1404 The Merrovore and the Glaring Pylon

Forlorn tracks and fern-filled glades, dotted with milk-white, climbing vines.

• Terrain: Boggy forest (4), Aldweald
• Lost/encounters: 3-in-6. Encounters are 2-in-6 likely to be with the merrovore.
• Ley line Ywyr (p18): Arcane spell-casters perceive the distant moaning of the dead.
• Foraging: Successful foraging yields 2d6 portions of the climbing vine known as Black Clover (p430), in

addition to the normal results.

Tentacle Heaps

Any who wander through this hex come across piles of bloody, writhing tentacles in the shapes of people or animals.

Alive: The things seem vaguely alive, but do not move of their own accord, apart from the writhing.

Victims of the merrovore: These wretched things are all that remains of those who have met the merrovore.

The Lair of the Merrovore (Hidden)

A pool of viscous, black fluid, almost completely opaque, about 20′ wide and 12′ deep.

The merrovore: The monster comes to this pool to sleep, submerging itself completely in the fluid. There is a 2-in-6 chance it is present when the pool is discovered.

Submerged in the pool: The merrovore guards a 2′ cube of black metal, at the bottom of the pool. If touched by an arcane spell-caster, the cube opens, revealing 72 tourmalines (100gp each), a set of three spell books (Rank 1 Firelight, Glyph of Sealing, Rank 2 Perceive the Invisible, Phantasm, Rank 3 Dispel Magic, Lightning Bolt, Rank 4 Dimension Door), and a black silk robe that acts as a Cloak of Displacement (p406).

The Glaring Pylon (Hidden)

A gargantuan, granite pylon stands amid a tangle of blackthorn and brambles.

Appearance: The pylon is square, 100 yards high, and 10 yards across at the base.

The glaring eyes: At the top of the pylon (invisible from the forest floor) are carved four horrid eyes (one per side), glaring out at the sky. One who sees any of the eyes must Save Versus Spell or be struck blind for 1d6 days, their sight blotted out by a vision of the awful, glaring eye. Witches bound to Hasturiel are immune.

Witches’ rituals: This is the locus of Hasturiel Thrice- Crowned (p38), a deity of the witches who dwells in inaccessible caverns deep beneath the pylon. On any given night, there is a 2-in-6 chance of 1d6 Witches (Eyes of Hasturiel, DMB) conducting a ritual here.

Solstices and equinoxes: On nights at the turning of the seasons, the pylon blazes with blue flame and 4d6 Witches (Eyes of Hasturiel, DMB) worship here. Anyone who touches the flaming pylon gains the ability to shift into another form (per the arcane spell Polymorph) for up to 24 hours.

The Merrovore

A lithe, deer-like body (10′ tall to the shoulder), covered in shaggy, white fur, with cat-like paws and a seven- thonged tail. In its face is a single, crazed eye—deep red—and a slavering, toothed maw. The merrovore stalks the wood in this hex, gurgling and mumbling, tracking by scent.

Large Monstrosity—Semi-Intelligent—Chaotic

Level 8 AC 14 HP 43 Saves D8 R9 H10 B11 S12 Att Bite (+7, 2d6) and 2 claws (+7, 1d6) and tail whip (+7, 1d8) Speed 60 Morale 10 XP 1,440

Aggressive: Attacks all it encounters (except witches, whom it cannot see or smell).

Surprise: Anyone surprised by the merrovore automatically meets its gaze.

In melee: Unless averting eyes, characters in melee with the merrovore meet its gaze each Round.

Gaze: Victims must Save Versus Hold or be transformed into a writhing mass of tentacles. (This is fatal.)

Averting eyes: –4 penalty to Attack Rolls. The merrovore gains a +2 bonus to Attack Rolls.

Mimicry: Tauntingly mimics victims’ voices.