"A moment, please," said Tara.

She went upstairs to check on Gwyll... and the child and Pockets, although she didn't really know them.

And there, she found a tome, and, being a wizard and a Scribe, she of course took it.  Her curiosity overpowered other considerations, but of course she'd take great care before actually opening it...

"You stood with us," Lenelle said to the other half-orc.

"We won't forget that.  And, we've a certain amount of clout in Deadwater.  I'm betting we can smooth things out for you.   Er, assuming whatever you did wasn't way over the top, I mean?"

"Anyway, Elise should not go back into Miriam's care.  Even while I thought Elise was human, I recognized Miriam's ill treatment of her was a big issue.  If the child is to be swerved to the light, she is not the one to do it.  Sundos, on the other hand," she smiled fondly at the priest, impressed with just how big his heart was to make such an offer.

She lowered her voice, and added for him, "But, you must be careful, and progress with your eyes open.  The child is not completely innocent.  Several times, I've seen her take a Hag like delight in the injury or suffering of others.   There is already an unkindness that is part of her nature.  I hope Tara is right;  that nurture will overcome nature.  But, you must be watchful." 

"Now -- I agree with Skye.  Let's go get a drink! After Tara retrieves the book."
She was rather sure, the scribe-wizard had not forgotten that, and it was certainly best to be in her keeping.

And, if we need a last persuade roll for T-bit from a player:

 Lenelle Toreth rolled 23 using 1d20+7.  persuasion.

Not even a stubborn Fey could deny the best arguments of the most charismatic members of the party. Twigbit cocked his head to the side as he considered their pleas. ”Hmmm.”

Suddenly, a trio of miniature Pixies flew into the room. Two of them looked like the most beautiful women of doll-like proportions. One a lilac hue with a sleek curtain of violet hair with black lowlights. She wore a flowing chiton the color of an orchid. Like Twigbit, she flew on dragonfly wings. The other female was a soft pink with rosy half-tunic and curls the color of the morning sun and butterfly wings.The final was a male who wore a loincloth made of green leaves. His skin was a greenish-good like new Spring grass.

Twigbit communicated with them in what sounded like the tinkle of tiny bells, whistles, and bumblebee buzzes. When they finished their council, Twigbit broke away with a definitive nod. He approached Cela and Sundos. ”Terms fair. You get 7 years to raise child. If she good, we do nothing. If she become nasty Hag, Cat-Monk—or another in her place—must return and slay Hag. Those our terms.”

Twigbit hovered near Cela with an anticipatory grin. ”We all agree that you make beautiful cat, but know you want to walk upright. Our Queen approve this gift: now you do both.” A choker of orange and dark brown knots popped into Cela’s hand in a burst of tiny flower petals. ”When you put on, you become cat again. Just scratch three times when you want to walk on 2 legs again.”

A silken bag manifested in Lenelle’s hand. ”You sought to help Twigbit’s people. We free from Hags because you not forget us. Bag of Pixie Dust let you and few friends fly. Only short time, though. You be careful.”
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:07, Wed 09 Feb 2022.

Meanwhile, Tara inspected the Hag’s Tome. While it wasn’t a true “Book of Shadows”, she knew it still held enormous value to the group. Her tutelage under both Mariah and Sheila taught her the tricks to disarming any traps a Hag would set on the Book. When Tara opened the Book, she found an scrawling on the pages that seemed nonsensical at first. Could she decipher the code?

OOC:

Tara, make an Arcana Check with Advantage AND a +2 Bonus.

Simon, you can also make an Arcana check with Advantage to find any magical goodies.

Azatch tugged on Connie. “Let’s take her upstairs, Grog. We should keep an eye on the sorry old bitch while we toss the place.”

...11.  Sheesh.

Tara found the pages confusing at first. It vexed her because she should have figured out Hag Code easily. She’d almost hurled the book across the room when the first spell caught her eye. A spell highly valued by Witches, especially the Hag variety—Summon Fey Familiar. Once she transcribed the spell, she deduced the hidden pattern in the text!

The Hags had written a journal in a circular pattern on each page! Each page began in the upper left corner and moved down the page, spiraling counterclockwise to an eventual end in the center of each page. Tara found a total of 7 spells, but uncovered something of even greater value. The Book documented the actions of the Coven and documented a history of Deadwater that began with their first act against the people, included the arrival of the heroes and their own experiences in Deadwater, and ended eerily with Tara reading about her own discovery of the Code!
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:47, Tue 21 Dec 2021.

Grog nods at the half-orc's suggestion, he uncorks his jug and takes a mighty swig from it. "I too need a refill!

Grog will keep his glaive to the back of Connie's neck as she climbs the stairs ahead of him.

Simon laughs. "Of course you were. While I don't carry the clout in the town that Lenelle does, I'm sure that as a member of this group you will be afforded a level of respect for helping with this coven."

Simon will help to methodically, inspect the cellar and then move upstairs.

"If any of you can detect for magic or see through illusions that would help us find anything that might be of value.

Lenelle, perhaps you can ask Connie to point out anything that might of use to us, or dangerous to leave behind?"

The warlock has maintained a more civil demeanour that the group has ever seen, but he feels that he is reaching the breaking point when it comes to the hag.

---

Simon rolled 22 for Arcana check with ADV.

Investigation and Perception if needed:
Simon rolled 5 for Investigation.
Simon rolled 19 for Perception.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:47, Fri 15 July 2022.

While Simon searched, he saw that the Hags kept a cluttered, even dirty, house. Dust covered the floors and shelves. A motley collection of vials, small boxes, and jars of varying sizes lined shelves nearly every shelf. A trained eye recognized esoteric items of value and danger alike. A larger jar is filled with a gigantic eyeball floating in viscous liquid.

The eye follows you wherever you walk.

Of particular interest to Simon was a shrunken hag’s head on the top shelf of a rickety bookcase. A black candle was on the next shelf below. Simon remembered learning about a Black Candle of Darkness In his studies. He would need a closer examination of the head.

Not far away, Skye found a picnic basket filled with an amazing amount of sweets! She’d also find an origami bat that exuded faint magical power. Before she could stop her, Phoebe had jammed a strawberry tart in her mouth. Nothing happened when she ate it.

OOC:

There’s more to find! Does anyone else want a Search roll?

Grog leaves Connie under Azatch's watch for a few minutes as watching the others poke around the house has made him curious.

""What exactly are we looking for?"

Once he has some guidance he will join the search.

---

Grog rolled 20 for Perception.
Grog rolled 9 for Investigation.

“If you can’t find any proof of Coven activity against Deadwater, then do as Simon said, and make certain that we leave nothing dangerous behind.”

Grog found six vials that he immediately recognized as Potions of Healing. Another vial held a gassy liquid identical to the one that the Hags used to belch the stinky clouds. A basket of children’s bones sat atop one of the kitchen tables.

“Hags live a loooong time. Some even longuh than dragons or elves! I bet they’ve got a lotta interesting things hidden around here!” With Pockets egging Skye on, she utilized the best of her Ranger and Halfling senses. A careful poke in a wardrobe revealed a hidden closet. Inside were three chests of descending size.

The largest chest held 227 pieces of Gold. The medium sized box held 40 pieces of Silver. A small jewel box held 20 emeralds.

When Simon searched the hall, he saw the gold chain necklace and the tarnished bell ignored by the women earlier. As his hand hovered over the chain, he heard a soft whisper on a warm breeze. ”Nay. Not that one, my beneficiary.” Certain etchings on the bell caught his eye.

In addition to the spells, Tara found a recipe for what she thought was a potion.

Tara read the book, fascinated.  What were the secrets here?  Next to her, her own book opened, and a quill pen manifested, helping her take notes... Yes, that was of value.  Oh, yes.  Secrets of the fey?  Certainly.  Ah, the implications of that... Hm.  Symbolism.  Colors?  No, it was in the marginalia-- the fingers of the figures, pointing to words and letters here and there, and in the border!

Yes, that was it!  That was the key!  And her notes trailed on and on and on...

Through diligent pursuit, Tara uncovered the secrets of the Hag Coven and Deadwater. The journal began with an entry detailing a night over twenty years ago. The night a human barkeep named Benny approached the remote dwelling of Auntie Murky Constance Toadtwitcher. Benny worked for Robert Blackmoor, the owner of The Sulphir’s Spit. He lusted after the business and Robert’s wife, Sheila. Auntie Constance offered the greedy Benny a bargain—she would poison Robert in exchange for a Benny stealing a newborn infant from the town.

Benny chose the newborn daughter of Harald & Miriam Greaves. When Benny brought the baby, Connie crafted a straw effigy that afflicted Robert with a poisoning of his blood. She attempted to bewitch Sheila for Benny, but the woman turned out to be a Hedgewitch in her own right. Though Sheila wasn’t powerful enough to save Robert, she could protect her own heart and mind from the Hag’s enchantments. Instead, Connie settled for a long term game of poisoning the townsfolk against the increasingly suspicious Sheila.

Auntie Constance also devoured the Greaves babe, giving birth to her own weird child in the bizarre manner of most Green Hags. Constance left her own child to be raised by an unsuspecting Miriam. The Hag began visiting the village in her human guise to ensure the child would come of age in her 13th year and transform into a Hag herself.

It was around that time that Granny Grimfiddle, and her second-in-command, Auntie Irma Sootstartle, approached Constance about forming a coven. Connie’s scheme with the child drew the attention of the more powerful Granny, herself a Night Hag. Grant delighted in the cruelty to the Greaves and Sheila, but offered greater opportunities to Connie as a Third in her Coven. Together, they inflicted multiple plagues on Deadwater, largely with the intention of destroying Sheila, whom Irma had prophesied would eventually lead destruction to their Coven.

When Sheila survived the plagues, the Hags pivoted toward a different tactic. Connie would infiltrate Deadwater and turn the people against Sheila. The Hags hoped that their schemes would stir the people into an enraged lynch mob who would kill Sheila by proxy. Granny particularly needed Sheila out of the way because she intended to befoul the sacred Well of Eldath, and forever corrupt its healing waters.

To that end, in recent years, Irma stole two eggs from a Black Dragon. They framed Deadwater for the act, but a heroic party including Sister Mercion and Pockets wandered into town at just the right moment. They were powerful and skilled enough to slay the Dragon and one of her hatchlings. The other hatchling survived, nurtured in secret by Irma. Granny persisted against Deadwater, further enraged that the Well found a new protector in Mercion. She visited plague upon plague, and although Mercion and Sheila weathered the people through the worst, Sheila’s apprentice, Adele Redfern, was a casualty. Connie took advantage of that particular tragedy, turning the majority of the town against Sheila and Adele’s eldest son, Jason.

When Sheila & Jason left town, the Hags attempted to remove two potentially powerful enemies. Jason had been initiated into the Druid Grove, which presented an even greater threat than Sheila. While Druids wouldn’t interfere with Hags for their schemes against humans, they would have gotten involved when Granny corrupted a traveling Warlock and turned him into a Deathlock who began leading the dead the Witches raised. Thus, Granny afflicted the Archdruid with the effigy and had Irma mimic Jason/Blackthorn to raise doubts.

The Book details how Granny & Irma captured a local tribe of “Wee Fey”, a rare breed of Pixie, killing them as a source of many of their more exotic glamours. The Book describes the storm that brought Amara’s ship near Deadwater, and the arrival of the party. It painstakingly records every conversation and event surrounding the party’s activities in town, including and up to Tara reading the last page. As Pockets said, the Hags had seen Simon and Lenelle as the greatest threats because of their own potent magicks. They’d hoped to turn the village against Simon, the way they had set them against Sheila and Blackthorn. Their vendetta against Lenelle ran deeper, as the text alluded to a “goodness” that rivaled Mercion’s, not just by character, but because of a deeper reason only alluded to.

Throughout the Book, Tara saw several allusions to “The Abattoir”. She didn’t know what that meant, other than Granny’s final, cryptic threat…

Grog brings the seven potion vials to the table and sets them down, "These look to be for healing, and this one is what they used to belch out that cloud that Azatch found so nauseating."

He gently places the basket of bones next to the potions. "These look to belong to little ones...children." The large warrior looks shaken as he looks at the bones.

He then gets moves to help Pockets and Skye to move the heavy chests of coins.

Simon returns to the table with some items. "This candle reminds me of a drawing of a Black Candle of Darkness that I saw in a tome. When lit, it will actually create a globe of magical Darkness as opposed to light.

This," he places the shrunken hag's head, "I am not sure about, it will take some research to determine what if any powers it has."

The warlock then heads into the hall to continue searching. Spotting a old table, he sees a necklace and a bell on it.


Simon's head whips around, ~Was that Sarraamosh's voice?~

His hand stops mid-air, above the necklace, and decides to to heed the voice of his new benefactor. "Thank you Sarraamosh. Your assistance is much appreciated."

Returning to the dining room, he places the bell on the table, "This will cast a minor spell that I know as Toll the Dead, once per day, when rung.

"Magicae Manu" A moment later a spectral hand floats into the room, carrying a gold necklace. Simon guides the hand to place it on a shelf too high for anyone to reach without some effort.

"I don't know what this necklace does, but I was warned to not touch it."

The warlock walks behind Connie and loosens the gag, "What is the power of that necklace?"

---

[Edit: added description of candle.]
This message was last edited by the player at 06:23, Fri 24 Dec 2021.

“It’s a trap for the greedy and vain,” Connie said in a raspy voice. “Anyone foolish enough to wear the necklace gets a rude surprise,” she said with an oddly whimsical smile. “The longer you wear it, a link disappears until it strangles the wearer.

One of my favorites.”

Simon re-gags the hag. "It looks like it would fit nicely around your neck."

“What say you, Simon? Should we let the crone properly enjoy her jewelry?” Azatch looked between the Hag and the basket of little bones. He couldn’t stop looking at the bones. The moments he could look at the Hag showed a hardened glint in his eye. His grip tightened on his javelin every time he looked at her.

Tara had turned pale as she read the book.

"...it might be fitting, but still, the Townsfolk should know what happened," she said.  "This scheme is vile beyond the reckoning of humanity.  And I fear it's not over."

She explained to the others what she'd learned from the book.

Skye comes back down with the basket of pastries and the origami bat. She looked at Simon. "While you at it, you might want to take a look at this - it holds some magic"

She placed the basket of pastries down and shrugs. "I don't know what in the nine hells these are about."