@Loomlurch
@Skabatha 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.
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 @L1: Root Bridges . Anyone who observes the @L4: Worksop 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.
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 @L14: Study, 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.
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 @L5: Granny Nightshade’s Garden for 1-3 hours.
Most of her day is spent in @L13. Granny Nightshade’s Kitchen, with occasional visits to @L14: Study.
Before going to bed, the hag spends 1 hour conducting an inspection of @L9: Sewing Room, the @L12: Textile Mill, and the @L4: Worksop. After the inspection, Granny Nightshade moves to her @L16. Granny Nightshade’s Bedroom, miniaturizes herself, and takes a long rest inside the dollhouse there.
Visitors can arrange a meeting with @Skabatha Nightshade by speaking to @Chucklehead, the goblin boss in @L2: Goblin Market or @Pincushion the living doll in @L9: Sewing Room. Any such meeting with the hag takes place in the @L3: Parlor.
Bargaining with @Skabatha Nightshade
If the player character(s) used the “Lost Things” adventure hook, @Skabatha Nightshade might have 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 any characters who may 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 @Skabatha Nightshade alive. He’s sure to be hiding somewhere in the forest.
Find the Lost @Unicorn Horn. Bring her the unicorn horn that she says her sister @Bavlorna Blightstraw 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 Nightshade 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. @Skabatha 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 in @L16. Granny Nightshade’s Bedroom.
@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 @L5: Granny Nightshade’s Garden (see “Skabatha’s Minions” below).
The key can’t be removed from @Skabatha Nightshade's back while she lives, and it serves no function in the adventure other than to reflect her current mood.
In dire circumstances, Skabatha flees @Loomlurch on her flying @Rocking Horse mount (see @L6: Family Tree Entrance) and retreats to @Motherhorn, the lair of her youngest sister, @Endelyn Moongrave (see chapter 4). If @Bavlorna Blightstraw is in @Loomlurch, she flees to @Motherhorn as well.
If @Skabatha Nightshade 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.”
If the characters defeat @Skabatha Nightshade 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 @L5: Granny Nightshade’s Garden to the @L4: Worksop and the @L9: Sewing Room, and the door between POIs @L6: Family Tree Entrance and @L11: Family Tree.
The second key locks and unlocks the doors to the @B13. Kitchen and @Mishka's chains there.
The third key locks and unlocks the door to the cell in the @L13. Granny Nightshade’s Kitchen.
Skabatha’s Minions
Granny @Skabatha 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 @L4: Worksop and three in @L12: Textile Mill. 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 @L3: Parlor, @L6: Family Tree Entrance, and @L7: Tin Soldier Barracks. 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 @L13. Granny Nightshade’s Kitchen.
@Redcaps
Whenever @Skabatha's Clockwork Key runs down, her anger boils over, causing 1d3 murderous @Redcaps to sprout in @L15: Redcap Patch. 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 @L15: Redcap Patch 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 @L7: Tin Soldier Barracks, and the remaining four patrol the balconies outside @L8. Workhouse Dormitory and @L12: Textile Mill. They charge forth to investigate any suspicious activity they see or hear, meaning that they are easily distracted.
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. 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 @Skabatha 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 @L13. Granny Nightshade’s Kitchen ) 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.
@Naal - Stole the key to the kitchen door
@Sung
@Philomena - Won’t leave Loomlurch without Oink the pig
@Brotter - Gravely ill after eating nightshade
@Pud - Secretly loyal to Granny Nightshade
@Wendel
@Roff - Stole a pouch of dust of corrosion
@Yevelda - Knows a secret route into Granny Nightshade’s bedroom
@Callybon
@Pogo
@Mishka - Chained to a worktable