The Forbidden Toxin

The Forbidden Toxin is a Raid Event scheduled to start on November 1, 2018 at 8:00 PM (PST) and end on November 7, 2018 at 8:00 PM (PST). It is the sixty third episode of the Dark Stigma story and thirty second in the Malice Canon storyline.

Half-time Reward Calculation Period is at November 3, 2018 from 8:00 PM to 8:59 PM (PST).

Feature Changes
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Raid Bosses Skill Cards

 * Marmalade the Tester (UR) Anti-Raid Boss Skill Card, obtained from the Oath of Survival Card Pack
 * Living Fountain Geritus (UR) Anti-Hidden Raid Boss Skill Card, obtained from the Oath of Survival Card Pack
 * Chainblade Yunalee (UR) Anti-Secret Raid Boss Skill Card, obtained from the Oath of Survival Card Pack
 * Grande Dame Madeleina (UR) Special Evolution Card, Skill works against all Raid Bosses of the event, obtained from the Master of Fate Card Pack

Prologue
"Here, have some tea and take a moment to relax. It's important to stay calm even in times like this." The witch had invited you to her laboratory beneath the castle and poured you and the others a piping hot brew. Watching the flower petals swirl on the surface, you remarked with surprise how delicious it was.

"Oh, don't be so shocked. It's not like everything I eat contains poison. Besides, I would never dream of serving guests anything besides the best tea on hand." Her name was Marmalade, a skilled witch who held the role of poison taster for the queen of Geritus. You had been informed they needed aid in resolving a serious crisis.

"But this is quite the curious place, I must say..." Elimval's keen eyes scanned the room as she sipped her tea. As expected for one who worked with toxins, the shelves and tables were lined with strange creatures and vegetation of varying yet harmful appearance.

"Everything in this room's native to our country and many have been around for ages. They're as rich in magic as they are in poison, which makes them useful in my research. Geritus was named after the legendary spirit of water who created a fountain around here. It turned the barren land into a lush forest suitable for settling. The forbidden poison we're dealing with now also came from plants that first sprang up back then."

The conversation drifted toward the crux of the matter: the reason why you had been summoned.

......

Queen Hertrude was famous for her penchant of eating only gourmet dishes prepared with the most unique delicacies. She would order such ingredients from around the world for her talented chef to assemble into sumptuous meals. New flavors were prized more than anything, so even monsters or Cryptids would occasionally appear upon her dinner table. It was rumored that she could consume what most would consider inedible. Once it had been checked for poison, she would place anything into her apparently iron stomach.

Not long ago, a bundle of rare roses from a remote corner of the country were used for a soup. Its smell was so sublime, she called an immediate banquet amongst the nobility to share in savoring it. Yet what was meant to be a pleasant evening soon devolved into tragedy. When the servants arrived in the hall to serve the next course, they saw the noblemen and ladies moaning in pain and vomiting blood, too weary to lift themselves from the table if not fallen from their chairs.

Fortunately, Queen Hertrude was spared with a slight fever, but the rest could only wait until an antidote was concocted. Of course, the soup had been tested, yet such was the trust the queen held in Marmalade and her sensitive tongue that she was absolved from any fault. Rather, she was placed in charge of finding the culprit.

To repay the queen's grace, Marmalade swore to uncover the truth. The exhaustive investigation began by examining each of the guests' blood. This revealed they all contained a kind of poison that was so powerful it had been banned worldwide since antiquity. Whoever was responsible was not one to be taken lightly. Due to the desire to keep news about the evident attempt on the queen's life discreet and the overall distrust of the empire, they decided to contact you to help deal with the enigmatic criminal.

......

"So the culprit's objective was..." Elimval, in confirming the particulars of the incident, was causing visible exasperation in Marmalade.

"Like I said, the assassination of the queen! And the prime suspect is the fan dancer they called as the banquet's entertainment! She may be beautiful and talented, but something about the way she smiled didn't sit right with me. She's called Calyone, but all I was able to learn about her besides her recent rise to fame was that she's the daughter of a disgraced noble family and she's been sighted going to and from an old manor on the outskirts of the capital."

If a poison potent enough to be banned was reintroduced, then extensive casualties were all but assured. For the sake of the present victims and to prevent more from appearing, you decided to head towards the presumed hideaway immediately. Whether or not the offender was present would soon be known...