Editing Additional encounters (section)

== Encounter 2: The Diseased Herd ==

=== Location: ===
A farmer’s field near a small hamlet. Livestock have begun falling ill, and the villagers are unsure if the cause is disease or something more sinister.

=== Setup: ===
As the adventurers arrive at the farm, they find the livestock convulsing, eyes glowing faintly green. The farmer is panicked and pleads with the adventurers to help identify what is wrong. The adventurers can examine the cattle, which appear to be in the final stages of an unknown affliction.

	•	Two Sickened Dire Wolves (CR 1) are lurking near the livestock, drawn by the scent of rot, but twisted by the same corrupting force.
	•	The dire wolves will attack once the party begins examining the animals closely, their movements sluggish but brutal.
	•	A DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check reveals that the livestock show signs of both illness and magical corruption, as their flesh has begun to bloat and rot unnaturally fast.

=== Hints: ===

	•	A DC 12 Intelligence (Arcana) or Wisdom (Nature) check identifies that the animals are suffering from more than a mundane disease—there are faint traces of magic warping their bodies, with a distinct necrotic element involved.
	•	On a failed check, the adventurers might assume it’s a strange magical disease, but a DC 13 Wisdom (Survival) check can track down the source of the illness: a small patch of land at the edge of the farm, where an unnatural growth of fungi spreads from a nearby forest.
	•	A successful DC 10 Intelligence (Investigation) check near the source shows traces of someone—or something—having passed through recently, suggesting an outside influence.

=== Resolution: ===
Once the wolves are defeated, the party can burn or cleanse the area with fire or holy magic. The farmer will note that similar strange occurrences are happening in nearby farms, hinting at a wider problem spreading. With enough investigation, adventurers may find that the corrupted fungi resemble the ones from the [[The Rotting Grove]] encounter.