The shadows of the canopies darken even the brightest hour of day. It is a cold morning. The three of you travel for hours, stopping occasionally to log sightings of unusual animal behavior, or prod at the odd branch with the back of a pen. Conversation is sparse and the woods are quiet.

The Hero eventually muses aloud, “The dragon of this land has gone missing. Perhaps it too has fallen ill?”

You recall hearing this rumor with some skepticism. Because you have heard this before, overheard in the library not a few days prior. But the guardian dragon is little more than a legend - it purportedly does exist, though you nor The Hero have ever met anybody to encounter it. Maybe it simply has no business with you common folk.

You rationalize, “Well, the dragon is a magical creature. A very powerful one, at that. Would falling to The Blight give it access to its magic?-”

“Did you hear that?” 

You are cut off by The Hero's arm to your chest, hand to the grip of their sword. Something itches the back of their mind. Now, in the silence of the forest, murmurs draw their focus to an unremarkable patch of darkness between the trees.

The Hero suddenly bolts off into the trees, shouting something you could not make out, as their squire takes off in a rush to follow. From the trees is a dim, greenish glow only they notice. 

You, of course, wouldn’t know any of this. When you gave chase, you heard no such voices, and only desperately wanting to understand what was happening as your only protection disappeared into the trees. As soon as they were gone, the glow dims to darkness, and the path back was nowhere in sight.

Now, you are alone. And these are not the woods you remember.

It's definitely not ideal. But there are worse positions to be in.

You're clever, and you've spent a good amount of time surveying wildlife outdoors before. Steeling your nerves, you try to remember everything you were instructed of:

You recall them with some humor, they almost seemed like old wives' tales rather than strict rules of nature. 

But, almost immediately are your survival skills put to the test, as you hear a snap from the trees. In the darkness, you see the tell-tale glow of monstrous, green eyes piercing through you before the glint of teeth follow. 

A large wolf - you think it is a wolf - bares its fangs but does not growl. What follows is the strangest behavior you’ve witnessed yet: eyes locked on yours, it paws the ground. After a moment, it does so again, neither approaching nor backing away.

There’s a gleam of recognition in the wolf’s eyes. It refuses to attack you, instead keeping its distance in the shadows and staring you down. Why? 

You think to yourself, what could it be asking of you?

Within 20 minutes, Blighted Bestiary met its goal. You guys are absolutely incredible, this is the fastest any of our campaigns have taken off and we're floored by the reception.

...So fast, in fact, that plenty of our stretch goals still need their portraits! We'll have the finished art up in no time, but they're no less unlocked.

In the meantime, you may now back for The Hero(?), The Wolf, and the Bad Omens Mini Pins (which have been added as their own pledge tier & add-on option) while we vote on how to approach the wolf!