Part 3

The dryads felt the spread of Liddell's rot first. The sickness slowly spread, whether Liddell intended it to or not, and the trees reflected it first. The trees slowly began to wilt and die, as the earth itself rotted from within. As the ecosystem collapsed, the animals began to change, as if mutated through the horrifying power of Liddel's decay and death.

Of course, Liddell hadn't intended for the rot to spread, only for it to expand. But spread it did, until it grew close to the roads, and King Zarfangal himself took notice.