We get an image of Fluffy Fluffy looking at the green creature near her. It looks like a human, but something is off. Its body bobs up and down as if it's breathing, but the bobbing is too steady, too regular, as if the same exact, rehearsed motion is simply being repeated over and over. It bears a person's face, long hair and young skin, but there is no life behind it. The lips form an unsettling smile, which in shape is nothing out of the ordinary. The smile, however, does not reach the eyes.
The creature which stands outside the party's camp is similar. This time appearing a man, a couple days growth of stubble on its face, the same disconcerting stance, the same unsettling smile.
After they dispose of the creature by them, one of the mages, named ken, magically amplifies her voice and issues the warning "They are here!" Halt heads out of the camp to check out flickering green lights he sees in the distance. Lord Cornelius follows the mages as they head to cover, and Fluffy joins.
Professor Quigley, meanwhile, runs into stol's tent to warn him about the green creature, waking him up. Stol tells him to go deal with it! That's what he's paying him for! Stol heads back outside, and there are two more creatures standing there. Quiggers runs back into the tent and grabs Stol, who is in nothing but his night shirt and boxers with little dragons embroidered on them. When they both emerge, there are two more creatures at the edge of the camp. Dave the Average tries to throw a rock at one of the creatures, and it simply passes right through it. They hear Ken make a second announcement, instructing the many people making camp to head towards the mages' purple light and seek shelter from the creatures. They decide to make a run for it.
Halt meanwhile manages to keep himself hidden behind rocks as the green lights he saw in the distance quickly approach. Many creatures flicker past him, not running, but standing, disappearing, and then reappearing standing some distance away. He decides to head towards the group of mages.
Corny strikes up a conversation with the mage who appears to be the leader, Ken. She explains that the creatures, themselves just spores of a greater disease called blight, have overrun the Capital. She and her three (now two) compatriots are the only remaining members of the mage_guild. Their leader was killed by the Blight right before they fled, but after he discovered their weakness to purple light. They and many of the other travelers camping here are refugees from the Capital. loostiun, another of the mages, is crying in the back of the group. Corny tries to cast Charm Person on him to cheer him up, but it fails, and Loostiun accuses Corny of being aligned with the man who killed fur (which is of course technically true).
By this point, all parties are heading towards the same rock formation. The Blight Spores have lined their paths towards the rock, and stand there, waiting. Many of the other refugees have formed their own small defensive groups, and many others have died.
The mages reach the rocks first, with Halt lurking behind, trying not to be noticed by the mages who may have reason to hate him. A group of spores forms a semi-circle around them, pinning them against the rocks, while Ken pulls out what appears to be a small puzzle box from one of her pockets and begins fiddling with it. Corny tries to be clever and light up his staff with the same purple light the mages have been using, but fails, instead turning it green. He throws his staff over their heads, but is then attacked by one of the creatures, which suddenly appears in front of him with its hand in his chest.
Halt manges to shoot one in the head with an arrow. It topples over without breaking its standing position, then appears to realize it should be falling like a person, and collapses to the ground before disappearing and reappearing standing exactly where it was. Dave and Quiggers arrive and engage another. Dave fails to kill it. It appears before Quiggers, opens its mouth as if it's a sliding door opening downwards, and releases a cloud of flickering green particles all around him. He feels his arm tingle slightly.
The party eventually manages to thin the group around them. pomin, one of the mages, kills two with purple magic missiles. Halt kills one by shooting it as his wolf scath tackles it. Fluffy transforms into an elf and uses her armor-ignoring dropkicks to take one on. Corny manages to get a magic missile right and kills one. Quiggers flips like a gymnast and air-drills into one.
Ken stops fiddling with her box and announces "Alright, everyone, follow me!" She then begins leading the group around the back of the rock formation. Stol, who had been spending the whole fight hiding behind a small boulder, emerges and begins chasing after them, only to be cut off by a creature. Quiggers, in a brilliant act of heroism, dashes at the creature and easily dispatches it. For both of Quiggers' kills, the mages look on in admiration.
Around back, Ken says some words and taps on a rock, and a door swings outwards. They all clamber into the darkness within, and Pomin blasts the entrance with a magic missile to seal it. One more spore makes it in, however, and (who?) kills it. In attempting to kill it, however, Dave accidentally slices Stol across the chest with a knife. Loostiun rushes over and heals his wounds, but then sees Halt and charges at him. Halt draws his bow, but Fluffy drop kicks it out of his hand and Dave grabs Loostiun before any harm could be done. After Fluffy completes her drop kick, she immediately returns to squirrel form, and Stol finally understands who that squirrel (and who the random elf who just showed up today) were.
At this point, the party simply waits in the cave while Ken resumes fiddling with her puzzle box. Dave apologizes to Stol for slashing him. Stol looks down at the red streak which was once a gaping wound and asks "So, does this mean I'm an adventurer now?" Dave punches him lightly in the shoulder and says "Sure you are, buddy." Halt sits alone tending to his weapons, while Loostiun stares daggers at him. Fluffy does (?). Corny does (?). Pomin approaches Quiggers and compliments him on his fighting. He brushes it off gallantly.
And then a click is heard from the side of the cave opposite the entrance. Ken looks up from her box and says "That wasn't me". Then a new door swings open, and a tall orc woman steps out. She cries "David!" and runs to hug him. He hugs her and replies "Mommy!"