L6. Rocking Horse
The door to area L11 is locked, and Granny Nightshade has the only key (see “Skabatha’s Ring of Keys” earlier in the chapter). If Skabatha has been forced to flee Loomlurch on her flying rocking horse, modify the following boxed text to remove all mention of the horse:
Creaking softly, a rocking horse moves back and forth near the door. Peeling paint covers its limbs, and its rocker is thick with moss. A rictus grin is painted on its face. Near a protruding root is a painted wooden box three feet on a side. A crank protrudes from one side of it, causing it to resemble an oversized jack-in-the-box.
The rocking horse is actually a flying rocking horse that Granny Nightshade uses to soar across Prismeer. The horse is positioned so that it can attack trespassers who approach the door. Any character who gets within 5 feet of the rocking horse notices a depression on its forehead. Any character who succeeds on a DC 10 Intelligence check correctly intuits that a horn once protruded from this depression.
The rocking horse used to be a unicorn named Elidon until the hags of the Hourglass Coven turned it into an obedient Construct. If a character finds Elidon’s lost unicorn horn and places it on the rocking horse’s brow while the horse has at least 1 hit point remaining, the curse is broken and the rocking horse magically transforms into the unicorn Elidon, who appears at full health. Elidon is happy to repay the characters for their heroism but is equally eager to return to his mate, Lamorna (see “Wayward Pool” earlier in the chapter). Convincing him to join the party requires a successful DC 17 Charisma (Persuasion) check.
Whether he stays with the party or not, Elidon intends to honor the rule of reciprocity (see “Rules of Conduct” in Prismeer Overview) and offers to use his magic to aid the characters in the following ways before parting company with them:
He can use his Healing Touch action to treat a character’s wounds and remove any poisons or diseases afflicting that character.
Once a day, he can teleport himself and up to three willing party members to any location in Thither up to 1 mile away.
He can cast pass without trace on himself and the entire party at will. This spell requires Elidon’s concentration and lasts for up to 1 hour.
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).
L7. Tin Soldier Barracks
Ten brightly painted structures resembling little wooden houses line the walls of this room. Each small house has a three-foot-high hinged door. Four of the doors are open, and the other six are closed.
A narrow staircase ascends the circular wall. Near the foot of the stairs is a painted wooden box three feet on a side. A crank protrudes from one side of it, causing it to resemble an oversized jack-in-the-box.
The staircase ends after 20 feet at a landing outside area L8.
Each small house is designed to hold one of Granny Nightshade’s tin soldiers. When the characters arrive, four soldiers are on patrol in areas L8 and L12, and the remaining six tin soldiers are inside their domiciles, behind closed doors. Each of these six Constructs is a Small (3-foot-tall) suit of animated armor with 27 (6d6 + 6) hit points.
The tin soldiers burst from their small houses and march forth if they hear combat in this room or an adjoining area, or if Skabatha or Pincushion calls for them. If the characters witness the soldiers emerge, read:
The beat of a drum erupts from out of the woodwork as all six small doors spring open at once. A troop of cask-shaped tin soldiers marches into view. A drum waddles behind one of them on stocky legs, striking itself with a pair of tiny drumstick arms.
The six tin soldiers operate as a unit and march to the beat of the drum, which is a Small animated object with AC 16, 25 hit points, a walking speed of 30 feet, blindsight out to a range of 30 feet, and no effective attacks. Its ability scores are Strength 6, Dexterity 14, Constitution 10, Intelligence 3, Wisdom 3, and Charisma 1. The drum can’t be blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, or poisoned, and it’s immune to poison and psychic damage. Its drumbeat can be heard out to a range of 60 feet. All tin soldiers that can hear the beating drum gain a +2 bonus to their damage rolls. If the drum is destroyed, every tin soldier within 60 feet of it is stunned until the end of its next turn.
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).
L8. Workhouse Dormitory
Two 3-foot-tall tin soldiers patrol the balcony outside this room. Each tin soldier is a Small suit of animated armor with 27 (6d6 + 6) hit points. The doors leading to this room are closed but unlocked.
This dormitory nestles in the tree boughs and has round windows overlooking a wooden balcony. Lining the walls are ten child-sized bunks outfitted with patchwork quilts and straw-stuffed pillows.
A young male dwarf lies in one of the bunks, coughing and drenched in sweat, while an older lad mops his brow with water from a bucket. Two doors exit the room: one leads to a balcony, the other deeper into the tree.
Granny Nightshade’s workers sleep in these bunks. When the characters arrive, two children are present: Brottor (a 10-year-old male hill dwarf) and Pud (a 12-year-old male human). Brottor is poisoned; he fell gravely ill after eating nightshade from the garden. Pud has been assigned to care for him until the malady passes or Brottor dies.
Pud hisses for the characters to be quiet, nodding toward the soldiers on the balcony. If the characters comply, Pud quietly describes Granny Nightshade’s routine and all of her minions (see “Where’s Skabatha?” and “Skabatha’s Minions” earlier in the chapter). Characters who are suspicious of Pud can make a DC 12 Wisdom (Insight) check; on a successful check, a character discerns that Pud is untrustworthy. (In fact, he’s deciding whether to betray the characters to the hag.) If one or more characters are mean to him, Pud slips off at the first opportunity to alert Skabatha, hoping that his loyalty to her will pay off for him in the future.
Curing Brottor. Any effect that neutralizes poison can cure Brottor. If the characters lack the means to cure Brottor on their own, they can use hummingbrella mushrooms (found in areas L5 and L13) to neutralize the poison.
If his ailment remains untreated, the dwarf falls into a coma after 5 hours. A character who administers to the dwarf for 1 hour and succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check can delay the onset of the coma for an additional 1d4 + 1 hours.
If the characters save Brottor’s life, Pud silently vows not to betray them to the hag.
Treasure. Characters who search the dormitory uncover the following valuable items:
A silver bookmark shaped like a feather (5 gp)
A gold signet ring depicting a weeping willow (25 gp)
A cracked bloodstone (25 gp) stuffed inside a pillowcase