Marsh of Roses

The Marsh of Roses is a stretch of land infamous for its morbid beauty. Across the entire marsh are the remains of people buried from the waist and down in the dreaded mud. On these corpses bloom the wonderous Marshrose, a flower unique to this place. Marshrose is the deepest red of colour in moonlight, but blacker than Oviezyr's heart in sunlight. The flower has strange properties which conserves the corpse on which it blooms. It halts decomposition and preserves a life-like appearence which could fool anyone in thinking that the corpse was actually alive or only recently dead. The cheeks blush deeply and the skin is rich in colour. The fact that the Marsh of Roses is littered with corpses and Marshroses creates an incredible tableau of colours, especially during sunrise when all the flowers change colour from red to black. It is a sight of which bards have written countless tales. The most popular is the tale of how a lovestricken man chased his suicidal lover into the marsh and drowned in the mud before the visage of a sunrise. It is said that his ghost still searches the marsh, forever calling the name of his lovelorn sweetheart into the silent landscape.

Interesting. So, the marsh is a kin to quicksand?

Interesting. So, the marsh is a kin to quicksand?

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Yes, the marsh in the same fashion as quicksand. Also there were many things about the place that I didn't mention in the short post above, perhaps the most important thing: why would people come to the marsh? Every storyteller, poet, singer, etc from the bardic collage of Myruch must visit Rose March lest he does not "graduate with honour".

There is not a monster population of significance in the Marsh of Roses, nor are there undead (except for perhaps a few ghosts), or slumbering tarrasques. The item of interest is the Marshrose - the flower is wanted in spell casting, item creation, adornment, and as a gift to a lover. It is common knowledge that the marshrose can help, err, work much like the viagra pill known to us.

Why is it required that the students of the Bardic college go to such a potentially deadly place? Does the Marshrose have any other effects?

Why is it required that the students of the Bardic college go to such a potentially deadly place?

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It is an ancient custom. The Marsh of Roses have inspired thousands of bards throughout history, and a short sojourn is known to awaken (or so it is said) a bard's unique talent. But the college in question (the Myruchian College) is an eccentric college at best, the deadly field-trip to the Marsh of Roses is not the strangest thing by far.

As a small point, every bard who survives the journey is required to bring a marshrose to the dean of the college. The dean is in fact a hag with a formidable appetite for marshroses.

Nebuchadnezzar said:

But the college in question (the Myruchian College) is an eccentric college at best, the deadly field-trip to the Marsh of Roses is not the strangest thing by far.

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So, what are some of these other stange things that are required?