"Today, we have identified the source."
Thorin pointed his thick finger dramatically at the bound girl. "Dear villagers of Oakwood, this is the source. This cursed being....!" he spat the word. "was found collapsed near the Whisperwood two days ago, bearing these unholy marks! The Crimson Creep lives in her! She is the vessel of the curse that plagues us!"
A murmur of fear and anger rippled through the crowd. Some pointed, others recoiled.
"The Whisperwood! That place has always been ill-omened!" an old woman cried out.
"Her father's missing, isn't he?" another man shouted. "Probably dabbled in dark things and brought this upon us, then fled, leaving her to carry the taint!"
A third elder, his face wizened and stern, stepped forward slightly. "I saw her father, Thorin. He looked shifty. Always heading into those woods. He's the one who brought this evil, and she is his seed!"
