Magical contamination is a very real threat to life outside of the city of Anachara. And as fledgling explorers, you need to be aware of the dangers it poses. Magical contamination is the energy that is left over after large expenditures of magic. This typically happens during a war or a great battle and indeed many of the historical battlefields of our time are contaminated with this energy. The battlefields from both the Orrk Wars and the Tri-City Conflict have been turned into areas of staggering magical contamination.
The effects of a recent massive expenditure of magic, say within the last fifteen to twenty years, are extremely hard to predict as the left over energy is still quite raw. Typically, this is when you see the greatest direct impacts on the visitor. For example, one morning the visitor to the area of magical contamination might wake up with an eye where it shouldn’t be. Or that their fingers have all fused together. The effects might even be more insidious. Perhaps the energies merely shape the way the visitor sees the world, causing them to walk into the maw of a titanic carnivorous plant to be slowly devoured over the next two to three years. The great thing about zones of magical contamination that have appeared in recent history is they are detectable. So as long as you have your Goob co. Magical Contamination Detector with you, it should warn you long before you are in any kind of trouble.
The second type of magical contamination happened in the age before ours. The age we have come to call the Scientific Age. Magical corruption from this age tend to centre around old cities, towns, or military bases. Though we don’t know what caused the fall, we do know that much of the land still suffers from it. Because of the the great number of years that have passed, there is no longer any immediate threat to the explorer. However, plants and animals, even sentient beings, such as humans, elves, and orrks, who inhabit the area have themselves become corrupted. Usually, this causes strange and random mutations with a healthy dose of insanity. But rarely, and I mean rarely, the contamination could accelerate a species’ evolution. For example, it is rumoured that far out in the wastes, months of travel from the city, there exists a race of sentient lizards who have formed primitive tribes and use primitive stone, antler, and bone tools. Now there is little evidence of this beyond the starry eyed stories of a few bush mad prospectors but..still…the potential is there.
Your Goob Co. device will be less effective here. However, this is where your next most important tool comes in handy: Your eyes. Always look and think about what you are seeing. If it looks funny or strange, it’s probably going to kill you. So watch out!
A perfect example of the magical contamination from the scientific age exists right at our doorstep. The black maze is filled with many zones of magical contamination. The final battle before the fall must have been spectacular. Let me remind you, the black maze is not to be trifled with. More explorers have gone in than have come out. Let that sink in for a moment.
The final type of magical contamination comes from the castle age. No one knows how long the castle age existed for. All we know is from what little has been recovered from the relatively dangerous vaults sealed deep within ancient towers, castles, and dungeons. Many of the areas, but not all, were walled off in the scientific age. So, if you are out wandering and see an area sealed with twenty foot high walls best stay out of it.
As a fledgling explorer, you are expressly prohibited from entering any castle age ruin, walled off or not, unless with a guild approved expedition.
Castle age zones of magical corruption are older. The magic has been absorbed by the rocks and stones, the trees, the typically unconscious parts that make up the world. Once this happens, the magical energies bestow a kind of consciousness upon the land. An awareness and intelligence. The degree of which is dictated by the amount of energy it has absorbed over the years. It is rumoured that some of these ancient zones are so aware they are able to shape the land to their “vision”. Vision of course is a strange term to use when referring to an entity that has no eyes or even a brain. And it is to be remembered that this is just rumour, but some have said that they were able to speak to the land directly as if the mountain had a mouth, the tree a tongue. A bit preposterous I know, but then here at the Explorer’s Guild, rumour and hearsay are our bread and butter.
That’s all for now, explorers. Remember to always have your Goob Co. Magical Corruption Detector on you at all times. You would have received one in your kit along with your badge and a fresh pair of Explorers Guild coveralls.
Now, here is a mission for all you fledglings…
Find the zone of magical corruption within the city of Anachara! The first one to find it will receive a new vesperator signed by myself, Claddio Gynn.
And always remember the explorer’s guild motto: Seek!