The Sargent has appointed Carmine, Narcel'Uss, Ren, and Bird Girl to a "special details" assignment, which some regard as a promotion, others as a punishment. Their task is to visit a mystic in the woods who may have information on the hag witches that have been encroaching on the area. The mystic lives in a hill deep in the woods. There may be darker forces at work in the woods, thus the Sargent has put them together and they created Task Force H.A.G (Heavily Armed Group ... a future highly rejected name option when forming the TIP).

Carmine believes in what the Rangers are doing but his heart belongs to the Templars. Narcel'Uss is annoyed that Ildan wasn't also picked for the group, but she puts on airs that this was actually her idea. Ren is very excited, although disappointed she's not just killing the hags. Every so often she reminds us that "It would be a simple plan". Bird Girl is just excited for the companionship.

The Vorasund forest is vast and the group heads North West towards the lake. The ground is damp, the air thick and moist. Ren is enjoying the conditions but misses the taste of salt on her tongue. The foliage is thick and near impossible to fly through. At one point Bird Girl tries to fly up and after wrestling with the canopy comes back down and goes straight to Narcel'Uss. "Help", she cries out. "What now?", Narcel'Uss responds with an eye roll. Unsurprisingly, a giant spider has alighted on her shoulder. Everyone agrees that this forest is a terrible place.

Somehow, it gets worse. There is something evil spreading across the forest that becomes more apparent the deeper the group gets. The hags handiwork is very apparent. There is a blackness to everything as well as hideous tumours and abominations festering in the natural surroundings. 

As they march forth, several miles from camp, the group comes across the remnants of a recent battle. The blood is fresh, seeping into a ground that bubbles and oozes around the bodies of fallen Rangers. They have just taken down a giant bear. It lays on the ground, slick with oil. Ren walks up and pokes the bear with a stick. There is a long exhale and it appears the bear might still be a little bit alive. Narcel'Uss doesn't want to see this bear up and about and suggests it should be put out of its misery. "It's a bit large for our group to take on", she muses. Ren retorts, "It's a bit large for this forest!".

Carmine starts checking on the dead soldiers, and engages a brief conversation with Narcel'Uss, both pondering the idea that "they would have told us if another group had gone before us ... right?". Everyone is pretty disgusted at what is happened to this bear, the Rangers, and more so the whole forest. Ren attempts to swing her axe down on the bear's neck. It squelches in but does little damage. Horrified, she gains composure and swings again, finally ending the bear's sad existence. The body is oozing, full of tumours and the spine is covered in parasites. Narcel'Uss tries to take charge and decides to capture one as a sample. She volunteers the Bird to do it. Bird Girl reluctantly uses her talons to pull one out. It is much longer than everyone expected. Suddenly, it snaps back and wraps around Bird Girl's leg, crawling and biting along the way. "SPIDER FOOD!! HELP!!", cries out Bird Girl. Narcel'Uss calmly uses her radiant fire to target it and blast it off. She stuffs the toasted parasite into a jar of preserving Griffin Grease. On Bird Girl's leg, there are black marks left where the parasite sucked at her leg. It will not come off, no matter how hard she tries! She asks for it to be fixed, but no one knows what to do. She sulks off, muttering "pretty bird" quietly to herself.

Ren is very disturbed by this whole altercation. "Let's burn the bear!", she yells, sounding a little crazed. Narcel'Uss suggests it's a bad idea. Bird Gird tends to agree. There is too much wood about and it might also catch alight. However, Ren will not have any of it and eventually Narcel'Uss decides to humour her. She sets it ablaze with magic and it unleashes an ungodly smell. All of them are preoccupied when a Ranger shows up. "Oh good, you're burning the bear".

The group wheels around to face one last surviving Ranger. He doesn't look so good. His face is terribly pale and he is full of gashes. Narcel'Uss tells him to halt, not wanting him to come closer. He asks for healing, trying to appeal to Narcel'Uss' good nature (if only he knew...). Narcel'Uss takes great offence to his appearance and presumptuousness and has no spells to offer him. She drapes a blanket across his shoulders, pats him on the shoulder and says "there, there". Se can feel under the blanket that one arm is kind of squishy and boneless. He coughs and slumps "I don't feel very good... I don't...".  Suddenly, his skin begins to split and a large parasite bursts out, splitting apart the man's chest and head.

Narcel'Uss jumps back as the blanket goes flying off. Ren steps forward instinctively, always ready for a fight, and swings with the anchor but is deflected by the creature. Bird Girl lets loose an arrow. It flies true but is again deflected as the creature wriggles around. Carmine takes a mighty wack and slaps the creature forward. The parasite maws itself across Narcel'Uss' armour. It cannot penetrate but leaves the same black crust on her armour. Bird Girl yells from above "pretty girl, pretty girl" at the sight. Narcel'Uss lasers a hole though the creature but it just reshapes itself around the wound and is whole again. "This is freaking me out and disgusting me at the same time, somebody kill it!", she yells.

Ren takes a mighty more controlled blow and hacks off an arm. She yells to Bird Girl, "Aim for the squishy bit!". Bird Girl nods in affirmation and lets her arrow fly right into... the soft ground in front of the monster. "Did I do good? Get the squishy?" ask Bird Girl. Ren shows great restraint by saying, "Uhm aim a bit higher". "'Kay!"

It runs forward and "hugs" Ren, piercing her with what used to be ribs. She can feel the undulations of unhatched parasites against her skin. This completely unhinges Ren. She rages and rips it in half. As a result, everyone is covered in gore, Narcel'Uss wipes some off and says, "Well, it's dead now". Ren turns slowly, with an empty horror in her eyes and says, "Burn it... Burn it all". The black gunk is all over everyone, even visible on Narcel'Uss' dark skin.

In order to wipe the horror from their bodies and minds, the group attempts to find some clean water. They find a stream with a layer of grime on top, but underneath the water appears to be clean. They wash and scrub and some of the goop comes off. However, the mysterious black marks remain.

Ren begins by saying, "What should we do?". Carmine bravely tries to rally everyone by saying, "Just shake it off". Not to be outdone, Narcel'Uss confirms, "It's okay. We're okay". Carmine... coughs and everyone freezes. He looks wide eyed at everyone and says,  "I was coughing before I left, I swear!".

The H.A.G. presses on deeper into the forest towards the mystic's house. It's night by the time they arrive. They first see soft white lights above a hill. The earth under their feet changes back to a solid, more healthy form as they enter the mystic's protected area. They see a hill with a hole in it. Outside, there are charms hanging from the tree. Bird Girl is intrigued and flies up to play with them, trying to make music. She is very happy with the rattling sounds they make and says to the group, "Look! Bones like yours".

Hearing the noise, the mystic emerges from the hole. At first, it looks like a giant hunched pillbug is coming at them but when the figure stands, it reveals itself to be a man wearing a cloak. Narcel'Uss takes charge again by asking if "he is the great mystic they have been searching for". A pause draws out and finally he answers with a mere "yes." The group can see that the old man is near blind. Narcel'Uss tries to talk again, "Hmmm where to start-". He interrupts her, "You're here to ask me about the Hags, I wouldn't be much of a mystic if I didn't know that". Ren interrupts the whole conversations by yelling "HOW DO WE BURN THIS???" and shows off the black marks. The mystic performs a few tricks. Dirt removes Narcel'Uss' marks. He takes a swig from Ren's waterskin and the backwash water removes her stains. The smoke from the fire cures Bird Girl. Carmine gets the worst of it. He has to stick his hands into the fire. He gathers all of his willpower and does it! He does not get burnt, but the black marks are removed. Narcel'Uss mutters "I would have done it without flinching".

Narcel'Uss thanks him their benefactor. "Do you have a name? Some great mystical name so that we may address you and your great talent?". "... Todd", is the reply. Todd is an odd fellow. He remarks that "The huge bears are normal, the squishy bits are new." Todd starts eating some dirt.

Narcel'Uss wants to turn back. This as as far as they were told do go. No more adventures please. Todd perks up, "Adventure? We should do that! We have the four elements right here ready to go kill Kai". He says that "The last group, I told them , 'you're going to leave here and get eaten by a bear'. They said 'we don't believe you, you're a stupid old man'. Look who is stupid now. They weren't the chosen ones, I told them". Ren says, "We can trust the man in in the bomb ass robe!".

Narcel'Uss is still having none of it. She does not want to die in this miserable place. Ren remarks that the camp is just as miserable, what with the latrines and all. Todd begins telling the group that the force behind this terrible blight and the hags is a demon known as Kai. He is spreading the blight just because he can. At the word "demon", Narcel'Uss' whole countenance changes. Her eyes narrow into slits and she is full of determination. She says, "We need to kill the demon". As a cleric, she has a few issues with their kind. She does not like the chaos they represent.

The group rests for the night outside of Todd's "hole". Bird Girl gifts a few feathers to Ren before they go to sleep, perhaps sparking the first instance of Ren collecting feathers to adorn herself. In the night, Ren is having trouble sleeping, still trying to run imaginary black spots off her arms. She catches a glimpse of a man outside the safety of the circle. He makes eye contact with Ren and smiles a toothless grin. The figure blinks out of exsistance when Ren turns away. She nervously twitches the rest of the night.

In the morning light, the group heads off towards direction that the figure appeared. Ren is anxious but says nothing of the figure from the night before. Everything around them feels like it's rotting as they get deeper into the forest. They feel that they are being watched from all sides. It's probably the strangeness of the forest, the uneasy magic, and the fluctuating corruption. Around them, trees are cracked and bleeding. There are patches of ground that squish and ooze black ichor. The sun from the canopy has a green hellish glow. As they walk further on, they find a path ... it has been marked with dead druids. Their bodies appear to be violently killed, now crucified on oak trees. Bodies are found mutilated and splayed as a warning to others along the path. No one in the party is at ease, but Narcel'Uss in particular is getting more and more upset.

From up ahead they hear a feminine voice call to the group. "Who's there?". Ren wants to call out but Narcel'Uss stops her, " It could be a trap". Bird Girl scouts up ahead a bit. There is a stone circle there. A spike in the center stone connects to a chain that is around the neck of a young elf druid. Her eyes have been hollowed out. Bird Girl hovers there, she doesn't know what she's seeing and cannot move. The elf girl calls out again, "hello?". Ren wants to save her, tries to run to her but Narcel'Uss stops her and tells her to be smart. They approach carefully and see that the circle of stones is splashed with blood. Bird Girl flies around the outside of the stones but doesn't cross into the circle.

Narcel'Uss starts to ask the girl strange questions about her surroundings. Bird Girl gets upset. This is a little girl, not some monster. She flies in front of Narcel'Uss and cocks her head angrily. She gets the point and changes her questions to be a bit kinder. The girl replies with some important information,"He's not here, he taunts me when he's here". Bird Girl has one last test. She flies up and tosses a gold coin into the circle, then a feather. Nothing happens. Narcel'Uss says, "Carmine, go stick your arm in there". He... ahem... "hokey pokeys that shit up".

When nothing happens to Carmine, Ren runs into the circle to the elven girl's side, giving her water. "How long have you been here?", she asks. "I don't know, I can't see now, but I know the day and night by my hands". Ren vows that we will kill "him". The girl says her name is Taja. Ren and Carmine grip the chain and pull backwards, the welds slowly give way and the chain pops loose. Taja has chafing marks. She has many bruises, magically healed, but no marks of the corruption. Ren wants to take her back to Todd's but Bird Girl is really uneasy. For some reason she feels no remorse about the girl and is more interested in the surroundings. In an uncommon act she lands before Narcel'Uss and speaks camly. "Something is wrong here, we shouldn't take the girl yet". Narcel'Uss leans in "What? Why?". "Bait", whispers back Bird Girl. Narcel'Uss' insight kicks in and agrees they should wait. She convinces Ren to wait too, saying it is for the benefit of the girl. We are however at a bit of a loss as to where to camp and where we should guard.

Bird Girl starts dancing along the top of the stones, it looks frivolous but she cannot find a safe place to perch. Every time Ren tries to move Taja outside the cirlce, Bird Girl drops down and almost herds them back into the circle. Ren learns more about the girl; she's a druids apprentice, she has been using her magic to heal herself and she is starting to learn how to feel the world without her eyes. She has little power and is basically helpless as she hasn't tried to leave the circle since it happened. She's been here since almost the new year several months ago. When the seasons changes to autumn, Kai arrived with his spawn and apprentices. The Druids fought and lost. Ren wants to know what the girl thinks about her future. The girl is unsure, maybe back to her family, but that would be a loss. Ren tells her about the Ranger company and promises her safe passage and care when this is all over. As the continue to talk, but another voice comes into Ren's head, "They're using her as bait... sitting ... waiting... I see you". Ren looks up to her companions and recognizes that the others have taken a position, as you would when hunting. The night is dark and the fog is rising. Ren motions for Narcel'Uss to come over and tells her about the voice. "It's Kai, he's trying to turn you against us", Narcel'Uss smoothly answers.. Ren decides to share the information about seeing the dark figure last night. Narcel'Uss wonders why didn't she tell them before. The voice speaks "because you don't trust them". Narcel'Uss can hear the voice now. Ren shouts into the darkness "It's you we don't trust!".

The fog is rolling in faster and it feels as though there are creatures in the fog. It is high and starting obscure everyone's vision. Taja whispers "he's back, he's here". Ren says "show me", Taja points. The same pale figure Ren saw in the night appears near them inside the circle, flickering in and our of existence. There appears to be more than one of him as he moves, like copies stacked on top of one another, moving together but not as a whole. Kai dashes out and cuts through Ren's armour.

Bird Girl is very confused and swoops, trying to find the squishy Kai. She grazes his head with her tallons, leaving a scar that appears on all three. While it doesn't tell the others which is the real one, it bolsters Bird Girl's confidence that there is a real squishy thing there to kill! Landing on the other side of the circle, she perches and she yells out to Ren "NET, NET". Ren is confused for the moment as Bird Girl has screamed about her net before. Kai laughs, lashes forward and cuts Taja's throat open. She is still alive for the moment but unconscious. In her lost consciousness, the green grass and the solid ground begins to fade and become the infected land. Kai laughs, "Now we can play".

Ren flies into a blind rage and swings for Kai. He is there in the moment but then gone and Ren's blade cuts through nothing. Carmine has lit his torch and entered into battle. He feels somewhat calmed by Narcel'Uss as she realizes this man is not a demon as claimed. He is just a man with demon's power. Narcel'Uss bends down and uses her power to stabilize Taja.

Meanwhile, Bird Girl swoops across the battle field and sees the flicker of deception, calling out to Ren and Carmine that one of the Kai's is false. Kai warps across the battlefield and calls forth great tendrils of corruption. One of them smacks the Bird out of the air before she can land on a stone and pulls her face first into the ground. She shakes her head on recovery and in a panic skitters backwards and flies straight up with a great gust of wing strength. She hovers over the battle.

Ren lands a decisive blow, cutting through all three of the figures. 27 points of damage! Kai is enraged "I am going to kill you first and then I am going to make your skeleton dance!". More tendrils and a new corruption creatures emerge from the ground and attack the party. 

Ren's second attack is full of rage, but she feels fluid and there is a strange calmness that takes hold, one that she hasn't felt since coming to land. Carmine on the other hand, feels a burning faith welling inside him, the corruption creature seems to sizzle and pop when it grabs hold of him. Bird Girl, in her height, feels the cool clean night air around her. Narcel'Uss, feeling some kind of intuition tries to throw dirt at the demon man. It misses, but sprinkles instead on Taja who seems to recover somewhat and begins to wake up.

Carmine, realizing his burning power, grasps the creature harder and holds it so it cannot escape. Bird Girl swoops back down and can see the real Kai by the air displacement. She slashes the real Kai's face. Ren stays the course and swings again, misses but seems to disorient Kai. Kai is focused on Ren but is finding her harder to hit. She is too fluid, like water. Narcel'Uss feels frustrated, as if there is something she's not understanding about the fight. The words of Todd about the elements is echoing in her brain. She remembers Todd's actions back in the safe circle. She grabs the ground, throwing more dirt on the girl, then rubbing it on herself, swallowing some of the ground too. It heals her.

Carmine "crushinates" the hell beast into cinders. Steam rises from his body, he looks confused but satisfied. He immediately gets hit on the back by Kai and goes down hard. Bird Girl lets a special arrow fly, but it's caught in the air of corruption and misses its target. Ren attempts a different swing but misses. He's slightly to the left, taunting Ren. "Maybe I will just kill your friends instead". He warps to the top stone where Bird Girl is perched and swings for her with his boney claws. Bird Girl senses the motion of the air and steps lightly out of the way of his grasp, kicking him in the face on her way up.

Ren feels in a killing mood and tracks Kai's movement easily. She charges up the wall after him. She uses the spike in the stone as a step and springs up beside Kai. Kai offers a look of surprise as Ren's axe chops him into three pieces. His last dying words... "I will live forever, and my master will find you".

Ren snaps from her rage and runs to Taja. Narcel'Uss moves to revive Carmine then sulks off. Bird Girl, true to form, is very curious and digs through Kai's body. It appears normal enough, if you can ignore all the scars and patchwork stitches covering him. She looks closely at some of his organs and sees that they are hardened and shiny. She seems something black and shiny, like obsidian, where his liver should be. She pulls it from his body, "Icky, but shiny!". She seems pleased with herself.

Taja slowly awakes under Ren's care. "He's... he's dead isn't he?". For the first time we hear a hint of hope in her voice. She is the last surviving member of the Grimweald Druid Circle. The H.A.G. returns to camp and Taja is offered a job as a healer. They receive commendations for their excellent work! It sparks something... perhaps some of the future bond that leads to the creation of the T.I.P.