The dose makes the poison

The Golden Axe brave the rotting marshes of Therunin, and the spiteful poison that pools there.

Gold Axe and Iron Boot

The rich bayou and dense forests of Therunin are a shadow of what they once were. Since the surprise assault of the Druj a little over two years ago, the Navarr territory has been torn by war and poison, ravaged by chaos and ruin. The Thimble was lost, the Holt of the Oak fell, Isaella's Dance and the Iron Helms made the ultimate sacrifice to help their allies win free of a Druj trap, the ancient hospital of Peakedge Stead, the newly built apothecary college of Thornsong House burned, and Lord Rain withdrew his healing rains from the Empire. Worse, the wicked sorcerers of the Tainted Basilisk roused the vallorn of Tharunind. Only the valiant efforts of League soldiers and Dawnish knights saved Peakedge Stead from being overwhelmed; only the courage of Highborn pilgrims protected East Ashes from being consumed. Despite all that sacrifice, all that valorous desperation, Eastring was still lost and while the Druj paid a high price for their arrogance, there is no hope of the steadings or the weirwood groves being recovered until that day when the Empire takes the final battle to the vallorn.

Warriors of the Axe, this season we march to Therunin. We march to where the Iron Helms & Isaella's Dance paid the ultimate price. To where the bonds of Loyalty between Varushka and Navarr were deepened. For too long have the people of Therunin been cut off from our Empire. The dread gaze of Blood-on-the-Snow has turned to the people of Therunin offering false hope. We reject the lies of this Eternal! We march to show the people of Therunin that they are not forgotten. To the Navarr of Therunin, look to the east. We are coming.

Vojsuli Cherenkov, General of the Golden Axe

Into this crucible of pain comes the worst of all possible friends - the eternal known as Twigsnap, as the Giver of Gifts and Blood-on-the-Snow. He who calls the Lost to Feast. Agramant. "Nobody else cares about Therunin save me", he whispers. "I am the only friend to the people of Therunin", he claims. "I will help you take back what the Empire has denied you", he wheedles. And to be sure he has offered sweet gifts, and despite the warnings some of those who still remain in Therunin have heeded his words.

Now the Empire responds, and the warriors of the Axe march to Therunin. They march in part to deepen the bonds between Varushka and Navarr, and to urge the people to reject the false hope offered by the Cannibal King. Up out of the Turan Flats they go, fording the Unnamed River at Turan, thence to the Bleaks and a sojourn at the Last Battle Wayhouse. There the captains meet with the steading that calls that place home, still, despite the jealous anger of the Karass. The Navarr scouts have kept as close an eye on the Lower Tarn Valley as they have on the Sarangrave; they are ready to serve as guides to the poisoned morass the Druj have made of that once-beautiful marshland.

The dour Varushkan warriors are bound around with Day magic that grants vital clarity for the battle that is to come. A half-handful of Imperial captains accompany them, but for the most part it is the warriors of the Axe alone that walk south out of the Barrens into the ruin of the Lower Tarn. As they march, orcs watch them from the trees. The Karass resent the Last Battle, and resent the Imperials who visit. They make no effort to impede the army - they are not so brave - but neither do they offer any aid. It's doubtful they have much to give anyway; their warriors are busy in the Mallum after all.

Vojsuli Cherenkov (right), General of the Golden Axe

So, gathering momentum as they go, the Golden Axe leaves the Bleaks and enters a Therunin that is, at least in theory, still held by the Druj.

Haunted Bayou

Therunin is haunted, there can be no doubt. For the Golden Axe, it is the spectre of the Iron Helms that they spy beneath the hunched trees of the Tarn Valley. They paid an ultimate price, paid it willingly, and if the story is to be believed some of them still fight on despite having died a year or more ago. The bitter gifts of Winter magic have a way of lingering. Perhaps it was those lingering spirits who fought beside the Iron Helms that drew the black-eyed gaze of the Devourer of the Fallen here in the first place. Either way, every Varushkan knows that death is certain, and rarely pretty.

Dwelling on the dead does not pave the path to victory, however, and the soldiers of the Golden Axe are rarely given to introspection when there is battle to be joined. It is not the dead, or their echo, that faces them in the Lower Tarn Valley but the very real threat of the remaining Druj and the poisonous legacy of Sephals Cauldron that occupies their thoughts. The Last Battle scouts warned the Varushkans how bad it was, but even so they are barely prepared.

Its been two years since the Druj spilled Sephals Cauldron in the Lower Tarn, in an effort to punish Imperial armies fighting in the territory, and a failed attempt to spread their wickedness into the Barrens. Since then, time and Spring magic both have worked a terrible transformation on the once-fertile Lower Tarn Valley. With the waters poisoned, much of the vegetation here has died and rotted, creating a foul-smelling miasma that hangs at the bottom of the valley like a curse. The skeletons of people, oxen, and beasts lie in stagnant pools of filth, undisturbed by scavengers or predators, food only for the flies that everywhere swarm in buzzing black clouds. What few trees remain, hardy enough to resist or with roots deep enough to reach untainted water far below, are still clearly sick. Their fruit is blotched, marred by the taint of venom, and the first fool to ignore the caution of their friends and pluck a misshapen apple from a sagging bough dies raving within the day.

Not everything is dead - mushroom and fungus both prosper here, feeding on death, untouched by the residue of that twisted cauldron. A particular kind of moss, of all things, has adapted to the poison in the worst possible way. Toragh's Beard as it has been named by the Navarr, in "honour" of an infamous master of the poisoners arts, hangs in strands from dying trees and the moisture that drips from it contains concentrated venom that burns the skin like acid. Some of the great insects that Therunin is known for have survived, but as with the trees they show signs of sickness. Many have clearly been driven mad by constant pain. Even here, though, their numbers are greatly depleted. One of the things that presses on the awareness of the Varushkan soldiers is the oppressive silence. For hours on end the only sounds are those of boots squelching in mud, the splash of feet in shallow water, ragged breathing, the susurrus of dying wind through dead reeds.

Those Left Behind

The Razor Skink - symbol of the Chikad

The Golden Axe are not here for a nature walk though, they are here to conquer. There are still Druj in the Lower Tarn Valley. Most have taken over the abandoned steadings, or the settlements once raised by the Great Forest Orcs. At first they present a nearly negligible threat to the Varushkan warriors, armed with up-to-date intelligence provided by the Last Battle steading. It is also clear that, with the route east into Sarangrave sealed by the vallorn and the Empire, they have fragmented and fallen to that factionalism that so often overcomes the barbarians of the Mallum where there is neither outside threat, nor a strong leader to keep them together.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on where one stands, news of the Golden Axe spreads in widening ripples across the Tarn Valley, and up into Peakedge Song. The first few engagements go overwhelmingly in favour of the Varushkans, the Druj barely able to respond before their life-blood spills out onto the poisoned ground. Then, after less than a week, the silence is riven by the pounding of drums, those great echoing drums some Druj use to communicate over great distances. "Beware!" they shout to those who know how to understand their tongue. "The Empire comes! The Het summons!"

A Het, then, in the Lower Tarn Valley. The Navarr had rumours of such a thing - a warlord of one of the Arkad who sought to weld the Druj remnants in Therunin into some kind of order. Egrech Skinrazor, a second-rate Chikad commander marooned in western Therunin when they fled the fall of Eastring to the vallorn. With the backing of neither Buruk Tepel nor sept, they brought together the remaining Tepel apothecaries and sought to kill any who would not accept their "protection". Controlling the potions and herbs the Druj are used to having in profusion, they seek to control those left in the Tarn Valley. The Last Battle say they have done well, considering the naturally treacherous nature of the Druj.

From that point on, the fighting is a little less one sided. Oh, there is never any doubt the Golden Axe will prevail. There are nearly seven thousand Varushkan warriors, possessed of supernatural strategic acumen, supported by scouts who have made a study of both the weaknesses and strengths of the forces here. Yet there is a cost to their victories; soldiers lives are spent to overrun the barbarians' positions. The poison that seeps into everything begins to take a toll of its own; supplies of fresh water and wholesome food are all very well but there is only so much that can be done. Open wounds allow poison to seep into the blood. Even something as simple as slipping in the mud, never mind being knocked prone by some renegade pakkad in the fury of battle, can lead to tainted water or droplets of poisoned mud being swallowed. The healers that accompany the Varushkans do their best, but the pace has been set hard and fast. The emphasis here is on victory and all too often a physick arrives to find their patient already cooling.

The Druj are not the only people in the Tarn Valley, however. There are a handful of isolated Navarr steadings who have refused to leave. Through everything - the rampage of the Druj and the poisoning of the marshes and the rousing of the vallorn - they have remained steadfast. Most paid the ultimate price, tortured by the invaders or forced to seek the cold oblivion of Kaela's Gift. Some withdrew to the places they knew the Druj would not follow, into the depths of Greenheart, and while many were lost as Tharunind awoke, others survived and continue to strike against the Druj encampments to the north.

Some of these steadings emerge as the Varushkans press south into the Tarn Valley. They are on the verge of collapse, starved of provisions and supplies, but still they fight. There is no doubt that some of them have heard the words of Wastewalker, and like Dochas of the Weeping Glade have taken his gifts, but now is not the time to balance that scale. It is not the Varushkan way to question those who feel they must take dark bargains to survive and as long as they are discreet, most soldiers do not pry too closely. Don't ask questions you don't want answered, older soldiers tell their younger comrades. It is for generals and archmages and priests to argue over the right and the wrong of tainted weapons, not those who know they must face the greater darkness. Even so there are a few too far gone to trust. The thorns of Willowjoy Steading, who file their teeth to points, who wear armour decorated with flayed orc faces, and who openly fight alongside the long-armed, black-clawed, shaggy beasts of the Wasteland receive short shrift. When a Varushkan soldier spies them gnawing their way into the belly of a fallen Druj, the response is swift, merciless, and bloody.

Realistically it is only a few of the emerging Navarr who are suspect. The rest have done what their people always do. Scattered, hidden, prepared, rationed their food, and water, and arrows. Made contingencies, used their mastery of woodcraft to scout and where possible ambush or assassinate. They may treat the Varushkans with a little suspicion - more than one voices surprise it is the Golden Axe and not the Black Thorns or the Quiet Step that have come to Therunin and the small number of orcs of the Great Forest who fled with them have their own reason to be cautious of Varushkan warriors. Yet for all that, they nonetheless welcome the Imperial soldiers as cousins, and a welcome sign the Empire has not forgotten them. Their intelligence, added to that provided by the Last Dance, paints a more detailed picture of life in the Lower Tarn Valley.

Egrech Skinrazor has gathered his forces around him at the Razorhill - the ruins of what was once the Holt of the Oak. Partially reinforced with wood from the Thimble - before the tendrils of the vallorn sealed all access to the weirwood grove - they fly poorly-painted banners of black lizards from their palisade, and adorn the walls with mortal remains stolen from the defiled corpse glades. They raid those other septs who do not bow to Egrech's dominion, seeking always to claim the herbs they need to ensure their warriors continue to resist the very taint the Druj brought to the Lower Tarn. They trade their jealously hoarded supply of weirwood to the warlords of the Upper Tarn and Peakedge for more herbs but their reserves must by now be dwindling.

It is ironic, perhaps, that a region once known for the generosity of its herb gardens has been so ruined that even true vervain must be carefully rationed. A perfect example of the madness of the Druj.

On Razorhill

The Blackrazor aspire to be a sept but they are really little more than a rabble of murderers and thieves. Egrech may fancy themselves a great het, but they are clearly nothing more than a scrabbling power-hungry fool desperate to enforce their will on those weaker than them, living in fear of those stronger. For all their talk, as the Golden Axe approach the low hill where the Holt of the Oak once stood the forces "loyal" to Egrech are quick to retreat behind their ramshackle walls. Once a beautiful structure of living wood and timber shaped by the Great Forest Orcs as a sign of their alliance with the Navarr, the Razorhill is little more than a lopsided palisade with a handful of watch towers surrounded by a shallow moat. The moat, rather than the walls or the wooden towers, is the real danger here. The foul, filthy water that fills it stinks like an open sewer but there are telltale rainbow patterns on the surface that speak of the concentrated poison that fills the wide trench.

The Golden Axe do not waste time when they arrive. Forewarned by the Navarr, they carry as part of their baggage train three dozen tree trunks cut down on the edges of the Bleaks where the trees still stand hale and hearty. They also have two wagons filled with the rubble and ruin of the broken steadings and settlements they have dealt with on their route here. Even as Druj archers begin their hail of arrows on the attackers, the Golden Axe raise their heavy shields to protect those charged with putting these preparations to good use. Bridges are laid down, and sections of the trench are filled with rubble, allowing the Varushkans to chop their way through the leaning perimeter wall and force the Druj to face them directly.

Egrech Razorscale has tried to rule by fear, and it shows. Without the bare minimum protection granted by keeping the Golden Axe at bowlength, any suggestion of discipline or coordination melts like ice on an anvil. As veterans of the Mallum know, however, desperation makes these barbarians more dangerous, not less. Flame erupts as some of the tents and shanty buildings catch fire; cornered Druj hurl themselves with murderous fury at the attackers. Many are clearly using the preparation the Imperial Orcs euphemistically dubbed Warming Armour but the Druj know as Warspice. It drives them into a frenzy, lets them fight long after the point where they should have collapsed, but when they finally succumb to their wounds death claims them quickly, the blood flowing hot and fast into the churned mud within the walls of Razorhill.

The cunning Druj still have surprises for the Empire. With half the army on one side of the shallow, poison moat and the rest inside the walls of Razorhill, a hundred or so orc barbarians erupt from hides and shallow pits along their flanks. It's a tactic the barbarians have used before, but never in such poisoned earth. Many of the ambushers show signs of spreading poison, but they hardly seem to care - Corpseskin the Druj call it, a drug that removes pain but makes those who use it all too pliable and suggestible. They fight with a grim determination, grinning as the Varushkans hack them apart. For a brief period it looks like this attack might cause some real problem for the Imperial forces - many of the hidden orcs bear bows that they use with deadly accuracy despite their drugged state.

Then, without warning, the ambushers are themselves ambushed. A cohort of silent Navarr appear seemingly out of nowhere, and rain their own arrows down on the attackers from behind. Caught between the Varushkan anvil and the Navarr hammer, the balance shifts catastrophically against the Druj attackers. They fall pierced by red-fletched shafts or hewn by iron axes. For a moment, the two forces stare at each other over the pile of bodies; then the unexpected archers disappear back into the gathering darkness of late evening. Some of the thorns fighting with the Varushkan army later identify them as warriors of the Weeping Glade; those who have gathered to the banner of Dochas and openly bear the fell boons offered by Whisperer.

Inside the palisade, the fighting is almost done when Egrech Razorscale reveals the final element of their trap. The fire that spreads among the tents is not an accident; barrels of oil and pitch gathered from conquered steadings have been cunningly hidden in the rough encampment. Some of the Druj have concealed themselves with hand-axes and as the fire spreads they smash these barrels flooding sections of the ruined keep with a horrible, sticky, flammable substance. Others hurl clay pots full of the stuff and follow them with lit torches. Within minutes, the flames are beyond control. The Varushkans are forced to pull back, as walls of fire erupt into the darkened sky.

Unfortunately for the Druj, the soldiers of the Golden Axe are neither fools nor bloodthirsty barbarians. Once it is clear what is happening the retreat sounds and the army falls back across the bridges to the other side of the moat. Razorhill is consumed, the roaring of the conflagration almost drowning out the screams of the Druj left behind, immolated by flames set by their own leader. The tongues of fire leap high into the sky, visible for miles across the flat, poisoned marshes.

Egrech Razorscale is not here. The self-styled het of the Blackrazors was never here. Along with the tepel herbalists they had impressed, along with the core of their supporters, they have fled west towards the Upper Tarn Valley, leaving the bulk of those foolish enough to trust to their leadership to die. Sacrificed to try and harm the Varushkan army enough that it would give up, perhaps. If that was the intent of the Razorscale, it represents a woeful lack of understanding of the Varushkan spirit.

Despite the victory of the Golden Axe, the insidious poison created by Sephals Cauldron continues to taint the Lower Tarn Valley.

Mopping Up

Over the next few weeks, the Golden Axe meet with limited resistance. Any Druj who were not lured to Razorhill by Egrech's hollow promise of security, or who did not flee west, are mercilessly and swiftly dealt with. As the Autumn Equinox gets closer, the Golden Axe declares victory. There are still a few warbands of Druj here and there but they are in disarray, fleeing, easy prey for anyone who would hunt them.

Very few prisoners or slaves were liberated from the Druj encampments; presumably any Navarr that had not fled or sought sanctuary in the isolated steadings chose to take that bitter gift that Kaela offers Imperial citizens captured by the Druj. There are a handful of terrified orc thralls, dragged here by the Druj when they thought they might make Therunin a part of the Mallum, who cower from the Varushkans as they cowered from their cruel overlords. The Golden Axe have minimal comfort to offer them, but most are taken in by the Navarr who still abide in Therunin.

There is one unexpected treasure amidst the rot and ruin of Therunin. One of the last Druj encampments dealt with by the Golden Axe lies along the raised road that once connected the Lower Tarn Valley to Eastring. Here, concealed beneath canvas and mud, the soldiers uncover wagons laden with weirwood. There's no doubt that this is a shipment of wains from the Thimble, likely being transported west to shore up Druj defences as the vallorn ate their settlements to the east. It is only a fraction of the bounty of the Thimble - five wains - but even so it is doubtless better to deny the Druj this treasure. The Golden Axe take custody of the material. Even this offers scant comfort, however, to those sickened by the poison that still infests the marshes here. To those who have lost comrades, friends, loved ones to the Druj or to the mud. Maybe as many as three hundred soldiers have died here, more often to the terrible residue of Sephals Cauldron that to the fight with the Druj - and that poison is not going anywhere any time soon.

Game Information

Therunin

The Golden Axe have claimed the region of the Lower Tarn Valley
The General of the Golden Axe has received 5 wains of weirwood recovered from Therunin
The Druj still control Peakedge Song, Upper Tarn Valley, and East Ashes; Sweetglades, Greenheart, and Eastring are completely dominated by the vallorn
Lower Tarn Valley still has the poisoned quality

The Empire now controls the ruins of the Lower Tarn Valley. The Druj control three regions, and the vallorn controls the other three. As such, no one force has overall control of the territory. The Lower Tarn Valley still has the poisoned quality, and will cause casualties to any Imperial armies that fight there or move through it on their way to attack somewhere else. A key element in the victory here was the assistance of Last Battle Wayhouse in the Barrens - the fact the Lower Tarn Valley has the Under Threat quality provided a major advantage toward claiming an actual beachhead in the territory. The Imperial attack also benefitted from the support of Dochas and the warriors of the Weeping Glade, who attacked at the pivotal moment at the battle of Razorhill.

The General of the Golden Axe has received 5 wains of weirwood, recovered from the territory. While the weirwood clearly came from the groves of the Thimble, it is legally the property of the general.

None of the military units supporting the Golden Axe received a share of the Imperial Guerdon.

There are a few Navarr steadings in Therunin that resist the Druj, the most prominent being that led by Dochas of the Weeping Glade. The wicked eternal Agramant has been offering aid to the Navarr to take back their territory from the Druj, while denouncing the Empire for abandoning the territory and the people who remain here. There are signs of heralds of the Whisperer everywhere in Therunin, but the situation does not seem to have got any worse in the last season at least.

The stretch of land controlled by the vallorn that runs across the middle of Therunin creates a strategic challenge, similar to that which exists in Brocéliande and once caused problems in Liathaven. It is not possible to move between East Ashes to the south and the northern regions of the territory, and vice versa, without passing through the vallorn. Any fighting there would be considered a separate engagement to fighting in the north, and the recent engagement of the Pilgrim's Defiance there indicates that there is still a Druj presence in East Ashes centred around the Feverwater Docks.

Poisoned Marsh

The poisoned quality presents a strategic challenge

The poisoned quality means that each Imperial campaign army that moves through, or fights in, the region suffers 250 casualties during that season of campaigning (which may be increased by the orders issued to the army). The ritual Why Sulemaine Walked Away From The Baker protects an army from this effect, but orders have no effect to reduce these casualties.

The Empire now has a beachhead in Therunin, but the virulence of the poisoned quality there presents a challenge to any attempts to use that beachhead to attack the Upper Tarn Valley. There are two options here:

Imperial forces could move to attack Upper Tarn Valley, using the beachhead they have created here. If they do so, any army participating will suffer the effects of the poisoned quality.
Alternatively, they could pull back out of Therunin and attack the Upper Tarn Valley from Hope's Rest - avoiding the poisoned quality but needing to take a new beachhead to do so.

All this presupposes that the poisoned quality still persists, of course.

Sucking the Poison

Members of the Imperial Apothecaries Guild could act to treat the poison in the Lower Tarn Valley
Any member of the sodality that takes the special action to treat the poison for the season will see their production halved
The work will require at least 30 members of the sodality to act each season to make progress
Two seasons of success will be required to clear the poison
It will cost the Imperial treasury thirty thrones each season until the poison is removed

The "antidote" to the Druj poison is known thanks to the Imperial Apothecaries Guild. Ioric's Elixir is a herbal preparation that can be combined with fresh water to cleanse the Lower Tarn Valley of the horror Sephals Cauldron has created here. Indeed, shortly after the Imperial sodality was formed, they tried to deal with the poison but ran afoul of an invading Druj army and were forced to abandon their efforts. The Senate already instructed the Apothecaries Guild to apply the antidote in 383YE so there's no need for further license to empower the sodality to get to work. All that is required is for the sodality to meet and vote to begin their work in the Lower Tarn Valley. A simple majority of the members attending a meeting to discuss the matter would be sufficient, and even if they were to vote not to undertake the effort immediately, as long as the situation didn't change dramatically there'd be no problem with them delaying a season or two.

Unfortunately, as mentioned already, the two years that have passed since the opportunity was first presented have not been kind. The poison has sunk deep into the earth and water of Therunin. The basic principle is sound; removing the poisoned quality will take six months, and cost the Imperial treasury 30 thrones each season. There is some risk - there are still Druj in Therunin - but the enemy there are disorganised and the remaining Navarr and their winter allies are prepared to offer protection to the Guild if need be.

Once the Apothecaries Guild votes to start cleansing the poison, it will cost the Senate 30 Thrones each season until the project is completed or the guild votes to abandon it. It will however require a much more focused effort to actually cleanse the poison, and more expert work not only to deal with the problem itself but to protect those confronting it.

If the sodality votes to undertake the work, it will create a special opportunity in downtime following the event. This opportunity will be available only to members of the Apothecaries Guild who possess either the physick or apothecary skill. Other characters can roleplay their involvement, but only those with expert knowledge of how to use herbs will be able to directly contribute to the cleansing of the Lower Tarn Valley. Each season it will require at least 30 members with the appropriate skill to support the operation, or it will make no headway. It requires two seasons (which need not be consecutive) to complete the work.

The nature of the opportunity varies depending on their personal resource, but involves participating in the cleansing of Lower Tarn Valley. Any character who does so is assumed to either travel to the territory, or to provide support and resources to those doing the work.

If a character supporting the operation in the Lower Tarn Valley controls a fleet or military unit, it will be able to take a guarding voyage or venture as appropriate, which will provide a standard military unit or fleet with seven random herbs. Rituals that boost a fleet or military unit that is undertaking a guarding action will benefit as normal.
A congregation will be able to perform a lecture that means they will receive Synod votes as normal but lose all their liao.
A character with any other personal resource will lose half its production for that season.

This personal cost has caused some people associated with the Imperial Apothecaries Guild to question the wisdom of trying to deal with the poison - it comes at a significantly greater cost to the members than it would have done two years ago. Nobody has quite come out and said it, but perhaps the sodality might wish to negotiate with the Senate to secure some concessions in return for putting their livelihoods - and potentially their lives - on the line.

Peak Pharmacy

The Benefactor of High Chalcis could choose to support the Apothecaries Guild by redirecting herbs from Highguard
The Gardens of High Chalcis would provide no benefits, the Benefactor would lose their sinecure, and the High Herbalist of Sybella would have fewer herbs available to but
Doing so would remove the need for the Senate to pay to support the Apothecaries Guild efforts

The poison in Therunin has advanced to the point where it is no longer feasible for the Benefactor of High Chalcis to simply redirect the bounty of Reikos to resolve it. That is not to say that the herbalists of Reikos could not provide valuable assistance. They could however provide the large number of herbs needed and remove the cost to the Imperial Treasury. Instead the majority of the herbs would come from High Chalcis, and any shortfall would be made up by devout herbalists in other parts of Highguard. As always, however, using this power would mean the great work would provide no additional herbs to the herb gardens of Reikos during the time it took to clear the poisonous taint, and the Benefactor themselves would receive no personal herbs either. This decision would also have implications for the High Herbalist of Sybella – with fewer herbs available to buy in Highguard they would lose access to the top two ranks of their ministry while the purification takes place (this would not impact their ability to buy herbs from the Kruidenkenner however).

Once committed, the effects would start as soon as the Apothecaries Guild chose to begin cleansing the taint, and persist until the corruption was removed from the Lower Tarn Valley, the Benefactor chose to end them with another announcement, or the sodality ended the endeavour.

Militant Physicks

The Valiant Pegasus, Bloodcloaks, or an army under Bound by Common Cause could help clear the poison, reducing the time needed to a single season
Any army working in the region would suffer the effects of poison unless protected by the enchantment Why Sulemaine Walked Away From The Baker

The poison has sunk in, but there is still a chance for the Bloodcloaks or Valiant Pegasus to offer their aid here, even after two years. Unfortunately, things have progressed to the point where it needs much more expert herbal lore than even the physicks of these two armies can easily provide. If either of these armies were to come to Therunin, however, and use their Tend the Fallen order they would reduce the time needed to cleanse the region from six months to three months. There is a risk to such a plan, of course, in that the army would be exposed to the very poison quality they were cleansing. But the magisters of Highguard point out that the Winter ritual Why Sulemaine Walked Away From The Baker provides protection to soldiers from poison. The Valiant Pegasus – or the physicks of the Bloodcloaks of Wintermark – could be defended from the corruption of the Tarn Valley if they bore the enchantment.

Regardless, an army involved in helping to deal with the poisoning of the Lower Tarn Valley would not be eligible for natural resupply while assisting the Apothecaries Guild.

It would still cost the Imperial treasury 30 thrones, unless the people of Reikos provided their herbs, and still need the Imperial Apothecaries Guild to commit themselves and their resources to the project for a season.