Lights in the Night

The village of Dry Stone is a sleepy little community named for the large outcrop of rock along the beach. Dry Stone was a sleepy little place making a living through fishing, harvesting reeds for paper making, some trapping of smaller animals for fur and hides and farming what they could on small plots of land. Many such plots were freed from the sea by building dykes and pumping the area dry with windmills. Dry Stone was growing and had a bright future.
Then war came. Dry Stone was briefly occupied, during which time it suffered. It lost many of it's people. Recently liberated the war moved several leagues to the West, leaving a ruined place. Now the citizens of Dry Stone work to rebuild their lives as best they can.
Dry Stone

Dry Stone is comprised of a scattering of little farm houses, a rustic inn, a beaten worn down church, a few nicer homes that shipping merchants might have dwelled in, and the remains of a shattered keep. The populace without a home have taken to living in tents dispersed throughout the sand dunes bordering the beach, or sheltering in the basement of the keep. Most people are in the process of rebuilding, yet, there is the ever present fear that war will return. They look to their leaders, be they good, neutral or not so nice, to protect them.
What the people of Dry Stone fear today is the appearance of strange lights out in the swamps. Some at a ruined home and others at a wreaked windmill.
The rustic inn is run by a half-orc named Brurbok. When asked about accommodations he will charge far more than normally accepted. "War raises prices" He will make inappropriate comments to attractive female heroes. Implying he will give the heroes a reduced rate. If rejected, he will then mutter about needing his special brew that the farmers at the ruined home made. If the heroes agree to get it for him he will let them stay for free and give them 10 silver each.
The poor church is in the process of being restored by Father Gregory. A kindly middle aged human. He will greet the heroes and offer to pray with them for better times, all the while holding out his offering plate. The heroes will notice that Father Gregory engages in alchemy and potion brewing. Father Gregory uses local plants and animal parts along with praying to create medicinal potions. Given several hours he can attempt (rolling 12, 15 or 18 for simple, difficult and complex) to brew potions of the heroes that he will gladly give them if they investigate the mysterious lights. His hope is that explaining the lights will bring peace and calm to Dry Stone.
Within the remains of the nicer homes one merchant family remains. The Westerhassens. Chambrey Westerhassen the family patriarch will welcome the heroes into his somewhat disorderly home and offer light refreshments. He would like the heroes to resolve whatever issue the lights are by any means necessary. Getting the situation back to normal as quickly as possible will allow him to start shipping goods in and out of Dry Stone again. Being the only family in residence at the moment will give him an advantage and opportunity to gain a monopoly. To this end he will generously offer each hero the princely sum of 10 gold coins for their employ in resolving the issue of the lights. He will also give the heroes a boat to use to get to both the ruined home and wreaked windmill.
At the keep there are perhaps 40 families numbering about 170 people who have been tasked with rebuilding the keep. They are under the aegis of Baronet Fritz von Pfirsich. The Baron is rather ineffectual, physically weak in appearance and rather boyish in looks despite his being middle aged. Rumors heard about Dry Stone in various ways state "A family that lays together, stays together." The Baron is none the less pleasant and with wringing hands will politely ask the heroes to investigate the lights. He greatly desires to have the mystery solved. For reward he offers the heroes the use of one of the keep's tower as a base and the use of various staff to maintain their goods and gear. "Free use of the blacksmith, stables, armory and so forth." This will allow the heroes to improve their gear before going out if they desire. The Baron will grant the heroes a boat to use.
If the players wander about the encampment in the dunes, they will readily notice that the people here are better fed, clothed and sheltered in military tents. Hushed whispers when asked will tell that all has been provided to them by a Mister Eel. Searching the heroes can fairly easily after some misdirection and frustration find Eel, who is residing in a large plain tent. Entering it is obvious that Eel is a smuggler, black marketeer and war profiteer. His tent is filled with contraband, illegal goods and extravagances that under the current circumstances should be nearly impossible to obtain. Eel is willing to entertain the idea of sending the heroes out to investigate the ruined home and wreaked windmill and will offer to sell any valuable they return with for them, pocketing no more than a mere 20% commission rather than his normal 60%. He too will provide a boat to use.
The ruined home

The ruined home is occupied by a wingless unseelie solitary water faerie. Her name is Fitche, she is tall slightly more than 6' in height, very lanky with wet black hair and a blue tint to her skin. Almost as if she had drowned and washed up on a beach. Fitche has taken over the home to conduct research in order to increase her natural beauty. Fitche is a vivimancer by trade, a person who twists the life force of beings and manipulates it to cause changes. He goal is to create a potion that will increase her beauty. Her problem so far is that the results are not as great as she wishes and a being can only use one such potion once in their entire life.
Fitche can remain under water for 8 hours. She has fae glamour which causes all beings who see her to be friendly to her so long as she is non-hostile. She can affect a single person with desire reflection, the person chosen who sees her will see his or her hearts most beloved person and do anything for Fitche's love and affection. Desire reflection lasts 20 minus the targets intelligence in days, unless the target saves vs a roll of 18 or higher. Fitche's spells consist of polymorphing, shape changing, healing or harming, and metamorphisms such as turning a warriors weapon arm into a duck's wing. Fitche has 4 of each. Fitche has 80 Hit points, wears no armor as she relies upon her glamour and is weaponless.
If Fitche is approached with kindness and sympathy she could be persuaded to work with Father Gregory. Together with both of their alchemy abilities they will be able to create a single use potion that will increase Fitche's beauty by a roll of 3d4+6. Fitche will need to be taken to Father Gregory as quickly and directly as possible. Her research is time sensitive.
Being an unseelie fae, Fitche has no concern for the glamoured and desire reflected guards who will try to kill anyone that arrives at the home.
There are two guards living one per tent near the home. Both have been obviously subject to metamorphic magic. The first is a half-orc/dwarf with six arms who attacks with six axes. Each axe does 1d8+4 damage. The orc/dwarf has 60 hit points. He wears a jazerant (chain mail sewn between layers of fabric and leather) AC 4.
The second guard was perhaps a gnome who was transformed and now has goat legs and lower torso and the upper torso, arms and head of a toad. He is completely naked, has 30 hit points and attacks by spitting a sticky glob from his mouth that hinders a person's movement. First hit reduced to 50%, second hit reduced to 10%. third hit immobilized for 2d6 minutes. Goat/toad needs to roll an attack of 12 or higher to be successful.
While fighting with the guards Fitche can use a spell from concealment by peeking through a window. To save against any of Fitche's spells requires a save of 16 or higher.
Brurbok's special brew is bottled, 75 bottles in the 3 crates. It will sell for 50 silver a bottle. If the heroes sell it through Eel, Brurbok at some future point will send ruffians to teach them a lesson.
The wreaked windmill

The wreaked windmill was chosen as a rendezvous point for a hired sell sword to pass intelligence to his employer. Intelligence about enemy forces on the front lines to the West. The sell sword is an ugly half-orc. He has set up a little camp in the remaining upper level of the windmill. It is a treacherous climb to get to the one remaining room.
The heroes can as a group sneak to the windmill (requiring each hero to roll a 15 or higher), making their way up the remains of the stairs will require two dexterity/agility checks. Heroes will need a roll of 12 or higher if they move slowly, 15 at normal rate of movement, 18 if they run. Failing the first results in a fall from the lower part of the stairs causing 2d10+8 damage, falling from the higher portion causes 4d10+8 damage. The damage is largely due to the debris underneath. Alternatively the heroes could climb the tree taking a risk of having the limbs break from their weight as they reach the top. A roll of 10 for small sized, 13 for medium sized and 16 for large sized characters. Wearing heavy armor adds +2 to the required roll. If a single hero can reach the landing he or she can secure a rope that will allow the others to climb up safely.
If the heroes fail to be discrete, they will alert the sell sword they are coming. He will at first shout from concealment, telling them to go away. That he wants to be left alone. To give a hermit his privacy. If the heroes continue they will receive a single arrow shot at one of their feet as a warning. Should the heroes go on after this, the sell sword will fire arrows to maim. His arrows are fired at a +8 to hit and will inflict 2d4+2 damage plus reducing each physical attribute by 1d4 due to a painful paralytic poison that will last for 1 hour. The poison is cumulative with each arrow strike.
If the sell sword is wounded or any of the heroes reach the landing he will launch a firework to warn his employer.
The heroes if choosing a diplomatic option by showing their hands or dropping weapons will cause the sell sword to show his face. Heroes that have some sort of law enforcement background will note that the half-orc is known as Granash, that he operates with a robber knight who is now acting as something of a mercenary for the side Dry Stone is on. Those heroes who have a knightly or noble background will note that Granash won the archery tournament six months prior at a nearby town that Dry Stone is loyal to.
Should the heroes wait in the distance for a bit, observing the windmill, they will see Granash's employer arrive. The employer is an elven woman. Those of a noble background will note that she is the elven ambassador to the region that includes Dry Stone. Her name is Alquarandir and that she is a better archer than Granash with a +15 to hit with a bow. Alquarandir has druid magic at her disposal. She will look for a diplomatic solution should the heroes not know who she is and be hostile towards her and Granash. Baronet Fritz von Pfirsich can recognize Alquarandir and vouch for her identity should she and Granash somehow be captured. Granash and Alquarandir have respectively 75 and 95 hp. If the heroes are exceptionally patient they may conclude that in addition to handing over intelligence that both are also having an assignation. Patience is a virtue, waiting this  long decreases the sneak roll to 10.