witches and vermin
Shimmerford, Isger; Lamashan 1, 4719 AR
The caravan of Bort Bargith, merchant extraordinaire, rolled it's wheels through the muddies roads before the town of Shimmerford. The Mosquito Festival was celebrated in this area, and the dwarf wasn't about to miss his chance to offload some goods while sampling all the tasty witchbread he could get his hands on. Unfortunately, due to some sort of complication, the festival was cancelled. The people of the town had shuttered their windows and barred their doors. The Mosquito Witch was afoot.
With the festivities cancelled, Bort dangled an incentive above the heads of any who could get to the bottom of the recent troubles in town and bring the festival back to Shimmerford. Anyone who did so would be given his fabled bag of holding. Ever optimistic and excitable, Twig the gnome and Qarxa the goblin leapt to investigate.
The horrible buzzing insects were everywhere, stinging and biting at exposed flesh where ever it may be. No one dared to leave their homes and rumors were circulating that people and livestock were dropping dead from blood loss. As the two began to ask around town, they heard about a creature known only as "The Mosquito Witch." It was described as a massive creature with shaggy hair that obscured it's face, glowing bulbous red eyes, and a long thin tongue. It walked on small, pointed little legs and was first seen more than 60 years ago. However, the people of Shimmerford had reason to believe that it had returned.
A number of monster hunters had come to put the creature down, but they went missing almost as quickly as they arrived. The mosquitoes seemed to hang lower in the air, despite the already cooling weather. Everyone in the town was gripped in fear. Twig and Qarxa met with Haru, a Tian woman, (and her dog, Peaches) who claimed to be here for the festival and was disappointed to see it cancelled. The two continued along, devouring witchbread and beet juice at every opportunity. The rumors about the Mosquito Witch seemed to keep changing: sometimes it had wings, sometimes it didn't, some said it could drain the youth away from someone, others said it could see through any representation of it.
It was then that the small straw dolls that the residents of Shimmerford made took on a more sinister role. They kept appearing where ever the two looked. They couldn't seem to escape their beady gazes. To make matters worse, they met with a man who appeared to be hearing voices in his head. He complained about the dolls, the witchbread, and the neverending trap of returning to Shimmerford. He spoke of deaths on the road that evening. "Six and four dead on Shimmerford Road," he kept repeating. As well, his paper doll referred to an iron cave somewhere.
After more questioning of the townsfolk (including the survivor of the original attack, a strange tanner, and an oddly helpful blacksmith), the two small women prepared to leave for a possible lead in the swamps surrounding Shimmerford. Unfortunately, they were set slightly off-track when they discovered an overturned wagon on Shimmerford Road. Six horses and four riders lay dead before them. The madman's premonitions were coming true.
Following a trail of clues, Twig and Qarxa stumbled upon Haru and her dog being attacked by mosquitoes the size of cats! Though they worked quickly, neither of them were fast enough to save Peaches, the dog. However, they knew they were close to pulling aside the curtain to this terrible mystery. Haru pointed to a small crack in the hillside, just large enough for small creatures such as themselves to fit. The two worked their way in to find a crude system of caves dug through the hill. Within, a small mitflit attacked them! With their power to speak with vermin, it quickly became clear who was orchestrating all of the insect attacks on Shimmerford. The diminutive fey didn't last long under the combined might of the two friends, though he did manage to greatly injury Twig with a stab in the chest with a poisoned blade.
It turned out the a tribe of mitflits had come into the area with hopes of claiming the land as their own. However, they saw the residents of Shimmerford as an impediment to that, and used their gremlin powers to coerce the mosquitoes to join them in running them out. It didn't take much work to convince the locals that the Mosquito Witch had returned.
With the evil fey chased away, the people of Shimmerford were free to celebrate and enjoy all the witchbread they could stomach. However, Twig and Qarxa knew the truth, though they knew that telling the townsfolk could only bring more hardship to the town. The Mosquito Witch was very real and still very dangerous. It just didn't want to be bothered any further.
As Bort's wagons hit the road once more, what other creatures lie in wait for these two? Will they make new allies to help them stand against the strange and dark things that exist in this land? Only time will tell.
-Dungeon Master
