Not long before, Auntie Ethel, whose spies were spread throughout the swamp, suddenly sensed a disturbance in spatial magic.
She quickly sent her raven familiar to investigate and discovered that a blonde girl had come to the swamp through a portal.
The portal had opened in the middle of the Chionthar River.
After falling into the water, the blonde girl had no choice but to discard her heavy equipment and swim to shore, then plunge into the swamp forest.
A hag had only one way to bear offspring: swallow a mortal infant, then use twisted natural magic to transform it into a young hag inside her belly, and finally give birth to it.
Auntie Ethel had been searching for an infant good enough to give her a better chance of bearing a powerful new hag.
She could also gain great power this way and ascend to become a "grandmother."
However, after searching Baldur's Gate for a long time, Auntie Ethel still hadn't found an infant who fully met her standards.
The blonde girl who had suddenly appeared in the swamp was practically the perfect vessel. How could Auntie Ethel pass up such a heaven-sent treasure? She immediately began hunting for her.
However, the blonde girl seemed to be under a god's protection and soon shook off the hag's servants who were watching her.
Auntie Ethel searched everywhere like a madwoman, but still came up empty-handed.
Fortunately, while fleeing in blind panic, the blonde girl had been cut by one of the hag's sword-grass plants. She was now cursed, and her body was growing weaker by the moment.
"My beautiful little golden petal, you won't escape me. I'll find you soon, and use your body to bear me the finest offspring."
Auntie Ethel gazed at the blonde girl in the crystal