Boundfruit is, on its face, a fairly ordinary tree, not unlike an aspen. It is capable of forming clonal colonies in the right conditions, growing a grove of trees that are all united through a network of underground roots, and also produces small kumquat-like fruit that are very sweet. They have heavy requirements for growth, however, and need very specific conditions to grow well.

It just so happens that those conditions are very like those created by people.

Ingestion of the Boundfruit will induce in most people a strong quasi-hypnotic state–the person will be awake, conscious, and coherent. But their sudden and overriding desire will be to care for the Boundfruit tree, and to feed its fruits to others that they may do the same. Victims will not neglect their own health, and will still eat and drink. Most will continue their daily labor, but the Boundfruit tree will never be far from their minds, and they will continue to tend it with whatever spare time and resources they have, and continue to try feeding the fruit to others.

Entire settlements devoted to Boundfruit have grown up in this way, nicknamed “Wormy Boroughs” for the large number of rustworms that Boundfruit thralls routinely clear from them. These settlements are rarely stable, as the needs of a Boundcruit clonal grove grow exponentially, and eventually there will not be enough people to continue the care and the grove will die back or perish entirely, and with it the fruit that is needed to keep its thralls loyal.

High Inquisitor’s Note:
While standing orders are to burn Boundfruit trees wherever they are found, the only cure for a Boundfruit thrall is to be kept from eating more of the fruit by any means necessary. It is not unlike breaking an addiction.

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