The following descriptions are keyed to the map of Loomlurch.
L1. Root Bridges
These two bridges have the same features. When the characters first approach one of them, read:
A gnarled bridge formed by tangled tree roots spans a rocky, dried-up riverbed.
The bridges sway and creak when crossed. To avoid making a racket, each creature traveling along a bridge must make a DC 12 Dexterity (Stealth) check. On a failed check, the creatures stationed in the goblin market (area L2) are alerted; they take no action immediately but can’t be surprised.
L2. Goblin Market
The characters can enter this area from the eastern root bridge or by traversing the adjoining woodland.
Three stalls selling candy are situated in this clearing, lit by windows carved into the giant fallen tree to one side of it. Two goblins are working in each stall, and the whole enterprise is watched closely by a goblin with a toffee apple head who appears to be muttering quietly to himself.
This market sells goblin-made candies of all sorts. Six goblins (lawful neutral) work here, two per stall, under the watchful gaze of their goblin boss, Chucklehead (neutral), whose head has been reshaped by fey magic to look like a toffee apple. The stallholders greet patrons warmly and invite them to sample and buy their delicious wares. Meanwhile, Chucklehead watches out for thieves.
Chucklehead. The goblin boss can escort characters to the parlor (area L3) if they request a meeting with Granny Nightshade. When left alone, he mutters to himself as though he’s having a constant but mild crisis of conscience. If the characters ask Chucklehead whom he’s muttering to, he says that a maggot crawled into his head and is slowly eating it from the inside out. He’s not sad about this turn of events because it has changed his outlook and disposition, making him kinder and more sympathetic to the plight of others. He claims he can speak to the maggot and it speaks to him, even though it actually doesn’t. The maggot in the goblin’s head will kill him in 30 days unless he receives the benefit of magic that cures a disease. That magic slays the maggot but also reverts Chucklehead’s alignment to neutral evil.
Chucklehead is protective of Mishka (see area L13) and wants to help her get away from Loomlurch, but he’s too scared of Granny Nightshade to free Mishka from the hag’s clutches. Additional roleplaying notes can be found in the bio for Chucklehead.
Merchant Stalls. The goods sold here are delicious but made with disgusting ingredients. Examples include beetles encased in hard candy, lollipops made from compacted ants, and jellied worms. The stallholders charge one trinket per treat. Roll a d8 and consult the Candy Treats table to determine what magical effect befalls a creature that eats one of these treats. Each effect lasts for 1 hour.
If a creature eats multiple treats and gets the same effect twice, extend the duration of the effect by 1 hour. A creature can have up to three different magical effects on it at any given time. If a creature eats a candy treat while it is already affected by three others, don’t roll on the table. Instead, the creature must make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw; on a failed save, the creature is poisoned for 8 hours.
Candy Treats
d8
Effect
1
Your footfalls emit musical notes that can be heard out to a range of 30 feet.
2
Eating the candy causes you to foam at the mouth, making it difficult (but not impossible) for you to speak.
3
Your fingers leave indelible stains on anything you touch.
4
Your head swells to twice its normal size.
5
You shrink, as though affected by the reduce effect of an enlarge/reduce spell.
6
Fireflies are drawn to you and form a persistent cloud around you, shedding bright light in a 5-foot radius and dim light for an additional 5 feet.
7
You grow, as though affected by the enlarge effect of an enlarge/reduce spell.
8
You are targeted by a polymorph spell and automatically fail the saving throw against it. The new form is a butterfly (use the bat stat block, but omit its darkvision, Echolocation trait, and Bite attack).
L3. Parlor
The door to area L4 is closed but not locked.
This chamber is nestled between walls of twisted roots, through gaps in which you can see the eerily beautiful woodland surrounding you. A closed wooden door stands opposite the root bridge that leads into this room, in the center of which are four armchairs encircling a small table laid out for a tea service. A painted wooden box three feet on a side rests in a corner. A crank protrudes from one side of it, causing it to resemble an oversized jack-in-the-box.
If Bavlorna Blightstraw retreated to Loomlurch after fleeing her home in chapter 2, her bobbing lily pad lies on the floor next to the box, vaguely resembling a leaf-shaped carpet. Bavlorna herself can be found in area L14.
Three of the armchairs are trained mimics in disguise. They are magically compelled to remain in this room and adhere to creatures only when Granny Nightshade orders them to do so. The mimics are trained in nonlethal combat; characters reduced to 0 hit points by the mimics are stable rather than dying, giving the hag a chance to decide what to do with the unconscious victims.
Dragon-in-the-Box. The wooden box with the crank is one of the boxes where Cradlefall might be found (see “Skabatha’s Minions” earlier in the chapter).
Tea with Granny Nightshade. Characters who arrange a meeting with Granny Nightshade through Chucklehead (area L2) or Pincushion (area L9) are left here for a while before the hag shows up. When Granny Nightshade arrives, read:
The door creaks open, and a little old woman totters forward. She wears a grimy, old-fashioned shawl, and her skin looks like gnarled bark. A large iron key extends from her back, ticking rhythmically as it rotates.
“Sit down, children,” she says in a voice reminiscent of crunching leaves. “Let’s have some tea.”
Skabatha Nightshade obeys the rule of hospitality (see “Rules of Conduct” in Prismeer Overview) and presents herself as a kind host who is keen to know why the characters have paid her a visit. See “Bargaining with Skabatha” for guidance on running this conversation, during which she pours tea into filthy cups and stirs the liquid with a chicken bone, insisting that the characters drink up. On occasion, she reaches around with one of her arms and winds up her key. If the characters belittle or threaten her, Granny Nightshade orders her mimics to adhere to her guests and beat them unconscious while she watches with amusement.
Treasure. Characters who scour the parlor for treasure find the following items:
A spell scroll of speak with plants tucked in a side table drawer
A set of four silver teaspoons engraved with pained facial expressions (5 gp per spoon)
A bronze candlestick shaped like a bird’s leg (10 gp)