Editing Additional encounters (section)

== Encounter 4: The Blighted River ==

=== Location: ===
A river that runs through a forest, once known for its purity and vital role in sustaining nearby settlements. Recently, villagers have reported the river water turning a strange dark green, with plants and animals along the riverbanks sickening and dying.

=== Setup: ===
When the adventurers arrive at the river, they find the water a murky green, with large patches of strange algae blooming unnaturally fast. The air smells foul, and dead fish line the shore. At a bend in the river, the party encounters a small group of Blighted River Creatures (use stats for Water Weirds, CR 3, but corrupted by necrotic energy and with blight effects), who lash out at the party, defending the corrupted river.

	•	These creatures have been touched by the Viridescent One’s magic, their forms twisted into bloated, poisonous versions of their natural counterparts.
	•	A DC 12 Wisdom (Survival) check can trace the source of the blight upriver, where a strange, pulsating tree grows near the water’s edge. Its roots extend deep into the water, releasing the green algae.

=== Hints: ===

	•	A DC 14 Intelligence (Nature) check reveals that the algae is not of this world—its properties suggest a magical corruption.
	•	A DC 12 Intelligence (Arcana) check identifies that the magic is both fey and necrotic in nature, suggesting the presence of the Viridescent One.
	•	If the adventurers inspect the pulsating tree, a successful DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals tiny fey creatures flitting in and out of the tree’s rotting bark. They seem to be twisted nature spirits, further indicating something is manipulating the natural order.

=== Resolution: ===
The adventurers can destroy the tree, purifying the river and restoring its flow. However, they also discover remnants of arcane runes in the soil around the roots, hinting that the tree was intentionally corrupted as part of a larger, ongoing effort to warp nature itself.