Connects to: 17.14.
This area is rugged with sharp ridges and narrow gullies. Few plants grow here save for the valuable Mushroom of Inversions. However, the willow people who live nearby will not go there to pick them. They say they fear the ghosts of the dead children whose sobbing can be heard floating on the wind of moonless nights.
They are correct that the sobbing of children can be heard, but the children are not ghosts. They are prisoners in the Castle of the Sack Man. One brave enough to wander the ridges long enough may glimpse the castle from afar, but no matter how they try they will never be able to get there by walking. The only ways to enter the castle are through the secret arts of the bugbears (17.14) and through the strange roads that lead beyond mortal barriers.
The castle itself is a ramshackle old place. The children wander the halls freely, kept captive on the castle grounds by the same magics that hide it from outside eyes. Somewhere in the castle broods the Sack Man himself: an emaciated figure in a red cloak trimmed with white. He carries always his sack full of toys and candies to present to the children, but no matter what fancies he produces he cannot win their love. It is said that long ago the Sack Man went by a different name, and was considered a benevolent spirit.
Connections
- The willow people are the Mirdenlows
Hooks
- What is the Mushroom of Inversions? Does it grow anywhere else?
- How do the bugbears travel to and from the castle?
- What happened to the Sack Man to make him the way he is? Why does he kidnap children?
