The heart of the forest [Dungeon] [75x88] Update: With clean version

The lair is 29x27

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The heart oft he forest
Descriptions and ideas on how this dungeon could be used:

Short version (long below):

A magical dangerous forest that used to produce healing water but no longer.

South: on this path our heroes begin,

To the west: a healing spring still untouched.

To the east: A really life-giving tree that sucks the environment and the dryads that inhabit it.

From the tree to the north: a clearing with large piles of stones. Tiny kobolds live here at war and want to use the heroes as siege weapons against oneaother

From the stones to the west: a clearing with a nest. Baby animals starve here because the nearby mushroom has stolen from them. He has a mind and is defending his decision to let the animals starve.

From there to the north: A pool with water that shows an illusion of treasures. Actually a vortex to Monster Nest. Loot anyway because gold dust in the water.

From there to the west: a dead tree in the fog. Attack by spiders

In the north: the healing springs sucked out and occupied by spiders

Cave in cliff (second map): Leader of the spiders withdraws its strength from the heart of the forest. Woman does this because she was placed as a sacrifice for the forest and had to supply it with energy beforehand (on the chair in the west of map one).

Dilema at the end: Only free the heart or put someone back on the  chair to re-energize the surplus strong magic of the forest.

Long Version:

This map shows a part of an enchanted forest. The forest itself is considered very dangerous, but several rivers run through it, and several health resorts have developed along its banks. The water that has run through the forest is said to have a healing and strengthening effect. (I myself will send my adventurers to one of these places with the intention of treating themselves to a cure and some wellness after a long stressful adventure).

But suddenly the water has lost its healing properties and courageous volunteers should set out and figure out how it can be reversed.
The last village before the edge of the forest is completely empty. No person can be found.

The path now leads our adventurers into the forest and thus to the southernmost point on the map. You will notice early on that deviating from the path is very dangerous. Tendrils and thorns attack constantly. Burning through with fireballs may be possible for a short time, but the undergrowth hardly burns and closes again very quickly.

Those who consider the possibility of flight will find that flocks of crows with blood-red feathers are on the move, watching every movement. Whoever leaves the "protection" of the treetops is immediately attacked by their swarms. They will not pursue you to the bottom because the tendrils and thorns attack them too. The whole nature of the forest seems to have become malevolent. So mostly only the path on the ground will remain.

Let's turn left first. The narrow path quickly leads to a spring with healing water. Apparently it's still intact at this point.

When instead we turn right and a lighted path leads to a large life giving tree. It shines brightly and looks lively. The adventurers know with a nature check that dryads normally live in these trees. A closer examination reveals that the trees and flowers in the vicinity were parasitically infested by the life-giving tree. It expands and lets itself grow with foreign energy. A closer look reveals that the dryads are in the tall branches of the tree. Tied to the trunk by branches and twigs and slowly sucked out. One can possibly be saved.

She can report that the forest has lost its heart and the harmony of the forest is disturbed. A shadowy intruder has invaded the forest.

The path leads north to a clearing with several large piles of stones. Monsters can lurk in these, for example. In my adventure there is a quarreling tribe of tiny kobolds who have built the piles of stones as fortresses and fight each other. They will vie for my heroes to use them as siege weapons against the enemy fortresses.

The path further north leads along a path that is suspiciously covered with falling leaves. Maybe there is a trap hidden beneath it, or it may just be a distraction and the real trap is elsewhere.

The path from our cairn to the west leads to another clearing, which is covered with nests. In these are the babies made of creatures that look like beaver turtles. These creatures build circular nests, fill them with fruit and then close them up. The hatched babies feed and grow until they break free from the shell.
But these cases have been opened prematurely and the food is gone while the little beavers whimper. They were robbed of the nearby mushroom, which stretched its threads towards them, opened the nests, and tapped the food that was gathered and led its sap to itself.
There are deposits of liquid on the underside of the mushroom. The mushroom itself has a mind, can communicate and justifies himself with the fact that he has a mind and that his reason allows him to kill unreasonable beings in order to preserve his.

The way further north leads over a river. He flows into a pool. Apparently, there are treasures of all kinds in it. Obviously, this is an illusion. Magic hides a powerful vortex that draws victims down into a monster's lair. But there is still a profit to be made here, as an extremely large amount of gold dust was necessary as a magical component in order to create the permanent illusion. The dust will deposited on everything that enters the pool. A player will come out of the water in shiny gold.

Now let's go west where a misty pit with a single dead tree can be found. It's of the same kind as the pink one down to the southeast. He did not die by fire but must have become this dead piece in all its glory within hours. At this point I am planning a first fight with the spiders, but if defeat is looming, they will immediately withdraw to the north.

Finally, all roads lead north. Many cobwebs can be seen in the forest. I would have my heroes attacked by spiders at least once before they come to this place.
To the north is a dead clearing on a cliff. The springs of magical water here have been sucked out and destroyed. The villagers of the nearby empty village find themselves trapped here and sometimes sucked off. A gigantic spider is waiting in the middle.
This is supposed to act like a boss fight for the players but is only a mini boss. After they have won and no solution to heal the forest, they will hopefully look out and possibly discover the cave in the cliffs. (If not they at least saved the villagers).

Or else they find the cave and advance to it. (Map two). There is a cave here. In it the heart of the forest weak and tapped. The final boss is a young woman who was sacrificed by the villagers.
In order to maintain the strong and healing magic of the forest, it is necessary to supply the heart with humanoid energy. Otherwise it would just be a "normal" magical forest but would not work miracles for the people in the area, such as making the river healing.
On the dungeon map in the west there is a clearing that has no direct connection to a path. When the players get there, they find the chair that the young woman was tied to for so long. Whoever sits on this chair cannot move and gives up all his energy. Until the young woman closed a pack with a spider demon, freed herself, took control of the heart of the forest and sapped energy.

The dillema at the end can be whether you simply liberate the heart, but which does not use the healing power of the river again. Or whether to put someone back on the chair.