Stygian Weald

I — CASTLE WEALDGARD

Black stone walls coursing with sickly vines. Discordant birdsong filters through an abandoned market, centred on an overgrown well.

• Abandoned Market. Three pox-ridden boars, crazed with pain, attack those who enter. Their Matriarch (decaying face; calming human voice) sits and speaks of the coming rot-world. Her green eyes are human.
• Overgrown Well. Pained chanting echoes from within. Druid-cursed vines seize all within 1 square; test coins or take 1 wound as you're dragged underground.
• Underground. The Druid Hierophant Fylani (bandaged, moaning) hides here. His struggle against the darkheart's curse has rotted his body. He knows the heart is the curse-source, but it's been hidden from him by a hag named Putresca.

II — FOXTAIL GROVE

A circle of mushrooms among tall grass. A rank sweet smell lingers.

• Mushrooms. A skeleton wearing a golden chain rests amid them. Entrants test swords or fall into indefinite spore-drugged sleep. The chain can be traded to buy an item without a coins test.

III — WEEPING WOODS

Splintering paths lead to a weeping Treefolk.

• Splintering Paths. Easy to become lost here. When leaving test wands or spend another event here.
• Treefolk. Blubbering, he laments the Count's treachery. On his bark, 'CW+CW'. Questioned, he becomes violent.

"How could he mistreat our Countess so? And that woman! She deserved her debarking!"

IV — MURK HOLLOW

Above a vast Bramble Maze, a huge Black Oak blots out the sky. Stinking violet miasma rises from the shadows.

• Bramble Maze. Tests coins or it snags a random piece of equipment. Retrieving it costs a wound.
• Black Oak. Amid the tangled roots, the Festering Wound opens into the earth. Pulsing malevolence darkens all light. Leads to Room I.

V — SEAT OF THE AESTIVAL COURT

A large hollowed-out Trunk in the heart of a lush glade. The distant sound of buzzing insects.

• Trunk. Dollhouse-like buildings ring the inner wall. A buzzing Legion of Restless Sprites cavorts as it patrols the perimeter. A Pinecone Palace sits at the centre.
• Pinecone Palace. The eternal Empress Clavolina Willowfig (tiny, proud, mischievous) rules this Court of Summer. The sprites cause chaos among mortals, seeking entertainment. Clavolina knows that the darkheart's rot spreads from below Murk Hollow; she only trusts those who can laugh at their own misfortune.

VI — WITCHES' GLADE

In a small clearing, a black iron cauldron sits amid long-cooled ashes.

• Black Iron Cauldron. Inside are the Count's coronet and a horrible cape made of his mistress's skin. On its bottom, the name Wealdgard has been scratched out, replaced with a ragged carving saying 'Putresca'.

VII — BRIGGET LAKE

On a small isle amid frigid black water, a Unicorn struggles against bonds made of worms.

• The Unicorn cannot speak. Touching the worms directly causes a wound. Burning or cutting them hurts the Unicorn.
• If carefully freed, he teaches the magic words 'Heal' and 'Authority' by touching his horn to the character with the highest Cups. He then leads the party to a hollow log, jutting from the marshy ground; it can be explored like a tunnel, leading to V Worm Cave of the Festering Wound.

THE FESTERING WOUND

Description: Rotten root caverns, spawned of the darkheart's shame and regret.

Heartbeat: Every two turns, the darkheart beats. Test wands or fill a slot with Sickness; resting cures Sickness. If the horrible cape is in the Festering Wound, or if Putresca can see a man wearing the dead Count's livery or coronet, the heart beats each turn. If both are true, the heart goes into arrest; Putresca takes 1 wound each turn.

Entrances: Hex 4 to Room 1, Hex 7 to Room 5

I — FUNGAL SYNOD

Four Mushfolk, fungal sentients with psychic powers, feast on the Black Oak's roots. They love music, slow-dancing to the darkheart's beat as they dine on the decay it causes. They wish to kill Fylani, allowing the rot dimension to fully enter the weald and merge with it. They'll tell the heroes all about it for some filth or a novel tune, but they'll defend the darkheart with their lives.

II — ROTTING CORPSES

Those who couldn't flee the Weald rot here. Some are not yet entirely dead; they spring to life to weep and mourn the Count and Countess Wealdgard when the darkheart beats.

III — MIASMA HALL

Foul gases fill this hall! Test swords to hold your breath long enough to get through. Failure returns you where you started; a second failure deals a wound!

IV — EYEBALL HALL

Fungal eyes peer from the walls. Those they see test cups or are paralyzed by despair. At the hall's far end, a slumped figure can be seen.

• The horrible cape fixates the eyes, neutralizing them. Darkness also defangs them.
• Slumped Figure. The corpse's expensive livery bears the heraldry of Count Wealdgard. A rusting sword sits across his lap.

V — WORM CAVE

A tall figure, too lanky to be human, claws at the walls here. Closer inspection reveals it to be an Abomination, made of worms. It attacks!

VI — PUTRESCA'S LAIR

The Rot Hag Putresca has gone mad. She rapidly cycles through hideous, vicious diseases.

• Magically healing Putresca restores her original form, the Countess Wealdgard. She won't last long without her heart!

VII — CRUCIBLE OF THE DARKHEART

In a dark iron bowl, a black, withered heart beats and oozes.

If the darkheart beats while you're in the room, test wands or take a wound. Only fire or magic can stop its beating.