Loomlurch

Loomlurch

Granny Nightshade’s lair is built around a twisted workshop carved out of the interior of a gigantic oak that has fallen over.

The workshop is operated by kidnapped children who are allowed a small measure of freedom to carry out their labors, under the watchful eyes of the hag’s minions.

Loomlurch has the following physical features:

Ceilings. Unless otherwise noted, ceilings throughout Loomlurch are 8 feet high.

Doors. Loomlurch’s doors are made of sturdy wood with iron handles and fittings. All doors are unlocked unless the text says otherwise. As an action, a character using thieves’ tools can make a successful DC 14 Dexterity check to pick the lock on a locked door, or a character can try to force a door open, doing so with a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check.

Floors, Walls, and Stairs. Floors, walls, and staircases are hewn out of the wood of the giant tree.

Windows. Loomlurch’s windows are openable but are latched shut from the inside.

Approaching Loomlurch

The forest is at its darkest here. Up ahead, a colossal dead oak lies on its side. Three living trees grow naturally out of its fallen remains. Their shapes resemble towers, with candlelit windows twinkling in the gloom and wooden balconies encircling gnarled branches. On one side of the fallen tree, firelight spills from a pair of quaint storefront windows, illuminating a clearing filled with merchant stalls.

Characters arrive near the root bridges (area L1). Anyone who observes the workshop (area L4) can see diminutive figures prowling around inside: kidnapped children and boggles.

Before the party enters Loomlurch, Will of the Feywild—if he is present—outlines his plan for rescuing Granny Nightshade’s child captives (see “Getaway Gang Raid”). Characters who have not earned Will’s assistance must devise their own plan for getting inside.

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

If the characters drive Bavlorna Blightstraw from her home in chapter 2, the hag takes refuge with her sister, Skabatha Nightshade, and spends all her time in the study (area L14), poring through Skabatha’s ritual books for a clever spell to overcome the characters or feeling sorry for herself. The two hags avoid each other as much as possible. Whenever they squabble, which is often, Skabatha ridicules her sister for Bavlorna’s failure at the hands of the characters.

Where’s Skabatha?

All of Loomlurch’s denizens are aware of Granny Nightshade’s daily routine, which is as follows:

After waking from a long rest, she putters about in her garden (area L5) for 1d3 hours.

Most of her day is spent in the kitchen (area L13), with occasional visits to the study (area L14).

Before going to bed, the hag spends 1 hour conducting an inspection of the sewing room (area L9), the textile mill (area L12), and the workshop (area L4). After the inspection, Granny Nightshade moves to her bedroom (area L16), miniaturizes herself, and takes a long rest inside the dollhouse there.

Visitors can arrange a meeting with Skabatha by speaking to Chucklehead the goblin boss (in area L2) or Pincushion the living doll (in area L9). Any such meeting with the hag takes place in the parlor (area L3).

Bargaining with Skabatha

If you used the “Lost Things” adventure hook and the Story Tracker indicates that Skabatha has one or more things in her possession that the characters desire, Skabatha claims undisputable ownership of these lost things, asserting that she acquired them “fair and square.” Even so, she is willing to negotiate with characters who want to procure them. She is also inclined to strike bargains with characters who have other needs.

In exchange for one thing in her possession that a character has lost, Skabatha demands the characters complete one of the following quests:

Capture Will. Capture the brigand Will of the Feywild and bring him to Granny Nightshade alive. He’s sure to be hiding somewhere in the forest.

Find the Lost Horn. Bring her the unicorn horn that she says her sister Bavlorna recently lost. Maybe Prismeer’s native denizens can help the characters find it.

Spoil a Play. Sabotage a theatrical performance in Motherhorn, Endelyn Moongrave’s castle in Yon (see chapter 4). Skabatha would like nothing more than to see her sister bought down a peg or two. (To get to Yon, the characters will need a guide. Granny Nightshade expects them to know this fact and offers no help in finding a guide or seeing them safely to Yon.)

Skabatha is true to her word, returning one lost thing for each task completed while offering no assistance toward accomplishing the tasks. Skabatha used the lost things to fashion minor magic items, all of which she keeps in her dollhouse (area L16).

Skabatha’s Clockwork Key

The clockwork key embedded in Skabatha’s back rotates quickly when she’s in a good mood and slows down as her mood sours. When she is furious, the key comes to a dead stop. When the key stops turning, Skabatha attacks objects or creatures indiscriminately until something lifts her spirits and quells her rage, such as the defeat of an enemy or some other triumph, whereupon her key starts turning again. Whenever Skabatha loses her temper and turns violent, 1d3 redcaps sprout in her garden (see area L15 and “Skabatha’s Minions” below).

The key can’t be removed from Skabatha’s back while she lives, and it serves no function in the adventure other than to reflect her current mood.

Defeating Skabatha

In dire circumstances, Skabatha flees Loomlurch on her flying rocking horse mount (see area L6) and retreats to Motherhorn, the lair of her youngest sister, Endelyn (see chapter 4). If Bavlorna Blightstraw is in Loomlurch, she flees to Motherhorn as well.

If Skabatha is slain, a beetle emerges from her rotten flesh and whispers Endelyn Moongrave’s weakness to Skabatha’s killer: “Endelyn fears eclipses, not just real ones but symbolic ones as well. If you want to kill her, best do it during an eclipse, or her body will re-form.”

Skabatha’s Ring of Keys

If the characters defeat Skabatha or successfully pick her pocket, they can obtain a ring of three iron keys that she keeps on her person:

The first key locks and unlocks the doors leading from the garden (area L5) to the workshop (area L4) and the sewing room (area L9), and the door between areas L6 and L11.

The second key locks and unlocks the doors to the kitchen (area L13) and Mishka’s chains there.

The third key locks and unlocks the door to the cell in the kitchen (area L13).

Skabatha’s Minions

Granny Nightshade entrusts Loomlurch’s defense to various creatures, as described below. The hag’s minions, except for the redcaps, have orders to capture intruders alive and bring them before her.

Boggles

The despair of Loomlurch’s children has given rise to six boggles, three in area L4 and three in area L12. These cowardly creatures aren’t loyal to the hag, yet she tolerates them for the distress they cause the children.

Cradlefall

This green dragon wyrmling likes to hide in painted wooden boxes, of which there are three: one each in areas L3, L6, and L7. Each box is 3 feet on a side and has a hinged lid. A detect magic spell reveals an aura of conjuration magic around a box. A crank protruding from one side of the box attaches to a tiny metal music box mounted to the wooden box’s inside wall. Winding the crank causes the music box to play a 10-second tune reminiscent of a child’s lullaby. As the final note sounds, roll a d8. If the roll is 3 or lower and Cradlefall has not yet been defeated, the wyrmling bursts out like a jack-in-the-box, attacking creatures he considers his enemies. If the wyrmling has been dealt with, the lid springs open, but the box is empty.

While curled up in a box with the lid closed, Cradlefall can use an action to teleport himself and anything he is holding to another closed box in Loomlurch. When he is not hiding in a box, Cradlefall curls up in front of the oven in Granny Nightshade’s kitchen (area L13). Additional roleplaying notes can be found in the bio for Cradlefall.

Redcaps

Whenever Skabatha’s windup key runs down, her anger boils over, causing 1d3 murderous redcaps to sprout in area L15. These redcaps are too hateful to serve as guards, so Skabatha sends them scuttling off into Thither to wreak havoc. Until she does so, the redcaps remain in area L15 and attack other creatures on sight.

Tin Soldiers

These ten automatons are fashioned to look like stout infantry soldiers, and they obey Skabatha without question. Six of them remain in the barracks (area L7), and the remaining four patrol the balconies outside areas L8 and L12. They charge forth to investigate any suspicious activity they see or hear, meaning that they are easily distracted. Each one is a Small (3-foot-tall) suit of animated armor with 27 (6d6 + 6) hit points.

Lost Children: Naal, Sung, Philomena, Brotter, Pud, Wendel, Roff, Yevelda, Callybon, Pogo, Mishka.

Over the years, Skabatha’s minions have lured children from the Witchlight Carnival to Thither, allowing the hag to trap them in her workshop. Locked in an eternal battle with hardship, these unfortunates never grow old and have no hope of escape. The hag keeps the children safe and healthy, since to do otherwise would cause them to vanish (see “Children of Prismeer” in Prismeer Overview). The hag’s minions likewise have strict orders not to physically harm the children.

The Lost Children table identifies the children currently held captive inside Loomlurch and their locations when the characters arrive. As time passes, the children can move about the lair, at your discretion. They stay clear of danger and play no role in combat. All of them are chaotic good.

Children free of Granny Nightshade’s tyranny have no easy way to return home, but they can take refuge at Little Oak’s treehouse or be left in the care of the unicorn Lamorna at Wayward Pool. The dwarf Elkhorn (see area L13) insists on remaining in Thither to care for the children if no one else will. If Zybilna is freed from her stasis, she returns the children to their proper homes.