Connects to: 01.02, 02.08, 10.10, 11.15, 13.06, 13.09, 15.07, 16.09, 18.10, 23.11, 25.18, 29.14.05, 29.14.26 and 48.32.01.
Within this hex lies a pleasant farming village, overgrown with webs that glisten in the daylight. The webs are as strong as steel and their glistening patterns (in daylight only) enchant the mind, drawing beings into a maze of tunnels, which close behind them.
This is the den of a spider of foul intelligence and her brood. From her crèche, which she never leaves, she can manipulate the web. She will open and close paths to lead victims towards her, but she relies on vibrations from the web to locate her prey. Once they reach her, she will trap them and store them to feed her hungry children. She is fond of conversation and will spare those who converse with her - until the other, more boring food runs out, that is. Characters who move carefully through the webs will find that they provide a safe place to rest (at night at least).
Exploring the well-made houses reveals the skeletons of large families, many livestock, good tools, and some luxury goods. Captain Keith (15.07) once found himself trapped within the spider’s lair, but was able to convince her to let him go after spinning wondrous tales. Now he has a deal with the spider: in exchange for more tales, which he collects from visitors to his eatery, he gathers the entrails and riches of her victims. He has been known to lead adventurers to their doom here - especially wealthy ones.
At the heart of the web-shrouded village lies an abandoned wizard tower. It was once the home of Severard of the Seven Circles, known by his detractors as Severard of the Seven Chins, and his apprentices. The village that grew up around his tower was ruled and protected by him and he set about improving the lives of the villagers through the rational application of magic. Some of the locals chafed at his demands that they do all things “rationally” but most considered it a small price to pay for his aid and protection.
As the village, then known as Severard’s Town, grew the wizard became annoyed by constant talk about food production and set about solving the problem. He developed magic that could greatly increase the growth of animals and tested it on centipedes and bees. He set up colonies of these creatures both west in the Tashtan Plains and as well as to the east (02.08 and 10.10) in order to study them, caring little about their effects on others.
He was wrapping up his experiments on spider growth and preparing to move on to chickens and other delicious animals when, in a moment of carelessness, he was poisoned and killed by his prize spider specimen. The villagers became concerned when Severard failed to come out of his tower and cats and other small animals began to disappear from the village. But by the time that they had gathered up enough courage to venture into Severard’s tower it was too late. The spider had grown too large and too cunning and drove the villagers from their homes and cast her webs across the village. Perhaps a means to reverse the magical growth of animals lies within Severard of the Seven Circle’s tower, but none have been able to retrieve it.
A chest full of Scorshia birch charcoal (01.02), most of which has been doused in dragon blood and marked with runes in powdered lead, lies within Severard of the Seven Circle’s tower. Opening the chest’s lock successfully triggers a darkness spell, which is a good thing as if the albino snake that hibernates within the chest is disturbed by any light at all (even that of torches) it will awake from its enchanted slumber and attack.
Subhex:
- 13.08.02 (The Ring of Invisibility): it is not cursed but it is rather inconvenient.
Connections
- Alfonse (16.09) once joined an adventuring party that was petrified while trying to loot the tower. Are their petrified bodies still there?
Hooks:
- Who is the spider keeping alive in her den?
- Where have the inhabitants of this place gone? What would they do to get their homes back?
- What happened to Severard’s apprentices?
- What is the means of reversing animal growth that lies within Severard’s tower?
- A wizard’s tower must have some other interesting things in it. Right?
The Ring of Invisibility
Connects to: 15.24.
One of the treasures that can be found in Severard’s web-shrouded tower is the ring of invisibility once worn by Gilad the Unavoidable. It is a bronze ring studded with dull gems and inscribed with strange runes that grants the wearer complete invisibility in all circumstances. However, unlike other magical rings, it must be threaded through an ear piercing for it to have any effect, which may prove difficult as it is easily six feet in diameter.
Connection:
- The gem that is mounted on the Diadem of the Third Eye (15.24) was long ago pried out from this invisibility ring and given a new setting and a new purpose.
Hooks:
- How can anyone use an invisibility earring that big? What are you going to do, make your pet elephant invisible and play pranks on people?
- Who was (is?) Gilad the Unavoidable?
- Would the effects of the earring change if the lost gem were remounted in it?
