0403 Queen Arda’s Demesne

A multitude of tiny brooks trickle down to join the Hameth. Wafts of heady nectar drift on the breeze.

• Terrain: Tangled forest (3), Northern Scr./Dwelmfurgh
• Lost/encounters: 2-in-6. Encounters are 1-in-6 likely to be with 1d4 × 10 purple sprites from the Sprite Mound.
• Ley Line Chell (p18): Arcane spell-casters perceive the curious dual sensation of balmy heat and biting cold.
• Within the Ring of Chell (p20): True fairies are afflicted with a spiritual malaise; teleportation and summoning are ineffectual; magic of illusion or charm has a 2-in-6 chance of failure.

Gigantic Flowers

Around the banks of the Hameth, bounteous clusters of massive flowers (10′ tall) bloom: white and yellow lilies, reddish-pink peonies, and dark blue hibiscuses. Their deep green stalks and lurid petals create a grotesquely gorgeous tableau.

Soporific smell: The air is humid and heavy with the flowers’ powerful, aromatic scents, evoking strong emotions in travellers. Lilies entice with the perfume of forbidden love; peonies soothe with the half-forgotten idyll of a childhood afternoon; hibiscuses reek of mortal terror.

If the party lingers: Mortals must Save Versus Doom or fall into a deep, uninterruptible sleep for 4d4 Turns, during which they are haunted by dreams flavoured with the feelings evoked by the flowers.

Sprite attack: A party deemed sufficiently weakened by the flowers is ambushed by 30 purple sprites (DMB) from the Sprite Mound. Flitting from watch-places atop the hideous blooms, they attack viciously, and attempt to drag dead or unconscious PCs to the Shambles.

Petals: If a giant flower petal is placed in boiling water within 1 day of being picked, the resulting tea becomes a sleep draught with the same effect as the flower’s scent.

Shambles

At the centre of this hex is a glade where a charnel stench overwhelms even the powerful scents of the giant flowers.

Open-air abattoir: Carrion, bones, and rotted entrails are scattered throughout the glade. Five human corpses hang from trees, their blood dripping into tiny bowls. Gut-spattered tables the size of playing cards and various miniature carving implements lie nearby.

Observing: Characters who watch secretly may observe 1d4 × 5 purple sprites butchering their kills and transporting the constituent parts to the Sprite Mound: meat and organs bound for the sprites’ kitchens, bones for the crafting workshops, and skulls planted with seeds to nourish new flowers.

Queen Arda—Sprite Ruler

A purple sprite woman with orange, insectoid eyes and drifting hair of pure white. A tyrant obsessed with her prophetic dreams of ruling all Dolmenwood. Tells her subjects that “big folk” are marauding giants who must be slain for the sake of the realm.

Demeanour (Chaotic): Bloodthirsty, dour, decadent.

Speech: Warbling, imperious squeaking. Woldish, Sylvan, High Elfish.

Desires: Worship. Secrets of magic.

Possessions: Fairy silver crown of leaves (200gp). A tiny (2″) brass Wand of Confusion (p416, 3 charges).

Combat stats: Purple sprite (DMB) with the ability to cast the following arcane spells once a day each: Glyph of Sealing, Vapours of Dream, Ventriloquism.

Sprite Mound (Hidden)

Not far from the Shambles stands a 10′-high mound of clay that might be mistaken for nothing more than a hillock of earth. Hidden doorways lie at its base, concealed by the thick grass.

Interior: An impossibly labyrinthine complex of intricate tunnels and fanciful chambers, including living quarters, armouries, workshops, kitchens for the preparation of humanoid flesh, and baroque dining halls.

Inhabitants: 200 purple sprites (DMB) with a murderous, carnivorous nature instilled by Queen Arda.

Treasure: Behind a tiny locked door at the heart of the mound is Arda’s treasure chamber, containing three rubies of increasing sizes (50gp, 100gp, 500gp), a human-sized necklace of fairy silver, bearing the Harrowmoor family crest (1,200gp), and 450 tiny platinum coins stamped with Queen Arda’s dour visage (each worth 5sp).