Character: A town perpetually losing the battle. Everywhere you look, everything you see, there is decay and corruption. You can strive and rail against it, trying your best to halt or reverse it, but it cannot be undone. The slow-moving juggernaut of pestilence and mutation will outlast you and your lineage. Changes on the outside are a grim reflection of changes on the inside.

Ruler: Corvol the Fat is an enormously obese man with tiefling ancestry who rules over Uhlsgout from within his gloomy court. His decisions are usually very practical, done only in the utmost necessity. Other than his occasional judgments and sessions, he prefers to while away his time in the Court away from others. Some say it's because of his bloated form and trouble with movement, yet others believe he fears the strange effects of the town enough to stay shut in. His record stands as one of the longest inhabitants who have not suffered the change, so he must be doing something right.

Behind the Throne: Oggslin, a nycaloth jailor who assists Corvol the Fat in his duties is quite possibly the main mover within the town. He has the well-paid for loyalty of the mercenary militia and the ear of Corvol, allowing him much freedom and control. Bloods in the know have him pegged as an agent of the Oinoloth, providing special reports on the progression of the town, but no one's dredged up proof and lived to talk of it.

Description: Uhlsgout is a forlorn kip that occasionally hosts some of the smaller units of fiends participating in the Blood War. It is far from the major battlefields of Oinos, but has occasionally seen activity from raiders of both sides. One landmark for the town is that it rests within the shadow of one of the thousand-foot tall obelisks that dot the landscape of Oinos.

The inhabitants of Uhlsgout have much more to worry about than death at the hands of some abyssal warrior. Those who remain here for a length of time suffer from a degenerative form of wasting disease. Instead of causing a berk's death, those unlucky sods change - they mutate into something that resembles an ten-foot long slug called a Vendahl. These vendahl have hoods somewhat like snakes around their 'heads' and a mouth that extends with several long cilia. Although some have made reference to creatures known as carrion crawlers, these creatures have very little in common with those dungeon scavengers.

The vendahl roam freely within the town and through its marsh-laden outskirts. They are slow and non-combative, although they are far from harmless. Many a sporting fiend who has not heard the rumors have hunted the vendahl only to find themselves quickly degenerating near their presence. A disease that readily affect fiends of any order is something that could cause a barbazau to quiver. The change is slow and seemingly incurable, taking a few weeks to affect the change. Once it's began though, leaving Uhlsgout or the plane seems to have no effect on its progress. It's said that the vendahl retain some of their intelligence, but this is not readily apparent from their tremendous amount of apathy.

Many theories have arisen as to the cause of the changes. The foremost is the rotting effects of the Siege Malicious which affects the diseases of Oinos. Arguments rage against it, claiming that this particular strain would be found elsewhere, which it is not. Some say that it is an experiment that the Oinoloth keeps his baneful eye upon. Others maintain that the effect rises from the close proximity of one of the Lodestones of Misery, tall obelisks which sap the emotion right from a basher. Still, other whispers proclaim that this is the brainchild of a demonic god of pestilence who seeks to remake all in his bloated image. Still no one is any closer to the truth than before.

Militia: Oggslin always maintains a small force of yugoloth mercenaries on as militia, not so much to keep order, but to prevent the utter destruction of the town from visiting warbands of Tanar'ri. Usually the draining nature of the Waste prevents any other mass forms of uprising that could require their attention. They will hire on extra guards if there is interest, yet there never seems to be too many willing to volunteer for lengthy stays.

Services: Uhlsgout's major attraction is a form of respite where mercenaries who've signed up for the Blood War can come and take a slight break. There's no official truce in the town, but the urge to fight lessens here in the shadow of the Lodestone. Uhlsgout consists of decently built (and rebuilt) taverns and inns that easily cater to either side of the Blood War. Given the drab nature of the plane, these alehouses aren't big on entertainment, just enough ale to drown many a berk's sorrows. As the town is never able to maintain any form of weaponry that doesn't get bought up or consigned to roaming armies, most don't bother. But there are always some greedy cutters about looking to make some cash from some handy weaponry.

Local News: Seems that a sizable group of adventurers has recently made camp within the town. This happens every few hundred cycles, with some priests of a healing god thinking they can cure this unique form of disease. It always seems to be a doomed venture, with the group falling prey to either the fiends or the Waste.

Chant is that this group may be closer than the last few. There's no signs of approaching armies in either direction and few have fallen prey to the Gloom. But in the later hours, the vendahls are said to be stirring and gathering in strength. It's a sure bet that not everything wants to embrace change out there in the Grey Waste.