Explosive discovery

During today's march I noticed a tree I'd never seen before. It had large gourd-like fruit growing from it, but the cursed rot had bloodied the flesh.

I collected an armful of the foul fruits and carefully checked them over to find the rot had done something quite extraordinary. The fruits outer skin had become brittle while the inner flesh digests and absorbs anything placed inside. The perfect vessel for a deadly concoction.

After numerous experiments, I've found the perfect ingredient! It seems so obvious now, but if blood is poured into the rotting gourd, it fills the flesh with a highly volatile gas. Once the blood has been entirely absorbed, smashing the brittle skin causes a mighty explosion, powerful enough to eject whatever is stored within.

This weapon would truly turn the tide of the coming battles, but the blood required for such an arsenal will certainly drain the troops morale, amongst other things... There must be another way, perhaps Phosani has the answers.