Seke is a little shocked.
“The da.. dark knight is … is dead?!?“ Seke gasps almost crying.
“No! I … I … I did not feel anything! I knew tha … that the Tengu rider of Cold was potentially killed because one of my companions felt it. But … “ she stops mid-sentence.
She rolls down her sleeve and shows her Sign of Cold which potentially looks the same as the sign that Hadda was referring to as the Mantle.
“Thank you for your explanations. It seems that my companions … who all are dead … and I … we are not made of the same ice than you. I have failed so often and we never made it to the hut. To be honest, Jadrenka hardly speaks to me. I … I don’t know much but can of course bring you to her so that you can introduce yourselves to her. But beware… she is a very powerful changeling witch and you should be careful in choosing words when you talk to her … Ehh … I … I usually stay silent … “ she says and the shadows around her almost cloak her so that she is less visible.
She then quietly asks with concern on her face “Who of you knew the rider from the shadows?“
As Seke shows her own sigil, Dom feels far more confident about her trustworthiness.
"If the Rider from the Shadows is the same as the Black Rider, then it is me and Ingrit who remain from that group. We met him in faraway Taldor and witnessed his death. There were others with us, but curses and traps have dwindled our number. In turn, though, we have gained the aid of Rurik."
The powerful elk with Ingrit snorts loudly. "Oh, and Wapiti, of course," says Dom apologetically. "And now all of you who were met by the White Rider."
Seke listens carefully and looks at Ingrit and Dom.
“So … Ehh … did you see the dark rider falling? Dying?“ she says and takes a deep breath.
”As a child I was visited in my dreams by a shadowy rider … I was so young. This being implanted something in me which visited my dreams again and again and actually drew me from across Tian Xia to the Inner Sea region. I am now experienced enough to know that this was a magical mind control effect I think. I personally never ever met the dark knight. It took me a whole year from the island of Minata in Tian Xia to find the others that were called. We encountered the rider of the cold that sent us through the gate to Irrisen … the rider that opened this gate was a frosty Tengu servant of Baba Yaga that represented the morning and the rider used the dreams that we all had since our youth to show us that we had to save Baba Yaga!!!!“ she says a little excited.
“We were tasked to open a gate from a white witch’s tower to a place where Baba Yaga had a secret weapon stored and bring that back to the cold rider so that we can together free the hut of Baba Yaga. But we failed in all of that and I ended up here after everyone else died trying to accomplish our mission… “ she says and let’s her head sink to her small chest.
Hadda thanks Crasius for his sharp eyes--being poisoned was not on her to-do list today. She takes out her tools, scraping, twisting, and tweaking until the trap is removed (for whoever might want to reuse that poison) and the chest is ready to be assessed.
She feels a strong urge to wash the room down.
The chest contains several pieces of equipment including a potion of nondetection, a potion of gaseous form, a rope of climbing, a wand of air walk (7 charges), a hammer, a score of iron spikes, two blocks and tackle, and four 50-foot ropes. Next to the chest is a giant-sized portable ram.
While the group converses in the hall, a young woman's voice calls out from the room, "Seke, I'd like to have a word with you." Seke recognizes the voice as that of Jadrenka.
The first person to enter the room sees a pretty young woman wearing long robe of royal blue with a violet and red vest underneath. A winter cloak on her shoulders is fringed with raven feathers. She carries a gnarled staff with more raven feathers attached. Around her neck is a chain with a number of keys attached. She has black hair, chestnut brown eyes, and tan skin. She appears no more than 20. Her attention is focused on the map carved into the table.
As the group converses, with the enemies dead, Rurik takes the opportunity to channel healing power and retrieve Everbloom's rose.
"Thank you, Rurik," says Dom in gratitude as his remaining wounds are healed.
Then, he hears Seke being summoned. "Wait, is that Jadrenka?" Not sure if he should be following, he looks to Seke for guidance.
Looking through the contents of the chest and cataloguing the items, Hadda reasons out what she's looking at. "It seems to me that this may have been what Caigreal and her group used to ascend the cliff face and break into Artrosa. Taking these items may prevent at least some of them from having an easy method of escape. They may be useful to us as well."
Hadda is intrigued by this Seke--she had not known that Baba Yaga's interests had extended much outside of Irrisen.
As Jadrenka summons Seke, Hadda follows along behind her. The woman is much younger than Hadda expected--younger than her even!
"Greetings," Hadda says (in both Taldane and Iobarian), choosing her next words based on which Jadrenka seems to respond to best. "Is this a private word, or are other servants of Baba Yaga permitted to be privy?"
Seke bows to you all with a slightly fearful look on her face and turns to the newcomer.
“Of course mistress!“ Seke says and immediately moves towards the newly arrived woman until she stands in front of her.
Dom follows along as well. He bows respectfully upon seeing the woman, but leaves the talking to Seke and Hadda.
Crasius stays silent but follows along to see what the newcomer has to say.
In the midst of loading the contents of the chest into the group's bags of holding and Wapiti's saddlebags when Jadrenka calls out to Seke, Ingrit is the last to enter the chamber, noting the woman, younger than any of them, but standing with the self assurance, and dressed in a manner that indicates a likely powerful spellcaster.
Giving the lady of this magnificent structure a nod of respect, she watches on as Hadda takes the reins of introduction.
Seke bows to you all with a slightly fearful look on her face and turns to the newcomer.
“Of course mistress!“ Seke says and immediately moves towards the newly arrived woman until she stands in front of her.
The young woman regards Seke with a gentle smile and asks if she has been injured.
... As Jadrenka summons Seke, Hadda follows along behind her. The woman is much younger than Hadda expected--younger than her even!
"Greetings," Hadda says (in both Taldane and Iobarian), choosing her next words based on which Jadrenka seems to respond to best. "Is this a private word, or are other servants of Baba Yaga permitted to be privy?"
Jadrenka waits for everyone to enter before speaking, looking down on them from the raised part of the room. When she speaks, it is in Iobarian, albeit a rather obscure dialect dating back a few centuries. Still the words are understandable. If Hadda translates her words for the rest, Jadrenka waits patiently. If anyone says anything in any other language, however, she seems to need no translation. Her tone changes from the kind expression of concern about Seke's health to the stern expressions of a young person who presumes she knows better than others what is necessary.
"I have words for any who invade Atrosa's sacred interior, first to warn you that should you be treasure hunters, you will find death in every room, for the Queen of Witches guards her secrets with extreme prejudice. I would allow you to suffer the fates of countless seekers of fortune at Baba Yaga's expense, but you have defeated members of another band of interlopers whom I fear may have more on their mind than mere looting. If you are willing to aid in their elimination, I may allow you to leave with your lives. Speak your motives plainly and do not lie. I may appear young but I assure you I am quite capable of punishing deception with pain and death."
Jadrenka also asks to see the three iron amulets earned in the three chambers of the Dancing Hut as proof of their having been in control of the hut.
"Anyone can make such claims. I would have proof of your claims and of your worthiness as potential servants of my mistress. If what you say is true, I will do what I can to aid your quest. There are two sets of enemies of mine and by extension of the Queen. One group you have already met a portion of and meted out just punishment: a group of frost giants and demons led by a centaur worshipper of ..." She pauses and gestures toward the blood soaked words on the walls "the immortal enemy of Baba Yaga. I fear they suspect Baba Yaga is unable to return at this time and hope to gain a foothold in preparation for the return of the demon lord, whose name I will not speak. Seek them out and do to them as you have done to these." She gestures now to the headless corpses on the floor below.
"There is another group enemies who are loyal to Baba Yaga, but who seek to take the task of guarding this realm, given to me by the Queen, and assume the role for themselves. They are the hags, Caigreal and Grishelmuk, as well as a former hag turned undead witchfire named Silyzil. I cannot attack them directly, for to do that would violate an oath made to Baba Yaga. I cannot attack others who share the warden's duties. If I do, protections provided by Baba Yaga that prevent me from being forced to change into a hag like my mother will be lost."
"As you look for these enemies, you may encounter traps left by Baba Yaga to screen out those who come seek treasure rather than service to the Queen. She has also appointed servants to aid me as needed. Many of these servants are dangerous and may attack those they do not recognize as my servants. In order to avoid such fights and to get past other traps, I will grant you temporary custody of Adelia." She reaches her hand to her shoulder and withdraws a rat that has been hidden in the raven feather fringe of her cloak. It has jet black fur and at present appears to be barely full grown. "Protect her well. When Atrosa's servants see her, they will allow you to pass or even aid you if you have a need they can fulfill. I shall be watching, but I do not promise to aid you. We will meet again, either to receive your reward or to suffer my wrath. Which depends on how you fare in your quests to rid Atrosa of the vermin that now infest her."
"I think we have little choice but to deal with these hags. Do you have any insight into where we may find their lair?" Crasius asks and then adds, "And we will watch out for Adelia and see she is safe when we meet again."
"We seem to be collecting witch familiars," notes Dom a the rat familiar is offered to them. "It's fortunate that our cat Fiske didn't come with us!"
Dom otherwise nods in agreement. "The way is clear--much clearer than it has been. Seke--will you come with us on this endeavor?"
Hadda dutifully translates, curious about Jadrenka's dialect but showing no problem thanks to both her native fluency and her magically augmented linguistic facility.
She also responds to several points. "We are no treasure hunters in the traditional sense, for knowledge is more valuable by far than gold or silly baubles."
When prompted, she relates their story so far as she had moments ago with Seke to make their motives clear, and then shows the amulet around her neck, advising the other two wearing them to do the same.
But the news that the one group she expected is actually two causes the librarian to reassess her assumptions thus far. It wasn't comfortable being wrong, but it was the duty of every rational person to adjust their outlooks when confronted with new data. Since little is known about the centaur and the giants, she focuses her questions on the hags.
"What would you have us do with the cove, especially Caigreal? Are we to mete out death or seek some parlay if possible?"
Finally, Hadda accepts Adelia. "We may not be able to speak with your familiar most of the time, having used a scroll the last time we were in such a situation, but we will guard her well. I have many pockets for her to explore."
Seke bows to her changeling mistress.
”Now that you have chosen to assist us in our goals, I will be your guide and will ensure that Jadrenka‘s expectations are met. I will also answer any of your questions. I will be able to show you the room that the hags are occupying! And please take care of Adelia!!“ she says and looks at the rat.
She guides the group to the entrance of the room.
She casts heroism on herself before the action begins.
Crasius readies his bow and follows along after the young witch. As they go he asks Seke, "Do you know these witches? Will they immediately attack or will they speak try to speak to us when they see you?"
She shrugs.
“I am honest that all these revelations are new to me as well. I was very surprised to hear that the hags are colluding with the demon god! This is … is very unsettling. So I’m sorry to say that I have no idea what will happen!“ she says with a soft voice.
Since little is known about the centaur and the giants, she focuses her questions on the hags.
"What would you have us do with the coven, especially Caigreal? Are we to mete out death or seek some parlay if possible?"Finally, Hadda accepts Adelia. "We may not be able to speak with your familiar most of the time, having used a scroll the last time we were in such a situation, but we will guard her well. I have many pockets for her to explore."
Jadrenka's face turns to stone as she contemplates the first question. Finally she sighs and says, "The coven rebelled once before and I killed one of them but spared the others, hoping that would put fear into their minds and keep them in line. Now, however, Caigreal has broken her oath to protect Artrosa, so subdue her if you can, but kill her if she won't surrender or cooperate. Same goes for the other hag, Grishelmuk. The other I killed myself, but I fear she may have returned as some form of undead, so destroy her as you would any abomination of necromancy. At all costs, prevent them from banding together, for then they are much more powerful and will be more difficult to defeat."
Regarding Adelia, she smiles and says, "You shouldn't need to talk to her to gain the benefit of avoiding traps and other problems with the servants of Baba Yaga. She'll alert me if there is serious trouble. I'll be watching your progress."
The warden of Artrosa removes a key without looking at the ring of keys on a chain around her neck. "This may help with other obstacles." She gives the key to Hadda.
Hadda nods and bows towards Jadrenka, a distinctly Iobarian bow. "I appreciate your candor. This must be a difficult situation. We'll do our best to avoid death." She accepts the ring of keys with a smile and encourages the others back to the room with Guragura, whom she greets with aplomb. "Your mistress is tough as nails but quite fair at the outset. May we recuperate from our battles here for now?"
---
Around the campfire that evening, rather than studying her spellbook, Hadda is looking at her bow. She sidles up closer to Crasius and Ingrit and sighs deeply. "My archery has always been something that I nominally practiced but did not put as much stock in, preferring the wonders of magic. But in the battle with the demons, I..." She falters. Crasius knows by now that she is not one to admit weakness. When acknowledging a shortcoming, she has long tried to spin it as a positive. "I was unable to contribute as effectively as the two of you. The lack of cold iron to pierce their hides was one thing, but your abilities to consistently hit even in close quarters has not gone unnoticed." She holds her bow out and looks at the two of them. "Can you teach me?"
Crasius nods and says, "Let me show you some tricks on how to aim. Combat swirls around you and you want to make sure you are able to target the enemy around your allies." He will pull out his bow and discuss how to aim and demonstrate how to quickly place an arrow into the right position to draw the bow and fire.
Dom settles in for some rest--even though Rurik had returned him from dying to seemingly full health, he felt physically and mentally exhausted. A break to recover and a warm meal by a campfire is more than welcome. He uses the time to get to know their newest ally.
"Seke--if you're an apprentice to Jadrenka, are you too a witch? Do you also have a familiar?"
Seke smiles a little but is self conscious.
“Ehh .. yes. I’m a witch. You are correct Rurik …. “ she says and suddenly from beneath her clothing the little Wayang brings out a tiny animal that immediately starts crawling up her arm.
On Noke's shoulder you see a tiny horned lizard that has dark black scales which in some areas have a red coloring.
The blunt snout of this lizard bears bony horns, and its flat, round body is adorned with many spines.
“… fhis is my friend Tiiz! He understands you all but he can’t speak unfortunately.“ she says.
"That's Dom. I'm Rurik."
Seke blushes.
“Ehh … sorry! I .. I’m usually good with names but … must be the whole situation. You’re all so brave and … and successful. I … I envy you Dom and Rurik … “ she says and looks at the floor.
Hadda mistakes Crasius lesson as elementary at first, and begins to get impatient. "No, I know how to...oh! Wait, do that again. Ah, I see, it's a combination of muscle memory and close perception. Of course..."
She unslings her bow and starts mimicking Crasius' movements, only vaguely aware of the wayang's introductions on the other side of the room.
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---Around the campfire that evening, rather than studying her spellbook, Hadda is looking at her bow. She sidles up closer to Crasius and Ingrit and sighs deeply. "My archery has always been something that I nominally practiced but did not put as much stock in, preferring the wonders of magic. But in the battle with the demons, I..." She falters. Crasius knows by now that she is not one to admit weakness. When acknowledging a shortcoming, she has long tried to spin it as a positive. "I was unable to contribute as effectively as the two of you. The lack of cold iron to pierce their hides was one thing, but your abilities to consistently hit even in close quarters has not gone unnoticed." She holds her bow out and looks at the two of them. "Can you teach me?"
"Of course!" Ingrit replies with a smile. "Muscle memory is definitely a part of it, but habit and attention to detail help. Part of being able to shoot faster is knowing exactly where your arrows are. If you have a magic quiver, that helps with always having things where you need them, but for meticulously keeping track of where everything is helps a lot. The second you spend looking at the next arrow you grab could be spent shooting. Once we have some time to do so, we can definitely work on making you as good with a bow as you are with your mouth.....uhm...I mean your words."
With wounds healed, bellies full, and weapons sharpened or otherwise ready, the group heads back down the narrow corridor leading into the Maiden, as the portion of Artrosa they are in is called by those familiar with it. When they get to the first door off the right side of the corridor, Seke takes out her key to the lock and opens the door. Like the passages, the heavy iron oak door is carved with a scene showing a young woman dancing through a field overflowing with wildflowers and blossoming trees.
Behind the door is another corridor that slopes down as it goes generally west for about 70 feet. It opens up into a chamber that is roughly round and 60 feet across.
This natural cavern is warm and humid, and stinks of stagnant water. Wisps of water vapor hover just above the floor, somewhat concealing a swampy morass of fungus. In some areas of the cave, large lumpy piles of fungus rise from the slop like fetid islands, and long, rubbery fungal strands hang from the ceiling and walls. A slowly trickling hot spring provides this cavern with a steady source of geothermal heat, accounting for the increased temperature in the chamber.
This is Seke's herb and mushroom garden. There are gaps in the fungal growths that amount to paths worn solid by the wayang's movements attending to the plants.
To the south side of the room, another passageway opens and continues the downward slope toward a point where the passage splits and angles slightly left and right. Both forks open ten feet down to a larger room, which Seke indicates is a home, of sorts, for the hags. She has always stayed out of the room for fear of the loathsome creatures, so she can tell nothing more about what to expect there. In fact, she has never seen Caigreal or the other hags. She's been told Caigreal is an anis hag and Grishelmuk is a green hag.
There are light sources beyond the partitions making the whole room lit by normal light levels, either from torches or magical versions casting similar light.
Seke smiles a little but is self conscious.
“Ehh .. yes. I’m a witch. You are correct Rurik …. “ she says and suddenly from beneath her clothing the little Wayang brings out a tiny animal that immediately starts crawling up her arm.
On Noke's shoulder you see a tiny horned lizard that has dark black scales which in some areas have a red coloring.
The blunt snout of this lizard bears bony horns, and its flat, round body is adorned with many spines.
“… fhis is my friend Tiiz! He understands you all but he can’t speak unfortunately.“ she says.
"Well hello, Tiiz! Nice to meet you, friend." Dom goes to his tried and true strategy of offering a strip of dried meat from his rations to make a friend.
Seke blushes.
“Ehh … sorry! I .. I’m usually good with names but … must be the whole situation. You’re all so brave and … and successful. I … I envy you Dom and Rurik … “ she says and looks at the floor.
"Don't worry," reassures Dom. "If you can put your foes to sleep, then you are powerful indeed! We'll protect you, and you aid us with your magics."
In the morning, Dom is ready once more.
Last night Seke smiled at Dom but dared not to say more.
“Ehh … thanks… “ was all she could say.
~
Before going into the hags’ lair, Seke will cast Air bubble, See invisibility, False Life and Heroism on herself.
~
When they enter, Seke looks around with her see invisibility spell and sneaks forward.
As the group sets out in the morning Crasius takes some time to cast some enchantments
[ooc]I cast Greater Magic Weapon on my bow and Heroism on myself.
Annis Hag: Also known as black hags or iron hags, annis hags are the largest and most physically intimidating of their foul brood. Known for their iron-hard, wart-covered skin that varies from shades of deep blue to black and their claws like rusty blades, annis hags forgo much of the cunning and deceptiveness of their kind to revel in the more visceral evils of torture and slaughter. The typical annis hag stands just over 8 feet tall and weighs upward of 300 pounds.
Dwelling in dark caves, tangled hollows, and cursed ruins deep within frozen swamps or icy moors, annis hags stalk forth by night to sow fear and hunt the unwary. Although possessed of cunning minds, annis prove more decadent than most other hags, frequently indulging in their taste for living flesh and the music of pleading screams. Unlike green hags, they use their ability to assume humanoid form via alter self not to infiltrate societies but to lure victims into a false sense of security before attacking—often posing as travelers in need of aid or pilgrims seeking to share a camp.
Annis hags find the flesh of children, young animals, and the pure of heart particularly pleasing, both for the tenderness of such meals and for the sorrow such murders spread. After gorging themselves, these hags delight in stripping the skin from their victims, often garbing themselves in the grisly trophies. They are also known to retain and even preserve identifiable portions of their victims (such as heads) for later use in spreading misery. An annis who eats the children of a local farmer might keep the heads (or at least the faces) handy to return to the victims’ parents, for example—often in the guise of an anonymous gift. The most insidious of annis hags present these gifts in ways that implicate friends or family in the victim’s death.
Like most hags, annis sometimes join covens of their repulsive sisters, though many prove resistant to such cooperation. They are particularly unlikely to join covens that already include other annis, though groups of related annis—typically horrible triplets—are not unknown. A typical annis coven consists of one annis leader along with two green hags or sometimes even a witch or two. Annis covens often seek to recruit additional creatures as guardians and are particularly fond of trolls and ogres for such roles.
Terrifying crones known to haunt foul swamps and tangled forests, green hags harbor an intense hatred for all beauty and purity. Making use of their varied deceptive abilities, these crones delight in murdering innocents, unhinging noble minds, and debasing the pure of heart. They are particularly fond of using disguise self to assume the forms of alluring young maidens and then seducing young men away from their lovers or families. In this form, they can infect such noble and upstanding citizens with all manner of debauchery and scandal. Some green hags prefer to reveal their true natures to their lovers at a moment precisely engineered to drive the man mad with horror and shame. Others drag out their dalliances and do what they can to utterly ruin the lives of the men they seduce before showing the broken shell that remains the truth. In the end, the luckiest of these unfortunate lovers end up being eaten by their green hag companions—for the unlucky, their final doom can be much worse, for the cruel imagination of the green hag is vast.
A typical green hag stands between 5 and 6 feet tall and weighs just under 160 pounds.
Witchfire: incorporeal, immune to fire and other undead immunities.
Witchfire: When an exceptionally vile hag or witch dies with some malicious plot left incomplete, or proves too horridly tenacious to succumb to the call of death, the foul energies of these wicked old crones sometimes spawn incorporeal undead known as witchfires. These ghostly creatures appear much as they did in life, although the grotesque undead energy that births them makes them appear young and attractive and wreathes their insubstantial bodies in a powerful aura of sickly green flame, a ghostly fire referred to as “witchflame” in local legends.
Strings of will-o’-wisps are often found in the immediate vicinity of witchfires and are typically led by the undead, leading scholars to speculate that the creatures feed off of a witchfire’s flames.
Rurik hangs back a bit to wait for the scouts' report, since he isn't the sneakiest of the bunch.
Dom lets the stealthy folk advance as well to report on what they find.
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"Once we have some time to do so, we can definitely work on making you as good with a bow as you are with your mouth.....uhm...I mean your words."
Hadda gives a feisty grin to Ingrit. "Both. Definitely both."
She looks forward to learning something not easily taught by a book.
---
Come morning, Hadda brews some coffee and slips a shot of honeyed mead into it to sharpen her for the work to come. Tempting though it may be to cast other preparatory spells, she knows that today is expected to be long and she might need her magic for other more devastating encounters. Still, a bit of extra reading the night before had helped a few new tricks cement into place--both magical and mundane--for which she'd be able to call on to help her allies. As she drinks the coffee, she is excited and ready for the day to come. She also passes the bottle of mead around for the others to partake in .
Before going too far, Hadda confers with Seke about what they each know about the enemies that they're likely to face. Once this is determined and shared, she joins the wayang and Crasius in the forward movement, thoroughly impressed with Seke's stealth and matching Crasius move for move.
"It's a lovely garden," she whispers to Seke as they pass through it. "We'll try to avoid disturbing it."
Checking and re-checking her weapons after waking and getting prepared for the day, Ingrit gratefully drinks from the magically enhanced mead, before they head to the area inhabited by the hags.
Taking a position at the front of those following the scouts, she keeps a sharp eye out for signs of danger.
Dwelling in dark caves, tangled hollows, and cursed ruins deep within frozen swamps or icy moors, annis hags stalk forth by night to sow fear and hunt the unwary. Although possessed of cunning minds, annis prove more decadent than most other hags, frequently indulging in their taste for living flesh and the music of pleading screams. Unlike green hags, they use their ability to assume humanoid form via alter self not to infiltrate societies but to lure victims into a false sense of security before attacking—often posing as travelers in need of aid or pilgrims seeking to share a camp.
Annis hags find the flesh of children, young animals, and the pure of heart particularly pleasing, both for the tenderness of such meals and for the sorrow such murders spread. After gorging themselves, these hags delight in stripping the skin from their victims, often garbing themselves in the grisly trophies. They are also known to retain and even preserve identifiable portions of their victims (such as heads) for later use in spreading misery. An annis who eats the children of a local farmer might keep the heads (or at least the faces) handy to return to the victims’ parents, for example—often in the guise of an anonymous gift. The most insidious of annis hags present these gifts in ways that implicate friends or family in the victim’s death.
Like most hags, annis sometimes join covens of their repulsive sisters, though many prove resistant to such cooperation. They are particularly unlikely to join covens that already include other annis, though groups of related annis—typically horrible triplets—are not unknown. A typical annis coven consists of one annis leader along with two green hags or sometimes even a witch or two. Annis covens often seek to recruit additional creatures as guardians and are particularly fond of trolls and ogres for such roles.
Spell-like abilities: alter self, fog cloud
Special Attacks: rend (2 claws)
SR: Yes.
A typical green hag stands between 5 and 6 feet tall and weighs just under 160 pounds.
Spell-like abilities: Constant—pass without trace, tongues, water breathing
At will—alter self, dancing lights, ghost sound, invisibility, pyrotechnics, tree shape, whispering wind
Special Attacks: Weakness (Su) A green hag’s claws sap strength from those she strikes. Each time a green hag hits a foe with her claw attack, the victim takes 2 points of Strength damage unless he resists the weakness with a Fortitude save. Alternatively, a green hag can attempt to inflict even greater weakness on a foe by making a touch attack—this variant requires a standard action, and cannot be attempted in the same round the hag makes claw attacks. The opponent touched must succeed on a Fortitude save or take 2d4 points of Strength damage. The save DC is Charisma-based.
SR: Yes.
Strings of will-o’-wisps are often found in the immediate vicinity of witchfires and are typically led by the undead, leading scholars to speculate that the creatures feed off of a witchfire’s flames and fury.
Spell-like abilities: At will—dancing lights, disguise self, ghost sound, invisibility, pyrotechnics , ray of enfeeblement
1/day—summon (level 4, 2 will-o’-wisps 50%)
Special Attacks: Witchflame (Su) Any creature damaged by the incorporeal touch or ranged bolt attacks of a witchfire must succeed on a Will save or become engulfed in sickly green flames. While these eerie flames deal no additional damage, the affected creature glows as per faerie fire and becomes sickened. While under the effects of the witchflame, the victim gains vulnerability to fire and takes half again as much damage (+50%) from fire attacks of any sort. This effect persists for 10 minutes. The supernatural flames can only be extinguished before this duration expires by a break enchantment, miracle, remove curse, or wish spell. Any creature entering the same square as a witchfire or striking it with a melee attack must succeed on a Will save or begin burning with witchflame, even if the attack would not otherwise harm the witchfire because of its incorporeal nature. A bolt of witchflame has a range of 60 feet with no range increment. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
SR: None.
A typical green hag stands between 5 and 6 feet tall and weighs just under 160 pounds.
Special Qualities: Mimicry (Ex) A green hag can imitate the sounds of almost any animal found near its lair.
Seke, Crasius, and Hadda advance cautiously toward the partitioned area. Peeking behind the curtain on the northwest quadrant. The area is unoccupied and divides the larger oval into a quarter with a partition running north-south making a right angle with another extending from the west. The area is furnished with a sleeping pallet, a large clay vase filled with water, and a table set with various items such as small stones, clay plates, bones, knives, and wooden drinking cups, as well as hooks upon which hang cloaks, blankets, and other sundries. The area looks as if someone periodically spends time there, with personal items of no real value scattered around on the desk and near the pallet. There is also a trunk fashioned from hardened leather. It has no lock and no apparent traps.
Before exploring further, however, each hears sounds of someone in one of the other areas moving about. The voice of what sounds like a young woman is humming a melody in a minor key. Looking through a crack in partition to the east reveals a similar area, also with a sleeping pallet, chair and small desk, but no trunk. It looks dusty as if no one has used the furnishings for a while. The pitcher is on its side and empty. No one is there.
Looking into the south side through a gap in the partition, the area extends the full southern half of the area. Seated at a small table is a young woman idly picking at a small plate of food, nibbling roasted meat off a small bone. Elsewhere in the room are the same furnishings as the other areas: a pallet for sleeping, a leather trunk, and a small table with two chairs.
The young woman is exceptionally beautiful, with long dark straight hair, eyes the color of mahogany, with high cheekbones and an angled jaw. Her hair, while beautiful, could use a wash and some combing. Her dress is plain, ragged, and also in need of washing, made of homespun cloth and unadorned. She is barefoot. A staff made of a straight, unworked piece of wood with dying leaves attached in places leans against the table. She does not appear to have noticed you.
Seke will look into the trunk.
Crasius keeps an eye on the beautiful woman while Seke searchers.
Knowing that two of the hags had the ability to alter their physical forms, Hadda stays where she is in hiding, letting Seke move forward.
At the head of the rest of the group, Ingrit waits for sign of activity, or a report from those doing the scouting, holding Wapiti back with a gesture.
Seke is quiet enough opening the trunk that the woman in the next room does not seem to take notice.
Inside the trunk is some ragged feminine clothing, a potion of protection from arrows, a black star sapphire worth 3,000 gp, and a jar of earwigs.
Those hanging back see the group enter on of the partition areas and then see and hear nothing to indicate what is happening.
Seke only looks if there is anything special on top in the chest and leaves the chest open to prevent any noise.
Seke points at the woman and then points at Crasius’s and Hadda’s weapons and makes a cutting movement.
She activates her flight hex.
She waits until the team is ready and flies out so she is right in next to the witches door.
She then peeks into the door and misfortunes the woman.
The woman in the next room still has not noticed the activities of the lead group.