Quest Hook - A sobbing woman stands by the edge of the forest, begging for help and wailing. She holds a log dressed up like a child. She says the faeries have stolen her child, Emily, from her bed and left this mockery in its place. Get the kid back!
The Faerie Court cannot be approached directly. The folk wisdom is that you can find it by eating hallucinogenic mushrooms and wandering through the woods until you are utterly lost. Of course, that might have been a rumor started by the bandits in these woods. If you can find a faerie and trick it into giving you a favor, they can lead you there. This might involve guessing the faerie's true name, catching it and holding it until dawn, or doing it a favor in return. Most faeries are afraid of the court, and will try to offer you other stuff instead.
If the party wanders the woods high on mushrooms, they have a 50% chance of finding it and a 50% chance of being set upon by bandits. The bandit encounter is gonna be weird since everyone is high.
If they try to get a faerie to lead them, they have to do an insane favor or somehow trick the faerie. If they trick it it will fulfill the exactly worded terms of the bargain ("Take us to the Faerie Court by sundown"), but will look for opportunities to screw the players. Be creative!
Players don't read past this part
Far
When the players start to make progress towards the court, the trees in the forest are slowly replaced by multicolored mushrooms with faces. Forest animals gain the ability to talk, and one approaches the party to ask a favor and give a blessing. As the party gets closer the log becomes a child if they brought it.1d4
1: Fox asks for a plump hen to eat, alive if possible. Trail rations are not sufficient. If satisfied tells the party about the tithe, and reveals that all of the chosen folk this year are family or allies of Prince Tetam.
2. Raven asks for an eye of one of the party members. You have to cut it out with a knife or something. Gives +1 Wisdom to that character and tells them where the child is.
3. Wolf (Huge) asks for information about a person he can eat back in the civilized lands. Tells them that the devil is coming at midnight and isn't very picky about who he takes.
4. Doe asks the party to carve a runestone depicting her deer-husband, killed by hunters. Allows the party to nurse, giving inspiration. Gives information about The Beast.
Closer
The party approaches a barrow mound with stone crosses on top and a small door in the side. Beside the door stands a pumpkin man, holding a spear and singing sadly. He is Oleg, a faerie being punished by Queen Maeve and forced to wear a pumpkin head and guard the outside. He does a bad job and if questioned will tell the PCs any information about the interior, the tithe, and his true love, Michelle, who will be given to hell at midnight.
Inside the barrow mound is a grand, if slightly old fashioned, ballroom. Beautiful fay dance complicated folk dances and wear masks of animals. It smells of decay.
NPCs in the Ballroom
Fey
All the fey are too scared of Queen Maeve to do much other than make small talk or dance. They don't want to be put outside like Oleg or given to hell. They'll say things like "Oh you mustn't speak of such things at the ball" if asked about the location of the child, the tithe, or pretty much anything else of importance. Songbirds fly about the room listening, and the fey are frightfully aware of hteir locations. They might share information in coded language, like thieves cant. If pressed they will start crying and will be swiftly taken away by fey in wolf masks. The only exception is the fey in the mask of the animal encountered earlier. If they are favorably inclined to the party they will whisper helpful info.
Princess Kithix
- an anthropomorphic ant wearing a beautiful segmented gown and a tiara.
Goals - Convince Queen Maeve to allow her to clear and settle in a ruin nominally controlled by the faeries but currently infested with dobermen. She will never be able to escape her controlling mother and go on her nuptial flight if she doesn't have a place to settle. For now she's enjoying spending time with the elegant fay. She has a court of 1d100 human sized ants that are suicidally and fanatically devoted to her. Knows a lot about the tithe.
Emissary O'Brian
-stuffy ambassador sent from an adjacent wizard.
Goals - Seeks return of a refugee wizard hiding in Denethix territory. Originally applied to Denethix but was rebuffed, and is pissed about it. Now seeking a finding charm from Maeve. Filthy rich. Will ask the party about their goals and if told they seek the child, will tell them about the tower and ask that they also steal the charm for him.
Pastor Ian
- Dinosaur cleric from the northern mountains. Has cages and cages of colorful dinosaurs, here to trade them for a huge shipment of drugs. Companionable and kind hearted. Knows where the children are kept but doesn't want to mess up his relationship with the court. If the party shows interest in the dinosaurs he will offer them spots on a dinosaur/fossil hunting expedition out east.
Queen Maeve
- Terrifying Queen of the Fey, Huge sized, sits on a throne at the back of the ballroom. Has songbirds fly about the ballroom and whisper information back to her.
Goals - Find some way to get out of paying the tithe to hell at midnight. Look like she is in control no matter what happens.
When Maeve is approached she is very friendly and beautiful. Tells the party they have her word of protection in the ballroom, but that they are not to approach the tower. (Where the children, captive fey to be used as tithe and the finding charm are) She cannot guarantee their safety if they go there, as The Beast roams those halls, devouring all he finds.
The Tower
Obviously the party is going to go in the tower. I'm running out of time to write this so it will be shorter. 4 floors, 1-2 rooms/floor. Only one random encounter here, roll 1d6 whenever you think of it or if the party is being loud. On a 6 The Beast appears, on a 1-5 a Sign of the Beast
Signs of the Beast
1. Heavy Breathing coming from beneath the floorboards, panting like a wolf. It's right below them!
2. A huge eye pokes through the door to the room, or a window or a mirror. It's right on the other side and starts to rattle the door, try to push its body through the window or come through the mirror. Unsuccessful unless the party sticks around to watch, in which case it squeezes through
3. Shadow of the Beast cast from down the hall, moving towards them slowly. (No actual beast, just his shadow)
4. A scream from far away, then silence
5. If any of the PCs have a holy symbol, it starts to bleed.
1st Floor : stairs go up and down, ripped apart armor and skeletons
2nd Floor: 18 faeries, 9 men, 9 women, are chained up here, a sacrifice to the devil. The Beast will turn into the devil and eat them at midnight.
3rd Floor: Children sleeping here, each is dreaming of a faerie, and if woken that faerie will die.
Basement: Furnace, Prince Tetam is here begging with the flames to spare the fey. He might get the idea to take the party and offer them to the devil instead.
To Do: Something to experiment with. Something to fight. One more thing to steal
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