Blackapple Environs

This overgrown section of woodland serves as the preferred hangout for a pack of wild dogs that have been plaguing the pig farmers of Blackapple. The dogs are actually locals, having been persuaded by the cu-sidhe (a kind of “fairy dog”) of Faehill (B14) to harass the Blackapplers. Pigman Jack (B8) can point the PCs in the right direction if they want to collect dog pelts for money. 6 Wild Dogs: AC 14, HD 1+1, #At 1 bite, Dam 1d4 + hold, Mv 50', Sv F1, ML 9, XP 25 ea. HP

This large stone country house has been repurposed to serve as a small sanitarium. There's a front door and a back door, both locked with keys held by Livinius and his two assistants. The windows are barred. Four upstairs guest rooms have been converted into cells for Livinius' troubled clients. He currently only has three patients; the fourth recently escaped. The Sanitarium floor-plan map is on page 43. If the players knock on the door: The door opens to reveal a clean-cut, burly man in a white coat. He looks you up and down and then squarely at your face, waiting for you to speak. The burly man is an assistant. If the PCs impress him as being serious, he'll notify the master. But as a rule Dr. Livinius doesn't take visitors unannounced, so unless they have something interesting to say the door will be shut in their faces. Of course, if their business is related to the escaped lunatic, that would be an opening. If the madman is returned alive Livinius will reward the party with 185 gp and would be willing to grant an audience if they ask for it. If the GM wants to play up the role-playing, Livinius is always happy to discuss his practice for healing mental illness, which includes exorcism, leechcraft, and ad hoc brain surgery. The Case of Arthur Figwort Livinius is currently treating the boy Arthur Figwort for madness. Livinius has diagnosed the boy with “humoural imbalance caused by persistent category II demonic infestation”, the treatment of which requires brain surgery.

Two miles into the forest along a narrow road called the Moribund Way there stands a small tavern. Around a bend in the road you come upon a large building of poorly-assembled pine boards. A breeze carries a boisterous tune from the tavern into the surrounding wood, smoke pours from the chimney, and the dirty windows are illumined by firelight from within. The sign outside has the words “Hen's Teeth Tavern” painted in large blue letters, below which is a crude depiction of a white chicken. If the PCs enter the tavern, they see: The tavern's common room has low ceilings, is covered in oak paneling, and features a large hearth and four tables (two long, two small). Mounted in the common room above the mantelpiece is a large painting showing a fox falling into a flaming pit while a chorus of chickens looks on approvingly. The only other decoration in the room is a large mirror behind the bar. The tavern's clientele is odd. There are about a dozen short humanoids here, each no more than five feet tall. Their upper torsos are Human, but their legs and feet are those of a goat. Their ears are also goat-like, and they sport short horns. This establishment is off the beaten track, and seldom visited by anyone other than fairy creatures and other forest dwellers (see Clientele below). It can serve the party as a safe place to stay. More importantly, the mirror behind the bar is one of two magical portals into the Brugh. Each night at the stroke of midnight the Elf Lord opens the porta

The forest track ends in a small clearing housing an ancient shrine. The shrine is composed of three standing stones, two side-by-side and the third laying across the top, forming a primitive arch. Atop the standing stone shrine is a gigantic owl gazing at you. The owl is enchanted with high intelligence and the power of speech. When travelers enter the clearing, the owl entreats them to confess their sins. If the PCs refuse to confess, the owl attacks. If a person walks through the opening in the standing stones they'll be cured of poison or disease (as the spell cure disease). The leaf-covered forest floor surrounding the shrine barely conceals the bones of past victims and their possessions. Adventurers willing to sift through all this debris may find 23 gp, 214 sp, 261 cp, 1 silver holy symbol (worth 50 gp), a jade figurine (worth 250 gp), and (for really patient treasure hunters) hundreds of prayer beads worth a total of 8 gp. In addition, on a leather strap is an electrum pendant engraved with the image of a closed eye. The pendant is a magical Anti-charm Charm, which gives the bearer immunity to charm magics. Giant Owl: AC 15, HD 6, #At 2 claws, Dam 1d6, Mv 10' Fly 70', Sv F6, ML 9, XP 500

This relatively small woods to the east of Blackapple is best known for a rare variety of trees that grow within: Glowwood. Glowwood trees cast a dim phosphorescent light at night, and for that reason their wood is prized by timber merchants across the realm. The lumber from a single glowwood tree can fetch as much as 100 gp. The glowwood trees of Tenpenny Wood are of great interest to the Blackapple Merchants' Guild, who think they have finally found a way to get rich. Unfortunately, glowwood trees are also prized by stirge colonies, who love to nest in their branches. Anyone spending more than a few minutes near a glowwood tree will be beset by 1d10 stirges seeking to drive away the intruders. 6 Stirges: AC 13, HD 1*, #At 1 bite, Dam 1d4 + 1d4/round blood drain, Mv 10' Fly 60', Sv F1, ML 9, XP 37 ea. HP In addition, Tenpenny Wood is under the protection of a treant. For each tree that is harmed (e.g., by woodsmen), there is a 10% chance that the treant arrives to stop the “attack”. Treant: AC 19, HD 8*, #At 2 fists, Dam 2d6, Mv 20', Sv F8, ML 9, XP 945