The Rat King (Patreon)

With a sigh of relief, you finish the last piece of paperwork on your desk. So much for thinking being a duke would be easy. You stretch a little before noticing one last letter that had slipped your notice. You consider just leaving it till you see a familiar handwriting. 

A letter from an old friend, a druid charged with the keep of an ancient wood land. Reading the letter, you feel a sense of unease. Your friend ordinarily calm writing style seems troubled with the goings-on within his woodland. This letter coupled with other reports set you and your keep into action

less than a day later, with a party at your back, you arrive at "Dark Wood". Your unease deepens as even without your divine senses you can feel something off about the region. 

"Be ready, I fear we might have bloody work on our hands today"

Within the woodland, you eventually find your old friend's camp. All lights out, no sign of life. No sound either. The normal hum of life within this space absent. 

"So you finally came? Too late... your friend is...changed..." said a voice that sounded like a conglomeration of wheezing squeaks. 

You turn, casting daylight on your weapon. The horror of what you see nearly forces you to drop it. A pulsating mass of flesh covered in a mockery of royal robes that themselves wriggle with movement. Gasping vermin faces stare back at you. The mass is toped with an oversized rat skull. It grins at you 

"welcome to the Dark woods... "