The Vines

The vines were the cause of a mysterious illness that plagued the town of Red Deer when our story began. These strange, sentient plants had found themselves suddenly in Ki instead of their home on the Ethereal Plane — rather like a certain half-elf. They had sent out psychic pleas for assistance in returning to their home, as they knew they could not survive on this plane, but this manifested as a strange sickness which plagued the sleep of all who bore it, leading to fatigue, irritability, and in its late stages, paranoid delusions and violent impulses.

Upon making contact with four out of five of our heroes (while Rorrik stood back and questioned his life choices), the vines entered an agreement with Zohal, Gulo and Vyre, implanting a thorn in the back of each of their jaws. Through this, they've been able to sustain a symbiotic relationship with the three, lending them the ability to communicate telepathically with one another within a certain distance in exchange for subsiding off their psychic residue.

It is unclear whether carrying these thorns will have any lasting effects, once they're returned to the Ethereal Plane.