Black Fog was spreading. The people of Grove had fallen into a magical and lasting sleep, and the only two residents still awake, Rose and Grace Crane, sent out a call for help. With a magical supply of water, they cared for their friends and neighbors, not understanding that utilizing their magical water purely out of convenience was the only thing keeping them healthy. Tomi and some other hired thugs arrived in town and began to loot the emptied and quiet houses. Tomi noticed Rose and Grace and ordered his thugs to leave them alone, all the while feeling guilty for what was happening.
Two guilds answered the call for help: Storm Hand from Silverton and Hearthfire from Starfall. From Storm Hand Guild came Cal de Vries, an inexperienced wizard boy, and his friend, an awakened dog sorcerer named Sir Biscuit. They approached Grove from the north and Cal picked up traces of necrotic power in an underground river that fed into Grove. He and Biscuit entered the caves and found the source of the contaminant, E’thor’s final experiment, but were stymied in their attempts to retrieve it. In the caves, they found Conrad, who had separated himself from Tomi when he detected the contaminant, too.
Meanwhile, Hearthfire Guild sent two inexperienced members: Opal Linwood and Shanti Ka’a. They arrived and quickly found the source of the contaminant in the water. With a quick contest of strength, they subdued Tomi and the thieves, locking them up in the town’s jail. Tomi later picked the locks and escaped, ashamed of what he had done and dismissing the thugs. The next day, Opal and Shanti met with Cal, Biscuit, Conrad, and a young goblin girl named Gibber, and removed the contaminant from the aquifer. Cal and Conrad stayed behind in Grove to watch over the sick people and young Gibber, while Biscuit joined Hearthfire to continue the investigation of the sicknesses. In Prince’s Harbor, they found and defeated a crazed Gwynn. Trinity had been traveling through the region at the time and came upon Hearthfire. At her insistence, Opal, Shanti, and Biscuit took Gwynn’s unconscious form into the Neblina Forest to Deng for help.
They found Deng in a deep depression as his family was now fully scattered. Gwynn and Telynor had both fallen to Black Fog, Arpistis and E’thor were missing, Raven had left with Griba, and no one had heard contact from Mavka in over a year now. Deng told the adventurers that he suspected E’thor’s involvement in the experiments and send them with his research notes to his estranged wife. Raven and Griba came up with a possible cure, sending Hearthfire into the Feywild to retrieve magical periwinkle flowers. They next made their way to Burrow Wood to acquire an ee-tope seed. There, they found Piewright selling fake potions to the residents. After a fierce fight, Piewright was defeated and the ee-tope was acquired. Tomi, a resident of Burrow Wood, offered to help Hearthfire complete their quest to find a cure, still wishing to atone for his mistakes in Grove. The journey took the group to the Vale where they found Mavka, enraged beyond reason and still bound to her Tree by the Iron Thane. The group battled and put the Iron Thane to rest, and Mavka left behind the red vitriol, the final ingredient.
As they left the Vale, Opal received a desperate message from the druid tower. They were besieged, and they needed help.