traps around the perimeter, which turned out to be a great idea. I also introduced the group to Velio, my trusty companion, who helped with the night watch. I can't remember exactly. But i think the order went like Myself, then Maximus, Ema, and finally Adaya.
It all seemed fine... until Velio warned me something was wrong during Maximus’s watch. Wolves—weird wolves in fact, with fur like grass and algae—ambushed us. Myself and Max tried to wake up everybody for the ambush. Later, we learned they’re called Lethracas. They were aggressive, and we had no choice but to fight them off. Maximus got hurt the worst, but Adaya patched him up quickly. After debating whether to stay or move, we chose to stay put. The rest of the night passed without trouble.
Day 3: Staying Ready and Alert
The next day. The ambush put us all on edge. We were more cautious as we traveled through light rain.-- The rain wasn't harsh it was a drizzle. Relaxing if i may add-- but nothing happened. Honestly, we made good progress that day. When night fell, we set up camp again with the same watch order. Adaya mentioned sensing something watching us during her shift, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was and luckily it didn't attack. So maybe it was a good thing? So we put it behind us and moved on forward.
Day 4: To the Coast Harbor. The Verge
This was a long day. The sun was out and it was blistering hot. Luckily we all came prepared and we easily fought against this terrible weather. We eventually reached a small harbor where elder Kitsunes worked. Kira paid them some coins, and we rented rowboats to cross the water. By sunset, we arrived at “The Verge,” --or so its called-- a coastal area near the Burning Swamp. We could see the smoke rising in the distance.
There was this huge forest. That were slowly withered away as we move forward. Eventually almost becoming just a big open field with withered trees. Which comes likely from the smoke of the fire. Out of all the withered trees. There was this one that still stood it ground. Kira led us to that massive tree that stood out—it wasn’t withered like the others. When we got closer, Kira revealed a hidden entrance to the tree! Inside, it was clean and green, with no trace of smoke or fire.
Kira explained that this tree’s life force was infinite, but it was slowly being drained by the fire. She even cried while talking about similar trees that had already died and how terrible this is. We all felt bad and best accompanied her. We decided to camp inside the tree—it felt safe enough for the night.
That night, though... we all had strange dreams. A voice told us to let the fire spread, calling it a “cleansing fire.” It promised rewards if we complied. The dreams were personal and eerie. I tried asking for the voice’s name, but it called me ignorant and dismissed me. Everyone had a different version of the dream, but we agreed on one thing: we wouldn’t let the fire spread. If you want to know more. I don't think anybody would mind telling their version of the dream.
Day 5: Into the flames we go
This was the toughest day yet. As we moved closer to the Burning Swamp, the heat and smoke became unbearable. The flames were towering—some easily 80 to 100 feet high.
In the middle of the chaos, we encountered a creature called a Boggard, a frog-like humanoid. It was talking to burning corpses that somehow stood upright. When we tried to sneak closer, they spotted us immediately and attacked.
The fight was brutal. One of the burning corpses exploded, covering Maximus and Ema in flames. Adaya worked hard to heal everyone, and we managed to defeat the creatures. But after that, we had to retreat—the fire was too much. We barely made it out without burning ourselves alive.
After exiting we recoopered And was ready to go. Kira mentioned about a Village nearby... OH NO WOOPS. I forgot. That was the next day.
By the time we leaved the fire. It was already late so we set up camp just outside the flames to recover. The night passed without incident, but the group was drained—physically and mentally. We followed the same nights watch. Thought luckily. No interference.
Day 6 The Unseen village
The next morning, we decided to visit a Kitsune village nearby. Kira led us through an illusion to find it. At first, it looked like a paradise—beautiful trees, vibrant flowers, clean water—but that was just another trick. The real village was much older and overgrown, but still felt alive. This Village sat like in a swamp. The water seemed fresh and the place was well kept. The buildings was beautifully made out of wood and well structured. Almost every place looked different. it look really amazing and the place was fresh
After discussing. We headed to the temple first, As that dream out ours said that; This island is doing its rituals in a perfunctory manner. So we inspected the Temple first. There we met a Kitsune, name Sendō whom seem to be the leader of the temple or Priest...? I'm not expert when it comes to religion I'm not sure. We explain to her everything. Thought she felt disbelief and didn't like the thought of it. Luckily for us. They were going to do a ritual later that day. So we can see it for ourselves. For Adaya the ritual seemed fine. They even liked how the ritual was going. So maybe Perfunctory is not the case.
While we were at the temple. Kira. Suddenly disappeared off the face of the continent. Apparently Sendo didn't see her. Her name wasn't written with the other Kitsune names. And nobody in town saw a white foxed Kitsune. Which was extremely weird.
Sendo mentioned a Kitsune deity Ionari. A Goddess of Agriculture and fertility. They are usually a white fox. Thought I personally doubt it I don't think Kira was a deity. Because why would a deity specifically help us through smoke and fire out their free will? Odd right?
Sendo also mentioned the Kitsune's first came to Watcher Island from the east to escape a war, but had to flee offshore due to a war there as well (Sorry: between dragons and the taint?).
As we were unable to help. We all decided to head back home. And see if we can find people whom are more experience to help with this fire. I feel bad for what is currently happening and i really wish i could lend a hand. But I really don't know how we could fix this myself.
Conclusion
We couldn’t stop the fire. We didn’t have the tools, the strength, or the answers. Our plan now is to return to the guild, report our findings, and hope someone stronger can step in.
This is what happened, as best as I can remember.
- Xavier